Building Together: Indigenous Business and the Infrastructure Opportunity

9:00 – 10:00 am: Registration and Networking

10:00 – 10:10 am: Welcome Remarks

• Giles Gherson, President & CEO, Toronto Region Board of Trade

10:10 – 10:40 am: Keynote Address

The Ring of Fire is a mineral-rich region in Northern Ontario whose vast development potential is matched by complex jurisdictional, environmental, and community concerns. As governments and industry look to unlock its critical mineral resources, Indigenous leaders will reflect on what meaningful partnership looks like in shaping projects from vision to investment ready.

10:40 – 11:10 am: Fireside Chat

The Ring of Fire is a mineral-rich region in Northern Ontario whose vast development potential is matched by complex jurisdictional, environmental, and community concerns. As governments and industry look to unlock its critical mineral resources, Indigenous leaders will reflect on what meaningful partnership looks like in shaping projects from vision to investment ready. 

11:10 – 11:50 am: Energy & Equity – Delivering Ontario’s Next Generation Infrastructure

Major energy and transmission projects, like Hydro One’s corridors, the Oneida storage project, Wataynikaneyap transmition project in partnership with Fortis, and OPG’s Darlington New Nuclear, are redefining what Indigenous partnership can mean in practice. Successful  co-development and equity participation are built on a foundation of trustful, not transactional, relationships which also come with new complexities. What models are working? How are risks and rewards being shared? How can these examples be scaled to meet Ontario’s growing energy needs? How can we learn from examples of successful trust building engagements to support meaningful project buy-in from stakeholders? 

• Desiree Norwegian, Manager, Indigenous Relations, Aecon
• Skye Anderson, Director of Indigenous Partnerships, Ontario Power Generation
• Sean Conway, Indigenous Engagement Manager, AtkinsRéalis

11:50 – 12:50 pm: Lunch and Networking Break

12:50 – 1:30 pm: Pathways to Aligning Processes with Indigenous Priorities

The Federal government has signaled the generational opportunity before us to accelerate the development of national building calibre infrastructure, including a national energy corridor with the potential for co-located linear infrastructure (e.g. rail, fibre), but this brings new complexities for stakeholder engagement across multiple jurisdictions, and meaningful dialogue with Indigenous rights holders and land owners. Governments at all levels are increasingly recognizing the need to modernize project approvals and respond to concerns raised by Indigenous communities about how infrastructure decisions are made. This panel will explore the governance and permitting reforms needed to support more coordinated, transparent, and inclusive project development grounded in Indigenous participation. What reforms are needed to streamline approvals while aligning Indigenous priorities into planning and delivery?

• Michael Jacobs, CEO, Cambium IPS

1:30 – 2:10 pm: Building the Indigenous Supply Chain – Talent, Tools & Procurement

Growing Indigenous participation in infrastructure depends on more than partnerships at the project level. It requires robust supply chains, skilled workforces, and fair procurement systems. The 2025 Ontario Budget took a step in this direction by introducing a $10 million Indigenous postsecondary scholarship fund to support careers advancement, a signal of the growing emphasis on building Indigenous talent pipelines. Where do gaps remain and how can they be filled with capacity building efforts to approach, enable, and support increased Indigenous participation in procurement processes? How can companies proactively review procurement policies and practices, to ensure that language and criteria are inclusive of Indigenous firms? What’s needed to develop Indigenous-owned firms and talent pipelines that can deliver at scale, sustainably?

2:10 – 2:30 pm: Networking Break

2:30 – 2:55 pm: Closing Keynote

2:55 – 3:00 pm: Closing Remarks

• Giles Gherson

3:00 – 4:00 pm: Networking Cocktail Reception