Mark Your Calendars...

Mark Your Calendars...4th National Land Claims Agreements Coalition Conference

February 26-March 1, 2013

Hilton Lac Leamy, Gatineau
Patti Black and her diligent team of event planners are hard at work preparing for what will be the next groundbreaking national conference on modern treaty implementation. Featuring Thomas Berger and other high profile academic and internationally-renowned speakers, this conference will celebrate the 40 years of negotiation and implementation since the Calder Case set the path for modern treaties in 1973. Featuring dynamic panel and working group discussions on the political, legal and economic landscapes within Canada and internationally, plan to attend and help set the course for the next 40 years of modern treaties in Canada.

Stay tuned for more details...

Resolute Bay – Community Economic Development in Action

For David Boult, Senior Associate, one of the greatest parts of being a consultant is getting to work with communities to develop their economies. This past August, David was fortunate enough to travel to Resolute Bay to help the community update its economic development plan. Aarluk Consulting Inc. has been the major provider of CED plans to Nunavut communities since Nunavut was a young territory (1999 actually). To date, Aarluk has conducted economic development plans for over half the communities in the territory. Over the past few years, many communities have asked Aarluk for help in ensuring these plans are updated and kept current.

As usual for the economic planning process, David spent time with the community’s Economic Development Officer, Philip Maniq Sr., reviewing the old plan, seeing what’s been going on in the community over the past five years, and generally getting a sense of the opportunities that currently exist. David then went around and talked to just about everybody in town including outfitters, the co-op manager, local business people, the hotel manager, staff out at the Polar Shelf project – just about anybody he could find.

A highlight of the trip however was an event that took place as David was conducting his post-dinner perambulations around the town. About a half hour into the walk, he heard some shots being fired close to town. Being in the heart of polar bear country, David took a careful look around but only saw a boat in the bay. He heard some more shots and saw some thrashing around in the water near the boat. He quickly headed over to see what the commotion was. He was quite pleased to see that a hunter had captured a nice beluga not 20 feet from shore. As David approached the group surrounding the small whale, he was pleased to see a young boy carefully being shown how to carve off the outer skin or maqtaq from the whale. David left the busy family with a smile on his face thinking “Now that is the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement in action”.

The Mythical Executive Committee

If you've ever been part of a non-profit organization, served on a Board of Directors, or worked as a volunteer, you've come across a peculiar organizational entity called the "Executive Committee". These legendary bodies perch atop organizations like gargoyles, terrifying Boards and staff members alike with their power, wielding supreme authority over all corporate and organizational decisions, and overseeing everyone's work with their eagle eyes and iron fists.

Hah.

Sorry, we shouldn't chuckle like that. It's just that an amazing number of people we know - many of whom have served on dozens of Boards - believe this myth. The truth, however, is a bit different.
Executive Committees, if properly mandated, serve a useful purpose, and can help make a Board more effective, efficient and economical in its operations. The bad news: they can also disrupt planning and decision making and confuse lines of authority.

So as a public service, Consilium is pleased to debunk five of the top myths about Executive Committees.

Happy Anniversaries!

Scott Black,
Consilium Consultant

       

Geoff Rigby,
Aarluk Researcher

Kory Goulais,
Stonecircle Researcher

September at Consilium, Stonecircle and Aarluk is a busy month. It’s the start of a new fiscal year, it’s the month we begin our staff work planning process and it is the time we seem to hire staff.

5 years ago September 1st, Aarluk hired a young research assistant by the name of Geoff Rigby who came to Ottawa after being a lifelong resident of Iqaluit. ….The announcement 5 years ago began with ‘A flourish of Aarlukian trumpets for Geoff Rigby” (thanks Terry Rudden). Geoff is now not so young (kidding Geoff) and one of our most seasoned Researchers.

3 years ago, on September 14th Stonecircle welcomed a new addition to our group of companies – Researcher, Kory Goulais. Kory hails from North Bay, ON and is a member of the Nipissing First Nation. This writer remembers overhearing Jen Bradshaw telling Kory before his interview that "you know if you get the job, you won’t have to wear a tie… Kory’s response: Sweet!”. I haven’t seen Kory in a tie since the day he was interviewed, but it hasn’t interfered with his abilities - he has been a great addition to our team.

1 year ago, on September 1st, Shareholder and Consultant Scott Black joined the Consilium team after working as an Associate with our group of companies for a number of years. Prior to this, he spent 21 years working with Aboriginal public and private sector organizations in Ontario, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in a variety of management, communications and consulting roles. Scott is currently working with CSA co-workers on an exciting project for the Nunavut Arctic College in what is still considered a 'new' venture for all concerned - the design and delivery of online courses in the Municipal Training Organizations’ (MTO) popular Municipal Government Program. Just call Scott 'Moodle King' and he's sure to answer!

