Yvonne Moon – Aboriginal Liaison Officer
Chris Lafferty – mining his future
Labrador Inuit consider suspension of all uranium mining and development
Federal minister upholds contested decision to block Arctic uranium exploration
Sizzling mining industry to face shortage of 90,000 workers in next decade
Launch of new job guide to the mining industry
First Nation says it can’t affort legal fight against mining company
Northern Aboriginal Business Association formed
Yvonne Moon – Aboriginal Liaison Officer
Growing up in an Aboriginal community of 150, Yvonne Moon experienced the reality of social challenges and chronic unemployment so common in Aboriginal communities. It was not until she worked with children that she began to understand how deeply those issues affected her community and her self. Today, as Aboriginal Liaison Officer for the Yukon Zinc Corporation, the Tahltan woman helps Ross River, YT work toward solving these long-term problems.
Yvonne Moon – Aboriginal Liaison Officer
Moon credits part of her determination to a strong female role model. “When I was a little, little girl wanting to be different and to change from the way we were raised up in our community, I looked at Mrs. Pat Owen. She owned the hotel,” said Moon. “She was a mother figure type, with children the same age as me. She was a real hard worker. She was outspoken. She was a very, very friendly warm-hearted person. I just thought, ‘That’s who I want to be like.’”
Moon’s role model would be proud.
Working as a learning assistant teacher aide for four years, Moon began making a difference. “I recognized some of the issues and problems that filtered into the school as a result of what was going on in the community,” she said. “I knew what our community was like. I knew everybody – everything about everybody. When I was growing up – all the effects that it had on us, I never minded – or maybe didn’t understand it. But when you go into a school system and see the effects that it has on the little children, it is unbelievable. I could see the difference with the students and the impacts that started right there at a young age.”
Moon moved on to become vice president of the Tahltan Tribal Council where she worked with the mining industry. Later, as executive director for the Daylu Dena Council, Lower Post First Nation, she continued her work in the mining industry. She soon learned of the dichotomy between the industry’s benefits and drawbacks.
“Mining creates jobs,” she said. “It creates wealth within the community. It creates opportunities within the local area – training opportunities and increased skills.”
However, she added, “When there is a whole bunch of employment, it just adds to [existing] social problems in our Aboriginal communities and reserves.
“When the people come back into the community, they don’t know how to manage their money yet,” she explained. “All of a sudden you have more money, there are more drugs. All of a sudden, there’s more money, there’s more alcohol. All of a sudden, there are more problems within the individual homes. It is not just any one community. It seems to be all the communities that I’ve ever worked in.”
“I can use Lower Post, British Columbia as an example,” she said. “You have problems in the community already. You are dealing with people who have a history with residential schools and so on. There is never enough funding to get the community fully through those issues and impacts.”
“There are no money management courses or anything. It would be a benefit if mining companies were able to put money towards programs so that, instead of having a counsellor come into the community once a month – open up a can of worms and leave – they could have somebody come in more often,” she said. “Prior to development, there should be something in place between the mining companies and First Nations to get a head start on what the social impacts will be.”
These concerns reflect Moon’s wholistic approach. “I look out beyond the band and the communities,” she said. “I try to look for what is best for the majority of the people. If you keep that in mind, you can’t go too wrong. It’s hard in Aboriginal communities because you have responsibilities to look after your family and look after everybody.”
Thanks to her position as liaison, Moon enjoys an excellent vantage point for creating those equal opportunities. She not only acts as a conduit for information flow to and from the minesites, she also assists in hiring. “I do a lot of the hiring and recruiting for the Yukon Zinc and its sister company the Selwyn Project,” she said. “I try and get as many Aboriginal people working as possible from this area.”
“I have always believed the majority of the people have to be kept up to date or not forgotten. Quite often in our communities, certain families have more benefits than others do. I try to keep everything fair right across the board,” she added.
Although the companies pay her, Moon maintains her individuality. She works out of an office at Ross River Dena Council to be easily accessible to her people. “Because I am paid by the mining company does not mean I lose my voice as an Aboriginal person,” she said. “I make sure that that is always intact – that I have a right to my voice, how I feel, what I think and where I see that improvement can be made. The companies respect that and I am a very good resource for the mining companies because I fit in both sides.”
