December 8, 2004

OTTAWA-Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister Oscar Lathlin and the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Council of Canada (AHRDC) today launched the new Champions initiative called Networks of Change to further engage the corporate sector in the recruitment, retention and advancement of Aboriginal employees.

"With an aging workforce and the rapidly changing demographics occurring in Winnipeg and across the country, employers need to be ready to take advantage of the changing marketplace," Lathlin said, noting that within a decade one in four workers in Winnipeg alone will be of Aboriginal descent. "Networks of Change is a model for private and public employers wanting to build a more representative workforce."

The AHRDC Champions program, which includes leaders from the public and private sector, ministers of Aboriginal affairs from the three prairie provinces, the federal minister of Indian affairs and northern development, national Aboriginal leaders and labour leaders, promotes increasing Aboriginal inclusion in the workforce as a sound business practice.

"As supporters of the Champions initiative, we see the participation of large corporate firms as crucial to getting the message out that strengthening the participation of Aboriginal people in the economy is an excellent investment," Lathlin stated. "As a government, every day we see the benefits to the provincial economy of increased training of Aboriginal people through programs like ACCESS and the Hydro pre-project training initiative."

The Champions program complements the Strengthening Aboriginal Participation in the Economy (SAPE) initiative and other Aboriginal employment agreements in the private sector. Manitoba recently signed a partnership agreement with IBM Canada designed to further Aboriginal economic and human resource development in the province. The partnership will increase employment opportunities, information technology (IT) skills development, investment and mentoring.

The province has also participated in the signing of other partnership agreements to encourage the development of strategies for increasing the representation of Aboriginal participants in the workforce. Partnership agreements signed to date include: Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (2000), Burntwood RHA (2002), NOR-MAN RHA (2003), MKO Sustainable Workforce Initiative (2003), Brandon RHA (2003), the Manitoba Customer Contact Association (2003) and the North Eastman Health Association (2004).

The new University College of the North also builds upon these initiatives to increase training and education opportunities in the North.