b"CEO SPOTLIGHTWHAT'S NEXT FOR Instead, I found out that we were 20 BASTIEN INDUSTRIES? years behind the tourism industry. The I think the future is bright.support for clothing and apparel was Everyweek,Iseenewnot the same. It makes me wonder if designersandnewsmallwe have enough businesses to create businessownerspoppingourownassociationforIndigenous-upalloverthecountry.Iowned and operated apparel, clothing keep focusing on bringingandcraftsinCanada[tosupport Indigenousproductstothe industry].the shelves of mainstream fashion stores and retailersTHAT SOUNDS LIKE AN EXCELLENT becausethisiswhereourINITIATIVEAND ONE IN LINE WITH place should be. And I think those big players also haveYOUR ESTABLISHING A QUBEC a role to play in promotingFASHION COLLECTIVE. CAN YOU our cultures and supportingTELL US ABOUT THAT?Indigenous entrepreneurs. I'm a big believer that together, we Iworkedinthetourismcangofurther.Ilikebeingwith industry for 15 years, and IotherIndigenousdesignersand saw that we've made someentrepreneurs and working together. giant steps in the recognitionI'm the sort of guy leading into that, of the value of Indigenousworkinghandinhand.Idon'tsee tourismacrossCanada.other Indigenous clothing brands or When I jumped into my newentrepreneurs as competition. For me, role at Bastien Indigenousit's more of a partnership in developing Craftsmanship, I thought itour businesses. Thats why this year was going to be the same.IcreatedtheIndigenousFashion IthoughtthatgoingintoCollective of Qubec, and currently theclothingandapparel business,wewouldbewe have 11 Indigenous designers, and recognized, it was going toweve run 22 fashion shows.be easy, and we would have aboomingbusinesswithIalsopartneredwithanother the retailers.Indigenousbusinessownerwhose nameisJoseLeblanc.She'san Innu from Qubecs North Shore and together we just bought out a boot factory. With this new business venture, we want to tap into the work footwear industry. We want to have steel toe Excellence isbootsandworkshoesavailablefor the Indigenous procurement market custom-made, andand partner with big businesses, big custom-made is personalassociations and the government for their work-shoe needs.Our seasoned engineers can tackle a wide variety of projects, and weThe market is changing and there are care enough to do it right. lots of entrepreneurs who are proud to show what they're doing. Im proud to see the blend between the traditional and the modern, so people are crafting T-shirts, and Nike even worked with Indigenousartistsandpainterson a new shoe. There is a lot of interest now in our Indigenous designs around the world.This text was edited for length and clarity.58A CCIB PUBLICATIONSummer 2025"