Breakthrough Nation With Karen Restoule

In this episode, we sit down with Luke Schauerte, Chief Executive Officer of Woodfibre LNG, one of Canada’s most significant energy infrastructure projects currently under construction. Drawing on decades of experience leading major projects across North America, Luke discusses what it takes to build large-scale infrastructure in Canada and why Indigenous partnerships have become essential to proj...

In this episode, we sit down with Derrick Pattenden, Chief Executive Officer of Nations Royalty Corp., the first and largest majority Indigenous-owned public company in Canada. Drawing on decades of experience in investment banking, finance, and capital markets, Derrick explores one of the most significant economic shifts underway in Indigenous Canada: the transition from negotiating benefits to b...

In this episode, we sit down with Kristan Straub, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canada Indigenous Loan Guarantee Corporation, the federal Crown corporation responsible for administering Canada’s $10-billion Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program. Drawing on more than 25 years of leadership experience in the global mining sector, Kristan discusses the rise of Indigenous ownership and inve...

In this episode, we sit down with Jamie Schmale, Conservative MP of Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes, to discuss the future of economic reconciliation in Canada. From Indigenous ownership and equity participation in major resource projects to regulatory reform, project approvals, and UNDRIP, Schmale shares his perspective on how Indigenous nations, industry, and government can work together to unlock eco...

In this episode, we sit down with Jenny-Lou Campbell, Executive Director of the Indigenous Centre of Excellence for Mineral Development, an organization that helps First Nations strengthen their participation in the mining sector through technical capacity building, mapping and GIS tools, access to information, and strategic decision-making support. Jenny-Lou discusses how Indigenous participation...

In this episode, we sit down with Christine Goulais, CEO of Nbisiing Power, a majority Indigenous-owned business partnership between Nipissing First Nation and Composite Power Group that supplies engineered electrical equipment for energy infrastructure projects across Ontario. Christine discusses what it takes to build and grow a business in Canada’s energy sector, the opportunities emerging from...

In our final episode of the series, we sit down with Dwight Newman, Professor of Law and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Rights, Communities and Constitutional Law at the University of Saskatchewan, to unpack whether all of this is creating more uncertainty and its impact on reconciliation efforts. He explores the fallout of the Cowichan decision in British Columbia, whether Aboriginal title can o...

What does it really mean to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in British Columbia? And why has it sparked such intense legal and political debate? Merle Alexander, principal and partner at Miller Titerle + Company and an Indigenous resource lawyer who was deeply involved in the co-development and implementation of B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indig...

When it comes to unresolved Aboriginal title claims, are the courts the right forum? Or are they simply setting the stage for something that must ultimately be resolved at the negotiating table? Cathy Guirguis, CEO and partner at OKT, explains why cases like Wolastoqey in New Brunswick and Cowichan in British Columbia were inevitable, the collision between Aboriginal land claims and private proper...

Can colonial legal tools truly deliver inherent jurisdiction, or must Indigenous nations build solutions within their own legal traditions? Sara Mainville, managing partner at JFK Law LLP and former Chief of Couchiching First Nation, unpacks the concept of legislative reconciliation and how efforts such as Bill C-92 attempt to create space for Indigenous jurisdiction within federal and provincial...

Section 35 of the Constitution recognizes and affirms Aboriginal and treaty rights in Canada and is often described as one of the most powerful legal foundations in the country. But what if its ambiguity was built in from the start? Michael J. Scott, project manager and editor at the Primary Documents project, unpacks his upcoming paper (co-authored with Charles Dumas) on the drafting history of S...

In this episode of Breakthrough Nation, Karen Restoule is joined by Alain Bartleman, Partner at Fogler Rubinoff LLP, for the series’ first conversation that looks beyond British Columbia to the national legal landscape. From overlapping Indigenous land claims and treaty certainty to recent court decisions across the country, this episode examines what’s unfolding in Canadian courts—and why it...

