Advising Indigenous entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneur Lara Siouï, who lives on the Wendake Indigenous reserve, an enclave within Quebec City, is unseizable by banks. As a result, few non-Indigenous financial institutions are inclined to lend her money. Many Indigenous entrepreneurs face the same problem. However, lawyers and the business community can help them in various ways.
“The Huron-Wendat Nation Council does offer loans, but at interest rates 2% or 3% higher than banks,” says the founder of Onquata, an online store selling paddles created by Indigenous artisans, for which she is still seeking funding.
This situation stems from the Indian Act, which states, among other things, that the property of “an Indian or a band situated on a reserve” cannot be mortgaged or seized “in favour or at the instance of any person other than an Indian or a band.”
This is a major obstacle to financing, says Ken Rock, executive director of the Economic Development Society of Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam and a member of the Innu Nation. “No financial institution wants to take risks,” he laments. “Without capital, there is no business.”
Legal Strategies
Caroline Briand, a specialist in Indigenous law and a partner at Langlois Lawyers, identifies some strategies to overcome this obstacle. Starting with obtaining a guarantee from her community. “It has its limits,” she acknowledges, “but a financial institution will be reassured if it knows it has the band council's commitment.”
Another strategy is for a First Nation to adopt a Land Code that allows them to avoid these restrictions on property rights. The lands concerned, as well as the resources on them, are then no longer managed by the Minister under the Indian Act, but by the Nation itself. “However, this is a long process that requires a lot of thought and adhesion,” notes the lawyer.
Not to mention that each community manages economic development in its own way, points out Innu entrepreneur Mélanie Paul, originally from Mashteuiatsh, Lac-Saint-Jean. “Some have an economic development officer within the band council, others have created an economic development corporation. Still others have a more community-based business model,” lists the speaker and trainer in holistic Indigenous partnership.
It should be noted that Quebec has 11 Indigenous nations including more than 50 different communities.
Prejudices Remain
To help Indigenous entrepreneurs, business lawyers can also provide educational work to financiers, argues Caroline Briand, who deplores the persistence of certain deep-seated prejudices in this environment. She attributes them to more or less conscious biases related to society's image of an entrepreneur.
“I recently worked with an Indigenous entrepreneur who had difficulty getting her business recognized for contract purposes,” she recounts. “People didn’t believe an Indigenous woman could lead a company.”
The lawyer also deplores the fact that some business people expect a non-Indigenous partner to necessarily participate in the project, “whereas Indigenous entrepreneurs, like them, have their own business vision.”
According to Briand, it is clear that “reconciliation [with First Nations] also includes the business and finance world.”
In this regard, Mélanie Paul uses the word “reconcili-action.” “It is important that we co-create meaningful projects that will allow us to get closer, to get to know each other better, and to both come out winners,” she insists.
To build mutual trust with their Indigenous clients, lawyers must “take the time to learn and educate themselves,” advises Mélanie Paul. “We must not omit history and the social dimension,” she emphasizes. “Often, there is a mastery of the political and economic, but social issues can hinder development.”
As a legal professional, Briand believes she must make entrepreneurs understand that she respects their vision. “We are not there to decide for them or impose our paradigm, ours as French Canadians from southern Quebec.”
Visiting the communities can help them realize the logistical challenges some communities face, she adds. “Sourcing equipment or acquiring or training specialized labor in the North can be arduous or extremely expensive,” illustrates the lawyer.
In Wendake, Lara Siouï also faced logistical issues before finding a location. “It's small here; there isn't much land,” she points out. “We are a very entrepreneurial nation, but the lack of commercial space on the reserve remains a big issue.”