That community-minded attitude spills into Moon’s personal life. Besides her husband and four children, Moon is always joined by extended family for the annual two-week hunt, “Sometimes there can be a camp with about 11, 12 of us,” she said. “We all stay and help each other and get all the smoking and stuff done. It is awesome because the younger kids really learn a lot. My son is 13. He killed his first moose when he was 11. My youngest daughter shoots grouse.”
“We also hunt for both our parents on both sides. They are elderly and we get groundhogs to them and moose, sheep and caribou.”
And no, says Moon, groundhog does not taste like chicken. “It tastes like porcupine.”
Moon looks forward to continuing her efforts in the mining industry. “Both Selwyn and Yukon Zinc will eventually be into production stage, hopefully before long. There will be a heck of a lot more opportunities and I look forward to that,” she said.
“It has been a long hard road,” concluded Moon. “Over the years I have seen mining companies starting to have a better outlook on what is needed within the Aboriginal communities. Before, a lot of people were not quite used to negotiating with the Aboriginal people on their land. I have seen a big difference in the companies coming forward to the bands now instead of the bands having to go and be banging down on the doors of the company. I am glad to see it.”
Chris Lafferty – mining his future
By Shirley Collingridge
After a hearty breakfast served at Ekati Diamond Mine’s cafeteria, it is off to the daily safety meeting for Chris Lafferty. The Yellowknife Dogrib man drives heavy equipment underground; safety is a major part of his own and his company’s focus.
Lafferty’s employer, the Procon Group of Companies, strives for a zero injury environment. Committed to ensuring the health, safety and welfare of everyone on site, Procon provides a Competency-Based Safety Program. The program focuses on the skills and abilities of workers to see risk, judge the implications, and to act appropriately.
Hence, Lafferty’s workday always begins with that 15 to 20 minute safety meeting, which Lafferty appreciates. “It’s a good place to work at. It’s nice and slow. They don’t try to push you very hard,” said Lafferty. “They really emphasize safety.”
Safety discussions include “What we did yesterday to have a safe shift. What we are going to do today to have a safe shift,” he said.
Mining and processing activities at Ekati are continuous: 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Following the safety meeting, Lafferty heads off to his 12-hour underground shift. There, he comprises part of Procon’s pride: the largest underground production fleet of any underground contractor.
When Lafferty first arrived on site in January 2005, Procon immediately began training him. After just four months, Lafferty had earned an Underground Mining Certificate.
“I run the heavy equipment – moving the kimberlite ore into the sizer,” he explained. “I operate the haul truck and if they need a spare scoop guy, I will jump on that.”
The mined ore is crushed, scrubbed and ground to release diamonds from the surrounding kimberlite. Diamonds are then separated from non-diamond material through a series of x-ray sorters.
The shifts are long but Lafferty appreciates what they bring – equally lengthy time off. During his three weeks off, he makes time for his family because he holds “the same belief our parents taught us – have a strong connection with your family.” That is why Lafferty can sometimes be found fishing near his parents’ home at Rae-Edzo. “It’s a community where my grandparents are from, 100 clicks south of Yellowknife,” he said.
This October at Great Slave Lake, “I did a last day of boating. It’s not skidoo season yet,” chuckled Lafferty. He not only caught two northern pike – he played catch-up with his family at the same time.
Still, Lafferty’s three-week stints onsite can be hard on relationships.
He misses his girlfriend during these long periods, but says pragmatically, “We get by.”
High pay, a safe working environment, opportunities for advancement and, “The freedom when I get back home,” make the inconvenience worthwhile. “The company wants you to succeed,” he said. “I’m going to be joining the mine rescue team. I have been told I’m starting as soon as I go back.”
“Procon wants people to learn as much as they can so they can have a safe environment for everybody,” he added.
While Lafferty works diligently at his present position, he would like do something more active in the future. “I’m a young man,” he said. “I always wanted to go on support services. To me, that is a miner – running the jackleg and stuff and the rock bolter. Running heavy equipment – anybody can do that. The jackleg and rock bolter are very hands on.”
