Resource extraction economies, such as Nunavut’s, can only take place when the necessary support, infrastructure and services exist.
In other words, when all the other jobs that make the mining possible are being done as well.
Housing, food, care and community building are all essential components.
Pratik Rajput, senior project manager at Qikiqtani Industry Limited, has spent the last four years supporting Baffinland Iron Mine’s work on the ground, including through the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rajput lives full-time in Iqaluit.
“I started as a project coordinator in 2020 [for Qikiqtani Industries Limited]…mostly focusing on recruitment for the company. In July 2021, I got promoted [to] manager, where I was focusing more on recruitment, contract management, dealing with the client a little bit as well. Beginning of 2022 is when I took over [my current] role.”
He’s helped guide the way through Covid-induced industry shutdowns and periods of enforced isolation.
Adjusting to the unexpected and having an employee-first approach was absolutely necessary, according to Rajput.
“When I started in April 2020, that’s when Covid started, and all the Nunavummiut from the site were sent home. We were not allowed to go to the site as a visitor. So we hired all these people over Zoom call, other media, on the telephone — we have a lot of housekeepers, janitors, and security guards.”
That challenge persisted for two years.
“No one predicted a pandemic and that these kinds of things would happen,” he recalled. “We sent everyone home, and we had to bring in a [out-of-territory] workforce very quickly.”
One of the things he recounts with pride is paying workers for staying home through this turmoil.
“Especially with [workers] like the housekeepers. They were in every day, cleaning people’s rooms. People were being pulled from the plane, testing positive [for Covid] and things like that. Coming from a recruitment and HR [human resources] background, one of the challenges we had was just keeping employees happy, and bringing people to the site was tough… the anxiety level is always hard whether you’re coming from a management perspective or employee perspective. Both were in limbo because most of the regulations were dependent on the government. The situation was changing every day. We dealt with it. I think we came out of it much stronger than ever. Our team was much closer after that, as well.”
New strategies were essential to survival, not just for HR managers but for helping with employees as well. “One good thing it has done from the HR perspective is to make it more employee-focused,” he reiterated.
Rajput and Qikiqtani Industry Limited are experienced at consulting with Nunavummiut and taking the time to check in with the local communities.
“When they are at the site, we have great help from cultural advisors and Elders provided [by] Baffinland,” he explained. “That is a very good source of communication with employees, especially when they are dealing with some kind of stress. I think the biggest thing is that in any culture, family is very important, community is very important.”