*This story was originally published in the 40th-anniversary issue of CCAB’s Aboriginal Business Report.
By Nikita Weiss Day
Insights on how to build successful business partnerships that will stand the test of time.
Many factors go into creating a successful partnership, whether it’s between individuals,
businesses, organizations, or Nations. When a partnership is founded on genuine collaboration, the mutual benefits to both parties grow exponentially.
For Indigenous peoples in Canada, the business marketplace has provided fertile ground for the development of outstanding partnerships that deliver a range of benefits: economic reconciliation, self-determination, capacity building and wealth transfer, to name a few.
Kitsaki Management Limited Partnership, which manages economic development for the Lac La Ronge Indian Band in Saskatchewan, is one example of an Indigenous business that has prospered thanks to strategic partnerships. As is often the case, its biggest partnership, with energy giant SaskPower, began with an opportunity.
“They were working on a transmission line from one of their hydro projects to the main grid. And they needed cutting along that transmission line to be completed. They were really looking to engage First Nations in that area, which was us,” Kitsaki CEO Ron Hyggen says.
While work initially began in partnership with Valard Construction, Kitsaki was able to build enough capacity throughout the project to take it over.
“We took it in bite-sized pieces, and that was by design, to make sure that we were able to succeed and reduce risk,” says Hyggen. “That really became the beginning of a long-term relationship.
This part of Kitsaki is now called Kitsaki Vegetation, and it completes all integrated vegetation management for SaskPower, ensuring the stability of the provincial power grid.
For Hyggen, collaborating with clients isn’t just a matter of fulfilling a contract. It’s about working to make sure both sides know what is really needed from the partnership.
“It’s not just the job for us,” Hyggen says. “We’re trying to fulfil more than that. We have different mandates as a First Nation, on employment, on training – and really on economic development in our Nation and our partner First Nations.”
For many First Nations, says Hyggen, development often starts in the Nation’s own backyard. “A lot of First Nations will build a gas station. And that’s the first real business opportunity to start with. From there, they add on, and they take on more and more companies and different types of operations.”
Over the years, Kitsaki has built a large portfolio of investments across multiple sectors, including transportation, catering, underground mining, engineering, insurance and forestry. When it comes to maintaining a strong partnership, Hyggen believes having a seat at the table is key, along with a mutual understanding of what the long-term goals are.
“The way I look at it is we have 12,000 First Nation members in our band, one of the largest in the country, and that’s all my family,” he says. “Whatever we do for profits actually goes back to them…. So, I always say I have 12,000 bosses.”
On the other side of Kitsaki’s partnership is Rhea Brown, executive vice president of customer experience and procurement for SaskPower. In working with Kitsaki, says Brown, SaskPower understands that the value truly flows back to the people.
“When we think about the prosperous relationships that we’ve had with Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups, a consistent theme is the prioritization of meaningful contribution to capacity building, skills growth, and sustainable economic impacts for the workforce and the communities that they represent. And I think through this lens, Kitsaki is the definition of a good partner,” Brown says.
Brown feels proud to see the positive growth SaskPower and their Indigenous supply partners have experienced, meeting and even exceeding targets every year for contracting with Indigenous suppliers. “It’s important that our supply chain is committed to creating direct impacts for and with Indigenous communities. For SaskPower, a big lesson has been that we have to continue to evolve and continue to raise the bar,” she notes.
For Brown, SaskPower’s biggest success comes in the form of Indigenous ingenuity and capacity growth. “It makes us very proud when we are able to help an Indigenous business get their foot in the door, get work experience, grow capacity and skills and then compete on other work in our province and outside of our province – and knowing that we had even a small role in helping that supplier gain that experience that helps their success.”
You can read the full article on the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) website. Click here to read more about building resilient partnerships.