Until that time comes, Lafferty intends to take his own advice, “Keep your head down and work hard.”
Labrador Inuit consider suspension of all uranium mining and development
By Tara Brautigam
Labrador’s Inuit government is considering suspending all uranium mining and development on its territory because of concerns over the safe disposal of the radioactive element’s waste.
Nunatsiavut, an Inuit settlement in Labrador the size of New Brunswick, boasts vast deposits of the highly lucrative metal and has attracted the eye of mining companies eager to explore and develop.
Beach at Finger Point, Napaktok Bay, Labrador.
But the push to drill for uranium in the region could be thwarted after the Nunatsiavut government introduced a motion last week that would implement a moratorium on uranium mining.
“The tailings disposal is a very big concern. How do you dispose of it and store it for hundreds and hundreds of years afterwards safely?” said William Barbour, Nunatsiavut’s minister of land and resources, in an interview October 18th.
“None of us, including beneficiaries, have been up to now totally convinced by anyone who is an expert in the area.”
Aurora Energy Resources Inc. (TSX:AXU) has proposed to mine for uranium at Michelin and Jacques Lake, two ore bodies in a heavily rocky and coniferous area about 40 kilometres southwest of Postville.
The proposal would involve the construction of an open pit and underground mine at each location. Combined, the two projects are expected to yield 97 million pounds of uranium.
John Roberts, vice-president of environment for Aurora, said the company is well aware of the Nunatsiavut government’s concerns over the disposal of tailings, the fine granular waste that arises from ore development, and is willing to hear them out.
“We see it as part of the ongoing process that needs to be had when you’re discussing any major development such as uranium mining,” Roberts said from Toronto.
Roberts said he is confident the company can allay the Nunatsiavut government’s concerns, noting the approval of other, larger uranium projects in Saskatchewan.
“Canada has some of the most stringent regulations for mining uranium of any country in the world,” he said.
“We’ll be bringing in the very best of engineers and designers to design good, solid long-term operational and closure designs for those facilities.”
Last month, an Inuit land claims organization in Nunavut reversed its long-standing position against uranium development. The move by Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. was hailed by mining investors, but ignited fears from some community members of the potential repercussions of radioactive waste on water quality and surrounding environs.
The desire to mine uranium has grown within the last decade due to its meteoric rise in value.
Seven years ago, a pound of uranium was worth about US$7. It hovered at the US$78 mark last week.
Barbour said while he is hesitant to approve uranium development, he recognizes what it could mean for members of his community.
“We could also use this good-paying employment,” he said.
The Nunatsiavut assembly has until December 15th to pass the motion, though Barbour said he would request an extension if more consultation is needed.
Aurora plans to register the projects for an environmental assessment with the provincial and federal governments before the end of the year.
If approved, the developments would be the first uranium projects in the province.
Federal minister upholds contested decision to block Arctic uranium exploration
By Bob Weber
The federal cabinet has upheld a recommendation by a northern environmental regulator that the mining industry fears could sterilize a large and potentially rich chunk of the Northwest Territories to future development and cripple the ability of prospectors to look for new deposits.
Screech Creek flowing southwest to Thelon River.
In a letter to the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board recently, Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said he agreed with its recommendation to block Ur-Energy’s (TSX:URE) uranium exploration program on the Upper Thelon area east of Great Slave Lake.
“The responsible ministers have agreed to adopt the recommendation of the review board,” Strahl wrote.
Last May, the board shocked the mining industry when it denied Ur-Energy’s plan to drill up to 20 holes near the Thelon River because it threatens the spiritual and cultural well-being of the area’s Akaitcho Dene.
“If implemented, the recommendation of the review board would effectively terminate mineral exploration in an important part of the N.W.T.,” three industry leaders wrote to then-minister Jim Prentice after the original decision.
“This would have a very detrimental effect on the investment climate of [the] N.W.T. and the North in general.”
The letter was signed by Mike Vaydik of the N.W.T. Chamber of Mines, Gordon Peeling of the Mining Association of Canada and Tony Andrews of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.
Individual companies working in the North also registered strong protests.
