Indigenous Reconciliation

Miller Thomson’s Indigenous Reconciliation Committee (IRC) was created in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and to further to the strategies of Miller Thomson’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.  The IRC’s mandate is to develop and implement a Reconciliation Response Plan (PDF) to advance the reconciliation process, particularly surrounding cultural competency for lawyers, Indigenous access to education and scholarship opportunities, and promotion of Indigenous initiatives and businesses. This work is intended to add to Miller Thomson’s existing Indigenous Law Student Program and educational programming that will also align with some of the priorities in our inclusion and diversity strategy, namely, recruitment, policy review and implementation, focus on under-represented groups, the development of affinity groups, and education and resources.

The IRC is comprised of self-identifying Indigenous and non-Indigenous lawyers from across our offices and includes those with diverse legal practices from various industry sectors including Aboriginal law, Environmental law, Business law, Administrative law and Mining.

The IRC’s work will be informed by Miller Thomson’s core values, our commitment to the growth of communities in which we work and live, and guidance developed by the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), such as the CBABC Reconciliation Response Plan for Law Firms (RRP) released in January, 2020. The RRP offers strategies to law firms to respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action by “work[ing] towards reconciliation and equality for Aboriginal people across the legal system in general, and specifically in the workplace, within client relationships and as part of community activities.”