Economy

Public policy must ensure Aboriginal participation in the economy – Business in Vancouver

Published

4 years ago

December 11, 2020

In communities across Canada, people are coming together in a wide range of activities intended to bring Indigenous and non-Indigenous citizens closer together.

It’s a welcome start, but it falls far short of meaningful “reconciliation” between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

“Reconciliation is about establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in this country,” the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada declared in its 2015 report. It added: “We are not there yet.”

Indeed, we are not – even five years later.

There are Indigenous communities where unemployment hits 70%. Poverty is rampant. More than half the 633 First Nations in Canada don’t have clean and reliable water supplies. At least half of reserves have defective and crowded housing.

Social problems abound. Education and income levels are lower. Suicide rates are five to seven times higher for First Nations youth than for non-Indigenous youth.

Indigenous people make up some 20% of people in prison, although they make up only 5% of the Canadian population.

Life expectancy can be 10 to 15 years shorter. Infant mortality is higher.

As noted by Perry Bellegarde, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Canada and its standard of living ranks sixth in the world according to the UN Human Development Index. But apply those index measurements to Canada’s Indigenous people and the rank drops to 63rd.

For me, reconciliation begins when we Indigenous people are able to stand on our own two feet financially, when our quality of life increases, when social and economic issues are addressed, and socio-economic gaps are closed. Then we can say we’re on our way.

The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed many initiatives, but there are some encouraging signs of moves on economic reconciliation. Ken Coates, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan and fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, wrote in a paper in August: “Canada’s natural resource sector has emerged as one of the front lines of Indigenous reconciliation in Canada, providing the nation and Indigenous peoples with a new and evolving model of Indigenous-corporate engagement.”

Coates notes how court decisions began to shape a reality in which “major decisions about resource extraction and resource infrastructure, like pipelines, require Indigenous engagement, though not necessarily the communities’ formal approval.”

Coates is technically correct on the last point. But, certainly in B.C., you really can’t do your business on Indigenous land without consent from the affected First Nations.

That’s a long haul from the colonial era when resource companies simply invaded unceded Indigenous territory. They drilled, they built pipelines, mines and plants, dammed rivers, and carried on their business without affected First Nations having a say in any of it – and without compensation.

By now, however, First Nations have won more than 300 court decisions on land, title, rights, consultation and accommodation.

Many industries have learned how to “consult and accommodate” and how to build meaningful relationships with First Nations before trying to build projects. They can get to “Yes” if they take the time to do that and stick to it. And they can quickly get to “No” if they break promises or push disrespectful colonial values.

B.C., the Northwest Territories and the federal government plan to harmonize their laws and practices with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

We’re not yet sure what this harmonization will look like in practice. Will it, in the end, mean you must have a First Nation’s approval for a resource project in B.C.?

If so, this has been happening in some sectors for years. A prime example is LNG Canada and the associated Coastal GasLink pipeline. There are others in liquefied natural gas and the mining sector.

Impact benefit agreements with resource developers became a standard practice, giving affected First Nations some financial benefits. So did procurement agreements, in which Indigenous-owned companies provide goods and services.

Now, Indigenous entities are pursing true partnerships in enterprises and a real share in the decisions (and the profits). As Coates notes: “Indigenous communities are becoming increasingly willing to defend the industry and make large equity investments in oil and gas.”

TC Energy, for example, plans to sell a stake of as much as 75% in the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline in B.C. And a group of First Nations is looking to buy in.

The most cited possibility is an Indigenous share in the publicly owned Trans Mountain pipeline and its expansion.

While some First Nations loudly oppose the line, three western Canadian Indigenous groups have been eyeing a potential share: the Western Indigenous Pipeline Group, the Project Reconciliation group and the Alberta-based Iron Coalition. The first two say they’re interested in a least a majority share.

So we’re seeing some progress toward economic reconciliation – but we’re nowhere near there yet.

