Domtar recently had the pleasure of hosting a panel discussion on Indigenous Partnerships Across Canada at the Indigenous Resource Opportunities Conference (IROC) in Nanaimo, British Columbia. The event was held on the traditional lands of the Snuneymuxw First Nation. Domtar also sponsored the Indigenous Artists’ Exhibition at IROC, which gave local Indigenous artists the opportunity to showcase their work to conference delegates free of charge.
The annual conference brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous business, community and government leaders to build partnerships between Indigenous communities and the natural resources sector. This year’s conference theme was Working Together with the Land.
The spirit of working together was also at the heart of the Domtar-hosted panel on Indigenous partnerships. We heard directly from leaders representing Indigenous partners from four corners of the country: Tina Rasmussen from Meadow Lake Tribal Council Industrial Investments in Saskatchewan; Alexandre Girard from Le Groupe Aishkatsh in Mashteuiatsh, Quebec; Dale Levesque from Dallan LP at the Fort William First Nation in Ontario; and Erik Blaney of Tla’amin Nation in British Columbia. The wide-ranging discussion looked at the opportunities and challenges of creating partnerships that result in positive outcomes for all.
Lana Wilhelm, Domtar’s director of Indigenous relations and the panel’s moderator, summed up the spirit of the day by saying, “When it comes to building partnerships, we are all on a path of learning, growing and finding our way forward. Today’s conversation was real and honest, but it was also a celebration of collaboration and success.”
The panel highlighted four diverse Indigenous partnerships.
- Domtar has a contracting relationship with Dallan LP.
- We share management of a forested land base with Meadow Lake Tribal Council Industrial Investments.
- In Quebec, our partnership with Le Groupe Aishkatsh enables mutual fiber opportunities.
- In British Columbia, we worked with Tla’amin Nation on a landmark land return agreement.
Indigenous Partnerships Are Mutually Beneficial
Business partnerships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous companies are both a step toward reconciliation and an opportunity to create mutual benefit, fueling a new and powerful economy for Canada. At Domtar, we’re committed to building Indigenous partnerships grounded in respect for Indigenous Peoples’ rights, culture and connections to the land.
The nature of each of these Indigenous partnerships is unique. So, too, are the communities in which those partnerships live.
Wilhelm says, “The question is, how do we best move forward when there are no cookie-cutter solutions? In an environment where templates don’t apply, how do we lean on the key principles of trust, respect and shared benefit to guide us and move us forward?”
Events like the Indigenous Resource Opportunities Conference offer a forum in which we hear directly from Indigenous leaders and from industry about the challenges we’ve faced and the successes we’ve co-created.
“We are honored that our partners joined us for the discussion,” says Wilhelm.
