MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT We’re thrilled to bring you this edition of the Aboriginal Business Report, which focuses on Aboriginal procurement – the path to economic reconciliation and self-sufficiency! Over the past year, CCAB has been hard at work researching the needs and chal- lenges faced by Aboriginal business and corporate Canada when undertaking Aboriginal procurement. We applied these findings to global best practices in order to develop CCAB’s Aboriginal Procurement Strategy, which I intro- duced at our Toronto Gala in January. The response to our Strategy has been overwhelming, and I say that in a good way! At the time of writing, just nine weeks since announcing our new Aboriginal procurement initiative, 19 of Canada’s leading organizations have already signed up to be Aboriginal Procurement Champions. These leaders have endorsed the idea of Aboriginal procure- ment as both beneficial to their own business success, as well as one of the most practical ways to further reconcilia- tion and self-sufficiency. CCAB enhances Aboriginal supplier diversity through our Certified Aboriginal Businesses (CAB), the largest, fastest-growing community of certified Aboriginal businesses in Canada. As you explore this edition, I’m sure you’ll be inspired by what can be achieved when corporate Canada and Aboriginal businesses form a relation- ship through procurement. Using our supply chains is one of the most effec- tive ways to “supply change.” Each story is remarkable – and there is still much more that can be done. With Canada’s 43,000 Aboriginal businesses vastly underrepresented in the supply chains of most Canadian corporations and governments, we need all stake- holders to come together and commit to addressing this issue by becoming Aboriginal Procurement Champions, now more than ever. Through procurement, we can move the dial on economic reconciliation and see Aboriginal communities manage J.P. GLADU PRESIDENT AND CEO The Aboriginal Business Report is published for The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) 2 Berkeley Street, Suite 202 Toronto, Ontario M5A 4J5 416-961-8663 416-961-3995 www.ccab.com Published by: www.mediaedgepublishing.com 33 South Station Street Toronto, Ontario M9N 2B2 Toll Free: 1-866-480-4717 robertt@mediaedge.ca Publisher Maurice P. LaBorde Editor Roma Ihnatowycz Sales Executives Pat Johnston, Gary Fustey, David Tetlock, Ashley Huston, Derek de Weerdt Senior Graphic Design Specialist James T. Mitchell Graphic Design Specialist Kelli McCutcheon President Kevin Brown Senior Vice President Robert Thompson Director, Business Development Michael Bell Branch Manager Nancie Privé Published April 2018 Publication Mail Agreement #40787580 All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of the association. The Aboriginal Business Report is printed on 10% post-consumer FSC certified paper using soya based inks. When necessary to mail an issue in an enclosure, we use an environmentally-friendly, 100% oxo-degradable poly-wrap. LET’S WORK TOGETHER TO SUPPLY THE CHANGE WE ALL NEED The Aboriginal BUSINESS REPORT 7