SIX

CHARTING A PATH

“You can start with a vision, but you should be willing to change your vision over time. You need to learn from what you’re doing, listen to what people are saying. ”

LAURIE PAGE, BOARD MEMBER

As the Trust matured, so too did its capacity to act creatively and flexibly. Senior staff member Aimee Ambrosone said the Trust’s role had grown to “give a grant, to develop a partnership, to launch a program, to address a gap, to be an information resource, to be a facilitator of discussion, to own an asset, [and] to make sure that asset creates benefits back to the region.”6 In 2013, the Trust established a new branch called Special Initiatives, dedicated to research and development. Executive Director of Special Initiatives Kindy Gosal explained that the Trust’s work in the Basin had increased, and it was being called on to play different roles, sometimes in areas in which the Trust had no experience or expertise. Special Initiatives remains dedicated to understanding problems, finding solutions and determining how to best offer support.7

The Trust’s breadth of experience and resources allows it to adapt and meet challenges. One of these was poor internet connectivity, an issue residents began to battle in the early 2000s. As technology evolved, rural internet infrastructure was either outdated or non-existent. This placed the Basin at a disadvantage. Businesses could not compete in the global economy, freelance workers were forced to commute or move to larger centres and students struggled to access educational material. Local governments fell behind in how they managed and shared information. The high-speed connection required to connect to the digital world of social media, online marketplaces and the entertainment landscape was absent or inaccessible.

2010 Symposium

Nearly 300 delegates gathered at the 2010 symposium in Revelstoke. Participants explored the theme of “Shaping Our Future Together” and were challenged to consider future goals and obstacles facing the Basin through a scenario-based planning exercise. Delegates and residents were treated to a night of cultural entertainment at venues across Revelstoke. The event also celebrated the Trust’s 15th anniversary with birthday cake and candles.

“I’m very confident that the foundation we’ve laid together will continue to serve the Basin well. I hesitate to predict exactly what our many diverse communities will aspire to, but I am confident — I have no doubt at all — that the Trust will find clever and innovative ways to get there.”

GREG DECK, CHAIR, 2013–2015

The undeniable gap in internet services was not easily filled. Communities struggled to attract telecommunications providers because of the immense expense involved in laying new infrastructure, while efforts by community organizations to construct a broadband network fell short. The Trust helped fund some of those efforts: in 2001, it was involved in establishing the Columbia Mountain Open Network (CMON), a non-profit organization that aimed to create a Basin-wide open-access network. After successfully building network infrastructure in the Castlegar and Trail area, CMON’s work was stalled by financial difficulties. Basin residents’ need for connectivity persisted. The Trust answered the call in 2011 when it acquired CMON’s assets and announced plans to take up where CMON had left off.8

The Trust established a new subsidiary to manage the task: Columbia Basin Broadband Corporation (CBBC). Laurie Page described this as a good lesson for all the Trust’s programs. “You can start with a vision, but you should be willing to change your vision over time,” said Page. “You need to learn from what you’re doing, listen to what people are saying, look at what’s needed, evaluate the opportunities and then, you know, try something else or try something new or try something the same.”9

As it had done years earlier when acquiring hydropower assets, the Trust suddenly had to learn the ins and outs of an unfamiliar industry. CBBC would not only develop and operate a broadband network, it would own that network and be responsible for attracting and selling to internet service providers. In some instances, CBBC itself took on the work of internet service provider to deliver connections straight to customers.

CBBC and the Trust continue to fund broadband initiatives and to collaborate with regional committees and governments. Since 2013, CBBC has activated a network of over 900 kilometres. Its success demonstrates the Trust’s commitment to invest in people and communities.10

“Twenty-five years ago, no one could have painted a picture as to what the Trust would be like today . . . To paint a picture of what the Trust is going to look like 25 years from now? I think we’ll all be amazed.”

