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Video message from
The Honourable Stephen Owen
Minister of Western Economic Diversification
and Minister of State (Sport)
"It's All About Opportunities"
Conference for Aboriginal Entrepreneurs
October 25 - 26, 2004
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VIDEO
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Video Transcript
Good morning, and welcome to "It's All About Opportunities."
It is an honour for me to bring you greetings from Western Economic Diversification Canada. We are extremely proud to be a sponsor of this event, and to provide year-round support to the Aboriginal Business Service Network and the western Canada Business Service Centres, including the host of this conference, The Business Link.
I'm speaking to you today from the Innovation Canada exhibit at the Canada Science & Technology Museum in Ottawa, which pays tribute to the history of Canadian innovation and its impact on the way we, and others around the world, now live.
From hydrofoils to airplanes, genome mapping to electric wheelchairs, atomic reactors to fuel cells, Canadian ingenuity has paved the way for many of the significant breakthroughs of the past century.
But innovation is not a new concept, and it's not limited to high tech gadgets. Innovation is simply the process of finding new and better ways of interacting with our world. Innovation is as much a part of Aboriginal culture as it is part of the most advanced scientific laboratory.
Your ancestors used innovation to produce the shelter, clothing and food they needed to survive in harsh, and sometimes unpredictable, conditions.
Today, Aboriginal entrepreneurs across Alberta are being innovative in the world of business, creating new prosperity and new opportunities for themselves and for their communities. People like David Tuccaro and Mel Benson, who received National Aboriginal Achievement Awards in the category of Business and Commerce in 1999 and 2003, have led the way.
Now it is your turn.
As the name of this conference suggests, it is all about opportunities, and these next two days will provide many of them . . . opportunities for you to exchange ideas with other entrepreneurs, to learn valuable lessons from experts, and to be inspired by others who have taken this path before you.
From there, you will create your own opportunities . . . opportunities that can lead not only to personal success, but can also extend throughout your community by providing new employment opportunities for Aboriginal youth.
Today you take an important step in your journey, and I wish all of you every success, both personally and in all your business ventures.
Thank you. Merci.