The serious economic effects caused by COVID-19 are a key concern for Atlantic Indigenous businesses and communities because of pre-existing risks, vulnerabilities and challenges.
In this Briefing Note, APEC examines community economic and financial risks, Indigenous business risks, community and individual socio-economic vulnerabilities, and community health risks.
On January 14, 2020, Statistics Canada released a new tool to provide access to over 700 infographics of First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities and other geographies as part of the “Aboriginal Community Data Initiative”. The primary objective of this initiative is to provide the 2016 Census data to Indigenous community leaders and members, as well as other data users, with simple and meaningful socio-economic portraits of Indigenous communities.
Research conducted by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business shows that Indigenous small business owners across Canada are growing in numbers and experiencing wide-spread success in terms of profitability and growth and in ways that go beyond the bottom-line. Nationally, the number of Indigenous business owners and entrepreneurs is growing at five times the rate of self-employed Canadians overall.
Workforce talent recruitment and retention is one of the most urgent issues facing the Atlantic region. In the next decade, the Canadian economy is expected to offer significant opportunities for employment. Those opportunities reflect both Canada’s emergence as a knowledge economy and the impact of retirement from the workforce of the baby boomer generation. An expectation exists that future demand for a skilled labour force will be serviced, in part, by an increasing Indigenous workforce.
The strategic plan is published by the federal research granting agencies—the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council—and fulfills a priority of the Canada Research Coordinating Committee to co-develop with Indigenous Peoples an interdisciplinary research and research training model that contributes to reconciliation.
The FNTC is committed to providing First Nations with the resources needed to successfully implement and maintain their property tax systems. Please check this page regularly as new resources will continue to be added as they become available.
Worker Scarcity in Canada and What Businesses Can Do to Respond
Almost 40% of Canadian entrepreneurs are already having difficulty finding the workers they need. And there’s no relief in sight for at least a decade.
As a result, some companies are unable to fill customer orders or even have to refuse them. Quality is suffering and competitiveness is declining.
BDC surveyed more than 1,200 entrepreneurs about how a worker shortage is impacting their business. We found affected firms are 65% more likely to be low-growth businesses.
In 2017, Northern Policy Institute (NPI) worked with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)to undertake a study on Indigenous employment and skills strategies in Canada. One training agency, Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment & Training Services (KKETS), located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and one Tribal Council, Mawiw, located in Fredericton, New Brunswick were selected as case studies. Through these interviews, strategies for skills development, job creation, and overcoming barriers for success were discussed.
