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Indigenous Communities

Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR)

A&B Rail Services is pleased to announce that we have officially completed the first stage of the Committed portion of the Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) Certification Program.

As a second-year member of PAR’s Certification Program, A&B Rail Services is committed to working with Indigenous communities to build positive and progressive relationships, a shared set of values, sustainable prosperity, and environmental stewardship. This will be reinforced by staying true to our current Indigenous Talent Engagement Strategy guidelines, all of which support PAR’s four key drivers: Leadership, Employment, Business Development and Community Relations.

We have established a PAR Steering Committee to reinforce these commitments and implement the following action items across A&B Rail Services:

  • Attracting Indigenous talent.
  • Development of business relationships with Indigenous owned businesses.
  • Organizing Indigenous Cultural Awareness training.
  • Creating sustained positive relations with Indigenous communities.

For Indigenous communities, our commitment ensures that we are a good partner, a great place to work, and that we are committed to the prosperity of Indigenous communities and businesses. For A&B Rail Services, the PAR certification program confirms our commitment that Indigenous relations are addressed as part of our overall corporate social responsibility strategy.

If you have any question about PAR please visit https://par.ccab.com/, or reach out to your local Human Resources representative.

Aboriginal Procurement Champion (APC) 

A&B Rail Services is thrilled to join CCAB’s initiative towards Economic Reconciliation by becoming an Aboriginal Procurement Champion.  

In recent months, the Canadian Council of Aboriginal Business (CCAB) has been developing a new Aboriginal Procurement Strategy highlighting the opportunities and value of Aboriginal procurement relationships. With a focus on connecting Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal businesses, the multi-year strategy includes several key pillars;

  • CCAB is recruiting leaders from the business community to serve as Aboriginal Procurement Champions.
  • CCAB is creating Canada’s largest directory of Certified Aboriginal Businesses, which are independently certified as at least 51% Aboriginal owned and controlled.
  • Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal companies will be able to exchange information about procurement opportunities via a new Aboriginal Procurement Marketplace.

As a Aboriginal Procurement Champion, A&B Rail Services is committed to advancing our relationships with Indigenous business communities by ensuring we have more Indigenous businesses participating within our corporate supply chains.

For more information on becoming an Aboriginal Procurement Champion please visit: https://www.ccab.com/procurement/.

Community Partnership – Edmonton Aboriginal Seniors Centre 

One of our major initiatives this year was to develop a long-lasting relationship with a local community, the Edmonton Aboriginal Seniors Centre. The Centre provides a meeting and gathering place for social, educational, recreational, spiritual, and inter-generational activities primarily for Indigenous seniors and Elders and is open to peoples of all cultures.

Universal Rail Systems and the Centre have begun a series of discussions on how we can support the Centre in offering their important services to the community. Our employees have attended several of the Centre’s social events throughout summer and look forward to attending many more in the future!

Orange Shirt Donation Campaign a Success!

In support of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Universal Rail organized an Orange Shirt donation campaign to honour the lost children and survivors of residential schools, their families, and communities. We are proud that this employee-driven and company-matching campaign raised $3,000 in total donations for our community partner, the Edmonton Aboriginal Seniors Centre.

Along with the orange shirts purchased, we have sent out orange shirt hard hat decals to our field staff. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this important cause.