IN THIS ISSUE:

What’s New in Aboriginal Human Resources Management at AFOA?

The Building Blocks of Human Resources

The Blood Tribe Appeal Tribunal

HUMAN RESOURCESMANAGEMENT

130925-AFOA JAM-E:Layout 1 13-10-09 6:48 PM Page a

b

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATIONAFOA members receive a free subscription to JAM: The Journal of Aboriginal Management. The Journal is published twice a year – once in the spring and once in the winter. The Journal is mailed to members.

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Managing Editors: Jody Warnes, Manager, Public Relations, AFOA Canada (613) 722-5543 ext. 103 jwarnes@afoa.caWayne K. Spear (647) 882-1965 wayne.k.spear@gmail.com

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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in PublicationThe journal of Aboriginal management: JAMSemiannualIssue 13 (October 2013)ISSN 1716-5237

Native peoples – Canada – Finance – PeriodicalsNative peoples – Canada – Politics and government – Periodicals.Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of Canada.Title: JAM

E78.C2J678 658.15’0897071’05 C2005-903501-3

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JAM THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS2 HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT: THE EVOLUTION OF AN IDEA Wayne K. Spear4 THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF HUMAN RESOURCES Susanne K. Berg8 MY BEST 2013 HR PROCESSES, TOOLS AND RESOURCES Brenda LaRose12 HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT:

THE REWARDS AND CONSEQUENCES OF RETIREMENT PLANNING Ismo Heikkila18 THE IMPORTANCE OF INDIGENOUS CULTURE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STRATEGIC

PLAN AND HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AT NIPISSING FIRST NATIONDwayne Nashkawa

22 MEMBERTOU: PROGRESSING THROUGH HUMAN RESOURCES Jennifer Martin24 WHAT’S NEW IN ABORIGINAL HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AT AFOA?

Paulette Tremblay26 TAPPING INTO THE ABORIGINAL TALENT POOL James McKay30 JOB DESCRIPTIONS: WHY YOU NEED THEM Robin Henry34 CANADA IS VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE A RICH ABORIGINAL CULTURE AND HISTORY

Deanna Matzanke38 THE HIDDEN ABORIGINAL PROFESSIONAL TALENT POOL David Acco44 FIRST NATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN CANADA:

STILLWAITING, BUT STILL HOPEFUL Sherri D. Helgason48 THE BLOOD TRIBE APPEAL TRIBUNAL Katie Rabbit-Young Pine50 BULLET-PROOF YOUR BENEFITS ADMINISTRATIONMANAGING YOUR EMPLOYEE

BENEFIT PLANS TOMINIMIZE RISK AND STAY OUT OF THE COURTSAllan Plausteiner & Carol Billings

54 PROMOTINGWELLNESS IN THEWORKPLACE Angie MacIntosh58 HELPING THE COMMUNITY: THE RIGHT TOOLS TOMAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS

Nicole Bains60 ARE YOU STILL WRITING CHEQUES? THERE IS A BETTER WAY TO PAY Jason Olson62 UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACTS OF BILL C-27 Clayton Norris65 CAFM MEMBERS IN GOOD STANDING

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HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

THE EVOLUTION OF AN IDEAWayne K. Spear

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT EMERGED IN THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY, DRIVEN(AS SUSANNE K. BERG NOTES, IN HER ARTICLE “THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF HUMAN RESOURCES”)BY “NEW WORKING CONDITIONS RELATED TO INDUSTRIALIZATION ANDWORLDWAR I.”

The phrase “human resources” came late, however, in the evolution of the field. Late in the eighteenthcentury a mass, unskilled and industrial-based workforce migrated into Britain’s towns and cities,where the first factories appeared. This was the era of William Blake’s "dark Satanic Mills," ofMalthusian pessimism, and of the London gloom one today evokes with the term “Dickensian.”

By the end of the nineteenth century, the state was introducing workplace laws throughout theindustrialized nations. Both owners and workers were well along the way to forging the respectiveassociations which would represent their interests in the struggle between capital and labour. And astruggle it was. At the conclusion of the First World War, one could speak not only of mass industry,but of big business and big labour. Personnel management emerged as a formal discipline, in anattempt to reconcile business and worker interests and to promote labour efficiency and productivity.

This attempt at reconciliation took a decidedly scientific form, as the leading human resource expertof his day, Frederick Taylor, undertook a formal study of work. Taylor broke down the physical motionswhich made up the many routine mechanical tasks of industrial production, documenting andstandardizing what he regarded as best practices. His work underscored the principal assumption ofhis era, that business success was best achieved through the productivity gains yielded by a highly-regulated, disciplined and uniform workforce. The first half of the twentieth century, in other words,was organized along the principles of mass industrial production and scientific management, notonly in the physical but moral and psychological spheres.

Up until the 1950s, the foremost challenges to human resource management were compliance withgovernment regulation and the maintenance of an efficient, productive and co-operative labourforce, overseen by a core of competent managers. Taylor advanced management practices in thephysical domain, while other early advocates of scientific management considered the moral,intellectual and psychological character of labour, as well as the social dynamics of the modernworkplace. In her 1922 study, Analyzing Character: the new science of judging men, Katherine M.H.Blackford advocated employment departments staffed with “specialists and experts” in the newscientific method of workplace management. Obtusely materialistic, her pseudo-scientific methodsof character analysis included considerations of hand and nose shapes, skin colour and head size.

Despite its errors and limitations, the practice of personnel management was a genuine and in manyrespects successful effort to rationalize and improve the workplace. Nonetheless, as again noted bySusanne K. Berg, the resulting policies were widely viewed by workers “as rules to maintain controlof employees and punish those that do not obey.” The very notion of “human resources” came underattack, as critics drew upon Karl Marx’s theory of commodification to criticize what they consideredan exploitative view of human workers. Somewhere among the critics may be included contemporaryworkplace observers like the cartoon Dilbert, a mildly satirical comic strip mocking corporate cynicism,double-speak and the many creative ways in which human resource managers (represented in thisinstance by the "evil director of human resources," Catbert) ceaselessly try to extract more for less.

Human Resource Management matured in the 1960s, when an unskilled and immobile labour force,itself a product of the factory based economy, yielded to the requirements of an information servicesbased global economy. Standardization of mechanical processes was becoming yesterday’s businesssolution, changing entirely the work of recruiting, evaluating and nurturing a team of effectiveemployees. It became clear that the twenty-first century would be as different from the twentieth asthe twentieth had been from the nineteenth.

WAYNE SPEAR is a communi-cations consultant based inToronto. He is a contributor tothe National Post andHuffington Post, and his forth-coming book Full Circle: astory of the Indian residentialschool legacy, the AboriginalHealing Foundation, andreflections on the work ofhope, healing, reconcilia tionand change will be publishedin the fall of 2013 by McGillQueen’s University Press.

THE SUCCESSES

OF ABORIGINAL

HUMAN RESOURCE

PROFESSIONALS, NOTONLY IN RECRUITING

AND RETAINING

ABORIGINAL

CANDIDATES BUT

ALSO IN CREATING

WORKPLACES THAT

REFLECT INDIGENOUS

VALUES, WILL BE

DECISIVE.

We are well into this third era of human resource management, a phase in which structural socio-economic changes have swept away much of the North American industrial working class and itsmiddle class clerical complement. Outsourcing, automation, capital mobility, productivity gains andtechnological innovation have presented new opportunities and challenges on a vast scale. In someareas we face a human resource surplus (think of the domestic automobile industry), while in othersbusiness is unable to fill the demand for talent.

Considered in the contemporary Canadian context, this economic and demographic challenge is ofenormous significance. In their JAM article, the Bank of Montreal observes that “the Aboriginalpopulation is projected to grow at double the pace of non-Aboriginals between now and 2031.Within this trend, it is Aboriginal youth that are growing the fastest – outpacing any otherdemographic in Canada.” Yet this same demographic is under-resourced and under-educated,sidelined and perhaps left mostly behind — to the great potential loss of business and society. Notonly is this a lost opportunity in the making, it is a guarantee of future calamity.

Human Resource Management began as a way to cope with extraordinary social and economictransformation. It was at its core reactive, an effort to bring order and effectiveness to the piecemealarrangements which had taken shape over the previous decades of industrial development. Overtime awareness of the importance of a proactive and comprehensive strategy began to take hold. Attheir best, today’s human resource managers look forward, nurturing a collaborative environment inwhich there is, in the words of “The Blood Tribe Appeal Tribunal” article, “acceptance of the processand the people involved.” Human resource management can “promote a healthier work environmentand better employee morale” (according to CINUP’s article, “Promoting Wellness in the Workplace”)and reflect a community’s culture, heritage and values. Indeed, reflecting Mi’kmaq traditions andvalues is a guiding principle of Membertou’s human resource managers, as their JAM article explains.Dwayne Nashkawa further notes that Nipissing First Nation’s human resource plan “reflects thecommunity’s unique culture and worldview,” while Scotiabank notes that one of their key strengthsis its Aboriginal recruitment strategy, fostered by their “culture of inclusion.”

The successes of Aboriginal human resource professionals, not only in recruiting and retainingAboriginal candidates but also in creating workplaces that reflect indigenous values, will be decisive.Aboriginal people are inherently suspect of “commodification,” conditioned and predisposed bytheir cultural inheritances and worldviews to regard with ill grace any business arrangement foundedupon short-term expedience and resource exploitation. In our time the language of organizationaldevelopment and of business itself has caught up with the language of community. It is a languagein which the global web of interconnectedness, of sustainability, and of strength through diversityfigure prominently. Language is no substitute for the real deal, but it does provide a map of theprospective journey — in this case a journey through a shrinking world, where our ties across theplanet are becoming ever more apparent as business becomes increasingly international. As the paceof this development quickens, not only success but survival will depend upon our bolder and broadervision of this thing we call human resources.

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THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT

4

THE BUILDING BLOCKS OFHUMAN RESOURCESSusanne K Berg, Consultant, Koenig & Associates

“WE HAVE A HUMAN RESOURCES PROBLEM” ARE WORDS THAT OFTEN CREATE FEELINGS OF PANIC

AND DREAD, ALONG WITH INCREASED BLOOD PRESSURE AND INSTANT HEADACHES, FORORGANIZATIONAL LEADERS. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OPERATES FLUIDLY BETWEEN THE

CONCRETE AND ABSTRACT AND INVOLVES THE MOST UNPREDICTABLE ORGANIZATIONAL INPUT:PEOPLE. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT ALTHOUGH THERE IS NEVER A ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL SOLUTION,THERE ARE STEPS THAT ALL ORGANIZATIONS CAN TAKE TO BUILD AN EFFECTIVE HR STRATEGYPROACTIVELY ADDRESSING PEOPLE CHALLENGES AND ALLEVIATING HEADACHES.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVEHuman resources management began in the late 19th and early 20th century, with new workingconditions related to industrialization and World War I. The first functions of HR were transactionaland compliance based. It is only more recently that HR has started to be viewed as an importantstrategic partner, offering insight and solutions to organizational challenges. The evolution of humanresources into being a strategic player has been brought about by a number of factors:

» The field of human resources is evolving as more research is conducted into subjects thatinfluence HR practices. A great deal of our current wisdom around management, leadershipand organizational behaviour comes out of the past forty years.

» The role of HR has also changed as the transactional and compliance aspects of humanresources become increasingly more complex. Today employers are faced with significantlegislated requirements and ever-changing common law precedents around labourstandards, occupational health and safety and human rights.

» The nature of work has changed as more jobs become knowledge based. Employees areoften sought for the unique skills, abilities and knowledge they possess, and the inputs andoutputs are not very straightforward.

THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF HRToday’s human resources professionals must beable to conduct and manage numerous detail ori-ented transactions, act as subject matter experts ona wide array of complex topics and offer strategicadvice on how the organization’s human capitalcan positively influence operations, finance andsales. It can be overwhelming to consider all thefacets of human resources, where to begin in a neworganization or where to go from your existing HRstrategy and function. Luckily, at the heart of HRthere are a few basic building blocks and prioritiesfor developing a sound HR function in your organ-ization. This is not meant to be an exhaustive step-by-step guide to strategic HR, but it will provide youwith examples of HR activities along the path fromminimum compliance to a strategic HR depart-ment.

STRATEGICHR MANAGEMENT

STRUCTURE& PROCESSES

RISKMANAGEMENT

F I G U R E 1

The Building Blocks of HR

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SUSANNE K BERG, B.COMM,CHRP, is a consultant withKoenig & Associates, aSaskatoon based firm offeringcustomized human resourcessolutions to a wide array ofclients. Koenig & Associateshas worked extensively withnumerous First Nations, TribalCouncils and First Nationowned business entities.Susanne primarily works in thearea of organizational effec-tiveness, creating strategiesand tools to solve humanresources and organizationalproblems, increase efficiencyand reach organizationalgoals for her clients. Susanne’sprevious experience includesworking as a CorporateTrustee on TLE, SpecificClaims, and Impact BenefitTrusts (as an OperationsManager with SaskatchewanIndian Gaming Authority andas an Account Manager with aFirst Nation owned adver tisingagency). Susanne’s diversebackground in finance, law,operations, marketing andhuman resources equips herwith a unique ability to under-stand the role of HR in thebroader organizational con-text.

RISKMANAGEMENT

At its very foundation, any organization that employs people must comply with legislation governingthe employer/employee relationship. (The majority of organizations are provincially regulated, witha few industries falling under federal jurisdiction.) There are a number of applicable pieces oflegislation, and there is variation in the legislation for each province. For example, the Saskatchewangovernment is currently in the process of consolidating twelve pieces of legislation impacting theemployee/employer relationship. In addition to employee/employer specific legislation, there arelaws with far-reaching impacts on employers – human rights laws, for example.

It is critical that your human resources department and management team are knowledgeable aboutthe legislative requirements, so that organizational policies meet or exceed the standards set out inapplicable legislation. Figure 2 illustrates some of the most common pieces of legislation with whichemployers need to be conversant, as well as examples of what they might contain. Employers needto ensure that workplace policies and procedures, both formal and informal, are clear and do notcontravene current legislation.

F I G U R E 2The First Building Block:Risk ManagementLegislation governing theemployee/employer relationship

STRUCTURE & PROCESSESStructures and processes are important in all organizations, especially when it comes to employees.Although I would not advocate creating a two hundred page policy manual describing every possibleemployee scenario, I would recommend creating some basic structures, policies and procedures toestablish guidelines, define employee and employer responsibilities and increase consistency andefficiency in the organization. Figure 3 illustrates the types of activities that create structure,consistency and transparency and allow an organization to operate more effectively.

F I G U R E 3 The Second Building Block:Structure & ProcessesExamples of common policies,procedures and templates

EMPLOYEE RECORDSIt is important that employee recordsbe organized and accurate. Today,most organizations have some type ofelectronic HRIS (human resource

information system) that aids in storing human resources data electronically. This normally includespayroll and benefits information but can also include recruitment, perfor mance management, leavesmanagement, etc. In addition to the use of electronic storage of infor mation, a personnel file should

THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT

LABOUR STANDARDS LEGISLATIONHours of work | Overtime | Vacation

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY LEGISLATIONOH&S Committee | Training Requirements

HUMAN RIGHTS LEGISLATIONProtection from discrimination

PRIVACY LEGISLATIONProtection of confidential employee data

HRIS(Human Resource Information System)

CONSISTENT TEMPLATES AND DOCUMENTATION(i.e. job ads, offer of employment letters,

termination letters)

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES(hours of work, leaves, progressive discipline)

SALARY GRID

6

exist for each employee. The province of Ontario stipulates that employers must keep records foreach employee containing the employee’s name, address, starting date, hours of work, overtimerecords, vacation time and vacation pay records and information regarding any other leaves takenby the employee. The exact requirements for personnel records may differ from province to province.It is also a good idea to keep any formal communications with an employee (i.e. initial letter of offer,change of position letter, etc.) and discipline records in each employee’s file. Proper record keepingallows for increased efficiency and also protects the employer if legal challenges arise from currentor former employees.

HR TOOLS & TEMPLATES

The development and application of consistent HR tools, templates and processes is an importantactivity within human resources. It would be advisable that templates be developed and consistentlyused for things like job descriptions, job ads, offer letters, discipline forms or letters, terminationletters and performance evaluations. The development and monitoring of consistent processes is alsoa function of HR. This means HR needs to ensure that activities such as employee orientation,recruitment and discipline are handled consistently by all parties involved. Utilizing consistent tools,templates and processes increases the efficiency of your HR department, decreases errors andomissions and increases transparency throughout the organization.

HR POLICIESAll organizations that have staff need human resources policies and procedures. The complexity andenforcement will vary by industry type. A highly regulated or safety sensitive industry will likely requireat least some rigid and detailed policies, whereas an office environment may have very basicguidelines. Sometimes HR policies are viewed as rules to maintain control of employees and punishthose that do not obey. A more modern perspective is that policies and procedures are created toinform employees, to increase fairness and transparency in the organization and to guide the actionsand decisions of both employees and their supervisors or managers, based on shared organizationalvalues. It is common for employers to produce an employee handbook or personnel manualcontaining a variety of policies and procedures. This may be the bulk of HR related policies. In largeror more complex organizations, other formal policies and procedures may exist beyond the employeehandbook. A list of common HR policies would include:

» Code of Conduct» Dress Code» Conflict of Interest» Privacy & Confidentiality » Harassment» Information Technology (Computer & Internet)» Cell Phone » Hours of Work » Overtime» Recruitment » Probation » Performance Evaluations » Progressive Discipline » Resignations, Terminations and Layoffs » Leaves (i.e. vacation, parental, education, etc.)» Compensation (wages and benefits)» Occupational Health & Safety » Travel Expense» Training & Development

THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF HUMAN RESOURCES

MOTIVATION IS

BETTER SUPPORTED

AND ENCOURAGED IN

ENVIRONMENTS

WHERE THERE ARE

CLEAR GOALS AND A

LEVEL OF TRUST IN

MANAGEMENT.

7

IT IS ALSO

INCREASINGLY

COMMON TO SEE HRELEVATED TO THE

HIGHEST LEVEL,REPORTING DIRECTLY

TO THE CEO OREXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

AND GIVEN

SIGNIFICANT

AUTHORITY TO CARRY

OUT ACTIVITIES THAT

IMPACT LINE/PROGRAM MANAGERS

AND OPERATIONS.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITSCompensation is an integral element of the employee/employer relationship. Employees expect tobe paid in a manner that is internally and externally equitable. When compensation structures areinconsistent or not transparent, they can demotivate employees and cause increased turnover of keyemployees. There are a number of ways to develop a salary grid outlining the range for each jobwithin the organization, how these jobs fit together and how an employee progresses across therange. Utilizing market salary surveys that link salary ranges to the market is a reliable and defensibleapproach for organizations establishing a compensation strategy.

STRATEGIC HR MANAGEMENT

Human resources can play a significant role in developing strategies that enhance all functions of theorganization and address specific issues; however, if the organization is lacking basic policies andprocedures, your HR personnel will spend the majority of their time putting out fires instead ofdeveloping new strategies and solving organizational challenges. Once your organization has met thebasic legislated requirements and set up processes, systems and structures to ensure consistentapplication of human resources guidelines, you will be at a place where your HR personnel can startto look at HR strategically. As talent becomes harder to find – and as organizations become morereliant on specific skills, knowledge and abilities – thinking and acting strategically becomes a necessity.

Figure 4 illustrates a number of strategies, programs and tools that organizations apply within theirHR area to address organizational needs. Depending on the goals of your organization, this mightmean addressing a lack of qualified leaders by training and promoting from within. Or it might meandeveloping a strategy to recruit and retain that high turnover program manager job. Yourorganization may be losing dollars because of poor employee health, or your management teammay need some added finesse when dealing with employee relations. All of these concerns can beaddressed with HR strategies that enhance the organization from the employer perspective (throughincreased retention, productivity and profitability) and from the employee perspective (throughincreased employee engagement, transparency and involvement).

F I G U R E 4The Third Building Block:Strategic HR Management Examples of strategic HRprograms and tools

CONSIDERATIONSIn smaller organizations, HR leader -ship is often from a manager who is

not specifically trained in, or focused solely on, HR (perhaps a Finance Manager), with someone elsehandling human resources’ administrative functions. This may be a reality in small organizations;however, it is important that at a mini mum the individual leading HR has the necessary skills andknowledge to oversee the development of essential tools and processes. As organizations grow, HR-specific leaders become an ever-more valuable asset. To ensure maximum success, seek an HRManager/Director with direct HR experience, HR credentials and education (i.e. B.Comm and/or CHRPdesignation) and a broad understanding of the strategic side of HR. It is also increasingly common tosee HR elevated to the highest level, reporting directly to the CEO or Executive Director and givensignificant authority to carry out activities that impact line/program managers and operations.

THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT

TALENTMANAGEMENT& SUCCESSION PLANNINGCOMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS

RECRUITMENT & RETENTION STRATEGYEMPLOYEE HEALTH & WELLNESS STRATEGYMANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SURVEYSEMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT(participative leadership)

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MY BEST 2013 HR PROCESSES,TOOLS AND RESOURCESBrenda LaRose, CHRP, CMC, Partner, Higgins Executive Search/Leaders & Co.

IN OUR FAST-PACED MODERN WORLD, EVERYTHING MOVES QUICKLY. CHANGE AND EVOLUTION

ARE THE KEYWORDS. I HAVE A QUOTE IN MY OFFICE WHICH STATES, “CHANGE IS INEVITABLE,STRUGGLE IS AN OPTION.” I AM SURE YOU WILL AGREE THAT SOME CHANGES ARE GOOD AND

SOME ARE NOT. THIS ARTICLE IS DEDICATED TO SOME OF THE NEW PROCESSES, TOOLS AND

RESOURCES THAT I PROPOSE ARE GOOD AND THAT COULD BE VERY HELPFUL TO YOUR

ORGANIZATION AND TEAM. THEY ARE, IN MY PERSONAL VIEW, AMONGST THE BEST PRACTICES

TO ATTRACT, MOTIVATE, HIRE AND RETAIN THE BEST PEOPLE. I LIKE THE QUOTE FROM STEVENWYNN FROMWYNN LAS VEGAS: “HUMAN RESOURCES ISN’T A THING WE DO. IT’S THE THING

THAT RUNS OUR BUSINESS.”

IT ALWAYS STARTS WITH A STRATEGIC PLANA human resource plan is developed from, and based on, the strategy of the organization. Everyorganization, no matter the size, needs to have a current strategic plan. Your strategic plan drives almostevery aspect of the organization, but it is key for your people. People need to know where theorganization is going and what their role is to help the organization get there. Your organizationalstrategic plan will guide many of your human resource policies and procedures. It is highlyrecommended that you always bring in an outside professional to facilitate your strategic planningsession. They will keep you focused and on track, facilitate open decisions so that everyone can provideinput, validate your input and put it down on paper. There are a couple of individuals in our communitywho I would endorse and suggest and that could facilitate strategic planning for your organization. If you would like to know who they are, contact me and I will gladly provide the names to you.

