Reconciliation in Action – Unlocking Resource Economy
A decade ago, the Witset First Nation—whose economy has long revolved around forestry— experienced the devastating effects of an ongoing slump in the sector. At the time, the northwest BC Nation owned Kyah Wood Forest Products, a finger joint sawmill, and Kyah Industries, a small logging company.
“Our mill went into curtailment,” says Witset Chief Barry Nikal. “Ninety-four of our members lost their job. And with our logging outfit, everything slowed down and we ended up going about $670,000 in debt. So, we were back to managing poverty. And our band council said we can't keep doing this. We need to create jobs.”
Nikal says the council recognized they needed help, so he talked with their forester. “I said, ‘Find us a partner. Somebody who's going to teach us how to run our business, look after it, look after our people.’
Chief Barry Nikal, Dennis Callaghan and Cheyenne Campbell at the 2023 Indigenous Partnerships Success Showcase.
“He went out, he found three companies, and we did our due diligence. We checked over these companies. I called them, told them I wanted to talk to them. I got two phone calls back from two of the companies. The third company didn't phone. They showed up. And that was Roga. And the owner, Troy Young, came and met me face to face. And that in itself, I knew who we were going to partner with.”
The result is Kyah Resources Inc. The company is built on a 50-50 ownership structure between Witset First Nation and Roga Group, a leading contractor across natural resource industries. Kyah Resources Inc. provides high-quality project management and construction services to the natural resources sector, including oil and gas, mining, utilities, and forestry.
“We wanted a true meaningful partnership,” says Nikal. “We didn't want just a little share, like 10 percent to skim off the top or three percent. We wanted to be a bigger partner. We wanted 50-50, and that's what Roga came to the table with. So, we get a bigger share. And we wanted a company that would come in and become part of our community. And Roga did that.”
Dennis Callaghan, Roga’s Chief Financial Officer, says that such an arrangement is par for the course for Roga. “Troy is sole owner of Roga and he's Indigenous himself. And he has strong feelings and a vision for how partnerships should work. And in this case, he's interested in helping Witset realize their vision creating capacity over the long term.”
Callaghan says that Kyah’s mission is to provide opportunities for community members while creating an asset base and a source of income for the Nation.
“What that means is that we're creating jobs for equipment operators and superintendents, foreman, laborers. But these are jobs that pay, you know, $30 to $50 an hour. It's not like working at the gas station for minimum wage. So, it is creating wealth for people in the community. It's true economic development.”
One of Kyah’s major projects has involved work on the Coastal Gas Link pipeline project. Over the last three and a half years, the company did about $70 million of right-of-way clearing and basic civil works, employing more than 70 community members.
For another company, Kyah built $90 million worth of roads. “Very technical construction through icy paths,” says Callaghan.
“Since 2014, we've paid out about $17 million to the community. And we've also paid millions of dollars in wages to community members. We've also helped establish and support entrepreneurs.”
Roga is a participant in the community and its cultural events.
“They understand and support the Nation in a way that honors and acknowledges our traditions, our culture,” says Nikal. “They helped us address poverty, built our members to become entrepreneurs, helping us to become a healthier and more sustainable community.”
He also emphasizes that the Witset Nation is actively involved in the running of the business.
“We don't expect our partner to do everything. I mean, we play our role. And all First Nations have to do that. You have a partner, that's your company. It's your own company. And for us, we give 100 percent to Kyah, both in the political world and in the business world.
“We have a really close relationship. We're not just partners, we're friends. We're like a family. I mean, we could call on each other 24/7. And that does happen. I mean, I've gotten phone calls from Troy at 11:30 at night, six in the morning. And it's the other way around too.”
“I will always be there for Kyah because Kyah belongs to our kids and we're not going to let nobody take that away.”
Like many First Nation leaders, Nikal notes the importance of forthright communication in conducting business.
“Come talk to us. Okay? Don't send me emails. Don't send me letters. You know, I use those letters for fire starters. If you plan on doing business on our territory, come talk to us first. Don't go get your permits first, OK? Because to us, that means you're going to get the government's permission first.
“That's our territory. That's our resources. Witset own 22,000 sq km and we're not giving up one inch and we're not allowing the government to tell us what to do with our territory. We have a say, we're getting jurisdiction and we're going to look after our territory. If you want to come and bring major projects to us, come talk to us first.”
“The way we like to do our business is the same way we run our feast. You’re going to come talk to us, put everything on a table, don’t hide nothing. That’s exactly how we run our feast. We put everything on a table for everybody to see, and then we work with that. We don’t do no side deals with other people. We want to have a truthful, an honorable, strong, meaningful relationship. And the biggest thing is we got to build trust. And that’s a big part of the trust is put everything on a table. This is what we want to do.”