b'LEADERSHIP PROFILEsocioeconomic parity for Indigenous peoples by reading, THE NEED FOR FINANCIAL LITERACY sharing and living up to NIES. Migmaq businesswoman Victoria LaBillois is a strongFor LaBillois, economic reconciliation is about getting back believer in teaching financial literacy to Indigenousto a [pre-contact] place of abundance, where we take care of youth, something she says is integral to promotingourselves and the land. Our traditional economies were based entrepreneurship within Indigenous communities.on saving, trading and forming alliances of confederacies where Financial literacy is a foundational piece when it comesthe land and waters sustained us. to promoting entrepreneurship among Indigenous peopleswe need to have a positive relationship withColonization, she adds, has been a destructive force that has led money and its crucial for young Indigenous peopleto a lack of access to land, diseases introduced by settlers, and to understand how to manage their personal finances,the residential school legacies. This has eroded the mentality credit, banking and understand capital, she says. of abundance. Economic reconciliation is about rekindling that relationship with the land and waters, and building our econ-This can sometimes be an uphill battle given theomies based on our traditional values of kinship and taking negative connotations around money that linger incare of each other. some Indigenous communities. But its a resource that cannot be ignored, stresses LaBillois, emphasizing thatNATURAL LEADERa positive relationship to finance and money is key.LaBillois is in her element trying to open up new opportunities The negative connotations surrounding money are notfor Indigenous people in the world of business. She stresses, going away. So its essential for us to work with moneyhowever, that for her, leadership is all about lifting our people in a way that aligns with our values and beliefs. up. Its very much more about the collective rather than the individual. the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada calls onIts also about drawing on her mosaic of lived experiencecorporate Canada to embark on meaningful relationships withLaBillois has worked in Indigenous urban services at the federal, Indigenous peoples, ensure equitable access to economicregional and local leveland using that experience to help opportunities, and educate their employees about Indigenousturn Indigenous businesses from mere spectators to active history. Corporate Canada can support these pathways toparticipants in the Canadian economy. [Indigenous peoples] were constantly just spectators of the regional economy. We watched as logging trucks drove by; we were excluded from commercial fisheries until Marshall became involved; [and] in forestry everything was a protest, a blockade, a fight, she says. When asked about her key messages to new, up-and-coming Mitchell & Abbott | Navacord entrepreneurs, LaBillois stresses the importance of being open is proud to support the CCAB! to asking for help when needed, accepting that help, and then passing it on to those who come after youa basic tenet she Navacord is a leading insurance and risk managementherself lives by. One of her favourite quotes, she says, is a brokerage firm dedicated to providing expert solutionsrising tide lifts all boatswhether its a raft with a rope, or a to businesses and individuals across Canada.15-foot bass boat, we are all in this together and we are lifting each other up. With access to a vast breadth of sector expertise & exclusive insurance products, our Broker PartnersLaBillois relates her collective concept of leadership back to have deep specialization and industry insights thatNIES. Its the first time that Indigenous peoples are collectively create more impact for our clients success. coming together and writing out a strategy around Indigenous economic reconciliation and economic development, she says, adding that when Indigenous people hold the pen, they can write their own story and outline their own needs. This is what we need to see. We know in past years theres been money thrown at the problem and yet there are still the same issues. [NIES] is [therefore] significant.Change may not happen overnight, but when faced with adver-Sean Kennedy sity, time and again LaBillois rises to the challenge. As she likes INSURANCE SPECIALIST: to say, when the going gets tough, the tough put on lipstick. First Nations & For someone who made her mark in the rough-and-tumble, Aboriginal Businesses male-dominated construction industry, those are revolutionary words. They make it clear that when she sets her mind to some-905-536-4563skennedy@mitchellabbottgrp.com thing, LaBillois is a force to be reckoned with, and we can expect positive change ahead.76A CCAB PUBLICATION2023'