Reconciliation and Corporate Canada
Advancing Progress on Call to Action #92About the project: The Public Policy Forum is working with its partners to identify corporate champions of reconciliation. These Canadian champions will help develop a knowledge base which the Canadian government, government partners and corporate Canada can use to implement Call to Action #92 in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) report. The TRC’s call to action #92 is directed at Canada’s corporate sector and its leadership “to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a reconciliation framework and to apply its principles, norms, and standards to corporate policy and core operational activities involving Indigenous peoples and their lands and resources.”
More specifically, Call to Action #92 emphasizes the need for:
- Meaningful consultation, respectful relationships and obtaining free, prior and informed consent;
- Ensuring there is equitable access to jobs, training and education opportunities in the corporate sector and that Aboriginal communities gain long-term sustainable benefits from economic development projects; and
- Training for managers and staff on the history of Indigenous peoples and providing skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.
Building on learnings from the National Indigenous Economic Development Board’s (NIEDB) comprehensive report entitled Reconciliation: Growing Canada’s Economy by $27.7 Billion and the conference series entitled Expanding the Circle What Reconciliation and Inclusive Growth Can Mean for Indigenous Peoples and Canada, PPF is pleased to partner with NIEDB to explore best practices for promoting and tracking meaningful action toward realizing the vision outlined in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call to action #92.
While many businesses in Canada have taken important steps to engage in reconciliation, much work remains to be done in order to fulfill the Commission’s important recommendations.
PPF conducted a series of interviews for NIEDB with key employers within corporate Canada to discuss existing initiatives focused on promoting reconciliation, successes, gaps in Canadian programming, etc.
Timeline: Spring 2018 to Spring 2019