AME BC Speaker Series Event “Enabling Development – Reconciling Values” a Success!

There was a room-filling audience for AME BC’s April 30 luncheon at the Sutton Place Hotel. Guests of Honor at this session of the AME BC Speaker Series were the Honorable George Abbott, Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, and Gwaans (Beverley Clifton Percival), Member and Negotiator for the Gitxsan Hereditary Chiefs and Chair of the B.C. All Chiefs’ Task Force. The title of the session: Enabling Development – Reconciling Values.

Minister Abbott lauded AME BC’s work; he said he met often with Gavin Dirom, President and CEO, and Laureen Whyte, Vice President, Sustainability and Operations. He was a big fan of the mining industry and bullish on its future. The industry employs 28,000 people, he said, and is the largest private-sector employer of aboriginal people. Half of the province’s First Nations people were younger than 26, so a special effort had to be made to bring them into the province’s economy. 

Gwaans began her talk with a greeting in the Gitxsan language. The word “decisions” occurred many times in her brief address. “We want to achieve decision making,” she said. “We don’t want to stand in the way of development, we want to take part in development. We are willing to engage in local government and take part in the decisions that are made.” And First Nations people want to share in the benefits, too. Both speakers referred to the Northwest Transmission Line project, and were in favor of it. 

The event was a great success and earned warm applause. 

AME BC would like to sincerely thank the premier sponsors of the 2009/2010 Series, Heenan Blaikie, Rescan: Engineers and Scientists; the TMX Group, and Wardrop, a Tetra Tech Company, as well as partner sponsor, KPMG LLP. 

For more information on the AME BC Speaker Series, visit www.amebc.ca/news-and-events/eventsummaries/speakerseries.aspx.