Program that promotes Aboriginal economic development wins national award

A first-of-its-kind program in Canada to promote Aboriginal economic development received a national bronze award from the Institute of Public Administration of Canada at a conference in Ottawa on Aug. 24. The IPAC Awards recognize the efforts of public administration across Canada to minimize bureaucracy while addressing complex social issues like poverty, employment, and education.

“It is vitally important to encourage and embrace bold innovations and collaboration in the public sector,” said Wynne Young, IPAC president and member of the jury who selected the award winners.

Recognizing that economic partnerships will play a key role in increasing the prosperity of Alberta’s Aboriginal population, the First Nations Economic Partnerships Initiative  program promotes sustainable partnerships between First Nations, industry and governmental organizations. Last year, the government provided $8 million toward the program.

One of the program’s success stories comes from Paul First Nation, which used funding from the program to develop a charter for economic development. As a result, the band administration developed communication tools to share training and employment opportunities; formed new relationships with industry, unions and social agencies; assisted 100 community members in obtaining off-reserve employment and secured employment for 15 youth in the community.

“With FNEPI’s help, the project charter became our strategic planning guide to community and economic development,” said Chief Daniel Paul. “As a result of the charter, we have made significant strides.”

Going forward, Paul First Nation will be focusing on their partnerships with various industry organizations as well as a partnership with Ermineskin and Alexis First Nations to develop greenhouses that use technology invested by Korean business.  In addition to leading his community’s involvement in the program, Chief Paul also provided tremendous support as part of the award submission process, said Lisanne Lewis with Alberta Aboriginal Relations.

The program’s unique approach to strengthening First Nations economic capacity in Alberta piqued the interest of IPAC and as part of the process, IPAC is building a database of all entries which will be widely-accessible for other organizations to use as a model. The program has also generated interest from Aboriginal Affairs ministers across Canada as a viable way to increase Aboriginal participation in economic development.

The FNEPI program was developed in 2005 by the provincial government with input from First Nations and industry leaders in Alberta. Since that time, 109 sustainable projects have been developed.

Alberta Housing and Urban Affairs also received a gold award for their initiatives to end homelessness in Alberta by 2019.