b'CLEAN ENERGY PARTNERSHIPSSupport an individual in the commu- still opportunities in Ontario and acrossimpacts and engage their membership,nity to focus on energy projectsthe country for potential partnerships inand it must be built into the process. and partnerships.transmission, energy storage, and inno- Meaningful partnerships require trust and vative technologies. If I were designingrelationship building, and we all know community engagementthose programs today, I would makethat those things take time to develop. Supportthree recommendations to foster effec-processes and readiness for futuretive Indigenous partnerships: In my own communitywhich is very or potential renewable projects.well established and has seen consid-1. Build time into the process erable economic growththe decision Unfortunately, with a change in provin- It is not enough to incent proponentsto use revenues from money held in cial government, a number of thoseto partner with communities or vicetrust to invest in renewables was made Large Renewable Procurement proj- versa. You need time to build relation- through many community engagement ects were cancelled. However, there areships and for communities to discuss thesessions. They were held in person, both off- and on-reserve and online. A deci-sion to move forward was only made once votes were ratified by members. The decision to choose a partner was also made through many in-person commu-nity engagement sessions. This was a significant investment of time and money Responsiblefor community staff and elected offi-Energy for cials, whose portfolios not only include energy or economic development but Tomorrow most often mental health, education, housing, and elder care as well.Working with communitiesAsIsaid,theLargeRenewable across Canada, were creatingProcurement process in Ontario had responsible and reliablerequirements with respect to engage-electricity solutions to powerment with neighbouring communities. a sustainable future forOnce approved through the request-for-generations to come. quotes stage, a list of qualified propo-To be net carbon neutral by 2050nents was made public so communities were developing a portfoliocan have some certainty that the propo-of renewable assets, pursuingnents are viable partners. However, the feedback received from communities innovation in thermal generation,during my time at Independent Electricity and commercializing carbonSystem Operator found that although conversion technology. the request-for-proposal process was six Get to know us.to eight months long, many communi-ties reported that they were bombarded with requests to partner in the four-week TSX: CPXperiod before the deadline. capitalpower.com2. Build capacity and readyIndigenous communitiesfor partnershipI heard from many communities that they were not equipped to respond to requests to partner in the timelines the proponents required. While we can continue to assert that proponents must take time to build meaningful rela-tionships, this is extremely difficult to enforce. So how do we better prepare communities for what is coming? We need to ensure early engagement on energy and infrastructure planning and potential projects so that communities are as informed as the potential propo-nentsor, even better, that they become the proponent. 34A CCAB PUBLICATION2022'