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Tahltan development corp joins Business Council of British Columbia

The business arm of Tahltan Nation is BCBC’s first wholly Indigenous-owned corporation
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A TNDC employee poses for a photograph. The business arm of the Tahltan Nation has joined the business council to British Columbia as its first wholly Indigenous-owned corporation. (Submitted photo)

Tahltan Nation Development Corporation (TNDC) has joined the Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC) as its first wholly Indigenous-owned corporation.

The business arm of the Tahltan Nation in northwest B.C., TNDC was founded in 1985 and is owned by Iskut Band, Tahltan Band, and Tahltan Central Government and sees profits returned to the shareholders for initiatives to benefit the Nation’s members.

“TNDC is pleased to now be a full member of the Business Council of BC, joining our peers in the province’s business community to strengthen the investment climate and support sustainable prosperity for the Tahltan Nation and all people living in British Columbia,” said Paul Gruner, CEO, TNDC.

Gruner said the organization’s goal is to be the Indigenous partner of choice – an integrated full-service provider and trusted partner to its clients.

In 2021, TNDC was rated by Business in Vancouver as the biggest First Nations business in B.C. In 2022, TNDC received the Indigenous Business of the Year Award at the 5th Annual Arctic Indigenous Investment Conference, was named to the INDIGENOMICS 2022 10 To Watch List and was welcomed as a new member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.

In 2016, the Business Council entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the B.C. Assembly of First Nations to advance reconciliation, mutual understanding and respect and support capacity building among Indigenous communities that enables economic opportunities to help close the social and economic gaps among Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in B.C.

This groundbreaking work was realized through the leadership of 14 Chiefs, including former Chief Rick McLean of the Tahltan Nation as a founding member of the BC Assembly of First Nations/BCBC Champions Table of Chiefs and CEOs.

Since that first MOU, the BCBC has also partnered with the First Nations Climate Initiative and the First Nations major project coalition. The latter partnership has included advocacy for improved Indigenous access to capital to enable full participation as project owners and sustaining income for Indigenous communities.