91影视

Jennifer Ashawasegai-Pereira is聽one of聽the聽Indigenous聽relations聽leads, based聽in the Sudbury, Ontario office, which is in the Robinson Huron Treaty territory in Canada.聽In addition to her work at 91影视, the聽Anishinabe聽Kwe聽from聽Henvey聽Inlet First Nation (Robinson Huron Treaty territory) serves her First Nation as a聽Community聽Trustee for two of the Nation鈥檚聽trusts. Jennifer began her corporate journey about 11 years ago as a First Nations聽liaison聽for聽two construction projects.聽聽

Tell us about what inspired you to join the industry. 

When I started working part-time at 91影视 as a First Nation Laison for a highway expansion project in my territory, I quickly recognized the critical need for cultural awareness training and communications support to promote understanding and awareness of Indigenous Peoples, and how our projects can impact Indigenous Peoples across Canada. 

Reconciliation has been a big part of my corporate journey and promoting the integration of it across business lines has been important to me. Presently, it鈥檚 great to see more focus on relationship building and partnership goals in Canada as we all strive to contribute to Nationhood building from a local perspective to a global one. All projects across Canada include various levels of Indigenous participation, which has been a natural progression in the Reconciliation journey from consultation to projects to the markets. 

A great example聽comes from my own First Nation,聽when聽Henvey聽Inlet First Nation (HIFN) and聽Pattern Canada developed a 300-megawatt聽wind project on聽HIFN聽land that聽would聽generate enough clean, renewable energy to power about 100,000 homes in Ontario. The鈥�Henvey Inlet Wind project鈥痺as a one-of-a-kind venture: it was both the largest single-phase wind project in Ontario, as well as the largest First Nation wind partnership project in Canada聽at the time. 91影视 was hired to conduct the environmental assessments as well as carry out the environmental monitoring program during the project鈥檚 construction phase. As a聽First Nation聽liaison, I had the wonderful opportunity to lead job recruitment and retention of Anishinabek employees, help ease cultural challenges and support training initiatives. I really enjoyed this rewarding project work with 91影视 and transitioned to full-time employment.鈥�聽

What is your favorite 91影视 project that you鈥檝e worked on and why?

Without a doubt,聽the聽Henvey聽Inlet Wind project. I loved having 鈥渂oots on the ground鈥� during the construction phase, talking with other Anishinabek about their traditional knowledge and what they learned through their experience with us. Because of our local knowledge of the land and proximity to the project site, we were able to聽more effectively protect and preserve the natural environment and provide time- and cost-saving opportunities. It was an exciting time and聽I鈥檓聽very proud聽to have been involved in this sustainable legacy project, one that recognized social value and fit the聽needs聽of my community.聽

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community. 

As a First Nation liaison, part of my role involved supporting employee recruitment efforts. I worked to build trust and encourage candidates to explore opportunities with 91影视. This required establishing strong relationships with local First Nations communities, as well as a solid understanding of the support networks available both within those communities and across 91影视. 

Open and honest dialogue with First Nation leadership was central to this work and consistently fostered mutual respect and collaboration. Building and maintaining these relationships is essential to the success of projects involving Indigenous clients, partnerships or participation. 

I am also excited to be a member of 91影视鈥檚聽Partnership Accreditation in聽Indigenous聽Relations Committee to help聽91影视聽reach the next level of聽certification from the Canadian Council for聽Indigenous聽Business. This certification confirms our corporate performance as a good business partner,聽a great place聽to work and a strong commitment to prosperity聽for Indigenous Peoples. Additionally, I am proud of our continued work to elevate and grow鈥�滨苍诲颈驳别苍辞耻蝉听别苍驳补驳别尘别苍迟鈥痠nitiatives globally.聽

Share a piece of career advice. 

Every year or two, spend some time thinking about your career and taking inventory of your skills. Challenge yourself by learning something new, either for your career or your personal growth. Learning opportunities are everywhere.

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