“The rationale behind the board’s recommendation is such that it appears likely that no mineral exploration activities within the southeast N.W.T. will be possible,” wrote Bayswater Uranium president George Leary, one of several mining CEOs who wrote to protest the board’s recommendation.
Miners claimed that the board had created a de facto national park without any of the normal consultations.
However, Strahl’s decision promised his department would come up with a plan for long-term land-use planning for the area by the end of November.
“It would be an action plan for developing the resources in the area,” said Carolyn Relf, the department’s director of minerals and petroleum development.
Relf said much work needs to be done to locate the culturally important areas and delineate the valuable ore deposits.
“There has to be some give and take,” she said.
Relf added Strahl has also promised renewed efforts to settle the Akaitcho land claim.
That’s the key, said Pierre Gratton of the Mining Association of Canada.
“The federal government really has to get moving on this land claim,” he said.
Miners also have to work harder to understand the cultural ties Aboriginals feel toward their traditional lands, said Gratton.
The Thelon Basin is considered one of the earth’s last pristine wildernesses.
Residents from the community of Lutsel K’e described the area as “the place where God began” and “the heart and soul of the Dene.”
However, the area drained by the Thelon River, which flows from the N.W.T. into Nunavut, has been the subject of an intense staking rush.
Dozens of companies are prodding the tundra for uranium after prices for the silvery metal grew from $7 a pound a few years ago to over $100 now. They have registered hundreds of prospecting permits, claims and mineral leases – 1,000 such dispositions on the N.W.T. side alone.
The area is also subject to an agreement between Ottawa and the Akaitcho Dene not to make any decisions on the land for five years pending the land-claim settlement. That interim land withdrawal is currently awaiting cabinet approval.
As well, part of the region has been singled out by Environment Minister John Baird for the creation of East Arm National Park near the east arm of Great Slave Lake.
Sizzling mining industry to face shortage of 90,000 workers in next decade
By Ross Marowits
A decade after they toiled through the lean years, miners are the new rock stars of Canada’s industrial workforce.
Surging commodity prices, strong demand for metals from the growing Asian economies and an anticipated flood of retirements by experience miners has ensured recruits get lots of lovin’ from admiring suitors.
Over the next 10 years, more than 90,000 vacancies are expected in Canada’s mining industry.
“Canada enjoys a reputation as a global mining powerhouse both in terms of what we produce but also our knowledge and expertise,” says Paul Hebert, executive director of the Mining Industry Human Resources Council.
“That means our people and our graduates are highly sought after and are very aggressively courted by employers from overseas.”
The competition is so stiff that some companies have gone to great lengths to gain access to Canada's best and brightest.
A few years ago, a consortium of Brazilian companies hired an airplane to treat prospective grads in British Columbia to an all-expenses-paid tour of their facilities.
Few companies go that far, but strong demand for skilled employees has forced them to offer generous salaries and signing bonuses.
Engineering and geosciences graduates, for example, can earn more than $100,000 per year, plus up to $25,000 in signing bonuses and retention payments for several years.
“It's a huge opportunity for all Canadians to benefit from this,” Hebert said in an interview from Edmonton.
“There are high-paying, long-lasting opportunities. We are not talking about something that is going to go away overnight.” With about 40 per cent of the aging mining workforce expected to retire in the coming years, he predicted, the demand will remain strong despite the cyclical nature of commodity prices.
The jobs are spread across the country but are primarily in traditional mining provinces of Ontario, Quebec, BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan, along with the far north.
Mining company Teck Cominco Ltd. (TSX:TCK.A) says it is facing a tighter labour market as it loses some workers to projects in the Alberta oilsands.
“It’s certainly a tighter labour market but it’s not one I would describe as really serious,” said Jim Utley, Teck-Cominco’s vice-president human resources.
He said about half of the Vancouver-based company’s global workforce of 9,000 is expected to retire in the next five to 10 years.
As a result, the company is looking at offering alternative work arrangements where retirees can work part-time and still draw pensions. Recent federal legislation that will allow workers to accumulate pension service and draw benefits while they work will be helpful, he said.
Offering competitive compensation is only part of the lure for graduates. Young people are also very interested in career development opportunities, which companies with international projects can provide, he said.
