Aboriginal Business Match - BIV Issue 1368

BUSINESSVANCOUVER

January 19–25, 2016

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Aboriginal Business Match

Powell River partnership paying business dividends

Schools pave path to business success

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EDUCATION | More

Sea walk dispute builds bridge between Powell River city hall and Tla’amin First Nation

Profile: Ian Campbell Negotiator helps shape Squamish Nation’s economic destiny

Seeking kiteboarding nirvana at Nitinat Lake

First Nations students navigate post-secondary business training as aboriginal high school graduation rate notches all-time high

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Ditidaht promoting tourism opportunities for hidden recreation gem

First Nations shipping company achieves liftoff

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1 Nation Distribution helping cuts cost for aboriginal companies shipping products to isolated rural communities

Keys to building successful on-reserve businesses in B.C.

B8 Squamish Nation member Sheryl Fisher-Rivers is one of the first graduates of SFU’s executive MBA program in aboriginal business and leadership | Rob Kruyt

First Nations adviser Chris Scott on doing business on reservations

By Glen Korstrom

B.C. events ABM Vancouver Island 2016 February 1 to 3 at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre, Snuneymuxw Territory, Nanaimo ABM West 2016 May 9 to 11 at the Penticton Trade & Convention Centre, Syilx/Okanagan Territory, Penticton For more information go to aboriginalbusinessmatch.com

gkorstrom@biv.com

S

quamish Nation member Sheryl Fisher-Rivers originally planned to do her MBA at Harvard University.

She studied hard and applied several times but did not have high enough marks on her graduate management admissions test in her first two attempts.

Her third try was lucky, she told Business in Vancouver.

It was 2012 and she was then applying for admission to the Ivy League institution

despite lacking a key accreditation: a bachelor’s degree.

“I had certificates as well as the Ch’nook aboriginal education program at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business,” she said.

“That brought me up to a level where I could get in.”

Business schools usually list bachelor’s degrees as a requirement for those wanting to enrol in master of business administration (MBA) programs, but can be flexible if a candidate has a strong employment record or equivalent education.

In Fisher-Rivers’ case, she also had plenty of experience at the Squamish Nation, where she had various roles, including working in external communications, and helping connect various levels of government and companies that wanted to engage in business with the Squamish Nation in the lead-up to the 2010 Winter Olympics.

She attended a session that described various grants, scholarships and other opportunities for funding that she might get were she to pursue a Harvard education. continued on page B2

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aboriginal business match

BUSINESSVANCOUVER January 19–25, 2016

Schools Pave Continued from page B1

Then she hopped on the SeaBus to go home to North Vancouver and was struck by a large ad in the terminal promoting a new offering from Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) Beedie School of B u si ness execut ive M BA program.

SFU was preparing to accept a first intake of about 25 students for its executive MBA program i n a b or i g i n a l b u s i ne ss a nd leadership.

Now one of t he i n au g u ra l graduates of that program, Fisher-Rivers believes she made the right choice.

Not only was she able to learn at a local university that was tailoring part of its curriculum to incorporate aboriginal culture and traditions, she was also able to keep costs down by staying at home so she could help take care of her elderly mother.

“The aboriginal component of the program really appealed to me,” said Fisher-Rivers, who is in her 40s. “What SFU’s program does is it includes our values, history, culture and protocol for how we do business. It also has a strong component of accounting, marketing and negotiation skills.

It marries the two.”

About 80% of the program is the same as the other executive MBA programs that SFU offers, program director Mark Selman told BIV. Other executive MBA programs

The aboriginal component of the program really appealed to me. What SFU’s program does is it includes our values, history, culture and protocol for how we do business. It also has a strong component of accounting, marketing and negotiation skills. It marries the two

[] Sheryl Fisher-Rivers Graduate, MBA program in aboriginal business and leadership, Simon Fraser University

at SFU, such as one that launched in fall 2015 and aims to appeal to the needs of northern B.C., similarly have slight variances from the basic program.

