Ken Fredeen is general counsel emeritus and senior partner of Deloitte Indigenous. Fiona Kirkpatrick Parsons is National Advisor/kā-nīkānīt of Deloitte Indigenous. Alexandra Biron is manager of Deloitte Indigenous. As part of professional services firm Deloitte Canada, Deloitte Indigenous works collaboratively with Indigenous communities and businesses to further enable them to prosper and grow.
A glance at any news headlines today lays bare the dreadfully slow progress Canada has made toward reconciliation, even though five years have passed since the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) 94 calls to action. These calls were put in place to redress the painful and devastating legacy of residential schools and pave the way for true reconciliation. Here we are in 2020 and it’s abundantly obvious: governments across the country, every sector of the economy and Canadians overall still have much work to do to reconcile with Indigenous peoples.
June is National Indigenous History Month, when we recognize and celebrate the history and unique cultures of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. However, recognizing and celebrating once a year is not enough. With current protests happening across Canada and their demands for justice and equality, the necessary momentum for positive change is within our grasp.
It’s well past time to take a hard look at the role the Canadian business sector can play in the vital push toward reconciliation. The TRC lays it out for us in call to action Number 92, where it stresses the need for companies in Canada to commit to meaningful consultation before moving forward with economic development projects, and to ensure that Indigenous peoples have fair access to jobs, training and education opportunities.
This call to action also insists that companies deliver education for management and staff on the history of Indigenous peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, among other critical curriculums. Pledging to follow through with these commitments is the easy part. The challenge for many organizations is bringing forward concrete solutions to move us all closer to reconciliation.
It's time for us all to move past the soul-searching and pledging phase because the imperative is clear.
So, what’s next?
We believe there are four key pillars that Canadian companies can focus on in order to drive systemic change all the way into C-suites and boardrooms: inclusion, education, employment and economic empowerment. These pillars align with the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business’s Progressive Aboriginal Relations program and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Some actions in the “what’s next” part of this journey could include:
· Companies can create tangible and aggressive employment strategies to increase their own Indigenous work force. As of the 2016 census, Indigenous peoples totalled 1,673,785 people, or 4.9 per cent of Canada’s population. Setting recruitment goals proportionate to Canada’s population should be an absolute bare minimum for our HR leaders.
· In order to strengthen Indigenous businesses and communities across Canada, organizations could choose to significantly boost their annual procurement spend with Indigenous companies. This could see millions of dollars each year flowing to Indigenous-owned businesses, improving their sustainability and the potential to hire more Indigenous employees.
· Organizations can seek out and build community collaborations and volunteering initiatives to improve educational outcomes for Indigenous youth, setting annual targets for positively affecting young people in Indigenous communities.
· Invest in cultural-awareness training for the entire organization, placing emphasis on employees who are working directly with Indigenous businesses and communities.
Deloitte is Canada’s largest professional services firm, but we know that our Indigenous employee numbers do not reflect this country’s Indigenous population. We realize that accomplishing this hiring goal will require a comprehensive and multifaceted approach, using our large geographic footprint. We will be reviewing existing talent policies for opportunities across service lines, industries and geographies to focus on Indigenous recruitment, partnering and retention efforts with a target of increasing the number of Indigenous new hires to 5 per cent.
Deloitte has also recently published its own road map as a way to be accountable. While the firm admits it has already enabled generations of delay in reconciling with Indigenous peoples, it has made the decision to stand up and take action by releasing its Reconciliation Action Plan. The plan is a detailed road map for fostering collaborative, sustainable and meaningful relationships with Indigenous peoples, clients and communities – in effect, this plan reflects the firm’s own awakening to the role it must play in reconciliation.
This document represents a beginning and is customized for Deloitte’s own operations; but any organization can use it as a foundation for their own steps toward reconciliation.
There is simply no more time to waste. We call on Canadian businesses to unite in this important moment in our collective history.
Join us, as we work to build a better country.
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