CEO's Message

CEO Message - January 2023

In 2022, we began implementing a road map to long-term business sustainability, focussing on key priorities in each business area, to help guide us into the future. Execution of this plan required building a strong senior management team with the qualifications, knowledge and experience to deliver on the priorities in their division, as well making bold changes to how things have been done. We made excellent progress in the first year of implementing this plan, which will continue to guide us in the year ahead.

The health and safety of our employees and everyone we work with is our top priority. The road to safety is a continuous journey that requires the commitment of every member of the TNDC team. Our focus is on enhancing our safety culture, improving our safety performance, expanding our safety program and ensuring safety compliance, underpinning our SAFETY FIRST, SAFETY ALWAYS mindset. As a result, we are implementing, adopting and updating countless programs, initiatives, systems and processes, including working towards achieving WorkSafe BC Certificate of Recognition (COR), a voluntary and coveted benchmark of corporate health and safety excellence.

Our goal is to be an employer of choice, in a highly competitive labour market, by making TNDC an attractive, rewarding and respectful place to work. We are implementing strategies to attract, retain and develop the talent we need. New initiatives and programs are enabling us to connect with and hear from our employees and reward and encourage safe, positive behaviour and long service. We are placing particular focus on training and development – of employees and Tahltan members – creating training and development programs to help our employees grow their careers with us and Tahltans gain the experience they need to work with us.  

Finance and Accounting is the heart of every organization. We are channelling substantial time and resources to this vital division to better serve our clients, employees, partners, shareholders and financiers. Our focus is on improving the financial health of our organization, forecasting to better plan for the future, enhancing financial transparency to better access capital, gaining greater understanding of our financial numbers, and improving our financial reporting to shareholders and financiers.

Our Business Partnerships are critical to TNDC’s revenues and reputation. In recent years TNDC has been revamping our business partnerships strategy, beginning with a new approach when we enter into new partnerships. We now have a robust Partner Management Program to screen potential partnerships and manage them throughout their life cycle. We are driving accountability and transparency to ensure partners match our strong environmental, social and governance practices, while bringing financial and social value to TNDC and the Tahltan Nation.

While TNDC’s long-term future remains bright, we are facing headwinds. The current environment of high inflation is impacting our profitability, while the slowing economy is drying up financing our clients rely on for funding their project plans. To ride out this economic dip, we need to closely manage our costs while creating new revenue streams to cover expenses. We are working with our clients and business partners to forecast work for the upcoming season, developing a business plan to guide growth and diversification, and implementing solutions to more efficiently bid and execute on contracts. In 2023, we will also be undertaking strategic planning with TNDC’s Board of Directors to build a 3-year strategic plan to help guide us.

While we have made excellent progress in our priorities, there is still much to accomplish to ensure a financially strong, sustainable and responsible Indigenous owned business. Implementing change takes time and commitment. I am confident we are charting the right course, backed by the plan, people and conviction to ensure TNDC’s long-term sustainable growth and prosperity for the Tahltan Nation. Working together as one team and in collaboration with our clients, partners, employees and Tahltan shareholders, we will achieve our goal to make TNDC a leading employer and Indigenous Business Partner of Choice.