KAMLOOPS, BRITISH COLUMBIA September 22, 2022 – The Kamloops Indian Band Development Corporation (KIBDC), the business and economic development arm of Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc (TteS), is pleased to announce the signing of a new Joint Venture Agreement and a Community Benefits Agreement with the Arrow Group of Companies (the Arrow Group). Both agreements demonstrate the Arrow Group’s proven commitment to recognizing and benefiting TteS and its members in long-term, sustainable ways.
“We appreciate partners like Arrow who are dedicated to investing in our community and our membership,” says Kúkpi7 Rosanne Casimir. “It is important to TteS to advance sustainable opportunities and form partnerships to strengthen our self-reliance. Our drive for self-determination revolves around creating real long-term economic benefits that align with our values and principles.”
“Our business and economic development vision is to create culturally relevant, attractive, and successful opportunities for present and future generations,” says Devin Gambler, KIBDC Manager. “The TteS community is open for business, and we are looking for honest and respectful partners who are committed to walk beside us on our path towards self-sufficiency and independence. Our ever-strengthening relationship with the Arrow Group illustrates what is possible when industry and Indigenous communities are truly committed to each other’s values and economic success.”
Tkemlúps te Secwépemc, KIBDC, and the Arrow Group share a vision of sustainable business and economic development that provides ̓ economic prosperity, promotes social well-being, and preserves a healthy environment. For many years, the Arrow Group has worked proactively with the TteS community to find opportunities for economic reconciliation, training and employment, and capacity growth and development.
The 2022 Joint Venture Agreement expands upon TteS’ existing relationship with the Arrow Group, with the goal of identifying projects on TteS’ ancestral unceded territory that offer the potential to partner for mutual benefit. The new Community Benefit Agreement is tied specifically to the Arrow Group’s fibre operations in the Central Interior region.
“Arrow Group companies have been operating in Kamloops for more than 60 years, and we have strong local ties, including with Tkemlúps te Secwépemc and its members,” says Tim Bell, the Arrow Group’s Executive Vice President. “Our approach to business is to ̓ find ways to create lasting relationships with communities wherever we can, with the goal of building capacity and strengthening local economies in a sustainable way. After more than a decade partnering successfully on a variety of projects and community initiatives, we are excited by the way our relationship with TteS continues to evolve and look forward to identifying opportunities to be TteS’ partner of choice on many projects together in the future!”
