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It’s a pleasure to welcome you to CAMSC’s 13th annual Business Achievement Awards Gala. Each year, we honour members and corporate partners who are leading the charge for supplier diversity through their exceptional work in sales, innovative solutions, employment opportunities, and community development. There is a lot to celebrate this year as part of Canada150, and at CAMSC, that celebration includes the strides we continue to make in the advancement of supplier diversity. From the beginning right up to today, Aboriginal communities, along with the people of many countries who have come to call Canada home, produce an enviable variety of goods and services. For CAMSC, growth for individual businesses and the broader economy means ensuring the opportunities exist for Aboriginal and minority-owned businesses to join the supply chain. More and more companies—many already accustomed to diversity in the workforce—are recognizing the value of supplier diversity as part of a successful strategy to grow their organizations. When applied strategically, supplier diversity can bring improved quality to an organization, help build reputation, increase market share and provide access to new revenue opportunities. The successful advancement of supplier diversity in Canada is making a reputation for itself beyond our borders, as well. As more companies look to grow internationally, Canada becomes even more attractive as a place to do business and a place to access what all that diversity provides. And to that we say: Welcome! Please, come and do business with us. And as companies from Canada and elsewhere look to “go global,” the practice and benefits of supplier diversity goes with them. As part of tonight’s Gala event, we are pleased to premier CAMSC’s Supplier Spotlight series featuring Kacee Vasudeva. The owner and CEO of several businesses in the automotive and manufacturing sectors, Indian-born Kacee is one of the largest patent holders in Canada. Earlier this year, GreenStrike, Kacee’s innovative product to eradicate mosquitoes and combat the Zika virus, was successfully pitched to the dragons on CBC’s Dragons’ Den. A big thank you to the CAMSC team, along with our corporate sponsors and partners for making tonight’s Gala event possible. Congratulations to our award winners and all the nominees. Thank you for inspiring us to continue to pursue supplier diversity at home and abroad. |