Summary:
The corporate sector has not collectively adopted UNDRIP, nor formally committed to management level training of UNDRIP and the legacy of residential schools.
The Call to Action:
We call upon the corporate sector in Canada 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 land and resources. This would include, but not be limited to, the following:
i) Commit to meaningful consultation, building respectful relationships and obtaining the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples before proceeding with economic development projects.
ii) Ensure that Aboriginal peoples have 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.
iii) Provide education for management and staff on the history of Aboriginal Peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law and Aboriginal-Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights and anti-racism.
Analysis:
The corporate sector has not collectively adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), nor formally committed to management level training of UNDRIP and the legacy of residential schools.
There has been small progress, however, regarding equitable access to corporate sector jobs.
In October 2017, a national survey of corporations across Canada revealed most do not actively seek to engage Indigenous Peoples or cultures, and do not recognize the importance of it.
Indigenous Works, formerly the Aboriginal Human Resource Council, a national non-profit agency that helps companies better engage Indigenous Peoples, commissioned the survey in response to the TRC Call to Action #92.
The survey also revealed that only one in four companies surveyed were aware of Call to Action #92.
As a result, in February 2018, Indigenous Works, along with representatives of the corporate sector and the federal government, planned to meet in Ottawa to review the report findings, and determine ways to help corporate Canada implement Call to Action #92.
Background:
In May 2017, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce released its own report stating government must provide more support and clarity for reconciliation to take place.
“Coming Together, Making Progress: Business Role in Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples”, identifies the challenges involved, in trying to implement Call to Action #92.
“Call to Action #92 is directed at the business community, but it is often unclear what their responsibilities are. Making Progress calls on the Crown to take the lead and provide clarity to all parties on what their role should be,” according to the CCC news release.
A CCC spokesperson, in a written statement to CBC News, states that they, along with their members, are committed to obtaining free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous People before proceeding with economic development projects.
“Meaningful consultation is based upon the engagement that builds relationships, so before you start consulting on any particular project, our view is that a company needs to actually build a relationship,” CCC spokesperson Susanna Cluff-Clyburne states.
But the CCC has not formally adopted UNDRIP as a reconciliation framework to incorporate into their policies.
Meanwhile, in April 2017, Indigenous Works launched “Accelerate,” a program designed to help companies better integrate Indigenous Peoples into the corporate world.
“The all new Accelerate program will equip them with tools and skills to increase their equality in the workplace,” according to an Indigenous Works April 2017 news release.
The news release also states that program is customized for employment equity firms and “will help them respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Call for Actions.”
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has not itself created specific education or training opportunity programs in response to the Call to Action #92.