SFU also has undergraduate offerings that include an interdisciplinary First Nations studies program, which has courses in areas such as archeology, history and women’s studies.

The executive MBA program in aboriginal business and leadership is the only degree program that has both a business and an

aboriginal focus, Selman said.

Fisher-Rivers explored options for funding and was able to get money from the Squamish Nation as well as what is now Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. She even did a community fundraising event to secure tuition so she could graduate without a student loan.

“I advise young people to try out the Ch’nook program because it has marketing and accounting,” she said. “Because it is only for one year, is not as in-depth as

at SFU, where it is three years.”

Other training includes the Aboriginal Business and Entrepreneurship Skills Training (BEST) program. Funding for that free program comes from federal and provincial governments as well as other bodies, including Vancity, which also has a microloan program for BEST graduates.

That microloan initiative aims to fill the gap between traditional bank lending and venture capital.

The most important first step toward a successful business

Rob Kruyt

career, however, is to complete high school. On that front, aboriginal youth are doing better than ever before.

The percentage of aboriginal students who complete high school in B.C. has increased steadily to 63% in the last school year. That’s up from about 54% six years ago, according to B.C. Ministry of Education statistics.

There is still room to improve, however, as that rate still lags behind the overall 84% high-school graduation rate. •

aboriginal business match

BUSINESSVANCOUVER

January 19–25, 2016

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First Nation, municipality profit from teamwork PARTNERSHIPS | What

started as a dispute has turned into a bridge between communities

By Nelson Bennett nbennett@biv.com

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n April this year, the Tla’amin First Nation will officially become a self-governing nation under a new treaty that will roughly quadruple its land base, grant new forest tenures and shellfish leases and provide $29 million in cash and $11 million in economic development funds.

All of which means new economic development opportunities for the Tla’amin (also known as the Sliammon) and the City of Powell River.

“I think the spinoff will be huge for the Powell River area,” said Tla’amin Chief Clint Williams.

“Anything that we develop will contribute, definitely, to the local businesses.”

Starting in the eighth year of the treaty, the tax exemption the Tla’amin now enjoy will begin to be phased out, so the Tla’amin will need to build its own tax base.

The treaty includes a provision that will allow the Tla’amin to acquire fee simple land and have it added to treaty settlement land. But doing that will require the co-operation of municipal and regional governments.

Fortunately, the Tla’amin and Powell River’s city hall already have a good working relationship.

In fact, they’re business partners with a history of working together on economic development projects.

“It’s more than just co-operation – it’s full partnership,” said Scott Randall, economic development officer for Powell River.

For more than a decade, the two communities have worked together to develop a number of joi nt ventu res, i nclud i ng commercial real estate projects through the Powell River-Sliammon-Catalyst Limited Partnership (PRSC).

But the relationship wasn’t always so amiable. Before 2001, the two communities had little to

Powell River Mayor Dave Formosa, front left, and Tla’amin First Nation Chief Clint Williams, far right, sign a three-way agreement with Mayor Yongbo Zhao of China’s city of Zhuanghe aimed at improving trade and investment between the two regions | Powell River Peak

I think the spinoff will be huge for the Powell River area. Anything that we develop will contribute, definitely, to the local businesses

[] Clint Williams Chief, Tla’amin FIrst Nation

do with each other, even though they are just 12 kilometres apart.

That changed after a dispute arose over Powell River’s construction of a sea walk. The city had not shared its plans with the Tla’amin, whose members were upset to discover that the construction work had damaged Tla’amin heritage sites, including petroglyphs.

The city apologized for the oversight and invited the Tla’amin to become a partner in the project.

A new era of co-operation was ushered in with the signing of a community accord in 2003.

“It got off to a rocky start but ended up creating a relationship between the Tla’amin leadership and city hall,” Williams said.

Powell River Mayor Dave Formosa said the partnership “has

been used by [the Union of BC Municipalities], many other bands and towns and cities and companies as an example of how to work together in co-operation with your local First Nation.”