Exploration levels are at record highs and there are advanced and early development projects by the dozens.
In Quebec, some 4,000 jobs will be available in the coming debate, including 2,500 new opportunities because of renewed exploration and the reopening of old mines.
“You have to look back 25 years to see this level of exploration,” said Andre Lavoie of the Quebec Mining Association.
Last year alone, exploration investments in the province totalled $270 million, he said.
“The needs are major and shortages could cause some projects to be delayed in their development.”
With most mines being located in isolated communities in Abitibi, the North Shore and the province’s far north, attracting new recruits can often prove challenging.
A battered forestry industry provides great opportunities for older workers who want to remain in their communities and earn steady incomes.
In BC, the infestation of the Mountain Pine Beetle will make many forestry workers available, industry observers predict.
But it’s not always easy to take someone who has spent their lives in the forest and put them underground, said Lavoie.
Workers must complete 100 hours of training before being permitted to work in Quebec’s mines.
Overcoming the mining industry’s reputation for having dirty, unsafe working conditions is among the biggest challenges to enticing a wider range of Canadians, said Hebert.
“It’s modern and among the safest of any heavy industry in Canada and that it just is not what it was 100 years ago, but unfortunately that’s the image that is stuck with people.”
The growing exploration in the far north has also prompted companies to increasingly seek out Aboriginal workers.
Canadian mining is the largest private-sector employer of Aboriginals in Canada.
Goldcorp (TSX:G) has hired a member of the Cree community who speaks the local language as a link with employees and the communities.
In the recent throne speech, the federal government vowed to help Aboriginal people “to get the skills and training to take advantage of these job prospects in the north and across Canada.”
With demographics that favour young and growing families, Aboriginals are an ideal potential workforce. However, they often don’t have an industrial culture and employers face socio-economic challenges, including a shortage of essential literacy and numeracy skills.
Launch of new job guide to the mining industry
The mining industry forecasts that it will need to fill thousands of positions over the next 10 years, which makes it a very interesting market for future graduates and job seekers. For those interested in a job in the mining industry, Jobboom, the Comité sectoriel de main d'oeuvre de l'industrie des mines and the Quebec Mining Association have just launched a guide to 50 careers in the mining industry that provides a wealth of information for people looking for a good career in a dynamic industry.
St-Maurice River, Quebec
From underground miner to metallurgical engineer, the guide introduces the reader to 50 workers who explain what they do on the job and why they like what they do. They also offer some good tips for mining industry hopefuls and tell how they were hired. The guide also offers a list of relevant training programs, a directory of professional organizations and associations, a questionnaire that will help give you some idea as to whether you’re suited for work in the mining industry, plus articles about industry growth, graduate placements and life in mining communities. Not to mention about a hundred links for finding out more about the mining industry.
“The jump in metal prices has energized exploration in the mining industry, leading to the creation of new mines and even the re-opening of sites that used to be closed. Some 1,500 jobs were created in 2005-2006 alone,” says André Lavoie, director of communications and public relations for the Quebec Mining Association, at the Career Fair in Montreal where the guide titled 50 carrières de l'industrie minière was presented.
“With the number of projects coming down the pike, the opening of new mines, the increase in the number of jobs available and a slew of retirements, the mining industry is facing the major challenge of filling its future positions,” adds Pierre Guimont, general manager of the Comité sectoriel de main-d'oeuvre de l'industrie des mines.
“This guide to careers in the mining industry provides an overview of job possibilities in this fast-growing field. We hope that it will help motivate young women and men to find out more about what the world of natural resources actually offers,” says Christine Lanthier, director of research and editorial at Éditions Jobboom.
A flourishing market
Educational institutions that provide courses relevant to the mining industry report that job offers are outnumbering the graduates available by a ratio of 2 to 1. This means that some students have jobs even before they graduate.
And this trend is building. The strong growth in countries like China and India has increased demand for metals like copper, zinc, gold, iron and nickel, for which the known reserves have declined. This situation is pushing companies to start new projects, especially in Quebec, which has excellent mining potential.
