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\tThis Call to Action in the TRC report was directed to the Canadian corporate sector, calling on businesses to apply UNDRIP to their principles and standards involving Indigenous Peoples, their land and resources.<\/p>\n
No. 92 includes the appeal for businesses to commit to meaningful consultation, building respectful relationships and obtaining FPIC before proceeding with economic development projects.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A new paradigm<\/h2>\n Modern Aboriginal law has evolved slowly and unevenly throughout Canada\u2019s history. Much of Canada\u2019s land mass is covered by historical treaties that evolved over 300 years from early diplomatic and economic alliances that shifted by the influx of settlers who created a greater demand for land. After Confederation, the numbered treaties were signed with First Nations in much of the centre of the country for settlement and access to natural resources, while regions including Atlantic Canada, eastern Ontario, and large areas of Quebec and British Columbia remained unceded. Some Indigenous groups, particularly in the North, gained autonomy much faster than others.<\/p>\n
This left a patchwork of rules, policies and approaches that, from the point of view of some investors, created an unstable foundation for businesses to work on. Constitutional changes in the 1980s did not sufficiently clear up the matter. In the vacuum, courts have been asked to step in, and their decisions have helped delineate Indigenous rights.<\/p>\n
In response, federal and provincial governments have been intensifying efforts to bring balance to the situation. A critical moment came in 2014 when the Supreme Court of Canada recognized Aboriginal title beyond a reserve, ruling in the Tsilhqot\u2019in decision that Crown sovereignty needs to be balanced with Indigenous rights and self-determination. Two years later, Canada officially endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), paving the way for it to be adopted in law. Then, in June 2021, the federal government passed a law respecting the adoption in Canada of UNDRIP, which promotes Indigenous rights globally. Since then, Canada has released a UN Declaration Act Action Plan aimed at harmonizing federal laws with UNDRIP\u2019s principles. That includes a commitment to meaningful consultation and building respectful relationships, including the desire of Indigenous communities to make business decisions based on the principle of FPIC.<\/p>\n
Provinces and territories are making changes as well. British Columbia\u2019s new environmental assessment act formalizes the need for consent from First Nations communities for projects on their traditional territories. B.C. is also exploring innovative amendments to its Land Act, contemplating a shared decision-making model for authorizing permits on Crown land. <\/p>\n\n\n\u201cRecognizing and integrating Indigenous rights into decisions about the environment and the economy is now not only crucial for project success but is important for Canadian society and businesses to gain a collective benefit that positively influences the entire economy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/aside>\n
First Nations Major Projects Coalition<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nIndian Act<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/button><\/p>\n
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The Act was created in 1876 as a tool to administer rights promised by the Crown, but it was applied in a way that coerced First Nations to surrender their rights and culture and severed them from the mainstream economy. <\/p>\n
The devastating marginalization and other impacts of the Act are still felt today. New legislation is dismantling it piece by piece through the return to self-determination and self-government initiatives.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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<\/p>\nOwn Source Revenues<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/button><\/p>\n
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\tRevenues generated by Indigenous governments through taxes or resource development, or by communities through economic endeavours and development like resource extraction and tourism.<\/p>\n
Own Source Revenues symbolize a shift towards Indigenous economic self-determination because they allow communities to fund activities such as infrastructure projects, social programs and cultural initiatives.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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<\/p>\nImpact Benefit Agreements<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/button><\/p>\n
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\tContracts between Indigenous communities and project developers that outline remedies, compensation and environmental safeguards related to natural resource development on traditional lands. <\/p>\n
While IBAs are designed to honour Indigenous rights and mitigate socio-economic impacts, they may not meet communities\u2019 expectations if they are not comprehensive and leave too much room for interpretation.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Overcoming unique challenges<\/h2>\n\n
Amidst this evolving legal landscape for Indigenous rights, one of the biggest challenges for business is the amorphous FPIC process. FPIC demands businesses approach Indigenous communities by building relationships and finding consensus rather than solely following the rules of Canadian corporate law.<\/p>\n
Difficulties in understanding the differences in governance systems and worldviews\u2014not to mention inevitable discrepancies in size or financial power of business entities\u2014have created frictions that have in places undermined collaboration. While the dynamics between Indigenous and non-Indigenous entities have improved in many ways, not all parts of the corporate sector have been quick to adapt their attitudes and policies to the new paradigm.<\/p>\n