One benefit that better cooperation with Powell River has brought the Tla’amin is improved transit service. Run by the city, buses used to stop five kilometres short of Tla’amin’s town centre.

Following the signing of the community accord, the city agreed to extend bus service into Tla’amin centre, and the Tla’amin now contribute to the city’s transit system.

W hen Catalyst Paper Corp.

(TSX:CYT), which owns a pulp mill in Powell River, was looking to dispose of surplus land to reduce its municipal tax burden,

the Tla’amin, Powell River and Catalyst formed the PRSC, which resulted in the Tla’amin and Powell River obtaining 800 acres of land for economic development.

“The goal of the limited partnership has been to sell that land to an entity that will develop those properties and diversify the tax base for the city,” said Sliammon Development Corp. manager Kelly Rankin.

Most of the land has been optioned for a number of new business ventures, including a new international high school that will host students from China.

Sino Bright School wants to build a school with projected enrolment of 400 students.

“The build on the school and dormitories will be in the $30 million range,” Randall said. “While fully operating, the revenues into the community or region would be about $10.5 million in new revenues. It would create about 107 direct jobs.”

The city and the Tla’amin are also partners in two run-of-river power projects, both of which will depend largely on BC Hydro before they can be developed, since they will need long-term power purchase agreements.

Since the signing of the community accord, the Tla’amin have taken a more active role in regional economic development, and now sit on the Powell River Regional Economic Development Society. Powell River city officials also sit on the Sliammon Development Corporation.

“It went from pretending we’re not there to inclusion and trying to work together,” Williams said. “Powell River’s economy is quite challenged. The biggest employer here – the [pulp] mill – is constantly on the downside – and this town really needs an injection of some sustainable employment. What’s important for us is we need to build a tax base.

What we’re looking at is potentially good sustainable businesses that we can develop in and around the Powell River area.” •

BUSINESSVANCOUVER January 19–25, 2016

profile

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Ian Campbell | Lead negotiator, cultural

ambassador, Squamish Nation intergovernmental relations, natural resources and revenue department

chung chow

Squamish spokesman helps build prosperous future

By Nelson Bennett nbennett@biv.com

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hen he was 17 and fresh out of high school, Squamish Nation Chief Ian Campbell jumped at the chance to spend two months living with the Mapuche people in Chile as part of an indigenous peoples’ exchange funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

The welcome he got his first night in postPinochet Chile, which was still something of a police state, wasn’t quite what he expected.

“We were thrown against the wall, with guns to our heads,” Campbell said. “We were like, ‘OK, welcome to Chile.’”

But that wasn’t Campbell’s first experience with police pointing guns at him. He experienced that growing up on reserve in North Vancouver.

“There were very negative interactions with police, where they were pulling their guns on us as youth, and beating us up and calling us racial names,” he said. “There was quite a bit of racism back then, growing up, that really frustrated me to want to get more involved in leadership and politics and changing this narrative of Canada.”

The 42-year-old hereditary chief went on to develop a skill set that combines traditional knowledge with business and political acumen and an ambition to bridge cultural and economic gaps.

He is one of only a dozen Squamish First Nation members who are fluent in the Squamish language, and his business education includes an executive MBA. He pursued counselling and youth studies at Langara College, later attended the Ch’nook Indigenous Business Education program at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business and last year capped off his education with an executive MBA from Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business.

It’s that mix of traditional knowledge, ambition and education that led Chief Gibby Jacob to tap Campbell in 1999 to serve as a lead negotiator in the Squamish Nation’s office of intergovernmental relations, natural resources and revenue.

“He was my first hire,” Jacob said. “That was a direct hire – I didn’t go searching for anybody. I just knew what I needed and he was the guy. I was very impressed with how he carried himself, handled speaking to the public, his knowledge of our territory and language and traditions.”

The general public can be forgiven for thinking Campbell is the chief of the Squamish Nation; he is, after all, one of 16 hereditary chiefs. But he’s not the chief.

The Squamish Nation has no chief. According to the custom election system it adopted in 1981, the Squamish – a confederation of 16 groups – has an elected council and two co-chairs, but no elected chief.

