There is a myth in Unama’ki - Cape Breton that the island has a talent shortage. In this episode, we explore how IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility) principles can help businesses overcome recruitment challenges by welcoming members of underrepresented communities. The conversation with Robyn Lee Seale from Build Nova Scotia and Nadine Bernard of Indigivisor covers the importance of building relationships, common mistakes, and the vital role of psychological safety.

• 01:32 The Basics of Why Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility are Important
• 04:26 Hidden Workforce Size
• 07:45 Indigenous Workforce Recruitment Challenges and Solutions
• 15:30 Implementing IDEA Example: CBRM Healthcare Redevelopment Project
• 19:28 A Culture Shift Precedent
• 21:02 Common Mistakes
• 25:47 Nadine and Robyn Lee’s Visions for the Future

Nadine Bernard is the Founder and CEO of Indigevisor, an Indigenous inclusion consultancy. Find them on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Robyn Lee Seale is the Diversity and Inclusion Lead at Build Nova Scotia. To connect with underrepresented communities, you can email her at RobynLee.Seale@novascotia.ca.

Alternatively, you can reach out to any of the organizations below directly:

• The Band Offices of Eskasoni, Membertou, Potlotek, Wagmatcook, or We’koqma’q.
• Mi’kmaw Economic Benefits Office (MEBO)
• Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn (KMK)
• Veronica Merryfield at the Cape Breton Transgender Network

About the Invest in Cape Breton podcast

Unama'ki-Cape Breton is on the cusp of an economic renaissance. Invest in Cape Breton is a podcast that will challenge your assumptions about the island’s economy through in-depth interviews with local changemakers. We go beyond the headlines to reveal the untapped potential for investors and entrepreneurs, and offer a preview of the island’s coming transformation. Right from the first episode, we’ll show you why there's never been a better time to invest in Cape Breton.

This podcast is an initiative of the Cape Breton Partnership. It is hosted by Michelle Samson and produced by Storied Places Media. The theme music is "Under My Skin" by Elyse Aeryn.

It's an exciting time to be in Unama'ki- Cape Breton.

2

We're having an economic Renaissance.

3

Nadine Bernard: You see Grant Thornton

there, you see Pearl Vision there,

4

like, you see these real huge outfits

leasing property and office space.

5

Michelle: Throughout the series we'll

show you why there's never been a

6

better time to invest in Cape Breton.

7

Robyn Lee Seale: You can't imagine

a construction site in this

8

province without safety anymore.

9

And so our thought is culture can change.

10

Michelle: Welcome back

to Invest in Cape Breton.

11

I'm your host, Michelle Samson.

12

Michelle Samson: In this episode, we're

challenging the idea that Unama'ki

13

- Cape Breton is tapped out of talent.

14

There are lots of workers available.

15

If you take the right

approach to find them.

16

What is that approach?

17

Well, it's embracing a bright idea.

18

That's I.D.E.A.

19

I for inclusion, D for diversity, E

for equity, and A for accessibility.

20

Today on the podcast, I'll be speaking

with two experts who will reveal

21

the hidden workforce within the

island's equity deserving communities.

22

No matter your industry, you can

benefit from embracing IDEA principles.

23

Our first guest is Robyn Lee

Seale, the Diversity and Inclusion

24

Lead at Build Nova Scotia.

25

She is working to involve more people from

historically marginalized communities in

26

the Cape Breton healthcare redevelopment

project through recruitment targets and

27

other initiatives designed to smooth the

transition for employers and employees.

28

I asked her to ease us into this

conversation with the basics of

29

why inclusion, diversity, equity,

and accessibility are important.

30

Robyn Lee Seale: So my most kind of

practical, pragmatic friend was like,

31

"well, the construction industry

has to do diversity and inclusion

32

because it's got people, right?"

33

Like, as soon as you're working with

people, you have to think about what

34

their psychological safety looks like.

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And what we know is that

historically we've been thinking

36

about that for some people.

