CN Indigenous Advisory Council holds inaugural meeting

CN's new Indigenous Advisory Council (IAC) last week held its first meeting and announced the group's members.

The council comprises representatives of Canada’s First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities. The group will advise CN's board and top executive on issues that are relevant to the Class I's relationship with the more than 200 Indigenous communities in which the railroad operates in Canada, CN officials said in a press release.

Roberta Louise Jamieson and Murray Sinclair are the council’s co-chairs.

The new IAC members are:
    •    Mark Podlasly, Nlaka’pamux Nation, British Columbia;
    •    Marie Delorme, Metis, Alberta;
    •    Leanne Bellegarde, Peepeekisis Cree Nation, Saskatchewan;
    •    Phil Fontaine, Sagkeeng First Nation, Manitoba;
    •    Stephen Augustine, Mi’kmaw Nation (Mi’kmaq Grand Council), New Brunswick;
    •    Denise Pothier, Mi’kmaw Nation, Nova Scotia;
    •    Kateri Coade, Abegweit First Nation (Mi’kmaq), Prince Edward Island;
    •    Udlu Hanson, Inuit, Nunavut;
    •    Tabatha Bull, Nipissing First Nation, Ontario; and
    •    Ricky Fontaine, Uashat mak Mani-utenam Innu First Nation, Quebec.

The council’s guidance will help strengthen the Class I's commitments to environmental, social and governance objectives, said CN Chair Robert Pace.