Indigenous economic development corporations (EDC) play a vital role in strengthening community benefits in mining projects and advancing Indigenous economic reconciliation. There are still many Indigenous governments with recently established and emerging EDCs. These corporations want to scale up quickly, to meaningfully participate in the existing and future mineral developments in their region.

With the growing need for critical minerals and increasing requests for technical assistance support from emerging Indigenous EDCs and businesses, Catalyste+ (formerly the Canadian Executive Service Organization (CESO) and its volunteer advisors are working with Indigenous partners to strengthen their management and governance capacity to promote relevant, inclusive economic development.

In this fireside chat, a Catalyste+ volunteer advisor, representatives from emerging EDCs and a project proponent, discuss opportunities and challenges associated with building well-rounded EDCs in small communities. Illustrated by practical examples, the session brings to light the critical importance of effective communication tools and corporate governance structures.

The shared experiences will inform communities, governments and project proponents, on how emerging Indigenous economic development corporations in rural and remote communities in Canada can prepare, benefit from and contribute to mineral development projects.