Campbell is the Squamish nation’s official spokesman and ambassador, however.

“I’m a hereditary chief and I’m a political spokesperson and elected rep,” he said.

And since so much of what he does involves economic development, you could also say he’s a businessman.

Born and raised on the Eslha7an reserve around the Mosquito Creek Marina in North Vancouver, Campbell (whose Squamish name is Xalek), was groomed by his grandfather, Chief Lawrence Baker, from a young age to inherit his title.

“My parents separated at a young age, when I was three and a half, so I kind of circulated around with my mom, then my dad, then my grandparents. But I always went back to my grandparents.”

As the future heir to the hereditary chief’s title, Campbell was brought up learning to speak the Squamish language. He and

his sister are among only about a dozen Squamish members who are fluent in the language, he said.

“My grandfather also brought me out onto the land quite a bit from a young age – mountaineering, hunting, fishing, getting up there into the territory where he shared a lot of the mythology, the history, the old villages, the lineages that connect our people and our ancestral names to the territories.”

Campbell’s work with the Squamish Nation’s intergovernmental relations, natural resources and revenue office includes governmental affairs and economic development.

“We’ve been sort of the one-stop shop where we wear a number of hats: political, negotiator and then business implementation,” he said, adding that one of the Squamish government’s priorities will be to separate the office’s two functions and establish an arm’s-length economic development office.

And there is a lot of economic development happening in Squamish territory.

A number of major initiatives are in the works, including the $1.7 billion Woodfibre continued on page B5

profile Squamish Continued from page B4

LNG plant proposed for the town of Squamish.

W hen it was proposed, the Squamish Nation decided to undertake its own environmental assessment process. That’s not unique – the Tsleil-Waututh also commissioned its own EA on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion proposal. But unlike that process, the Squamish EA was done in partnership with the company that plans to build the LNG plant. It’s a legally binding agreement, with 25 conditions that must be met in order for the Squamish to support it.

Campbell admits there has been opposition within his community to the liquefied natural gas plant, mostly due to concerns about the potential impact on Howe Sound.

“Woodfibre has been very divisive,” Campbell said. “A lot of members say to us: ‘Why don’t you just say no?’ And we’re saying, in an ideal world that would be great if we had a veto card to just say no. But, unfortunately, if we say no, then we’re going cap-in-hand, asking someone to consider our interests. Then we’re on the outside looking in.

“We said the greater certainty for us to exercise our governance and jurisdiction is to create our own process, which is legally binding. We don‘t have legislation like the province, therefore we rely on legally binding

agreements.”

Although the LNG project could provide substantial economic benefits for the Squamish, real estate development is the biggest economic generator.

The Squamish Nation is among the wealthiest First Nations in Canada. That’s partly because of location. Squamish territory includes some of the most valuable real estate in Canada, stretching from Point Grey in Vancouver to West and North Vancouver, and north to Whistler.

With 24 reserves, the Squamish Nation generates revenue through leasing some of its reserve lands. But it also owns and operates a number of businesses – from gas stations and marinas to a forestry operation – and has been very successful in negotiating new land parcels from senior governments.

The Squamish initially entered B.C. treaty talks but abandoned that process in the mid-1990s for direct government-to-government negotiation.

It obtained 1,200 acres from the B.C. government when BC Rail was sold off, and partnered with the Musqueam and TsleilWaututh First Nations to obtain former federal land known as the Jericho lands in Point Grey, which they plan to develop jointly in partnership with the Canada Lands Company.

T he 2010 Winter Oly mpics presented the Squamish with a host of economic opportunities

A day in the life

Squamish Chief Ian Campbell describes a typical workday

6:30 a.m.

Morning spiritual dip in Lynn Creek

7:30 a.m.

Grande quad Americano at Starbucks

8:30 a.m.

Check in at work

9 a.m.

10:30 a.m.

Business meeting (usually sushi)

1 p.m.

Begin afternoon meetings, travel downtown

5 p.m.

