Conference focuses on partnerships.

WINNIPEG 

Aboriginal communities and business people looking for some "tree-mendous" business opportunities in the forest industry should be heading into Winnipeg in February.

The city is hosting the "Conference 2000--Training in the Forest" from Feb. 14 to 17.

The conference is the fourth in a series hosted since 1996 by the Canadian Forest Service's First Nation forestry program and by Indian Affairs.

The four-day conference will focus on the who's who and what's what of the forestry industry and Aboriginal economic opportunities.

The conference will feature workshop topics and speakers from a variety of backgrounds including financial institutions, employment agencies, transportation, mill work, manufacturing and education.

"If you want to do a project, it will have most of the things you will have to look at," said Mike Newman, the Saskatchewan liaison officer for the Canadian Forest Service, from his Prince Albert office.

With this year's theme focusing on training, Newman said the conference is a perfect chance for Aboriginal participants to take the first step in an industry that has recently created some big economic opportunities for Aboriginal businesses.

"The push has primarily been in the last two to three years," said Newman. "There has been a strong leaning of industry to form partnerships with First Nations in getting industrial and commercial ventures together in forestry."

Saskatchewan is the early leader in Aboriginal and industrial partnerships, with several large forestry companies already working with First Nation communities.

Newman said the partnerships can begin small and gradually work into large-scale economic opportunities for Aboriginal entrepreneurs.

"There's a number of groups that have gone from working a small sawmill to operating a large industrial complex," he said.

The conference is geared to provide a ground-level entrance to the possibilities of partnership for Aboriginal groups.

"It will give them an awareness of what are the steps to do. It gives them a good idea--so they are walking into a project with their eyes open, so you know when you walk through the door what's going to be on the other side," said Newman.

Lorne West, forest development officer with the First Nations forestry program in Edmonton, said he expects to see more than 300 people attend the conference. Attendance at the conference grows every year it is held.

"We're expecting a fairly good turnout, and there is a limitation on space," said West, adding that last year's conference in Edmonton was a sell-out. "We had to turn people away."

The attraction of the conference isn't only the wide range of workshops and speakers, it's also the opportunity for conference participants to mingle with other delegates.

"There's a lot of networking going on," said West, explaining that many of the delegates attending the conference will already have some experiences in forestry partnerships. Their successes and information can be shared with newcomers to the industry. "It is a mix of people that are thinking about doing something and the people that have had their own real-life experiences already and don't mind sharing."

Although the conferences are only held across the Prairie provinces and into the northern territories, delegates are expected from across the country, and this year, there's even some interest being shown from south of the border.

"There will be delegates from right across the country, but also from the U.S., so there'll be a little bit of international flavor," said West.

With seats expected to go quickly, both West and Newman encourage anyone interested to book early.

For more information on the conference, contact Mike Newman at [phone] or Lorne West at [phone].