Sustainable economic development means committing ourselves to generate economic opportunities for our Peoples today while upholding our responsibility to the lands and the waters for future generations.

We believe that everything that we need to sustain us is contained in the resources of Mother Earth. Thus “sustainable development” must be exercised and developed not only to the benefits of our generations today, but that today’s development will not leave our future generations without these same benefits from sustainable resources.

Our Nations have the inherent right, as reaffirmed through the Treaties, the UNDRIP, and the Canadian Constitution, to protect, develop and utilize our traditional territories.

We have a critical role to play in making sustainable development a reality in Canada, given our responsibilities for managing the lands, the importance of honouring Creation and the earth to our way of life, and the fact that we are most often the first to experience the impacts of environmental change and damage.

First Nations seek to build relationships with industry and commercial sectors and foresee themselves as players at all levels of the economy, but these relationships must be built on our inherent right to assert jurisdiction over our traditional territories.

The Prosperity Table Project was created in 2021 with the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation (IAFNER) and the Chiefs Committee on Economic Development (CCoED) as partners and with the objective of supporting First Nations economies during the pandemic. Since then, the objective of the Prosperity Table is the advancement and well-being of First Nation communities through the actualization of First Nations economic rights through Resolution 29/21A: Recognition of First Nations Rights to Financial Self-Determination. The Prosperity Table serves as a collaborative forum for First Nations, governments, and industry leaders to address shared economic priorities and challenges. This initiative aims to advance sustainable economic opportunities for First Nations communities by fostering open dialogue, co-developing strategies, and driving systemic change in policies and practices. The focus of the Prosperity Table is to address First Nations barriers to financial self-sufficiency in sectors such as food sovereignty, mining, taxation, banking, energy, among others. The table also focuses on advancing economic reconciliation and building equitable partnerships.

In early 2019, the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities (MTCU) announced plans to integrate the Ontario Works Employment Assistant Program and ODSP Employment Supports Program into Employment Ontario. This new delivery model established direct relationships between the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) and Service System Managers (SSM), who support service providers in their regions.

First Nations across Ontario raised concerns about the imposition of a provincial system and a one-size-fits-all approach and the potential loss of funding for pre-employment and employment support services currently provided by many First Nations under the Ontario Works Act.

In response, an Employment Table led by Chiefs of Ontario and an Employment Table Working Group (ETWG) was established to develop a First Nations-specific framework, emphasizing flexibility, holistic approaches, and equitable support. Through the proposed development of the Joint Table on Employment Services (JTES), The Framework on First Nation Employment will help First Nations and First Nation Organization with support from the province, develop tailored employment models, ensuring services respect First Nations’ sovereignty and meet diverse community needs.

The Supply Chain and Procurement project focuses on advocacy efforts on enhancing First Nation Procurement and studying resiliency of First Nation Supply Chains. This initiative seeks to support First Nations entrepreneurs, businesses, and community-owned enterprises in gaining broader exposure to procurement opportunities. A major part of these efforts includes developing a comprehensive First Nations Business Directory/portal.