Press Release
Hamilton, ON — First Nation Power Authority (FNPA) and McMaster University co-hosted a workshop on May 6th and 7th to bring together researchers and a delegation of First Nations from across western and central Canada that included elders and youth. The two-day event invited collaboration between these groups on the energy needs of northern, remote and Indigenous communities. The event additionally explored the opportunities and challenges related to the deployment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in remote areas.
Global policies aim to decarbonize the electricity sector by 2050, a shift that will require significant and widespread investments into next-generation clean generation technologies. This includes nuclear, hydro, hydrogen, solar, wind, and biomass projects. It is FNPA’s goal to see these opportunities extended to remote Indigenous communities. We were pleased to partner with McMaster University to extend this initiative to Indigenous communities with the Community Energy Transition Workshop.
The goal of this workshop, hosted on the McMaster campus, was to enable meaningful discussion and collaboration between research institutes and remote Indigenous communities on these topics, leading to partnerships, advancing tools, and new programs that will enable communities to continually evaluate emerging technologies.
Those who participated were welcomed to McMaster University for a two-day agenda of tours, education, question periods, and breakout discussions. FNPA was pleased to set the foundation of knowledge with three experienced speakers: Guy Lonechild, Noel Voykin and Bobbie Balicki.
We were pleased to invite Indigenous perspectives into the energy transition discussion. It is our hope that this will lead to a future of meaningful connections rooted in Indigenous needs, involvement, and leadership.
Thank you to our McMaster hosts, Dave Tucker, Chief Nuclear Officer and Associate Vice President and Dave Novog, Professor of Engineering Physics, for leading the tour of the McMaster Nuclear Reactor. We are also grateful to Professor Jim Cotton from the McMaster Harvest Lab. And, thank you to the participants of this event for your engagement, unique perspectives, and openness to a future of collaboration rooted in Reconciliation.
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