The CCG of companies is a better place to work thanks to all of these gentlemen. Looking forward to many more years of working together!

Original People. Original Television, in Ottawa

Stonecircle's own Jennifer David recently celebrated the launch of her new book. (We do wonder what she has been doing in her spare time now that the book is officially released!)

Her book, Original People. Original Television: The launching of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, came out on September 1 and she held a well-attended book launch in Ottawa last week to celebrate. She is now gearing up for a Winnipeg book launch next week and a Toronto book launch likely happening in October.

She has a website where you can find out more about the book and details on how to purchase a copy: www.debwe.ca.


Jennifer David, signing books.

So far, the book has received excellent reviews. Here's one of them:

"This is a vital story now told with brio by Jennifer David. No dry history, her book is more like a detective novel. It’s a gripping tale about a little known part of Canada’s broadcasting mosaic. It’s packed with unforeseeable zigzags, and especially with colourful, outside characters. Canadians—and not just Aboriginal ones—should read this. First, because it’s an important story. Second, because it's truly entertaining.”

Keith Spicer, former Chairman, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission 

Congratulations Jennifer!

Modern Treaties 101: A Crash Course

From the desk of Patti Black, Senior Consultant:

   

Do you have questions about Modern Treaties – Comprehensive Land Claims and Self-Government Agreements? Modern Treaties now affect more than 40 percent of Canada's land, waters and resources. What is their regional and national importance?

These Constitutionally-protected agreements define relationships between Aboriginal parties, the Government of Canada, and provincial and territorial governments. Yet little is known publicly or within government circles about the contents of and benefits from modern treaties in Canada. This is your chance to learn how issues like the duty to consult, certainty of ownership, self government, management areas, resource development and other important matters may be affected by Modern Treaties.

• WORKSHOP: Modern Treaties 101: A Crash Course
• DATE: October 30 & 31, 2012
• TIME: 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM each day, Registration begins at 8:00 AM
• LOCATION: Rm 201, Ottawa Convention Centre, 55 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa
• CONTACT: Patti Black, LCAC Coordinator, black@consilium.ca

Presented by the Land Claims Agreements Coalition this two-day "crash course" will provide an overview of the agreements, the players, and the implications of modern treaties. Register now to get informed about how modern treaties affect policy decisions, resource development and government processes in your region. Click here for a PDF version of the Draft Agenda.

Registration fees are $595 (+HST) for a two-day pass, $325 for a single day pass (either Oct 30 or 31), and $145 for students (must show a valid student ID card when you arrive at registration). REGISTER NOW on our online registration system!

Overheard on the 3rd Floor

Consilium, Stonecircle, Aarluk were recently visited by Frick and Frack (two men who come in to do minor building repairs, but create an unusually large amount of noise), here to fix the washroom door on the third floor.

The washrooms in our office are unique, in that the men's and women's signs are graced by stylized images of Inuit, as shown on the right.

The following exchange was captured by researcher Kory Goulais while the door was being fixed.

Frick: Why do they have weird dudes on the doors, wearing ponchos?

Frack: I don't know, just hold the door. 

Well, there you have it; two potential customers for our Aboriginal Awareness training!  

7th Annual Habitat for Humanity Golf Tournament

Team A (for Awesome)

It was a scorcher of a day at the Chateau Cartier Golf Club on Friday August 24, 2012. Why is that relevant? Well, it was the site of the 7th annual Habitat for Humanity (Iqaluit) charity golf tournament. As always, Aarluk sponsored a hole at this event. However, unlike years past, there were two Aarluk teams who played in the event.
Team one, or the “A” team, consisted of Ron Ryan, Chris Grosset, Michelle Turpin and Terry Forth. ('A' also stands for Awesome!) Team two, or the “B” team, consisted of Aarluk manager Jimmy Jacquard, Chuck Gilhuly, Kory Goulais and Daryl Diblee. I know what you are thinking, who picked these teams? Well, let me tell you. Aarluk manager Jimmy Jacquard handpicked both teams based on a set of 24 criteria established in his evaluation matrix and following interviews with each individual he cross referenced the matrix and each attribute to determine who would work well together based on their skill sets. Ok, who am I kidding, he stacked his team.


In this particular tournament, both team A and B ended up teeing off together at the same hole, the 16th. The 16th hole was supposed to be where the Aarluk sponsorship sign was located; however, due to some sort of mix up, the Aarluk sign was placed at the 15th hole (which was a hole in one to win a car hole). Talk about sponsorship value!