RICK JENSEN, CHAIR, 2016–2019

The Trust also encouraged residents’ involvement in the renegotiation of the Columbia River Treaty. In 2014, both British Columbia and the United States gave notice of their wish to renegotiate the Treaty. When British Columbia began to investigate options for an updated agreement, the Trust helped ensure that the Province consulted Basin residents and other stakeholders. It provided input to the government on the consultation process and helped draft a Memorandum of Understanding to guide that process.11

The Trust itself was not engaged in negotiations but helped educate and inform residents on issues surrounding the future of the Columbia River. It provided resources to Basin residents, governments and First Nations and advocated for these groups to be involved in the process. The Trust encouraged people to attend community meetings on the subject, and they co-hosted a regular Columbia Basin Transboundary Conference to facilitate exploration, discussion and collaborative action on issues facing the Basin and the river. When negotiations officially began in May 2018, the Trust worked to ensure residents had the information they needed to meaningfully participate in this process.

“This organization was an audacious idea, as audacious as I’ve ever bumped into both personally and professionally. And the individuals, the creators, the visionaries, the people that came together . . . they weren’t focused on a corporation. They were focused on an idea and an accomplishment.”

JOHNNY STRILAEFF, PRESIDENT AND CEO, 2016–PRESENT

At the centre of Our Trust, Our Future were 21 community workshops that invited participants to explore and collaborate on their visions for the Basin. People crowded into halls filled with displays and banners that provided information on the Trust’s activities, accomplishments and possibilities. They gathered at tables to listen and share ideas with their neighbours. They answered questions like “What’s most important?” and “What makes your community great?” They discussed what the Trust was doing well, and what it could do to improve. Blank pages and whiteboards overflowed with colourful notes at the close of each workshop, a visual symbol of the excitement residents felt for the future of the Basin and their belief in the Trust’s capacity to help them achieve their goals.

In addition to the workshops, the Trust set up information booths, created an interactive website, distributed workbooks and met with partners and collaborators. By the end of Our Trust, Our Future, the Trust had connected with over 3,000 residents and received more than 17,000 suggestions for the social, economic and environmental future of the Basin. Trust staff, advisory groups and Board members studied the intelligence they gathered to determine key ideas and translate them into strategic priorities.14

Our Trust, Our Future produced 13 strategic priorities to focus the Trust from 2016 to 2020. Several priorities were familiar: ongoing support for the environment, economic development and helping communities identify and address their own challenges. New strategic priorities included recreation and physical activity, early childhood and childhood development, and renewable and alternative energy.

The Trust implemented fresh measures to address these priorities. It updated existing strategic plans that guided its social, economic and environmental goals and created more specific plans. Each priority had customized plans with details on how the Trust would approach and evaluate the success of particular objectives. For example, the Housing Initiatives Strategic Framework outlined three objectives: to support local and regional efforts to address housing priorities; to support Indigenous housing; and to strengthen the Basin’s social and economic well-being by funding, constructing and investing in multiple housing options.15 The plan identified two primary roles for the Trust in meeting these objectives: a funding partner and a project development advocate. Through its First Nations Housing Sustainability Initiative, for example, the Trust assists First Nations communities in planning new projects. At the same time, it provides grants to help finance on-reserve builds; increase the capacity of communities to develop and manage housing assets; and support building repairs, energy retrofits and health-and-safety enhancements.16

The Trust further met strategic commitments by integrating aspects of its investments and delivery of benefits. The organization began to explore how it could deliver benefits — traditionally delivered through grants, partnerships and programs — through its investment portfolio. Investments could generate income to finance the Trust’s grants and programs, but they could also directly help the Basin. This was the principle behind the Impact Investment Fund, established in 2015. “Sometimes an opportunity doesn’t generate high financial returns, but it does generate other benefits,” explained CEO Neil Muth. “For example, it may create jobs, or support the well-being of people in the community, or help the environment. If so, we may now consider investing in it.”17 Through the Impact Investment Fund, the Trust and its delivery partners have supported a range of business endeavours that create local jobs and give back to the community. Aaron Davidson, founder of nutrition and fitness app Cronometer, was able to turn his part-time gig into a business with eight employees based in Revelstoke. “We’re offering a place for these people who have high potential,” said Davidson. “At least a couple of those people would have left Revelstoke if this work opportunity had not come about.”18

“Ever since I moved here in the mid-1990s, I’ve been struck by the commitment to community development and regional self-determination that characterizes so many Basin communities.”

