Article content

A leading employer of Indigenous workers is going one step further by offering help for employees to buy their first home.

Edmonton-based Backwoods Energy Services launched the new first-time homebuyers incentive program, which the company says is the first of its kind in Alberta.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Edmonton company launches support program for Indigenous first-time homebuyers Back to video

Indigenous employees could receive up to $20,000 from the company for a down payment on a home, which can be combined with other first-time homebuyer incentives such as one offered by the federal government.

Backwoods president and CEO Paul Poscente said he wanted to offer something to his employees after hearing some didn’t have homes.

“I came to understand (there was) a systemic gap in the access to capital between our Indigenous and non-Indigenous employees,” he said. “I deeply understand what owning your own home can mean in terms of belonging and safety.

“I thought this was something we could actually impact for our Indigenous employees and at the same time, make it a kind of retention program for our great employees who have been with us for a while.”