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CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - DECEMBER 2013
A
S PART OF
this month’s focus
on Aboriginal business, CIO
had the opportunity to speak with
Minister of Aboriginal Affairs for On-
tario David Zimmer.
Minister Zimmer was first elected
to the Ontario legislature in 2003 for
the riding of Willowdale. He was ap-
pointed Minister of Aboriginal Affairs
in February 2013. He has served as
Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister
of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the
Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and the
Attorney General.
CIO: How has the economic
landscape for Aboriginal people
in Ontario changed in the last few
years?
DZ:
Over the last few years, I
think you’ll have noticed that the natu-
ral resources sector and renewable
energy have become a major focus not
only in Ontario but also the Canadian
economy.
This burgeoning renewable en-
ergy and resource sector is leading to
greater opportunities for participation
by Aboriginal communities, and entre-
preneurs, and we are focused on cre-
ating meaningful jobs and enhancing
economic opportunities for Aboriginal
people across the province.
We have worked to increase em-
ployment and training opportunities
for Aboriginal people in sectors such
as green energy, forestry and mining,
and we are tackling this issue from
many angles. For example, we are ad-
dressing the gap in high school gradu-
ation rates between Aboriginal and
non-Aboriginal populations and have
already began seeing some encourag-
ing results, e.g.:
•
The 2011 National Household Sur-
vey revealed that the high school grad-
uation rate for Aboriginal youth (ages
15-24)
increased from 41% to 48%.
•
The gap in high school graduation
rates between Aboriginal and non-
Aboriginal populations lowered from
20%
to 18%.
These trends are an important
factor in ensuring that Aboriginal
people have the education and skills
necessary to realize employment op-
portunities.
To complement these supports in
education, we’re making significant in-
vestments in Aboriginal training, and
economic development, to ensure that
Aboriginal people in Ontario can take
advantage of the same opportunities
as everyone else.
We will continue to invest in the
training, education, health and well-
being of Aboriginal people in Ontario
so that they can put their skills to
work, take advantage of the new di-
versifying economic climate and build
healthy and sustainable communities.
CIO: What business opportuni-
ties exist for First Nations groups that
didn’t a decade ago?
DZ: I believe that business op-
portunities, across many sectors, es-
pecially in the resource sector, have
grown immensely for Aboriginal
people. Our government is focused on
creating jobs, investing in people and
supporting a dynamic and innovative
business climate. We want to give all
people – including Aboriginal people
–
the opportunity to succeed and fully
participate in the economy.
We are committed to supporting
Aboriginal business development, and
will continue by developing new tools
and supports that assist business own-
ers at all stages as we go forward.
Just to give you a few brief examples:
•
Our Aboriginal Business Develop-
ment Toolkit assists Aboriginal entre-
preneurs in starting a business.
•
We have developed an online Ab-
original Business Directory to assist
existing businesses to promote their
goods and services.
•
We have established an Aboriginal
Procurement Pilot Program that pro-
vides enhanced opportunities for es-
tablished Aboriginal businesses to do
business with the Ontario government.
•
We also established the Aboriginal
Loan Guarantee Program to encour-
age First Nation and Métis equity par-
ticipation in Ontario’s clean energy
economy. The program was recently
expanded by $150 million bringing the
funding total to $400 million in overall
provincial loan guarantee supports.
Investing in Aboriginal business-
es helps create jobs, grow the economy
and helps build communities. This is
part of the government’s economic
plan to invest in people, invest in infra-
Minister David Zimmer