37

So now we're working to think

about it for all people.

38

Thinking about what a woman

on a construction site needs.

39

Thinking about trans workers

and what they might need.

40

We are in a really interesting time

with diversity and inclusion work.

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Because it's always been important,

but now there's a workforce gap.

42

So if you're a union, your job is to

keep your union hall full of skilled

43

people who can get the job done.

44

And so I think there is this

nice opportunity because for once

45

it is in everyone's obvious best

interest to make these efforts.

46

And so all of a sudden we're looking

around and saying, well, who, who

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haven't we had at the table and why?

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The people who are best in my

opinion at this work, at having

49

inclusive spaces for all kinds of

experiences, are the people who are

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just interested in people as people.

51

When they interview, they go, "Ooh,

this person's going to bring something

52

really important to the table.

53

That's why I'm hiring them.

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What does it take for

me to make that shine?"

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That's why idea work is important, because

we all want to provide psychologically

56

safe workplaces for our employees.

57

We know that they're going to stay longer.

58

And we're all humans who

deserve a good experience.

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That's what we're trying to do.

60

Michelle Samson: The other expert featured

in this episode is Nadine Bernard,

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the Founder and CEO of Indigevisor, an

indigenous inclusion consultancy that

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helps businesses and governments large

and small with recruitment, retention,

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policy recommendations, outreach, and

communication and engagement strategies.

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For Nadine, IDEA is about aligning

corporate community values with

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the actual communities they're in.

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Nadine Bernard: From a topical standpoint,

I mean, it's just good practice, um,

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especially if you're going to be doing

work in their traditional territory.

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Especially here in Cape Breton, uh,

and anywhere in Nova Scotia, uh, at

69

some point you're going to have some

touch point with Indigenous people.

70

Indigenous people are the original

people of this traditional territory,

71

and we're bound by treaties, so

we're the only people in Canada that

72

have a legally binding agreement

with the Crown of this country.

73

And so, when you look at, how you build

relationships with Indigenous people,

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you want to go in being truthful and

honest in what your intentions are for

75

whatever project or initiative that

you're wanting to introduce , and

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how you want them to be a part of the

project, and you know, how could they

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be a true partner in these projects.

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Michelle Samson: Hopefully the why of

an IDEA approach is now crystal clear.

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Next, I wanted to find out how

big this hidden workforce is.

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Robyn Lee Seale: If you look at the

groups in our construction industry

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recruitment target, I think they

make up over 70 percent of the people

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looking for work in Nova Scotia, right?

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Women, people with

disabilities, people of color.

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I mean, our biggest growing

populations in Cape Breton are what?

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The Mi'kmaq population,

the immigrant population.

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These are brilliant,

talented, skilled people.

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You just have to think

about how you bring them in.

88

You just have to do your best to

think about their perspective, right?

89

What does it feel like if they're the only

person from that community in the room?

90

You know, if we're not asking those

questions, then people from other

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experiences aren't going to come

work for us, and nor should they.

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But if we ask ourselves about those

experiences might be, yeah, we, we can

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have these whole populations potentially

starting to get interested in us and

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starting to bring their skills and

their time and their different outlooks.

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Michelle Samson: Robyn Lee warns against

making assumptions about what a particular

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group might bring to a workplace.

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They could be bringing skills and

outlooks that you don't expect.

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Robyn Lee Seale: If you're hiring from

an underrepresented group, your first job

99

is to step back and say, " I don't want

to put a big expectation on this person.

100

I want to be open to

what they're bringing."

101

Imagine if you're hiring a

woman for the first time.

102

And you thought, " oh, we're going

to learn about maternal things.

103

We're going to be, learn

to be soft," right?

104

And then she's a woman in the

construction industry who's had to

105

fight her way to get into space.

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Maybe that's not what

she's bringing at all.

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So we just don't want to over

prescribe what that's going to be.

