Category: Workforce

In June 2019, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) published their final report. The report included a “Deeper Dive into Resource Extraction projects” and also outlined “Calls for Justice for Extractive and Development Industries”. As a mining exploration company working on the traditional territory of the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi, we put together a plan to address the concerns raised in the report.

Inclusive Culture

We hire a diverse workforce and strive to hire women and members of First Nation communities. We work to improve the workforce’s awareness of cultural diversity. We also award contracts to enterprises hiring First Nation workers.

Empowering, Pride and Accomplishment

We empower First Nation women by providing meaningful employment to ensure their financial security and autonomy. We also give them opportunities to develop their expertise.

Safe and Supportive Environment

We provide a safe workplace and enforce strict policies prohibiting violence, harassment, and the use of drugs and alcohol. We provide support for the well-being of our First Nation workforce through our onsite nurses and First Nation Human Resources Facilitator. We also hired a Community Liaison Advisor based in Waswanipi.

Our culture is shaped by innovative thinking and practices that redefine the way we manage our activities. We constantly question our way of doing things.

This led us to review our selection criteria when hiring new operators for the water treatment unit. Removing unnecessary barriers – such as a high school diploma, when the operator most needs a willingness to learn – would provide access to a new position category. Senior Technicians now train and teach the basic concepts of the job, share their experience and provide support and supervision. They also developed a training program with an evaluation to make sure the new operators fully understand the water treatment process and the importance of this position. This initiative led to training four new Water Treatment Operators, two of them from the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi. This is just one example of including our host communities in our workforce. Protection of the environment is a priority for Osisko Mining and for the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi. By having two water treatment operators from Waswanipi, we ensure that the community has an active role in monitoring the quality of our effluent.