The importance of involving aboriginal neighbours

As the mining industry evaluates its future under the microscope of sustainable development, the importance of maintaining constructive relationships with aboriginal communities cannot be overemphasized. Environmental, social and financial management must involve the aboriginal communities near mining operations, and their needs must be a priority consideration when advancing project development.

While there is no blueprint to align sustainable development and effective aboriginal relations, learning from experience will be a critical ingredient for success.

A Canadian example is Cameco Corporation, a uranium mining company created in 1988 by the merger of two Crown corporations–Saskatchewan Mining Development Corporation and Eldorado Nuclear Limited. Cameco and its predecessor companies have been operating in northern Saskatchewan since the late 1940s. The company’s impact area is defined as the 250,000 square kilometres that encompasses its four mining operations, 12 Indian Bands and about 30 non-reserve communities. This region has a population of only 40,000, 75% of whom are of aboriginal descent. The company encourages constructive relationships with these people and earns the social licence to operate through the business philosophy and behaviours encouraged in sustainable development models.

Social Responsibility

In addition to the extensive public dialogue required by regulation, Cameco consults regularly with its impact communities to help address specific issues related to mining and the expectations of northern and aboriginal people. In an effort to formalize corporate social responsibility commitments, Cameco and joint venture partner Cogema Resources Inc. also negotiated a comprehensive impact management agreement in 1999 with the seven most impacted communities in northern Saskatchewan. The agreement deals with a range of issues including environmental protection, employment, training, business development and benefit sharing.

But corporate social responsibility involves more than talk. Cameco has responded to northern concerns about employment by actively attracting and retaining more than 50% of its operations employees from northern Saskatchewan. Today, 45% of Cameco’s permanent operations workforce is aboriginal. Furthermore, Harry Cook, Chief of the Lac La Ronge Band, is a member of Cameco’s board of directors. The company also encourages and assists northern and aboriginal students to pursue higher education and professional careers in the mining sector through work placements, scholarships, awards, summer employment and a comprehensive multi-party training plan with industry, government and northern educational institutions.

Economic Contribution

By helping educate Saskatchewan’s northern aboriginal population, Cameco not only helps generate a trained labour pool in close proximity to its operations, but also helps inform the community of business and industry practices, and creates a vested interest in the company’s continued operation in the region.

The economic relationship between Cameco and the Saskatchewan aboriginal communities is continually demonstrated through local business development, employment and community involvement. Local entrepreneurs are encouraged to seize business opportunities presented by Cameco operations to maximize the economic benefits to the community. A “buy Saskatchewan” policy has been established with a company goal of acquiring at least 35% of all operations purchases from the north. In 2001, $42 million in business was awarded to northern companies out of a total of $106 million spent in the province. Furthermore, Cameco encourages its suppliers to adopt similar hiring and purchasing practices. Fostering these business relationships helps increase economic self-sufficiency in Cameco’s impact community, and helps generate support for mining activities both operationally and politically.

Environmental Stewardship

Cameco recognizes, however, that the value it receives from understanding and favourably affecting the economic and social fabric of the community will be immediately undone if it is not a responsible steward of the environment. While corporate environmental performance is paramount in today’s mining industry, for aboriginal people environmental protection is vital to maintain traditional lifestyle. Minimizing environmental impact must be about more than compliance and licensing, particularly in areas where residents rely on the local ecosystem for livelihood and a large part of their food supply.

To respond to these concerns, Cameco has embraced an environmental management system that strives for continual improvement in addition to meeting regulatory demands. The company also involves local residents through a community-based environmental monitoring program established in its impact management agreement. The program has local hunters and residents sampling water, air, plants, fish and animal tissue, and reporting the results back to the community.

Cameco’s commitment to the key areas of sustainable development has resulted in a constructive relationship with northern and aboriginal people because of the company’s willingness to consider its broader impact on the community and the environment. Managing these impacts not only demonstrates the core elements of sustainable development–it is also good business.

Ghislaine McLeod is a senior communication specialist with Cameco Corporation in Saskatoon, Sask.