HEC plays host to Indigenous economic summit
Hydro-Quebec CEO and Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador (AFNQL) Chief Ghislain Picard were among the headliners for an Indigenous economic summit held Monday at the Universite de Montreal’s prestigious Hautes Etudes Commercials business school.
The Gathering of the Grand Economic Circle of Indigenous Peoples and Quebec brought together about 300 participants to the day-long event, which was co-organized by the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Economic Development Commission (FNQLEDC) and First Nations Executive Education (FNEE) and featured a number of presentations and networking opportunities.
FNEE is an HEC-run program for Indigenous leaders and features a number of development programs for Indigenous community, economic and entrepreneurial leaders. The department played host to the event, which featured such presentations as one on the history and progress of the Grand Economic Circle of Indigenous Peoples and the progress that has been made.
“From the comments I have gotten so far, I think it went pretty well,” said Picard. “It was different from the four previous ones we’ve had because this was the first time we have held it in Montreal and so obviously, we’re going to have more people being able to come. This is the economic engine of the province.”
The AFNQL Chief said he was “excited,” to keep building economic bridges between Native and non-Native communities and organizations.
“We want to keep the momentum going,” said Picard. “We have only scratched the surface on what we can accomplish economically together and by working together. I think we succeeded.”
A subsequent presentation by Cadmus Delorme called ‘Beyond Words: Taking Action to Advance Economic Reconciliation,’ was an examination of historical, cultural and social perspectives of economic reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and the crucial importance of respectful and lasting relationships.
Delorme, the former Grand Chief of the Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan turned CEO of OneHoop Advisory Services, suggested a closer working relationship between Indigenous peoples and non-Natives could lift everyone up.
“The fundamental question is always can we find a common ground of understanding and respect from which to begin an economic relationship between First Nations and Canada, and do we have the potential within the relationship to unlock it and create trust and build those bonds with Canadians?” he said, adding a small bump in Canadian economic activity could generate huge dividends over the long run.
“If we can somehow find a way to increase Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) just 1.5 percent with the contributions of Indigenous people to the economy, that could generate up to $27.7 billion more dollars and a lot of those dollars would find their way back to First Nations,” he said.
After Monday’s event, Picard said he will focus his gaze on a regional economic forum the organization will hold in Trois-Rivieres in November.
“That will be a regional economic summit and it will be hosted by the Atikamekw (nation),”
Picard said, adding that if First Nations waited for ideal political conditions to begin spreading their wings economically, they might be waiting a while.
“Oh, definitely. If we waited for the government to help us out, we might be waiting a long, long, time and we have to act now,” he said.
Marc Lalonde, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase
