Hilda Broomfield-Letemplier is the 2022 award recipient for leadership.
President, Pressure Pipe Procurement Management Services Limited and Northern Oxygen Ltd.
The Leadership Award, sponsored by FONEMED, recognizes Hilda Broomfield-Letemplier of Happy Valley-Goose Bay as a female entrepreneur who has championed the advancement of women in the entrepreneurial space and beyond. Broomfield-Letemplier is president of Pressure Pipe Procurement & Management Services Ltd. and Northern Oxygen Ltd. mining suppliers, businesses that are 100 percent Inuit/Indigenous and woman-owned.
As a Canadian Indigenous woman living in the north and a rural entrepreneur in a non-traditional trade, Broomfield- Letemplier works to advance the interests of Indigenous persons and women in business through her long-standing affiliations with the National Indigenous Economic Development Board (NIEDB) and the Newfoundland and Labrador Organization of Women Entrepreneurs (NLOWE). She has regularly participated in events celebrating women entrepreneurs’ achievements and spoken at the Northern Lights Conference in Ottawa and International Women’s Day events. She has also addressed the Senate on behalf of the NIEDB for their work on northern infrastructure.
Addressing Indigenous Peoples’ unique needs and circumstances in Canada is important to Broomfield-Letemplier. Invited to sit on the Indigenous Women’s Circle, she was part of a group providing guidance and expertise regarding the systemic inequality Indigenous women experience related to gender-based violence, economic insecurity, and Indigenous leadership.
“NLOWE is important to women entrepreneurs across this province. They are your one-stop-shop when starting or growing a business,” says Broomfield-Letemplier. “They’re there to help you, guide you, teach you, and prepare you to make sure that you have all the tools that you need in your toolbox to make your business successful.”
Through her volunteer work and community leadership, Broomfield-Letemplier hopes to inspire and be a role model for aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly women and those of Indigenous ancestry. She says as successful businesswomen, we have a responsibility to motivate, support, and inspire others, particularly Indigenous women looking to enter the entrepreneurial space. As women, we all should share the responsibility to help to uplift all women, regardless of their current situation, nationality, or status. But most importantly, she says, we must believe in ourselves: “If I can do it, then you can too.”