At the Canadian Chamber of Commerce Annual General Meeting, held at the end of October, two resolutions related to Indigenous reconciliation were resoundingly passed.
The two resolutions were titled: Creating a Comprehensive Action Plan on Building a Sustainable Business Relationship with Indigenous Peoples and Establishment of the First Nations Infrastructure Institute (FNII).
The first of these resolutions was spearheaded by the South Peace Chambers of Commerce—Dawson Creek, Chetwynd and Tumbler Ridge—and were mostly written by Tumbler Chamber Executive Director Jerrilyn Kirk, in collaboration with Naomi Larson from the Chetwynd Chamber and Kathleen Connolly from Dawson Creek.
“The Dawson Creek, Chetwynd and Tumbler Ridge Chambers began working on this extremely important resolution two years ago,” says Kirk. “We recognize the importance and timeliness of the policy resolution, whose words come from our hearts while work towards understanding and reconciliation continues.”
The policy resolution, Creating a Comprehensive Action Plan to Build a Sustainable Business Relationship with Indigenous Peoples will seek to:
- Engage with Indigenous Peoples and the business community to ensure policies will be effective, efficient and create positive outcomes for Indigenous Peoples and communities;
- Support business through educational and mentorship programs to support policies as they are implemented now and into the future;
- Continue to grow sustainable economic projects with Indigenous partners that ensure positive economic outcomes within the Nations, as deemed positive by the Nations, and is supported by non-Indigenous business communities; and,
- With all relevant stakeholders, build a comprehensive action plan to build a sustainable business relationship with Indigenous Peoples to align with foundational documents and legislation, being UNDRIP and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA).
For the business community to adopt DRIPA into their business models, there must be an understanding of the importance and value of achieving reconciliation and collaborating with Indigenous Peoples. There must also be an understanding of the generational trauma that has been and continues to be experienced and the importance of community relationships in moving forward together.
The resolution calls on organizations and business associations across provinces to recommend similar resolutions and pass similar policy calling for action.
“On behalf of the South Peace Chambers who tirelessly advocated for this policy, we are incredibly proud to have the Canadian Chamber of Commerce endorse a made-in-BC policy that moves our collective reconciliation efforts forward with indigenous peoples across the country,” say Naomi Larsen, Executive Director of the Chetwynd Chamber of Commerce. “At its very core, this policy is about building bigger tables, not bigger walls.”
The resolution was also passed by the BC Chamber earlier this year. The provincial government passed DRIPA legislation in November 2019 to implement UNDRIP.
DRIPA creates a framework for reconciliation in B.C., in keeping with the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and aims to create a path forward that respects the rights of Indigenous Peoples while introducing better transparency and predictability in the work we do together.
In June of this year, the UNDRIP Act received Royal Ascent, meaning the country is moving towards implementing the Declaration.
“The BC Chamber of Commerce and our provincial network are thrilled that the resolutions related to prioritizing economic Indigenous reconciliation across Canada were adopted by the national chamber network,” said Fiona Famulak, BC Chamber of Commerce President and CEO. “British Columbia and other provinces have enacted legislation that includes UNDRIP. To enable businesses to implement UNDRIP in their business models, it is essential that the Government of Canada actively engage with the business community to ensure a cohesive environment exists across the country for businesses and Indigenous Peoples to build sustainable relationships.”
The second proposal would see a First Nations Infrastructure Institute established. That motion was brought forward by the Kamloops Chamber.
“High-quality public infrastructure is critical for the health and sustainability of all communities. First proposed over four years ago, this was a team effort, driven by Chief Commissioner C.T. (Manny) Jules, who brought immense insight to this project,” said Acacia Pangilinan, Executive Director of the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce. “Having the Canadian Chamber of Commerce endorse the First Nations Infrastructure Institute will help drive the concept forward and gets us another step closer to launch. Ultimately, we believe the success of the institute will be that it is a ‘by First Nations, for First Nations’ solution to a problem that is long overdue to be addressed.”
High quality public infrastructure is critical to the health and sustainability of all communities, including Indigenous communities, according to the Kamloops Chamber. Unfortunately, Indigenous infrastructure outcomes are very poor under the current approach. The literature, studies and media reports demonstrate that Indigenous infrastructure assets take longer to develop, cost more, and have shorter operational life cycles than comparable infrastructure developed by other governments.
According to research, First Nations face an infrastructure gap in the tens of billions of dollars, which may never be closed if the current approach continues to be followed. “Interested First Nations should have the option to follow a different approach—one that applies standards and processes based on national and international best practices and ensures value for money.”
The infrastructure gap in many First Nations communities contributes to continued poor health, and poor social and economic outcomes for members of these communities. “Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the negative impacts First Nations are suffering as a result of missing and substandard infrastructure within their communities,” says the Kamloops Chamber. “The current approach is unsustainable and First Nations expect and deserve better results.”
In response, they have proposed the creation of FNII, which would support First Nations in the planning, development, procurement, design, construction, implementation, operation and maintenance, and management of their infrastructure projects.
This would build from the work of the First Nations Development board, which was established in 2017.
The adoption of these policies at the national level represents another important step along the collective path to meaningful reconciliation.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