JOCELYN CARVER, CHAIR, 2020–PRESENT

With 450 delegates, the 2017 symposium was the Trust’s biggest one yet, and it had a guest to match. In his keynote address, astronaut Chris Hadfield encouraged residents to dream big and set “audacious” goals. Hadfield’s words echoed through the Kimberley conference centre. “The things we accomplish in life,” he said, “are a reflection of the edges of our expectations.”27 This rang true for the Trust and the communities and people it served. What could be accomplished together was unlimited.

This sense of limitlessness would spill over into the coming years as the Trust, together with people and communities, continued to improve the Basin’s society, economy and environment in ways large and small. In January 2019, the Trust reached a long-anticipated milestone: after several years of sharing ownership of Waneta Expansion with Fortis, the Trust and Columbia Power bought out the private utility company to gain full ownership over the powerhouse. Buying back Fortis’s 51 per cent share had a hefty price tag of $991 million. It was made possible through a loan from the provincial government.

The purchase was a critical milestone for the Trust and Columbia Power, which now had equal ownership over all of their hydropower assets. “That’s one of the mandates that we successfully concluded,” said Board Chair Rick Jensen.28 The Trust and Columbia Power had achieved their goal of owning, developing and operating all four hydropower assets for the benefit of the Basin. The next generations will reap the rewards of the Waneta Expansion deal, along with the revenue from Arrow Lakes Generating Station, Brilliant Dam and Brilliant Expansion. The spirit of the Columbia Basin Trust Act was being fulfilled.

TRUSTED FOUNDATIONS

Through the Trust, the people of the Basin have created legacies of social, economic and environmental well-being and a foundation for future success. Together, they transformed the devastating impacts of the Columbia River Treaty into an opportunity for growth and improvement. Using the money endowed to them through the Treaty’s downstream benefits, the Trust has invested in the Basin in a thousand ways and grown into an organization that facilitates change, generates thought, empowers residents and forges solutions alongside its communities. Whether to improve literacy, ease homelessness, connect residents to the internet or transform a residential school from a place of hurt into a place of healing, the Trust partners with residents and gives them the tools, resources, funds and support necessary to achieve their goals. The Trust co-operates with environmental groups seeking to conserve land and wildlife; organizations building affordable and accessible housing for families, seniors and First Nations; and those advancing arts and culture in the Basin. The Trust works and shares information with local and regional governments. Programs and networking opportunities for youth engage the Basin’s young people, who will inherit the Trust and its legacy. As of 2020, the Trust has over 70 active programs and initiatives, each making a special and unique contribution.

Reflecting on astronaut Chris Hadfield’s words at the 2017 symposium about audacious ideas, CEO Johnny Strilaeff described the Trust as “an audacious idea, as audacious of an idea that I’ve ever been part of on either a personal or professional level. The individuals, the creators, the visionaries, the entire region that came together . . . they weren’t focused on a corporation. They were focused on an idea and an accomplishment.”29

What had begun as the dream of a handful of individuals seeking to overcome the damage caused by the Columbia River Treaty dams has exceeded the expectations of thousands of Basin residents: those who gathered at Castlegar’s ballpark in 1992 to discuss the Treaty and its impacts; the members of the Columbia River Treaty Committee; the Trust’s first Board of Directors who stood on the steps of the provincial legislature the day the Columbia Basin Trust Act was passed; those who shared their thoughts, both positive and critical, at community meetings and symposia; and everyone who contributed, partnered or worked with the Trust along the way.  “I’m very confident that the foundation we’ve laid together will continue to serve the Basin well,” said Board member Greg Deck. “I hesitate to predict exactly what our many diverse communities will aspire to, but I am confident — I have no doubt at all — that the Trust will find clever and innovative ways to get there.”30

As it looks toward the future, Columbia Basin Trust is steadfast in its commitment to inspire and empower the people of the Basin to thrive and dream about the unlimited possibilities they can accomplish together.