What are the greatest challenges facing Canadas Aboriginal peoples today?
PM: I would say it’s providing opportunity and hope for the future. In many ways, opportunity and hope in non-Aboriginal societies is provided for in the opportunity for somebody to climb the income scale through entrepreneurship and their own hard work. And Aboriginals ask for nothing more. But it’s very hard for Aboriginals to receive the same kind of mentorship that non-Aboriginals receive, to get the same access to capital, and have the same opportunities. The purpose of the CAPE Fund is to provide that access to capital and mentorship. What obstacles prevent a vibrant social entrepreneurial landscape in Canada? PM: There’s no reluctance on behalf of the business community to provide mentorship or to invest if the purpose of that investment is to provide Aboriginal Canadians with the opportunity to build a business and have a better life. The problem that exists – the fundamental problem of social enterprise in Canada – is people are so used to viewing the world in terms of either
