by Marc Laframboise, MMNN Contributor

The recent completion of phase one of the Indigenous Program Review (IPR) led by the National Indigenous Fisheries Institute in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has resulted in important recommendations to improve the already successful Atlantic Integrated Commercial Fisheries Initiative (AICFI) program. According to the Phase One Final Report, DFO has already begun the process of implementing the recommendations.

Between June 2017 and March 2018, the Institute held consultations with over 200 participants including Elders, Chiefs, representatives of Mi’kmaq and Maliseet commercial fisheries enterprises (CFEs) and other community leaders. The structure of these consultations was organized into ten workshops and four plenaries. Prior to the consultation process, the Institute’s Board members conducted a thorough examination of all the programs affecting Indigenous communities, including AICFI.

John G. Paul, Executive Director of the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs (APCFNC) is one of six Board members of the Institute that participated in phase one of the IPR: “The AICFI program has been very successful. The innovative delivery component such as the independent-from-government Business Development Team (BDT) set an example for other Indigenous programming across Canada. That being said, there were areas where improvements were warranted and these were brought to our attention during this consultation ...