The conflict between the Canadian government and aboriginal people has been ongoing for decades, but has yet to be resolved. Even though Stephen Harper “made a formal apology in 2008 to Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples” on behalf of Canada, the pain and suffering from the assimilation in residential schools, and discrimination towards aboriginal people, are still deeply marked in the hearts of the aboriginal people. In September, 2014, the B.C premier Christy Clark suggested to improve the relationship between the government and aboriginals.

By establishing partnership between the government and the aboriginal people, the government wants to make decisions on projects that require the support and agreement from aboriginal groups. For example, the ongoing Northern Gateway Pipeline that crosses though First Nations’ traditional lands are currently opposed by the majority of First Nations. This is a huge project that would generate a big sum of money for the government and the support from the First Nations is a final requirement for this project to begin. My analysis shows that the purpose of negotiating and cooperating with aboriginal people is to gain their support for both the Liberal party, which Christy Clark represents, and the projects that the party is involved in.

Links of reference:

– http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/first-nations-hold-the-key-to-the-northern-gateway-pipeline/article19213035/

– http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/background-the-indian-act-1.1056988

– http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Premier+urges+cooperation+more+litigation+government+natives+reach+fork+road/10194776/story.html

With its differentiated keyboard style, BlackBerry has grown from less than 550,000 subscribers in 2003 to 85,000,000 in 2014 globally. However, ever since the introduction of Apple’s iPhone and other smartphones, BlackBerry phones are considered as “outdated” and in need of reinventing itself with more unique features and functions. According to Ziran Wang’s article, “BlackBerry’s New ‘Unconventional’ Smartphone to be Revealed at MWC 2015”, BlackBerry decides to change their strategy from the differentiation for broad industry to the differentiation for focused market segments. BlackBerry will continue with its newest keyboard patents and “focus on only a few of its production” lines by getting rid of other production lines. Subsequently, BlackBerry is able to reintroduce its products with a more focused target market and create a fresher image.

Personally, I am not a fan of BlackBerry smartphones, but based on what I know from other BlackBerry users, most of them are besotted with the keyboard that requires pressing the actual keys, rather than a touch screen keyboard on most other smartphones. Therefore, my analysis shows that BlackBerry would be able to continue growing by focusing on promoting its original keyboard design, yet, at a much slower rate due to the existing competitors.

Link of References:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/ziranwang/2014/10/02/blackberrys-new-unconventional-smartphone-to-be-revealed-at-mwc-2015/