There’s a Path to Prosperity on BC’s Coast. It’s Called ICET

The province has a proven model for economic renewal and reconciliation. Will the BC NDP boost it?

Originally published in The Tyee on August 12, 2025.

Last month an Indigenous-led report unveiled a consensus among 33 First Nations about how best to proceed with the economic development of B.C.’s coastal region.

The report envisioned a big future for a body called the Island Coastal Economic Trust or ICET, which has existed for nearly two decades.

It’s time, said the report, to build on the positive accomplishments of ICET by transforming who guides it and how it is resourced. The province and municipalities should include First Nations in co-governing the trust and make deeper, longer investments in ICET, urged the authors.

“In 2025, British Columbia needs strong regional partners more than ever to build a resilient, inclusive economy,” said a press release dated July 30.

I found myself nodding as I read this, my mind going back to a spring day in 2023 when I was an MLA. During Question Period in the legislature, I stood to ask the NDP minister responsible for economic development to justify their decision not to turn ICET into a permanent fund with a $150 million investment.

Created by provincial legislation in 2006 with an initial $50 million, ICET’s mission is “to strategically invest in inclusive economic development, diversification, and innovation in partnership with communities across Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, and islands and inlets from the Salish Sea to Cape Caution.”

Since then, ICET has contributed $67 million to hundreds of projects, leveraging more than $370 million in new investment. Its eight impact focus areas include food security and agrifood, entrepreneurs and local businesses, cultural and nature-based tourism, transportation and logistics, innovation and technology, training and advanced education, renewable and low carbon energy, and regenerative forestry.

ICET’s funding supports projects led by local governments, First Nations, and not-for-profit organizations, that are often at a scale too small to interest larger provincial or federal programs but critical to community well-being.

Glitches in the mission

When I became MLA for Saanich North and the Islands, I quickly learned that projects on the rural Southern Gulf Islands were ineligible for ICET funds because they were part of the Capital Regional District. One look at ICET’s track record convinced me of its value, and since then I have been a vocal supporter of their plan to make it permanent and fully co-governed by local governments and First Nations.

The BC NDP talks a big game on reconciliation and local empowerment. Yet when it comes to investing in community-led solutions, they default to centralizing control and performative partnerships. They have held most Vancouver Island ridings for two decades but have failed to establish a sustainable, community-led economic vision for the Island and coastal communities.

Even when Premier David Eby was clearing out a $7-billion surplus that John Horgan left him before Budget 2023, ICET was overlooked.

Three independent reviews of ICET (2011, 2016, and 2022) praised its impact, urged recapitalization, and highlighted the opportunity to include the 53 First Nations governments in the region.

That sounds a lot like what is urged in the report released last month. So let’s dive a bit deeper into its creation and contents.

In 2024, ICET partnered with Indigenous-owned Sanala Planning to lead engagement with all 53 First Nations in the region. The independent Indigenous-led process, “Transforming the Governance of Island Coastal Economic Trust: A Path to Partnership,” engaged 33 communities.

The resulting First Nations Strategic Recommendations Report found unanimous support for appointing First Nations representatives to ICET’s Regional Advisory Committees and for establishing a permanent fund.

Among nine recommendations to the province: amend or replace legislation to remove funding caps, guarantee at least 50 per cent First Nations representation on the Board, and define co-governance and shared decision-making.

“This is an opportunity for the Trust and the provincial government to support Indigenous leadership, values, and priorities in shaping the future of economic development on Vancouver Island and the coast in an innovative and meaningful way,” said Ashley Wright, the Trust’s Indigenous adviser on the governance initiative.

“Working together this way we can build a pathway forward that reflects shared responsibilities and a collaborative approach that benefits all communities,” Wright added.

“What’s being shared is a call to honour the relationships, responsibilities, and hopes that have been built through years of trust, vision, and care,” said Michelle Staples, chair of the Island Coastal Economic Trust and mayor of the City of Duncan.

“We are committed to walking with First Nations and the Province to bring this co-governance vision to life, not as a symbolic gesture but rather as a path towards transformation in how decisions are made and futures are shaped throughout Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities.”

That’s a more exciting and transformative approach to reconciliation than shown by provincial governments so far.

Tip-toeing towards a big opportunity

Instead of a permanent solution, the province topped up ICET twice with $10 million. First in 2017 and again in 2024, this time with the goal of transforming it into “a sustainable and co-governed organization led by First Nations and local governments.”

With the 2024 top-up, the BC NDP opened the door a crack, but did they wait too long?

In an ever more challenging global economic climate, a sustainable, permanent fund that fuels investment and attracts additional partners has never been more critical. The key question, will the BC NDP transform the ICET or let it become a victim of a government seized by fear of Trump’s tariffs, and gripped by a scarcity mindset?

The model proposed in the new report for ICET aligns directly with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and its Action Plan. It offers a way to embed reconciliation into regional economic development through relationship, reciprocity, and shared governance.

When I pressed the Minister on ICET, they deflected pointing to the Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program or REDIP, knowing it is an apples and oranges comparison.

ICET is a resilient, ground-up, regionally governed decision-making model for coastal communities. REDIP is a top-down, competitive grant program run by government bureaucrats.

The BC NDP is racing to approve large-scale boom and bust resource extraction projects while pouring hundreds of millions of taxpayer subsidies into the fossil fuel industry. They continue to fail our local communities by not investing in regenerative, community-scale economies in rural and coastal B.C.

The groundwork for ICET’s transformation is complete.

First Nations and local governments are aligned. Sanala did good work.

Now to the BC NDP, will you empower this model of reconciliation and make the long-term investment coastal British Columbia needs?

Originally published in The Tyee on August 12, 2025.