Balancing Innovation, Infrastructure, and Harm Reduction in Canada’s Sustainable Energy Sector
New Technologies: Opportunities and Realities
Canada's clean energy transition is being shaped by advances in technologies such as wind, solar, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and hydrogen production. These innovations promise decarbonization and new jobs, and many Indigenous communities are actively investing in and leading such projects.
Projects like the Oneida Energy Storage Project in Ontario demonstrate this leadership. The Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation is a 50% equity partner in Oneida, and its leadership has emphasized that the project is designed not just for energy resilience, but for long-term community benefit (NRStor Inc., 2023). More details on the Ontario government’s role and project scope can be found in the IESO backgrounder.
In New Brunswick, Neqotkuk First Nation is partnering with Universal Kraft to develop a new solar farm in Saint John. The agreement, signed in 2025, will see Neqotkuk own and operate the solar infrastructure, selling power to the city over a 25-year term. This project highlights Indigenous leadership at the municipal level and signals the growth of nation-to-city energy partnerships (CBC News, 2025).
Still, technologies do not exist in a vacuum. Access to skilled labour, supply chains, and digital infrastructure remains uneven, particularly in northern and remote Indigenous communities. Policy incentives that support Indigenous innovation, ownership, and training are still being implemented inconsistently across jurisdictions (Clean Energy Canada, 2023).
Building Critical Infrastructure: Equity and Consent
Canada requires major infrastructure upgrades to achieve net-zero targets, including transmission lines, pipelines, and storage hubs. While these projects enable energy distribution and storage, their design and implementation can create friction with Indigenous rights and land stewardship.
Many infrastructure projects have proceeded with limited or contested consultation. High-profile cases like the Coastal GasLink pipeline in British Columbia have highlighted conflicts between hereditary leadership and provincial permitting processes (CBC News, 2020).
Equity participation is improving. The Indigenous Resource Network has argued that Indigenous communities should be treated not as stakeholders, but as owners, managers, and regulators (IRN, 2022).
Ontario, Alberta, and B.C. are among the provinces developing Indigenous equity financing programs. But many nations remain outside formal decision-making processes, especially in cross-jurisdictional or federally regulated projects.
Free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) as outlined in UNDRIP is the benchmark. Implementation remains uneven.
Reducing Harms: Environmental, Social, and Long-Term
Even clean technologies carry environmental impacts. Solar and wind farms require land; batteries require mining; and hydrogen infrastructure can stress water systems. Indigenous communities often live closest to the lands and waters affected by energy extraction and infrastructure.
There is also a risk of burden-shifting: remote communities may be pressured to adopt renewables prematurely, without adequate reliability or storage solutions. Diesel reliance remains a practical necessity in some northern regions, even as policy goals aim to eliminate it.
Harm reduction in this context includes:
Land and water protection through rigorous Indigenous-led environmental reviews
Culturally aligned impact assessment methodologies (e.g., the Mi'kmaw concept of "Netukulimk")
Guarantees of long-term maintenance, decommissioning, and reclamation planning
As the Assembly of First Nations has stated, "Transition must not reproduce the inequalities of the past. It must create new systems that respect Indigenous jurisdiction and intergenerational responsibility." (AFN, 2022).
Conclusion
Canada’s energy transition presents an opportunity to build systems that reflect technological advancement, infrastructure renewal, and Indigenous self-determination.
Success depends on balancing the benefits of new energy technologies with respectful and equitable infrastructure planning, and a firm commitment to reducing environmental, cultural, and economic harms.
Getting this balance right will not only help meet climate goals. It will build lasting trust and stronger partnerships in the generations ahead.
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