MULTIPLE INTERVIEWS, SCREENING AND ASSESSMENTS BEFORE HIRING

If you want to attract and hire the best and most talented individuals, then you have to become anorganization where people want to work. People want to work for great organizations. You haveheard the saying that “success breeds success.” If you have a great workplace, the word gets outquickly – especially in our community. Good people and managers will shy away from organizationsthat have a revolving door and high turnover. This tends to be a big red flag for prospectiveemployees. So, if you have constant turnover – especially at the management level – you need tostop, think and assess what changes you need to make to create a better and improved workplace.Here are a few ideas of what great workplaces do.

WestJet Airlines, BHP Billiton and IBM are examples of great organizations that attract good people.They do not experience high turnover. Turnover costs an organization a lot of money. When a keyperson leaves, it takes significant time to attract, screen, hire and train a new individual. These are allhard costs to your bottom-line, but there is also a cost to the motivation and morale of the team ororganization. While the replacement is happening, some of your staff will likely have to take on addedresponsibilities which can affect their motivation and morale. Projects and initiatives may be put onhold. Opportunities may be lost and productivity may drop. The results are very costly.

I am going to use WestJet for this example. Individuals approach WestJet for jobs all the time. Peoplewant to work there, but it is not easy to get hired at WestJet. The organization has very thoroughinterviewing and screening processes. It is not unusual for someone to go through several interviewsand assessments. WestJet is very thorough not only in assessing candidates’ skills and competenciesfor the role, but their values and behaviours. I am a firm believer that you cannot motivate or teachsomeone to have the same values as your organization. You have to identify and hire the individualsnot only for the competencies for the role, but also for the values and behaviours that match yourorganization. WestJet’s culture is friendly, fun, team-oriented and extremely customer focused. These

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BRENDA LAROSE, CHRP,CMC, is a Partner of HigginsExecutive Search/Leaders &Co. with offices in Winnipeg,Ottawa, Montreal, Torontoand Calgary. Higgins ExecutiveSearch has placed moreIndigenous professionals inexecutive roles and on boardsthan any other search firm inCanada. Brenda is a recog-nized speaker on talent acqui-sition. She is a CertifiedManagement Consultant(CMC), a Certified HumanResource ManagementProfessional and a graduate ofthe Directors EducationProgram with the Institute ofCorporate Directors. She is cer-tified in a number of behaviourassessment tools.

are very important soft behavioural skills that the organization assesses. Think about this next statementcarefully: “In many circumstances, organizations hire for skills and competencies, but they terminatefor behaviour.” You can eliminate many terminations, and the costs associated, if you take your timeat the front end of the hiring process and are more careful and thorough in your selection process.

The hard costs to an organization of a manager’s/leader’s bad hiring decision are estimated at up to10x the manager’s salary. Direct costs include recruitment, training time, relocation and possiblyseverance. The average time our search firm takes to conduct a search is 225-250 hours, but moredifficult and challenging search engagements can take much longer. It is likely that it can take yourorganization longer, due to the lack of specialized knowledge and dedicated resources. The indirectcosts to your organization are productivity, poor staff morale and your reputation. The more turnoveryou have, the more difficult it will be to attract the best and the brightest. Turnover will continue tohappen. “If you keep doing what you are doing, you will keep getting what you are getting” is aterm that would be appropriate if you have a revolving door.

SUCCESSION PLANNINGWhat is succession planning? It is defined as “the process for identifying and developing internalpeople with the potential to fill key leadership roles.”

Succession planning for your top leader is a key responsibility of the Board or the Chief and Council.Succession planning for the rest of the management team is the responsibility of the top leader(Executive Director or CEO), and she/he should be measured by the Board or Chief and Council onhow well these results are achieved.

It makes sense that if you hire great people at the start then some of them can and should begroomed to take over your key management and leadership roles. With a mass exodus of the BabyBoomers (born between 1946-1964) soon retiring, you can create retention from both yourGeneration X (born between 1965-1981) and your Gen Y/Millennials (born between 1982-1995) byoffering formal mentoring and training opportunities. Both Gen X and Millennials are highlymotivated by training and development opportunities.

I am in the business of recruiting leadership for organizations. But I want to stress that successionplanning and developing your in-house leadership is the best way to go, if possible. If you currentlydo not have in-house talent to step into roles on your senior management team, now would be thetime to start developing a succession plan. This involves assessing your current staff and seeing whocan be and wants to be trained, mentored and groomed for advancement in management andleadership roles. Your in-house staff should already fit into your organization’s culture, and they willor should know the history and strategy moving forward. If mentored and trained, they will be muchmore likely to succeed in the role than a manager or leader hired from outside the organization.According to a “Right Management” study, one-third of all outside managers/leaders hired will leavethe organization in the first eighteen months. So developing a good training and developmentprogram that encompasses a succession plan for your management team is well worth the time andeffort. It will create loyalty from your existing staff and give your talented individuals the motivationto stay and grow with your organization.

A tool to use with individuals in conjunction with your succession planning is StrengthsFinder 2.0. It has been a #1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller. This is a small book that takes only thirty minutes toread. Each book has a code which allows you to access an on-line assessment. The assessment helpsindividuals discover their talents and strengths. The assessment is scientifically validated and basedon Gallup’s forty-year study of human strengths. It is supported by a Strengths Discovery and Action-Planning Guide and other references and resources. As a leader, knowing the unique strengths ofeach team member can make you a more effective manager. Once people complete their assessmentsyou can also do team assessments.

THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT

MY BEST 2013 HR PROCESSES, TOOLS AND RESOURCES

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ONBOARDING IS A MUST FOR YOUR NEWHIRES

Onboarding (also known as organizational socialization) is defined as “the mechanism through whichnew employees acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviours to become effectiveorganizational members and insiders.” In my words, onboarding is the process that organizationsput into place to integrate and transition new employees, thereby mitigating the risk of the newperson not being successful.

Recruiting the best talent is only the start. “The failure rate for new leaders who enter an organizationfrom the outside is high. Executives from outside the organization are not familiar with theorganizational structure and existence of informal networks of information and communication”(excerpt from the book The First 90 Days). The best way to address and increase the odds of the newleader’s success with the transition is onboarding. Onboarding should be completed for all levels ofhiring in the organization, and it becomes imperative for more senior roles. Planning and designingthe right succession plan for your leadership team can be one of the best investments for yourorganization. It makes sense that if a great deal of time and money is spent to attract and hire a newmanager or leader, then that same investment should be made in ensuring your new leader issuccessful and does not become frustrated and leave. When onboarding is done well, the newmanager transitions into the role quickly, accelerating their performance and contribution to theorganization and enabling the new manager to perform to their full potential.

I have a couple of suggestions if you are interested in learning more about this process: 1) Read thebook The First 90 Days, authored by Michael D. Watkins. It has been referred to as the onboardingbible. Our firm gives this book to all the individuals we place, and to many of our clients, as a goodtool and guide to help them with onboarding. You should also visit the website of George Brandt atPrime Genesis www.primegenesis.com. George has authored a book, The New Leader’s 100-DayAction Plan, which is also a very good resource. I had an opportunity last February to see and hearGeorge speak at a global executive search conference. But I have also been reading his books, blogand newsletters for a few years.

MENTORS AND COACHESEveryone in a management or leadership role should have a coach or mentor. Your managementteam should all have a formalized coach when implementing succession planning. Mentors offerexceptional value, considering that they are inexpensive (typically free) and usually involve meetingonly once every few months. For your top leader it can be the Chair, a Board Member or someonefrom outside the organization. If the best option is someone from outside the organization, then you might want to consider hiring an executive coach. With great technology, the executivecoach does not have to live in the same city or town. Previously, I mentioned that I could providethe names of strong individuals on demand. Here again, if you are interested, drop me an email(brenda@leadersinternational.com) and I will provide you some names.

For almost a year and a-half now, I have been a member of TEC Canada which is part of a globalassociation of CEOs. I have found it very beneficial. TEC has chapters in many major cities, consistingof a confidential group of up to about twenty trusted successful peers from non-competing industries.We meet for a full day once a month and bring in speakers about half of the time. We also have one-on-one meetings with the Chair of our group, who acts as our personal coach and mentor. The TECCanada website is www.tec-canada.com.

MENTORS OFFER

EXCEPTIONAL VALUE,CONSIDERING THAT

THEY ARE INEXPENSIVE

(TYPICALLY FREE) ANDUSUALLY INVOLVE

MEETING ONLY ONCE

EVERY FEW MONTHS.

11

PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS

Many performance management systems take a lot of time and just don’t work. So it is no surprisethat they do not usually get completed at all or that individuals are not enthusiastic about doingthem.

Early this year, at one of our TEC Canada meetings (described above), we brought in a speaker forthe day. Gary Markle has been speaker of the year for TEC, providing training to CEOs globally onhis new innovative process called Catalytic Coaching. It takes the place of traditional performanceappraisals. It does not take a lot of time and, more important, it works great! We implemented it inour business shortly after I took his training, and we found it to be a truly amazing process thatproduced great results. It meets the needs of performance management but also will help inidentifying those individuals who are talented, helping you with their leadership development. Gary’scompany Energage Inc. is based in Georgia, but he offers on-line training and many training courses.His book, Catalytic Coaching – The End of the Performance Review, is available on his website alongwith all the templates etc. to implement this system. While I do not believe it is a tool for your topleader, I do feel it can be implemented and can be effective at the senior management andorganizational levels. Visit www.energage.com.

A MEMBERSHIP YOUR ORGANIZATION SHOULD HAVE

HRdownloads is a company that offers their annual members cost-effective templates of documents,manuals, policies and training to support the human resources function. They provide a database ofdocuments including job descriptions, policies, best HR practice guidelines and information oncurrent HR legislation. Also included are templates for employee handbooks and human resourcesmanuals with current information available on health and safety, progressive discipline andtermination procedures. When you check out the website www.hrdownloads.com you will findtestimonials from a few Aboriginal organizations. This is a resource you will want to review.

I do hope that one of the above suggestions or resources will be of help to you and your organization.Please feel free to visit our website at www.higginsinc.com or to call me on my direct line at (204) 257-9929.

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12

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

THE REWARDS AND CONSEQUENCESOF RETIREMENT PLANNINGIsmo Heikkila, CFP, National Director, Financial Education & Communication,Aboriginal Services, T.E. Wealth

“One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how tolove, to work for the person one loves, and love one’s work…”

– Leo Tolstoy

RAISING AWARENESS, UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATION FOR THE VALUE OF AN EMPLOYER-SPONSORED RETIREMENT PROGRAM IN THE EYES OF EMPLOYEE PLAN MEMBERS IS AN IMPORTANT

OBJECTIVE FOR HR PROFESSIONALS. TOLSTOY RECOGNIZED HOW BASIC HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

RESULTS FROM ONE’S ATTITUDES AND VALUES, AND WE KNOW THAT HOW PEOPLE SPEND THEIR

TIME AND MONEY IS A REFLECTION OF THOSE VALUES.

The attraction and retention of employees – the often quoted “war for talent” – is based on bestpractices in each industry and is also reflected in each Aboriginal community. While there is no legalrequirement for an employer to offer specific benefits, many Aboriginal businesses and communitiesdo include retirement plans in their benefit programs.

What are the rewards when these communication and financial education programs are successful?And what are the consequences when these issues are not appropriately addressed?

Rewards for the employer and employee include:» Having a documented file that can be used by management to measure achievement of

stated goals;» Ensuring continuity of the program over time, in terms of budgets and results;» Feedback from employees regarding levels of appreciation of, and satisfaction with, the

retirement plan;» Guidance for HR regarding future workforce planning, especially attraction and retention

strategies;» Reduced anxiety of employee financial and retirement planning security;» Increased employee productivity through reduced absenteeism and presenteeism.

Possible consequences if these issues are not appropriately addressed:» Not meeting compliance and governance guidelines adequately;» Employee misunderstanding and unrealistic expectations regarding the retirement program;» Current and future communication and education costs not being directed to resources

efficiently;» Potential legal implications initiated by employees in the future due to inadequate knowledge

regarding the retirement program, potentially leading to lower levels of income in retirementand unmet expectations.

COMMUNICATION AND FINANCIAL EDUCATION CHALLENGESThe mandate for integrating employer-sponsored retirement programs (such as pension plans) withtheir employees’ needs generally is handled through Human Resources departments. In Aboriginalcommunities, this mandate also falls under the purview of the Chief and Council, with involvementof the Band’s Human Resources Manager, Executive Director and Financial Officer. This is in additionto all the other challenges of managing an HR strategy, by aligning with the Band’s, or separateoperating company’s, business strategy.

13

ISMO HEIKKILA, CFP, joinedT.E. Wealth in 2004 andbrings more than 30 years of training, organizationaldevelopment and consultingexperience to his role asNational Director, FinancialEducation & Communication,Aboriginal Services. Workingalongside T.E. InvestmentCounsel, Ismo provides adviceon communication and finan-cial education strategy to helpAboriginal leaders manage thechange in their communities.

A student of human behaviourand passionate advocate forfinancial literacy, Ismo under-stands how education andplanning can engage peopleto make the necessary deci-sions to secure their financialfuture. Having lived andworked in Finland, the UnitedStates and Canada, he appre-ciates the importance of lan-guage and culture in thedesign of effective communica-tion and education programs.Through his business experi-ence, whether leading thecommunication and educationefforts for an internationalhuman resource and benefitsconsulting firm or advancingT.E. Wealth’s FinancialEducation & EmployerServices, he has a proven trackrecord of helping organiza-tions successfully implementchanges that can affect theirpeople’s financial well-being.

Committed to making a differ-ence, Ismo has lent his profes-sional expertise and leadershipto a number of communityorganizations. Recognized forhis expertise in financial edu-cation, Ismo is a frequent con-tributor to financial servicespublications and speaker atindustry conferences. He haswritten articles for theAboriginal Financial OfficersAssociation and presented atAFOA events.

The continuum for retirement plan sponsors providing employee communication and financialeducation includes governance policies that meet minimum compliance standards. This can rangeall the way from simply providing Pension Statements to the furthest extent of the employer’s culturalphilosophy of meeting, and perhaps exceeding, employee expectations for financial security from a“top employer.” This is typically accomplished with a comprehensive financial education programincluding seminars, individual counseling and online information.

Decades of surveys regarding employees’ knowledge levels about savings, cash and debtmanagement, children’s education funding, investments, taxes and how much money is needed forretirement consistently show low levels of competency across all sectors in Canada.

Literacy had been traditionally defined as “you either can read or you cannot read.” Therefore, “youare either literate or not literate.”

Literacy is defined by behaviour –“using printed and written information to functionin society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential.”

– The International Adult Literacy Survey, 1995

Today’s definition also includes problem solving and essential skills. The long-awaited results fromthe Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) will be released by theOECD and the twenty-four participating countries on October 8, 2013.

Canada, drawing on the largest PIAAC sample of all participating countries (more than 27,000respondents), will produce six reports of its own on themes of skills in the Canadian labour market;skills, education and adult learning; competency profiles of official language minority communities(OLMCs), immigrants, Aboriginal populations; and competency profiles and everyday life – literacy’shealth and social dimensions.

The financial literacy implications are significant when plan members review retirement programbooklets, annual statements, termination or retirement statements – or are asked to make choicessuch as investment fund selections. Adult literacy and adult learning issues are not simple to solve.As society moves forward with enhancements to online learning, employers are relying more andmore on technology to address commonly required communication and financial education content.

The ability to address, to cope with and to minimize stress in one’s daily life is an important skill. Stressorsmanifest in many ways, and stress from personal financial issues is a major factor in today’s society.

The Centers for Disease Control (associated with The Institute for the Future) estimates that 50% ofan individual’s health is correlated to personal behaviour.

The increasing evidence is that stress over personal financial management issues has an impact onemployee health, which can result in reduced productivity.

The following table shows the results of a 2008 poll conducted by AP-AOL, identifying the differencesin the incidence of various health conditions as a result of high versus low personal debt levels.

THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT

HEALTH ISSUE HIGH LEVEL OF STRESS FROM DEBT LOW LEVEL OF STRESS FROM DEBT

Migraines / headaches 44% 15%Severe depression 23% 4%Insomnia / sleeping problems 39% 17%Severe anxiety 29% 4%High blood pressure 33% 26%Heart attack 6% 3%Ulcer / digestive problems 27% 8%Muscles tension / low back pain 51% 31%

14

When their employees are not at work, or not fully functional while at work – due to personal healthissues – there is productivity loss, which is costly to the employer.

Our experience with best practices indicates that the following are key ingredients to having a moresuccessful communication and financial education plan, especially for retirement programs:

» A clearly articulated philosophy regarding the extent to which the employer feels anobligation to provide additional resources beyond basic compliance and governanceguidelines for employee communication and financial education concerning the retirementprogram;

» Creation of a financial education strategic plan which includes measurable objectives for theplan sponsor and the plan members, a variety of resources and a documented file;

» A tactical implementation plan – i.e., a project plan that is dynamic and flexible over timeand that ensures accountability and plan member involvement;

» And, of course, a serious and enthusiastic commitment from all levels of management andthird-party providers to ensure continual success of the program.

HRM – THE REWARDS AND CONSEQUENCES OF RETIREMENT PLANNING

WHETHER YOUR

COMMUNITY OR

BUSINESS OPERATION

HAS A FORMAL

RETIREMENT PLAN OR

NOT, EMPLOYEES NEED

TO MAXIMIZE THE

UTILIZATION OF THEIR

COMPENSATION TO

ACHIEVE THEIR

PERSONAL FINANCIAL

GOALS.

Whether your community or business operation has a formal retirement plan or not, employees needto maximize the utilization of their compensation to achieve their personal financial goals.

Employers who invest in employee financial education programs for their employees experience a 3 to 1 return on investment.

– Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation

The return on investment is a combination of less absenteeism and less presenteeism, improvedproductivity and employees who are happier, healthier and more satisfied with their work-life balance,due to less overall stress outside of the workplace.

The continual, iterative assessment of one’s future financial security requires skills, tools and certainlymotivation to ensure a successful retirement. Everyone will retire someday – even those inmanagement!

15

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THE POLITICS OF ETHICAL DECISIONMAKINGFOR ELECTEDABORIGINAL LEADERS[ 2 DAY WORKSHOP ] This workshop was designedspecifically for elected Aboriginal political leaders andfocuses on the vital role that ethics play in their daily livesand the importance of ethical leadership in an Aboriginalsetting. The workshop covers the following topics: rights,responsibilities and ethics; how they interact; how eachinfluences the way Aboriginal elected leaders carry out theirday to day jobs; common situations faced in electedpositions where ethical issues are at stake; critical questionsleaders must ask when wanting to make an ethical decision;and the essentials for creating an ethical work environment.

PERFORMANCEMEASUREMENT ANDREPORTING IN FIRST NATIONS[ 2 DAY WORKSHOP ] The key focus of this workshop ison reporting on performance to community members. The workshop covers the following topics: core principles ofperformance reporting in First Nation environments; linksprinciples to financial reporting; the Aboriginal PerformanceWheel; the appropriate level and frequency of reporting;important aspects of performance; the kinds of informationto be reported; and preparing reports on goals.

DEMYSTIFYING FINANCE FOR ELECTEDABORIGINAL LEADERS[ 1 DAY WORKSHOP ] Financial information is one of thekey challenges facing elected officials in Aboriginal commu -nities. Elected officials are an important element of thefinancial governance of any Nation because they providenecessary financial oversight. They must understand andinterpret financial reports and information to make keydecisions with significant impact on their communities. The workshop focuses on: 1) building financial literacy; and 2) developing financial capacity.

VALUES AND ETHICS IN THE ABORIGINALWORKPLACE[ 2 DAY WORKSHOP ] This workshop has been devel -oped to provide participants with a broad understanding of creating and maintaining values and ethics within theAboriginal workplace. The workshop covers the followingareas: business ethics; how ethics relate to Aboriginal tradi -tions; fundamentals of human resource management; howto develop a code of ethics for your organization; how theissue of ethics impacts governance and accountability; and allaspects of community and economic development activities.

DEVELOPING AN EFFECTIVEMANAGEMENTACTION PLAN FOR FIRST NATIONS[ 2 DAY WORKSHOP ] In April 2011, Aboriginal Affairsand Northern Development Canada (AANDC) revised itsIntervention Policy to create a new Default Prevention andManagement Policy and developed new tools to supportthis Policy. The tools include the Management Action Plan(MAP) which replaces the Remedial Management Plan(RMP). A MAP is a comprehensive planning initiative whichhelps First Nation communities and Aboriginal organiza-tions address underlying causes of defaults in fundingagreements. This workshop covers the following topics: thenew Policy for Default Prevention and Management, theDirective on Default Management, the MAP Process; theevolution from RMP to MAP; and a General Planning Guidebased on a strategic planning process. Many workshop par-ticipants attend this workshop because they may berequired to develop a Management Action Plan, becausethey are in a form of intervention, or to broaden their man-agement skills and learn how to avoid intervention.

AN INTRODUCTION TOCOMPREHENSIVECOMMUNITY PLANNING FOR FIRST NATIONS[ 2 DAY WORKSHOP ] Many communities throughoutthe country are undertaking Comprehensive CommunityPlanning (CCP) in an effort to improve their economic basewhile asserting their independence and ownership ofcommunity resources. Using best practices and case studiesthis workshop focuses on: history and evolution of CCP;exploring Indigenous principles; and current models andinsights from First Nations who have completed CCP.

WORKSHOPS DEL IVERED R IGHT TO YOUR DOOR

AFOACAPACITYDEVPlease come and join us at the AFOA scheduled workshops or hold an AFOA community workshop

where AFOA instructors come to you! Travel can be costly when you are trying to access training formanagement, staff and elected leaders. AFOA is pleased to offer workshops on key management and financial

issues that are delivered right at your door, in your community or a location of your choice. Participants are also providedwith publications, tools and guides. Some of the Workshops listed below may be of interest to you.

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VELOPMENTWORKSHOPS

HUMANRESOURCESMANAGEMENT ESSENTIALSMODULE 1 – PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE[ 1 DAY WORKSHOP ] AFOA Canada has developed aseries of four one day modules focusing on HumanResources Management Essentials for those working inAboriginal organizations. Module 1 provides an overview ofthe professional practice of Human Resources Managementwhich contributes to the success of the organization. Thisworkshop covers the following topics: working in Aboriginalenvironments; developing an environment that fosterseffective working relationships; ethical practices; managinghuman resources contractors and specialists; managingclient relationships; legal and legislative requirements rele-vant to human resources functions; and governance andcompliance with legal requirements.

MODULE 2 – PLANNING AND STAFFING[ 1 DAY WORKSHOP ] AFOA Canada is pleased to intro-duce the second module in a series of four one day mod-ules focusing on Human Resources Management Essentialsfor those working in Aboriginal organizations. Module 2provides participants with information that will enable themto enhance the planning and staffing functions withintheir organizations. This one day workshop covers the fol-lowing topics: human resource planning; recruitment andselection; discipline policy and process; and terminationprocesses. Join us in an interactive and engaging sessionthat allows ample time for discussion and application of theconcepts being presented.