108

Michelle Samson: As Robyn Lee

mentioned earlier, the island's

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Mi'kmaq communities are growing.

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Nadine says we don't have data on exactly

how big the indigenous talent pool

111

is, but there are five substantially

populated Mi'kmaq communities on

112

the island, with workers who are

racking up education and experience.

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Nadine Bernard: We're seeing more, um,

an uptake in engineering, which is great,

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in which we hadn't really seen, um,

you know, some civil, some structural,

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some, um, electrical engineering.

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More are going into archaeology,

more are going into architecture.

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So that technical training,

which is really good project

118

management, project coordination.

119

Um, You know, my daughter just recently

finished a six week program with,

120

Construction, Nova Scotia, um, you

know, to try to build the capacities

121

of a workforce here who could, you

know, have transferable skills to be

122

able to meet the demand of some of

these specialty besides just trades

123

.

Then we have a slew of them as well, you know, because we've been trying to

124

train our community members to be ready

and prepared and to meet the demands.

125

So we have, welders, we have pipe

fitters, we have electricians, we have

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plumbers, concrete fitters, some heavy

equipment individuals as well and, you

127

know, that's really nice to see that,

uh, people are willing to diversify how

128

they present themselves as, as being

ready and able and trained to be able to

129

meet the labor needs within the island.

130

Mind you, there's lots of projects

happening within their own, like they're

131

building up their own infrastructure

within community, and I think

132

that's where that shift of like some

challenge of labor force availability.

133

It's not that we don't have the people,

it's now that they're just so busy

134

because, you know, our communities

are starting to build their own

135

infrastructure within their communities.

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Michelle Samson: For those skilled and

talented indigenous workers who are

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looking for opportunities, Nadine says

there are challenges that government and

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corporations could help them overcome.

139

One of those challenges is geography.

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Nadine Bernard: You've got to think

about transportation and location

141

of some of these communities.

142

The whole point of creating these

Indigenous communities was to

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be out of sight, out of mind.

144

So they put them in places

a distance from urban areas.

145

I mean, Membertou has the advantage

of being housed right in the center

146

of Sydney, but then you've got

Eskasoni, that's still about 45

147

minutes away, and Wagmatcook, and

We'koqma'q, Potlotek are the same.

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And because of the jurisdictional barriers

of it, you know, Indigenous communities,

149

Mi'kmaq communities are federal lands, we

don't have, uh, the same accessibility to

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some transportation options, like buses.

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So, um, you have to be creative in

your own community to address those

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transportation issues, which our

communities are starting to address

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and be proactive on creating their own

transportation lines, whether it be for

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post secondary or for employment, but at

the same time, like it's still the same

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responsibility of the provincial and

municipalities in being able to overcome

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these barriers and, and how do we create

some kind of partnership system that

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doesn't look at this as jurisdictional?

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Michelle Samson: Are you seeing any

companies trying to fill that gap?

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Nadine Bernard: Not that I know

of, but that doesn't necessarily

160

mean that it's not happening.

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Anytime we work on these large

scale projects, that's the

162

first thing we talk about.

163

Let's start to think outside the

box now, before we start trying to

164

recruit and before we start to try

to bring people to this project.

165

Let's think of every risk analysis

scenario on, what could make it

166

challenging for an Indigenous workforce

or business to be able to participate.

167

Michelle Samson: Another workforce

recruitment challenge Nadine has seen

168

is unique to the Indigenous context.

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Nadine Bernard: From an Indigenous

employee standpoint, one of the challenges

170

is competition with the community.

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So there's some federal legislative,

regulatory things that when

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they work within the community

, their income isn't taxable.

173

And so, when you're asking them

to leave that, then their income

174

is taxed and then it's a reduced

income coming into their household.

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So to entice someone to leave from

working within their community

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and invite them to want to work on

something outside, you really have to

177

be creative on, on how you create those

enticing strategies to bring them out.

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Michelle Samson: And are you able to speak

to any of those, uh, enticing strategies?

