🥇 First Nations first

Together with

Good morning! After 50 years, NASA is going back to the moon. This month the Orion capsule successfully buzzed past Earth’s neighbour on its way to spending a week in lunar orbit. I wonder how hard it would be to build in one-sixth of earth’s gravity? Let’s get cracking on a Moon base RFP right away.  

One thing’s for sure. In the cold vacuum of space, you’ll need to keep your feet plenty warm. Read to the end to find out how we got you covered 🧦 (hint: free socks).

- Russell Hixson, editor

MARKETS

*Stock data as of last market close; currency, oil and crypto data as of 10:15PM ET

Markets: Move over, gasoline. Diesel is the real fuel causing headaches at the pump. The average retail price of diesel in Canada has hit $2.40 a litre several times this month. And because it’s the fuel used for the machines that power the economy - like trains, trucks, boats and barges - the impact of diesel costs is far-reaching.

THE BIG STORY

First Nations groups lead the way

Decades of court cases have established the Crown has a duty to consult with Indigenous people if a project could impact them. The duty to consult is an important part of the federal government's activities, including for regulatory project approvals, licensing and authorization of permits, operational decisions, policy development, negotiations and more.

Here’s the deal: Major projects like LNG Canada have shown what can be done through years of engagement. They secured 25 individual agreements with affected Indigenous groups by LNG Canada and Coastal GasLink. The agreements were signed by elected officials on behalf of their more than 15,000 members.

But things can go even further…

The big picture: Across the country, Indigenous groups are getting in the driver’s seat to advance their own projects and investments. 

• In Alberta, 23 Indigenous communities joined forces to create Athabasca Indigenous investments (AIA) to purchase a stake in seven pipelines that move critical energy resources from their traditional lands to global markets. AIA says the investment positions the 23 communities for long term success by providing a significant economic impact now and for generations.

• This year B.C.’s Squamish Nation broke ground on Sen̓áḵw, the largest Indigenous-led housing retail development in the country’s history. It will add thousands of housing units to Vancouver which is facing an affordable housing supply crisis. 

• The Clarke Lake Geothermal Development Project is a wholly owned and Indigenous-led project that is expected to be one of the first commercially viable geothermal electricity production facilities in Canada.

• This fall, Nihtat Energy Ltd., a northern Indigenous-owned and operated company, announced it is developing a 1-megawatt solar farm on a brownfield site in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. 

These are just a sample of how Indigenous groups are taking control of development in and around their communities. That way they can build and invest in what they want on their own terms. As the Squamish Nation put it, development puts them on a path to complete economic independence. And for the groups involved in Clarke Lake and Inuvik projects, offsetting fossil fuels is also a major priority, making it a win-win. 

NEED TO KNOW

The week's headlines

 🍁 The construction industry flocked to Ottawa this month to advocate for immigration reform. About 70 Canadian Construction Association (CCA) members took part, meeting with 60 MPs. The association called officials to better recognize those with relevant skills and construction labourers, work with the provinces to ensure skills matching is supported and update the temporary foreign worker program.

🏘️ Just days after being sworn in, B.C. Premier David Eby announced his plans to address the housing crisis. The legislation would empower the province to set housing targets in municipalities with the greatest need and highest projected growth. Eby believes targets will encourage municipalities to address local barriers to construction so that housing can get built faster, including updating zoning bylaws and streamlining local development approval processes.

📈 A celebration for some, disappointment for others - real estate prices appear to be coming out of the trough. Experts say data from the Teranet-National Bank National Composite Home Price Index shows the decline of home sales is slowing down. Calgary and Edmonton continued to totally buck the downward decline, with prices rising 2 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively.

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Oakridge wins big

A heart of green: A massive redevelopment in Vancouver is turning heads internationally. The Oakridge Centre Redevelopment project was recently named a Grands Prix Winner for Architecture in the 2022 Grands Prix du Design Awards. The 5 million square-foot project, designed by Henriquez Partners Architects, also snagged Gold Certification in the Architecture + Landscape, and the Commercial Building / Mixed-Use Building categories. At the heart of the design is a nine-acre public park that reintroduces urban greenspace displaced by a pre-existing shopping mall. Once complete, Oakridge will include more than 3,000 new homes with almost 600 rental suites and over 400 affordable units, plus an array of civic amenities including a community centre, library and daycare. Owner Quadreal Property Group and developer Westbank began work in 2019 and the first portions of the development are set to be complete sometime in 2024.

PROJECT UPDATES

Vinci Construction Grands Projets and Ferrovial Construction have finalized plans to build a major chunk of Toronto’s Ontario Line.

Alberta premier says “overdue” improvements to Calgary’s Deerfoot Trail on the way

PCI Group's 40-storey mixed-use tower moves through Vancouver development process

CentrePort plans to break ground on a new Manitoba rail park this summer.  

WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT

READ: 🩺 This European hospital project just passed a major passive house test.

TWEET: 🌧️ B.C. remembers historic rebuilding effort one year after atmospheric rivers. 

Read: 🚫🥳 AirBNB's anti-party technology is now live.

WATCH: 🕳️ Canadian help is on the way for Chilean sinkhole repair efforts. 

READ: 🍺 Qatar kills the world’s buzz with last minute World Cup alcohol ban.

QUOTEABLES  

Architects offer wisdom

“The most beautiful house in the world is the one that you build for yourself.” - Witold Rybczynski, Canadian-American architect, teacher and author. 

“In the end, the character of a civilization is encased in its structures.” - Frank Gehry, designer of the Walt Disney Concert Hall the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

“A painter, a sculptor, a writer, they can express freely. They don't affect society as a whole. We build buildings that have a purpose, that stay there for hundreds of years or decades.” - Moshe Safdie, architect behind Habitat 67 in Quebec.

WE WANT TO SOCK IT TO 'YA

Hypothesis: does wearing SiteNews’ sleek and bold sock designs boost your chances of professional success tenfold, a hundred fold or even a thousand fold?

Well, we don’t quite know … yet. But if you refer five or more subscribers for the newsletter we will send you a pair. Share your unique link below to get started 👇🏻

🙏🏻 Thanks for reading! 

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe so you don't miss a beat.