EnCana contribution jump-starts success initiative

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EDMONTON-The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), and particularly its Aboriginal population, celebrated the grand opening of a new Aboriginal student centre at the school's main campus in Edmonton on Dec. 2.

The centre is just one part of a larger initiative called the Aboriginal Educational Success Initiative, chaired by Mel Benson, a recent winner of the National Aboriginal Achievement Award in the Business and Commerce category.

A generous donation of $1 million from EnCana Corporation, a multi-billion-dollar player in the oil and gas industry, helped make the student centre a reality. Half-a-million went to the centre; the other half-million is earmarked for mobile education units that will provide training programs in Aboriginal communities when and where needed.

The centre is a gathering place for Aboriginal students at NAIT that offers work session space, computer access, meeting areas and a place for smudging ceremonies.

Jody Halfe is the co-president of the Aboriginal Student's Association. She is in the first year of a business administration program at NAIT and a player on the NAIT badminton team.

"I moved to Edmonton in January 2003, and before I started school I came to see [Elder] Eva Stang, and so I knew about the centre through her," said Halfe. "So on my first day of school here, and I came to the centre, I was greeted with open arms from fellow students from back home, friends from the powwow trail and new students that would eventually become my friends. I knew that these people would be my support system and that we would get each other through our year, our term, through our program. So on behalf of the students, I would like to thank EnCana for their tremendous support to the centre and I'd like to thank everybody else who helped make it a reality."

Randy Eresman is a graduate of NAIT, leaving the school in 1980 with a diploma in Petroleum Engineering Technology tucked under his arm. He is now the executive vice-president and chief operating officer of EnCana and was at NAIT for the grand opening ceremonies and to present a first payment in what he described as an investment.

"We're here this morning to launch another innovative approach toward career development and meeting Alberta's growing demand for technical and trades skills," he said.

"Much is said about the growing severity of skills shortages in Alberta," said Eresman, adding that if there were a simple solution to the shortage problem, EnCana would have adopted it.

"Canada's Aboriginal community is the largest source of untapped manpower that, quite frankly, tends to get ignored in the ongoing debates on immigration strategies, skills development and technical and trades training." He said EnCana had recognized the potential of the Aboriginal community as a resource for manpower and stepped forward to support NAIT to more effectively tap into that manpower.

"I am here to congratulate NAIT and to support a good business case. This million dollar commitment is not charity, but an investment in Encana's interests, a stake in creating another "Alberta Advantage" and a growing partnership with a quality institution that is integral to this province's continued prosperity."

Mel Benson said that the grand opening marked a special day for him personally, but also for the Aboriginal community.

"Participation in the mainstream economy; participation in the learning centre; participation in lifestyle; participation in the standard of living available to Canadians is critical to the survival of our people. Centres like NAIT that encourage and support our people in attaining the dreams, their dreams and their goals, is critical. Sometimes having a common meeting place like this is a haven that helps... being greeted, feeling welcome, a home away from home-so important. Students that go through these doors today, in the past and in the future are a true legacy."

He thanked the members of the success initiative campaign fr their efforts. The campaign team honorary chair is Colleen Klein, a Metis woman and the wife of the Alberta Premier Ralph Klein.

"It's a pleasure to help open this wonderful resource for NAIT's Aboriginal students," said Colleen Klein. "This centre says a number of important things, about NAIT, and about its Aboriginal students. It recognizes the tremendous resources that lie within Alberta's Aboriginal population, and the role the Aboriginal community can play in filling the current demand for skilled workers. By including a space for an Elder, the centre also recognizes that both technical and traditional knowledge have a role to play in the lives of Aboriginal students. It acknowledges the unique perspectives and values of Aboriginal people and offers a place where those values can be recognized, encouraged, and celebrated."

She said she wanted to thank EnCana "who does have an Aboriginal heart."

Klein then presented a gift to the student centre-a needlepoint picture of a medicine wheel that she hand-stitched to express, she said, her admiration for NAIT and its staff, "but mostly for the students.

"Each stitch holds my best wishes for the students who use the centre, and for the Elders, faculty and staff who help to guide them through their journey here."