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Nadine Bernard: You have to

think of like, how willing is the

180

company or organization or entity

willing to think outside the box?

181

Are you open to creating a partnership

with said First Nation community and have

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them work in community at a satellite

sub office, maybe two days a week.

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So they're, they're still within

their community, they're still

184

have accessibility to language and

culture, which is really important.

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Or, um, you know, partnership

arrangements, right?

186

So, moving your corporate office onto

a First Nation community, which you're

187

seeing, right, with a lot of these new

lessee partnership opportunities that

188

have come up in, even in Membertou.

189

I mean, you see Grant Thornton there,

you see Pearl Vision there, like,

190

you see these real huge outfits

leasing property and office space

191

within a First Nation community.

192

Then, you don't have to modify anything.

193

You're right there on First Nation land.

194

And that's only because now Indigenous

communities are able to move towards

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self sustaining initiatives like having

these leasee spaces and building the

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infrastructure to invite those external

people to come into the community.

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Michelle Samson: Of course, working with

indigenous communities is about more

198

than just leasing space within them.

199

Nadine Bernard: They need to

acknowledge and understand that, our

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communities work like a web, right?

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There's tribal organizations that

represent communities and that support

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them in building their capacity, meeting

their needs, building training programs.

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And so, utilizing these partnerships

and understanding what all of these

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Indigenous organizations do, like

what, what's their mission statement,

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their foundation of what they offer

as services, and building those

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relationships so that they're helping you.

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I mean, you have this Atlantic

initiative happening between MEBO,

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the Mi'kmaw Economic Benefits Office,

KMK Mi'kmaq Rights Initiative out of

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Millbrook, and JEDI, and the federal

government, and talking about, how do

210

we build up a directory for not only

Indigenous businesses, but an Indigenous

211

workforce, so that people can say,

"this is what I'm looking for, who do

212

you have in, in your pool," "how can

you prepare a workforce for us to meet

213

the demand that we're looking for?"

214

So, I would just say, you know,

get to know your organizations and

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communities, and that synergy that

happens naturally, within our Indigenous

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communities, you can then be a part of.

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Michelle Samson: Already, there are

some corporations that have done

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this work and our models for how to

engage in economic reconciliation that

219

truly builds wealth and sustainable

opportunities for indigenous communities.

220

Nadine gave two examples of companies

that represent reconciliACTION.

221

The first is Everwind Fuels, which

is working with Mi'kmaq communities

222

as equity partners to build an

Atlantic Canadian green fuel hub.

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The second is Clearwater Seafoods.

224

Back in 2020, 50% of this major player in

Nova Scotia's fishing industry was sold

225

to a coalition of Mi'kmaq First Nations.

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The partnership will generate

wealth, and so much more.

227

Nadine Bernard: Back in early

January, Chief Terry Paul talked

228

about the profits and revenues

being triple to what Clearwater has

229

ever seen before, and especially

in an industry that was our enemy.

230

The reason of, like, two decades, if not

more, of a very fractured relationship

231

with industry in Canada and Indigenous

people when it came to treaty rights.

232

And so to see the Mi'kmaq people

be the partners of what used to

233

harm and now they're a part of, you

know, the decision making of it.

234

That's the true action, is that there

was an industry that was willing to

235

not think about the politics and

said, "we want to be partners with you.

236

You of all people deserve to have

a shared part of the wealth that

237

comes from an industry that actually

originally belonged to you."

238

Michelle Samson: On the flip side,

some companies may think they're

239

engaging in reconciliation, but

aren't getting it quite right.

240

Nadine has advice.

241

Nadine Bernard: You see some that

just , don't come in right way.

242

The overuse of engagement

can be confusing for people,

243

sometimes consultation as well.

244

We always say big C, little C, you

know, we don't do big C, we do little C.

245

And even to use that word, like can

get intimidating because then it comes

246

into the legal sense of checking a

checkbox to meet those requirements.

