Chief Terry Paul addresses Maritime ICD Chapter at day-long event at the Sobey School of Business
Kylar Johnson, the Saint Mary’s University Indigenous Student Advisor, and Cedar Pictou, a drummer and current Arts student, helped open the event.
Many Nova Scotians are aware that in 2021, Clearwater, a major exporter of seafood and one of Nova Scotia’s premier corporations, was acquired by a partnership between Premium Brands and the Mi’kmaq Coalition, comprised of seven Mi’kmaq communities in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. But how many have considered what a shift to Indigenous leadership means, both for the business and for reconciliation?
On May 8, 2026, the Sobey School of Business hosted the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) Maritime Chapter for a special day-long event on Indigenous governance and the Clearwater purchase, and the dimensions of reconciliation that board directors can influence. Academic Director of the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program, Margaret McKee, has been working with her counterparts at Rotman to draft a case study on the purchase.
The day opened with a blanket exercise led by one of Atlantic Canada’s Most Powerful Women in Business for 2026, Cheryl Copage Gehue. Cheryl is a Mi’kmaw leader and an experienced Indigenous Blanket Instructor with more than 10 years of facilitating learning and dialogue on Indigenous history, perspectives, and reconciliation. Cheryl serves as Director of Indigenous Relations at Clearwater Seafoods, where she helps position economic reconciliation as a measurable driver of business growth, industry change, and community prosperity. She leads the advancement of Clearwater’s Indigenous Strategy, embedding reconciliation into how the company builds relationships, grows its workforce, and creates shared value with Indigenous communities.
Ian Smith, who was the Valedictorian of the most recent cohort of Sobey School ICD-Rotman DEP graduates, co-led the exercise. Ian is the Chief Executive Officer of Clearwater Seafoods. He joined Clearwater in May of 2010, with over 36 years of international experience in the food and consumer products industry. He has been active in maintaining company momentum through the change in ownership.
Participants heard from keynote speaker Chief Terry Paul, who described, with candour and humour, his successes and failures on the path to building the economic success of his home community, Membertou. Taking on the leadership role in the 1970s, Chief Paul quickly realized that his community had a long list of needs that could be achieved through economic development. He implemented transparent financial practices and a corporate business-building approach, pairing them with an Indigenous respect for relationships and nature. From the construction of the Membertou Convention Centre to the Clearwater purchase, the purpose of helping to lift up the community has been central to Chief Paul’s business decisions.
Fiona Kirkpatrick led the final session, discussing board implications of reconciliation. Fiona is a consultant with 40 years of experience and a member of Lac La Ronge First Nation, Treaty 6 Territory, equally proud of her Woodland Cree and Scottish heritage. Her session was informed by her governance experience as the first woman to chair the North American Indigenous Games, NAIG 2023, in Kjipuktuk/Halifax. She also serves on the board of the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business and recently concluded service on the Board of the 2025 Canada Games.