Lax Kw'alaams Band releases "Strength Through Partnerships" Annual Report on the work of the Band's Business Development office

With a number of ventures now underway and many others still in the incubation stage, the Lax Kw'alaams Business Development Office has put together their 2018/19 Annual Report which charts some of the results they have found in expanding the economic and business footprint for the community.

Posted to the Lax Kw'alaams website and Facebook page, the report highlights the success so far as the Band council builds on their vision of a strong economy built on the foundations of their cultural values.

Formed in 2016 the Lax Kw'alaams Business Development office has set out to create business opportunities within the Lax Kw’alaams Band territory including forming limited partnership companies, joint ventures and acquiring equity positions in existing companies, which have helped provide a significant amount of job opportunities for our membership.

Among some of the key findings from the Report:

100 percent of Lax Kw'alaams Business Development employees are Band members and under the age of 40.

The Business entity puts its focus  on a number of key activities including:

To Represent Lax Kw'alaams corporate interests on various Boards
Negotiate our interests in major project developments
Manage forestry referrals
Oversee an Integrated Resource Management Department
Create business opportunities
Work closely with all Coast Tsimshian partners
Create jobs and training opportunities
Provide management and executive services for the 100% Band-owned companies

They also explore their ambitions for the future for community youth and students, making note of the training opportunities that they have offered with 400,000 dollars invested in training in the last year providing instruction for 135 community members.

Revenues from Coast Tsimshian Resources forestry operations have been
reinvested into Prince Rupert Real Estate for office and training space in the city

As part of their plans to increase training opportunities, the Band notes that through their forestry revenues from Coast Tsimshian Resources they have purchased the former Amante Home Supplies Building on Third West which will be used as office space and a training facility.

Both Coast Tsimshian Resources Forestry operations and those of the Lax Kw'alaams Fish Plant also make for a significant contribution to the themes of the report.

The document also features a look at some of the shared investments through Coast Tsimshian Enterprises which is jointly owned with the Metlakatla First Nation through its Metlakatla Development corporation.

The list of new partnership opportunities offer a glimpse into the growing influence that area First Nations are having on the local economy.

Other shared economic and investment instruments include the CT Northern Contractors Alliance, CT Terminals, CT Marine LP and Gat Leedm Marine Ltd.

Looking ahead the Lax Kw'alaams Business Development Office is looking to tapping into further opportunities in trade with Asian markets, as well as further investments into the Fish plant and cold storage options as well as to continue to develop on local business opportunities.

The report sums up some of the future returns to the community that could be realized through their investments around the North Coast.

By focusing our approach on the sustainable development of our resources, on the basis of our cultural values, we have been able to generate revenue for new business ventures, training and employment opportunities, as well as investments such as developing new housing units and the Emergency Services Building.

You can review the full report here.

For more notes related to developments from Lax Kw'alaams see our archive page here, a wider overview of the Prince Rupert Commercial sector can be found from our archive here.