247

But, it's relationship building.

248

It's getting to know the people, and

getting to know what their priorities

249

are, and how do you align what you

want to what the community wants.

250

And don't assume that just because

you're coming in flashing an

251

opportunity, that that's what they want.

252

Michelle Samson: Implementing

IDEA principles as a private

253

corporation can be tough.

254

Implementing them as a Crown

corporation in collaboration with

255

many partners, that can be tough too.

256

For the CBRM Healthcare Redevelopment

Project, Build Nova Scotia saw diversity

257

and inclusion as both a responsibility

and an opportunity to transform

258

the local construction industry.

259

I asked Robyn Lee Seale to explain why

this initiative got off the ground,

260

and how they're implementing it.

261

Robyn Lee Seale: We work in the

Cape Breton Regional Municipality,

262

a relatively small region.

263

And before the pandemic, our healthcare

infrastructure redevelopment investment

264

was valued at over a billion dollars.

265

So it's a huge economic

investment in such a small region.

266

And so the government, the community,

and the construction industry was all

267

aware that if we weren't thoughtful

about how that money was invested into

268

the projects and how those projects were

developed, we could really predict who

269

was getting the economic development

dollars, like who's benefiting the most.

270

In Cape Breton, it's much like a

lot of the construction industry.

271

It's typically dudes, typically white men

. And we all thought we could do better if

272

we built a diversity and inclusion program

that started to shift the industry to

273

include more representation from women,

from people of color, from indigenous

274

people, from black people, from people

with disabilities, from immigrants.

275

You know, all the people who should

be there, but aren't necessarily

276

yet, or aren't there in the numbers

yet that we want to see them in.

277

The opportunity we saw as Build Nova

Scotia, so the representatives of

278

government is putting a little bit

of pressure on the ecosystem of the

279

construction industry in our region.

280

So, if you want to be a contractor

on our projects, you are

281

committing to a recruitment target.

282

Getting at least 10 percent of your

workforce hours from underrepresented

283

groups, uh, and 25 percent of your

skilled apprentice hours from apprentices.

284

So we need to see you

training new people as well.

285

And a percentage of those again should

be from underrepresented groups.

286

So the first thing we're doing

is putting in the pressure.

287

The second thing we're doing is

saying, okay, well, we're asking you to

288

change what your workforce looks like.

289

How can we support that, and how

can we do that in a sustainable way?

290

And so we have a lot of inclusion

efforts that we're developing and we

291

do this with a diversity working group.

292

There are representatives from

all of the groups in our target,

293

and we meet with them monthly.

294

We are as transparent as possible,

which means we put so many more hours

295

into data than I ever expected to,

um, and we're accessible to them.

296

And we do our best to adapt our

processes, so when they say,

297

"Hey, can it be like this?"

298

If we can say "yes", we do.

299

We're also working to increase the

capacity for inclusive workspaces

300

on our construction sites.

301

We're developing tools.

302

We have the Inclusive

Language Site Manual.

303

My site inspector does this.

304

He's on site.

305

Someone says a word, you know,

maybe someone says colored.

306

I still hear that one occasionally

. He goes, "are we saying that?

307

Let me get the manual."

308

Looks in the manual, reads

the explanation, it's not just

309

don't say that and says, "Oh,

we're not saying that anymore.

310

Here's why."

311

So more inclusive spaces.

312

We're building a program called the

Respectful Site Champion Program,

313

hopefully launching early to mid fall

that's about making sure we have clear

314

pathways for if something happens, how

that's reported and discussed, and also

315

growing the capacity of the leaders

on site to have these conversations.

316

Because if you've never had a trans

person on your site before, or if

317

women typically haven't been reporting

sexual harassment, well, how are we

318

supporting you to deal with that?

319

And finally, this is really important

when we think about what capacity building

320

is, it's making sure that the communities

and the industry are connected.

321

So our target pushes you there, and if

you're not meeting your target, we direct

322

you to representatives from the community.