Unlike the David (Ryan, Grosset, Turpin and Forth) vs. Goliath (Jacquard, Gilhuly, Goulais and Diblee) matchup, there was no Cinderella ending. The match finished as people would have anticipated. Although, Team A made it perfectly clear to hole attendants at the tournament that their team was far more fun.

 

Following the tournament and shellacking that Team B handed Team A, both teams sat down and enjoyed a very nice meal. A very successful tournament, a very memorable day was had by all!

You have to start somewhere - answers!

One week ago we asked you, the reader, to try and figure out what each Consilium, Stonecircle, and Aarluk employee did before they got here. Not familiar with that blog piece – click here to read. After scratching your head trying to figure out who did what, here are the answers to last week’s small trivia challenge.

Fred Weihs (the economist) was a maintenance repair person in a hospital.

Galin Kora was an agronomist! I don’t know about you, but I still think that’s a pretty cool job.

Kory Goulais was a gas station attendant.

Michelle Turpin worked at a toy store (a total retail maven as she recalls).

Chuck Gilhuly worked at home hardware (I wonder if Fred ever bought his supplies from Chuck?)

Leslie Sutherland worked in the K-mart cafeteria (was fired for being too awesome).

Jennifer Bradshaw worked at Steinberg’s grocery store in the accounting department removing staples. I would tell the whole story but there isn’t enough space.

Chris Grosset worked at a bottling plant.

Geoff Rigby was a Northmart cashier.

Christian Cloutier was also a gas station attendant (although he wasn’t as good as Kory)

Jennifer David was a high school tutor (go figure!).

Well, there you have it, some of our roots. I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about us here at Consilium, Stonecircle and Aarluk. As for who had the best first job, I am going to go with Kory Goulais and his gas station attendant job. Mind you, this may be a biased selection considering I am writing the article.

Congratulations Tim and Anne!

The happy couple

On August 11th, 2012, Consilium Senior Consultant Ron Ryan was a busy man. What was he doing, you might ask? If you haven’t figured it out from the title of this article, he was watching his son Tim marry his long-time sweetheart Anne. From all of us here at Consilium, Stonecircle and Aarluk we would like to say a heart-felt congratulation to Tim Ryan and Anne Maffre. In traditional fashion, we must also link you to the following video.

Word from our Senior Consultant is that the wedding went off without a hitch, although I beg to differ. It would seem that getting “hitched” was the entire reason they were there. Regardless, a good time was had by all. However, I cannot comment on the wedding because I was not there. I did however come to learn that three important things took place during the wedding 1) the marriage, 2) the reunion of family from across Canada, and 3) the open bar, three bands and poutine at midnight. Needless to say, Ron had the entire week following the wedding off (I think I know why).

More importantly (for me at least) was the golf tournament that occurred on August 10th, the day before. Ron organized a golf tournament at Edelweiss Golf and Country Club on the Quebec side of the border. Ron Ryan is the only person that I know who can organize a golf tournament full of family members and close friends (and have 32 golfers). In a nutshell, the tournament was very fun and rigged! Yes, you heard me, the tournament organizer also happened to win the tournament. Coincidence, I think not! Although that is not the purpose of the article, I digress.

Fathers of the Bride and Groom

Following the golf tournament and the mis-calculation of scores, everyone enjoyed a nice sit-down buffet style dinner complete with music and introductions of, well, everyone. The somewhat of rehearsal dinner more of families (Ryan, Fitzgerald, Clarida, Maffre) and friends being together consisted of over 100 people (like I said, Ron has a large family) who all introduced themselves and their association with the bride and groom. When it came for my time to shine, I stood up and explained that I knew Tim through tax season (don’t choke, don’t choke, don’t choke… ah, you choked). Needless to say they were polite and laughed. All in all a wonderful time was had by all.

Congratulations Tim and Anne!

Healthy Schools and Community Resources

Stonecircle can now add another organization known by its acronym to its roster of clients. The Ontario Physical Health and Education Association (OPHEA) approached Stonecircle, on the recommendation of the Chiefs of Ontario, to ask them to conduct research and prepare an environmental scan on health promotion resources that target Aboriginal students in a school setting. The majority of research will be in a First Nation context, primarily in Ontario, but with Inuit and Métis examples from across Canada also incorporated.

OPHEA was created in 1921 and has been working to support the health and learning of children and youth in Ontario. OPHEA works with school boards, public health, government and non-government organizations as well as private sector organizations to develop programs and services that promote healthy and active school communities. More information can be found at www.ophea.net

If you are aware of any health promotion activities documents or resources that could be shared in the OPHEA database, please email Kory Goulais.

You have to start somewhere!

