At Conterra, we believe in negotiating long-term relationships and not simply benefits agreements. To do this, we believe that negotiations undertaken on behalf of our First Nation clients should be directed by the First Nation and set in a community development context so that the contribution of each negotiated agreement can be seen measured as to how it contributes to achieving community objectives.
- We work to ensure a balance between the components of the negotiation process – mandate development, negotiations and linkage
- The mandate process is staged with an opening mandate, a community-based process through which ongoing instructions and feedback can be received and a process for developing and receiving a closing mandate
- The linkage, or communication process is designed to engage those who may be affected either positively or negatively by the outcome of the negotiations