Currently, over 200 exploration pr
ojects are out seeking new deposits. Since 2001, investment in this field has tripled, from $90 million to $270 million, for mapping, geophysical surveys and drilling. At the same time, a number of sites that had been closed for several years are starting up again, such as the Breakwater’s Gonzague-Langlois zinc mine, at Lebel-sur-Quévillon. Plus, a number of mining projects will get underway in the next few years, including the Xstrata zinc mine in Matagami and the Goldcorp Éléonore gold mine at James Bay.
“It’s time to forget the image of the miner with a pick and shovel. The mining industry offers many jobs in a sophisticated technological environment, jobs that are highly accessible,” says Pierre Guimont. “In fact, popular perceptions have not kept pace with the changing reality of jobs in the mining industry. Today the mining industry is in the knowledge business and technology plays a vital role. Many operations are entirely computerized."
Note that 12% of mining jobs are held by women, a figure that will surely rise in the years ahead. First Nations are also considered interesting job prospects for mining operations, which are often located in outlying areas.
The Quebec Mining Association is a spokesperson for the Quebec mining industry at the provincial level. It represents mining companies that operate within Quebec, industrial ore producers, junior exploration companies and mining contractors.
A non-profit organization founded in 2006, the mission of the Comité sectoriel de main-d'oevre de l'industrie des mines is to act as a hub for reflection, joint action and efforts to balance supply and demand for skilled labour in order to contribute to the sustainability and growth of the mining industry.
First Nation says it can’t affort legal fight against mining company
By Keith Leslie
A remote First Nations community in northern Ontario said October 25th that it can no longer afford to continue its legal fight with the province and the mining firm Platinex because the Crown and the company have tried to bankrupt the Aboriginals by prolonging proceedings.
The Kitchenuhmayboosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation has already spent $700,000 on legal fees and can’t afford to keep going, spokesman John Cutfeet said in an interview.
“Ontario is still trying to drag out the process for as long as it can, until we’re bankrupt,” he said. “We’re being penalized for being poor.”
The band is fighting to be consulted before Platinex drills exploratory holes in the area around Big Trout Lake, about 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont. The area Platinex wants to explore is not on KI reserve land, but is within the band’s traditional territory.
Cutfeet said that based on the actions of the Crown in the KI case, any company with deep pockets can wait for a First Nations community to go bankrupt, and then it will have access to their lands.
“That to me is denial of access to justice based on funding,” he said.
“It’s an access to justice issue because we don’t have the money to try and stay involved in the court process because Ontario refuses to seriously deal with the issue of funding.”
Nishnawbe Aski National Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said this is not the first time the government has used a legal tactic “designed to make it too expensive” for an Aboriginal community to use the courts to get justice.
“The government of Ontario is forcing us into confrontations on our land,” Fiddler said. “And we all saw what that led to at Ipperwash.”
Kate Kempton, a lawyer working with the KI First Nation, said there is no doubt the government is doing its best to drag out the court proceedings in a deliberate effort to bankrupt the small band.
“We’ve been aware for years that the Crown, in particular, appears to be employing a strategy of driving the First Nation under by bringing a whole bunch of motions that jacks up the costs,” she said.
“That’s an age-old tactic, and this last motion by Ontario is ludicrous. It’s vexatious, it’s illegal and is designed to do just that.”
The motion Kempton claims is illegal was an attempt by the province to get a court-ordered review of the band’s legal costs, which she said no third party has the right to ask for.
However, Kathy Nosich, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, said the government has already given the KI band $50,000 of a promised $150,000 for legal fees, but can’t provide any more money until it gets paperwork to justify the expenditures.
“Any further allocation of funds has to be supported by appropriate documentation,” Nosich said. “We’d really like to keep working with them on this so we can get an accurate picture of their costs.”
NDP Leader Howard Hampton said the Liberal government has an obligation to at least subsidize the band’s legal battle to protect its traditional lands or be consulted about mining activities.
“It would appear that the constitutional rights and the treaty rights of First Nations can be overcome simply by deep pockets,” Hampton said.
Environmentalists also demanded that the Ontario government take action to help the KI band with its legal costs.