MODULE 3 – PERFORMANCEMANAGEMENTANDEMPLOYEE TRAININGANDDEVELOPMENT[ 1 DAY WORKSHOP ] AFOA Canada is pleased to intro-duce the third module in a series of four one day modulesfocusing on Human Resources Management Essentials forthose working in Aboriginal organizations. Module 3 pro-vides participants with information that will enable them toenhance the performance management and employeetraining and development functions within their organiza-tions. This one day workshop covers the following topics:performance management – aligning employee activitiesand achievement of results to organizational goals; ongoingcommunication, feedback, dialogue and coaching; organi-zational climate and culture; employee performanceappraisals; compliance with legislated training obligations;training needs assessments and training priorities; and coor-dination of employee training. Join us in an interactive andengaging session that allows ample time for discussion andapplication of the concepts being presented.

STRATEGIC PLANNING IN FIRST NATIONS[ 2 DAY WORKSHOP ] Strategic Planning in First Nationcommunities is an essential component of communitydevelopment. A strategic plan is a road map to lead a com-munity from where it is now to where it would like to be infive or ten years. Learn how to engage the right people withinthe community and understand the resources required tomake your strategic plan a reality. Learn what the key com-ponents of a successful strategic plan are and how to meas-ure progress on your community’s strategic plan.

AN INTRODUCTION TOCOMMUNITYECONOMICDEVELOPMENT[ 2 DAY WORKSHOP ] Increasingly, economic develop-ment is being recognized as a way for Aboriginal govern-ments and communities to increase their wealth, citizenemployment, community pride, and to build the influenceand financial resources needed for other important goals.Economic development can be approached in many differ-ent ways and it can all seem overwhelming. This workshopprovides you with an understanding of what economicdevelopment is; encourages discussion about best practices,lessons learned, and provides the basic tools needed tobegin your own successful strategic economic developmentplanning process.

EFFECTIVE PLANNING, CREATION ANDIMPLEMENTATION OF YOUR TRUST[ 2 DAY WORKSHOP ] More and more Aboriginal com-munities are creating Trusts as a result of the increasing num-ber of specific claim settlements, impact and economicbenefit agreements and other resource sharing opportunities.The resulting increase in wealth accumulation is placingtremendous responsibility upon leadership and managementstaff to create effective Trust structures. This workshop isdesigned to raise awareness and understanding amongstCommunity Officials about the following topics: how to plana Trust; increased community readiness; understanding thecomplexities in creating a Trust; ways to create the mostappropriate Trust structure for your needs; key areas in imple-menting a Trust; and suitable investment strategies that meetthe needs of the Trust today and for future generations.

For more information, for costs, and to set a date for your workshop, call AFOA at 1-866-722-2362 or visit www.afoa.ca

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THE IMPORTANCE OF INDIGENOUSCULTURE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OFA STRATEGIC PLAN AND HUMANRESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ATNIPISSING FIRST NATIONDwayne Nashkawa, Executive Director, Nipissing First Nation

WHILE THERE HAVE BEEN MANY SUBSTANTIVE STEPS TOWARD DEVELOPING FIRST NATION

GOVERNANCE TOOLS AND INSTITUTIONS, AND MUCH RESEARCH HAS BEEN UNDERTAKEN IN AREAS

SUCH AS HEALTH, EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, THERE HAS BEEN CONSIDERABLY

LESS ATTENTION PAID TO DEVELOPMENT OF THE MOST IMPORTANT RESOURCE AVAILABLE TO

IMPLEMENT CHANGES IN GOVERNANCE AND IN THE SECTORS NOTED: FIRST NATIONS’ HUMAN

RESOURCES. THIS PAPER PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF SOME OF THE EFFORTS MADE BY NIPISSING

FIRST NATION (NFN) TO DEVELOP A STRATEGIC PLAN WITH AN ACCOMPANYING HUMAN

RESOURCES PLAN THAT REFLECTS THE COMMUNITY’S UNIQUE CULTURE AND WORLDVIEW.

The challenge for indigenous people has been to transform band councils and their supportingadministrative bodies from “agents of government” to representative governments of their people.This is part of a fundamental rejection of the Canadian colonial legacy that arbitrarily imposed foreigngovernance models on indigenous people. This “cultural revolution” challenges the capacity of FirstNations to equip their governments to manage change.

NFN had undertaken considerable work in addressing governance issues by creating its own lawsand codes, reflecting the values and aspirations of the people, prior to developing a strategic plan.An example is the adoption of the Nipissing land code, whereby NFN extracted itself from thesections of the Indian Act governing land management in First Nations.

There was much work to do to develop the human resource capacity at NFN supporting these stepstoward self-government. Human resource management is made up of planning, attracting, placing,developing, evaluating, motivating and rewarding human resources, as well as an evaluation strategyand the maintenance of high performance. While some elements of human resource managementwere being delivered (generally those mandated by external agencies – health and safety, etc.), therewas little focus on staff development or aligning the contributions of individuals with the goals ofthe Chief and Council. This was evident in a number of ways. There was no human resourcesdepartment in place. There was no strategic plan for the organization. New knowledge would begenerated but not used or structured, while organizational memory often rested with individuals.Many staff were focused only on the extrinsic rewards of working for the First Nation. This oftenresulted in uninformed decision-making, lack of follow-up, staff suspicion of management, programsilos, added stress and many other negative influences on the workplace. In short, many staff justworked toward the pay and benefits the First Nation provided.

It was demonstrated to the staff, council and membership that the functions of the administrationand its people were connected to the nation’s aspirations. Our task was to reassure people that theadministration’s and council’s cultural competency had never been lost and could be better reflectedin the day-to-day work of the organization.

NFN focused on strengthening two areas. The first was to organize the goals of the Chief and Councilinto a strategic plan, and then to organize the human resources of the administration to supportthat strategic plan. NFN has been working on this approach for almost nine years now, and is notyet close to being finished. However, NFN is starting to reap many of the benefits of the process.

19

DWAYNE NASHKAWA,Executive Director, NipissingFirst Nation, is a citizen of theSaugeen Ojibway Nationlocated on the Bruce Peninsulain southwestern Ontario andhas served as the ExecutiveDirector of Nipissing FirstNation, located on the shoresof Lake Nipissing for morethan nine years. He has alsoserved as the BandAdministrator in his homecommunity. He has spent hiscareer working in First Nationsin advocacy and administra-tive roles in the areas of natu-ral resources development,treaty research, governanceand land claim negotiations.Dwayne has led and partici-pated in various tripartitenegotiations including therecently settled Nipissing FirstNation Boundary Claim, theAnishinabek TrappingAgreement, the Ontario FirstNations Policing Agreementand the development of theAnishinabek/Ontario ResourceManagement Council.Dwayne led the initial designand development of AFOACanada’s Certified AboriginalProfessional Administrator(CAPA) program and served onthe CAPA Advisory Council aswell. He believes that strongpublic service is a key pillar ofbuilding strong nations andstrong relationships are criticalwhen addressing complicatedproblems.

Work plans are a routine part of business, deadlines are being met and decision-making by councilis supported with much better information than in the past.

Though it was not known at the time, NFN’s efforts are consistent with major principles of strategichuman resource development, including the combining of knowledge elements (old and new,internal and external) and ensuring human resources plans flow from the strategic goals of theorganization.

The public interest at NFN is informed by a distinct worldview and culture, so just implementingmainstream strategic planning and human resource concepts was highly likely to fail.

Dr. Stephen Cornell and Dr. Joseph Kalt have found that: Institutions and the development strategies they pursue must be seen as legitimate by the peopleof a community or nation. If they are not capable of generating respect, considerable conflict canbe anticipated, and it will be difficult to create an environment in which social and economicdevelopment can take place. A principal means by which institutions develop legitimacy is byachieving a good match between institutions and a society’s culture.

Mainstream, or Western, perspectives on strategy and strategic planning focus on manipulation andexploitation of resources – human, physical and financial – with the goal of maximizing their utilityto secure the interests of those developing the plan. This approach, of having leadership developstrategies to exercise power over resources, is inconsistent with indigenous perspectives. The needto focus on relationships – with the community, the natural world and the spiritual world – whilepromoting concepts of balance and harmony is at the root of the exercise of power for First Nations.

Development of the NFN plan involved working with the Chief and Council, based on feedback fromthe people, to clearly articulate how they saw the nation in the future and what steps the communitywould take to get there. This required bringing a strong sense of community culture into the strategicplan so it would reflect the community and thus be seen as more legitimate in the eyes of the people.This is not to say that elements of mainstream strategic planning methods can not be used by FirstNations. There are many useful tools (SWOT analyses, etc.) that support the development of goals,objectives and action plans, and that are critical in providing the specific direction staff need to meetthe nation’s objectives.

Societal development has been defined as “committed changes in all aspects of society that lead tohuman well-being.” It’s clear when reading the NFN Vision and Mission Statement that this was theintent of the Council:

VISION:Nipissing First Nation will be a well-balanced, healthy, politically and economicallyindependent, culturally strong and self-governing nation.

MISSION:Our mission is to continue to protect our Nation’s inherent rights and to empower themembership of Nipissing First Nation to work together in a positive, progressive manner toimprove well-being and quality of life, to be socially and economically independent, culturallystrong and self-governing.

The purpose in setting out this vision was to articulate clearly to the membership that the councilwas not simply delivering services on behalf of other levels of government, but that it was proactivelyworking on behalf of its members as a representative government. The values of the community areembodied in the seven grandfather teachers of the Anishinabek:

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20

» Respect / Minaadendamowin: “To honour all creation is to have respect.”» Wisdom / Nibwaakaawin: “To honour knowledge is to have wisdom.”» Love / Zaagi’idiwin: “To know love is to know peace.”» Humility / Dabaadendiziwin: “Humility is to know yourself as a sacred part of creation.”» Bravery / Aakode’ewin: “Bravery is to face the foe with integrity.”» Honesty / Gwayakwaadiziwin: “Honesty in facing a situation is to be brave.”» Truth / Debwewin: “Truth is to know all of these things.”

The goals set out in the strategic plan are laid out according to Anishinabek teachings of theindigenous medicine wheel. The council chose the medicine wheel as the structure of its strategicplan because of their familiarity with the teachings associated with it and the holistic perspective itsstructure embodies.

The NFN medicine wheel strategic plan contains seven broad goals intended to move the communitytoward its vision for the future. These seven goals are then broken down into multiple objectives andtasks that, once achieved, will have met or moved the nation substantially closer to meeting itsmission. From there, these objectives are shared with senior managers of the First Nation andincorporated into work plans for each of the program areas. Staff members are responsible forworking with their manager to ensure work plans reflect the strategic plan.

The vision and mission statements are also emphasized by management to provide important contextfor employees as they perform the day-to-day functions of their job. By reinforcing that staff membersare an important part of realizing the vision of the nation, management is providing an opportunityfor the employees to become part of the collective visualization of the future. Staff are offeredopportunities to provide feedback into the strategic plan and to offer ideas for policy changes wherepolicy doesn’t fit the strategic vision for the nation.

While the work on the strategic plan for the council and administration was being developed, theadministration began developing a human resource plan that would eventually support the visionand mission statements contained in the strategic plan. It was anticipated that building humanresource capacity while creating the NFN vision would ultimately lead to improvements in manyareas of community development.

The recruitment of a human resources manager seemed straightforward at the beginning. However,there were no local recruits that had any of the skills required for the position. The First Nation eventuallyinterviewed a number of non-native candidates for the position. However, there was no “fit” with thecommunity or the organization, and the risk was that hiring someone who did not understand thecommunity dynamics would end up alienating more people than were assisted. From a managementperspective, the decision came down to training someone to understand the local culture versus trainingsomeone to understand human resource functions. NFN chose to hire a member that could be trainedin human resources. As a result, the growth of management capacity in the human resources areaparalleled the development and implementation of the NFN strategic plan.

Motivation is better supported and encouraged in environments where there are clear goals and alevel of trust in management. Given that there had never been a human resources manager at NFNbefore, the position was greeted with some skepticism. Some questioned the need for the positionand whether there was enough work to support it. With one hundred and ten staff, it was clear therewas a need for this position.

NFN’s efforts to demonstrate cultural competence took the form of establishing goal direction andmanagerial trustworthiness in the proper context of the community being served. The improvementof these conditions has enhanced the intrinsic motivation of staff, an important driver of employeeattitude and performance.

THE IMPORTANCE OF INDIGENOUS CULTURE

MOTIVATION IS

BETTER SUPPORTED

AND ENCOURAGED IN

ENVIRONMENTS

WHERE THERE ARE

CLEAR GOALS AND A

LEVEL OF TRUST IN

MANAGEMENT.

The council’s strategic plan has given the staff a vision they can easily grasp and recognize. Thisacceptance has lead to many successful initiatives that have improved communications with thecommunity – including annual meetings with membership – and yielded new ways of providingservices. A recent success story is a “no wrong door” approach to providing services. This meansthat if an individual attempts to access a service through a program being delivered at the FirstNation, and they are unsuccessful, the program staff work with the individual and other staff membersto identify the barriers that person is facing and to develop a plan to move them closer to their goal.This integration of services is the practical application of NFN’s mission statement. It also builds trustwith the clients.

By building human resource capacity at NFN, competence, fairness and consistency have beenstrengthened and enhanced within the management functions of the organization. The result hasbeen higher levels of employee trust and more willingness to support the strategic vision of the Chiefand Council. The additional capacity has led to an overhaul of NFN policies, to procedures that areguided by purpose and vision, and to the creation of an atmosphere where these new policies andprocedures are no longer viewed with suspicion and anxiousness.

On March 23, 2013, NFN members voted on a $123.9 million land claim settlement. Later this year,another vote will be held to implement our own constitution. The council and staff have also recentlyenacted a new financial administration law to ensure complete transparency in the use of communityresources. The community is positioning itself for long-term success as it moves toward its vision.Much of this success has been made possible by ensuring that human resource capacity sits withinthe proper cultural framework and strategic plan. That’s self-determination.

THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT

WestGoal #3: Develop and retain cultureand language

EastGoal #1:

Enhance Gover-nance capacity

Goal #4:Develop capacity

for educationand lifelong

learning

SouthGoal #2: Develop a holistic strategyfor the sustainable development of

infrastructure and communityGoal #7: Promote responsible stewardship and

protection of our lands, waters and othernatural resources

NorthGoal #6: Develop a holisitic

strategy to enhancehealth and social

services

Goal #5:Develop a

broadbasedcommunication

strategy

MEDICINEWHEEL OF GOALS

BY BUILDING HUMAN

RESOURCE CAPACITY

AT NFN, COMPETENCE,FAIRNESS AND

CONSISTENCY HAVE

BEEN STRENGTHENED

AND ENHANCED

WITHIN THE

MANAGEMENT

FUNCTIONS OF THE

ORGANIZATION. THE RESULT HAS BEEN

HIGHER LEVELS OF

EMPLOYEE TRUST AND

MORE WILLINGNESS

TO SUPPORT THE

STRATEGIC VISION OF

THE CHIEF AND

COUNCIL.

21

22

MEMBERTOU

PROGRESSING THROUGH HUMANRESOURCESJennifer Martin, CIM, Policy Coordinator, Membertou

MEMBERTOU IS ONE OF CANADA’S MOST PROGRESSIVE FIRST NATIONS COMMUNITIES. THE PEOPLE OF MEMBERTOU HAVE OVERCOME GREAT STRUGGLES TO GET WHERE THEY ARE TODAY,AND THEY HAVE A VERY PROMISING FUTURE AHEAD OF THEM. WITH THE HELP OF THE HUMAN

RESOURCES (HR) TEAM, THE COMMUNITY OF MEMBERTOU CONTINUES TO GROW, THRIVE AND

EXPAND INTO ITS FUTURE POSSIBILITIES.

The people of Membertou once lived in debt and poverty but have worked hard under the leadershipof Chief Terrance Paul and the consistent leadership of Council to progress Membertou toward amore positive future. In 1995, the Membertou community had thirty-seven employees, a four milliondollar operating budget, and a one million dollar annual operating deficit. Chief and Council beganmaking changes, but the community still had poor morale and high unemployment rates. With greatdetermination they decided this needed to change.

Chief and Council began recruiting band members who had left the reserve to pursue their educationand who were employed across the country. They agreed that they needed community memberswith experience to come back to Membertou to help make positive changes. This was the beginningof Membertou’s successful recruitment and human resource efforts. Leadership decided anunprecedented approach for Membertou was required. They would start by putting their financialhouse in order while embracing transparency and accountability.

Following the ISO 9001 certification of several key Membertou departments, in 2001, Membertouquickly earned the respect of external parties in government and industry. As a result, many newdepartments and businesses were created. As staff numbers continued to grow, so did complaintsand issues. With Membertou expanding at such a rapid rate, the need for human resources has passedfrom being an afterthought to a required department. That same year the Chief Executive Officer atthe time, along with Chief and Council, identified the need for a Human Resource department tolessen the burden of employee related concerns. An existing employee was assigned this additionaltask on a part-time basis to handle all human resource related matters.

Before Membertou established a Human Resource department, the Chief and Council handled allemployee related issues. They looked after all letters, complaints and problems arising from thegrowing employee numbers. Since 2001, the Human Resource department has expanded from onepart-time employee to two departments that work together. The two departments have a differentfocus – the government section and the commercial section. Given their size and the number of staff,the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre has a dedicated human resources person.

The Membertou Human Resource department is similar to other native and non-native humanresource departments, but with a big difference. Membertou Human Resources functions in a waythat is reflective of the Mi’kmaq culture and heritage, keeping it relevant – even as times change.

The staff of the Human Resource department overseeing the government operations know mostMembertou employees, both personally and professionally. From this perspective the department usesa family first approach. The staff from the HR department do not have a typical nine-to-five job.Occasionally, they have employees stop by their house or call them at home to talk about issues at work.

Membertou Human Resources oversees areas of occupational health and safety, employee payroll,issues concerning salaries (including review of pay scales), performance reviews and, until recently,Membertou’s entire quality management system.

In 2001, the Personnel Policy was about three to four pages long. Now it has been separated intotwo polices of over fifty pages each, for the commercial and government departments. The PersonnelPolicies are constantly changing and moving forward. Given the diversity of the operations within the

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government and commercial departments, Membertou has a plan to eventually have a PersonnelPolicy for each department (or smaller groups of departments, for operations that are similar in nature).

The Human Resources team anticipates many future plans for all Membertou employees to participatein. They want to launch employee lunch and learn sessions, which will have a different topic for eachlunch hour. Interview skills sessions and résumé building workshops are being considered to helpprepare community members for the workforce. The hope is that this will empower communitymembers to succeed in today’s economy and continue to help Membertou progress. The MembertouHR team has already started planning these initiatives. The Membertou HR department is expectingto update their current systems to a more modern, electronic way in the near future. This way theycan eliminate paper and find materials and information in a faster, more efficient way. When this iscomplete, they want to create a database with a skills inventory for job searches to assist in matchinga potential employee’s skills to available positions.

Since 1995, Membertou’s budget has grown from four million to one hundred and eight milliondollars. The number of employees has grown from thirty-seven to more than five hundred. TheHuman Resources department started as a task on the Chief and Council portfolio, with one part-time employee. Today, to keep up with the growing and progressive organization, it has evolvedinto two departments with five full time staff, unlimited tasks and a growing reputation. With all thechallenges the Human Resource team takes on, they still fall back on what Chief Paul once said:“Human resources can be a problem, but a happy problem.”

THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT

The community of Membertou belongsto the greater tribal group of theMi’kmaw Nation. Membertou is situ-ated 3 kms from the heart of the cityof Sydney, Nova Scotia, within itstribal district of Unama’ki (CapeBreton). It is one of five Mi’kmaw com-munities in Cape Breton, and one ofthirteen in the Province of NovaScotia. Membertou is an urban FirstNation community consisting of over1260 people, and one of 5 communi-ties that make up the Cape BretonRegional Municipality, with a totalpopulation of over 115,000 people.

The Membertou Corporate Division iscommitted to creating and enhancingbusiness relationships between theMembertou First Nation and theCanadian and international businesscommunity. The corporate strategy isbuilt on the foundations of integrityand fairness, and a dedication to max-imizing financial benefits for its part-ners and the Membertou Community.

In January 2002, Membertou receivedofficial notification of its InternationalOrganization of Standards (ISO) sta-tus – establishing Membertou as thevery first Aboriginal government inCanada and the world to be ISO 9001certified. Membertou has establisheditself as a credible organization in thebusiness world with its ISO certification.

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WHAT’S NEW IN ABORIGINAL HUMANRESOURCES MANAGEMENT AT AFOA?Paulette Tremblay, PhD, ICD.D, CAPA, Director of Education and Training

PEOPLE ARE THE PULSE WITHIN ORGANIZATIONS - THEY PROVIDE THE VISION, MISSION, AND ENERGY TO PLAN, DEVELOP, OPERATE AND SUSTAIN WORKPLACES. INVESTMENTS MADE TO

ENHANCE THE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES AND ATTRIBUTES OF THOSE WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE

FOR HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ARE ESSENTIAL TO ENABLE THE BEST POSSIBLE

ORGANIZATIONAL OUTCOMES. THUS IT IS NO SURPRISE TO FIND THAT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF

THE CERTIFIED ABORIGINAL PROFESSIONAL ADMINISTRATOR (CAPA) PROGRAM, THE CAPACOUNCIL OF AFOA CANADA IDENTIFIED HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGE MENT IN ABORIGINAL

COMMUNITY BODIES AND ORGANIZATIONS AS THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY AREA FOR

DEVELOPMENT.

Recognizing the importance and urgent need to develop human resources management capacityfor our members and communities, AFOA Canada has taken immediate and positive action torespond to this need.

CAPA EDUCATION PROGRAMS In the development of the competency-based CAPA Program, a15 week on-line course was developed in Human Resources Management (CAPA 1). This course wasoffered by AFOA Canada during the fall and winter semesters of 2012-2013 with a total of 44 studentsenrolling in the courses. Of these, 4 students withdrew for a retention rate of 91% for both offerings.Sixty-eight per cent of the students who remained in the courses successfully completed them. AFOACanada will offer CAPA 1 in the 2013-2014 fall and winter semesters.

Human Resources Management is also offered in Session 1 of the CAPA in-Person Cohorts. The sixsessions for the CAPA In-Person:

» Cohort 1 will take place at Edmonton Marriott at River Cree Resort in Enoch, Alberta withSession 1 scheduled for October 4-6, 2013.

» Cohort 2 will take place at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario with Session 1 scheduled forDecember 6-8, 2013.

» Cohort 3 will take place at the Membertou Trade & Convention Centre in Membertou,Nova Scotia with Session 1 scheduled for March 14-16, 2014.

