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PAR - Progressive Aboriginal Relations |
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What is PAR? |
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How PAR works |
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How to get started |
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Companies in PAR |
How PAR works
Self-assessment
“[PAR] is a groundbreaking concept that will give “Aboriginal-friendly” companies
an edge when Aboriginal people are deciding who they should partner
with.”
—Suzanne
Rochon Burnett (Métis)
President and CEO, Spirit 91.7 FM (2004)
“I’m
glad we applied - this gives us a pretty good idea that we’re going
down the right road. I would encourage everybody to go through
the PAR process. It’s a good benchmark for everybody to use - we
are extremely pleased. I’m sure we still have a lot to learn and
a lot to teach as well.”
—Jamie McIntyre Director, Sustainable
Development, Cameco Corporation (2002)
“Going through the PAR process
has advanced my job here at Alpac by ten years.”
—Sandra
Cardinal, Director, Aboriginal Affairs, Albert-Pacific Forest
Products (2003)
“What
I really like about PAR is that it is very comprehensive... The
fact that it’s a voluntary program with companies having to earn
recognition and be assessed, makes it credible. I can see the
potential for this program to go global.”
—Tagak Curley (Inuit)
President, Nunavut Construction Corporation (2002)
“PAR is an excellent
framework for measuring the four real key aspects - employment,
business development, individual capacity development and community relations.
It’s a
way for companies to really test if they are measuring up, and
if they are, they will capture the full benefits and also share
the benefits with the communities they work with.”
—Eric Newell Chairman
and CEO, Syncrude Canada Ltd (2003)
The principles of PAR are universal. But how should those principles be implemented, and how should success be gauged? The answer is unique to every organization.
In the PAR program, your organization will set its own goals and measure its own progress, based on the established PAR criteria. Your self-assessment will be verified in an on-site visit by the National Quality Institute, which implements the PAR program.
The PAR package includes a self-assessment guidebook and workbook. Your first task is to organize a team to assess the company’s current state. This will help you to establish goals, allocate resources, and take action.
The four sectors
The PAR criteria assess four sectors: employment, business development, individual capacity development, and community relations.
Employment
Consider not just
the number of Aboriginal people you employ, but the type of employment,
retention rates and opportunities for promotion and mobility through
different areas of work.
Business development
Examine contracts
and relationships with suppliers, associates and partners.
Individual
capacity development
Consider the access that individuals – whether
they are employees or not - have to training, education and professional
development initiatives.
Community relations
Develop a process
of communication and participation, as well as the transfer of
skills and knowledge, leading to partnerships between the organization
and the community.
Gold, silver, and bronze
When your team has finished its self-assessment, your results will be verified by the National Quality Institute. NQI will make recommendations to a jury of eminent Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal business leaders to award the PAR hallmark at the appropriate level. Your organization can achieve standing at the Bronze, Silver or Gold level of achievement in PAR.
PAR is not scored like an Olympic event. Gold, Silver and Bronze do not stand for first, second and third place. Rather, the Bronze level is the good beginning on the PAR journey that leads through the Silver of significant accomplishment and ends at the Gold of leadership and sustainability.
Generally, organizations only achieve Gold after they have spent several years implementing the PAR principles. Attaining Bronze will define your organization as a role model in Aboriginal relations and will ensure a better future for all Canadians.
