Call to action 92 – the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call for economic development endeavours to be grounded in meaningful consultation and respectful relationships with Indigenous peoples – can be seen as an invitation to commercial real estate and other industries to build profitable partnerships that deliver better outcomes. Speaking this week at BOMEX, the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Canada’s annual conference, Bryce Starlight, vice president, development, with Taza Development Corporation, offered insight from both his business activities and cultural experience.

“People hear Call to action 92 and go running under the table to hide. It sounds scary,” he observed. “It sounds like a mandate, an order.”

However, he suggested that Call to action 92 should be interpreted as a starting point to explore Indigenous people’s objectives in the context of the power and economic imbalances they have historically confronted. Truth and reconciliation is about much more than addressing the residential school legacy, and involves drilling down to consider ongoing inequitable access to the societal opportunities and resources that most Canadians see as their due.

“It also has a lot to do with how Indigenous communities developed over the last 50 to 70 years and understanding how the institutions have actually helped to create an imbalance in the way that (Indigenous) communities work with society and with their partners,” Starlight said. “It’s important to see what the gaps are and to understand what’s needed to get over those gaps.”

That’s unlikely to be accomplished through a rigid top-down plan. “A lot of time, Indigenous communities know full well that the conversation is going to be: We know better than you and you’re going to listen to us and, if you don’t, then we’re done with you,” he maintained.

Yet, typically, more productive relationships are derived from two-way conversations, in which business proponents pitch what they have to offer, inquire what their prospective partners would like in return, and then negotiate from there. Very few communities anywhere are receptive to outsiders posing as saviours. Rather, as Call to action 92 underscores, communities tend to be more accepting when they see genuine evidence that they are valued for what they can contribute.

In the case of Indigenous communities, Starlight reiterated that they can offer their business partners a source of local labour, access to government contracts and, of course, profits. Call to action 92 also presents opportunities for businesses to re-examine their own processes and values, and learn more about themselves and the world in which they operate.

“As a company, you don’t have to do this. You can keep on keeping on. You don’t have to do it, but it just means that, again, if you’re not adapting, you’re falling behind,” Starlight reflected. “When it comes to reconciliation, don’t try to do everything, but avoid doing nothing.”