Hon. Bev Busson: Honourable senators, I am rising to support and expound on Senator Klyne’s important inquiry calling the attention of Senate to the ongoing contributions made by Indigenous businesses to Canada’s economy. I’m excited and honoured to seize the opportunity, as a senator from British Columbia, to highlight some of the outstanding entrepreneurship of Indigenous nations in my province.

In the midst of the pain and generational trauma of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop, these communities have utilized traditional leadership and determination that come from overcoming difficult challenges to achieve amazing results through the communities and for Canada. There are many examples in British Columbia to choose from and I cannot list them all, but I will give you a taste of the achievements of the many communities in British Columbia that are moving forward.

In the north of my province, I would recognize the Nisga’a Nation, which, in 1999, signed the first modern-day, comprehensive treaty in British Columbia since the Douglas Treaties of 1854, thereby gaining control over their land, including forestry, fishing and mining resources for over 2,000 square kilometres of land in the Nass Valley. They are the first Indigenous government to provide for unrestricted, fee simple ownership of residentially zoned areas in the Nisga’a land, allowing its citizens to buy and sell their land and to use it to raise capital. By unlocking this important resource for supporting investment and economic growth, a new door to prosperity is thus opened.

Moreover, in 2014, the Nisga’a Nation became the primary property taxation authority to levy and collect property taxes from entities beyond Nisga’a citizens, including companies that operate installations such as pipelines and other industries. Their focus on the resources of their region is an example of innovation and entrepreneurship for all to see, creating a legacy for future generations.

The Shuswap or Secwepemc people are situated near my home. They also have a number of economic ventures that I want to talk to you about. They are particularly proud of their five-star lakefront resort called Quaaout Lodge and Talking Rock Golf Course. The top-20 PGA-rated course has become a very successful destination where there is something for everyone, supported and run by the Shuswap First Nation through the Skwlax Resource Management Group. Despite a recent fire, the community prospers because of the entrepreneurial spirit and vision and the leadership of those who have shown the way, inspired and managed by the Shuswap Band Council.

The Haida people of Haida Gwaii are another example of the many success stories of my province. Their unique governance and co-management model supports the tremendous growth and remarkable resilience flourishing in this beautiful archipelago off the coast of the mainland of British Columbia.

From economic development to education projects and engagement in entrepreneurial partnership, Haida Indigenous businesses are growing and contributing not only value to their own communities but to a wider Canadian economy.

In the southern part of my region, known as the Thompson-Okanagan, I want to shine a light on a truly outstanding entrepreneurial accomplishment. The Osoyoos Indian Band, as my friend mentioned, a part of the Okanagan Indian Band, has its traditional territory in the Okanagan Valley, from the north end of Okanagan Lake to the international border with Washington state.

Indeed, the band’s historical and traditional territory, occupied by them for thousands of years, extends deep into the United States but was politically severed when the forty-ninth parallel became a reality in the colonial division of North America.

The Osoyoos Indian Band, led since 1984 by Chief Clarence Louie, has shown great leadership in building and supporting entrepreneurial opportunities for its people and other communities in the area. Chief Louie is a recipient of many awards, including the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada. He is particularly proud that, in 2019, he was the first Indigenous person inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. In 2021, he received an honourary degree from the University of British Columbia, among many other honours.

I had the privilege of speaking with him recently and learned a great deal. He freely admits that he might have taken a different path had it not been for his quest for knowledge that led him in his early years to pursue Native American studies at the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College and later at the University of Lethbridge.

Returning to his home community, he brought a vision focused on traditional values and linked to his outstanding leadership skills.

Over the past 36 years, the Okanagan Indian Band has evolved from a poor and struggling reserve to a multimillion-dollar business where revenues this year are expected to reach over $36 million.

In his highly respected book, Rez Rules, he clearly talks about his ventures. He details his guiding principles to achieve cultural resilience and economic independence. He takes great pride in pointing out how his Indigenous ancestors provided for themselves.

He says:

They were the first entrepreneurs in Canada. They built it, they hunted it, they manufactured it. They survived by relying on their own resilience and self-reliance with no one else to lean on.

That philosophy has been his mantra and guiding principle throughout his life. In his own words, he says:

Success never sleeps. It takes an everyday commitment to hard work, but it also takes the determination to keep pushing and innovating.

His emphasis on economic development has motivated the vision and the means to improve his people’s standard of living and pathway to achieving self-sufficiency, while maintaining the Okanagan language and culture in all aspects of the band’s activities.

As a measure of success, the Okanagan Indian Band has virtually no unemployment and, in fact, brings in workers from other reserves in British Columbia and elsewhere to work there.

The Okanagan Indian Band economic development corporation owns a number of enterprises. The lynchpin is the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre, consisting of indoor and outdoor galleries with an interactive learning environment, including hands-on media learning theatres on a 1,600-acre desert conservation area where people can learn from and share in the rich heritage, traditions and culture of the Okanagan people.

Another enterprise is the Nk’Mip Canyon Desert Golf Course, a destination championship golf course that has grown into a world-class facility. The designers, with the advice of elders and others, listened to the wild symmetry of the land, the canyons and the wind to create a striking vision of its natural beauty.

Added to these enterprises is the Nk’Mip Cellars, a vineyard and winery, which is a compelling part of the reserve. The cellars were the first fully Indigenous-owned winery in North America, and they have produced many internationally recognized and award-winning wines under the direction of its Indigenous winemaker, who was sponsored by the band to go to California to learn how to become an outstanding vintner. Details from the cellars themselves to the bottle art are distinctly Indigenous in nature.

These are the accomplishments of only a few of the many businesses and projects supported by the people of the Okanagan Indian Band. Others are focused on technology, education, health and infrastructure. They have earned both the band and the surrounding area the financial independence and the path to prosperity for future generations.

From the vision and the persistence of the Okanagan Indian Band inspired by the beauty of the land to the vision of the Shuswap people and beyond, the strength of the Nisga’a people of the Nass Valley and other groups and communities in British Columbia, there are so many shining lights and amazing accomplishments of Indigenous businesses that I cannot describe them all.

Not only do these enterprises serve their reserves but also the province and the country as a whole. I look forward to hearing from my colleagues telling their stories of the contributions of Indigenous entrepreneurs in other parts of this great country. Limlemt. Thank you. Meegwetch.

(On motion of Senator Clement, debate adjourned.)

(At 5 p.m., the Senate was continued until tomorrow at 2 p.m.)

Appendix—Senators List