AFOA CANADA PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS During the 2012-2013 fiscalperiod, AFOA Canada developed a framework that included a series of four one-day modules inAboriginal Human Resources Management. To ensure AFOA Canada was on track, this frameworkwas reviewed by some members of the newly formed Canadian Aboriginal Human ResourceManagement Association. The four modules of the Aboriginal Human Resources ManagementEssentials are being designed and aligned with AFOA Canada’s CAPA Human Resource ManagementCompetency. This will ensure that the workshop modules meet the standardized knowledge, skills,abilities and attributes required of human resources professionals in Aboriginal organizations toenhance performance in the workplace.

The four one day modules in the Aboriginal Human Resources Management Essentials series are listedbelow.

» Module 1 – Professional Practice» Module 2 – Planning and Staffing» Module 3 – Performance Management & Employee Training and Development» Module 4 – Employee Compensation & Benefits

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DR. PAULETTE TREMBLAYis Turtle Clan of the MohawkNation from Six Nations of theGrand River Territory. Shebegan work with AFOACanada in January 2012 over-seeing the development of theCAPA Education Program andbecame the Director ofEducation and Training in July2012. She currently serves asthe Chair of the NationalAdvisory Board of the PurdyCrawford Chair for AboriginalBusiness at Cape BretonUniversity, NS, and is anAssociate Professor for theIndigenous Knowledge Centreat Six Nations PolytechnicInstitute.

Dr. Tremblay has served in thefollowing senior level positions:» Chief Executive Officer,National Aboriginal HealthOrganization

» Director of Education ,National AboriginalAchievement Foundation(Indspire)

» Senior Executive Officer, Six Nations Band Council

» Instructor, Six NationsPolytechnic Institute,Algonquin College, and theUniversity of Ottawa

» Director of Education, theAssembly of First Nations

» Researcher, University ofOttawa

She has obtained the followingdegrees and certification:» Certified Prior LearningAssessment (PLA)Practitioner, Loyalist College

» Certified AboriginalProfessional Administrator(CAPA) Designation, AFOA Canada

» Institute of CorporateDirectors Designation(IDC.D), Rotman School ofBusiness, University ofToronto

» Doctor of Philosophy inEducation, University ofOttawa

» Master of Arts in Education,University of Ottawa

» Bachelor of Education,Dalhousie University

» Bachelor of Arts in Sociology,Wilfrid Laurier University

Module 1 provides an overview of the professional practice of Human Resources Managementwhich contributes to the success of the organization. This workshop covers the following topics:working in Aboriginal environments; developing an environment that fosters effective workingrelationships; ethical practices; managing human resources contractors and specialists; managingclient relationships; legal and legislative requirements relevant to human resources functions; andgovernance and compliance with legal requirements. Module 1 was offered as a Pre-Conferenceworkshop at the AFOA Canada 13th Annual National Conference held in Toronto, Ontario, inFebruary 2013. The Workshop was attended by 28 participants who rated the workshop highly withthe majority of responses across all categories in the excellent category.

Module 2 provides participants with information that will enable them to enhance the planningand staffing functions within their organizations. This one-day workshop covers the following topics:human resource planning; recruitment and selection processes; disciplinary policy and process; andtermination policy and procedures. This module will be offered for the first time as a Pre-Conferenceworkshop at the AFOA Canada 14th National Annual Conference being held in Halifax, Nova Scotiaon February 24, 2014.

Module 3 provides participants with information that will enable them to enhance the performancemanagement and employee training and development functions within their organizations. Thisone-day workshop covers the following topics: performance management – aligning employeeactivities and achievement of results to organizational goals; ongoing communication, feedback,dialogue and coaching; organizational climate and culture; employee performance appraisals;compliance with legislated training obligations; training needs assessments and training priorities;and coordination of employee training.

Module 4 provides participants with information that will enable them to enhance the employeecompensation and benefits functions within their organizations. This one day workshop covers thefollowing topics: compensation design – salary and other pay, job design, reward and incentiveprograms; relevant legislation and regulations regarding compensation; benefits – employeeassistance programs, health and wellness plans and initiatives, health care benefits; pensions andretirement savings; and payroll administration.

Join us in interactive and engaging sessions that allow ample time for discussion and application ofthe concepts being presented.

Visit the AFOA Canada website to keep informed and learn about ongoing developments inAboriginal Human Resources Management within the organization.

AFOA Canada is offering these workshops at the following dates and locations;» HRME 1 London, ON October 29th, 2013» HRME 1 Calgary, AB, December 4th, 2013» HRME 2 Halifax, NS February 24th, 2014 (pre-conference workshop)» HRME 3 Halifax, NS February 25th, 2014 (pre-conference workshop)» HRME 2 Enoch, AB March 26th, 2014» HRME 3 Enoch, AB March 27th, 2014

26

TAPPING INTO THE ABORIGINALTALENT POOLJames McKay, BMO Financial Group, Diversity Recruiter, Aboriginal Peoples

THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST

RECRUITMENT OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLE IS COMPLEX, CHALLENGING AND EVER-CHANGING. I HEARALL THE TIME FROM EMPLOYERS AND HIRING MANAGERS THAT THEY DON’T KNOW WHERE TO

FIND ABORIGINAL CANDIDATES. THIS IS ONE AREA WHERE WE CAN HELP TO EDUCATE CORPORATE

CANADA. TO ATTRACT ABORIGINAL CANDIDATES, COMPANIES NEED TO CREATE A WELCOMING

INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT.

Aboriginal recruitment starts with education and mutual understanding – both for the employer andAboriginal candidates. For employers it’s about understanding Canada’s indigenous cultures andhow to attract and support indigenous candidates. For the Aboriginal population it’s about educatingthe younger generation on what it takes to be successful in the Canadian workforce. The skilled talentlabour pool in Canada is shrinking, and now is the time for Aboriginal people to participate moreactively and to take their rightful place in Canada’s workforce.

At BMO, we’ve supported Aboriginal recruitment through a program for hiring managers, focusingspecifically on engaging and hiring a diverse workforce. The program provides both in-class andonline training on the importance of diversity within a team. It covers a number of considerationswhen trying to create an inclusive environment, from why diversity matters to interviewing diversecandidates.

Programs aimed at students are a key element of any Aboriginal recruitment strategy. Internshipsrepresent just one of the stay-in-school initiatives that have a potential impact. Recognizing therelationship between education and employment/income levels, we must take a multifacetedapproach to encouraging Aboriginal students to stay in school.

In that vein, bursaries and scholarships for current students also serve to encourage continued andhigher education. To this end, in 2012 BMO provided sponsorship dollars for twenty-three bursaries,through the Foundation for the Advancement of Aboriginal Youth (FAAY). In 2013, our participationcontinues.

BMO also offers an award-winning internship program for students currently enrolled in Canadiancolleges and universities. The goal of the program is to attract, nurture and retain students earlythrough summer internships and ultimately to offer them permanent positions upon graduation.

Charitable initiatives represent another way to reach the communities. Through the variousfundraising that large corporations do during any given year, there are myriad opportunities todonate and to work alongside other organizations whose mandate is to provide services andassistance to Aboriginal peoples. Among those with whom we have partnered are the youth-focusedcharity INDSPIRE, the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and the Aboriginal Human ResourceCouncil.

Companies should put in the time, money and effort to generate external awareness as well. Thereare a few different ways to go about this. Job boards will put your company exactly where job seekersare looking. Advertising in national media is another way to generate awareness. There are also anumber of events throughout the year that look for sponsors.

All of these approaches ultimately work to serve the same purpose: to make the company visible topeople in communities and marketplaces that we hope to attract.

CCAB has recognized BMO with gold-level Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) accreditation forour efforts to build a mutually beneficial, sustainable relationship from both a business andemployment perspective. BMO has received gold-level accreditation for three consecutive years andis up for its fourth in 2013.

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JAMES MCKAY, BMO FinancialGroup, Diversity Recruiter –Aboriginal Peoples, is responsi-ble for Aboriginal recruiting forBMO Financial Group acrossall lines of business in Canadaand The United States.

James started his career in theenvironmental field where hespent 5 years working at theMunicipal, Provincial andFederal levels of the CanadianGovernment, as well as for pri-vate environmental consultingfirms like Gartner LeeEnvironmental Strategies. He then moved into the pri-vate sector and spent 15 yearsworking for companies such as Casino Rama, the OntarioProvincial Police, and IBMCanada before being hired by BMO in 2011 to lead itsAboriginal Recruitment initiative.

James holds diplomas inEnvironmental and WaterResources EngineeringTechnology. He is of Ojibwaydecent and a registered mem-ber of the Batchewana FirstNation, located north of SaultSte. Marie, Ontario. He volun-teers his time with Aboriginalyouth as well as in corporateawareness campaigns.Volunteering gave James theexperience to do what he iscurrently doing today; being a bridge between CorporateCanada and Canada’sAboriginal community toimprove the quality of life for Canada’s Aboriginal population.

SEEING THE REWARDS

As well as BMO’s Aboriginal hiring strategy, the bank has a dedicated Aboriginal Banking Unit whichcontributes to the economic self-sufficiency of Aboriginal communities, businesses and individualsacross Canada.

BMO is committed to providing full banking services to First Nations members. We recognize thatour ability to contribute to the self-sufficiency of Aboriginal communities is linked to the developmentof effective relationships. It is important to enhance our understanding of the needs of Aboriginalcommunities, by working with them in a spirit of partnership and cooperation. The idea is to buildmutual trust and respect, through open dialogue and discussion with Aboriginal communities,businesses and individuals. As a result of these efforts we can deliver value to our Aboriginalcustomers, providing them improved access to our financial products and services.

At the end of 2012, BMO’s Aboriginal portfolio was more than two billion dollars. BMO regularlyprovides financing to qualified First Nations – without ministerial guarantee – for many significantand varied projects. BMO has thirteen full service Aboriginal branches – eleven of which are on-reserve – and one community banking outlet serving Aboriginal communities across Canada. Inaddition, about sixty off-reserve branches are in close proximity to large Aboriginal populations andoffer a full suite of solutions in these communities. We customize products and programs to optimizeAboriginal market penetration and capitalize on business opportunities.

At the forefront of BMO’s Aboriginal banking strategy is the promotion of the bank’s On-ReserveHousing Loan Program, which builds on a key customer need and starts the discussion with potentialnew customers. Through this strategy, we get the opportunity to establish a full banking relationshipwith the band membership.

Some challenges to financing may stem from the complexity of the Indian Act – especially Section89, which pertains to taking security on First Nations lands. There is also a lingering and oftenunfounded perception of higher-than-average credit risk. Typically, there is a longer interval from adeal’s inception to its closing. Geographic remoteness, the level of social and economic developmentand understanding and use of financial and business practices vary from community to community.Relationship building is key to overcoming barriers.

The byproduct of all BMO’s Aboriginal programs, combined with its Aboriginal Banking Unit inAboriginal communities, is the creation of a talent pipeline that BMO can tap when it’s looking to fillroles across the country. With more Aboriginal people moving into urban centers and more Aboriginalpeople graduating from college and university, it is imperative that recruitment strategies withincorporate Canada build trust with the indigenous population, as they will soon be the only growingdemographic of the Canadian population (besides immigrants).

A GROWING DEMOGRAPHIC

Canada’s workforce is evolving rapidly and faces a fundamental shift in how it will meet futureemployment needs as Canada’s aging population continues to retire from the labour pool.

According to Statistics Canada, the Aboriginal population is projected to grow at double the pace ofnon-Aboriginals between now and 2031. Within this trend, it is Aboriginal youth that are growingthe fastest – outpacing any other demographic in Canada.

There are half a million Aboriginal people under the age of 25 in this country. However, the numberof those with a university degree is barely one-third of the national average. The unemployment ratefor Aboriginals exceeds that for non-Aboriginals in every region in Canada.

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These realities reinforce the increasingly critical role that education and skills development will playin the future of Aboriginal prosperity. The education gap is growing. It will take a multi-prongedapproach to reform the education system for Aboriginals. Internships, bursaries and mentorshipprograms are solutions that companies can provide.

The bottom line is that Canada’s indigenous people represent a vast untapped pool for talent andcannot be ignored as companies across the country seek to fill roles vacated by the retiring boomergeneration.

WHAT LIES AHEAD

Perhaps one of the greatest opportunities for Aboriginal employment is within the First Nationcommunity itself.

In recent years, we have seen a transformation in how funding is provided to Aboriginal communities.Land claim agreements, for instance, have led to economic benefit for Aboriginal communities.Beyond that, arrangements are being made between governments and industry and Aboriginalcommunities regarding activities on native territory, like the extraction of natural resources. Not longago, this notion of a “duty to consult” was completely absent. Today, it is an obligation.

There are great examples across Canada of Aboriginal communities negotiating impact benefitagreements in mining, forestry and power generation. These agreements lead to revenue sharingand jobs, both of which are hugely beneficial for the local community. On-going revenue streamsmay be used today, but significant dollars are also often set aside for future generations – a wise andgenerous practice.

Over the last decade, there has also been a shift in the way Aboriginal people generate these revenuestreams. Businesses have become much more diversified. Examples of businesses include wineries,construction companies, farming, fishing, forestry, power development and medical facilities. Suchbusinesses have become more common when driving own-sourced revenues.

Capital is coming from other sources too. According to a recent report from the Canadian Councilfor Aboriginal Business, banks now provide Economic Development Corporations (EDCs) withnineteen per cent of the funding needed to run local businesses. These business development armsof First Nations, Métis and Inuit governments are thriving, in part to this diversification of access tofunding.

The key byproduct here is employment. Because of these impact benefit agreements and EDCs, newjobs are being created and businesses are hiring. Whether the jobs are on or near a reserve,communities are seeing and feeling the benefits of more employment opportunities.

Overall there has been enormous progress in the last ten years. We have seen tremendous growth innew and existing businesses, and there is increasing awareness that there is enormous economicpotential in supporting, training and employing Aboriginal people.

Companies who recognize this potential, BMO included, must continue to lead. We are on the cuspof a new era of prosperity for Canada’s Aboriginal people, and we can’t stop now.

TAPPING INTO THE ABORIGINAL TALENT POOL

OVERALL THERE HAS

BEEN ENORMOUS

PROGRESS IN THE LAST

TEN YEARS. WE HAVE

SEEN TREMENDOUS

GROWTH IN NEW AND

EXISTING BUSINESSES,AND THERE IS

INCREASING

AWARENESS THAT

THERE IS ENORMOUS

ECONOMIC POTENTIAL

IN SUPPORTING,TRAINING AND

EMPLOYING

ABORIGINAL PEOPLE.

WORKING INMANAGEMENT IN ANABORIGINAL COMMUNITY OR ORGANIZATION HAS ITS OWNUNIQUE CHALLENGES.THESE ONLINE COURSES HAVE BEEN DESIGNED TO HELP YOUMEET THOSE CHALLENGES. BUILD THE SKILLS YOU NEED

TO GET THE JOB DONE AND GET IT DONEWELL. ENGAGE IN YOUR ONGOING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

AFOA 1 COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTEconomic development is increasingly being recognized as a way for Aboriginal communities to achievesocial and economic prosperity. Increasingly, economic development is being recognized as a way forAboriginal governments and communities to increase their wealth, citizen employment, and communitypride, and to build the influence and financial resources needed for other important goals.

AFOA 2 ABORIGINALMANAGEMENT PRACTICES LEVEL 1This course has been developed by AFOA for managers and aspiring managers in Aboriginalorganizations. It offers Aboriginal managers the opportunity to learn about current practices andactivities that support high performance.

AFOA 3 ABORIGINAL PROGRAMMANAGEMENTRunning a program in your organization? Aboriginal program managers need to focus on strategicmanagement and effective decision making in their day to day responsibilities.

AFOA 4 ABORIGINALMANAGEMENT PRACTICES LEVEL 2The following is a continuation of the course on Aboriginal Management Practices I. In this course,you will be exposed to more knowledge and skills considered essential for Aboriginal managers.

AFOA 7 AN INTRODUCTION TO COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY PLANNING IN FIRST NATIONSThis course focuses on best practices and case studies in Comprehensive Community Planning (CCP)and covers the history and evolution of CCP; exploring indigenous principles; and current models andinsights from First Nations who have completed CCP.

FNFMA NAVIGATING FIRST NATIONS FINANCIALMANAGEMENT STANDARDSThis course will provide participants with an examination of the First Nations Fiscal Management Act(FNFMA), including an introduction to the major institutions created by the FNFMA and the toolscreated by the Act. This course is offered in partnership with First Nations Financial Management Board.

For more information call AFOA Canada today at 1-866-722-2362 or visit www.afoa.ca

ONGOING PROFES S IONAL DEVELOPMENT

AFOAONLINEPROGRAMS

PROFESSIONALDEVELOPMENT

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JOB DESCRIPTIONSWHY YOU NEED THEMRobin Henry, Manager, Human Resources & Administration, Westbank First Nation

AS A MANAGER, YOU MAY THINK THAT YOU HAVE MANY OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER THAT ARE

FAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN A JOB DESCRIPTION. YOU PROBABLY THINK THAT RESOURCES COULD

BE BETTER SPENT ELSEWHERE OTHER THAN ON DEVELOPING A DOCUMENT THAT SEEMS TO HAVE

LIMITED USES. YOU COULD NOT BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH! IN THESE TIMES OF SCARCE

RESOURCES, AN EFFECTIVE JOB DESCRIPTION IS ESSENTIAL FOR EFFICIENCY AND IS A CRITICAL

COMPONENT OF YOUR ORGANIZATION’S SUCCESS AND THE EVER-IMPORTANT BOTTOM LINE.

WHAT DOES AN EFFECTIVE JOB DESCRIPTION PROVIDE YOU AND YOUR EMPLOYEES?A clearly defined job description will remove the spectre of ambiguity and will provide clarity foreach respective role within the organization, so that employees know what they are supposed to do(and not supposed to do) day-to-day. It is a communications tool that will prove invaluable to youand your employees in establishing a basis for sharing information about job duties andresponsibilities. It gives employees a clear understanding of their job from a technical perspective(what they do) and from a performance perspective (how well they do what they do). This isespecially important during the recruitment process, because an effective job description will provideapplicants with an accurate description of what is expected so that the “fit” is more effectively fulfilledfrom both parties’ perspectives.

THE BASICSA job description is defined as a written statement explaining why a job exists (its purpose), whatthe job holder does (job duties), job holder responsibilities (scope), to whom the job holder reportsand with whom and under what conditions the job is performed. In essence, it describes the mostimportant functions of the position.

HOW JOB DESCRIPTIONS CONTRIBUTE TO ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESSNow that you have an idea of what a job description is, let’s get back to how job descriptionscontribute to organizational success. A job description improves your ability to manage people androles in many ways, as follows:

» provides a structure (organizational chart) to ensure that necessary activities are carried out,preventing overlap;

» provides clarity for employer and employee expectations so that each respective role is clearlyunderstood;

» provides a basis for measuring job performance and objective reference points forperformance evaluation;

» provides a basis for setting measurable goals for the future;» provides reference points for training and development needs so that employees stay

engaged and future organization needs are met in an efficient, effective manner;» is an essential reference tool in resolving conflict between employers and employees, so that

who is responsible for each task is clearly laid out;» is an essential reference tool for disciplinary issues;» is an efficient tool in recruitment to give candidates a clear idea of job expectations, so that

the chances of hiring an appropriate candidate is increased;» provides surety that jobs are developed in adherence to employment law and other legal

compliance requirements.

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ROBIN HENRY brings his HRexpertise to his current role asManager of Human Resources& Administration at WestbankFirst Nation in Kelowna, BC.Robin is of Vuntut Gwitch’inand Tlingit ancestry and is amember of the Teslin TlingitFirst Nation. He worked formany Aboriginal organizationsin British Columbia includingthe Union of BC Indian Chiefs,United Native Nations andKekinow Native HousingSociety. Mr. Henry held theposition of Executive Directorwhen he left Kekinow in 1995.He relocated to Ottawa in1995 and graduated from theUniversity of Ottawa with aBachelor of Arts in SocialSciences in 1999. Robinworked with the AboriginalHealing Foundation in Ottawaas their Human ResourcesManager from 1999 to 2012.During his time at theAboriginal HealingFoundation, Mr. Henryachieved the designation ofCertified Human ResourcesProfessional (CHRP) andChartered Director. Robin alsoserved on many volunteerboards and advisorycommittees in several differentcapacities, including Director,Secretary, Treasurer andPresident.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONBesides offering clarity, there is another critical function in which an effective job description playsan immense role: performance evaluation. As we all know, most managers and their employees wouldrather undergo a root canal than have a frank discussion about how the previous year went andexpectations for the future. Most of us look forward to this annual event with a sense of dread, andthe result is often a “job well done,” a “job poorly done,” or the ever popular “satisfactory.” Managersand employees leave these meetings with little or no understanding of how the past year went orwhat is expected in the year ahead. It doesn’t have to be this way. If you have a proper job descriptionin place, it will provide a benchmark against which performance can be evaluated. That, along withsome planning and execution, will allow both participants to enter into and leave these meetingswith a higher level of objectivity and confidence. Poorly written job descriptions can contribute tomisunderstandings between employer and employee of key job responsibilities, and, as a furtherconsequence, provide a poor basis for performance evaluation.

WRITING A JOB DESCRIPTION

How does one write a job description? As a starting point, the job title is important for recruitmentand job satisfaction purposes. If a job is under or over-valued through the job title, the organizationcould lose out on a talented individual who under-values the job based only on the title. Conversely,you could get applicants with a mismatched skills set for an “under-titled” position.

When writing a job description, it should be a joint effort between the supervisor and the jobincumbent. The writers will need to consider all that is involved in the job at hand and will brainstorma list of all aspects of the job: a job analysis. Job aspects should include all current duties andresponsibilities, including activities, planning, processes, executing, monitoring, communicating,managing people, money, information management, inputs/outputs, time and reporting. From thiscomprehensive list, a maximum of 15-18 main responsibilities will be developed (give or take),depending on the scope of the position. In general terms, a junior position might require 8-10responsibilities, while a senior position could require as many as 15-18. This number should not beexceeded, because doing so may be unwieldy and ineffective. You will find that clustering will occurnaturally (e.g. ordering copier paper, printer cartridges, pens, pencils and paper clips could becombined into the ordering of office supplies). Use clear, concise language when creating this list.Language must be non-discriminatory, and only the duties, skills and knowledge required of theposition should be included.

These responsibilities should result in a list of specific areas of responsibility, including – for example:» communicating (what, to whom). It is important to recognize that communicating is

essential to the effectiveness of the remainder of the list which follows;» planning and organizing (of what, i.e. production, creation and/or management of

documents, etc.);» reporting/working relationships (who, i.e. supervisor, co-workers, etc.);» monitoring and reporting (of what, i.e. accounts payable/accounts receivable, attendance, etc.);» evaluating and decision-making (of what, i.e. office supply use, budgets, etc.);» producing things (what, i.e. reports, documents, policies and procedures, etc.);» maintaining/repairing things (what, i.e. machinery, landscaping, clocks, etc.);» using equipment and systems (what, i.e. computers, switchboard, software, lawnmowers,

etc.).

