Partnerships that Create Economic and Employment Opportunities

By Jay Cumming

Forward Summit | EAST is right around the corner! Before we see you in Rama First Nation, we wanted to take a moment to look back at some of our Forward Summit | WEST speakers, take it back to basics and showcase one of the successful partnerships we explored at the Calgary summit and how it’s supported economic reconciliation and transformed the lives of many Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

During the Indigenous and Industry Partnerships: Creating Economic and Employment Opportunities roundtable, panelists Tanya Helton Rexin, MSc, MBA, CPHR , Don Ross and Leona Bird spoke with Jorge O. Avilés and shared their experience creating and maintaining a partnership between George Gordon Developments and ATCO Frontec to construct and manage camp accommodations for the Jansen potash mine in Saskatchewan.

Worth over $180 million, this partnership has stood out as a shining example of what partnerships should look like – not only for the revenue produced for the businesses but also for the impact this partnership has had on more than 30 First Nations with members employed at the camp.

How it All Started

14 years ago, Don Ross sat down with Cole Crook. B.A., B.Mgt., who’s now the Vice President of Indigenous Relations at ATCO , to discuss the camp construction contract that ATCO was bidding on for the BHP Jansen potash project. From the get-go, this conversation set the tone for what would become a very successful partnership. According to Ross, it all starts by sitting down to an in-person conversation and sharing expectations.

Like all successful partnerships, the one between Gordon Developments and ATCO was built on trust, and it all starts by building trust with an individual, not with an organization. By breaking bread, sharing expectations and laying it all out on the table, the two organizations were able to establish a relationship amongst people first and create common ground for their respective organizations to form a productive partnership.

The contract started with the construction of the Jansen Discovery Lodge, which opened 13 years ago. Since then, George Gordon Developments Ltd has continued a relationship with ATCO, signing a joint venture to create Wicehtowak Frontec Camp Services to manage operations at the Jansen Discovery Lodge.

Today, Wicehtowak Frontec Camp Services has over 200 employees, and an Indigenous employment rate of 50 per cent.

What Has Made This Partnership Successful

The foundation for a successful partnership is established early. Small adjustments like approaching a First Nation community with a series of goals and working together to come up with a plan and form a partnership, rather than sitting down and pitching a fully planned joint venture can make all the difference in the world for the community involved, and by extension, the project or joint venture.

Successful partnerships aren’t built in a day, and as Tanya Rexin puts it, the key is to “build consistency, maintain trust and honour commitments,” even when changing staff. When these relationships are built and maintained, they lead to opportunities. And of course, to treat your partners as true partners, not as simply another party with whom you’re doing business with.

These relationships start at the top. As Ross puts it, he can pick up the phone and call Cole at ATCO and tell them what the problems are. If the Vice President of Indigenous Relations can’t fix it, he can call the CEO.

Inevitably, there are hard conversation involved, whether they be in operations, employment, sub-contracting, investments, training or something else. According to Ross, one of the key factors in their success is their unwillingness to leave the room. When he sits down with ATCO, or any of his other partners, they stay and discuss solutions until a problem is solved instead of walking out on one another, further enforcing the trust that Ross has with his partners. Ross believes in making decisions together, breaking down the barriers and creating opportunities for everyone involved.

What makes the difference is conversation.

The Results

With over 30 First Nations represented on staff and a 50 per cent indigenous employment rate, Wicehtowak Frontec Camp Services has dramatically affected the communities involved and the lives of both their Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff.

For many of their non-Indigenous staff, this is the first time they’ve interacted with Indigenous culture as such a prominent part of the workplace. While this interaction isn’t always perfect, it’s extremely significant. It builds respect and works to support the goal of breaking down barriers, supporting inclusion and combating biases that are often far too common throughout Canada.

For the Indigenous employees, many have been able to come off social assistance and can now support their families and communities. Wicehtowak Frontec Camp Services has 21 band members now on staff and as Ross puts it, likely 80 per cent of those were on welfare just one year ago.

It’s more than just providing for families or coming off social assistance, it’s teaching people that they have value and giving them the opportunity to gain dignity. The importance of these outcomes can’t be overstated – studies have repeatedly shown that as people improve their self-worth and gain economic independence, rates of poverty, addiction and mental health issues decrease. These people can now more easily become contributing members of their communities, gain economic mobility and achieve a state of self-determination.

Supporting employment at Wicehtowak Frontec Camp Services, ATCO and Gordon Developments offer a skills training program to help remove some of the systemic barriers that prevent Indigenous people from joining the workforce. In many cases, Indigenous employees at Wicehtowak Frontec Camp Services are employed for the first time in their lives – and this is true even for some of the middle-aged employees that come through their program. Things many Canadians take for granted, like having a drivers license or a phone with a monthly plan instead of minutes, aren’t easily attainable for many Indigenous people. By providing skill training programs, ATCO and Gordon Developments have managed to dramatically alter the lives of hundreds of people for the better.

In Closing

There are dramatic differences in the conversations surrounding economic reconciliation throughout Canada. As we all look together towards the future, it’s partnerships like those between ATCO and Gordon Developments that will continue to pave the way forward and give other companies an example to look to when they’re structuring partnerships and joint ventures.

And this is just one example of many that have been incredibly valuable to Indigenous communities. As Canadian businesses continue to operate in the spirit of reconciliation, more and more case studies of successful partnerships will continue to be shared.

The outcomes for successful partnerships are profound and change the lives of everyone involved. For successful partnerships, both shareholders and Indigenous communities are rewarded generously.

Join us at Forward Summit | EAST 2024 on September 25-26 in Rama First Nation to hear dozens of speakers discussing projects like this and how we can continue to work in the spirit of economic reconciliation to look forward to a better future for all of Canada.