b'PROGRESSIVE ABORIGINAL RELATIONSSALUTE TO PARH o w C C A B s PA R p r o g r a m a n d i t s p a r t i c i p a n t s a r e s t r e n g t h e n i n g e c o n o m i c r e c o n c i l i a t i o nBy Sarah B. HoodW hentheProgressiveWhen I joined CCAB in 2012, we hadgreat places to work, and committed AboriginalRelationsabout 14 companies in the PAR program,to advancing prosperity in Indigenous (PAR)certificationwith 188 CCAB members, says PARcommunities. (For more on the struc-programlaunchedprogram director Luanne Whitecrow.ture of the program, see sidebar on in2001,itprimarilyWere now sitting at 2,300 memberspg. 42.)attractedagroupofverylargewith 250 PAR program participants. We organizationswhoseoperationshave a massive team of trainers, verifiers,PAR was really the brainchild of a requiredthemtobeworkingwithadjudicators, jury members and facilita- former CEO, Jocelyne Soulodre, says Indigenouscommunities:utilities,tors who support these companies prog- Ron Jamieson, a semi-retired consul-mining and energy companies, andress through their goals. tant who spent 30 years on the CCAB financial institutions.Board, half of that time as its national Since its redesign in 2016, the busi- CCABs PAR program, launched inco-chair. She got thinking about how nesses coming forward to participate2001, is a program that certifies corpo- we could incentivize corporations to in the program (48 last year alone) arerate performance in Indigenous rela- partner with Indigenous communities. increasingly diverse, and PAR has growntions at the Bronze, Silver or Gold level.So together with the board, we came year over year. Its clear that the programCertified companies promote their levelup with PAR, and its been remarkably is making a strong impact and extendingwith a PAR logo, signalling to communi- successful. Its got staying power, and its reach. ties that they are good business partners,now in the marketplace, its got a lot of 40A CCAB PUBLICATIONSpring 2024'