Waubetek Business Development to develop Canada’s first Centre of Excellence on Aboriginal Mining

By Rick Garrick

THUNDER BAY – Waubetek Business Development Corporation is planning to develop Canada’s first Centre of Excellence on Aboriginal Mining as part of its Aboriginal Mining Strategy for North East Ontario.

“We’re working with Laurentian University, the Goodman School of Mines and the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation,” says Dawn Madahbee, Waubetek’s general manager. “They are all located together at Laurentian University, and this idea appealed to them because they know this is something that is needed in the industry. It’s going to help build capacity for our people, but it also facilitates ensuring that mining companies know who to talk to. And they will find out what those protocols are when talking to the First Nation community.”

Plans call for the Centre of Excellence on Aboriginal Mining to serve as a clearinghouse for First Nations, businesses and industry on up-to-date information about legal, financial, technical and regulatory issues related to the mining sector.

“We just got approved this week for the funding for the business plan,” Madahbee says, noting that Waubetek is also working with Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund to develop the Centre of Excellence on Aboriginal Mining to serve all of northern Ontario. “We’ll work closely with the consultants doing the business plan to see if this is something that is viable and then we’ll be shopping this around to see if we can get some investors. We already have one private investor interested, so that is a good sign.”

Madahbee spoke about the Centre of Excellence on Aboriginal Mining at NADF’s 5th Annual Mining Summit, where she delivered a presentation on Waubetek’s Aboriginal Mining Strategy for North East Ontario. The summit was held Oct. 27-28 in Thunder Bay.

“Often people see mining as very exploitive of our people, of our lands,” Madahbee says. “But it is going to be important that we become engaged in it so that we can have some control over how mines are developed, because not getting involved means that somebody else is making those decisions for us. This is our way to make sure that we are directly involved in those decisions and taking advantage of the influence that we have and also the established rights that we have — we need to exercise them.”

Waubetek developed the Aboriginal Mining Strategy for North East Ontario in conjunction with First Nations throughout northeastern Ontario, from Temagami in the north to Georgina Island in the south and Batchewana in the west to the Mattawa area in the east.

“We held consultation sessions in Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Parry Sound and we invited everyone in for day-long sessions,” Madahbee says. “We had really great feedback and ideas from the people who attended those sessions.”

Madahbee says a “very workable mining strategy” was developed through the consultation sessions, with a focus on four areas.

“The first area is building capacity amongst our own people; the second area is supporting Aboriginal businesses to procure contracts in this industry,” Madahbee says. “The third area is developing mining relationships, getting to know the people in this industry because we don’t know each other; and the final area is supporting Aboriginal employment in this industry and looking at what is needed and getting our people certified or getting them known to the companies so the companies will hire them.”

Information on the Aboriginal Mining Strategy for North East Ontario is available online at: http://www.waubetek.com/upload/documents/regional-in-mining-/mining_brochure.pdf