Travel to gala or dinner event

6 p.m.

Sing for my supper (traditional welcoming/song/protocol)

6:30 p.m.

Homework, music practice with kids

10 p.m.

Return home (watch The Simpsons or a nature show on National Geographic) or do laps at track

11 p.m.

Turn in for the night

as well. As part of the Sea-toSky Highway improvements and other infrastructure projects leading up the Olympics, t he Squ a m ish obta i ned a nother 1,200 acres of land for development.

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While some First Nations in B.C. opposed hosting the Winter Oly mpics, the Squa m ish Nation was fully on board and directly involved in the Olympic celebrations.

The Squamish’s leasing and

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January 19–25, 2016

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business revenues help augment the funding it receives from the federal government. Its annual budget is $67 million, about 75% to 80% of which is “own source revenue.” From that revenue, each of the nation’s 4,000 members receives $1,000 annually in dividends.

Campbell is driven to ensure that the next generation – including his 13-year-old daughter – will benefit from jobs and economic activity in the Squamish Nation. And he’s optimistic about what he calls the era of reconciliation and the opportunities it presents for indigenous people.

“What are we doing to allow access to resources and wealth creation?” he asks. “It can’t continue to be at the expense of First Nations people, where we’re managing welfare. We want to manage wealth.”

W h e n h e ’s n o t w o r k i n g , Campbell spends time in the mountains, where he likes to go backpacking and hunting for deer and mountain goat. He is also an avid paddler – which is not only good exercise, but also a way of connecting with other coastal First Nations.

In 1993, Campbell and other members of the Squamish paddled to Bella Bella for a coastal First Nations festival.

“Every year, since ’93, we’ve been on the water where a community will host each year,” he said.•

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BUSINESSVANCOUVER January 19–25, 2016

Windsurfers, kiteboarders find ‘paradise’ at remote Island lake TOURISM | Ditidaht

First Nation promotes hidden recreation gem near Vancouver Island’s West Coast Trail

Steady winds and natural beauty have given Vancouver Island’s Nitinat Lake a cult following among windsurfers, kiteboarders, fishermen and hikers |

By Jen St. Denis jstdenis@biv.com

M

aryam Moghaddas calls it “the paradise.” She’s part of a community of windsurfers who go to a very special Vancouver Island location year after year, drawn by the reliable wind and the isolated beauty of Nitinat Lake.

“I remember the first time … driving down that windy road, getting lost between which fork should we take … and I’m like, ‘W here a re we going, where are we going?’” the Vancouver resident recalled. “Then you get there and there are trees, trees, trees, and then suddenly you walk onto the beach and there’s this fantastic, beautiful lake.”

Adrien Grelon, who has windsurfed at Nitinat the last two summers, agreed.

“It’s a pretty special place. And what’s nice is that it’s under the radar,” he said, noting there’s no cellphone reception.

In summer the difference in temperature between the warmer east side and cooler west side of Vancouver Island produces remarkably consistent winds on the lake that start up at around 10 a.m. and die down in the evening, making it a favourite spot for windsurfers and kiteboarders.

The lake is also a destination for

fishermen and hikers.

It’s a hidden jewel that the 770-member Ditidaht First Nation would like more people to know about. The long, narrow lake, which enters the ocean at Nitinat Narrows and is technically a saltwater fjord, is within the First Nation’s traditional territory. About 200 Ditidaht members live in a village at the northeast end of the lake.

The First Nation already operates a motel a nd two ca mping sites, and rents kayaks and paddleboats.

But while the nearby rugged West Coast Trail is a well-known B.C. attraction, not very many people outside of the windsurfing and kiteboarding community know about Nitinat, said Cindy Stern, executive director of the Ditidaht Development Corp.

“What we want to do is build a nd promote more a c t iv it y around Nitinat to expand beyond the current users,” Stern said.

“There’s amazing hiking all around there and you can use Nitinat as a base to go hiking into the Carmanah. There’s huge opportunity for fishing, hiking and watersports and that’s one of the things we’re working on: marketing the destination and branding the variety [of activities].”