323

Because I could be gone tomorrow.

324

I could win the lottery.

325

Government could change, they

could just decide we're not

326

doing this initiative anymore.

327

Um, but if the contractors are connected

to the industry, if industry supports

328

are connected to equity deserving

communities, capacity is being built.

329

Michelle Samson: What Robyn Lee and Build

Nova Scotia are trying to accomplish

330

represents a major culture shift.

331

If you're thinking that construction

companies are complying under

332

duress, and that the culture can't

be changed, you might be surprised.

333

Robyn Lee Seale: In 1992, we

had the Westray mine disaster.

334

That drove drove a shift in how Nova

Scotia legislates safety, right?

335

And so when we were working in Nova

Scotia to change safety culture,

336

everyone was like, it can't be done.

337

It can't be done in Cape Breton.

338

It can't be done in Nova Scotia.

339

Well, in fact, it has been done.

340

It's been done beautifully.

341

I work with people who are leaders in this

industry who said, "Oh yeah, but when we

342

started, you wouldn't have seen us tied on

if we were up high, like that wasn't cool.

343

We didn't even understand

that that was more safe.

344

We thought maybe we could just jump."

345

And so it's been decades of a

combination of legislation and

346

education and enforcing expectations.

347

And now safety reports

are standard and expected.

348

It is embedded.

349

You can't imagine a construction site

in this province without safety anymore.

350

And so our thought is culture

can change and we can also

351

be more psychologically safe.

352

Part of psychological safety has to focus

on diversity, equity, and inclusion,

353

because otherwise it's just going to

capture psychological safety for the

354

people who've always been centered.

355

And so there's this hunger in

the construction industry, cause

356

they just saw a culture shift.

357

And they're like, "girl, get in here."

358

Some of these meetings I show up

to, and they're like, " oh, Robyn

359

Lee, we're so glad you're here".

360

And I'll say something like, "I want to

run this program", and they're, " Great.

361

We're ready".

362

Michelle Samson: If you're a business

owner or investor in any industry

363

that's ready to prioritize diversity,

equity, and inclusion, that's fantastic!

364

I asked Robyn Lee if there are any

common mistakes organizations make,

365

when they're just getting started.

366

There are a few that came to mind.

367

Robyn Lee Seale: One thing we did

in our project that was important

368

is, you know, targets are tricky.

369

And we learned on a previous project

in our region that if you have targets

370

based on people, it becomes a checkbox.

371

So our targets are based on hours worked.

372

So if you bring in that one black guy

and you only have them there for two

373

hours, well, that's only two hours.

374

And so if you're doing anything to do

with targets, you want to have a lot

375

of conversations with a lot of people,

but one thing we learned is to make

376

it hours based to get around tokenism.

377

Also I think one of the key mistakes

people make is not having solid mentors.

378

You know, if you're in charge of running

a whole company, who trained you to

379

do diversity and inclusion work well?

380

I bet no one did.

381

And that's not, that's,

that's just where we are.

382

So you need to have a couple of

mentors, people you can be vulnerable

383

with . People who can call you out.

384

If you want to get into this work at

any level, I think that is a key step.

385

I also think where we see the most

success is the people who know how

386

to get over their own defensiveness.

387

What I like about the construction

industry is that they might not

388

always be used to the language we use

around diversity and inclusion, which

389

isn't as important anyway, right?

390

But they know about conflict resolution.

391

They know about having hard conversations.

392

They know who's good at it

and who's not good at it.

393

And so the people I've seen succeed

are the people who don't take things

394

personally, who trust that if we're

rational together, we're going to figure

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this out, who practice perspective taking.

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You know, I have a coworker who

was really, really touched because

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our director called him to see

how he was doing in Snowmageddon.

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And my director said, "well, just

thought to myself, what would it

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be like to be from East Africa

and find myself in a snowbank?

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And thought I should check on him."

