Former Assembly of First Nations Chief Perry Bellegarde joins Fasken at a time when corporations are working on reconciliation and looking for form partnerships with Indigenous communities.Dave Chan/The Globe and Mail
First Nations leader Perry Bellegarde is joining Fasken, one of the country’s largest law firms, with an agenda to promote reconciliation by building bridges between business and Indigenous communities.
Mr. Bellegarde has spent the past 35 years as an advocate on Indigenous issues, including two terms as national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, the umbrella group representing more than 600 First Nations across Canada. In an interview, he said the next stage of his career will be focused on turning this political experience into productive Indigenous partnerships with corporate Canada.
“When I talk to business leaders, they consistently talk about how their companies would benefit from forging respectful relationships with First Nations, and I see this as an enormous opportunity,” Mr. Bellegarde said. “Fasken is a force in business, and they see that same opportunity.”
Mr. Bellegarde, 60, will hold the title of special adviser and work from Fasken’s Ottawa office. The firm is home to more than 800 lawyers in seven Canadian cities, along with London, Beijing and Johannesburg.
Fasken ranks among the top law firms in resource-focused sectors such as energy and mining, where its clients routinely strike deals with Indigenous groups. Mr. Bellegarde said he expects to spend a significant amount of time advising these companies and their lawyers. However, Fasken’s managing partner Peter Feldberg said Indigenous issues now touch every element of the firm’s work.
“In every field, from energy to transport or health care, there is a recognition that Indigenous rights are central to how we conduct business,” said Mr. Feldberg, who specializes in the infrastructure sector. He said having Mr. Bellegarde at the firm will also help Fasken with its internal work on reconciliation, which includes recruiting and retaining Indigenous lawyers.
The relationship between Indigenous groups and corporations has changed for the better in recent years, following a series of federal and provincial policies, along with United Nations mandates, recognizing that the rights of First Nations were enshrined in law, Mr. Bellegarde said. However, he said: “There are new challenges facing First Nations leaders, on governance, capital raising and environmental issues,” where they need the legal community’s guidance.
Mr. Bellegarde anticipates occasionally working with corporate clients who are on the opposite side of issues with Indigenous groups.Dave Chan/The Globe and Mail
Fasken partner Brenden Hunter, a Calgary-based corporate lawyer, said Mr. Bellegarde is joining the firm at a time when corporations are working on reconciliation and looking for broad partnerships with Indigenous communities.
“In the past, a business relationship with First Nations frequently involved asking for something, such as consent on a project,” said Mr. Hunter, a member of one of Alberta’s largest First Nations, Saddle Lake Cree Nation. “Now companies are not just asking but identifying and developing new partnership opportunities with Indigenous groups, such as equity ownership [and] other forms of long-term participation,” he said.
Recent investments by Indigenous groups include the $1.94-billion Wataynikaneyap Transmission Project in northern Ontario – Fasken lawyers worked on the project – and Enbridge Inc.’s sale of minority stakes in seven Alberta pipelines to a group of 23 First Nation and Métis communities for $1.12-billion.
Fasken partner Kevin O’Callaghan leads the firm’s Indigenous law group from Vancouver, and said Mr. Bellegarde can provide clients and the firm’s lawyers with concrete advice on an evolving relationship. “We’re all on a path to reconciliation, we just don’t always know the way,” said Mr. O’Callaghan. “Grand Chief Bellegarde can be a guide on that path.”
Mr. Bellegarde is from Saskatchewan and a member of the Little Black Bear First Nation. He earned a degree from the University of Regina and worked in education prior to entering politics in 1986. Over more than three decades, Mr. Bellegarde served in a variety of provincial and federal roles, twice winning election as national chief of the Assembly of First Nations on a platform focused on decreasing economic and social inequality by increasing First Nation’s share of resource revenue, as well as advocating for Indigenous rights.
At Fasken, Mr. Bellegarde said he anticipates occasionally working with corporate clients who are on the opposite side of issues with Indigenous groups. “We all recognize we need to have difficult conversations in any relationship,” he said. “One of the best services lawyers can offer is resolving those difficult situations without having to resort to the courts.”
Like most large law firms, Fasken has a number of rainmakers in its ranks, hired for their expertise in law-related fields such as government and regulators. At Fasken, these advisers include a roster of individuals who have previously held notable positions, such as John Pecman (federal commissioner of competition), James Villeneuve (consul general to Los Angeles), Raymond Chrétien (U.S. and France ambassador) and Christine Elliott (Ontario health minister)
Bringing Indigenous leaders into the senior ranks of a law firm is relatively rare. In 2010, Ogilvy Renault, now part of global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, hired Phil Fontaine, also a former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.