The Kelowna, B.C., Chamber of Commerce is hosting the first-ever economic summit for the Southern Interior.
Day two of the event featured several guest speakers who discussed inflation, the economy and the need for Indigenous collaboration in order to rise above a possible recession.
“We have a really strong optimism for the future in the Southern Interior,” said Dan Rogers, executive director with the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce.
“We’ve got that feedback from the businesses and local economies, but we’re not without our challenges, and the way we overcome that is bringing people together and build some bridges that we can ensure we have that prosperity going forward through the entire region.”
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Kelly Lendsay is the president and CEO of Indigenous Works, an organization that for more than 20 years has ‘worked with companies to enhance their performance and results in Indigenous employment, workplace engagement and inclusion.’
Lendsay was the keynote speaker at Monday’s session, and says big steps are being taking in the Southern Interior when it comes to strengthening the economy through Indigenous representation.
“We have the fastest-growing labour forces in Canada, and we have a new era of Indigenous leaders that want to build economic development partnerships,” explained Lendsay.
“The notion of partnerships is even more needed in these days of inflation and labour market pressures that we’re all facing, so that’s the message I’m putting forward is some clear examples of how we’re working together.”
Lendsey added that these partnerships could be critical when it comes to how the Southern Interior weathers the possibility of a recession.
“The Indigenous advantage can bring new capital, new partnerships, new ideas and new commercial ventures to the table,” said Lendsay.
“That’s what we need to look at and that’s how we can get through this recession.”
The economic summit continues on Tuesday at the Rotary Centre for the Arts.
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