Once your list is complete, the writers then want to rank the items in order of importance. Doublecheck again to ensure that all responsibilities are relevant, realistic and achievable, and that there iscompliance with the organization’s policy manual, collective agreements (if any) and relatedlegislation, in order to ensure fairness and equity.

THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT

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JOB QUALIFICATIONS

Part two of writing a job description involves the creation of the skills, abilities and experience requiredto carry out the duties and responsibilities of the job: the job qualifications. These must be directlyrelated to the job duties and responsibilities performed. This list will include technical requirements(writing, finance, computers, software, engineering, etc.) and soft skills (communicating, interacting,negotiating, judgment, decision making, etc.) Education, certification, training and experience mustbe essential to the position, or required by law, to be listed as requirements. The workingenvironment, including physical requirements or limitations, will also be included in this section.

JOB SUMMARY

There is one task left to complete: the job summary. A job summary is a concise summary of thepurpose of the job, results to be achieved, key contributions to the organization and reporting andworking relationships, internally and externally. This will form the “heading” of the document.

Once the job description is completed and implemented, it is important to treat it as a livingdocument that is reviewed on a regular basis, to ensure that job changes are included so that allduties are current and in compliance with changing organizational needs and new legislation. Whenundertaking this task, the reviewer should consider the following questions:

» are job descriptions referred to regularly?» are job descriptions updated regularly?» are employees part of this process?» can job responsibilities be observed and measured?» are job descriptions used for performance evaluation and goal setting

If the answer to any of these questions is “no,” you need to ensure that your job descriptions arerevisited in a coordinated fashion so that you can answer “yes” to these questions at any given time.

In summary, poorly written job descriptions result in confusion in the workplace about jobresponsibilities, resulting in poor communications and employees who feel that they do not knowwhat is expected of them. Developing and maintaining effective job descriptions is time well invested,and doing so early on will help in your organization’s path to success. This will result in lowerrecruitment costs, as turnover decreases and retention increases. Job descriptions, when writteneffectively, will align employee direction with your vision, mission and goals.

JOB DESCRIPTIONS – WHY YOU NEED THEM

…POORLY WRITTEN

JOB DESCRIPTIONS

RESULT IN CONFUSION

IN THE WORKPLACE

ABOUT JOB

RESPONSIBILITIES,RESULTING IN POOR

COMMUNICATIONS

AND EMPLOYEES WHO

FEEL THAT THEY DO

NOT KNOW WHAT IS

EXPECTED OF THEM.

ABORIGINAL FINANCIAL OPERATIONS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY DIVERSIFIED AND MORE COMPLEX.ABORIGINAL FINANCIAL MANAGERS ARE REQUIRED TO MOVE BEYOND JUST FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND

ACQUIRE EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT SKILL SETS. THE CAFM PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A SKILL

SET TO BE A WELL-ROUNDED FINANCIAL PROFESSIONAL TO MEET THE CHANGING BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND TO

BRING ADDED VALUE TO THE FINANCIAL OPERATIONS OF YOUR ORGANIZATION. THESE ONLINE COURSES ARE

REQUIREMENTS OF THE CAFM DESIGNATION AND LEAD TO MANY MORE OPPORTUNITIES.

CAFM 3 ABORIGINAL BUSINESS LAWThe Finance Manager is expected to have a good understanding of legal matters and reducepotential liability for their organizations. Currently, Aboriginal organizations are assuming more self-government responsibilities and pursuing new opportunities.

CAFM 4 STRATEGY ANDDECISIONSThis course focuses on your role as a financial manager and your ability to make sound and informeddecisions as your Aboriginal organization seeks to attain high performance.

CAFM 5 VALUES AND ETHICS IN THE ABORIGINALWORKPLACEAll professionals need to understand how Values & Ethics impact decision making, governance andaccountability. This course approaches these issues from the context of an Aboriginal workplace.

CAFM 6 ABORIGINAL HISTORY ANDDEVELOPMENTSLearning about Aboriginal History, current issues and where we are headed as Aboriginal People iscritical knowledge for all professionals working within an Aboriginal environment.

CAFM 14 HUMAN AND FISCAL ISSUESFinance Managers are often asked to wear more than one “hat” and often tackle human resourcesand financial issues in their organizations. The skills and knowledge gained will enable the financialofficer to ensure that their organization hires, trains, and retains desired personnel.

For more information call AFOA Canada today at 1-866-722-2362 or visit www.afoa.ca

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CERT I F I ED ABOR IG INAL F INANCIAL MANAGER

AFOACAFMONLINEPROGRAMS

34

CANADA IS VERY FORTUNATE TOHAVE A RICH ABORIGINAL CULTUREAND HISTORYDeanna Matzanke, Director, HR Policy & Compliance, Diversity & Inclusion, Scotiabank

CANADA IS A COUNTRY ROOTED IN CULTURAL DIVERSITY, INCLUDING RICH ABORIGINAL CULTURES

AND HISTORIES. THAT’S WHY SCOTIABANK IS PROUD TO SHARE IN THIS DIVERSITY, WITH

OPERATIONS IN SOME FIFTY-FIVE COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD, SERVING CUSTOMERS FROM

ALL WALKS OF LIFE — INCLUDING A DEEP COMMITMENT TO CANADA’S ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES.WE WERE THE FIRST CANADIAN CHARTED BANK TO OPEN AN ON-RESERVE BRANCH IN 1971, ANDWE NOW HAVE 27 ABORIGINAL BANKING CENTRES ACROSS CANADA. SCOTIABANK ALSO HOLDS

THE GOLD LEVEL PROGRESSIVE ABORIGINAL RELATIONS CERTIFICATION FROM THE CANADIANCOUNCIL FOR ABORIGINAL BUSINESS.

“I’m First Nations myself – Pikwàkanagàn – and our aboriginal financialservices strategy is something I feel very passionately about. Embracing

diversity is one of the things that makes this a great place to work” – Lee Walker, Scotiabank National Director of Aboriginal Banking Services

OUR CORE VALUES: INTEGRITY – RESPECT – COMMITMENT – INSIGHT - SPIRITWe were founded on a solid value system that defines the service standard we provide to customersand governs how we behave with our fellow Scotiabankers. Our core values have shaped our historyof caring for our people, and this is demonstrated through our Human Resources policies andprograms.

OUR CULTURE OF INCLUSIONOne of our key strengths is the diversity of our team – our culture of inclusion, which is at the heartof our global community of Scotiabankers. It is who we are and who we aspire to be. We are proudof our journey in creating a culture of inclusion for Aboriginal customers and employees, and wecontinue to look for ways to improve by listening and learning from one another, and from ourcommunity stakeholders.

There are tremendous benefits to having a diversity and inclusion strategy – not only for attractingand retaining the best employees, but for serving customers as well. We focus on enabling diversetalent, engaging our employees and our community.

ENABLING DIVERSE TALENTEmbracing diversity and fostering a culture of inclusion is what makes Scotiabank a Great Place toWork™. We value the unique abilities each employee brings to the workplace, and we are committedto providing an inclusive and accessible workplace for everyone. We strive to deliver a seamless,consistent and rewarding employment experience for Aboriginal people by developing policies andprograms based on our shared values.

We understand that to attract diverse talent sometimes requires providing assistance andaccommodation during recruitment and selection. This is why we offer options when applying forcareers at Scotiabank. If applicants would like to identify as an Aboriginal person in the application,they can do so by visiting www.scotiabank.com/aboriginaltalent.

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“There’s a vibrant and growing Aboriginal population in Canada with a lot ofpotential for success in the corporate world. At Scotiabank, we are alwayslooking for talented individuals who share our values and who are excited

about a career and joining our Global Community of Scotiabankers” – Shirlie Delacherois, Manager, Talent Acquisition, Aboriginal Community

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

A sense of community is very important to us, and we want new Scotiabankers to feel welcomedand involved as members of our Global Community. One of the unique ways we do this is throughour Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) like the Scotiabank Aboriginal Network (SAN). Members ofSAN are passionate about employment issues that affect Aboriginal people, within Scotiabank andin the wider community.

“We are a network of employees passionate about enhancing Aboriginalpeople’s employment experiences. Recently we launched a Mentorship Circle,whereupon joining Scotiabank our Aboriginal new talent hires are offered a

mentor within our Scotiabank Aboriginal Network. The mentor providessupport in introducing our new SAN member to our exciting workplace from a

friendly, welcoming chat to helping navigate through the many resourcesavailable to all employees”

– Trina Whiteye, Chair, Scotiabank Aboriginal Network

THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT

DEANNAMATZANKEwasappointed in February 2007 tothe position of Director, Policy &Compliance, Diversity & Inclusionin the Global Human Resourcesfunction at Scotiabank. Withinthese two areas, her group dealswith a wide range of employ -ment strategies includingfostering and integratingScotia bank’s Global Diversity &Inclusion Strategy for leveragingdiversity, as well as the imple -mentation of Scotiabank’sGlobal HR Policy and ComplianceFramework which covers manytopics such as privacy, occupa -tional health and safety, humanrights, flexible work options,accommodation, accessibility,Deanna holds a BA Honours inRomance Languages from theUniversity of Alberta, along withboth her common law and civillaw degrees from McGillUniversity and was the recipientof the Nathan Cotler HumanRights Award. She is also acertified Global Professional inHuman Resources (GPHR)through the Society for HumanResource Management (SHRM).

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CANADA IS VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE A RICH ABORIGINAL CULTURE AND HISTORY

ENGAGING COMMUNITIES

We partner with community organizations and educational institutions that share our commitmentto creating an inclusive and accessible workplace. We value the shared learning we gain throughpartnerships dedicated to supporting and developing Aboriginal people in employment.

We support the Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative (MAEI), a two-year sponsorship for an on-reserve youth entrepreneurship program, the first of its kind in Canada. In connection with thisinitiative, in December 2010 Scotiabankers began to participate in a mentorship program withAboriginal students from grades 9 and 10. Scotiabank continues to focus on the advancement andeducation of Aboriginal youth.

We partner with the Aboriginal Human Resources Council (AHRC) as a way of deepening ourcommitment to the Aboriginal community and our Aboriginal employees. Through the partnership,we annually sponsor the Inclusion Works Career Fair and offer employees at all levels the opportunityto attend national AHRC events. This gives our non-Aboriginal employees an opportunity to betterunderstand the challenges facing Aboriginal people in the workforce.

We believe we have grown as an organization because of the support and guidance of our friends inthe community, and it is with this spirit of working together that we look forward to a continuousjourney of inclusion and collaboration.

AGAIN, THERE IS AN

OPPORTUNITY FOR

CORPORATE CANADATO LEVERAGE SELF-IDENTIFICATION IN

THEIR ABORIGINAL

WORKFORCE NUMBERS.THE QUESTION

REMAINS HOW TO

ENTICE THEIR EXISTING

ABORIGINAL

WORKFORCE TO

STAND UP AND BE

COUNTED.

130925-AFOA JAM-E:Layout 1 13-10-09 6:48 PM Page 37

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THE HIDDEN ABORIGINALPROFESSIONAL TALENT POOLDavid Acco, President, Acosys Consulting Services Inc.

WHILE WORKING WITH CORPORATE CANADA’S HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENTS AND BUSINESS

UNITS, I OFTEN HEAR THE QUESTION, “WHERE ARE ALL THE ABORIGINAL PROFESSIONALS?” THEANSWER IS QUITE SIMPLE: “THEY ARE UNDER YOUR NOSE – BUT IN ORDER TO SEE THEM, YOU HAVE

TO RETHINK YOUR IDEA OF TALENT.” THIS ARTICLE EXPLORES HOW WE CAN CHANGE OUR TALENT

SEARCH LENSES TO DISCOVER THE POTENTIAL RESOURCES THAT ARE ALL AROUND US BUT HIDDEN

IN PLAIN SIGHT.

BUSINESS CASE – ABORIGINAL PARTICIPATION IN THE CORPORATEWORKFORCE

There is no doubt that corporate Canada wants Aboriginal participation in their workforce. This isevident from the increasing number of companies that have dedicated resources or working groupsto developing better Aboriginal outreach and community engagement practices. Some are drivenby Canada’s need for greater Aboriginal participation in the economy, a well-documented socio-economic priority of government and communities. Others are also forming the business case forCorporate Social Responsibility (CSR), employment equity targets and diversity programs. Forexample:

» The Aboriginal labour force participation rates increased considerably from 1996 to 2006,from 58.3% to 63.1 % for those 15 years and older.

» The average per capita income for the Aboriginal population has increased from $19,176 to$23,888. It is still significantly lower than the income of non-Aboriginal Canadians, but isincreasing at a faster rate than that of the non-Aboriginal population.

» Self-employment among Aboriginal Canadians increased by 25.1% from 2001 to 2006, agrowth rate three times that of non-Aboriginal Canadians. The greatest growth ofentrepreneurship and self-employment has been among First Nation peoples living off-reserve, and Métis peoples. Aboriginal communities and entrepreneurs are seeking out moreopportunities in the market economy.

» A growing number of non-Aboriginal companies are recognizing that employing Aboriginalsand partnering with Aboriginal communities and entrepreneurs is a smart business strategy forgaining access to markets that normally would be closed, through Impact Benefit Agreements(IBAs), set-aside contract vehicles or Aboriginal Benefits Requirement (ABR) contracts.

» Finally, federal and provincial government programs are concentrating on Aboriginaleducation and social issues with Canada’s future prosperity challenges. This is evident in theFederal Framework for Aboriginal Economic Development, Aboriginal Skills Education andTraining Strategy (ASETS) and various other programs.

However, the business case is not easily translated to the business units who in most cases have tobear the costs for Aboriginal participation. In contrast, they are measured by different standards forsuccess, such as “on-time” and “on-budget.” In more cases than not, employee equity and Aboriginalparticipation do not factor into the performance equation.

2008 ECONOMIC DOWNTURN – IMPACT ON ABORIGINAL PROFESSIONALSThe 2008 Economic Great Recession, which is still impacting Canadians, has hit Aboriginalprofessionals the worst. The majority of post-secondary graduates had geared their educations towardpublic service careers in government, band councils and Aboriginal organizations. The GreatRecession has put many public funded projects and services at risk, as all levels of government lookfor ways to cut deficits and balance budgets. Aboriginal communities and organizations that rely ongovernment funds to perform research, policy development and program delivery have seen theworst cuts in recent memory. As a result, many communities and organizations have been forced tolay off much of the professional talent base, as projects were cancelled and services scaled back.

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DAVID ACCO, of Cree-Métisdescent, holds an Inter -national MBA from theUniversity of Ottawa and hascompleted a Masters BusinessAnalyst Certificate from theSchulich School of Business atYork University. David has alsocompleted a GraduateDiploma in eCommerce andmanagement from McGillUniversity. He has extensiveexperience in InformationSystems and InformationTechnology (IS/IT) in thetelecommunications andengineering industries as aproject manager, businessanalyst and proposalscoordinator, with companiessuch as Bombardier andAmdocs ManagementServices, and many non-profitAboriginal organizationswithin the community. Theseexperiences have enabledDavid to develop comprehen -sive strategies to approach avariety of business challenges.

In 2006, David and hispartner Julie Lepage, amember of Nipissing FirstNations, founded AcosysConsulting Services which is a100% Aboriginal-owned andoperated business. Acosysprovides professionalconsulting services inTechnology Integration,Human Resources (HR) andAboriginal Policy Develop -ment. As social entrepreneurs,they also run their ownAboriginal Internship Programin conjunction with theCongress of AboriginalPeoples. Within this programAcosys hires, mentors andtrains Aboriginal talent towork on client projects. Theydesigned and championed thisprogram to help talentedyoung Aboriginals enter the ITand HR professions, toimprove Aboriginalparticipation in the privatesector, and thereby to buildcapacity and improve the livesof Aboriginals in Canada.

In addition, the Great Recession has turned full-time public service positions into mainly short durationcontracts of less than a year. Competition for the available contracts or full-time positions is fiercebetween non-Aboriginals and Aboriginal public services professionals because of the limited positionsavailable. Today, a disproportionate amount of Aboriginal professionals is competing for a smallerpool of public service employment opportunities. This trend has caused many Aboriginal professionalsto completely abandon the public sector as a career path and to look for other opportunities to restarttheir careers, including entry level positions – just to get a foot into the door of corporate Canada.

As program funding is cut, the government is looking to corporate Canada to close the gap. Theyare encouraging National Aboriginal Organizations (NAOs) to leverage CSR, and they areencouraging partnerships between corporate Canada and communities. They are increasing SocialEntrepreneurship and more recently are introducing social impact bonds – among other initiatives.In other words, there is a stronger push for corporations to work as extensions of public policy. Thisleaves some business leaders scratching their heads, wondering how to answer the call with little tono guidance from government.

OPPORTUNITY – TRANSFERRABLE SKILLS AND CAREER PATHSGiven the challenges facing Aboriginal professionals and corporate Canada’s desires to increase itsAboriginal workforce, there are opportunities to be found in the shifting sands of governmentpriorities and program funding in the public sector. The economic downturn has created a pool oftrained management professionals, if HR and business operations managers focus on transferrableskills between public service careers and private industry needs. For example, when looking at aprogram manager profile for the public sector, we find that the job function is similar to a projectmanager in private industry. Generally speaking, program and project managers create and monitorbudgets and project timelines, prepare reports to standards, and present reports and project statusesto stakeholders and executive managers. Using a similar process, a similar conclusion can be drawnbetween policy analysts versus business or process analysts. If we closely examine the two profilesand functions, we see a similar pattern of transferrable skills.

On the other hand, looking at transferrable skills would be a challenge when it comes to technicalprofiles such as programmers, engineers and technicians. How to acquire these resources in theAboriginal community is a difficult question to answer, since a majority of Aboriginals with post-secondary schooling chose a public service career path. For example, less than half of 1% of Aboriginalstudents is enrolled in an engineering or science program. This poses a significant challenge forrecruiters to source talent such as professional engineers, either experienced or recently graduated.

The answer may lie in crystallizing resources through internships and co-op programs that aretargeted at professional and technical profiles and that look to the future. Looking at staffing plansfor the long term has the added benefit of readying business units to add Aboriginal resources totheir teams. This approach lends itself well to projects where there is an IBA, or to multi-year, large-scale projects where Aboriginal talent can re-tool for the positions available. This could be throughan internship in the shorter or longer term. Co-op students may gain the experience and readythemselves with a high probability of becoming available two or three years into the future. Goodexamples of this long-term approach would be the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy(NSPS) and regional natural resources developments such as Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” and Quebec’s“Nord Pour Tous.”

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT – URBAN ABORIGINAL PEOPLEBased on 2006 census data, Aboriginal Affairs and North Development Canada (AANDC ) estimates56% of Aboriginal people lived off-reserve; of that cohort, 34% of the Aboriginal population lived infive major cities: Winnipeg, Edmonton, Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto. Although post-secondaryeducation remains lower than the national average, the gap is closing, especially in urban centers.

THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT

40

Statistics Canada reports that school attendance rates have increased between 1981 and 2001 inurban centers like Montreal, Toronto, Regina, Calgary and Vancouver, leading to higher completionrates in post-secondary education. Since the report was published in 2005, these Aboriginalprofessionals are part of the current workforce.

Nonetheless, urban Aboriginal people are often overlooked by HR and management, who may seeAboriginal people as living either in or near a remote community reserve. For better or worse themedia’s constant and disproportionately negative focus on on-reserve communities’ dysfunction,poverty, addictions and politics fuels this misconception. Urban Aboriginal people get caught up inthe negative wave and are often reluctant to self-identify in order to avoid the negative stereotypesexisting in the public mind.

Again, there is an opportunity for corporate Canada to leverage self-identification in their Aboriginalworkforce numbers. The question remains how to entice their existing Aboriginal workforce to standup and be counted. One area in which HR can be effective is in building a more Aboriginal-friendlywork environment. Aboriginal cultural awareness programs for managers and employees are aneffective way to increase employees’ intelligence about Aboriginal culture and realities, oftendebunking many preconceived notions. It also helps hiring managers understand what Aboriginalpeople are looking for from employers, such as long-term careers and meaningful contributions –much like their non-Aboriginal counterparts.

Identifying Aboriginal resources working in recruiting and operations management helps bridge thecultural divide between perception and reality. For example, some operations managers working onIBA projects are dumbfounded when their Aboriginal workforce evaporates in September andOctober, not realizing that at that time they are hunting to fill up their freezers for the winter. Havingan Aboriginal person who comes from the area or who is culturally aware and understands the livingand working realities of communities would help to identify and mitigate the project risk due to thehunting season. However, this is a function of companies’ ability to use their internal Aboriginal talentand willingness to act upon their advice.

AGINGWORKFORCE – SECOND CHANCE AT A CAREERGovernment policy regarding minimum retirement age and pension eligibility, added to the growingacceptance of an older workforce, is changing the labour force dynamics. This shift in workforcedemographics is increasing the longevity of career paths. Although it is not unusual for a professionalto have multiple careers in the same sector, there is now the opportunity for workers to jump todifferent employment sectors in a career lifespan. This becomes another opportunity for Aboriginalprofessionals to re-tool their careers from public sector professions to private sector. For example, anAboriginal person who has a degree that is not necessarily business related or technical can returnto post-secondary or professional development institutions to obtain necessary industry recognizedcertification. Often these programs are offered in part-time and evening classes, allowing studentsto work while studying. At the same time, corporate Canada can start considering crystallizing theseresources by creating entry-level management positions for protégés or via a 2nd career internshipprogram.

VENDOR PARTNERSHIPS – ACOSYS’ ABORIGINAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAMAnother way of creating an Aboriginal workforce is by partnering with Aboriginal vendors. We havecreated a program that is a leading example of innovative partnerships. The program is highlyeffective in matching Aboriginal talent with private sector needs and in supporting each participant’sprofessional development throughout a 52-week program lifecycle. The model creates an intensivelearning environment for Aboriginal peoples, while simultaneously connecting them with excitingprofessional career paths. We work with our clients to help with the recruiting, placement and supportof participants, and we do it at no extra cost while our Client Partners then engage the participants

THE HIDDEN ABORIGINAL PROFESSIONAL TALENT POOL

AGAIN, THERE IS AN

OPPORTUNITY FOR

CORPORATE CANADATO LEVERAGE SELF-IDENTIFICATION IN

THEIR ABORIGINAL

WORKFORCE NUMBERS.THE QUESTION

REMAINS HOW TO

ENTICE THEIR EXISTING

ABORIGINAL

WORKFORCE TO

STAND UP AND BE

COUNTED.

41

… WE MUST BE

WILLING TO LOOK AT

PROFESSIONS NOT

TRADITIONALLY

SOUGHT BY MOST

ABORIGINALS – LIKE BUSINESS, HUMAN RESOURCES,ENGINEERING AND

TECHNOLOGY – AND TO BE ENGAGED

IN OUR INDIVIDUAL

CAREER DEVELOPMENT.

on their projects, in their work environment and on a “contract to hire” basis, using our mastersupplier agreement. This allows a shared risk with business units in acceptance of a junior resourceor seasoned Aboriginal resource who is re-tooling a career. If a candidate is found to be an asset tothe team, the business has the time to build a business case either to create a new position or toincrease staff numbers. Since 2009, we have achieved 12 success stories with 100% retention.

