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For Immediate Release
November 19, 2001

News Release

The Power of Partnerships: New Opportunities for Aboriginal People

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The Power of Partnerships: New Opportunities for Aboriginal People and Ontario Businesses is a user-friendly tool to assist both Aboriginal communities and businesses and the corporate sector to:

• Better understand the benefits of partnering with each other;
• Build mutual understanding of each other's culture, protocols, and expectations;
• Understand the range of partnership types; and
• Learn how to approach potential partners and foster successful relationships.

The Power of Partnerships was developed as part of the Working Partnerships program of Ontario's Building Aboriginal Economies strategy. The strategy focuses on promoting economic partnerships between Aboriginal communities and the corporate sector.

Topics included in the resource kit are:

• "Why partner" - the factors underlying the growing trend toward business-related partnerships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal organizations;
• "Who the partners are" - an overview of Aboriginal communities and businesses in Ontario, and an overview of the non-Aboriginal business sector in Ontario;
• "Common myths and misconceptions" - about both partners and partnerships;
• "How to partner" - the common steps in the partnerships process, practical information on negotiating a partnership and common mistakes to avoid;
• Partnerships in practice - examples of Aboriginal-corporate partnerships in Ontario; and,
• Resources - sources of assistance and information that can assist potential partners to find out more information.

A steering committee was established to oversee and provide expert advice on the development and content of the resource kit. The Committee was chaired by the Ontario Native Affairs Secretariat (ONAS) and included members from Aboriginal economic organizations, the corporate sector, and the federal government, including:

• Peter Jones, Ontario Chapter of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business;
• Carolyn King, Two Rivers Community Development Centre;
• Kim Ronholme and Eric Grant, Aboriginal Workforce Participation Initiative of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada;
• Tom Morrison, Canadian Executive Services Organization (CESO) Aboriginal Services; Ontario and Nunavut; and
• Jeff Wesley, Union Gas Limited.

The Power of Partnerships: New Opportunities for Aboriginal People and Ontario Businesses is available at: Aboriginal Business Development Online.

The resource kit will be printed once only and all future revisions will appear on the Web site.

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Rosemary Sampson
Ontario Native Affairs Secretariat
416-326-4780