The development corporation

Nitinat Lake, which connects to the ocean, is technically a saltwater fjord |

Suddenly you walk onto the beach and there’s this fantastic, beautiful lake

[] Maryam Moghaddas windsurfing enthusiast

operates www.westcoasttrail. com, which allows visitors to book accommodation online, but it’s planning a new website and increased marketing to promote Nitinat Lake as a destination in its own right.

While visitors like Moghaddas and Grelon say they love the remoteness of the location, it’s a hurdle for economic development. Just getting to the lake can be a challenge, as it can only be accessed by a dirt forestry road.

T he road is the responsibility of forestry companies, so is

Vikapproved

John Ingram

well-maintained only when logging operations are active; heavy rains can also make the road difficult to navigate.

As part of its continuing treaty negotiation, the Ditidaht is in talks with the B.C. government to improve maintenance of the road. It’s unlikely the road will be paved soon, but most Nitinat enthusiasts say the remote location is part of the charm.

“We want to capture people who are interested in a really unique, remote outdoor experience,” Stern said. •

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BUSINESSVANCOUVER

January 19–25, 2016

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Aboriginal distribution service ready for takeoff Transportation | Company cutting costs for First Nations firms shipping products to rural areas

BY TYLER ORTON TYLORTON@BIV.COM

S

hipping goods from aboriginal businesses to other First Nations communities is often an exercise in “getting raked over the coals,” says Paul Biglin.

The Spirit Bear Coffee co-owner recalls one client in Bella Bella who was charged nearly double per pound of coffee he shipped out to B.C.’s central coast.

It was when Bigl i n was lamenting those distribution problems with other business leaders two years ago in Penticton at the Aboriginal Business Match development event that the group decided to change the model.

Instead of relying on corporate courier services or ground transportation to get their products to rural clients, the founders of 1 Nation Distribution began exploring the less beaten path when providing clients with shipping services. “ We were a compa ny t h at learned very quickly how to pack barges and float planes in order to look after our customers,” Biglin recalled.

He said the key to finding the “most economical and valuedriven” way to transport clients’

Pacific Coastal Airlines ships aboriginal-branded products to rural communities on its fleet of passenger planes as part of its business partnership with 1 Nation Distribution | Submitted

goods to First Nations communities is finding shipping partners that can be flexible and understand the logistical challenges facing these rural locations.

However, Biglin said that can be difficult when much of the transportation industry is dominated by large corporations that won’t budge from the standard rates they set.

“They may tell you they can

[ship] throughout the world, but the cost of doing so is exorbitant,” he said.

That’s why 1 Nation Distribution has been entering into strategic partnerships with B.C. companies like Pacific Coastal Airlines.

The Richmond-based carrier flies to 65 communities across B.C. and has more takeoffs from Vancouver International Airport

than any other airline after Air Canada (TSX:AC) and WestJet (TSX:WJA).

“Our primary service delivery product is passengers,” said Kevin Boothroyd, Pacific Coastal’s director of sales and marketing. “But one of our secondary or tertiary products is certainly cargo.”

The carrier’s fleet does not include any cargo planes.

“We’re f lying aircraft with people, but we have empty space at the back. As a pure business model we want to fill that space, otherwise it’s empty air,” Boothroyd said.

“So [shipping cargo] is gravy money for u s i n t he a i rl i ne industry.”

But he emphasized partnerships with aboriginal businesses like 1 Nation Distribution go beyond seeking out gravy money.

Pacific Coastal’s history goes back four decades when Bella Coola truck logger Darryl Smith earned a pilot’s licence and began flying people in and out of rural work camps in central B.C. “We owe our very existence to First Nations flyers because of where we started,” Boothroyd said, adding that Biglin’s Spirit Bear Coffee is the coffee served to flyers on the airlines’ flights.

And Biglin said these types of partnerships struck at Aboriginal Business Match are reshaping the viability of many First Nations businesses.