CONCLUSION – FINALWORD

What role do Aboriginal people have in the labour market, especially in high-demand careers? Theanswer is simple: we must be willing to look at professions not traditionally sought by mostAboriginals – like business, human resources, engineering and technology – and to be engaged inour individual career development. We must look at what opportunities these professions can bringto on- and off-reserve Aboriginals, in terms of capacity building, while they are making career choicesand plans. The timing is good to consider these types of careers, given the number of outreach andsupport services for Aboriginal people wishing to enter post-secondary study for these career paths.However, we have to start entering programs on a regular basis and focus on long-term prospects.Finally, how HR and business units look at Aboriginal resources will determine how willing they areto engage them.

THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT

CAPA 1 HUMANRESOURCESMANAGEMENTThis course provides the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills necessary for senior administrators,managers, and human resource professionals to create value through strategic management of humanresources in the workplace.

CAPA 2 LEADERSHIPAboriginal communities and organizations need senior administrators and managers who can provideeffective organizational and strategic leadership in pursuit of community/organizational goals.

CAPA 3 FINANCIAL OVERSIGHTThis course provides a general overview of financial concepts, many practical examples and best practices, toassist senior administrators in the execution of their daily operations and planning processes.

CAPA 4 COMMUNICATIONSProfessional administrators working in Aboriginal communities and organizations require excellent writtenand verbal and interpersonal communication skills. They also require knowledge in strategic approaches tocommunication in and outside of their organizations. This course will provide learners with the ability tocommunicate effectively using both technical and strategic approaches.

CAPA 5 GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES AND PROCESSESFor senior administrators to function effectively in Aboriginal communities and organizations, it is necessaryfor them to have comprehensive knowledge of the historical, external, and local governance context,structures and processes within which they function.

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CERT I F I ED ABOR IG INAL PROFES S IONAL ADMINI STRATOR

AFOACAPAONLINEPROGRAMS

THECAPA PROGRAM IS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO SET HIGH QUALITY COMPETENCY STANDARDS AND

PROVIDE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES TO ENHANCE THE KNOWLEDGE AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF

SENIOR ADMINISTRATORS AND ASPIRING SENIOR ADMINISTRATORS WORKING IN ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES

AND ORGANIZATIONS ON-RESERVE, OFF-RESERVE AND IN REMOTE, RURAL AND URBAN SETTINGS.

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THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, ADMINISTRATORS WILL LEARN HOW TO SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCE THEIR WORKPLACE

PERFORMANCE AND SUCCESSFULLY FULFILL THEIR MANDATES TO PROVIDE OPTIMAL SERVICE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THEIR

COMMUNITIES AND ORGANIZATIONS.

CAPA 6 ACCOUNTABILITY& PERFORMANCE REPORTINGIn this course, students learn accountability concepts and practices within the context of the uniquerelationship among the Council/Board, community members/organization employees, and stakeholders andexternal partners. The focus is primarily on accountability related to financial management and internal andexternal financial reporting. Students will become familiar with: the use of performance management systemsto build capacity and enhance performance within the organization and the community; and approaches toperformance measurement.

CAPA 7 PLANNING& ORGANIZATIONThis course introduces students to key approaches to planning at the community level. It systematicallyconsiders large scale planning activities such as strategic economic development plans as well as detailedimplementation and evaluation activities of smaller scale program plans. Students will be able to make adistinction between business planning and business cases and will become familiar with strategies to obtainand manage financial resources to realize a community vision. Interconnections between planning, financing,and creating a vision will allow students to expand their conceptual capacity while honing their analytic skillsand gaining insight into consultation processes.

CAPA 8 VALUES, ETHICS & PROFESSIONALISMIn this course, students learn about concepts such as ethics, values and morals which are fundamental toethical practices in government, business and individual dealings. They will learn about ethical climate andethical behaviour (codes of conduct) within the workplace and how to apply ethical standards in theperformance of their job. The focus is on ethical behaviour and professionalism in Aboriginal organizations.

For more information call AFOA Canada today at 1-866-722-2362 or visit www.afoa.ca

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FIRST NATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN CANADASTILL WAITING, BUT STILL HOPEFULSherri D. Helgason, Director, National Aboriginal Directive, Canadian Human Rights Initiative

IT’S BEEN TWO YEARS SINCE I HAD THE GREAT PLEASURE OF FIRST SUBMITTING AN ARTICLE FOR

THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT. I WROTE AT THAT TIME ABOUT A LEGISLATIVE

CHANGE THAT HAD COME INTO EFFECT JUST A FEW MONTHS EARLIER (JUNE 18, 2011). I DISCUSSED HOW THIS LEGISLATIVE CHANGE HAD THE POTENTIAL TO IMPROVE HUMAN RIGHTS

PROTECTION FOR FIRST NATIONS INDIVIDUALS AND PEOPLES. I WAS OPTIMISTIC THAT THIS

CHANGE HELD SOME OF THE SEEDS NECESSARY TO TRANSFORM THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

CANADA, AND FIRST NATIONS GOVERNMENTS AND CITIZENS ALIKE.

TWO YEARS LATER, I AM STILL WAITING FOR THAT TRANSFORMATION TO BEGIN.

Let me back up a bit and recap the story I told you then about this legislative change, and why I – anAboriginal woman, a proud member of my First Nation, a patriotic Canadian, and a long-serving (butstill enthusiastic!) employee of the Canadian Human Rights Commission – felt it was so promising.

In 2011, Bill C-21 came fully into effect. It removed the “Indian Act exemption” from the CanadianHuman Rights Act. According to the bill, people could now challenge potentially discriminatoryaspects of the Indian Act. In other words, members of First Nations communities who face chronicand longstanding inequality in areas like health, education and social services could finally use theCanadian Human Rights Act to challenge discrimination.

So what has happened since this change cameinto full effect two years ago?

As expected, the Commission received a sharpincrease in discrimination complaints involvingFirst Nations. Since repeal, more than 182complaints have been filed against the federal

government. Many of these complaints involve very complex systemic issues, such as equal servicesfor First Nations children living on reserves compared to children living off reserve.

Another 271 discrimination complaints have been filed against First Nations governments. Thesecomplaints involve allegations of sexism or racism in services administered by Band Councils, as wellas a surprisingly high number alleging discrimination based on family status. Family status complaintsoften involve being treated unfairly because a person is seen as coming from the “wrong” family ora particular family situation. Aboriginal people with disabilities have filed complaints aboutaccessibility, or about not having been fairly accommodated at work or while receiving a service.

Several cases have also been brought forward alleging systemic discrimination regarding things likespecial education, the adequacy of police services, and inequities in child welfare services on reserve.

One such complaint alleges that federal funding for child welfare services on reserves is not equal tothe level of funding provided for provincial child welfare services and is therefore discriminatory onthe basis of race. I wrote about this complaint two years ago, so I will not revisit it further here indetail, but for more information on the status of the case, go to: www.fncaringsociety.com.

The Attorney General of Canada has argued that the Canadian Human Rights Act does not apply tofunding for services to First Nations communities. The Commission disagrees and has said so whilerepresenting the public interest in court.

While the case raises complex legal issues that could take some time to sort out, the hearings on themerits (or facts) of the complaint – as of the date of the writing of this article – are only just beginning.In the meantime, if the allegations are true, then Aboriginal children living on reserves continue tobe deprived of the equitable treatment they deserve.

TO READ THE ARTICLE FROMSEPTEMBER 2011, PLEASE VISIT

WWW.DOYOUKNOWYOURRIGHTS.CA

45

SHERRI HELGASON hasworked in the Human Rightsfield for over 20 years, starting as an Investigator in Manitoba, and later takingon other roles as a Conciliator,Regional Director for the BC & Yukon region, and asDirector of Investigations inOttawa. In 2007, she returnedto Winnipeg to establish theCommission’s NationalAboriginal Initiative. In thisrole, Sherri is responsible forstrengthening relationshipswith First Nations and otherAboriginal stakeholders, andinitiating Commission effortsto be more responsive tohuman rights concernsaffecting or involvingAboriginal peoples. Sherri is of Ojibway and Icelandicheritage.

This case could set important precedents about the Government of Canada’s responsibility to FirstNations and other Aboriginal people. As an Aboriginal woman and a person passionately committedto human rights, I wait anxiously to see what will happen next. In my eyes, this case should beimportant to every Canadian. If the allegation of inequality experienced by Aboriginal children livingon reserves is supported, then the Canada we claim to be is not actually the Canada we are, yet.

But I am still hopeful.

I am hopeful because I have found that many First Nations leaders, administrators and citizens haveresponded enthusiastically to this change in the law. Many have actively sought out information andtools to better understand their new rights and responsibilities.

In response, the Commission has developed a series of information booklets and tools to help peoplebetter address human rights issues in their communities. Your Guide to Understanding the CanadianHuman Rights Act was created first, followed by the Human Rights Handbook for First Nations and,most recently, A Toolkit for Developing Community-based Dispute Resolution Processes in First NationsCommunities. All of these publications are available on our website: www.doyouknowyourrights.ca.

I am still hopeful that all Canadians will recognize how essential it is to address equality issues forAboriginal children living on reserves. There have already been some positive steps in this regard.The Government has committed to improving education and training initiatives for First Nationschildren and citizens in general. It will be important that this is done in consultation with First Nations,and in a way that respects and reflects their cultures and unique relationships with Canada. I aminterested to see what comes from these commitments. I hope that we do not have to wait muchlonger before there is real action.

Discrimination complaints are important. They can provide a realsolution. They can define rights that have previously been hidden, misun-derstood or not accepted. They can even serve to clarify or change laws.

But filing a discrimination complaint is rarely easy. It takes courage.

I have worked in this field for over 20 years, and in that time I have heardthat it is often the most vulnerable, those who are in greatest need ofassistance, who are the least likely to assert their rights. I’ve heard this mostoften from Aboriginal women.

I have had the privilege of listening to Aboriginal women in different partsof the country, sharing their wisdom, expertise and experience. I heardabout barriers such as a lack of awareness about the Canadian Human RightsAct, mistrust of external justice processes, fear of retaliation for speaking out, power imbalances andthe ongoing impacts of colonization. Some women said they believe little would change by filing adiscrimination complaint, which has left them feeling hopeless. Others said that significant changeis needed to end widespread sexual harassment and discrimination in their communities.

The Commission is trying to better understand these barriers that Aboriginal women, parti cularlythose in vulnerable circumstances, face in asserting their rights, as well as ways to over come them.We have started the conver sation by holding a series of roundtable discus sions with groupsrepresenting or providing services to Aboriginal women. The Commission has met with women inWinnipeg, Halifax and Ottawa, and hopes to hold another roundtable session out West this fall.

There may be times when Aboriginal women feel powerless and alone, but by working together wecan make change happen. I am not just talking about filing more discrimination complaints.

It is clear that other measures are also needed to understand and advance human rights issues, whilewe wait for important discrimination complaints to make their way through the Commission, the

THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT

THE COMMISSION HAS ALSODEVELOPED AN ON-LINE COMPONENT,

SO THAT WOMEN WHO CANNOTATTEND, OR WHO ARE LIVING IN

AREAS WHERE WE CANNOTORGANIZE AN IN-PERSON SESSION, CAN HAVE THEIR VOICES HEARD.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO PARTICIPATE, GO TO

WWW.DOYOUKNOWYOURRIGHTS.CA.

“… ALL HUMAN BEINGS

ARE BORN FREE AND

EQUAL IN DIGNITY AND

IN RIGHTS.”

46

Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and eventually the Courts. Change will also come through research,education, advocacy, partnerships and commitment. One participant at our Ottawa roundtable putit best: “To be effective, systemic human rights complaints need to be situated in the context of abroader social movement.”

Let me tell you about some of the projects going on at the Commission that I hope willcontribute to this broader social movement – to the respect, equality and overall quality oflife that we as Aboriginal people, on and off reserve, should expect for ourselves, and our children,in an inclusive Canada.

The Commission recently released the Equality Rights Data Report on Aboriginal People. The reportcompares Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Canada across a spectrum of indicators, includingeducation, employment, economic well-being, health and housing, to draw a statistical portrait ofthe current situation faced by many Aboriginal people.

The report confirms that many Aboriginal people continue to experience persistent barriers to equalityof opportunity and other conditions of disadvantage. While nothing in this report is new, thepromising part is that the Commission is committed to following up on this research in five yearsand again in ten years. This means that if the old saying is true that what gets measured gets done, itis our hope that this report will provide the evidence needed to motivate governments, partners andthe general public to help to get it done.

The Commission is also collaborating with other organizations to bring attention to the human rightschallenges facing Aboriginal Canadians. One of these organizations is the Canadian Association ofStatutory Human Rights Agencies (CASHRA).

Earlier in 2013, CASHRA issued a joint statement and wrote a letter to the Prime Minister concerningthe striking number of missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada. Both the statement andthe letter urged the Government to hold a national inquiry and develop a national action plan toaddress this very serious issue.

The Commission also tries to connect regularly with national Aboriginal organizations (all of whomhave had serious funding cuts) to ensure that we are focusing on promoting and protecting thosehuman rights issues that are most important to Aboriginal peoples.

The Commission recognizes that it has a role to ensure human rights are consideredwhen anyone is discussing the current realities faced by far too many Aboriginal peoplein Canada today. We are taking all that we are learning through development of case law, roundtabledialogues, research and collaboration and using it to help bring attention to these issues. Whetherappearing before Parliamentary Committees, making submissions to international bodies (such as theUnited Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child or meeting with United Nations SpecialRapporteurs), the Commission is committed to using its voice to make Canada a more just society.

Perhaps what we also need is a “human rights action plan” developed together by all the appropriatepartners. The plan could identify specific actions to be taken by human rights commissions,governments, businesses, other organizations and First Nations to help create a Canada whereAboriginal children are valued, respected and included. Everyone needs to be involved, because theseissues are all of our responsibility.

A child growing up on a reserve should have the same opportunities in life as every other child inCanada. This is a fundamental right that comes with living in a free and democratic society. As it saysin the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “… all human beings are born freeand equal in dignity and in rights.”

Our children deserve nothing less. We are still waiting, but they should not have to.

FIRST NATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN CANADA

PERHAPS WHAT WE

ALSO NEED IS A

“HUMAN RIGHTS

ACTION PLAN”DEVELOPED TOGETHER

BY ALL THE

APPROPRIATE

PARTNERS. THE PLAN

COULD IDENTIFY

SPECIFIC ACTIONS TO

BE TAKEN BY HUMAN

RIGHTS COMMISSIONS,GOVERNMENTS,

BUSINESSES, OTHERORGANIZATIONS AND

FIRST NATIONS, TOHELP CREATE A

CANADA WHERE

ABORIGINAL

CHILDREN ARE VALUED,RESPECTED AND

INCLUDED. EVERYONENEEDS TO BE

INVOLVED, BECAUSETHESE ISSUES ARE ALL

OF OUR

RESPONSIBILITY.

47

48

THE BLOOD TRIBE APPEAL TRIBUNALKatie Rabbit-Young Pine, Human Resource Director, Blood Tribe Administration

THE BLOOD TRIBE ADMINISTRATION (BTA) IS AN ORGANIZATION SITUATED ON THE LARGEST

RESERVE IN CANADA, THE BLOOD RESERVE. BTA MANAGES FIFTEEN DEPARTMENTS AND EMPLOYS

APPROXIMATELY FIVE HUNDRED INDIVIDUALS. A MAJORITY OF THE DEPARTMENTS OPERATE OUT

OF THE SHOT BOTH SIDES BUILDING IN STANDOFF, ALBERTA, WHILE ANOTHER FIVE DEPARTMENTS

OPERATE OUT OF THEIR OWN BUILDINGS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.

Led by Human Resource Director Katie Rabbit-Young Pine, Blood Tribe Administration concentratedon revising the Organizations Personnel Policy and Procedure Manual. It was crucial to theorganization that employees were involved from the beginning, to ensure ownership and acceptanceof the changes resulting from the review. The process involved several meetings with each of thedepartment directors and employees. Changes to the policy came directly from the employees, whoconsistently called for the development of a process to address concerns. The concept of an AppealTribunal emerged.

Ms. Rabbit-Young Pine facilitated the development of the Appeal Tribunal, concentrating on the rolesand responsibilities of this body. The goal was to enhance the employee/employer relationship andnot to introduce any policies and procedures which would interfere. Through continuedcollaboration, Blood Tribe Administration drafted Terms of Reference for the Appeal Tribunal. A priority was to identify the purpose of the Appeal Tribunal – which, simply put, is to hear appealsrelated to employment in a fair and unbiased manner. There had to be some limitations. The AppealTribunal should not have the authority to change organizational policy or practices, but rather shouldinterpret whether the application of rules and guidelines was applied in a consistent and reasonablemanner. The tribunal could, and should, have the power to reduce or expunge an appealingemployee’s discipline, but not to increase the level of discipline.

Focus turned to revising Section 24 of the Blood Tribe Policy Manual to reflect BTA’s culture ofrecognizing that all employees are entitled to fair and equitable treatment. BTA would ensure that itadhered to the principles of fairness, equity and consistency. In that regard employees may makeefforts to solve problems without fear of unlawful discrimination or reprisal, and when necessary mayseek the services of the Appeal Tribunal. The policy is not intended to release the employee from allresponsibility for resolving matters. Several steps must be administered before a hearing with theAppeal Tribunal can take place. Each step serves as a guide and involves strict timelines, set in placeto encourage immediate action and resolution, and to prevent delays and chances for further conflict.The first step is motivating the parties to attempt resolving a conflict. At this point there is no needto document the incident, and there is no complaint going into an employee’s personnel file.Supervisors need not be notified. Beyond this point, however, all parties concerned must have writtendocumentation, and this documentation will be filed appropriately and could affect futureperformance evaluations.

A major component of the policy includes documenting factual information. Sticking to the facts issometimes difficult for individuals. Including opinions on an Incident Report Form however mayaggravate the conflict, decreasing the potential for a happy resolution of the matter at hand. In theHuman Resource Dictionary, “documentation” is defined as the written and retained record ofemployment events. Imperative to the success and utilization of the Appeal Tribunal is theunderstanding and knowledge of all the users. Human Resources has made it mandatory for allemployees of the Blood Tribe Administration to attend a workshop concentrating on the importanceof filling out the Incident Report Form by answering the five Ws.

49

KATIE RABBIT is a graduateof the University of Lethbridgewith a Bachelor of Manage -ment Degree.

Positions Held:» Human Resource Director –Blood Tribe Administration

» Chief Executive Officer –Treaty 7 ManagementCorporation

» Human Resource Director –Blood Tribe Department ofHealth

» Post SecondaryCoordinator – Red CrowCommunity College

Volunteer Board memberships: » Red Crow CommunityCollege

» Treaty 7 Housing Authority

Facilitator:» Conflict Management» Team Work» Policy Development

TRIBUNALMEMBERSHIP AND SELECTIONBTA determined that the Tribunal had to include representation of our community’s Elders,professionals from surrounding communities and employees from the administration. Blood TribeElders bring to the table their wisdom and respect. It made sense to have one Elder sit at everyhearing. Their presence automatically invokes a sense of calm and a respect from all others. ThreeBlood Tribe Elders were selected, with the understanding that each Elder would rotate through thehearings.

Having no connection to BTA guarantees that external professionals will be unbiased and will bringa consistent perspective to the issues at hand. Time and commitment are crucial, as the schedule forhearings may interfere with regular attendance at places of employment. Most important isenhancing the relationship between communities.

Employee representatives were nominated and elected by employees within Blood TribeAdministration. Their connection to policy and procedures and their experiences as employees makeit easier for them to relate.

The interim selection of the Appeal Tribunal members was based on Blood Tribe Administration’sPolicy and Procedure and Conflict of Interest guidelines. These guideline were extremely importantin gaining community acceptance of the process and the people involved.

TRIBUNALMEMBERSHIP TRAININGNaturally, there are several areas to be aware of in dealing with personnel matters. A good foundationin employment law, human rights and Canada’s labour code, among other things, is beneficial forthe Tribunal members. So too are information workshops, facilitated by experts in the field andprovided to Tribunal members before the commencement of hearings. These workshops promotedconfidence in the people and process. The Tribunal members are ready, willing and able.

I believe the process leading up to the hearings of the Appeal Tribunal will be one of the positiveimplementations of the Blood Tribe Administration. Everyone participated with BTA in the Tribunal’screation, guided by the organization’s policies and procedures. It was endorsed by Chief and Council,and Human Resources developed the product. It was consented to by senior management andoriginated from front-line employees. This assures a commitment from all levels to honor and respectthe process. Employees spoke up, management listened. Voilà: Blood Tribe Administration has a fairand unbiased process for dealing with issues.

THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT

50

BULLET-PROOF YOUR BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION

MANAGING YOUR EMPLOYEE BENEFITPLANS TO MINIMIZE RISK AND STAYOUT OF THE COURTSAllan Plausteiner, CLU, President, RPP Benefits Inc. Carol Billings, Director of Operations, RPP Benefits Inc.

A THOROUGH BUSINESS PLAN WILL ALWAYS INCLUDE CONDUCTING YOUR BUSINESS IN SUCH A

WAY AS TO AVOID LITIGATION AGAINST YOUR ORGANIZATION. A BUSINESS OWNER OR MANAGER

MAY BE SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS INCLUDE POSSIBLE LEGAL

CONSEQUENCES FOR THE EMPLOYER, PARTICULARLY IN VIEW OF AN INCREASINGLY LITIGIOUS

SOCIETY, EMERGING CASE LAW AND EVER-CHANGING LEGISLATION. LARGER EMPLOYERS HAVE

HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENTS WHO WILL MONITOR BENEFITS ISSUES, ENSURE CONTRACTUAL

COMPLIANCE, ACCURATELY MANAGE EMPLOYEE RECORDS AND KEEP ABREAST OF CHANGING

LEGISLATION OR INSURER RULES.

But what about the small employer? Without a full-fledged Human Resources department, or evena full-time benefits administrator, an otherwise successful entrepreneur will often delegate benefitsissues down to payroll staff or shift them to the back burner.

Employees are no longer passive, and they no longer lack awareness of their rights. In the course ofdiscussions with employers, we regularly find worrisome examples of indifferent – or worse –incompetent benefit administration. Only through good luck have these employers not been exposed(so far) to litigation by an employee denied a benefit due to improper plan administration.

How can a business owner identify and remedy neglectful administrative practices lurking in his ownorganization? Start by reviewing the suggestions which follow. Then draw up a procedure manualto entrench the insurer’s contractual provisions into your day-to-day administrative practice.

