Land and Resource Access in the Era of Indigenous Rights

Event ZOOM Link

Tuesday November 3, 2020 | 12pm PT (Vancouver)
https://ubc.zoom.us/j/63198895621?pwd=TzlhTUdLMVlhR29WcVZSVFZjK0pKdz09
Meeting ID: 631 9889 5621
Passcode: 521521

Description

Mark Podlasly, Cook’s Ferry Indian Band, Nlaka’pamux Nation, Director of Governance at the First Nations Financial Management Board

Mark Podlasly, (Cook’s Ferry Indian Band, Nlaka’pamux Nation) is the Director of Governance at the First Nations Financial Management Board leading the development of a Canadian context Indigenous response to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). A Harvard University graduate, Mark has been at the forefront of governance and infrastructure issues, with extensive experience in the planning, permitting and construction of capital projects connected to energy, resource extraction and community infrastructure around the world. His core capacities include navigating energy and mineral extraction issues, community governance and wealth management, plus a gamut of related business and society matters. Mark owns Brookmere Management Group (BMG), a consulting practice focused on corporate/public policy strategy, strategic partnerships, and revenue sharing mechanisms related to extractive industries. Through BMG, Mark is engaged as the Chair of the First Nations Limited Partnership (Pipelines), a 16-First Nations $500 million commercial partnership with Chevron’s Kitimat LNG project, and as an Economic Advisor to the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, a national 50+ Indigenous nation collective seeking ownership of major projects such as pipelines and electric infrastructure.

In addition, Mark informs Indigenous governments on the establishment of sovereign wealth funds/trusts to capture and invest revenue from resource extraction industries. He currently manages a seven-figure fund shared by eight communities. Prior to founding BMG, Mark ran a successful executive consulting practice in Asia, USA and Europe where he delivered corporate strategy, leadership, globalization programs for clients including GE, Unilever, General Mills, and Goldman Sachs. Mark is a regular speaker at global business/governance events including the International Finance Corporation’s annual sustainability conference in Washington, DC.

Topics covered: Mark will give an introduction to the Aboriginal rights history and issues in Canada, with an emphasis on land and resource access. Mark will then discuss two cases that are currently getting a lot of coverage in the news: The TMX pipeline and the Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq fishing rights.