Building bridges between all communities
Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/73121
PAGE 20 • JULY 2012 statesman visits Elder Vancouver Board of Trade's Opportunities Committee Aboriginal Vancouver, May, 2012 - On Wednesday, May 23, 2012 the Aboriginal Opportunities Committee of The Vancouver Board of Trade was privileged to welcome Senator and elder statesman, the Honourable Gerry St. Ger- main, P.C, who gave a presentation on a host of important issues. Amongst Senator St. Germain's many ac- complishments prior to becoming a Senator are: he was (and still is) a highly successful entrepreneur, he served as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force, was a police officer, was first elected to sit as an M.P. in 1983 (when he was also Minister of State for Transport, Min- ister of Forestry, and the Political Minister for British Columbia), served as the government's National Caucus Chair, in 1989 was elected President of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, presently is Chair of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Peoples. In 2012 he was awarded the honour of Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation for his life of dedicat- ed work directed at improving the social and economic conditions of Aboriginal people in Canada. Senator St. Germain discussed the Sen- ate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples and the work that it has undertaken including reports in several major policy areas such as specific claims resolution, education, economic devel- opment, and treaty implementation. He noted that all of the work that is done by the Sen- ate Committee have the common denominator We're at work on top of your world crushing Presentation to Honourable Senator Gerry St. Germain by AOC Member Nene Kraneveldt. that education is the catalyst to improving the lives of Aboriginal people. On the important issue of economic de- velopment he said that all Canadians need to start thinking differently. In relation to natural resource development he noted that future prosperity required looking at Aboriginal peo- ples as real partners who share equitably in the projects taking place in their traditional ter- ritories. Governments and corporations need to adopt the spirit of true partnerships in deal- ing with Aboriginal communities and that the era of offering only "beads and trinkets" is (or should be) over. He also reiterated his call for natural resource corporations who are serious about doing business in Aboriginal Canada to appoint Aboriginal people to their Boards. Upon the conclusion of his presentation, Senator St. Germain was presented a gift on behalf of the Aboriginal Opportunities Commit- tee by committee member Nene Kraneveldt. In 2011, the Vancouver Board of trade has established the Aboriginal Opportunities Committee in recognition of the growing im- portance that Aboriginal issues have on the economy of British Columbia and Canada. Its purpose is to develop, monitor and influence policies and recommendations to promote Ab- original economic development and self-sus- tainability as an important factor in Canada's economic growth. Every year the committee organizes an Aboriginal Opportunities Forum to discuss and examine important issues re- lating to Aboriginal economic matters. Calvin Helin, author, lawyer, entrepreneur, and direc- tor of The Vancouver Board of Trade is chair of the committee. Tewanee Joseph, former CEO of Four Host First Nations is vice-chair. Other members of the AOC include: Owen An- derson, Tyson Atleo, Lisa Ethans, Bruce Fal- stead, Ryan Daum, Grayden Hayward, Keith Henry, John Thompson, Nene Kreaneveldt, Len Thorburn, Hilary Kilgour, Caroline Krause, and Fredrick Yu. Nuna Group of Companies... is committed to Northern Development • Crushing • Open Pit Mining • Training Simulator • Heavy Civil Earthworks • Large Diameter Drilling • Winter Road Construction • Dam and Dike Construction • Site and Exploration Services • AllWeather Road Construction nunalogistics.com Operations & Human Resources Office 1-877-499-9114 Executive Office Vancouver 1-888-734-5773 Regional Offices Yellowknife NT, Rankin Inlet NU, Prince Albert SK, Thunder Bay ON