Susanne Dandenault’s journey from competitive athlete to general counsel at Arctic Co-operatives

After graduating from law school in 1996, Susanne Dandenault took nine years off before starting her legal career to focus on her other passion – competing for Canada as a weightlifter. She competed in major sporting events as a Canadian national team member from 1998-to-2005, and was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.

“I struggled to get an articling position in 2005 because I had been away from the industry for nine years,” says Dandenault. However, she eventually found her path, articling at grain company Paterson GlobalFoods Inc., where she went on to spend five years. That role led to another in-house counsel position at telecoms company Bell MTS where she spent six years, followed by a brief stint in the legal department at the University of Manitoba.

In 2018, Dandenault jumped at the opportunity to join Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Arctic Co-operatives Limited to lead the legal department, initially as senior legal counsel. Two years later, she was promoted to general counsel.

Dandenault navigates legal matters and evolving bylaws in multiple jurisdictions for Arctic Co-ops. The federation is owned and controlled by 33 member co-op business enterprises throughout Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon and Saskatchewan, so Dandenault juggles a wide range of differing needs for the member businesses. She and her small legal team support Arctic Co-ops in its mission to provide service to and enable co-operation among multi-purpose co-operative businesses in Canada’s Far North.

This year, Dandenault and her team have been focusing on real estate matters for their member businesses, as well as operating as a buyer and co-ordinating transport to bring food to the Far North. They are also keeping a close eye on new legislations surrounding anti-slavery in the supply chain.

“We are in the midst of a full-scale updating of governance with many of our co-ops so that their by-laws are being updated,” says Dandenault. “It has been a very long time in the making, and it looks like our Nunavut co-ops will finally all have some updated bylaws. I think that will be a huge benefit to my clients which are the Inuits and the community members in the Far North, so I think that will be a great accomplishment,” she adds.

The legal team is also working on a policy audit for member co-ops to ensure they are operating efficiently. Keeping policies straightforward with simple language to meet the needs of the clients is key, Dandenault notes. 

As general counsel, Dandenault also navigates risk and any litigation matters that arise, and she leads privacy matters and cybersecurity for Arctic co-op and its members.

“We have a lot at stake, like many organizations, and I think we are probably ahead of the game compared to some, but there is still more work for us to do,” says Dandenault. Currently, the legal team is working to increase awareness of privacy matters within the organization and among member co-ops. They are also in the process of implementing a privacy impact assessment on all IT systems.

Inclusivity has always been an important cornerstone at Arctic Co-operatives.

“I think that comes from the fact that our primary stakeholders are the Inuit people in the North, so that general concept of inclusivity spills over into all other areas, and that includes the legal department,” says Dandenault. The legal team is also part of Arctic Co-ops' project committee so Dandenault has insight into major projects that are being planned, and she is able to weigh in with any legal concerns. 

Though Dandenault is based in the organization’s Manitoba office – with just 130 employees in total – she sometimes has the opportunity to travel north into the high Arctic to meet with member co-operatives, which she greatly enjoys. The legal team has certainly proven its value to the organization, as Dandenault often fields calls from stakeholders seeking advice or wanting to run something past her.

“My role at Arctic Co-ops means the most to me,” says Dandenault. “To be able to move from senior legal counsel to general counsel has confirmed for me that I’m valued by my manager and the entire organization, so that’s probably my biggest highlight."

Throughout her legal career, Dandenault has maintained her love for athletics, dedicating herself to amateur sport locally, nationally and interntaionally. She is currently chair of Sport Manitoba.