Research

"This report provides a summary of the baseline information for a variety of indicators measuring economic development progress in Aboriginal communities in Atlantic Canada. Progress is reported primarily for the reference period 2001 to 2006. The input of Aboriginal experts (including Aboriginal community members) in focus groups and working group settings was used to identify and select a range of possible indicators that are potentially useful to Aboriginal communities, and to provide an interpretation of the data for those indicators."

"Despite the many statutes and even constitutional documents that propose to implement a society free of racism and discrimination, immense barriers still exist that prevent us from reaching our full potential. The Canadian government has implemented measures to ensure that employment equity becomes a reality. The four designated groups--women, Aboriginal Peoples, visible minorities, and people with disabilities--have statutory and constitutional measures designed to increase their employment.

"The Transition Year Programme (TYP) at Dalhousie University is designed to increase the successful participation of First Nations and African Canadian students in university studies. This paper provides some general information about the TYP, its genesis, current structure, and some of the challenges faced by students, then focuses on the evolution of one component of the Programme, a course entitled Strategies for University Learning.

List of selected research of interest by the Prudy Crawford Chair, including: Thesis Students Supervised; Papers in Refereed Journal; Editor of Referred Journals; Published Conference Proceedings and Papers; and Lectures.

The intention of this project is to bring together a group of Elders from around the Atlantic region in order for them to guide the APCFNC (and others) on the development of protocols, ethics and guidelines on how Traditional Knowledge and Aboriginal world views can be incorporated into research which guides community economic development. These protocols, ethics and guidelines could be used for other areas of research as well.

Provincial governments in the Atlantic Provinces are adopting aggressive renewable energy targets and strategies to meet those targets. Are First Nations participating in the renewable energy sector? If not, what are the barriers to that participation and how can we overcome those barriers. Several First Nations have begun to identify renewable energy opportunities and are working to meet renewable energy targets set by their respective provinces. What can we learn from them?

Strong educational attainment goes hand in hand with robust economic development. The immediate goal of this study is to build knowledge in Mi'kmaw and Maliseet communities around implementing and cultivating successful immersion programs.

Economic development in Aboriginal communities and the social impact of economic development in those communities is of great interest to Aboriginal communities and organizations as well as government agencies interested in ascertaining which policies and practices enhance or prevent development.

The study focused on understanding the nature of Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal business partnerships in the region, their role in terms of broader Aboriginal economic activity, both the successes and challenges experienced by businesses and individuals involved in them, and the best practices that can be used to guide future initiatives.

This study looks at how well Aboriginal labour force participation strategies are working for Aboriginal people in the Atlantic region and how they can be improved. It finds that Aboriginal employment levels still lag considerably behind those of the general Canadian populace. However, rates have been increasing in the last twenty years, particularly since the introduction of employment equity legislation. The findings also show that multiple barriers to Aboriginal employment continue to exist.