On a hot and sunny Friday afternoon a few weeks ago, a discussion began between Consilium’s Jennifer Bradshaw, Stonecircle’s Kory Goulais and Aarluk’s Chris Grosset and Michelle Turpin. This discussion was unlike most of the others because it didn’t centre around the progress of projects (sorry Chuck), the latest sports news (sorry Geoff) or the fact that I can never remember to give my original receipts to Jing (sorry Jing, they are coming, I swear). Rather, this discussion was solely focused on the jobs that we worked at before finding our calling at Consilium, Stonecircle or Aarluk.

When you’re young, you think about your dream or ideal job and you naively assume that you will be handed that job once you graduate or enter the workforce. However, I don’t know a single person where that is the case. Reality says that you will likely work your first job in the service industry, perhaps at a store somewhere or a fast food establishment.

For example, Stonecircle researcher Kory Goulais' wife Alison worked at a pharmacy for eight years while she finished school then landed her dream job of being a teacher. The fact of the matter is that everyone at CSA started somewhere and based on that lunch, we felt that it would be fun to share our first jobs with you, kinda. 

Below, in no particular order, are CSA employees and their first job. Can you match the person to their first job?

Fred Weihs                          Steinberg's Grocery Store
Galin Kora                            Bottle Capper at Bottling Plant
Kory Goulais                        Northmart Cashier
Michelle Turpin                    Gas Station Attendant
Chuck Gilhuly                   High School Tutor
Leslie Sutherland                 Gas Attendant
Jennifer Bradshaw            Sales Clerk at a Toy Store
Chris Grosset                       Agronomist
Geoff Rigby                          Home Hardware Worker
Christian Cloutier                  K-mart Cafeteria Worker
Jennifer David                      Maintenance Repair Person

Answers will be revealed next week.

Just under the wire...

Sometimes our clients have to apply for funding in order to carry out their work, expand their businesses or develop new products or services.  Sometimes the application processes are very labour-intensive and time-consuming. Sometimes, especially during the summer, there is just not enough capacity to submit these applications for funding.

So sometimes, we are asked to come along and help.  Last week, Stonecircle and Consilium worked together to support the Eeyou Economic Group with just such an application.  Christian Cloutier took on the bulk of the work with advice from Ron Ryan, editing support from Jennifer David and formatting and writing support from Kory Goulais. The Eeyou Economic Group provides business support to Cree entrepreneurs in the region of northern Quebec called Eeyou Istchee.

It took hours of research, combing through dozens of documents, writing, making sure that EEG addressed all of the criteria in the application, and putting it all together into a very impressive-looking proposal and application, which ended up being more than 30 pages. All of this in just over a week!

Good luck to EEG and we hope they will be successful.

Up, up and away!

Today’s post is supposed to be about Consilium General Manager Leslie Sutherland's AWESOME hot air balloon ride over the great city of Ottawa. However, due to unforeseen circumstances (although you can see fog pretty clearly), she was grounded. Yet, ironically, fog isn’t a good enough excuse not to come to work. So, with that being said, Leslie is at work less one hot air balloon ride and blog piece.

Because Monday is a blog publication day, we needed to put something up here. I would like to introduce the new topic, which does involve the sky, and that is the Consilium, Stonecircle, Aarluk migration to the cloud. Wait, did I say that right? Consilium, Stonecircle and Aarluk (CSA) are not migrating to the cloud, but all of our files and internal systems are.

CSA will be ditching the old and clunky technology of an internal server and storing everything outside of the office, “in the cloud” as it is called. Essentially, it is the delivery of computing and storage capacity as a service to a community of end recipients (that’s us! Thank you Wikipedia!). Everything we used to run on our internal server will now be stored outside our offices (I have e-mailed Bill Gates to confirm). The migration has already begun and has transferred much of our systems and files to the cloud. This week CSA is moving many of our programs to the cloud, such as Web TimeSheet and Web Resource and SharePoint. A big thank you goes out to CloudIT for their assistance! But, let’s be real, with a name like CloudIT they have to know what they are doing.

CSA is one of the few companies that we know of moving to cloud technologies. But we figure if NASA can do it, that so can we! The sky is the limit, right? Well, maybe not for NASA, but it is about as far as we can go. In a recent article by PCWorld, they indicate that cloud IT is about as safe as any other type of technology if the proper precautions are followed.

To close, Leslie may not have been able to get up in the air for the balloon ride, but for the last little while she has had her head up in the cloud.

Happy Birthday Fred!

Fred Weihs, Senior Consultant

Founding partner, Fred Weihs is our lone birthday boy this month. Fred is actually on holiday (yes, he takes the odd week off… ) celebrating his birthday canoeing in the Ontario wilderness. Don’t get your cellphone wet again Fred. :- ) From everyone at Consilium, Stonecircle and Aarluk, we wish you a very Happy Birthday!