It was intuition that propelled Mattagami First Nations Chief Chad Boissoneau to forge ahead with the idea of educating band members to tree harvest for the lumber giants of the North, thereby increasing employment in his own community. He wanted to make a difference in an area where unemployment hovered at 75 per cent. Today, thanks to the Gawuhigaewin Community Development Corp., unemployment has been reduced to 35 per cent.
“(Employment) is a lot better than what it was,” Boissoneau says. “Before, we never really had any opportunities to become self- sufficient.”
That all changed in 2000 when the chief and other band members sat down with Tembec and Domtar to inform them of their intention to go into the lumber-harvesting business.
“We want to be part of the industry,” Boissoneau says.
“Through various training programs and over a period of five years we felt comfortable at competing in the forest industry.”
The business started out with a comprehensive plan in 2000. They identified the volume of wood required to make their operation viable.
“We need enough wood in order to maintain and operate sufficiently with one mechanical harvester.” Boissoneau says.
The community saw a need to train employees in first aid, WHMIS, the use of harvesting equipment and for a class ‘A’ license.
As well, eight Mattagami First Nations people were to be educated by Collège Boréal instructors for an accredited mechanical tree-harvesting diploma.
By following through with the education component, Mattagami piqued the interest of Domtar, who has a policy to provide economic opportunity for First Nation communities, but they had to prove they were capable of handling long-term harvesting contracts. After Mattagami provided the necessary experience for the team, both Tembec and Domtar became key players in supplying land, located near Gogama, for the students to learn the trade.
As the First Nations displayed a willingness to flourish in the industry, Domtar became an able partner in helping the fledgling company to become rooted in the forestry sector.
“We gave them a few pointers on finding financial partners for the equipment they needed,” says Robert Edmonds, regional woodlands manager for northeastern Ontario’s Domtar operations.
Equipment like a feller buncher, grapple skidder and a delimber are costly. In order to obtain a loan for the machines, Mattagami First Nations had to secure a harvesting contract with Tembec and Domtar - something Boissoneau believes they were ready to accept.
“It was a 60-kilometre radius of our community,” Boissoneau says, in reference to the first piece of land they were working on for Domtar.
The Gawuhigaewin corporation has just completed harvesting 50,000 cubic metres for the Domtar plant and Edmonds says he is pleased with the quality of the work.
“Their philosophy is quality first, then they can develop production in time,” Edmonds says.
Considering they have just started in the logging and production business, Edmonds says he is impressed with their performance and adds they are achieving a high level of quality production.
This could not be attained so quickly if it were not for the help of band member Leonard Naveau SR., who has put 29 years of experience behind his community’s operation. He was given a leave of absence from Domtar to educate the First Nations people in forestry equipment operations.
“He’s got a lot of experience and is a good benefit to the company,” Boissoneau says.
Gawuhigaewin is now working on 40,000 cubic metres for Tembec in the same area.
“We would like to work closer with other First Nation contractors and have a greater portion of the wood harvesting by them,” Rick Groves, chief forester Ontario boréal east for Tembec Industry Inc., says.
He expects operations like Mattagami First Nations will grow over time and looks forward to obtaining a balanced representation in the workforce.
Currently, First Nations lack representation in Tembec, however, building initiatives such as this one will generate an increased presence in the operations, Groves says.
“We see some great opportunities in working with Mattagami to help meet those targets and ensure that everybody shares,” Groves says.
The Tembec harvesting area is close to the reserve, which lowers overhead for the company since it does not have to pay for sleeping or eating arrangements.
The work has given a boost to the Native people who now are able to have long-term plans for the community and their families.
