Oka good for Native business opportunities

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Oka has been good for Native business opportunities, a survey of Native and non-Native business leaders shows.

But it's hurt job opportunities in some smaller cities where Natives make up a larger-than-normal chunk of the population.

That's the case in cities like Lethbridge and Regina, where Native job specialists say racism was already a major factor in the number of jobs available to Natives - and where the armed Mohawk confrontation at Oka, Que., caused a minor anti-Indian backlash.

However, most business leaders say while they "were concerned" about a potential business backlash, the reverse is true.

"We were concerned," says Bob Stanbury, president of the Canadian Council for Native Business.. "But we've many calls (from business) asking 'what can I do to help?'"

He says Oka violence and Native demonstrations across the country alerted the business community to the problems confronting aboriginal people.

Stanbury says Canadian business leaders are aware of three thing: the shrinking number of young people entering the labor market, the growing number of young Natives ready to enter the job market by mid-decade and the 20,000-plus young Natives - and desperately-needed future business and technical professionals - currently enrolled in post-secondary institutions across the nation.

Possible concern over Native civil disobedience regarding aboriginal land and rights issues aside, national figures compiled by business and the federal government shows the non-Native workforce is aging rapidly and that every fourth worker to enter the job market in the latter half of this decade will be Native.

"Our experience is there is an increasing interest in Native business and professional talents," Stranbury says in an interview.

Warren Hannay, president and chief executive officer of Peace Hills Trust Co., an Edmonton-headquartered Native financial institution, says his company has had "a very busy summer across the country."

Using business activity as a barometer of public attitudes, he says Native direct action at Oka and elsewhere has had "no adverse impact on, or off the reserves."

He says his "observation," which is based on talks with business leaders, shows the only major casualty of what's been called the summer of discontent,, is Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's government and its "lack of federal leadership."

It was a complaint echoed by other Native and non-Native business leaders Windspeaker spoke with and who are angry Ottawa didn't get directly involved in solving the Oka dispute.

George Gerrans, Edmonton regional manager for the Canadian Executive Service Organization which provides retired business and technical experts to Native bands and organizations, says the number of volunteers has actually increased since the summer began.

The reason is simple, he says. "People who have been involved in business see both sides before forming an opinion." And, adds Ferrand, more of them now have an understanding of legitimate Native complaints.

Barry Irwin, senior development officer with the Aboriginal Business Development Progra, says the Oka violence and other blockades are "something everybody talks about," but it hasn't hurt business.

Sales at subsidiary companies "are doing well and to this point there's been no negative reaction."

Milt Pahl, president of Native Venture Capital Co. Ltd., says although he was worried about a backlash it's been "business as usual."

In fact, he thinks the publicity prompted many business people who might other wise not have acted to "get into partnership with Native businesses."

Kerri Hawkings, president of the giant Cargill Ltd., recently told business people in Winnipeg that Canada faces a bleak economic future unless the growing Native population is integrated in the mainstream of the business world.

Native workers - and professionals - will be essential to replace the spiraling number of people who are retiring, he told business people, encouraging them to dvelop programs for young Native trainees to "ensure that culture shock and feeling of isolation do not turn off potentially good employees.

"The most mystifying part of the problem is so little has been done," he says. "It's frightening we do not seem to be able to act."

Reaction to the summer's unrest by non-Native employers, especially in the bigger cities like Edmonton and Calgary, has been positive.

Hart Cantelon, a long-term senior consultant with Native Employment Services of Alberta which has branches in various cities throughout the province, says Native job placements in the big cities are up.

However, /don Logan, NESA president, says the unrest has made finding jobs in some smaller centers "more difficult," especially Lethbridge where racism is bad.

He says his Native employment contracts show a similar situation in Regina. Yet, he says he finds the non-Native community elsewhere sympathetic to aboriginal concerns - although a number believe the violence was unnecessary.

Logan says he thinks the medium and long-term impact of the summer's Native unrest will enhance business and employment opportunities for aboriginal people because it's brought their concerns to the public forefront.