The chief of a Treaty 3 First Nation in northwestern Ontario says she’s shocked to learn that the expensive power they import from the U.S. is actually generated in Manitoba.
Making it worse, Linda McVicar says, is the price Animakee Wa Zhing 37 pays for electricity is double the average rate for Manitoba residents.
Earlier this winter, a CBC News story revealed Windigo Island — a remote community that’s part of Animakee Wa Zhing 37, located on Lake of the Woods and accessible only by boat or ice road — wants to be connected to the Canadian grid, because of lofty power costs made more expensive by a weak Canadian-U.S. exchange rate.
Since then, CBC News has confirmed the Manitoba connection to the power Windigo Island imports from Minnesota.
“That was news to me. I was shocked, and we have a former chief that’s on the [First Nation band] council, and she didn’t have any awareness of that either,” said McVicar.
In part due to its geography and proximity to Minnesota, Windigo Island imports their electricity from Roseau Electric, a U.S. electricity distribution company, at a flat rate of $0.138 US per kilowatt hour, which is equivalent to $0.186 Cdn, based on the average currency exchange rate in November.
But a spokesperson with Minnkota Power, the parent company for Roseau Electric, confirmed in an email that the electricity they provide to Windigo Island is bought directly from Manitoba Hydro.
It means the First Nation pays roughly double the price as compared to Manitoba residents, who pay an average of $0.093 Cdn per kilowatt hour, Manitoba Hydro confirmed in an email.
The neighbouring First Nation community of Angle Inlet, is in the same boat as Windigo Island, but otherwise it’s a unique situation among Indigenous communities in Canada, several experts told CBC News.
McVicar said the fact they have to pay inflated rates for Canadian electricity just adds to the injustice of the First Nation’s power problems.
The waters surrounding Windigo Island generate cheap power for both Ontario and Manitoba, but the Windigo Island community doesn’t get direct access to the electricity.
The Ontario government hands out a lot of money to help residents and businesses with electricity costs — about $6.9 billion this year alone, estimates the Financial Accountability Office. But Windigo Island residents don’t see any of that cash. The on-bill subsidies are only for people connected to local electricity distribution systems, a spokesperson with the Ontario Ministry of Energy confirmed.
This situation now is really an existential threat to our being able to grow.– Linda McVicar, chief of Animakee Wa Zhing 37
Manitoba has also taken steps to reduce the cost of electricity to residents, building a transmission line through the traditional lands of Animakee Wa Zhing 37 and other First Nations to export more power to Minnesota — a project that has been in service since June 2020.
But Windigo Island still likely won’t get any help for its bills, after the province issued a directive to Manitoba Hydro that prevents the corporation from entering into agreements with Indigenous communities.
Since the First Nation pays the electricity costs for most of its residents and the community buildings, including the school and a new water treatment plant, McVicar said they’re reaching a breaking point.
“This situation now is really an existential threat to our being able to grow and keep providing houses and infrastructure because of the cost,” she told CBC News.
Manitoba Hydro, U.S. source won’t disclose power cost
It’s not clear who is benefiting from the inflated electricity costs that Animakee Wa Zhing is paying.
Manitoba Hydro wouldn’t say what they are charging Roseau Electric to purchase their power, citing confidentiality provisions in their agreement.
Roseau Electric similarly wouldn’t say what price they are paying to buy the power. But Ben Fladhammer, a spokesperson with Minnkota Power, added both companies are non-profit co-operatives that “provide near-cost electric service with very small margins to satisfy borrowing requirements.”
WATCH | Windigo Island struggles under weight of U.S. electricity prices:
The remote First Nation of Animakee Wa Zhing 37 in Northwestern Ontario is forced to pay a high cost to get its power s from Minnesota because of its location. The community is trying to get access to cheaper and more reliable power by connecting to the Canadian grid.
The spokesperson added Windigo Island is charged the same electricity rate as all other accounts in the Northwest Angle area in Ontario and Minnesota.
“If there are opportunities for Canada to provide assistance programs or other enhanced services, that is certainly something we would welcome,” Fladhammer added in the emailed statement.
Chief meets with Indigenous Services Canada
The First Nation may be getting closer to accessing some enhanced assistance, McVicar said.
Earlier in December, she had a meeting with several regional representatives with Indigenous Services Canada to discuss short- and long-term solutions to the high electricity costs.
“There was an acknowledgment that ultimately, we should be connected directly to Canadian power, so that would be the long-term solution,” McVicar said, adding there is not yet a clear plan of what that would look like, or what role renewables or diesel could play in their energy future.
In the short term, McVicar said, a number of actions are being taken, including:
- Doing energy audits for the homes on Windigo Island to improve energy efficiency.
- Federal representatives are looking into adjusting financial support for community buildings, like the school and water treatment plant, to reflect real costs.
- Advocacy for Windigo Island residents to be eligible for Ontario energy subsidies.
There have also been previous discussions with Hydro One, the largest electricity transmission and distribution provider in Ontario, to connect the community to the provincial grid, but “the conversation kind of just ended,” McVicar told CBC News.
She said Hydro One quoted a cost of between $5 million and $10 million for connecting the island to the Ontario grid by submerging transmission lines.
The Ontario government should act immediately to help connect the First Nation to the provincial grid and create a plan to bring down costs, said Sol Mamakwa, the NDP MPP and critic for Indigenous and treaty relations.
“We cannot just leave them to continue to import electricity at very high prices, and we cannot continue to have them shut out from accessing the subsidies that are available to all Ontarians. That’s not acceptable,” Mamakwa said in an interview with CBC News.
“In Ontario, even in Canada, we’re treating [the First Nation residents] as if they do not exist.”
Michael Dodsworth, a spokesperson with Ontario’s Ministry of Energy, said they have provided $350,000 in financial support to both Animakee Wa Zhing 37 and Northwest Angle 33 to help them plan and implement energy projects in the two First Nations.
He added Ontario will be at a meeting convened by Indigenous Services Canada in the new year to discuss electricity affordability on Windigo Island.
McVicar said she’s looking forward to reaching solutions, and there was a positive tone set in that first meeting.
“This is what reconciliation is, you know, we just need [governments] to have our back and correct a past wrong and make it right.”