Harvey Alphonse Chief, Cowichan Tribes

In 1998, Cowichan Tribes, a First Nation community on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, was facing an uncertain future. Construction, maintenance, and overcrowding issues plagued the housing in this community of less than 4,000, resulting in mold contamination that made many residents sick.

Six years later, Cowichan’s outlook is significantly better, thanks to a unique partnership with Jacques Whitford.  With more than 100 houses having undergone remediation, or demolition and rebuilding to date, the housing stock is being greatly restored and factors associated with health risks reduced.  But something else has happened.  Cowichan residents have gained skills and knowledge that are creating new economic opportunities for the community.

“We have a contracting company that is participating in and benefiting from this experience,” explains resident Stephanie Charlie.  “They now have the training and ability to go anywhere and bid on any residential renovation-type job, which will lead to more growth, and more employment for Cowichan.”
Certainly, the experience has been beneficial for people like Charlie and her sister when it comes to career opportunities.    Both are now employed by Jacques Whitford – Charlie as a project manager, and her sister as a receptionist.

“I was employed with Cowichan’s Sustainable Housing Department, so I knew the issues and the concerns of residents.  I thought that I could help if I were working on their behalf for Jacques Whitford, so when the position was posted, I applied.” 
While Charlie’s background did help, she says it was the work done by Jacques Whitford that won the trust of the community.   “People are seeing the results.  They either feel different because they have been through the program, or they are talking to people who are living in new or healthier homes.  So the positive view has a lot to do with the great work the company has done.”

Jacques Whitford’s work began with an initial assessment of approximately 400 homes, followed by a more in-depth investigation of approximately 125 homes to determine the extent of contamination.  A pilot project followed, where 32 homes underwent remediation and 16 were demolished and rebuilt, allowing Jacques Whitford to develop a budget to fully address the contamination through a multi-year, multi-phase process. 

It was during the planning stages for the project’s first phase that Cowichan came to the table as an equal partner – a mutual decision between the community, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) – which provided project funding – and Jacques Whitford.  Jacques Whitford would oversee remediation, and the community would be responsible for demolition and rebuilding, and delivering the home maintenance workshops for community members.

“INAC saw this as a learning opportunity because other communities were encountering similar problems.  And Jacques Whitford was determined that Cowichan Tribes would eventually take management of this project.  So they provided training that has given Cowichan the ability to better manage situations like this.”

Charlie hopes that Cowichan will continue to pass that training on, not just to future generations, but also to other First Nation communities.  “We are already receiving calls from other communities, so when this project is done, Cowichan should have the experience to advise other communities on what to do to address and prevent issues like this from happening.” 

Phase II of the project is currently underway, with 120 additional Cowichan houses slated for remediation, and another 50 to be demolished and 30 to be rebuilt.

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