Some 300 delegates met in downtown Montreal on Monday for the fourth annual Grand Economic Circle to explore how Indigenous communities and the broader Quebec business community can form stronger partnerships.
“There’s nothing more, I would say, honest than speaking the truth and that’s what we are doing,” Ghislain Picard, grand chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador, explained during a break at the conference. “I think the business community is responding.”
Since the first Economic Circle in 2021, where Indigenous leaders expressed frustration at treatment by the Legault government, leaders say more and more companies have understood the need to work with Indigenous communities.
“The First Nations and the industry are more open now to work together, and you can see it,” said Ken Roch of First Nations Executive Education, which co-hosted the gathering. “It seems like there’s a wave now.”
Roch pointed out that many projects impact their communities because they happen on their ancestral lands, so it’s critical for industries to involve the people.
“There is no major project without the First Nations’ consent. So now, how do we work together?” he said.
However, Picard said in some cases, they’re looking for more than just partnerships.
“Why is it not possible for First Nations communities to be owners of major developments?” he said. “That’s really what we’re seeking.”
One example is a deal, signed in April, that will see the Mohawk community of Kahnawake co-own a Hydro-Québec transmission line being built to New York. Picard noted that one major hurdle for Indigenous communities is access to financial capital to compete with large non-Indigenous companies bidding for contracts.
Robert Desautels, CEO of Desfor, says his company has been partnering with more than 20 Indigenous communities for over two decades. One way they do so is by hiring people from the communities.
“Our target, our goal, is to have more than 50 per cent (Indigenous employees),” he told Global News. “Every project.”
The forestry engineer shared three things he learned from late Cree chief Billy Diamond, Air Creebec founder, about partnerships.
“Every partnership has to be based on, first, respect — respect each other, second, trust — we have to trust each other, and the third one was faith — the belief that the two parties can achieve something together,” he said.
The conference, organizers say, was about building faith, a necessary path to economic reconciliation.
Comments