WHERE DOES THE REVIEW BEGIN?Knowing and following the insurer’s guidelines is a good start to ensuring compliant practices. Yourbenefits advisor will work with you and negotiate with your insurer to ensure a mutually satisfactorystructure for your plan. You will need to:

» Define an eligible employee, address minimum hours required to qualify, and negotiatewhether or not part-time, seasonal, or contract workers are allowed to participate;

» Identify a probationary waiting period after which benefits will begin;» Define participation requirements: will the coverage be compulsory for all eligible employees

or will there be some ability for an employee to refuse coverage?;» Be aware of and negotiate leave-of-absence or layoff provisions permitted by the insurer;» Create classes (if required) based on occupation, length of service, or other non-

discriminatory criteria; once established employees must be enrolled in their propercontractual class.

Finally, work with your payroll/benefits administration staff to ensure they know the terms set out inthe contract and are committed to following them. A conscientious administrator will adhere to thesestandards and ensure they are applied fairly and equally to all new and current employees.

NEWHIRE BENEFIT SET-UPAt time of hire, new employees are required to return benefit enrolment papers promptly. Employeeswho enrol later than the 30-day grace period are considered late applicants and may be subjectedto a medical statement. Don’t let these forms become stale-dated.

51

ALLAN PLAUSTEINER has beenan Insurance Advisor andEmployee Benefits Consultant formore than 35 years. As a resulthe has many loyal EmployeeBenefits, Pension, and GroupRRSP clients for whom he hasbeen providing services, includ-ing many First Nations groups.Allan is a member of ADVOCISand holds a Chartered LifeUnderwriter (CLU) designation.

Allan believes in giving back tohis community and has beeninvolved in community volun-teerism most of his working life.He has been awarded a PaulHarris Fellowship by theRichmond Sunrise Rotary Club forexemplary service to the commu-nity. He is a past chairman ofthe Ethics and PracticeCommittee for Advocis andserved for 5 years as a committeemember on the Insurance Councilof B.C. More recently, Allanserved 3 years on the ProfessionalConduct Inquiry committee of theInstitute of CharteredAccountants of B.C. Currently heis a member of the DisciplineTribunal Board for the ICABC.

CAROL BILLINGS served over 25years with two major GroupBenefit Insurers in Vancouver,followed by several years with amajor Canadian BenefitsConsulting firm. She has beenproviding Insurance clients andtheir advisors with technicaladvice on the management oftheir benefit plans for over 30years. Carol has been with RPPBenefits for 6 years, serving asDirector of Operations and aSenior Consultant. Her passion isto help Employers extractmaximum value from theirBenefit Plans. She exemplifies thevalues of client service, integrity,and competent advice whichresult in best outcomes for clients.

If your plan is not mandatory, make it your practice to strongly encourage participation, and obtaina signed waiver for the employee’s file if there is a refusal to join. While most insurers provide refusalforms, these forms are usually very general in nature and don’t motivate an employee to reconsiderhis refusal. You should draft a strongly-worded Benefits Waiver Form which explains for the employeeexactly what is being refused and the penalties of enrolling later. Your benefits advisor can assist youwith appropriate wording.

On a mandatory plan, the employee may refuse health and dental benefits if the employee’s spousehas comparable health and dental coverage. The employee must sign up for life insurance and anydisability benefits. If the employee’s spouse later loses coverage, the whole family can then movetheir coverage over to your plan without late applicant penalties if they apply within thirty days.

ADMINISTRATION RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PLAN ADMINISTRATOR

Routine duties must not be overlooked:» Report salary changes promptly to the insurer if life or disability benefits are earnings-based.

If you do not do this, an employee will be under-insured for Life or Disability benefits at timeof claim, and litigation could result

» Follow up on medical statements or any other information the insurer is requiring fromemployees. Get a signed waiver from an employee who declines to complete his medicalstatement. If requests from the insurer are not responded to, the employee will be uninsuredfor some or all coverage for which he is eligible.

» Pay premiums promptly to avoid cancellation due to non-payment of premium. Your firmwill be exposed if an employee’s claim is denied due to non-payment of premiums.

» Remind employees to notify the insurer of changes to their dependent status or beneficiaryrequirements. Changes to an employee’s status are often neglected, in part becauseemployees do not report life changes to their employer. E-mail blasts or notices in thelunchroom on a periodic basis will help keep employees informed.

SEVERANCE PACKAGES (Termination by the Employer)

It is important to get approval from your insurer before offering any benefits as part of a severancepackage. Confirm in advance what your insurer will approve. If the insurer will not honor acommitment you made without consultation, your firm could be legally liable for fulfillment of theagreement you made with your employee.

» Life insurance, health, and dental benefits can be extended, and your request will not berefused unless the length of severance requested is well beyond industry norms.

» Short or long-term disability benefits are seldom extended by the insurer in a severancesituation. Do not make promises to provide disability coverage.

EMPLOYEE VOLUNTARY TERMINATION

Conversion is the right for an employee to apply for continuing life or other insurance when he leavesyour employment. Life insurance is almost always convertible to an individual policy (up to a certainage) and health, dental, or disability may be convertible, depending on the carrier. Usually, detailsare included in the employee’s benefit booklet. Conversion may be a valuable option if an employeeis uninsurable for health or lifestyle reasons.

In your termination interview ensure employees are informed in writing of their rights and have anacknowledgement form signed by the terminating employees to confirm they were advised of theirright to convert the applicable benefits. A very simple acknowledgement form is all that is needed.

Advise the insurer promptly of employee terminations. Many insurers will not refund more than afew months of back-premiums.

THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT

52

MANAGING YOUR EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS TO MINIMIZE RISK

PROVIDING BENEFITS TO AN EMPLOYEE ON DISABILITY

How long do you keep benefits in force if an employee is on long-term disability and not expectedback to work for many months, or possibly years? At the very least, an employer should have a writtenpolicy to deal with such an eventuality so employees know what to expect. In the absence of a writtenpolicy, you should seek legal advice before terminating an employee’s benefits.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE

By federal and provincial law, employees are generally entitled to leaves of absence for pregnancy,parental and adoption responsibilities, illness, family emergency or other reasons. Leave may be withor without pay. Your firm must provide at least legislated standards, and insurance companies willhave no issue with absences due to legislation.

You may also establish leave-of-absence policies for other reasons which are consistent with the valuesof your firm – say, educational leave or short sabbaticals for personal reasons. Or, you may be in anindustry where seasonal downturns require that you temporarily lay off some staff.

You cannot assume your carrier’s contract is in line with your firm’s policy. Know what the insurer’scontract allows and negotiate appropriate terms if required. Do not offer to extend benefits if it isnot backed up by the contract. Your firm would be liable for completion on any agreement madewith employees if it exceeds the contract standard and was not approved by your insurer.

Will benefits continue during a leave of absence? And, if so, who will pay the premium? If theemployee is to contribute during the leave, how will the premiums be collected?

Above all, ensure that your firm’s practice is non-discriminatory and treats all employees equally.

PENSIONPension Plans implemented by Indian Bands will fall under Federal Pension Benefits and StandardsAct (PBSA) legislation. For any pension plan, whether federal or provincial, strict rules apply and theplan sponsor of the pension plan has a fiduciary responsibility to the plan participants. A serviceprovider (often an insurance or trust company) will administer the plan, make the investments andmanage the employee pension funds on behalf of the plan’s sponsor.

» It is essential that employee enrolments and terminations be communicated promptly to theservice provider/insurer.

» Pension regulations require employer and employee contributions to be submitted promptlyat the end of each month.

» Capital Accumulation Guidelines (CAP) require that the employer provide regularcommunication and educational tools to employees about their plan

» Annual reports must be filed with the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance (OSFI). It isimperative that required annual filings be dealt with promptly.

CONSEQUENCES OF IGNORING BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION

If you are not following these guidelines, you may have non-insured or underinsured employees whowrongly believe they are adequately insured. As a result you may one day face litigation from anemployee, executor or family member.

» An ineligible employee who is wrongly insured on the plan may be denied benefits by theinsurer – for instance, an employee who does not work the minimum required hours andthen files a disability claim which is denied.

» You may have uninsured employees who mistakenly believe they can join the plan at somefuture date with no penalty. They may find a health statement is required for all family members,and if one member has a medical condition the whole family unit will be refused coverage.

ABOVE ALL, ENSURETHAT YOUR FIRM’S

PRACTICE IS

NON-DISCRIMINATORY

AND TREATS ALL

EMPLOYEES EQUALLY.

53

EVERY EMPLOYER

SHOULD HAVE A

WRITTEN EMPLOYEE

POLICY MANUAL

WHICH SETS OUT THE

RIGHTS AND

OBLIGATIONS OF BOTH

THE EMPLOYEES AND

THEIR EMPLOYER.EMPLOYEES WILL

UNDERSTAND WHAT IS

EXPECTED OF THEM IF

THEY SUSTAIN A

SERIOUS ILLNESS OR

REQUIRE A LEAVE-OF-ABSENCE FOR FAMILY

OR EDUCATIONAL

PURPOSES.

» Under-enrolment, resulting from poor management of a non-mandatory benefits plan, mayexpose your contract to cancellation by the insurer and make your company liable for anyincurred claims from employees who have lost their coverage.

» Death of an uninsured employee: will you be able to prove to the executor of the estate thatthe employee was properly informed of the importance of joining? What if, through yourown firm’s administrative error, the employee was never enrolled?

In a worst-case scenario, you could be sued by a widowed spouse for life insurance and/or accidentaldeath benefits – or by a severely disabled employee who thought he had adequate coverage.

EMPLOYEE POLICY MANUAL

Every employer should have a written employee policy manual which sets out the rights andobligations of both the employees and their employer. Employees will understand what is expectedof them if they sustain a serious illness or require a leave-of-absence for family or educationalpurposes.

Resources are available. Inform yourself by starting with an Internet search. Software or marketingfirms are available to help you with the creation of your manual, but ensure any serious research youdo, or information you purchase, is Canadian content and applicable to the laws in your ownprovince.

TAKE ACTION NOW TOMINIMIZE YOUR RISKTalk to your professional benefits advisor if you see yourself in these scenarios. Begin implementingnecessary changes to ensure you are not at risk. Your advisor can assist you in negotiations with yourinsurer, provide you with tools to help you improve your practices and work with your benefitsadministrator to implement your new practices.

This article is not intended to dispense legal advice and should not be taken as such. You are advised to obtain legal counsel ifrequired to address areas of concern this article may have raised. The goal of this article has been to draw your attention to anaspect of your business which may currently be neglected.

THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT

54

PROMOTINGWELLNESS IN THEWORKPLACEAngie MacIntosh, Group Benefits Consultant, CINUP

DISABILITY INCIDENTS ACROSS CANADA ARE RISING AT ALARMING RATES, AND EMPLOYERS ARE

QUESTIONING WHAT THEY CAN DO. WE ARE ALL AWARE OF THE IMPACT TO AN ORGANIZATION

WHEN AN EMPLOYEE STARTS ON THE ROAD TO A DISABILITY CLAIM. BUT WHEN EMPLOYERS FACE

MULTIPLE EMPLOYEES HEADING IN THAT SAME DIRECTION, THE IMPACT TO AN ORGANIZATION IS

MAGNIFIED BY INCREASES IN ABSENTEEISM, LOSS OF PRODUCTIVITY, DECREASED ORGANIZATIONAL

MORALE AND THE ESCALATING COSTS OF EMPLOYEE TURN OVER AND THE GROUP BENEFITS

PROGRAM.

Once an employee is on a disability claim, each insurer will have its own process to assist an employeein getting back to work (if that is an option now or in the future). The insurers will work withemployers and employees through disability management programs, rehabilitation programs andreturn to work programs.

For many years, disability protection through your group insurance program was really a reactionarybenefit: income assistance for those who are unable to work due to illness or accident. Today thefocus has switched to prevention, and many of the tools for prevention can be found within yourgroup benefits plan already – or can be added. Society in general has a sedentary lifestyle andunhealthy eating habits and faces increased demands at home and in the workplace. It’s no wonderthe most common disability claims are acute medical conditions, stress related mental illness andmusculoskeletal conditions.

How can you and your group benefits plan help? An Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) and WellnessPlan are two of the most valuable tools that can be provided to your employees. Educating employeeson the services available to them and enabling employees to seek the support they need to addresstheir specific situation can help to reduce disability claim times or even eliminate a claim completely.

EAP ANDWELLNESS PLANS CAN:» Provide a confidential resource for employees to access any type of emotional assistance:

marital and family issues, addictions and work related stress or conflict – to name a few.Promoting and encouraging employees to contact the provider for any type of stressor canmake a difference.

» Offer resources through a variety of media, including face-to-face support, Skype, email ortelephone services. Even the most remote employers can offer support to their employees!

» Provide information and support on services to promote an overall healthier lifestyle. Eachprovider’s website offers extensive information to assist your employees in weightmanagement, nutrition information, health management and stress and anger management.

» Include services that assist with common day-to-day stresses such as sourcing out daycarespots or senior care facilities in your community. Employee stress can increase searching outthese services. Your Wellness Program provider can do it, and your employee can focus onwork!

» Provide services to your human resource and management teams, through educationmodules or over the phone coaching services, to assist with identifying at-risk behaviour inthe workplace and how to address it. There can be very clear signs of an at-risk employee,and being able to spot and provide the right support to these employees can help to avoida disability claim or possible termination of employment. Some at-risk behaviours mayinclude increased absenteeism, presenteeism, loss of productivity and conflicts with co-workers.

55

CINUP is proud to have repre-sented First Nation employersfor over thirty years, providinggroup insurance and pensionbenefits. With a reputation forproviding superior levels ofservice and education pairedwith unique benefit solutions,CINUP has become a trustedname in First Nation commu-nities. CINUP – EmployeeBenefits for First Nations –We’re here to help!

» Promote a healthier work environment and better employee morale. Programs can be veryfocused and formal – assessing management practices, health and safety practices andworking environment – or very basic, such as through the introduction of team buildinginitiatives, healthy snack day (rather than cookies and pastry snack day), lunch time walkingclubs, healthy potluck and recipe swap, smoking cessation or weight loss team challenges.

If you don’t have an EAP or Wellness Program available to your employees, there are still servicesthat can be promoted that are available within most benefits plans. This can include working withdieticians or nutritionists, physiotherapists, and massage therapists.

Your group benefits broker can help with the implementation, education and promotion of productsand services available to provide your employees the tools they need to make healthier lifestylechoices and obtain the assistance they need to manage the stressors in their lives.

THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT

AFOA CANADA IS LAUNCHING THENEW CERTIFIED ABORIGINALPROFESSIONAL ADMINISTRATOR (CAPA) IN-PERSON PROGRAM

This highly interactive and participatory 18 day program provides senior administrators, chief executive officers,and senior managers working in Aboriginal communities and organizations with the knowledge and skills neededto become effective administrators. Session facilitators and guest speakers are specialists in their fields and profi-cient in Aboriginal matters.

SESSIONOFFERINGSAFOA Canada is pleased to announce that a CAPA In-Person Cohort is coming to your area: three Cohorts arebeing offered in the following locations and dates.

CAPA Cohort 1 CAPA Cohort 2 CAPA Cohort 3Location Edmonton Marriott at Casino Rama, ON Membertou Trade &

River Cree Resort, AB Convention Centre, NSSession 1 October 4-6, 2013 December 6-8, 2013 March 14-16, 2014Session 2 Nov. 29 & 30, Dec. 1, 2013 January 24-26, 2014 May 23-25, 2014Session 3 April 25-27, 2014 August 15-17, 2014 July 18-20, 2014Session 4 June 27-29, 2014 December 5-7, 2014 October 17-19, 2014Session 5 September 19-21, 2014 April 10-12, 2015 May 22-24, 2015Session 6 November 21-23, 2014 August 14-16, 2015 July 17-19, 2015

CURRICULUMSession 1 of the CAPA In-PersonProgram focuses on Emotional andRelationship Competencies and cov-ers the following topics: HumanResource Management;Communication Essentials; andEmotional Intelligence andProfessional Development. For moreinformation refer to the CAPA In-Person Application Form on theAFOA Canada website.

APPLICATIONREQUIREMENTS» Completion of CAPA In-Person

Application Form» Submission of Current Resume» Submission of Job Description» Letter of Introduction» Submission of Application Fee

PROGRAMCOSTS(plus applicable taxes)

» Application Fee of $500 is non-refundable

» Members: 6 sessions x $2,500 per session

» Non-members: 6 sessions x $3,000 per session

CONTACT USFor more information contact us at ptremblay@afoa.ca or obelanger@afoa.caAlso check the AFOA Canada website at www.afoa.ca

56

CERTIF IED ABORIGINAL PROFESS IONAL ADMINISTRATOR

AFOACAPAIN-PERSONPROGRAMS

AFOA CANADA IS PLEASED TO OFFER THE CAPA PLAR PROGRAMFOR CAPA CERTIFICATION AND IS NOWACCEPTINGAPPLICATIONS!

The purpose of the CAPA EducationProgram is to enhance the knowl-edge and professional develop-ment of senior and aspiringadministrators/managers workingin Aboriginal communities andorganizations through professionaltraining and a national certificationprocess.

For senior administrators who haveextensive experience working insenior management positions inAboriginal environments, one wayto become a CAPA is through thesubmission of a CAPA PLAR (PriorLearning Assessment Recognition)Evidence Portfolio. PLAR is aprocess that involves the identifica-tion, documentation, assessmentand recognition of knowledge,skills, and expe rience through for-mal and informal study and prac-tice. Applicants are required tosubmit a completed CAPA PLAREvidence Portfolio that successfullydemonstrates that the 20 CAPAcompetencies have been met orexceeded. When completing theEvidence Portfolio, applicants mustprovide three pieces of evidence(documentation) showing thatthey have acquired the knowledge,skills, and experience specified foreach competency.

CERTIFICATIONREQUIREMENTSTo become a CAPA, PLAR appli-cants must:A Have a college/university degree

in public administration, busi-ness administration, a relevantsenior management program orequivalent degree, and threeyears or more full time seniormanagement, supervisory expe-rience in an AboriginalManagement Environment;

ORB No Degree, with a minimum of

five years or more full time sen-ior management, supervisoryexperience in an AboriginalManagement environment;

AND» Complete the CAPA PLAR Self-

Assessment Form to determineeligibility;

» Submit a PLAR EvidencePortfolio successfully demon-strating that all CAPA compe-tencies have been met orexceeded;

» Sign an agreement to abide byAFOA Canada Standard ofEthical Conduct;

» Be a member in good standingwith AFOA Canada; and

» Sign an agreement to maintaincertification.

APPLICATION PROCESS» Submit a completed CAPA PLAR

Application Form » Set aside 4 to 6 months to complete

your application» The CAPA PLAR Program fee is $750

plus applicable taxes» It may take up to four weeks to have

your portfolio assessed » Upon completion of the assessment of

your portfolio you will be advised inwriting by AFOA Canada whether youhave been successful in achieving theportfolio component of the CAPA des-ignation process. If there are gaps inyour learning related to the AFOACanada CAPA competencies, you maybe asked to provide additional evidenceor you may be asked to develop alearning contract which set out tasks,timelines and outcome to help you fillin the gaps, and successfully meet theportfolio requirements.

HOWTOAPPLYVisit our website at www.afoa.ca or con-tact our office toll free at (866) 722-2362and we can email or mail you the Self-Assessment form and the CAPA PLARProgram Application form.

If you have any questions in regards tothe CAPA PLAR Program, please contactRandy Mayes, CAFM, Manager, Education& Membership toll free at (866) 722-2362ext 112 or by email at rmayes@afoa.ca.

57

PR IOR L EARNING AS S E S SMENT RECOGNIT ION

AFOACAPAPLAR PROGRAM

58

HELPING THE COMMUNITY

THE RIGHT TOOLS TO MAKE THERIGHT DECISIONSNicole Bains, BBA, Softrak

ACCOUNTING CONSULTANTS, MANY OF WHOM ARE FORMER CONTROLLERS AND FINANCIAL

DIRECTORS OF FIRST NATIONS COMMUNITIES, RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF DETAILED AND

RELEVANT FINANCIAL INFORMATION. THE PROCESS OF OBTAINING AND UTILIZING THIS

INFORMATION IS FUNDAMENTAL TO AN ORGANIZATION’S SUCCESS. WHILE THERE ARE SEVERAL

SOLUTIONS THAT CAN HELP A FIRST NATION ACHIEVE THIS, IT CAN BE HARD TO DETERMINE WHICH

SOLUTION IS THE RIGHT FIT FOR A SPECIFIC FIRST NATION.

First Nation accounting departments report to a unique mix of stakeholders, including federal andprovincial ministries, private funding agencies, Chief and Council, band administration, departmentalmanagers and the band members themselves. Each stakeholder demands unique financialinformation to assist them in making effective decisions in the allocation of resources. First Nationsare essentially municipal for-profit and non-profit entities all bundled into one organization. Theaccounting process is complex when compared to the average Canadian business, as First Nationsmust fill the roles of a government entity as well as managing for-profit and not-for-profit agencies.Adagio’s flexible reporting tools allow non-technical staff to easily meet these demands.

Many companies are able to use entry-level software without complaint; however, the products typicallylack the detailed financial reporting capabilities, multi-departmental and multi-user environmentsrequired by many First Nations. Conversely, ERP based solutions are extremely complex, requiring fulltime IT staff/consultants in their day-to-day operations. With Adagio Accounting, the user doesn’t needto have a high level of computer technical expertise. The Financial Reporter sample templates allowusers to create and change detailed reports with minimal training. Adagio allows each manager to havesecure access to all financial information pertaining to their department, on their desktop at all times,without jeopardizing confidentiality or security.

The modular architecture of Adagio allows staff to directly install only the module(s) they need. Thisallows for a simplified desktop for each user, maximizing productivity and minimizing training time fornew staff. Similarly, the module structure allows for a straightforward installation.

Most, if not all, First Nations organizations require a “departmental” General Ledger Chart of Accountswhich can be painful to set up in entry-level software or too complex in ERP solutions. The AdagioGeneral Ledger makes this easy. It has seamless integration with the best Canadian departmental payrollsolution (PayDirt Payroll), is easy to use and effortlessly spreads expenses across departments.

The availability of training and support resources is imperative for remote or distant members of thecommunity. Training and support can be easily obtained directly from Softrak Systems’ website, whichfeatures short videos, webinars and technical support forums.

Since the nature of First Nations communities is based on large volumes of invoices, cheques and cashreceipts, it is important to use limited financial staff efficiently. Adagio is designed to speed up dataentry with its reduced use of a mouse, making data entry as efficient as possible.

Over 200 First Nations organizations currently use Adagio Accounting. If you already are a part of theAdagio community, you know about the value of the software and how much your organization hasbenefited from using it. Help us spread the word and help organizations just like you.

For more information, visit www.softrak.com/firstnations, or contact us at 1-800-663-9798.

