Lax Kw'alaams Business Development

MARCH 2019 | BUSINESS ELITE CANADA 3 By Anna Guy L oggers for millennia, the Lax Kw'alaams Band’s big risk on the Skeena Cellulose timber rights has paid off, spurring an economic engine that helps define the Nation today. It was 2001. The Prince Rupert, BC, region was experiencing a major down- turn in the forestry industry. The city's main employer—pulp and sawmilling giant Skeena Cellulose—shut down its operations. Unemployment rates in the First Nation were over 50 per cent. In 2005, the Lax Kw’alaams bought the timber rights during its bankruptcy sale. Fast-forward to 2019, and the $4.8 million investment has turned the community's company, Coast Tsimshian Resources (CTR), into the main forestry company in the region, subsequently creating multiple successful ventures for the Lax Kw'alaams Band. To seize the opportunities for Lax Kw’alaams, and to enhance the opportu- nities and quality of life for all members of the Band, the Lax Kw’alaams Business