Mining hope and opportunity this Christmas and beyond
- Judy Bird | January 07, 2015
One mining company’s policy for inclusion of First Nations and Metis people is positively impacting aboriginal communities this Christmas, and beyond.
K+S Potash Canada’s Legacy Project seeks out and wants to do business with companies that have aboriginal people involved in their operation. The Legacy Project mine site is near Bethune, and the office is located in Saskatoon. Procuring contracts for services with companies that involve aboriginal people is a top priority.
“We want to involve all parts of the community, including the aboriginal community. We want the benefits of mining activity to accrue to everyone in the community. That’s our commitment,” said Eric Cline, VP of Corporate Social Activity with K+S Potash.
Cline’s position covers several areas: applying for government permits to proceed with development, environmental monitoring, land management, acquiring mineral rights, and First Nations and Metis employment and procurement.
“Procurement is to try to get contracts out to companies that have an aboriginal component to them, such as aboriginal ownership, a joint venture or owned by a tribal council,” said Cline. His department works in cooperation with the Procurement dept and Human Resources.
The mine is currently in the construction phase and won’t be in operation until late 2016. The majority of work happening now is through contracts.
“When we put out a request for proposals to start the bidding process for contracts, we say in our material that we place a positive emphasis on companies that have an aboriginal component,” said Cline.
“We have a purchasing policy in place that helps us leverage some of the initiatives to get First Nations and Métis involved,” said Terry Bird, First Nations and Métis Employment and Business Coordinator at K+S, who works with Cline on the file.
Bird works to identify companies or partnerships that have the capacity to do the work. Companies and groups placing a bid can fill out a two-page form to describe their relationship with aboriginal people.
“In a competitive situation, we will source four companies that can perform a scope of work, and all four of them will have some sort of First Nation or Métis content. The whole idea is to create the supply chain within southern Saskatchewan that will have companies with First Nations and Métis content,” said Bird
“Right now we’re very lucky to create new supply chains in Saskatchewan. I know there are supply chains in Saskatchewan around since the ‘60s since the onset of mining, but this is a real opportunity for First Nation and Metis people to create their own legacy with our Legacy Project,” Bird added.
For 2013-2014, Cline said that K+S has entered into close to $200 million worth of contracts with companies and groups with an aboriginal component.
One contract is with Points Athabasca FHQ Contracting, which has been site services and maintenance since October 2013.
“We have labourers, operators, mechanics, carpenters, electricians on site now. One of the big things right now is prepping for snow removal,” said Harley Campsell, business manager with Points Athabasca FHQ.
The company is a venture between three partners: Points Athabasca, Graham Construction, and FHQ Development Corporation which is owned by the File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council.
“We have about 70 employees at the site right now, and 62 percent of them are aboriginal,” said Campsell.
The majority of the company’s aboriginal workers are also local.
“We try to get as much local participation as possible. We work with FHQ Employment Services, with Athabasca Labour Services, and tell them what we need. We don’t discriminate between aboriginal and non-aboriginal. Our policy is to try to build capacity within the aboriginal workforce but we hire whoever we need to in order to fill the position. The end goal is to make the company viable,” said Campsell.
Privately-owned companies have also been awarded contracts.
“I have about 20 people working for me. All First Nations from 11 First Nations in Saskatchewan, not just southern,” said William Lavallee, a member of Piapot First Nation and owner of Four Souls Cleaning and Water Services. The company has been providing commercial office cleaning since October, 2014.
Lavallee sees the positive impact going beyond himself and his employees.
“I don’t just see an individual, I see a family. It’s about family,” said Lavallee.
“It’s creating employment, opportunities as we go forward that these people are going to get the training they need. It’s going to help them when we do different aspects as we grow, and open up future opportunities for them.”
Lavallee provides transportation for his employees from two different locations to and from work every day to help people succeed. “Again, it’s because of the family. If you don’t acknowledge that, you’re just setting them up for failure because they’re not going to have enough money to get to work, to live, which creates stress, which is an unhappy environment. In this day and age, a lot of it boils down to dollars and cents. I acknowledge that. I want to look after my staff as much as I can, and when they’re there, I expect the same, and I’ve got that too. I’m very proud of them,” said Lavallee.
Both Cline and Bird agree that hope and opportunity are two of the most important things, particularly at Christmas.
“At Christmas time you think more than anything else, you want people to have hope for the future,” said Cline.
“Regardless of one’s religion or whether one has religion at all, the biggest part of the message is hope, and I hope that we help to enrich lives and give people hope for the future. No one can solve all the issues by themselves. We won’t solve all the issues ourselves. At the end of the day, we have to ask ourselves, are we contributing positively in our own way to be part of the solution and are we providing people with more hope than maybe they had before,” Cline said.
“Hope and opportunity, I think those are the two things that are really coming out this Christmas, with our work over the last two years,” added Bird.
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