“Go West, Young Man”

Willson International has been helping businesses simplify crossborder shipping since 1918. We talked to V.P. Sales, Jack Langelaan, about the move to B.C. and further expansion plans

Why did Willson International expand to British Columbia?

Entering the Vancouver market in July of 2015 represented continuation of the vision of our founder, William Willson. His vision was to provide excellent service to a growing international trade market.

Vancouver is an important gateway for trade in both the Pacific Rim and the United States. Today the Vancouver Port supports 20% of Canadian trade and over 98,000 jobs. Willson specializes in some of B.C.'S most important markets, including lumber, produce and food manufacturing.

When did Willson’s journey start?

It began almost 100 years ago, in 1918, when William Willson opened the first Canadian customs brokerage office at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie. He had a reputation for excellent service, and we benefitted from the tremendous growth of trade between Ontario and the U.S. industrial heartland. It is interesting to draw a parallel here. While the West Coast has always been a dynamic trading area, B.C. is experiencing exciting growth. Exports increased over 8% in 2016.

When did you open in British Columbia?

Our Sales team began in July 2015, and our Richmond, B.C. office opened in January 2016. We have an outstanding team in place to support the growth we are experiencing. To optimize customer service, we have two Account Executives, Gina Jackson and Dena Conwright, who are supported by two Inside Sales Representatives, Sheela Barot and Jonathan Forrester. Mark Van Roon is the Senior Regulatory Analyst in our Vancouver office, and Adam Scobie, is the Branch Manager.

What are the success factors? Why has Willson lasted 100 years?

We are a family owned, private company with a people-centric culture. Being family owned permits us to remain agile, innovative and focus on the long term. We have three key success factors: 1) a customer-centric approach to both excellence and continuous improvement; 2) the courage to take risks, and; 3) a committed corporate culture that puts “Family First.” Our values directly impact our three biggest assets: technology, information and people; what we call TIP.

What is a recent example of innovation?

Our most recent innovation is the development of a web-based program that reduces time and effort for shippers, especially in the produce and timber industry. It enhances our integration capability with our clients' data flow, manages E-manifest and is FSVP ready. Customer feedback has been excellent.

What’s next?

The success of both our existing operation in B.C. and our International Logistics Services based in Toronto, has created a need for us to further expand our presence on the West Coast. We'll be expanding our B.C. team by about 5 people over the coming months, which will allow us to meet the needs of new and existing customers domestically, internationally and crossborder. While continuous innovation in technology is critical, our focus is on the customer. We are always looking for ways to improve our execution, and our service. Obviously I can't disclose all the details, but it is a very exciting time.

Chevron, Kinder Morgan Canada and Transcanada. His role has mainly been helping indigenous leaders with the rigorous task of informing their membership about projects and gaining consent to sign agreements.

It's an even bigger challenge when First Nations haven't resolved internal conflicts such as who can speak for the broader membership, Beaton says: “Something I've seen over and over again is that nations really need to solve their governance issues before they're able to take on controversial decisions.” But these problems are complex and take time and money to fix.

Beaton says he's tried to convince the federal and provincial governments and the energy sector to fund the kind of comprehensive community engagement required to reach consent, but so far, he's come up empty. “They don't understand that when an elected chief signs on behalf of hereditary chiefs in a place where they have not OK'D that, where the nation has not said yes, that causes an incredible amount of conflict,” he observes. “And that directly impacts that project.”

To avoid community infighting and ensure that resource projects go ahead, Beaton says there must be engagement that gives every member of the band a chance to have their voice heard by the leadership.

Beaton estimates that an effort resulting in an informed vote costs between $300 to $400 a member for communities smaller than 500 and $80 to $250 a person for larger ones. This can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. It seems expensive, but for megaprojects

“What they have to realize about First Nations reserves is… there's one family in power, and then everyone else has no say in what's going on. What they should do if they really want to make sure that they have informed consent when the vote happens, is they need to identify the individuals that don't have a say and sit down with them” — Andrew Genaille, Peters First Nation

that cost billions to build, it's a small price to pay upfront for project certainty and long-term peace in the community.

“It cannot be overstated how important it is for resource companies to engage early and often,” says Pepita Mckee, founder of Impact Resolutions, a Vancouver consulting firm specializing in community and stakeholder engagement. Mckee advises corporations to consider a series of community engagement exercises “to better inform them of the concerns, issues and expectations of First Nations.”

They must also be patient, according to Beaton. “Part of the approach that I've seen that does not work is the backdoor deals, including taking leaders away from their territory to places like Vancouver to have meetings,” he says. “I've seen projects where those bills can be racked up very quickly—the flights, the hotels, the consulting, the pressure to sign now. But a lot of times First Nations leaders are not willing to sign now. So those processes tend to be drawn out over a number of years, and the costs add up.”

Even if companies like Kinder Morgan Canada convince First Nations leaders to sign agreements, if those leaders didn't include their members in the decision-making process, the result can be a legacy of conflict and bad blood—as in Peters. “The band had an opportunity to engage the community members, and they failed miserably,” member Samantha Peters says. “We're so fractured down here that you can't really get all of us into one meeting room. People will call the cops on each other. It's that bad.”

Fellow band member Andrew Genaille has some advice for Kinder Morgan and any other company wanting to cut deals with First Nations. “What they have to realize about First Nations reserves is…there's one family in power, and then everyone else has no say in what's going on,” he warns. “What they should do if they really want to make sure that they have informed consent when the vote happens, is they need to identify the individuals that don't have a say and sit down with them.

“But that's up to them,” Genaille says.

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