The NIEDB welcomes news that Canada has endorsed the Indigenous Peoples Economic and Trade Cooperation Arrangement (IPETCA), heralding it as a precedent-setting step for Indigenous business development.
As a member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Indigenous Peoples Advisory Committee, I witnessed and participated in months of cooperation with Indigenous peoples from national organizations and other state economies in support of the development of the Indigenous Peoples Economic and Trade Cooperation Arrangement. I applaud the cooperative effort that went into the arrangement’s creation and I recognize the historical precedent Canada’s endorsement of it sets in affirming Canada’s commitment to a more inclusive economy between and among Indigenous peoples in global markets.
Dawn Madahbee Leach, Chair of the National Indigenous Economic Development Board