Fisherman’s Bar and Grill serves up traditional Haíɫzaqv foods like canned salmon and rice, alongside Canadian pub favourites. (Photo: Shearwater Facebook page)
With the purchase finalized, the Heiltsuk Tribal Council is adapting Shearwater’s business model, incorporating Haíɫzaqv traditions, stewardship values, and hospitality.
Jaimie Teagle, a Haíɫzaqv member, was recently hired as the Chief Operations Officer at Shearwater and is building on the work begun by Clifton, a council member who served as COO for the first year following the acquisition.
Drawing on her experience in business management and the support of her community, Teagle is working to create a new kind of tourism experience at Shearwater – one that highlights the strength of the Haíɫzaqv people and their intricate relationships with the lands, waters, and wildlife in their territory.
Through the summer and fall of 2022, Teagle and her team are working to launch new eco-cultural tourism packages, replacing the sport fishing offerings Shearwater was once known for, and attracting visitors who want a more authentic experience of the coast. In the short term, changing the way the resort conducts fishing is needed, as the community works to build a tourism model that can sustain the Haíɫzaqv way of life, and the ecosystems the community relies on.
We want to have visitors come to see us, be curious, have open minds, and talk to us about who we are as Haíɫzaqv.
“We’re sharing our story and welcoming visitors to our beautiful home on the central coast,” says Teagle. “And while they’re here, we’re making sure that every guest enjoys a good Haíɫzaqv hospitality experience.”
Through their eco-cultural tour packages, Shearwater guides will bring guests out on the water to view wildlife in a respectful way, and onto the land to learn about Haíɫzaqv history, hear from local storytellers, and see petroglyphs and pictographs in culturally-safe areas.
Through newly launched eco-cultural tours, Shearwater guides are bringing resort guests out on the land and water to view whales and bears, see ancient petroglyphs and pictographs, and learn about Haíɫzaqv people and stewardship traditions. (Photo: Shearwater Facebook page)
“[Clients are] interested in seeing whales, sea lions, killer whales, grizzly bears, and learning about the local areas,” says Brown. “There’s a lot of interest already [and we’re] making sure we find the people interested in that and making sure they come to us.”
Teagle and her team are working with BC Ferries, Indigenous Tourism BC, and other tourism agencies to attract visitors from British Columbia and Washington state, as well as travellers from further afield in North America and Europe.
“We want to have visitors come to see us, be curious, have open minds, and talk to us about who we are as Haíɫzaqv,” says Humchitt. “This place offers a connection that’s rooted in Haíɫzaqv [people and culture], and in the lands, waters, and animals in this territory.”
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Indigenous tourism was the fastest-growing sector of the tourism industry, generating $705 million a year and employing more than 7,400 people, according to Indigenous Tourism BC.
With travellers eager to explore after two years of lockdowns and travel restrictions, Teagle has assembled a team to support the operation of the resort, marina, and all of the other businesses acquired through the Shearwater purchase, including an RV park and campground, fuel stations for boats and seaplanes, a shipyard and machine shop, a pub and restaurant, charter boats and water taxis, as well as a grocery store, liquor store, post office, laundromat, and hardware store. Importantly, the shops and lodgings at Shearwater are powered with renewable energy: 97 per cent of Denny Island’s electricity comes from the Ocean Falls hydropower facility.
“As we were putting the deal together, we were thinking about the number of jobs we could acquire and the training we could do to get people into positions [at Shearwater],” says Brown. Acquiring Shearwater and expanding its eco-cultural tourism programming created several job opportunities in hospitality, tourism, marine service, and in operations.
“I’m so happy with the team we have,” says Teagle. “We’re learning from long time Shearwater staff members that have seen the highs and lows that come with a tourism business, while creating opportunities for our community members to take that leap of faith and move into new roles.”
With so many Haíɫzaqv members and others coming to work on Denny Island, the Heiltsuk Tribal Council needed to increase housing options for staff. With financing through the Coast Funds economic development fund, the Tribal Council is looking into purchasing a floating accommodation barge which, once renovated, will provide safe, clean housing for staff members.
Shearwater now offers eco-cultural tours, giving guests an opportunity to learn from Haíɫzaqv guides. (Photo: Shearwater Facebook page)
To support community members in taking on these new roles, the Tribal Council is partnering with Vancouver Community College, Quadrant Marine Institute, and the Mid Coast First Nations Training Society to offer on-site training and a $2,000 stipend for Haíɫzaqv members who want to earn trades certifications and apply their skills to a career at Shearwater.
It’s much more than buying a company…it’s employment, it’s economy, it’s tourism through a Haíɫzaqv lens.
“Even if they don’t work at Shearwater, those skills can be used anywhere in the community,” says Teagle. Marine training will help community members who want to support the Nation’s Guardians, start their own businesses, or even to maintain their family’s boats.
Through their partnership with Vancouver Community College, the Haíɫzaqv are co-creating a Haíɫzaqv Culinary Arts course to share knowledge on gathering, harvesting, and traditional food preparation. It’s one example of how the programs are “community-led and community-based,” says Humchitt. Another benefit? By offering training at Shearwater, “members don’t have to leave [the territory] and can be home at night.”
Through these opportunities and partnerships, Humchitt says the Heiltsuk Tribal Council is helping to close the socio-economic gap in a safe way that welcomes community members, honours Haíɫzaqv traditions, and builds capacity for the community to succeed as a whole.
“Our community is super excited about this acquisition,” said Chief Councillor Slett at the celebration for the acquisition. “It’s much more than buying a company…it’s employment, it’s economy, it’s tourism through a Haíɫzaqv lens and helping to share our story.”
NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.
“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”
Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.
Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.
Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.
In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.
The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.
And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.
The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
