Splatsin First Nation said broken promises to include Indigenous workers in the project to rebuild the bridge in Sicamous are why the bridge has been blockaded Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The $260-million project to replace the R.W. Bruhn Bridge on the Trans-Canada Highway included a deal for Indigenous participation in the project, but Splatsin said Indigenous workers and companies have been exploited, according to a press release from the nation issued, May 12. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are deeply disappointed and angered by how our people and our development corporation have been treated. What we\u2019re seeing isn\u2019t just a few broken promises\u2014it\u2019s a deliberate pattern of gaming the system,\u201d Splatsin\u2019s Kukpi7, chief, Mike Christian said in the release<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dump trucks are blocking the crossing in a call for action. Detours are available on the normal construction detour route via Highway 97A and Highway 97B and local access to Sicamous is still open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The CEO of Splatsin Development Corporation, Grahame Go, said the contractors for the bridge project, Aecon Group Inc. and Emil Anderson Group, are taking advantage of a system meant to work towards reconciliation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe were promised opportunity,\u201d Go said in the release. \u201cInstead, we\u2019ve been met with exclusion and deception. They used our name to win the bid. Now they\u2019ve tossed us aside. It\u2019s insulting, unethical, and completely contrary to the spirit of reconciliation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grahame said the blockade will be lifted if all parties can agree to honour the agreement for Indigenous participation in the bridge construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur demand is simple,\u201d Go said. \u201cClear, documented accountability that respects the role of Splatsin Development Corporation\u2013Yucwmenl\u00facwu and ensures full and fair participation in this project\u2014now and moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Splatsin Development Corporation was supposed to get years of work, but several Secw\u00e9pemc bands including Adams Lake, Neskonlith, Skwlax te Secw\u00e9pemc\u00falecw and Splatsin have said that Aecon and Emil Anderson have not followed through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis was presented as a two-year opportunity. Instead, they\u2019ve given us just three months of meaningful work,\u201d Go said. \u201cWe entered this agreement in good faith. What we\u2019ve experienced instead is corporate opportunism\u2014exploiting our partnership for their benefit and then sidelining us to cut costs. This isn\u2019t reconciliation; it\u2019s exploitation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Neskonlith Kukpi7, chief Irvin Wai said the blockade isn\u2019t about preferential treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are not asking for special treatment\u2014only for fair and transparent access to opportunities that impact our land and our people. We hope that by continuing to bring attention to these issues, we will begin to see positive and inclusive outcomes for all First Nations communities,\u201d he said in a press release in support of the Splatsin blockade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bands said the Aecon and Emil Anderson have been excluding qualified Indigenous workers, reserving undesirable jobs for Indigenous crews, allowing employees to self-identify as Indigenous without verification, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Subcontractors were supposed to buy fuel from the Splatsin gas station Quilakwa Fuel, but unionized Teamsters weren\u2019t informed about the agreement. There have been last minute, even late night shift cancellations with little or no explanation. The Splatsin Development Corporation\u2019s trucks were removed from the project even though there was a deal to split the trucking work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The contractors also removed an emergency medical services truck that was operated by the Splatsin Development Corporation even though there was a signed agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeromy Schuetze is the senior project manager of Yucwmenl\u00facwu\u2019s Civil Construction Division and he said the exclusion of workers isn\u2019t an accident or the result of typical issues with large scale construction projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese aren\u2019t simple scheduling issues\u2014they\u2019re systemic barriers being used to push us out, all while the partnership claims to be honouring reconciliation. It\u2019s a clear example of profit being placed ahead of people,\u201d Schuetze said in the release. \u201cEven with all this, our crews have remained patient and committed. But the constant last-minute changes and lack of transparency are taking a toll. They erode trust and create uncertainty around job security. It\u2019s not just frustrating\u2014it\u2019s unjust.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bridge project is on an archeological zone where thousands of artifacts have been recovered since 2022, and Sicamous itself is a traditional territory for the Splatsinac.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Splatsin is the southern most Secw\u00e9pemc band and a member of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council. Profits from the development corporation are reinvested in the Splatsin community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
iNFOnews.ca reached out to the RCMP, Ministry of Transportation, Aecon Group Inc. and Emil Anderson Group for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n