{"id":99424,"date":"2025-09-10T16:12:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T16:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/resourcework2.devstudio.work\/?p=99424"},"modified":"2025-10-10T20:40:57","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T20:40:57","slug":"malcolm-macpherson-on-nation-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/resourcework2.devstudio.work\/?p=99424","title":{"rendered":"Malcolm Macpherson on the new rules of nation-building"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Entrepreneur Michael Birch (left), pictured with Malcolm Macpherson (right) at the 2025 AFN Annual General Assembly<\/em> – photo credit to MICHAEL BIRCH<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Resource Works News reached Malcolm Macpherson in Winnipeg, he was on the floor of the Assembly of First Nations\u2019 annual gathering. He didn\u2019t pause. \u201cThe question here,\u201d he said, \u201cis how you turn all this heat and noise around nation-building into bankable partnerships and projects that respect rights, deliver returns, and actually get built.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macpherson, a Vancouver-based lawyer who heads the national Indigenous practice at Whitelaw Twining, is chair of the Indigenous Partnerships Success Showcase<\/a> (IPSS) 2025. In Winnipeg, he was listening as chiefs and economic leaders described a moment that is more business focused than ever, yet firmly rooted in principle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The AFN represents more than 600 First Nations across Canada. Chiefs in Assembly meet to set mandates on everything from infrastructure to economic reconciliation. If AFN is the place where priorities are debated and declared, since 2020 IPSS has been a leading gathering for where those priorities collide with capital, investors, and governments. It is where rights, money, and approvals either line up, or grind to a halt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo credit to THE CANADIAN PRESS\/John Woods<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the floor, Macpherson heard a steady refrain, ownership and jurisdiction. The treaties never ceded their interests and rights to the minerals below their feet, and the airspace literally above their heads to the stars,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was not rhetoric. It was a demand. Participation must mean more than signing benefits agreements. It has to include equity stakes, governance seats, and a real regulatory voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere’s a pragmatism to the discussions, a recognition that all boats rise with a rising economic tide here,\u201d says Macpherson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pragmatism does not equal a blank cheque. Leaders in Winnipeg spoke positively about responsible growth in energy, critical minerals, transportation, and industrial projects. Yet they were clear, Bill C-5\u2019s push for faster approvals could backfire if consultation is treated as a formality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019d want to see responsible economic developments but not at any cost, not at the cost of running roughshod over constitutionally protected Section 35 rights,” says Macpherson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lessons from Winnipeg will shape IPSS 2025, set for November 13 at the Vancouver Convention Centre West. This year\u2019s IPSS reflects adapting to the times, as reconciliation practice deepens and the scale of the business opportunity grows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n