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Lots of people don't take the time to

put themselves in another person's shoes.

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So I think these are the things

that are making, making it work.

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Michelle Samson: Robyn Lee added that the

number one thing organizations do wrong.

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Including Build Nova Scotia

at first, is not reaching out

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to communities soon enough.

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As needy and Bernard mentioned earlier,

reaching out and talking to people

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directly can reveal information that

you never would have anticipated.

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Robyn Lee experienced one of these

surprising discoveries personally.

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Robyn Lee Seale: I came to this job

with a lot of connections in the

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immigrant community, but I realized

I didn't have any connections to the

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Filipino Cape Breton community, and

so a member of the Equity Network, uh,

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New Dawn's Nadine Paruch, connected me

to her brand new staff person who was

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from the Philippines, Shenny Daskeo.

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We crashed the Filipino Association

Christmas party, and she introduced

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me to people who were interested

in the construction industry.

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And here's what we learned:

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The language score you need to

do, trades at NSCC is really high.

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It is prohibitively high.

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Uh, and so the Filipino people who

are trying to do trades were going

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to NSCC and they couldn't get in.

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And so what they told me, as children

screamed around us and a live band

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played at the Christmas party, is I

can't get into NSCC because I wasn't born

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in Canada, so I can't get into trades.

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So because we were taking that

relational approach, we get to see

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that there was understanding gap.

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You don't have to go to NSCC to do trades.

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It's a great path, but if you can't

get in, there are other paths.

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So the two men we met who were able

to so clearly communicate with me in

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English that I could understand them in

this hectic scene, were able to get into

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carpenter training and do direct entry.

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So the relational approach directly

got workers, but it also...

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We're hoping it's beginning

to show that community that

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they can work with the trades.

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Michelle Samson: So as an employer, how

do you connect with these communities?

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Aside from crashing

their Christmas parties?

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Robyn Lee Seale: You just want

to connect to the local people.

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There are lots of good

people you can start with.

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So, get connected to local Mi'kmaq

organizations, the local, EDOs and NEOs at

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your band offices, that sorts of things.

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If you're working in trades

in Mi'kma'ki, call MEBO.

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If you're starting with the LGBT

community, start with Veronica Merryfield.

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Um, the black connections might be harder,

but there are people like me who can

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get you connected to the right people.

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We have an Equity Network here.

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They're working exactly to do

this, exactly to help people

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connect to the workforce and

underrepresented communities.

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If you call me, only call because you

expect to be connected to a lot of people.

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If I don't connect you to a lot of

people, tell me I didn't do my job.

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Michelle Samson: Links and contact

information for all of the above are

450

available in this episode's show notes.

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Both Robyn Lee and Nadine are

doing this work with one eye on the

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present and another on the future.

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For Nadine, her vision of a fully

realized inclusive, diverse, equitable,

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and accessible workplace is one where an

indigenous worker is hired based on their

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merits, and feels welcome from the start.

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Nadine Bernard: It shouldn't matter

that you're Indigenous and that they're

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going to create an opportunity for you.

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It's that you have a passion for

something or a skill set that you'd

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like to share and be able to expand.

460

And not have to worry about, some

of the cultural challenges that

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can come with inviting diverse

individuals into these spaces and

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places, which is what the reality

of what we have to think about now.

463

You know, I'm a mother and a grandmother,

so want to contribute to dismantling

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all of those pieces that make it

challenging for when my granddaughter

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is able to enter that workforce.

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And so I have to think that far

ahead, but as Indigenous, we

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think seven generations ahead.

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I don't know if in my lifetime I'm

going to see that point where she can

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just walk in and be, but I hope I do.

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And, you know, I, I want to do my

part in that process of dismantling.

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Michelle Samson: The CBRM Healthcare

Redevelopment Project is one of

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several included in the Cape Breton

Partnership's Building Tomorrow

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campaign, which aims to encourage

positive longterm spinoffs from these

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projects like a stronger workforce and

a rejuvenated local construction sector.

