Deal to allow Aboriginal participation in boom

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The minister of Indian Affairs was the featured guest at a gala dinner at Fort McMurray's Sawridge Hotel on Jan. 9 as an agreement involving five First Nations, the private sector and the federal government was celebrated.

The Athabasca Tribal Council (ATC) All Parties Core Agreement took effect several days earlier at the beginning of the year. It will see 15 oil and forestry companies continue an economic development agreement that helps the ATC member communities play in increasing role in the economic boom that has transformed the northern Alberta city. It's expected that $50 billion worth of investment will flow into the Fort McMurray region in the next 12 years as a massive deposit of oil is extracted from the sandy soil in the area. Along with the money will come unprecedented employment opportunities.

Robert Nault, the minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, revealed his department's contribution to the agreement. Saying, "there is no such thing as social justice without economic justice," the minister congratulated the parties for working out a way to include First Nations in the region's prosperity.

Nault said his department will contribute $1.2 million to help the parties continue to work together.

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada will also contribute $1.5 million to assist the Fort McKay First Nation in expanding its long-term economic development opportunities. In partnership with the private sector, the Fort McKay First Nation is planning to establish an industrial and commercial centre in northeastern Alberta for companies servicing the oil sands industry. Strategically located 60 km north of Fort McMurray, in the geographic centre of the oils sands development, the industrial park will take advantage of an estimated $1.5 billion in new investment this year by the petroleum industry.

The federal funding, part of a total $3.4 million project, will be used to provide infrastructure such as electricity, natural gas, telephone, high speed Internet and non-potable water to the industrial park. Fort McKay and other First Nations will operate businesses located in the park, providing them the opportunity to establish long-term relationships with private industry contracting goods and services to the oil sands on a one-on-one basis or in joint ventures.

The 38-hectare (80-acre) park will offer lease clients serviced industrial land in lots ranging between two to three hectares. The lot size can be reduced or enlarged to suit the needs of potential tenants. As there currently exist no industrial subdivision north of the city, this industrial park is an opportunity for Fort McKay First Nation to capitalize on a market niche to help meet the current needs of contractors and companies looking for industrial sites. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, in which the City of Fort McMurray is located, has approved a new industrial category for this subdivision.

The federal funding will enable ATC to continue to participate as a member of the executive group and management committee. The group includes representatives of the major resource companies, ATC First Nations, federal, provincial and municipal governments to plan and support First Nations participation and benefits from the oil sands development, including training, education, employment, contracting and mitigating environmental issues.

"We really do have to create economic opportunities for Aboriginal people, particularly since there's such a young population," Nault said. "The Aboriginal labor force is by far the fastest growing in Canada. It's something like five times the national average. I'll remind those of you who are in industry, that's the labor force you have to focus your attention on. As a result of those statistics, First Nations people have the most opportunity to be some of the most important players in the economy in the next 50 years."

The minister said his department has increased the amount of money i spends of economicdevelopment from $25 million to $125 million in the last two years. That $125 million has been leverage to create $400 million in economic activity, he added.

"Last year in Alberta alone, an investment of $11 million in First Nation progress leveraged an additional $35 million in Alberta's economy for a total of nearly $50 million. That's nothing to sneeze at but at the same time I think we can still do better," he said.

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada's $1.2 million contribution to the core agreement continues a previous three year agreement that saw the federal government commit $750,000 to the tribal council.

The minister also announced a third federal commitment, a $300,000 investment in Mikisew Slings and Safety. The 100 per cent Mikisew Cree First Nation-owned company manufactures standard and custom fibre slings for heavy lifting purposes, Nault said. The company employs 17 full-time staff, 13 of whom are Aboriginal.

Chief Jim Boucher, president of the ATC, said he was proud of the progress his tribal council has made.

"Four ulcers and two heart attacks ago, we signed off on an agreement in 1999 that laid the foundation of today's agreement. The chiefs and I all got together and we talked about the state we were all in, in 1999, and we all agreed that we needed to do things different. We needed to change the attitudes in our communities with regards to economic development," he said. "We put forward a strategic plan. We wanted to enhance the development of our communities socially, politically, economically. We wanted to foster growth, prosperity and development through capacity building. We wanted to maintain and protect our treaty rights; we wanted also to protect our environment and relationship with Mother Earth. We wanted to work together in harmony and unity, supporting each other politically, socially and culturally. We put forward our vision to industry."

He said the ATC first came to an agreement with industryand then approached the federa government. The results are easy to see, he added. In 1999, there were 200 Aboriginal people in the workforce in the region. In 2002, that number increased to 1,200 people. Prior to the agreement First Nations did $90 million worth of business in the area. Last year, the total was more than $250 million.

"That's an indication of our strength, our success," Boucher said, proudly. "We've learned in the last three years to work together and we've been engaged for some time now in building a new relationship. We now have better relationships. We now have better agreements," he said. "The future for the Aboriginal people in this region is a bright future. It's a model for the rest of the country. It shows dedication and commitment by all parties who are involved to deliver results so that socially, economically, politically, culturally our communities can be healthier and more productive. I'm proud to be part of it."

Mike Ashar, executive vice-president of Suncor Energy, Inc., spoke on behalf of the companies.

"I don't want to seem self-congratulatory but I think we in the industry are pleased, and perhaps somewhat surprised, that such a diverse group of companies and personalities were somehow able to get around their competitive natures to somehow reach this level of co-operation," he said.

Ashar noted that of the 15 companies who signed the core agreement, six were new. He welcomed the new companies.

"We welcome your sense of responsibility and your commitment to this process. The entire region will benefit because of your added support," he said. "If this agreement says anything about industry, it says that we have come to recognize and understand the First Nations' goals and aspirations of re-establishing self-sufficiency, self-determination, health and prosperity in their communities. It says that we have come to know that co-operation is the key to successful, responsible and sustainable development. And it says that we annot proceed with development in theabsence of a clear and well-defined commitment of inclusion of the Aboriginal peoples of the Athabasca region."

Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Mayor Doug Faulkner and Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Guy Boutilier, a former Wood Buffalo mayor, were also present to congratulate the parties on the agreement.