“It’s very troubling that companies seem to have this unfair advantage against communities and individuals who are trying to protect their lands,” said Anna Baggio of the Wildlands League.
“The government is encouraging this to happen.
“If you’re a poor community and don’t have resources, it’s just a matter of time before the companies and the government wait you out.”
All three parties are scheduled to return to court in December to consider responsibility for legal costs.
Northern Aboriginal Business Association formed
By Dene Skylar
A major Aboriginal business entity called the Northern Aboriginal Business Association (NABA) was officially formed on October 17, 2007 during the 2nd Annual NWT Aboriginal Business Conference in Yellowknife, NWT.
Drummers at the 2007 NWT Aboriginal Business Conference in Yellowknife, NT.
Aklavik Chief Charles Furlong was a major force behind getting NABA established. Chief Furlong donated $500.00 of his own money during last year’s inaugural NWT Aboriginal Business Conference and challenged others to join in the movement to establish the organization.
Chief Furlong told Native Journal shortly after NABA was formally created, “This is an important development especially for northern and Aboriginal business partly because the growth in Aboriginal businesses has been tremendous over the past ten years. We wanted an organization that understands Aboriginal Business issues and communicates in a collective voice about the interests of the growing Aboriginal Business sector in the north.”
NABA was created as a non-profit organization whose full members are Aboriginal Businesses residing in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Associate members are also welcome and include: Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal businesses, government agencies, and non-government agencies from across the north, across Canada and around the world.
Founding Members of the Northern Aboriginal Business Association.
Back Row L to R: Doug Cardinal, Christie Sinclair, Ken Smith
Front Row L to R: Darrell Beaulieu, Charlie Furlong, Jack Williams
The Mandate of NABA is all about cooperation, communication and business relationships that will benefit members. Specifically the mandate is to:
- Increase communications;
- Provide Aboriginal businesses with advertising opportunities;
- Develop an interactive data-base for business and job opportunities;
- Provide a forum for open dialogue amongst Aboriginal and other businesses;
- Support small businesses;
- Develop and adapt business policies that benefit all the regions;
- Encourage and provide forum for investing in each other;
- Expand the data base produced by DDC and make it interactive;
- Establish Aboriginal business standards;
- Educate the public as to what is important to Aboriginal businesses;
- Provide central purchasing power.”
Founding NABA Director Darrell Beaulieu who is also the President and CEO of Denendeh Investments Inc., told Native Journal, “The Dene people have always wanted a business association for many years. Last year’s NWT Aboriginal Business Conference set the direction for this day. With help from the Denendeh Development Corporation and the Denendeh Investments Incorporated along with many eager volunteers, action was taken to establish NABA. The key is to increase communication between Aboriginal businesses and with other businesses and create an investment dialogue that benefits the members.”
NABA founding Director, Chief Charles Furlong, expanded on the importance of NABA’s mandate as he stated, “We finally have an Aboriginal business organization that will advocate and take action regarding the interests of the greater Aboriginal business community. Aboriginal governments are the largest land owners in the north. Land claims and self-government agreements will be the constitutionally protected federal legislation that provides a further component to work with and support Aboriginal business development.
“We all know that it is small businesses that contribute great benefits to the economy. With over 500 registered Aboriginal businesses in the NWT, there are a lot of business people contributing to the development of the north so I am pleased to see the creation of NABA. NABA will assist in bringing small businesses, large corporations, governments, NGOs, and industry together to learn and grow from a prosperous Aboriginal business development relationship.”
The founding Directors of NABA are: Charlie Furlong, Darrell Beaulieu, Doug Cardinal, Jack Williams, Christie Sinclair, Ken Smith and Betty Hardisty. The NABA Directors are to be congratulated on this important historical business development for the north.
Also to be thanked are the Denendeh Development Corporation and Field Law LLP who both donated services-in-kind to get NABA’s foundation ready. With the massive potential of oil, gas, gold, and the growing Diamond mining industry in the NWT that has propelled Canada into third position in the world as diamond producer by value, along with the all important traditional economy of Aboriginals in the north, NABA is going to become a shining example of home grown business communication and cooperation for the best interests of its members and the broader northern economy.