The Cowichan Tribes v. Canada (Attorney General) case was not only of national importance, it also directly impacted other Indigenous communities in British Columbia. Geoff Plant, counsel at Gall Legge Grant & Zwack LLP and counsel for Tsawwassen First Nation, unpacks why his client felt it was necessary to participate in this case and what was at stake for their treaty-protected rights—partic...

The Cowichan Tribes v. Canada (Attorney General) decision sent shockwaves through British Columbia and beyond. Geoffrey S. Moyse, a senior lawyer with 31 years’ experience in Indigenous and public law, and Warren Mirko, executive director of the Public Land Use Society, break down what the court actually decided—and what it didn’t. They also explain why British Columbia’s lack of historic treaties...

After the Supreme Court of British Columbia’s Cowichan Tribes v Canada (Attorney General) decision, questions surrounding Aboriginal title, private property, and land-use certainty have been up in the air, and tensions are rising. Thomas Isaac, partner at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP and national expert in Aboriginal law, breaks down the legal impact of this and similar cases, explores the ba...

Crystal Smith returns to Breakthrough Nation following her appearance in the podcast’s first series, this time as part of a focused conversation on her approach as an Indigenous woman with a clear economic lens to leadership.   She served the Haisla Nation for more than a decade. As former Chief, she guided her Nation through some of the most consequential economic development decisions in it...

Nation-level economic leadership is strengthened when private-sector discipline meets public governance. Claire Sault has built her career at that intersection.   A former Chief of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Sault brings deep executive experience in business, finance, and operations to Indigenous governance and economic development. Before entering First Nation leadership, s...

Successful founders build companies that work in the real economy. Bobbie Racette is one of them.    Racette is the Founder and President of Virtual Gurus, a talent-as-a-service platform that connects remote assistants with businesses across North America and has delivered hundreds of thousands of hours of work for a diverse community of professionals.   She built Virtual Gurus from...

As Indigenous entrepreneurship increasingly moves from small-scale retail into nationally competitive commercial platforms, Chelsee Pettit has emerged as one of the most ambitious and execution-driven founders operating in Canada today.   Pettit is the founder and President of Aaniin Retail Inc., the Indigenous-owned retail and apparel company behind aaniin—a lifestyle and fashion brand roote...

The mark of serious leadership is not ambition alone, but the ability to turn big vision into sound governance, strong economy, and real results for citizens. Kim Baird has done exactly that.   A former Chief of the Tsawwassen First Nation, Principal of Kim Baird Strategic Consulting, and now serving as the Nation’s Chief Administrative Officer, Baird has played a central role in shaping Tsaw...

As Indigenous women increasingly shape Canada’s business landscape from the ground up, Trisha Pitura stands out for building a brand where design and market relevance meet. Co-founder and Head of Design at Mini Tipi, a lifestyle company based in Québec, Pitura has been central to shaping a business that competes on quality, craftsmanship, and originality. Mini Tipi produces high-quality blankets,...

Few Indigenous leaders have navigated the political, legal, and public pressures that have come with energy development in recent years as Karen Ogen.    Former Chief of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation and now CEO of the First Nations Natural Gas Alliance, Ogen has led and advised Indigenous Nations through some of the country’s most contested energy and infrastructure decisions. During he...

At a time when conversations about Indigenous economic reconciliation often drift into abstraction, Lorie Restoule-Young represents something far more substantive: vision, executive, ownership, and results. Co-founder of Young Forestry Services, and most recently a Tim Hortons franchise owner, Lorie has built and scaled businesses from her home in northeastern Ontario in sectors where performance,...

About Series 2. Series #2 brings the spotlight on Indigenous women entrepreneurs who are building businesses, creating jobs, and exercising real economic leadership. You’ll hear from people who are motivated by ambition, opportunity, and the desire to create something of lasting value that delivers results – real results.  You’ll hear from former Chief Karen Ogen of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, f...

Mark Podlasly, Chief Executive Officer of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, leads an organization that brings together more than 180 First Nations and groups who are involved in some of Canada’s largest infrastructure, energy, and resource development projects. His work focuses on supporting First Nations as owners and partners in major projects, engaging directly with industry, inv...