About 15 years ago, then-Prime Minister Paul Martin announced the Kelowna Accord. It was an agreement intended to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, and it was ground-breaking for modern politics in terms of consultation and collaboration with Indigenous groups.
Mere days after the announcement, however, parliament was dissolved and leadership of Canada’s government changed hands. The accord was enacted, but as a shell of its original vision.
The Right Honourable Paul Martin is still working at it though. In 2008, he founded the Martin Family Initiative to help bridge the gap in standards of living. The Initiative works with Indigenous groups to bring Indigenous knowledge together with evidence-based methods of teaching and learning. He talks with us about the importance of entrepreneurship to Indigenous people, what he has learned from the Initiative, and why it’s important that kids get a good start to life.
Find the Martin Family Initiative on Twitter @themfi_, Facebook @themfi.ifm, LinkedIn, or at their website, www.themfi.ca.
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