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VBNC has delivered on its commitment to ensure that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are the primary beneficiaries of the Voisey’s Bay project. Since the earliest stages of the project’s development to the start of operations, we recognized that substantial effort would be required to maximize opportunities for the residents of this province. It was not enough to give first consideration to people from this province in the hiring process; in order to achieve optimal benefits, we knew it would be necessary to invest in creating capacity. This required a systematic and planned approach, in which nothing was left to chance.
As a result, VBNC has met and, in many cases, exceeded its local and aboriginal employment objectives, for both the construction and operations phases of the project. For example, Aboriginal people comprise approximately 50 per cent of our operations workforce in Voisey’s Bay, which surpasses our own expectations. In Argentia, more than 50 per cent of the operations workforce at the Demonstration Plant hail from the Argentia area. Moreover, 38 per cent of the employees at the plant are women, which almost doubles our target of 20 per cent.
There are additional examples but, before highlighting them, it is helpful to explore the foundations upon which these successes were built. After all, there were a range of interests, including those of Aboriginal people and residents living adjacent to the project, which had to be addressed in a fair and even-handed way. This balanced approach was evident in the collective agreement reached between VBNC and the Resource Development Council (RDC) on construction activities at the mine and concentrator site in Labrador. The agreement set out the following hiring guidelines for the RDC and its member unions:
- First preference to qualified members of LIA and Innu Nation who are members of a union;
- Second preference to qualified members of LIA and Innu Nation who are not members of a union;
- Third preference to qualified residents of Labrador who are union members;
- Fourth preference to qualified residents of Labrador who are not union members; and
- Fifth preference to qualified union members from the island part of the province.
This was not merely a checklist of priorities. VBNC was committed to the highest possible Aboriginal and local involvement, working aggressively and strategically to achieve these objectives.
“Our successes in meeting and exceeding employment targets were neither luck nor coincidence,” said Tom Paddon, Manager of Aboriginal Affairs and Labrador Human Resources. “They were the result of foresight and forethought, along with a lot of hard work on everyone’s behalf, including LIA, Innu Nation and RDC. In Labrador, we involved Aboriginal communities early in the process, and maintained their involvement throughout the project development cycle.”
The employment priorities which were developed with the RDC gave hiring preference at the Demonstration Plant construction site to residents of the local area who were either members of a building trades union or had the qualifications necessary to join a union. As a result, there was strong local involvement from people living in the Argentia area during the construction of the Demonstration Plant.
“We were also committed to hiring as many local residents as possible for the operations phase, which started this year,” said Don Stevens, Manager of the Demonstration Plant. “We began taking steps to achieve this long before the recruitment process officially started, by introducing technical training programs in the local area and working to raise local awareness of opportunities with the project.”
As part of our commitment to transparency in the Industrial Employment Benefits Agreement (IEBA), VBNC provides regular reports to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, on employment generated by all aspects of the project. We also provide the provincial government with information on expenditures and procurement awards. As part of our agreement with LIA and Innu Nation, we provide similar information to these groups on a regular basis.
We continued to operate our Aboriginal Affairs and Labrador Human Resources Office established in Goose Bay, Labrador. Six people including an Innu Employment Coordinator and an Inuit Employment Coordinator staffed the office. These individuals were extremely effective in providing access to information about the project to local residents, and facilitating the hiring of Aboriginal peoples. In Placentia, an information office was established to keep local residents informed about the project. Both offices created a platform for effective communication between VBNC and local communities, and were pivotal in our efforts to maximize employment opportunities for local residents.
On December 1, 2005, the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement came into effect and as a result the Labrador Inuit Association became Nunatsiavut Government.
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