“A lot of big corporations and companies don’t understand how to work with First Nations communities,” he said. “We now represent companies that have never done work with First Nations communities.” •

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BUSINESSVANCOUVER January 19–25, 2016

aboriginal business match

Planning, strategic investment key to building aboriginal business

Podium Chris Scott

The most striking trend is that First Nations living on reserve had the worst economic outcomes for nearly all indicators

[] 2015 progress report National Aboriginal Economic Development Board

I

have spent the past 16 years of my business career working for and within many First Nations communities in the Interior of British Columbia and the Yukon. Like many Canadians, I grew up aware of, but unable to explain, the separation that existed between the non-native business communities and the native communities that surround many of our cities.

Having participated directly

in the Osoyoos Indian Band’s growth and now the Penticton Indian Band’s focus on its economy, I have learned lessons that might be valuable for native and non-native communities to consider.

Why consider developing a business on reserve?

There are practical and philosophical reasons to consider developing on reserve: location; leasing of lands rather than buying; an available, often underemployed, labour pool; zoning flexibility where the local First Nations government can determine land use; favourable taxation strategies, and potential funding programs that assist First Nations joint venturing with non-native companies. What all Canadians should reflect upon, though, is the need to bridge the economies of native and non-native communities.

As the National Aboriginal Economic Development Board in its 2015 progress report stated, “The most striking trend is that First Nations living on reserve had the worst economic outcomes for nearly all indicators.”

This included gaps in employment, college completion rates, income levels and housing conditions. Businesses located on reserve raise the standard

of living for aboriginal people, which, in turn, generates economic benefits for the adjacent non-aboriginal community.

For example, the Osoyoos Indian Band has made capital investments of well over $500 million on its reserve in the past 15 years. This capital spending generates wealth (and significant taxation revenue) and employment opportunities far outside the reserve boundaries.

As a practitioner of native economic development, I believe the leadership of the chief and council affects the economic progress of a community.

Leadership that demonstrates willingness to put the community’s well-being over self-interest, commitment to education and hard work, measured risk-taking and a willingness to be measured against tough business standards, including transparency of financial results, productivity, variance budgeting and a hiring policy that ensures an effective organizational structure.

There are other requirements that are critical to a First Nation advancing its economy and attracting businesses. They include: •A comprehensive community plan that includes community input on economic and

February 23rd, 2016 4:00pm - 6:00pm Panellists:

Moderator:

land-use plans.

•Investing in infrastructure to

enable business development.

Recently the Penticton Indian Band borrowed more than $5 million to build roads, water, sewer and other utilities to service a residential/commercial development. This investment has paid off as more than 80 homes plus a large commercial winery have been built with over 500 more homes being planned.

•Financial planning and leveraging assets to use either chartered Canadian banks or the First Nations Fiscal Management Act to finance projects.

•Hiring a board of directors or advisers, preferably working within an economic development corporate structure, to provide sound business stewardship.

•Developing a co-operative and collaborative relationship with the community.

•Creating community awareness and brand awareness of your plans to build an economy.

Many of the business risks on reserve are similar to off-reserve challenges, such as business cycles, competition, finding skilled employees and strategic and tactical decision-making.

However, there are other challenges that are unique to doing business on reserve. Likely the greatest challenge is the federal bureaucracy where environmental, engineering, legal and leasing approvals can be lengthy. There is also a political uncertainty that can prevail in some communities where the election of a new chief and council can alter the direction of economic activities.

Overcoming the challenges of building an economic base for a community takes perseverance, application of business principles, five-year business plans and a collaborative leadership model that ensures an unbiased commitment to ensuring that business successes are enjoyed by both the native and nonnative business partners. The benefits of a strong native economy will bring us together as a nation and help heal the wounds of our past relationships with First Nations. • Chris Scott is an adviser to the Penticton Indian Band and a director of the Lower Nicola Indian Band Development Corp. He has worked with First Nations on economic development for more than 15 years and is a former chief operating officer of the Osoyoos Indian Band Development Corp.

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