On a deeper level, a legacy of injustice continues to impede progress. For decades, government policies deprived Indigenous peoples of their inherent rights and decision-making powers, leading to economic underinvestment and human deprivation that continues to impact Indigenous communities. The Indian Act of 1876 marginalized First Nations communities, while other restrictive and prejudicial policies such as the residential school system and forced relocation isolated<\/p><\/div>\n
most Indigenous peoples from their traditional economy, as well as the mainstream economy. This multi-generational legacy has led to lingering mistrust, which grinds at the wheels of relationship-building, even in cases where there are mutually beneficial agreements around specific projects.<\/p>\n
Efforts to reverse this narrative are imperative if Canada is to advance economic reconciliation, boost economic development, strengthen productivity growth and increase climate action. Heading into the latter half of the 2020s, these objectives may well be intertwined. For instance, RBC research shows traditional Indigenous lands in Canada account for 56% of advanced critical mineral projects, 35% of the top solar sites, and 44% of the best wind sites for energy production. <\/p>\n
In each case, Canada will struggle to meet our potential without a new approach, which in turn promises significant economic opportunities, for Indigenous communities as well as the country. Over the next decade, Canada is poised to develop 470 natural resources projects, worth an estimated $525 billion, mostly in the energy sector. The First Nations Major Projects Coalition estimates these projects could create more than $50 billion in equity opportunities for Indigenous communities.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nAmidst this evolving legal landscape for Indigenous rights, one of the biggest challenges for business is the amorphous FPIC process. FPIC demands businesses approach Indigenous communities by building relationships and finding consensus rather than solely following the rules of Canadian corporate law.<\/p>\n
Difficulties in understanding the differences in governance systems and worldviews\u2014not to mention inevitable discrepancies in size or financial power of business entities\u2014have created frictions that have in places undermined collaboration. While the dynamics between Indigenous and non-Indigenous entities hve improved in many ways, not all parts of the corporate sector have been quick to adapt their attitudes and policies to the new paradigm.<\/p>\n
On a deeper level, a legacy of injustice continues to impede progress. For decades, government policies deprived Indigenous peoples of their inherent rights and decision-making powers, leading to economic underinvestment and human deprivation that continues to impact Indigenous communities. The Indian Act of 1876 marginalized First Nations communities, while other restrictive and prejudicial policies such as the residential school system and forced relocation isolated most Indigenous peoples from their traditional economy, as well as the mainstream economy. This multi-generational legacy has led to lingering mistrust, which grinds at the wheels of relationship-building, even in cases where there are mutually beneficial agreements around specific projects.<\/p>\n
Efforts to reverse this narrative are imperative if Canada is to advance economic reconciliation, boost economic development, strengthen productivity growth and increase climate action. Heading into the latter half of the 2020s, these objectives may well be intertwined. For instance, RBC research shows traditional Indigenous lands in Canada account for 56% of advanced critical mineral projects, 35% of the top solar sites, and 44% of the best wind sites for energy production. <\/p>\n
In each case, Canada will struggle to meet our potential without a new approach, which in turn promises significant economic opportunities, for Indigenous communities as well as the country. Over the next decade, Canada is poised to develop 470 natural resources projects, worth an estimated $525 billion, mostly in the energy sector. The First Nations Major Projects Coalition estimates these projects could create more than $50 billion in equity opportunities for Indigenous communities.\n<\/p><\/div>\n
To fulfil that promise, here are three important steps for business to consider:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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\n1.<\/strong><\/li>\nDevelop meaningful relationships<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n <\/button><\/p>\n
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Businesses seeking to engage a community about a project on Indigenous traditional territory would be wise to take a different approach than they would elsewhere. Increasingly, First Nations, M\u00e9tis and Inuitleaders expect potential partners respect their community values, governance systems, timelines and consensus-building processes, which often vary from community to community and region to region. Seeking to establish a firm understanding of values and business goals is a far different approach than traditional Impact Benefit Agreements might seek through financial transfers, jobs and procurement deals. Indigenous leaders want to be approached as long-term partners who have unique value to add, including their traditional knowledge of their lands and natural ecosystems, which in turn could de-risk projects and lead to more sustainable and profitable outcomes. <\/p>\n