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NICOLE BAINS received herBachelor of BusinessAdministration from SimonFraser University and beganher career as a Marketing andHuman Resources professionalover five years ago. She is cur-rently a Marketing Consultantworking for clients acrossCanada. Nicole recognizesthat success is a matter ofprocess and strategy; and assuch, that short-term setbacksare often the basis of elegantsolutions to long term prob-lems. Nicole’s passion is justthat: articulating solutions forthe short term barriers to anorganization’s long term suc-cess. She is bilingual, havingcommand of both English andPunjabi language.

TOP REASONS ADAGIO IS IDEAL FOR FIRST NATIONSLyndon Olfert, CGA CAFM, Ken Aberdeen, CPA CMA and Linda Droine, CPA CMA

1 Reporting: The ease with which it is possible to set up reports that are useful for program analysisand reporting is unequaled in other accounting programs. The further ability to be able to drilldown directly from these reports makes the reporting tools of Adagio the gem of the program.

2 User-friendly interface: Training new staff to use Adagio is an easy process, since the menusand processes are logical and easy to navigate. The help menu is context sensitive so the user caneasily answer his/her questions in most cases.

3 Top Notch Developer Support and Program Enhancements: Softrak offers a supportforum that users can avail themselves of for free. They are continually enhancing the modules bylistening to and implementing users’ comments and requests.

4 Affordability: First Nation clients can have a top notch accounting program at a very affordableprice. They only need to purchase the modules that they require for their accounting needs, andhave the ability to add modules later, as required.

5 Amazing Feature Set: Almost every report, inquiry or listing can be exported to Excel with thesimple click of a button. Budget revisions are made very simple with the ability to import budgetsfrom an Excel file. Adagio is compatible with CaseWare, so auditors simply need a copy of the dataset at year-end. CaseWare can import the data in the format the auditor chooses to work with.Adagio also integrates seamlessly with PayDirt Payroll, an excellent Canadian payroll solution.

THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT

60

ARE YOU STILL WRITING CHEQUES?THERE IS A BETTER WAY TO PAY.Jason Olson, CMA, General Manager, Telpay

To many of us, time is money. That’s why when it comes to business payments many organizationsare changing their approach, replacing manual cheques with more efficient electronic funds transfer(EFT) solutions. Consider the time-consuming steps of printing, signing, assembly and delivery ofcheques. Combine the time it takes to prepare cheques with the direct costs, including stamps,envelopes, cheque clearing and cheque stock and it is painfully clear that cheques as a method ofpayment are very wasteful. What about risk? According to the 2008 JP Morgan Treasury Serviceswhite paper on payment fraud, cheques are the payment form most vulnerable to fraud attempts.In the survey, a whopping 60% of businesses reported experiencing cheque fraud.

THE CHEQUE IS NO LONGER IN THE MAIL

In today’s increasingly competitive and automated world, we can no longer afford to waste time,money and resources managing cheque processing. Even the federal government is getting on board.The Canadian government has pledged that by April 1, 2016, it will no longer send paper chequesto Canadian individuals or businesses. Finally, there are the people working inside our organizations,most of whom send almost all of their personal payments electronically.

Between online banking, email money transfers, credit cards, and online payment systems, personalcheques have been virtually eliminated. It is a foregone conclusion that business cheques will suffer thesame fate. Remember when we used to write letters? By now, almost all organizations have startedsending at least some of their payments electronically, often starting with direct deposits for employees.Beyond employee payrolls, most businesses can identify some payments that would be more easilyhandled by electronic funds transfer (EFT). Obvious examples include payments sent by courier, paymentsto out-of-town employees, suppliers, band members, or government remittances, just to name a few.

TELPAY INC., CANADA’S MONEY TRANSFER LEADERAt this point the question is not When should we adopt electronic payments? but rather What solutionshould we choose? When looking for a solution, there is no better place to start than with the companythat invented electronic payments over 25 years ago. Telpay introduced Canadians to electronicpayments in 1985 by developing technology to pay bills using the telephone. Today, Telpay is thelargest and most innovative electronic payment service provider, processing over 23 million paymentsworth $13.5 billion in 2012. Over 65,000 businesses are using Telpay’s electronic payments systemsto send and receive payments.

TELPAY FOR BUSINESS: ALL-IN-ONE PAYMENT SYSTEMTelpay for Business is the only all-in-one electronic payment system that allows users to make virtuallyall of their payments electronically. With Telpay for Business, businesses can transfer funds into anybank account, which makes it great for employee direct deposit, expense reimbursements, and tosend money to individuals while they are out of town.

What’s more, Telpay for Business can also be used to make any supplier payments, ranging fromlarge utilities to small suppliers, and everyone in between. Just like online bill payment systems, youare not required to collect your supplier’s bank account information. Just enter the payment detailsor import them from any accounting system (including QuickBooks, Sage 50 and 300, and Adagio)and Telpay will send the payment on your behalf. However, unlike online banking systems whichend up being limited for business payments, Telpay for Business was designed by accountants forbusiness payments. As a result, it contains many advanced features required by organizations tomaintain proper audit trail and detailed payment history reporting.

Think of any cheque payment your organization is issuing today and imagine replacing that paymentwith an electronic funds transfer directly into the recipient’s bank account. For organizations inremote areas transferring funds is an easy way to send money.

61

JASON OLSON is the General Manager of TelpayIncorporated, accepting theposition in February 2012.Mr. Olson has been withTelpay for over six years serv-ing in a variety of roles sup-porting the growth of Telpayfor Business, Telpay’s flagshipelectronic bill payment system. Prior to joiningTelpay, Mr. Olson foundedCanadaPartTime; one ofCanada’s earliest job searchplatforms for youth employ-ment. Mr. Olson also cur-rently serves as the Treasurerfor the Winnipeg InternationalChildren’s Festival.

APPROVE PAYMENTSWHILE OUT OF THE OFFICE

Have trouble getting signatures? Telpay for Business solves that problem too. Most payablespersonnel have experienced frustrations or delays when signing officers are not available to signcheques. With Telpay for Business absent signing officers can still approve payments by receivingpayment requests by email to their smartphone or email system. Of course, Telpay can handlemultiple signature requirements, just like your cheques.

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND EXPERTS MAKE IT EASY TO SWITCH

Changing to any new system can be daunting. For this reason, Telpay experts are there to walk youthrough each step. Clients can opt to receive free one-on-one setup, on-going training, or chooseto do-it-yourself with Telpay’s easy-to-follow instruction guides, videos, and free group webinartraining sessions. From your last cheque to your first electronic payment, a Telpay expert will bewith you each step of the way.

CONTACTHave a payment that you wouldlike to try sending electronically?Speak with an Electronic PaymentExpert at 1.800.665.0302 or visitwww.telpay.ca for moreinformation.

TELPAY FEATURES1 Payroll direct deposit2 Pay government remittances (forms built in)3 Direct payment to suppliers4 Transfer funds to any Canadian or international accounts5 Pre-Authorized Debits

62

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACTS OFBILL C-27Clayton Norris, MBA, CMA, CAFM, Vice President, Aboriginal Services, MNP LLP

BILL C-27, “AN ACT TO ENHANCE THE FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY OF

FIRST NATIONS,” WAS PASSED BY THE HOUSE OF COMMONS ON NOVEMBER 27, 2012 ANDRECEIVED ROYAL ASSENT ONMARCH 27 OF THIS YEAR. UNDERSTANDABLY THERE IS CONCERN

AMONG COMMUNITIES AND THOSE IN FIRST NATION MANAGEMENT ABOUT WHICH AREAS WILL

BE IMPACTED AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO ADDRESS THESE CHANGES, NOW THAT THE ACT

IS IN FORCE.

After much analysis of the Act and its wording, as well as discussions with several sources, it appearsFirst Nations will not face more onerous reporting requirements in terms of the information theyneed to track and report.

For the past number of years, First Nations have been required to provide audited consolidated financialstatements (in accordance with the appropriate generally accepted accounting standards), an audit orreview engagement report with respect to a schedule of federal government funding and an audit orreview engagement report with respect to schedules of salary, travel and other remuneration (inaccordance with Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada’s [AANDC] Year-end ReportingHandbook). Prior to C-27, the statements and schedules were required to be submitted to AANDC andother funding agencies within 120 days after fiscal year end. They were also to be made available tocommunity members as per the agreements with AANDC. The new legislation does not indicate arequired change to financial reporting from what was required in the past.

INCREASED PUBLIC DISCLOSURE

What the Act does require as a change is to make the financial information more publicly available.Prior to the Act, government revenues and expenditures from the schedule of federal governmentfunding was the only information required to be posted on AANDC’s website (the full financialstatements could be posted instead, at the request of a First Nation). Under C-27, the full auditedconsolidated financial statements must be posted on the AANDC website as well as on thecommunity’s website. In addition, Chief and Council’s salary, travel and other remuneration, whichformerly only had to be reported to AANDC, will now be posted on AANDC’s and the First Nation’swebsite. These items are to be available on the websites for ten years.

Below are some of the common questions asked about the Act and its impacts, and the answers basedon what has occurred in various First Nation communities since C-27 came into effect four months ago.

WILL AUDITS COST MORE?All information that must be reported under the Act was already being audited; therefore, in most casesthe time it takes to audit consolidated financial statements, and the cost of audits, will not increase.

DO COMMUNITIES THAT CURRENTLY DO NOT HAVE A WEBSITE NEED TO ESTABLISH AWEB PRESENCE IN ORDER TO POST THEIR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS?While the Act is not clear on this, it does not appear that they will be required to do so. The infor mationwill be on AANDC’s website, and therefore will be available to community members and to others.

WHAT HAPPENS IF A FIRST NATION DOES NOT COMPLY WITH THE ACT?In cases of non-compliance, the government may ask the First Nation to develop an action plan thatwill provide a path to achieving compliance. The government also may withhold funding or terminatea funding agreement due to non-compliance with the terms of the funding agreement, as compliancewith the Act is included in the funding agreements First Nations sign with AANDC.

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CLAYTON NORRIS is the VicePresident of MNP’s AboriginalServices. He leads the MNPAboriginal Services team, which cur-rently provides services in account-ing and business consulting to morethan 150 Aboriginal communitiesacross Canada. Clayton played akey role in the development ofMNP’s Aboriginal Self-Employmentand Manage ment Training program– customized training designed todevelop business and entrepreneur-ial skills for Aboriginal entrepreneursand management. As a member ofthe AFOA Alberta Board in 2005,Clayton was awarded the DeputyMinister’s Pride and Recognitionaward for Excellence in Leadership.He was a member of the 2008Governor General LeadershipConference, an active participant inthe Roundtable of EconomicDevelop ment with Members ofParliament, Aboriginal and industryleaders, and took part in theCanada Public Policy Forum forAboriginal Participation in Major Resource Projects. Clayton is a Certified Aboriginal FinancialManager (CAFM), and earned hisMBA from Nottingham Trent Univer -sity in England. He is a proud mem-ber of the Métis Nation of Alberta.

DO OTHER NATION ENTITIES NEED TO REPORT UNDER THIS ACT?First Nations follow Public Sector Accounting Standards (PSAS) for the preparation of theirconsolidated financial statements. PSAS indicates in section PS 1300.07 that “the governmentreporting entity (i.e. the First Nation) should comprise the organizations that are controlled by thegovernment.” The Act effectively indicates that the reporting required by the Act must include thesame organizations that make up the “government reporting entity.” Therefore, all organizations inwhich the First Nation has control would have to be included in both reports required by the Act.These organizations would include non-profit service organizations (i.e. incorporated health clinics,education boards, etc.), trusts and for-profit businesses. As such, honoraria/travel received from theseorganizations should be included in the salary and travel schedule.

In many communities, the honoraria and travel amounts are significant as a result of selected financialpolicies. To reduce the amounts of honoraria and travel included in the schedule, First Nations mayneed to reconsider their process of compensating Chief and Council and the method by which travelexpenses are paid. First Nations are encouraged to meet with their professional advisors to reviewtheir financial policies.

There is also an issue with the wording of the Act, which states that Chief and Council must reportsalary and travel in their “personal capacity.” Does this mean that if the Chief has a business whichprovides services to the community, his or her compensation from that business would have to beincluded? Would an honorarium paid to a Chief for sitting on a board of directors which isn’tcontrolled by the First Nation need to be included (i.e. honorarium for attending a tribal council

THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT

64

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACTS OF BILL C-27

meeting)? Do non-monetary benefits, such as vehicle benefits, need to be included? Due to thegeneral wording of the Act on this point, the answers remain unclear. We would expect AANDC toprovide clarity on these matters in the future. However, it may be necessary for First Nations to seekguidance from their professional advisors in lieu of guidance from AANDC.

WILL C-27 MEAN COMPETITORS TO FIRST NATION-OWNED BUSINESSES CAN FINDINFORMATION TYPICALLY VIEWED AS CONFIDENTIAL?PSAS requires First Nations to report their investments in for-profit, incorporated, self-sufficientbusinesses on the modified equity basis. As such, the businesses the First Nation owns directly arereported as an investment on the statement of financial position. Given the limited information asingle amount provides, PSAS requires disclosure in the notes to the financial statements of thesummarized assets, liabilities, equity, revenues and expenses of those businesses owned directly. Thissummarized information will be available to the public. This information is significantly less than whatpublicly traded companies on stock exchanges must disclose, and is consistent with businesses ownedby municipalities, provincial governments, and federal governments.

If a First Nation has more than one business interest, it can reduce the competitive value of thesummarized information by ensuring an investment holding company is the only investment owneddirectly by the First Nation, and that the investment holding company owns the operatingcompanies. This would result in one summarized amount for all the businesses being reported in thefinancial statements, versus each operating business. A First Nation should discuss its corporatestructures with their business advisors to assess whether changes are required.

In summary, First Nations will continue to prepare the same reports with limited or no audit effect.However, who the reports are being made available to has changed. First Nations may be able tomake small changes to affect some of the key information disclosed. For many communities, havingC-27 available to the public will be welcome news; for others, it will be seen as an unnecessaryintrusion by the government. Moving forward, this bill will be an opportunity, concern and challengethat First Nations will have to accommodate.

FOR MANY

COMMUNITIES,HAVING C-27

AVAILABLE TO THE

PUBLIC WILL BE

WELCOME NEWS; FOR OTHERS, IT WILL

BE SEEN AS AN

UNNECESSARY

INTRUSION BY THE

GOVERNMENT.MOVING FORWARD,

THIS BILL WILL BE AN

OPPORTUNITY,CONCERN AND

CHALLENGE THAT

FIRST NATIONS WILL

HAVE TO

ACCOMMODATE.

CAFM MEMBERS IN GOOD STANDINGTo maintain your CAFM designation in good standing, members are required to: a) remit their annual membership dues, b) abide by the Standards ofEthical Conduct and c) meet the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirements. AFOA Canada would like to acknowledge the following CAFMs whohave already remitted their annual dues for 2013/2014.

ALBERTAAllder, ShirleyAnderson, ShellyAndrew, VincentAndrews, RobertArcand, Ian Arcand, PhyllisBandali, ShirazBaumgartner,

RichardBeaulieu, MyraBrass-Yellowfly,

MarionBrazel, KoryBreaker, DarcieBreaker, MerlinBrennand, NormanCallihoo, RosalindCarifelle, MurielCochrane, KirbyConnor, MaryCrow Chief, RomeoDashkewytch, LeaDiduch, LouiseDorion, JessicaFearnley, JeremyFehr, KellyFerguson, GordonHanson, MaureenHilcton, RoxannaHirshmiller, LeahJacob, PhilipJones, RobertKorpela, EvaLawrence, DeborahMany Guns, JackieMark, Archie Massing, WayneMcAneeley, BobMiller, DanMitchell, RobinNath, Niranjan

PrasadNorris, ClaytonOostendorp, MichaelPhilippo, SpencerPickett, BrucePietrobono, DarrenPilling, ShaunPotts, GloriaRawski, JacobRichards, Lisa

Running Rabbit,Myrna

Russell, JackieSawchuk, AlexanderShade, VeronicaSmith, KarianneSpring Chief, CarolineStanding Cloud,

CherylStarlight, TwyllaStevenson, RonSteyn, WynandWalker, ScottWarrior, RoxanneWaser, BenjiWatson, CaseWeaver, GraemeWetsch, NikodemusZubach, MichaelATLANTICAnthony, DerrickBenoit, SandraBernard, AngelaChristmas, DeborahaCollier, MaryDenny, JustinDrew, MarilynnDrew, TammyFerguson, KentFraser, GwenHarris, SusanHasiuk, DarrellJoe, OliviaJohn, LorraineJohn, YvonneKehoe, ShellyMarshall, Terry LynnMcDonald,

GermaineMcDonald, MaryMcIntyre, MichaelProdger, JimShaw, LeonardWelsh, LaurettaYoung, JenniferBCAdams, JimAdler, Angela Adolph, DianaAnderson, LynnAnsems, KennethBaillie, Vicki-leeBeecroft, Lorna

Bull, BeverlyBursey, DawnCalla, HaroldCheveldave, CecilCollins, AaronCreagh, ErinDaniels, ErnieDavis, JaniceDouglas, LisaDuncan, RobertDuplin, VenusEccleston, ElaineEmke, JohannaFuller, VirginiaGalloway, LynnGill, AnthonyGrdina, NormanHarmon, ClayHoggarth, GeorgeHurst, BruceJoe, BarbaraJohnston, ArleneJones, DonaldJoyner, GordonKazakoff, GregKelly, BrianKo, DaveLaass, VeronicaLynxleg, JeanineMcGee, MikeMcIntosh, CoryMcRae, DianeMearns, MichaelMorine, GeorgeMurphy, NancyNagra, KarenNian, LiNorton, JayNott, GaryOkabe, AllanOllinger, GabriellePaterson, IrenePaul, HarveyPetersen, ElisePonte, HelderPrice, RobertReimer, CarolSayani, JameelSchneider, WalterSeymour, TravisSimon, VivianSinclair, Ashley JamesSingh, Alvin

Steinson, RickSvisdahl, RondaTitus, BrianTolmie, FredericTso, HenryWhite, MargaretWood, SusanMANITOBAArbez, CharlesBarbeau-

Bracegirdle,Suzanne

Bear, EricBicklmeier, ChadBird, DionBohdanovich,

CarolynBushie, MargaretCarriere, JeannieCatcheway, BrendaEdwards, JeffreyGlass, DavidGrasby, TheresaHalstead, TiffanyHaugen, KentHiebert-Dixon, CindyHildebrand, DavidHolukoff, SamHudson, LeeAnnLeighton, BarbaraLeSage, GlendaLodge, BernieLuhowy, TerrylMcCorrister, BonnieMcDougall, WallaceMonias, Mary-JaneMunroe, AllanNepinak, LindaOlfert, LyndonOrecklin, MelPashe, Deanna Popowich, JohnPynacker, PeterRichard, DanielSinclair, BeverlySinclair, LoreleighSinclair, LynnSorochynski, DanielSpence, Marie-RoseStevenson, Daphne Stevenson, SharonStranger, BeverlySwanson, Randall

Thornton, GaryThornton, ToddWatt, ClaudeneWoodward, ThomasINTERNATIONALRajack, GlenNTCarter, JohnChugh, PawanCoulter, JackieJones, DorothyJumbo, RubyKocik, PenelopeKoe, FredMcManaman, DanNUNAVUTAdams, Stephanie

MikkiAngidlik, KerryLester, ShawnMarriott, ScottSinclaire, RobbinTumilty, PeterONTARIOAdiaconitei, PatriciaBeatty, RichardBobiwash, HelenBressette, SharmanBrighten, DavidCawston, AlanaCole, JohnCollins, DeniseContant, JoanneCouchie, AnitaCranston, TerryDarnay, ThomasForeman, AndrewFournier, RichardFox-Restoule, TeresaFriday, PatriciaGardner, JoyceGavin, LynneGeorge, JodiGoodtrack, TerryGreen, LisaHandorgan, AmyHenderson, JaniceHu, LizIreland, NancyJones, RayKing, LindaKoostachin, BelindaLafontaine, Darlene

Langlois, GillesLeBlanc, JeffLepage, JacquesLickers, SherryLodge, RichardMainville, TanyaManitowabi,

Rosemarie NikkiMarsden, LaurieMaxwell, SusanMichano, AlvinaMichano, Jo-AnneMigwans, TeresaMorano, RickMoreau, SherryMorrison, AlanNeepin, JenniferOsawamick, WaynePealow, JimPeters, JackiePizey, ValerieRestoule, TinaRoque, CatherineRoss, RoseannSagima, DerekSandy, ElizabethSaulis, TamaraSimcoe, HollySt. Amour, GlendaSt. Germain, LoriStewart, ElaineStinson, BrianTabobondung,

WilmaTaylor, JaniceThibodeau, LyndaWhite, TaraWilliams, ArleneQUÉBECBerry, StephenCommanda, SandraDarby, DanielFontaine, RickyGaron, CarolineMayes, RandyRicher, AndréVincent, JeanWhitbread, NickSASKATCHEWANAgecoutay,

KeaneenaAtkins, CathieAtkins, Doug

Bandas, MaureenBanks, EileenBear, DarleneBear, GeraldineBear, JasmineBuckles, KathyBuskell, ArdenCarley, CherylCarter, Ellie JoeCzarnota, LorettaDalsgaard, KathrynDaniels, Gina Desnomie, SharonFoster, CherylGauthier, LydiaGriffith, JoanneHansen, ZaneJohnson, BradJohnstone, FrancineKammerer, DennisLafond, JanetLebrun, WendiLedoux, DonnaLendsay, KellyLins, JasonMarinuk, VickyMartell, KeithMcAdam, TerryMcIlmoyl, ThereseMcNab, LillianMichael, JohnMillhouse, DianaMissens, BrendaMorin, DonnaMorin, MarleneMorin, Mary AnnOsecap, MarilynPinay, JudySchemenauer, EvanScott, LindaSoonias, DanaStorey, DuaneTanner, AngelaTapper, LouisWeiers, ChristopherWhitefish, KimWoytowich, RonaldYUKONJack, LucilleMcKay, Michael

CAFM NON-PAYMENT OF DUESEffective June 19, 2013, the AFOA Canada Board of Directors approved amendments to the policiesregarding non-payment of dues and voluntary withdrawals. For full details on the CAFM Policy and feestructure, please visit our website.

As per CAFM Policy – Membership Status, Clause 1.27 Suspended, “If a member does not pay a member-ship fee by June 30th, the member will be suspended and loses membership privileges. Non-payment ofdues by a member who is suspended, will be published in the Journal of Aboriginal Management andthrough other media, including public newspapers and the AFOA Canada website, as deemed appropriateby AFOA Canada. The following is a list of CAFMs suspended for non-payment at September 30, 2013.

AFOA Canada encourages all members to be in compliance of the CAFM policies as they pertain tomembership obligations such as dues and continuing professional development.

ALBERTAKenna, BridgetMorin, LornaPeacock, SharonSimon, DorothyATLANTICBarnaby, Carol AnnMurray, LeonardBCAdams, TwilaChristoff, Barry

MANITOBAHuyghebaert, OscarNTMcPherson,DeborahONTARIOBarry, CarolineSabourin, Stanley

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