John Beaucage keynote speaker at upcoming Economic Development Opportunities Forum
By Rick Garrick
CHIPPEWAS OF RAMA FIRST NATION — Former Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief John Beaucage, who is involved with Indigenous green energy projects across the country, is looking forward to moderating the Leadership Panel at the Anishinabek Nation Economic Development Opportunities (ANEDO) Forum 2024. Held by the Anishinabek Nation Economic Development Department, the second annual ANEDO is scheduled for Oct. 21-23 at Casino Rama in Chippewas of Rama First Nation.
“I’m looking forward to the conference, I’m looking forward to being there and I know we will have some really good input,” Beaucage says. “Let’s get that attitude that we can do it and we can excel in business, just get out and do it.”
Beaucage says his perspective is that the Anishinabek Nation leaders need to emphasize and understand business and move towards having economies that work for their communities.
“Business and profit and capitalism is not a dirty word,” Beaucage says. “We need to excel in all aspects of business, so we’re going to give an opportunity for our leadership to talk about that.”
Beaucage says First Nations need to celebrate the successes of those who are pursuing careers and getting ahead.
“We have to celebrate ourselves when we see success,” he says.
Beaucage says he will also be talking about opportunities for First Nations during his keynote presentation at the ANEDO Forum.
“There are tons of opportunities right now, grab them,” Beaucage says. “Hire the very best people, get the very best people to help you become successful in whatever business you decide to go into.”
Beaucage says his vision for sustainable development is to look to the future and to educate young people for opportunities to be successful in the community.
“Never be satisfied with the economic base that you’ve got, keep diversifying, keep looking after that next deal, keep moving ahead because everything changes and what’s really successful right now might not be successful 20 years from now,” Beaucage says. “Look at what the Seminoles did with the Hard Rock Cafe. The Hard Rock Cafe was first started out as bingo money for the Seminoles and they diversified, they invested. They now own all the Hard Rock Cafes in the entire world. They weren’t accepting of staying in one place, they had to keep moving, they had to keep diversifying, they had to keep reaching out for that next goal.”
Beaucage says he sees the development of energy and movement of energy as being key for the next 100 years.
“The second biggest thing I think that is going to be a big part of the future is how do we look after our garbage,” Beaucage says. “I’m working on a few projects where we take biologics out of garbage and turn it into renewable natural gas and either put it into the pipeline systems for heating homes or we burn it and sell [the energy] in the grid or sell it to greenhouses to create food.”
Beaucage says he was involved with the development of the Henvey Inlet Wind project, which generates about 300 mWs of wind energy.
“[There’s] enough to power almost 10,000 homes and it’s been a game changer for Henvey Inlet,” Beaucage says.
Beaucage says the whole environment concerning economic development and the way First Nations need to move forward is changing very rapidly.
“So, let’s listen to each other, let’s listen to those good stories, let’s listen to the successes but also understand why somebody failed in something,” Beaucage says. “Let’s understand both sides of the coin. Learn what will work and listen to each other and be a part of the process — that’s why it’s so important to come these kind of sessions so we can learn from each other.”
The ANEDO Forum registration is open and welcomes everyone, including Indigenous and non-Indigenous, Anishinabek Nation communities and other First Nations, business owners, procurement organizations, and funders. Additional information is available at: anedo.ca/.