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I asked Robyn Lee to imagine a time after

construction is done, and what she hopes

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the legacy of these projects will be.

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Robyn Lee Seale: I mean, we are getting

really beautiful healthcare facilities

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that have been built with an immense

amount of input from healthcare

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providers to make sure that they're

doing their best to serve needs.

480

Not one of us, won't be

touched by the cancer center.

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Not one of us won't be

touched by these hospitals.

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They're really, really important.

483

However, my eye on the prize is

not those buildings because we

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have a chance for generational

impact and generational change.

485

So my hope is is that contractors and

community will be more closely connected,

486

that communities will have more of their

people working on their sites, because

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you can't be it if you can't see it, that

the view of who can be on a construction

488

site will change both for the people

who are like, "Oh, maybe it can be me.

489

Maybe I can be a woman in trade."

490

But also that the people working

on these sites would never want

491

to imagine or remember, "oh,

these women weren't always here.

492

These people of color weren't always here.

493

We're so grateful they were in the room."

494

That's my goal.

495

And that the people working on our

sites are having equitable and inclusive

496

experiences, that they feel they belong,

that they're not having to hide part

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of who they are, you know, not talking

about their husband because they

498

don't want people to know they're gay.

499

It means if you're Mi'kmaq and

you're going to practice St.

500

Anne's Day, you don't have

to do a lot of explaining.

501

Your team, maybe your

team is like, "Hey, St.

502

Anne's Day is coming.

503

Do you need Thursday off or whatever?"

504

Um, it means that if you, If you

are a woman and you have a wife,

505

or a trans wife, or you're a trans

woman, you can talk about it at work.

506

Also that the people who haven't

traditionally been there don't have to

507

work twice as hard to prove themselves.

508

Something you hear in the construction

industry a lot is , "Oh, I've

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got this woman on my site and

she outworks all the men."

510

And it's true, I know she does,

and I want her to not have to.

511

Like that's the next level.

512

Michelle AI: That would be a great

place to end this episode . But

513

I always end an interview with a

simple question, "Any final thoughts?

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Robyn Lee had some great ones.

515

Both were prospective investors,

and the island's local employers.

516

Robyn Lee Seale: To people not on

this island yet, I hope you come here

517

with a whole heart, ready to enjoy our

culture and enjoy our beauty and, and

518

to respect it and love it the way we do.

519

And to the local people, I want to

say we're already doing diversity.

520

You probably already have people from the

2SLGBTQIA+ community in your workplace.

521

You probably already have people

with disabilities in your workplace.

522

So please also remember that as we

make these efforts, it's actually

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going to open up space for the

people you already are valuing.

524

And the final thing I'll say is we

often talk about making sure that

525

your skills match your values.

526

So you think you're a good person and

you think you value your human workforce.

527

Do you have the skills to do

that when the chips are down?

528

When someone comes to you and says,

"Hey, that meeting was actually

529

problematic," are you still the person

who can listen, who can think, who

530

can get over the defensiveness and

provide that psychologically safe space?

531

So think of diversity and inclusion work

as human work that helps you develop

532

the skills to live up to your values.

533

Michelle Samson: Thank you so much

to Robyn Lee Seale and Nadine Bernard

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for sharing your expertise with us.

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Check out the show notes for

links to their organizations and

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others mentioned in this episode.

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Next time on Invest in Cape Breton, we're

going sector specific and talking about

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the incredible investment opportunities

in this Island's tourism sector.

539

Hit that follow button on Apple Podcasts

or Spotify to be notified when it drops.

540

If you've been enjoying the podcast,

while you're there it would be great

541

if you could leave a rating or review.

542

Michelle: Our theme music is Under My

Skin by Glace Bay's own Elyse Aeryn.

543

Invest in Cape Breton is produced

by Storied Places Media, a

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proudly Cape Breton owned business

operated by me, Michelle Samson.

545

Thanks for listening.