Business of the Band

In 2010, Council created Haisla Business Operations (HBO) to distinguish economic development from political issues and considerations. HBO has acted quickly since its formation to advance several key projects that are creating employment and entrepreneurial opportunities in our community.

The Haisla territory—all 4 million acres—is located close to the Western Canadian energy reserves and is 1-2 days less sailing time from key Asian markets than other West Coast ports. The strategic location of Haisla territory means that economic opportunities are flowing to the Haisla.

When Council recognized the increasing number and growing complexity of the economic opportunities in the Haisla territory, they quickly wanted to separate economic development and business opportunities from political concerns and issues.

In 2010, Haisla Business Operations (HBO) was established as an arms-length body to focus on economic development.

The Haisla business philosophy has been firmly established as follows:

• We support environmentally responsible development, and every proposal must consider its cumulative land water impact.
• We recognize that including First Nations peoples does not mean excluding non-First Nations.
• We understand that economic reward means accepting an element of risk.
• We prefer to get things done, such as signing agreements with governments and proponents, away from the Treaty table.

By following this philosophy, and by working with proponents who engage with us at the early stages of their projects and who deal with us respectfully, we believe we can accelerate the timeline for major projects beyond what standard processes that involve rights and title consultation and other legalistic procedures can achieve.