Governments need to help enable these opportunities for Indigenous people. They need to ensure a more modern approach to fiscal relations is developed and that capital is available for the broader opportunities.

And they need to build a policy framework that ensures Indigenous participation in the economy is more than an afterthought. •

Karen Ogen-Toews of the First Nations LNG Alliance is an elected councillor of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation in British Columbia, and a former elected chief of that Nation.

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Business

A timeline of events in the bread price-fixing scandal

Published

5 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.

Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.

Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.

Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.

Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.

Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).

Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.

June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.

Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”

Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.

July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.

Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)

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Economy

S&P/TSX composite up more than 250 points, U.S. stock markets also higher

Published

5 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 250 points in late-morning trading, led by strength in the base metal and technology sectors, while U.S. stock markets also charged higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 254.62 points at 23,847.22.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 432.77 points at 41,935.87. The S&P 500 index was up 96.38 points at 5,714.64, while the Nasdaq composite was up 486.12 points at 18,059.42.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.68 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.

The November crude oil contract was up 89 cents at US$70.77 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down a penny at US2.27 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$9.40 at US$2,608.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.33 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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Economy

Construction wraps on indoor supervised site for people who inhale drugs in Vancouver

Published

19 hours ago

September 18, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – Supervised injection sites are saving the lives of drug users everyday, but the same support is not being offered to people who inhale illicit drugs, the head of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS says.

Dr. Julio Montaner said the construction of Vancouver’s first indoor supervised site for people who inhale drugs comes as the percentage of people who die from smoking drugs continues to climb.

The location in the Downtown Eastside at the Hope to Health Research and Innovation Centre was unveiled Wednesday after construction was complete, and Montaner said people could start using the specialized rooms in a matter of weeks after final approvals from the city and federal government.

“If we don’t create mechanisms for these individuals to be able to use safely and engage with the medical system, and generate points of entry into the medical system, we will never be able to solve the problem,” he said.

“Now, I’m not here to tell you that we will fix it tomorrow, but denying it or ignoring it, or throw it under the bus, or under the carpet is no way to fix it, so we need to take proactive action.”

Nearly two-thirds of overdose deaths in British Columbia in 2023 came after smoking illicit drugs, yet only 40 per cent of supervised consumption sites in the province offer a safe place to smoke, often outdoors, in a tent.

The centre has been running a supervised injection site for years which sees more than a thousand people monthly and last month resuscitated five people who were overdosing.

The new facilities offer indoor, individual, negative-pressure rooms that allow fresh air to circulate and can clear out smoke in 30 to 60 seconds while users are monitored by trained nurses.

Advocates calling for more supervised inhalation sites have previously said the rules for setting up sites are overly complicated at a time when the province is facing an overdose crisis.

More than 15,000 people have died of overdoses since the public health emergency was declared in B.C. in April 2016.

Kate Salters, a senior researcher at the centre, said they worked with mechanical and chemical engineers to make sure the site is up to code and abidies by the highest standard of occupational health and safety.

“This is just another tool in our tool box to make sure that we’re offering life-saving services to those who are using drugs,” she said.

Montaner acknowledged the process to get the site up and running took “an inordinate amount of time,” but said the centre worked hard to follow all regulations.

“We feel that doing this right, with appropriate scientific background, in a medically supervised environment, etc, etc, allows us to derive the data that ultimately will be sufficiently convincing for not just our leaders, but also the leaders across the country and across the world, to embrace the strategies that we are trying to develop.” he said.

Montaner said building the facility was possible thanks to a single $4-million donation from a longtime supporter.

Construction finished with less than a week before the launch of the next provincial election campaign and within a year of the next federal election.

Montaner said he is concerned about “some of the things that have been said publicly by some of the political leaders in the province and in the country.”

“We want to bring awareness to the people that this is a serious undertaking. This is a very massive investment, and we need to protect it for the benefit of people who are unfortunately drug dependent.” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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