Abstract

Like other Aboriginal communities in Canada, the Membertou First Nation in Nova Scotia has a history of dependence on federal transfers. To address various socio-economic ills, including very high unemployment and a $1.4 million debt the band had accrued by 1984, the band council has begun to improve its administration and has focused its development efforts. The Membertou Development Corporation, the business arm of the band, was created to orchestrate and publicize the changes in the business philosophy of the band and build relationships with private business interests. This strategy has led to recent agreements with Sodexho-Marriott, SNC-Lavalin, Ledgers.com and Clearwater Fine Foods (Membertou, 2001).

Membertou has chosen to include joint venture agreements in its economic development efforts. Joint ventures are promoted as a good way to bring First Nations into the wider economy and are used by many First Nations to foster economic growth and employment of people living on reserves. Although the metropolis/hinterland theory predicts that closer ties to the mainstream economy will further retard the development of a peripheral economy, under certain circumstances joint ventures may be an appropriate mechanism for the economic development of First Nation communities. This thesis examines the potential of joint venture agreements made by the Membertou First Nation as a development tool.