Program recognizes business efforts

Page B6

More and more Canadian businesses are welcoming an opportunity to have their commitment to respectful Aboriginal relations measured and recognized through their involvement in the Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) program.

The PAR program, now in its second year of operation, offers participating businesses a framework for setting objectives relating to Aboriginal relations, developing plans to meet those objectives, and measuring the results.

The PAR program supports and measures its members' achievements in four areas of Aboriginal relations-employment, business development, individual capacity development, and community relations.

The first step for a company wanting to get involved in the PAR program is to submit a statement of their intent to work towards developing respectful Aboriginal relations with Aboriginal individuals, communities and businesses. The company then becomes a PAR member at the commitment level, and can begin setting goals and working toward those goals.

To move up from the commitment level to one of the achievement levels-bronze, silver or gold-a company must go through a self-assessment process, examining their successes in incorporating Aboriginal relations into their operations. The results of that self-assessment are reviewed by the National Quality Institute (NQI) and an independent jury before a decision is made as to whether a PAR hallmark designation will be awarded and, if so, at what level.

"What it will do, over time (it's our hope anyway)-the use of the PAR hallmark will instantly telegraph to Aboriginal communities that this is a company that takes it seriously, and that is doing a good job and wants to do a better job. And that they're interested in mutual win-win," explained Jocelyne Soulodre, president and CEO of the Canadian Council of Aboriginal Business, which established and operates the PAR program.

"That's the ultimate goal, is for both sides to benefit. One, in terms of the company being known, or more well known, for their attitude, and the fact that they take it seriously and that they want to be good corporate players. And on the other side, it's a way for Aboriginal communities to identify those companies that are really committed to changing things and making them better.

"PAR is a process and a journey," explained Soulodre. "For a lot of companies in Canada, the commitment level would be the first thing. Because that's the entry level, and that's where you say, I want to do this. But after that, if you want to stay in the program, then you have to progress to what we call achieving standing in the program, at either bronze, silver or gold. And it really depends on the amount of work you've done, how long you've been doing it, how ingrained it is in the company, all of those kinds of things. So that, if a company is really at the starting point-if they're still at the point of saying, 'there's a huge Aboriginal marketplace out there and we don't know much about them, and we should get to know them, and we should decide what we want to do and where we want to go, and how fast we want to get there,' then you're likely at that kind of part or place in the journey, then you're probably at a bronze level.

If, on the other hand, you can actually go back and say, 'Well, two years ago we decided that we wanted to accomplish this in employment, and that in business development, and this in all of the quadrants,' and they can actually measure results, they can show that they've done this against their target, then that company is at a silver level. And if in fact this is something they've been doing for a long time, then they're probably at a gold level."

The program has grown from the 10 companies that got involved when the program was launched last year, with five new companies coming on board this year.

New to the PAR program are E-Tronics Inc., Domtar, Canada Post, Junior Achievement Canada and Scotiabank. All five companies are currently at the comitment level.

Two companies that were at the commitment level last year-Cameco and Syncrude-went through the self-assessment process and have received a gold-level achievement designation, while Sodexho received a bronze-level designation. Other member companies that achieved standing designations are Donna Cona, which achieved a silver-level achievement designation, and Xerox, which received a bronze-level achievement designation, with both those designations being awarded in 2001.

Other PAR members include Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc., Casino Rama, BP, Piruqsijit Ltd., and Pharmacia, all of which have yet to undergo the self-assessment, and remain at the commitment level.

"The goal of PAR is not to instantly have 100 PAR companies. I would rather that companies take their time and do it right than rush through the process. There's a couple of companies that I can think of, and Alberta Pacific Forest Industries is one of them, where they're actually really well known for a lot of work that they've done. But they are using the PAR process as a way to ingrain it even more in the company culture.

"Of course I'd love to have Al-Pac out and standing at, let's say, a silver level, but this probably suits the company better. And in the end, it probably suits the goals and the essence of the PAR program better, that they're taking a bit more time, and they're having people say 'we've still got a lot of work to do,'" she said.

"Even though companies are taking their time on it, that's okay. I would rather they do it well and take it really seriously than kind of blow it off and say, 'oh, let's apply for this.' Because to me it just says it's going to be more ingrained in the culture, which I think is what you really want at the end.

"So, if that's what will happen with PAR in the end, even though it takes a little bit longer, I'm delighted. Because it means it's all through the company. It's not just at the president level or with the Aboriginal Affairs adisor. It's completely through, it's not superficial anymore."

The idea behind the PAR program came to Soulodre in the fall of 1998, she explained.

"I kept trying to think, there's got to be a way for Aboriginal communities to be able to tell who are the honest brokers, the good players in this. And there's got to be a way for companies that are doing good stuff to let that be known. It was just this huge thing, rolling around in my head . . . This occurred over the course of probably a year or two. But at one point, one day, walking to work, it kind of just literally popped out of my head, fully formed. I didn't have a name for it, but all of a sudden I knew it was going to be like a cross between an ISO, a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, the Imagine campaign, where if a company donates, I think it's one per cent of their pre-tax profits, to charity, they have the right to call itself a caring company.

And I thought, with everything that's going on with the Aboriginal community, with all of the money that's going to come through in the land claims settlements, and the control that people are going to gain over their land and resources, and the explosion in the population, there's got to be a way to kind of capture that and make it more visible. And so that was how it started," she said.

"The thing that is kind of neat here is that PAR is the only program of its kind in the world. I mean, there's just nothing else like it. As soon as we get it really rooted in Canada and really going well, we plan on taking it global. There are companies that do business in countries around the world that have Indigenous populations. And the PAR program is such that it can apply just like that, because it's just so holistic and comprehensive. We've already received a lot of interest from groups in Australia and South America and the United States. So that's a few years down the road, but that is what we plan on doing," Soulodre said.

"I am real happy with where it's gone, te number of companies that are involved in it, and more importantly, the future potential. Because as far as I'm concerned, this is going to change the world. It's going to make it a better place for Aboriginal people."

Kevin Wassegijig, director of First Nations affairs for Casino Rama, has been involved in PAR since the beginning, as part of the advisory committee that developed the program.

"It's definitely a very good program, with some very worthwhile goals that they're trying to accomplish in terms of recognition of companies that are working towards building better Aboriginal relations. And really, I don't think there's too much else out there that does that with the companies, in terms of recognizing it, but also providing them with some tools to improve," he said.

As a First Nations business, Aboriginal relations have always played a big role in Casino Rama's operations.

"We certainly have a concentrated recruitment strategy for First Nations people, and that's how we've been able to get the representation that we do have," said Wassegijig, adding that currently more than 20 per cent of the casino's employees are Aboriginal.

The company also gets involved in supporting community projects, and it has a scholarship program.

"And then we continue to look for ways to do business with First Nations businesses," he said.

Casino Rama benefits from having Aboriginal relations initiatives in place, Wassegijig said, "because we are a First Nations casino, and I think that's part of what the expectation out there is.

But also, it shows a lot of people that we have over 20 per cent of our staff here. We have been Ontario's favorite casino every year since we've been open. So in terms of any kind of stereotypes that might have existed, I think that we're showing that you can hire Aboriginal people and still be a very successful business."

What the PAR program offers to businesses, Wassegijig said, is encouragement to expand on and improve their Aboriginal rela