Indigenous communities also want agreements that ensure they will retain influence over the life of the project, from initial planning to remediation and reclamation. This is why they have been advocating for equity participation to become a larger component of their business partnerships. While resource royalties are valuable because they can generate long-term wealth, equity participation generates both wealth and influence. Holding an ownership position in a project\u2014and perhaps a seat on the board of directors\u2014also aligns Indigenous interests, including environmental, impact and investment concerns, with project partners. <\/p>\n
At a minimum, First Nations, M\u00e9tis and Inuit leaders are demanding that project proponents approach them with a respect for traditional and contemporary Indigenous knowledge and worldviews. Participants in the Listening Circles consistently stressed the importance of listening, understanding and respect. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n2.<\/strong><\/li>\nBuild coalitions<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n <\/button><\/p>\n
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Businesses should seek participation in proactive partnerships with Indigenous communities and government agencies. Public Private Indigenous partnerships (P3I) are an increasingly attractive model for cooperation\u2014and a departure from the framework of Crown-Indigenous relations that dominated the Indigenous economy for decades. P3Is leverage wide economic powers and build trust. The Oneida Energy Storage Project in Southwestern Ontario provides a recent example. The energy startup NRStor worked alongside Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation to advocate policies and procedures to promote a battery-storage project on the territory that could help serve Ontario\u2019s Golden Horseshoe. The result was a true P3I, with Tesla providing the battery technology, Aecon building it, and Northland Power becoming a significant backer. In 2021, the Canada Infrastructure Bank committed to invest $170 million in the $500 million project. <\/p>\n
Promoting P3Is can also be used as a potent force to eliminate the Indigenous infrastructure gap. Efforts to close that gap should be seen not only as an effort to redress legacy injustices and promote economic reconciliation, but an integral driver to help Canada reach its commitments of climate transition (through more efficient electrical grids and housing, for instance) and increased productivity. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n3.<\/strong><\/li>\nInvest in people and communities<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n <\/button><\/p>\n
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The private sector should accelerate investment in financial tools and people. This will allow more First Nations, M\u00e9tis and Inuit groups to participate in, or take charge of, community development and resource projects\u2014while increasing collective opportunities for Canada as a whole. The need for greater support from the private sector, and coordination with Indigenous communities, was a major theme of the listening circles. Indeed, the \u201cfree\u201d and \u201cinformed\u201d parts of FPIC require that Indigenous groups be able to engage in business negotiations without substantive disadvantages. <\/p>\n
Lack of financial capacity can pose a major barrier to that kind of engagement. The availability of tools like government loan guarantee programs has begun to allow Indigenous communities to access new forms of capital \u2013 but they also need the skills and technology to leverage the opportunities and overcome challenges such as the inability to use settlement lands for collateral. In Budget 2024, the federal government detailed a new national Indigenous loan guarantee program that could add to the transformative power of business-to-business cooperation. But it will need to be accompanied by formal and informal capacity building, for communities as well as small and medium-sized Indigenous businesses.<\/p>\n
Private-sector support for increased educational opportunities, and sector-specific training in fields such as finance, governance and engineering can promote positive economic outcomes for Indigenous peoples. A new generation of jobs, trades and professions will not only add to the income levels in many communities. It will add to the collective strength of those communities to further advance their interests and protect their values. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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A new business model<\/h2>\n Economic reconciliation can be seen as an effort to achieve balance in equity and prosperity with First Nations, M\u00e9tis and Inuit peoples. Free, Prior and Informed Consent can help build strong partnerships and can underpin that effort.<\/p>\n
As Canada grapples with the implications of FPIC, Indigenous communities are not standing idly by. Many of the leaders are pursuing business deals that conform to their individual nation\u2019s priorities and worldviews\u2014and in many cases are striking out on their own. As we noted in our 92 to Zero report<\/em>, Indigenous entrepreneurs are developing new businesses at nine times the Canadian average\u2014while Indigenous-led development agencies are proliferating. That is transforming Indigenous relations from a one-way to a two-way street.<\/p>\nThe private sector has a large role to play. Businesses in Canada can approach Indigenous negotiations by looking for shared goals, while offering equity rather than handouts. Those that don\u2019t risk being outflanked by foreign firms, as well as emerging Indigenous competitors, with more collaborative approaches. <\/p>\n
To widen the field of collective opportunities, the private sector should be seeking to create new, innovative partnership models, and look for ways to accelerate investments in financial tools and people. Businesses that follow this balanced approach, including FPIC, may find it to be far less a business risk and much more a competitive advantage. Indeed, the greatest risk of reconciliation may soon be for those who don\u2019t embrace it.<\/p>\n
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