Gold level member encourages participation

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Two large Canadian corporations are reaping the benefits of being good neighbors.

Both Xerox and Sodexho are giants in their fields-the former in manufacturing and distributing copier machines, the other in the hospitality industry. Their corporate reach extends across Canada, but their newly-elevated status in the Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) program of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business can be attributed to their willingness to work hand-in-hand with those closer to home.

Xerox Canada's commitment to working with Aboriginal people began in 1994, with the establishment of a scholarship program for Aboriginal students wanting to pursue careers in the field of information technology (IT). As a leader in that field, Xerox's parent company puts $1 billion annually into research and development, so for Xerox Canada to invest in the training of future IT workers from one of Canada's largest-growing population groups seemed a natural move. However, the thinking behind it goes deeper than that.

The 1990 standoff at Oka, Que., when provincial police clashed with Mohawk protestors over plans to erect a golf course on a Mohawk burial site, came as a wake-up call to corporate Canada. Just how little they actually knew about their Aboriginal neighbors came as a shock, said Tom Maracle, Xerox's national manager of Aboriginal marketing and community relations.

"Business leaders in Canada began to say, 'OK, this is happening, and we don't know this community at all,'" said Maracle, who is of Mohawk heritage himself. "[They said] 'We've got to be able to provide some opportunities for Aboriginal businesses and Aboriginal youth.'"

When the PAR program was created in 1999, Xerox Canada was immediately intrigued. Since the creation of its IT scholarship, the company had continued to expand its involvement with Aboriginal people, sponsoring other university scholarships and bursaries, as well as events such as the Arctic Winter Games. However, prior to PAR, there was no formal way for Xerox to compare or share what it had been doing with other Canadian businesses.

"The PAR program provided us with a structure and an methodology by which we could measure our performance," said Maracle. "It was a good tool to help us organize our collective thoughts.... We could see where we were successful, and where we needed to pull up our socks."

After starting out at the commitment level, Xerox moved up to bronze (the action plan stage) in 2000. After refining its plans and ensuring that each project was supported at all levels, the company earned its silver (the implementation stage) certification this year.

Maracle is proud of the shift in Xerox's corporate attitude toward Aboriginal people and issues, from the executive level on down.

"The Aboriginal program does not exist way off in a corner somewhere," he said. "It's integrated into Xerox's business practice and process. It's a permanent feature of daily business here at Xerox."

For Montreal-based Sodexho, the largest food and hospitality service provider in North America, being a good neighbor simply makes economic sense.

Like Xerox, Sodexho has been involved with PAR since the program began. This year, Sodexho has parlayed its skill in building partnerships with Aboriginal communities into gold-level PAR certification.

Sodexho is a multi-faceted organization, with a corporate mandate to "create and offer services that contribute to a more pleasant way of life for people whenever and wherever they come together."

These services range from laundry services to heavy equipment maintenance to catering in schools, hospitals, corporate offices and remote sites such as mining camps and logging operations. It is in this last area that Sodexho's ability to form partnerships with Aboriginal communities has had the greatest impact, both on the company's fortunes and on the lives of the people living in remote regions.

Sodexho has established partnerships with four irst Nations-the Membertou, a Mi'kmaw nation in Nova Scotia; the Betsiamites and the Chibougamau in Quebec; and the Tahltan Nation in British Columbia, as well as the North Slave Metis in Yellowknife. Under these agreements, Sodexho and their Aboriginal partners bid on contracts to provide services ranging from food services to operation of a water treatment facility.

If a contract is won, Sodexho hires members of the partner First Nations to work on site, frequently in management roles.

"That allows us to share the financial rewards that that (contract) brings to bear," said Jon Kristjanson, Sodexho's director of marketing and communications.

Through these partnerships, Sodexho gains access to a workforce that understands local conditions and is interested in working in these remote locations. As well, companies like to see such partnerships, and that strengthens Sodexho's bid.

"It really gives us a strong advantage," said Kristjanson.

It also plays into one of Sodexho's core philosophies, which is to contribute to the economic development in the regions in which the company operates.