tions of Grand River Development Corpo-
ration, talked about a successful joint ven-
ture with Aecon that will see a broad range
of utilities-related work in southwestern
Ontario. Six Nations represents the larg-
est population of all First Nations people in
Canada, who will make up 100 percent of
the people employed in the project. Aecon
is a Canadian leader in construction and in-
frastructure development, and the project
represents true success in a partnership
between First Nations and corporate Can-
ada, Jamieson said.
Keith Hamilton, CEO, Rainy River First Na-
tion Economic Development Corporation,
talked about the “wooden Indian concept”
where aboriginal communities would ac-
cept funds from corporations to carry out
work in and near their communities but
would never be considered true partners
in the project. That’s not the type of rela-
tionship that First Nations people want,
Hamilton said, and instead are working to
build partnerships with industry that bring
profits and employment back to their com-
munities.
Encouraging aboriginal people to learn a
skilled trade and enrol in an apprentice-
ship is key to fostering personal success
and helping to build successful, self-sus-
JANUARY 2016
H
business elite canada 17
