Corporations must play a part in reconciliation

There is still a lot of work to be done on policies, Peter Chapman, Andrea Nemtin and Mark Sevestre write.

Since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report was released two years ago, individuals and organizations from all sectors of society, from sports groups to universities, religious organizations to municipalities, have begun to engage in serious self-reflection about their role in reconciliation and implementing the TRC’s 94 Calls to Action.

But search investor and business agendas and reports and you will find little discussion of what Canadian companies are doing to advance reconciliation.

Yet, the TRC speaks directly to the role of corporate Canada in reconciliation. Call to Action 92 implores Canadian companies to embrace the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) as a reconciliation framework.

Yes, that means a commitment to obtaining free, prior and informed consent before going ahead with activities that would impact Indigenous peoples, and their lands and resources. But, it also means ensuring Indigenous peoples in Canada have equal opportunities for jobs, advancement and contracting, and it means ensuring non-Indigenous management and staff receive education on Indigenous history and rights as well as training in intercultural competency and anti-racism.

As institutional investors, from Indigenous and non-Indigenous institutions, we have an interest in both reconciliation and the longterm success of our investee companies.

More than 75 Canadian foundations and philanthropic trusts have signed a declaration of action committing to incorporate reconciliation across their work. For some signatories, like the Inspirit Foundation, this includes directing their investor dollars and voice to support reconciliation. Together with the Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE), they are approaching the companies they hold to promote practices and policies that implement TRC Call to Action 92, align with UNDRIP, and respect Indigenous perspectives and values.

Meanwhile, the National Aboriginal Trust Officers Association, which works on behalf of Indigenous institutional investors, has committed to ensuring Aboriginal trust officers have the information they need to make investment decisions that both meet their financial goals and reflect their communities’ values.

There’s a lot of work to be done. SHARE’s recent report on Business and Reconciliation looked at 173 TSX companies in eight sectors to see what they are reporting to investors on Indigenous rights, community relations, employment, advancement, training, and contracting.

While some best practices rose to the top, most companies failed to report information about their policies, practices or relations with Indigenous peoples.

Failing to report about Indigenous relations does not mean that a company is doing nothing.

But it does mean that the company’s leadership doesn’t see Indigenous relations as important enough to their business to be part of the conversation between the company and its investors. That needs to change. Improving the way companies view and interact with Indigenous peoples is fundamental to the process of reconciliation and to longterm business success. It involves shedding a risk-based framework and looking instead at developing relationships of trust, respect and opportunity.

For many companies, it requires rethinking how they relate to Indigenous communities and how they view the contributions of Indigenous peoples in their organizations as employees, leaders and business partners.

As shareholders, we have a role in making this a reality.

Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous investors can demonstrate this support by expressing their belief that if Canadian companies play their part in the reconciliation process, both their businesses and the Canadian economy will be stronger and more productive.