Paul Martin heads aboriginal business program
A new pilot program headed by former prime minister Paul Martin will give aboriginal students more business training so they can help develop their local economies.
The project aims to encourage more aboriginals to pursue careers in accounting by placing promising students with mentors from two major accounting firms in Fort Frances, Ont., and Brantford, Ont.
Martin said the program presents a "small but promising window" to allow students to pursue careers in accounting and business that they hadn't previously considered.
"Accountancy is such a basic part of the whole financial world, and the whole financial world is such an important part of the business world that it just was a natural," he said a news conference Monday.
"There are not a lot of aboriginal accountants in this country and the recruitment is very slow."
Chief Gary Allen from the Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation in Fort Frances said his community needs to train people who can assess the financial benefits of different projects such as mining, forestry and tourism.
"In my community, in terms of economic development, we're looking at water power generation, we're looking at partnerships in mining, we're looking at partnerships in forestry, tourism," Allen said.
"And one key component of all those is finance – looking at the demographics, looking at forecasting and the economic benefits. So we need to develop the capacity at an early level, because our students just are not picking up these trades."
Up to six students will participate in the mentoring program at three high schools in Ontario in the first year – two in Brantford and one in Fort Frances.
Kevin Dancey, head of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, said he hopes the project will eventually expand across the country.
"We are starting small – two to three students in Fort Frances and five to six students in Brantford," Dancey said.
"It is important to start with a pilot, to learn from it, and to make sure we are doing this right."
The partnership, which stemmed in part from the friendship between Martin and Dancey, isn't seeking any government funding and will be largely supported by Martin's Aboriginal Initiative as well as by the participating accounting firms, BDO Dunwoody in Fort Frances and KPMG in Brantford.
Summary: Mr. Martin is making a program to teach and help Aboriginal people to become successful business men.
Questions: Do you think this is a good idea?
Do you think this program will create a greater population of Aboriginal people in Canada?
What other programs could help the Aboriginal people?
13 comments:
I think this is good because then there will be no accountants left in the world.I think Paul Martin is doing the right thing.
i thinkt hat is a great achivement becuase aboriginal people have hard times getting to be buesnness man but if this amazing man does hekp these aboriginal people. get busseness jobs so they do not have to l;ive on the streets anymore
I think the Mr.martin is trying to help the aboriginals learn how to do accounting so that if they want to earn money or do something else, then they could always go to accounting after they learn it so at least they could make money for food. i also dissagree with this because i think the Mr.martin is trying to change the aboriginals and get them into working to help him with a bussiness or that he just dislikes aboriginals and trying to make them do something they don't want to.
I think that making schools to teach aboriginal people is a very good idea because there are alot of aboriginal people and beacasue there are so many they will have to make more schools witch make more people witch makes more money.I think that It will make the population a little more aboriginal people to canada or more people that want to a=be aboriginal. the schools may also teach them sports that we play
Yes, this will have a big effect in the population of aboriginal people in canada
i think it is a goodidea because then aboriganal people can be more succsesfull. Yes ithink that there will be a greater population of aboriginal because i think the aborigianals will have a better life
I think it is a very cool idea because then the aboriginal people would make a lot of money.
I think this is amazing because he is helping give jobs and help keep the aboriginals off the street. he is doing the right thing
I think this is good because then there will be les natives goying without jobs
I think it is a good idea for mr.martin to lanch a new pilot program it will help us in the future.I don't think this program will help the abroiganals
I think it is a good for Paul Martin to do a good thing.
I think Mr. Martin is doing a good thing to abroginal peoples. And I think that will make more population. Also we should start to help abroginal peoples.
I think that what Mr. Martin is doing is great, the aboriginal people need our support. If there were more people willing to help, like Mr. Martin, I think the aboriginal people would be a lot more sucessful.
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