CN receives Progressive Aboriginal Relations Bronze certification

MONTREAL, Oct. 04, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) announced that CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) has become the first transportation company in Canada to receive the Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) Bronze Level certification. 

Established in 2001, CCAB's  certification signals to Aboriginal communities that designated companies are good business partners, great places to work and committed to the prosperity of Aboriginal communities. CN was designated a PAR Committed company in 2016 and has been a CCAB Patron member since 2015. 

“We are very pleased to have earned the PAR Bronze Level designation and remain dedicated to developing respectful and mutually-beneficial relationships with all Aboriginal people,” said JJ Ruest, president and chief executive officer at CN. “We look forward to continuing our work with the Aboriginal business community and fostering opportunities with Aboriginal chambers of commerce, entrepreneurs and businesses across Canada.”

CCAB is committed to the full participation of Aboriginal peoples in Canada’s economy, offering knowledge, resources and programs to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal owned companies that foster economic opportunities for Aboriginal peoples and businesses across Canada. Recipients of the PAR designation are assessed in four key areas: leadership actions, employment, business development, and community relationships.

“CN has demonstrated it places high value on the importance of positive relationships and partnerships with Aboriginal communities and businesses,” said JP Gladu, president and chief executive officer of CCAB. “We welcome CN as our newest PAR Bronze Level member and, as a business operating across Canada, congratulate CN’s leadership and employees on their journey moving toward addressing the economic reconciliation that is supporting an Aboriginal business renaissance in Canada today.”

CN is a true backbone of the economy whose team of more than 25,000 railroaders transports more than C$250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network of approximately 20,000 route-miles spanning Canada and mid-America. CN – Canadian National Railway Company, along with its operating railway subsidiaries – serves the cities and ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Chicago, Memphis, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For more information about CN, visit the company’s website at . Learn more about CN's Aboriginal Vision at .