Tar sands jobs for natives guaranteed

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Athabasca Native Development Co.

Fears that Native communities in northern Alberta would be left out in the cold by the tar sands refining industry has prompted the Athabasca Native Development Corporation (ANDC) to step in an d ensure Natives in this area are hired.

Representing 10 Native and Metis communities in the north eastern sector of the province, ANDC is close to signing a training and employment opportunities agreement with Syncrude, and the federal and provincial governments.

"Syncrude has always and will continue to offer Native employee opportunities . . . with or without an agreement," Syncrude Human Resources vice-president Phil Lachambre said.

A similar agreement signed earlier with the Indian Association of Alberta (IAA) is still being honored by Syncrude until the new deal is finalized.

The deal with the IAA does not, however, fully benefit residents in the Fort McMurray and Athabasca region because it offers training and employment opportunities to the province's Native population as a whole. Subsequently, Indigenous people from anywhere in Alberta could work at Syncrude through the agreement leaving people living near the tar sands out of a job.

One of the primary responsibilities of ANDC is to ensure the local community is recognized in the future agreement.

Lachambre notes the deal should be complete by September before Syncrude's $4 million expansion project begins.

ANDC coordinator Marvin McDonald explains that after more than a year of talks 80 percent of negotiations are completed.

"It takes a considerable amount of time . . . because the agreement is complex and must be satisfactory to all parties," McDonald said.

"The level of funding for staffing and administration requirements as well as corporate structure must be carefully scrutinized," he adds.