An agreement between four groups of First Nations in the Burns Lake area, the provincial government and the Huckleberry Mine Ltd. has been reached that will provide social and economic benefits to both the mine and the First Nation communities.
Cheslatta Carrier First Nation, Nee-Tahi-Buhn band, Skin Tyee Nation and Wet’suwet’en First Nation have signed economic and community development agreements to receive a share of the mineral tax revenue collected by the provincial government from the expanded Huckleberry Mine, which is located 123 kilometres southwest of Houston.
These four community partnership agreements fulfill the B.C. Jobs Plan commitment to attain 10 new non-treaty agreements with First Nations by 2015, as well as the commitment to support and create new jobs through the expansion and establishment of mines in B.C.
These agreements come in as part of the mine permit amendment that Huckleberry Mine received in December of 2011, that extended the life of the mine to 2021, after it was originally slated to close in 2014.
The mine employs close to 230 full-time positions, 17 per cent of which are First Nation, and will generate around 50 new positions.
Randall Thompson, General Manager of Huckleberry Mine says the agreement with the four communities is very much focused on three significant aspects; cooperation in training and employment, opportunity for business development and transparency in terms of its permit.
“It brings us closer together in cooperating from a training and employment perspective and working closely in terms of providing potential employment and training to individuals of the community that fit the profile for any job description that comes along,” Thompson said, ” there’s an agreement to cooperate and provide potential opportunities to bid on contracts, and if in fact, the mine wants to go through a process to extend or improve upon the permit that we fall under in terms of the government, there’s an agreement to be cooperative and transparent about the on goings with company in terms of the permit. It’s very much a cooperative agreement when it comes to those three items.”
Thompson adds that there’s also an agreement to provide fiscal funding, meaning on a year-to-year basis to support community projects through the life of the mine.
Huckleberry Mine received the amendment to their permit to construct a waste rock facility that provides the mine the ability to store waste rock and continue to mine their pit.
The main zone optimizing project was an extension of the current pit that the company is mining.
The first economic and community development agreement was signed in 2010 with the New Afton Mine, located near Kamloops, and the agreements along with the benefits they provide to the First Nation communities, whose traditional territories the mining activities take place, help to provide certainty to the mining industry.
To date more than $12 million of mineral tax revenue has been shared with First Nation communities as a result of the economic and community development agreements.
Aboriginal relations and reconciliation minister, John Rustad believes these agreements are mutually beneficial.
“These agreements will not only bring social and economic benefits to the four First Nations, but the entire Bulkley-Nechako region,” Rustad said, “they ensure First Nations have the opportunity to participate in the economy, while giving industry the certainty to invest in our province.”
Thompson adds that the Huckleberry Mine considers it an obligation to work with all the representative parties in the region, and that the First Nation communities have been very responsive towards the mine.
“We are very happy with the support we have received from the First Nation communities, and we are looking forward to continuing to work with them,” Thompson said, “we are very happy with that relationship.”
This agreement will affect approximately 817 members of the four different First Nation communities.
Richard Peters, Cheslatta Carrier Nation Chief, says he is pleased to have reached the agreement.
“We are pleased to have concluded this agreement with the province. For generations, Cheslatta have watched the exploitation of their mineral resources and were never allowed a share of the benefits. This arrangement will allow the Cheslatta community to be part of the process and receive a portion of the royalties collected from the Huckleberry Mine operations,” Peters said.
