Red Rock Indian Band’s clean energy program featured at virtual gathering

By Sam Laskaris

RED ROCK INDIAN BAND – Melissa McDonald is confident better days are ahead for her First Nation.

McDonald, the community energy champion for Red Rock Indian Band, was willing to discuss and share the clean energy plans for her First Nation, located in northwestern Ontario.

McDonald was one of the invited speakers for a Jan. 21 presentation at the Indigenous Clean Energy E-Gathering.

The presentation McDonald was involved with focused on Indigenous Clean Energy’s Bringing It Home Initiative.

This venture is aimed at increasing energy efficiency in Indigenous communities. There are currently six communities in Canada that are part of the project.

The E-Gathering presentation also featured Leona Humchitt from Heiltsuk Nation in B.C. and Leon Cardinal from Fishing Lake Métis Settlement in Alberta who discussed clean energy plans in their communities.

Corey Cote, Indigenous Clean Energy’s program coordinator, moderated the presentation.

McDonald said her First Nation is keen to upgrade many of its housing issues. Being involved with the Bringing It Home Initiative will help.

“The initiative will solve the issues that current home occupants are having from some sub-standard construction practices, such as air leaking through doors and windows, mould issues or insufficient heat,” she said.

Red Rock Indian Band, located about 120 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, has 323 permanent residents and 116 houses in its First Nation.

McDonald said community officials are eager to put an end to housing conditions that are not efficient.

“Red Rock’s goal is to create construction policies that go beyond minimum building code and create net-zero home plans for future construction,” she said. “This will help stop the cycle of sub-standard construction.”

McDonald said the First Nation will also be conducting energy and structural audits on all of its existing homes and do any necessary retrofits.

“Throughout the project, we will utilize local community members to do the retrofits and we will provide training for the retrofit crew, energy auditors and training for the home occupants for home maintenance plans,” McDonald said.

McDonald added keeping community members well informed is important. That is why posts of energy-related tips and updates on the First Nation’s energy program will be posted in a weekly newsletter.

McDonald also said through the Bringing It Home Initiative, her First Nation also managed to secure some funding via another program, Indigenous Home Innovation Initiative. Red Rock officials are planning to use that money for a special facility.

“Our project will be constructing a highly energy-efficient safehouse facility for Indigenous women and children that will be on the reserve,” McDonald said. “This project will help us utilize the construction policy that we’re going to create that’s going to go beyond minimum building code and we can use the net-zero standards for the building, utilize our local trained community members on the energy-efficient construction techniques that we’re going to be using to build our building.”

McDonald believes the time has come to change the direction of housing construction and maintenance practices as it is evident they are not working.

“If we change what’s not working, we’ll have longer-lasting homes which are energy-efficient,” she said.

McDonald said energy-efficient homes will not only save community members money on their power bills but their medical issues are likely to improve as well by having better quality air and no mould in homes.