Respecting the land of the First Nations and Aboriginal natives has been an ongoing controversy in Canada for the past century. As businesses expand and innovate, they run into the problem of finding proper locations to build factories, offices, etc. Despite economic growth being a necessary factor in stimulating the market, businesses must still be ready to cope with objections made by the First Nations and work to make long-term agreements concerning land usage.

In my opinion, the main issue that results from clashing with the First Nations is that while doing so, companies lose valuable time and consumer respect. An obvious example of this is with Fortune Minerals’ stock price drop after engaging in a conflict with the Tahltan Nation over a coal deposit worth about $10 million. In the process, the Fortune Minerals allowed government intervention, which not only brought the issue to the media’s attention but also kept the company from making economic progress.

With its unfavorable actions exposed to the public, Fortune Minerals faces fluctuating drops in the stock, shown in the graph above, between February and June. Despite a temporary rise in price during July, the company has continued to lose popularity after August.

Images and References:

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/annita-mcphee/fortune-minerals-sacred-headwaters_b_5269409.html

http://ejatlas.org/conflict/tahltan-nation-v-fortune-minerals-bc-canada