Tolko inks a deal to communicate with First Nations

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Lesser Slave Lake Indian Regional Council (LSLIRC) and Tolko Industries Ltd. signed an agreement on June 10 that will provide the foundation for formalizing communications between the two organizations.

Chief Rose Laboucan from Driftpile First Nation, Chief Frank Helcrow from Kapawe'no First Nation, Chief Leon Chalifoux from Swan River First Nation, Roland Twinn from the Sawbridge Band and Chief Fred Badger from Sucker Creek First Nation met with Rick Huff, vice-president and general manager at Tolko Industries Ltd. to solidify a long-lasting relationship.

"It's the beginning of a real partnership with Tolko," said Laboucan. "This will create real opportunities for our people that will improve the quality of their life."

According to Huff, the agreement is a memorandum of understanding that sets out the terms by which Tolko and the LSLIRC will work together in the future on training programs and potential business opportunities.

"It's really an agreement that says that we will work together to identify and implement training and projects for the group," said Huff.

The MOU is intended to identify LSLIRC's role in forest management planning where Tolko operations overlap with LSLIRC's Treaty 8 lands.

The LSLIRC is an organization involved in the development of business opportunities on behalf of the five First Nations.

"The next step is to have some ongoing dialogue with Tolko with respect to opportunities that may exist as a result of the signing," said Allen Willier, chief executive advisor of the Lesser Slave Lake Indian Regional Council.

Tolko Industries is a family-owned forest products company. It has two plants-one in Slave Lake and another in High Prairie. Huff said that in the future, Tolko plans to expand the plant in Slave Lake.

As a value-added initiative, Willier said the agreement will pave the way for discussions on training requirements to meet the future needs of Tolko by working with First Nation people to develop the capacity to take advantage of these employment opportunities.

"I think this is going to be the first of many type of initiatives that will hopefully result in a harmonious relationship between industries, First Nations and the government in terms of the economic opportunities that exist in our immediate area," said Willier.