business NEWSLETTER

NOVEMBER 2020

LETTER FROM PRESIDENT

Boozhoo, members!

Welcome to our 2021 board, confirmed September 24th, 2020. You will find details of our online but exceptional and successful first Annual General Meeting in this newsletter, and miigwetch to all who joined myself and the board for our meeting, and our public event Lessons Learned & Looking Forward. It was a great honour to have MPP Sol Mamakwa of Kiiwetinoong riding join us and offer welcoming opening remarks to our members and guests.

We hope all our First Nations owners, operators and partners continue to weather the storm of 2020, and that your families and communities remain well and healthy at this time.

The Anishnawbe Business Professional Association is looking forward to a busy year, and we ask that you, our members, help us make it even more successful by taking a few minutes to give us your thoughts about our future initiatives. We are here for you, your businesses, and your communities, and we want to move forward together in a shared direction that lifts us all. You can find our survey here at abpa.live/strongertogether.

We look forward to continuing to serve, represent, and advocate for our First Nations owners, operators, contractors, partnerships, organizations, and communities in Treaty 3, Treaty 5, Treaty 9, Robinson Superior 1850, and Robinson Huron.

Chi-Miigwetch for an eventful first year,

Jason Rasevych

MEMBER PROFILES

“First Nations people have lived on the lands of the north shore for thousands of years. Our culture, heritage and ways of life are deeply connected to the forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife of these traditional territories. Supercom and its representatives represent the collective engagement of our communities and are committed to promoting sustainable economic development while maintaining and protecting the resources within our lands and waters for future generations.”

Supercom Industries LP (Supercom) is a 100% First Nation owned business and unique partnership of six First Nations – Fort William First Nation, Red Rock Indian Band, Pays Plat First Nation, Biigtigong Nishnaabeg, Pic Mobert First Nation and Michipicoten First Nation.

Robert Starr of Supercom joined the ABPA as a panelist at the AGM Panel Event, discussing the East West Tie Transmission project and the benefits of strategic partnerships for First Nations leadership and communities. You can read more about Supercom at their website:

ABPA 2020 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

2020 Annual General Meeting of the Anishnawbe Business Professional Association

Miigwetch to all our members and guests who attended our First Annual General Meeting!

This event was held virtually via Zoom on September 24th, 2020 due to the public health circumstances. We were honoured to have Sol Mamakwa, MPP for Kiiwetinoog, join us as a special guest speaker to offer welcoming remarks for our members and guests.

In the morning, we had a quorum of our members, reviewed the year’s finances, and the returning board was approved, along with a new addition, Tony Marinaro, for the Treaty Three area!. Welcome, Tony!

Rachael Paquette of Cheadles LLP, John Glover of Minodahmun Development LP, and Robert Starr of Supercom Industries LP provided a stimulating and diverse panel focused on First Nations cooperative business opportunities, practical information on the legal formation of partnerships between organizations, and upcoming projects in our region and how impacts our communities.

We had guests joining us from as far as Southern Ontario to hear our public panel, Lessons Learned & Looking Forward, and members of local and regional media were in attendance as well.

While we hope the future allows us to gather together in person and share a meal, we believe this event was a success, and we look forward to exploring how we can continue to engage with our members, the public, and our leadership in this virtual way. Read our full report below.

CONFIRMED BOARD

Voted September 24th, 2020

Jason Rasevych, President
Rachael Paquette, Vice President
Jason Thompson, Treasurer

Brian Davey
Ron Marano

Tony Marinaro
Steven McCoy

miigwetch to our sponsors

Alpha Sponsor

Thank you to Newmont for their generous sponsorship of our first AGM. Newmont is the world’s leading gold company and a producer of copper, silver, zinc and lead. The Company’s world-class portfolio of assets, prospects and talent is anchored in mining jurisdictions in North America, South America, Australia and Africa. Newmont is the only gold producer listed in the S&P 500 Index and is widely recognized for its principled environmental, social and governance practices. The Company is an industry leader in value creation, supported by robust safety standards, superior execution and technical proficiency. Newmont was founded in 1921 and has been publicly traded since 1925. Musselwhite is a fly-in, fly-out operation located approximately 500 kilometers north of Thunder Bay, Canada. Musselwhite’s ore is mined from two main zones below Lake Opapimiskan. Ore is processed onsite using a circuit that includes crushing, grinding, leaching by cyanidation, carbon in pulp recovery and electrowinning.

PACK SPONSORS

Our pack sponsors for our first AGM were Sysco Canada and Synergy North. Thank you to our pack sponsors for your generous support, and we look forward to working with you again in the future.

Benefits of your membership

We provide information sessions and networking events targeting relevant topics and projects for business expansion in Northern Ontario.

We develop best practices for major First Nations development projects and non-First Nations businesses related to procurement policies and human resource polices focused on inclusion.

Members will be the first to know about special discounts on all events and access to new programs for doing business in Northern Ontario

Members will have better access to economic buyers and key decision makers in Northern Ontario through our business directory and special events and conferences.

what's important to you?

Are there topics or areas of interest that you want to learn more about?

Do you know an Indigenous professional who you think our members should hear from?

What do you want to see from your ABPA membership?

We try to keep an ear to the ground, but Indigenous enterprise is a thriving, growing economy, and there’s always new voices to hear and new faces to see. If there is something or someone you would want to see in a seminar, workshop, or networking event, we invite you to get in touch. Feel welcome to pitch us a topic, nominate a speaker, or simply tell us what’s important to you.

At BMO Indigenous Banking Unit, a proud member of the ABPA, we work with a spirit of partnership and co-operation to provide financial solutions to Indigenous communities and businesses across Canada.

Competitive Banking Options for Community Members – Payroll, Lines of Credit, Funding for Government and Organizations – Budget Planning – Home Visits for Elders – Community Participation

Competitive Banking Options for Community Members
Payroll
Lines of Credit

Funding for Government and Organizations
Budget Planning
Home Visits for Elders
Community Participation

Contact the Indigenous Banking Unit today to discuss how we can help your organization grow.

Dan Adams

Vice President, Indigenous Banking North America, Ontario
807-343-1436 | dan.adams@bmo.com

Sponsor an ABPA Newsletter Today

Would you like to see your name and logo featured for our Anishnawbe Business Professionals community? Sponsor our newsletter. Your name, logo, description of services and contact information will be distributed to our membership and all our social media channels. If your Business or Organization would like to sponsor a future Newsletter, reach out to us at info@anishnawbebusiness.com.

Ch-Miigwetch for your support for Indigenous Business!