Indigenous Governance & Economic Development 2023

Course Chair
Adam Munnings — Munnings Law, West Vancouver

About the Course Chiar
Adam Munnings is Anishnaabe from Curve Lake First Nation and has been a lawyer practicing in a boutique Aboriginal Law Firm since 2010. He has acted as general counsel for Aboriginal communities and their organizations in a wide range of matters, including economic development, specific claims, reserve land management, employment, governance, accommodation of Aboriginal rights, and negotiations and agreements with government and industry. In June 2015, he completed his MBA in Aboriginal Business and Leadership at Simon Fraser University, as a way to better support his client's business needs. This paved the way for founding Munnings Law in 2016, a boutique Aboriginal and Business Law firm.

Adam serves as Board chair for the Vancouver Native Health Society, as a member of the Board for the PHS Community Services Society, and a member of the Canadian Bar Association BC ("CBABC") Provincial Council. Previously, he has served as Chair of the CBABC Aboriginal Lawyers Forum, Chair of North Shore Restorative Justice, and President of the Aboriginal Housing Management Association. Adam has written articles, presented at professional education courses and as a guest lecturer at UBC and the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology. In addition, he has recently started fly fishing, hunting and powerlifting, enjoys the outdoors, camping and finding time for travel with his wife and dogs.

Welcome
Sheryl Rivers — Knowledge Keeper, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, Squamish

Sheryl Rivers, ancestral names, Siamtnaat (see-um-ten-not) & Milnitdi (mull-nay-dee) is from the Squamish Nation, residing on the Eslha7an (aww-slaw-hawn) village in North Vancouver. She comes from the Rivers, Paull & Lackett Joe family lineage. Sheryl graduated in 2015 from the 1st Aboriginal Executive Masters in Business Administration Program in North America through Simon Fraser University-Beedie School of Business. She is also Sole Proprietor for Rivers Consulting and has run her own business for over 20 years.

She served two full terms as a City of North Vancouver appointed Commissioner for the North Vancouver Museum & Archives, with a new one being launched on November 2021 at the Shipyards area of Lower Lonsdale. She was on the Board of Directors for the United Way Lower Mainland. As well as, BC President for the Indigenous Peoples Commission for the Federal Liberal Party of Canada. Founding Lead Board member for Siyamin Artist Cooperative, BOD Alternative for Squamish Nation with the Fraser Basin Council, BOD for Legacy North Shore.

Sheryl learned Squamish language from her late mother Audrey and also practices her culture through songs, dances, and ceremonies in her life. She has been educated in the areas of Administrative, Life Skills Coach, Facilitator, First Nations Political & Leadership, Community Economic Development, Voiceover Acting, Marketing Management/Communications & Aboriginal Business Management.

Faculty
Mary N. Childs — General Counsel, Tsawwassen First Nation, Tsawwassen
Darren Haines — Ratcliff LLP, North Vancouver
Saul B. Joseph — Clark Wilson LLP, Vancouver
Rosanne M. Kyle — Mandell Pinder LLP, Vancouver
David Luggi — Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, Prince George
Darrin P. Mah — Munnings Law, West Vancouver
Virginia C. Mathers — Mandell Pinder LLP, Vancouver
Stephen McGlenn — Director of Lands & Natural Resources Governance/EOC Director, Leq’á:mel First Nation, Deroche
Dr. Millie Nickason, PhD, MPA, LLB — Barrister & Solicitor, Nanaimo
Robin Phillips — JFK Law LLP, Victoria
Elsa Sardinha — Secretary-General & Managing Director, Vancouver International Arbitration Centre, Vancouver
Arseniy Shchedrinskiy, CPA, CFF — Ratcliff LLP, North Vancouver
Maya Stano — Gowling WLG, Vancouver
Sharon Sutherland — Executive Director, Mediate BC, Delta
Erin Thomson-Leach — JFK Law LLP, Victoria

Course Materials Contributor
Lana Nielsen — Articled Student, Munnings Law, West Vancouver

Click here for full faculty bios

Welcome and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:10)

Sheryl Rivers — Knowledge Keeper, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, Squamish
Adam Munnings — Munnings Law, West Vancouver
Teresa Sheward — Program Lawyer, CLEBC, Vancouver

Separation of Business and Governance (9:10 – 9:40)

• importance of building good governance and community support for your economic development
• fiduciary duty to nation
• Harvard project, business charters, and the relationship between the business and the Nation

