What the Call actually says
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada issued 94 Calls to Action in 2015. Call to Action 92 is addressed to the corporate sector. It asks businesses to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a framework for reconciliation, to ensure Indigenous peoples have equitable access to jobs, training and education opportunities and that Indigenous communities gain long term benefits from economic development projects, and to provide education for management and staff on the history of Indigenous peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools.
It is worth reading in full rather than in summary. The wording is short and specific, and most of the work it asks for is practical rather than symbolic.
Where hiring practice usually falls down
Posting a role on an Indigenous job board is a start, not a strategy. The common failures happen after the posting goes up.
Requirements that screen people out for no reason. A degree requirement on a role that does not need one, or a demand for continuous employment history, removes capable candidates whose experience is real but not linear. Ask whether each requirement genuinely predicts success in the job.
Application processes that assume stable infrastructure. Long online forms, video interviews and same day responses assume reliable internet and a quiet private space. Offering a phone alternative costs you nothing.
Interview panels with no Indigenous presence. If nobody on the panel shares the candidate experience, you will misread answers. Where you cannot staff a panel internally, bring in an external community member and pay them for their time.
Hiring without retention. Recruiting Indigenous employees into a workplace that has done no internal work sets people up to leave. The education piece of Call to Action 92 is aimed at exactly this.
Practical commitments that hold up
Publish a salary range on every posting. State plainly what accommodations you offer. Recognise bereavement and ceremonial leave in policy rather than case by case. Track how many Indigenous applicants reach interview and offer stage, and look honestly at where the drop off happens. Name a real person candidates can contact with questions.
Say only what is true
Do not describe your organisation as Indigenous led, Indigenous owned or in partnership with a community unless it is accurate and the community agrees with the description. Overstated claims are noticed quickly and cost more trust than they buy.