MESSAGE FROM Chris Thevenot CEO of CEDF
Partnerships and opportunities. When we were putting this magazine together, we asked ourselves what story did we want to tell. What is it about Northern Manitoba that people from outside the region, and even from within the region, don't know enough about. It is definitely not told often enough about who is working together on the many exciting transformative projects in the top portion of the province. Thank you to all the stakeholders, organizations, and businesses that provided content for this magazine to help us tell this story. CEDF has been around for over 50 years. I am proud to be part of an organization that has played an underlying role in northern economic development for that period of time but I am also proud of how the CEDF team has adapted and evolved to the changing needs of the region, striving to define everyday what it means to be a valued stakeholder in the region. CEDF has the privilege of being included in the newly formed provincial Department of Indigenous Economic Development. This opportunity will continue to reinforce the organization's focused effort on First Nation partnerships.
Economic reconciliation has many components and perspectives but I believe the people and the partnerships they forge will be part of the fuel driving us forward.
CEDF would like to acknowledge Manitoba encompasses Treaty 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 Territory and communities who are signatories to Treaties 6 and 10. We acknowledge Manitoba is located on the Homeland of the Red River Métis. We acknowledge northern Manitoba includes lands that were and are the ancestral land of the Inuit.