Without hiring targets for Northern and Indigenous workers, local communities will not benefit from Northern Canada's largest-ever remediation project, say local advocates and politicians.
Last month, the federal government named California-based remediation firm Parsons the construction manager of the Giant mine remediation project, following a bidding process that began last February. The federal government has previously announced that the final cost to clean up the mine could be as high as $900-million.
At a town hall meeting on Thursday, representatives from Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) met with the public to present their plan for the Giant Mine cleanup.
Attendees, including MLA Kevin O'Reilly, questioned why INAC had not set quotas for Northern hires for the remediation project.
"I would expect a lot better from the federal government. This is going to be the largest government project that's ever been undertaken in the North," he said. "If you don't specify those in the contracts, how do you know what you're actually aiming for? Even the diamond mines through their socioeconomic agreements have specific targets they're required to meet."
In response, Aaron Braumberger, engagement manager for the Giant Mine Remediation Project, said INAC is working with the North Slave Metis Alliance, the Yellowknives Dene First Nation and the city to, "build tools to help with capacity building.”
The project has a socioeconomic strategy to provide access to employment, whether through the Parsons website, government or community engagement, said Braumberger.
However, the federal government does not have concrete rules for hiring Northerners, he said.
"The challenge is that the procurement process is still following Government of Canada rules. While we provide incentives for working with Indigenous companies, businesses and individuals, the federal government doesn't have a Northern policy on hiring Northern contractors," he continued.
Hiring for the remediation project will fluctuate and is set to increase once the project receives its water license from the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board, said Braumberger.
The contracts will be sized to allow local businesses to bid on "manageable chunks," added Brad Thompson, senior project manager at Public Works and Government Services Canada.
"If you start issuing contracts that are $40, $50, $60-million, the number of firms that can handle that is smaller," he said.
Dr. Kathleen Racher, chair of the Giant Mine Oversight Board (GMOB), said her organization has set out its expectations for economic benefits to the project team.
"It's a great opportunity for Northerners and so we'd like to see the project team maximize those benefits,” Racher told Yellowknifer.
In a Feb. 28 letter to the project team, the board wrote that it was concerned the project would be a, "missed opportunity to ultimately help further the spirit of reconciliation and rectify some of the systemic social and economic disparities within the greater regional community."
The GMOB asked for a detailed and formal socio-economic plan for local and Indigenous businesses.
"With the enormous investment that will be spent on the (project), it is confusing why there are no initiatives or programs being established," said the letter.
NWT Council of Canadians chapter activist Lois Little said she was surprised to learn the project did not include policies requiring Northern or Indigenous hires or performance measures to make sure local communities would benefit.
Local impact benefit agreements and hiring targets are a best practice in the North, she said.
"I don't ever recall there being a major project going on that didn't have clear employment targets and targets for Northern businesses and Indigenous businesses," Little told Yellowknifer. "If you look at the social economic agreements for the diamond mines, its become an accepted way of doing business."
"We have no way of knowing how this is going to benefit people in the community,” she said.
Indigenous and local hires are the "ethical" path,” she added.
"The Yellowknives Dene are the people who have lived through this for decades and they're not going anywhere. They've borne all the risks of this project with virtually none of the benefits," she said. "Parsons is saying, 'we're just going to advertise and promote.' If the ink is dried on their contract and they have no requirement to come up with certain targets, then it's not going to happen.”