Darrin P. Mah — Munnings Law, West Vancouver

Structuring Businesses: Practice, Ethics, and Client Relations (9:40 – 10:20)

• distinguishing economic and business development
• features and challenges of common business development structure (tiered limited partnerships)
• harmonizing and managing diversifying interests (i.e., multiple businesses, owners, partnerships) through management tools and practices

Darren Haines — Ratcliff LLP, North Vancouver
Arseniy Shchedrinskiy, CPA, CFF — Ratcliff LLP, North Vancouver

BREAK (10:20 – 10:35)

Indigenous-led Real Estate Development (10:35 – 11:05)

• overview of land/governance regimes
• trends and opportunities
• structuring considerations

Saul B. Joseph — Clark Wilson LLP, Vancouver

Sustainable Development and Indigenous Lands Governance Under Land Code (11:05 – 11:35)

Stephen McGlenn — Director of Lands & Natural Resources Governance/EOC Director, Leq’á:mel First Nation, Deroche
Maya Stano — Gowling WLG, Vancouver

Economic Development in the Modern Treaty Context (11:35 – 12:05)

• brief overview of the Tsawwassen model of self-government
• how does the Tsawwassen Treaty's concurrent law model shape economic development?
• economic development by TFN—structures and processes
• economic development by TFN Members and Member-owned businesses—what does TFN do to support?
• some thoughts about the future of economic development at TFN

Mary N. Childs — General Counsel, Tsawwassen First Nation, Tsawwassen

LUNCH (12:05 – 12:45)

Aboriginal Title vs. Fee Simple (12:45 – 1:25)

• post-colonial Indigenous governance and economic development based on inter-cultural legal pluralism
• the relationship between Aboriginal title and fee simple title, addressing critical questions for inter-governmental and business relationships between First Nations and settler communities in BC
• the law in Canada recognizes that Indigenous legal orders determine the nature, scope and ownership of Aboriginal title, and that Canadian courts must give equal weight to Indigenous law and the common law when determining competing claims to lands and resources
• the co-existence of Aboriginal title and fee simple title reflects the presence of inter-cultural legal pluralism in Canada: an important component of our 21st century economic, social, political, and geographic reality
• understanding the nature and legal bases of these types of title can support the transition to mutually beneficial and more sustainable post-colonial inter-governmental and business relationships

Dr. Millie Nickason, PhD, MPA, LLB — Barrister & Solicitor, Nanaimo

DRIPA Opportunities: Drafting Consent Based Agreements Under DRIPA (1:25 – 2:15)

• s. 7 of DRIPA has created space for the Province and Indigenous governing bodies to enter into agreements that recognize Indigenous decision-making
• important considerations for the negotiation of these agreements will be discussed, including:
  • the role of industry in consent-based decision-making processes
  • issues of procedural fairness and transparency in relation to proponents
  • the use and protection of confidential Indigenous knowledge
  • enforcement mechanisms

Rosanne M. Kyle — Mandell Pinder LLP, Vancouver
Virginia C. Mathers — Mandell Pinder LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (2:15 – 2:30)

Domestic Commercial Arbitration as an Alternative to Courts (2:30 – 3:00)

• introduction to domestic commercial arbitration in BC as an alternative to courts
• VanIAC's model arbitration clause for dispute resolution provision of any commercial contract
• tailoring the clause to include culturally relevant traditions such as opening/closing ceremonies, hearings on Indigenous lands, and elements of importance to Indigenous parties
• careers in arbitration for Indigenous lawyers in BC, across Canada, and abroad

Elsa Sardinha — Secretary-General & Managing Director, Vancouver International Arbitration Centre, Vancouver

Dispute Resolution in the Context of Treaty and Reconciliation Agreements: Reading Between the Lines—What's Not in Your ADR Clause (3:00 – 4:00)

• dispute resolution within long-term, government-to-government agreements
  • the intent of dispute resolution clauses and considerations to set the parties on a path to success
  • the importance of process design and questioning assumptions around dispute resolution
  • how working together to design an appropriate dispute resolution process can be a site of relationship building
  • considering historic power imbalances and avoiding reproducing these dynamics
  • thinking about who may need to be present (and who does not need to be there), and how best to take advantage of the flexibility of collaborative dispute resolution

David Luggi — Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, Prince George
Robin Phillips — JFK Law LLP, Victoria
Sharon Sutherland — Executive Director, Mediate BC, Delta
Erin Thomson-Leach — JFK Law LLP, Victoria

Closing Remarks (4:00 – 4:15)

Adam Munnings — Munnings Law, West Vancouver