By Rick Garrick

SAULT STE. MARIE — Waubetek Business Development Corporation’s Dawn Madahbee-Leach looks forward to delivering a keynote at the Anishinabek Nation Economic Development Department’s inaugural annual Economic Development Opportunities Forum on Oct. 24-26 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. The Anishinabek Nation Economic Development Department is encouraging a wide-range of participants to attend the Forum at the Quattro Hotel and Conference Centre, including Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, Anishinabek Nation member First Nations and other First Nations, business owners, procurement organizations, funders, and others.

“I want to talk about all of the new advances that are taking place with respect to Indigenous economic development across Canada,” says Madahbee-Leach, general manager at Waubetek Business Development Corporation, chair at the National Indigenous Economic Development Board and Aundeck Omni Kaning citizen. “This is where a lot of activity is taking place for First Nations people across the country, is in economic development — we’re developing new institutions that can support our communities and help build our capacity to take advantage of economic opportunities. The doors are open for us to do so many things when it comes to establishing urban reserves to be a part of the economy in the urban centres.”

Madahbee-Leach says there are a lot of opportunities to generate revenues for First Nations to augment their services and programming for citizens.

“There’s a lot of new things going on and I’d like to share some of those stories about what’s happening and how the doors opened for that,” Madahbee-Leach says. “And also the fact that we recently had the Robinson Huron Annuities Claim, that’s going to open up the doors to many economic opportunities and it would be wise for us to use the funds to generate more dollars for our communities so that our future is secure. When we are investing in opportunities, that will create more wealth and prosperity for our communities.”

Madahbee-Leach says there are some urban reserves in central Canada that are generating revenues of $50 million annually through the commercial buildings they are establishing.

“Now there’s urban reserves that are owned jointly by numerous First Nations,” Madahbee-Leach says, noting that a group of Treaty One First Nations in Manitoba own a property in downtown Winnipeg. “That’s the first time that an urban reserve was owned by a collective of First Nations instead of just one First Nation, so there’s so much going on I wanted to share with everyone.”

The Anishinabek Nation Economic Development Department is holding the Forum to showcase its initiatives and those of its member nations, provide actionable insights and calls to action and highlight policies and funding opportunities from Ontario and Canada.

The first day of the Forum includes a keynote by Mike Jacobs, co-chair at Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and CEO at Cambium Indigenous Professional Services; Joint Venture Panel featuring Anthony Laforge and Don Bilodeau; Funding EcDev Panel featuring Laura Blease, Menalaos Argiropoulos, and Adam Yule; EcDev Foundations presentation featuring Mary-Anne Willsey, Jesse James, Stephanie Saleh, Brett Smith, and Tom Vair; and Networking and Tradeshow plenary.

The second day of the forum includes a keynote by Pat Chilton, CEO at Five Nations Energy Inc.; Business Development Panel featuring Black River Wilderness Park and other guests; Resource Development presentation featuring Michelle Seanor, Erik Bringleson, and other guests; Economic Opportunities in Energy presentation featuring John Rowinski, Logan Hill, Michael Bryant, and other guests; Energy and Resource Roundtables; and Networking and Tradeshow plenaries.