A3

by Daniel Martins

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Gary Wood may still be setting up his office in Eel Ground, but as the new executive director of the First Nations and Business Liaison Group of New Brunswick, he's already got big plans for bridging the gap between Aboriginal people and private enterprise.

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Gary Wood

"I think going forward, looking into the future, we have to start thinking outside the box as a group," said Wood, a native of Miramichi. "When we're talking economic development, it doesn't always have to be on the reserves."

The whole idea of the liaison group, Wood said, was to get business and First Nations talking about opportunities that would be good for both parties.

"The private sector has a lot of expertise to bring to the table," he said. Referencing the ongoing labour shortage in New Brunswick, he continued: "One thing that native communities can bring to the table is the labour force. How the private sector can help in economic development is employing these people, help them develop their skills and create some ... meaningful jobs."

Aboriginal people who go and find work off the reserves will be in a better position to return to their home communities and improve the economic state there, he added.

He noted around 25 companies have signed on so far, including J.D. Irving, Armor Transportation Systems, Atcon, the New Brunswick Business Council, NB Power and the University of New Brunswick.

In the long term, Wood said he hopes Aboriginal people can form relationships with a variety of private sector companies, listing off mining, fishing and other sectors as potential areas for involvement. He did note that First Nations were also involved in medicine, law and other high-paying sectors.

Skills training was also a possibility, as a means of preparing even more Aboriginal people for participation in a private sector increasingly hungry for skilled labour.

"We hope to bridge that gap," he said. "Find out the needs and see if we can get the skills up to date and provide New Brunswick companies with a reliable and capable workforce, a qualified workforce."

He noted since the liaison group was founded several months ago, private sector companies have been quite involved.

"There's good people at the table, and ... all with the right mindset," he said. "It's exciting. It's going to be challenging, but it's going to be exciting."

A spokeswoman for Atcon in Miramichi, Dorothy Innes, noted the company has been involved with the liaison sessions since February.

Innes mentioned Atcon's human resources requirements, noting the company was always looking for "good quality employees," and acknowledged that First Nations have needs in terms of "engaging their people in meaningful employment."

"We just feel that we're open to see what opportunities exist for First Nations people through the work that we do," she said. "And if we can assist in that, we will try to do so."

Wood, who is not of aboriginal descent, is married to Hazel Francis of Eel Ground First Nation. Together, the two operated the Mark's Work Wearhouse branch in Miramichi for 15 years before selling it to Canadian Tire Corp. in 2006.

One of the founding co-chairs of the liaison group, Bud Bird of Bird Holdings Ltd., said his business background stood Wood out for the executive director position.

"We're very fortunate to have a man of Gary Wood's credentials as our director general," Bird said.

The liaison group was founded by Bird and Chief Noah Augustine of Metepenagiag First Nation not long after a dinner meeting sponsored by the regional director general of the federal Fisheries Department, Jim Jones.

"He said that Chief Augustine and I ought to stop fighting over ... nets and salmon conservation and start talking about other areas of activity where we might be helpful to each other," Bird recalls.

That led to the first in a series of meetings between First Nations and business, where Bird said he detected a "surprising and genuine" interest on business' part, eventually leading to the formalizing of the liaison group, which he noted was independent of the government.