Panel Report

Uranium mining produces a boom-bust economic cycle. In spite of the richness of northern Saskatchewan ore, and the current strong market demand for yellowcake, the ore bodies under development will be mined out in about forty years and may or may not be replaced by other discoveries. The cumulative employment and business opportunities created by the operating mines and mills will not last forever. However, the intangible benefits of training and experience acquired through these opportunities are durable cumulative impacts, providing the foundation for a stable employment base and initial integration into the wage economy.

Employment, business opportunities, education and training are inextricably linked, and strongly interdependent. Employment and business opportunities are only available for those who are qualified through education and experience; people are only motivated to acquire education and training if they have a reasonable assurance that jobs and contracts will then be accessible to them.

5.1 Education and Training

Participation by northerners in the workforce, and in its higher paying categories in particular, is dependent on the education and training level of the persons actively seeking employment. Having more jobs available as a result of uranium mining developments may provide motivation for residents to acquire the requisite education and training to enter the mining workforce.

Residents of the north have trailed residents of the rest of Saskatchewan in their qualifications for employment. The 1986 census recorded education data for only two communities in the Athabasca basin, Wollaston Lake and Fond du Lac. Of the potential labour force of 530 persons resident in those two communities, three-quarters were functionally illiterate; i.e., had less than a grade 9 education. Only 5 persons (less than 1 per cent) had obtained a grade 12 certificate. When data for the total province was compiled, only nineteen per cent were functionally illiterate, and 48 per cent had grade 12 or better. [Interim Report, Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management, May, 1993, Section 2, p. 56.]

More recent figures show an encouraging improvement, produced by many factors. One contributing reason for the improvement is the presence of new schools, or expanded curricula in older schools, which extend the available grades past the Grade 9 level, permitting students to further their education while staying in their home communities. The introduction of adult upgrading courses, the Multi-Party Training Program, NORTEP's Athabasca Bridging Program, and other initiatives have contributed to the gradual improvement of the educational levels of the labour force, and their readiness for meaningful employment. The continuation and enhancement of these initiatives must be diligently pursued. Failure to do so could deny the people of northern Saskatchewan of an opportunity to fully participate in the future of Canada.

5.2 Employment

In the ten years prior to the panel's appointment in 1991, the uranium mining companies' payrolls included between 584 and 1,049 persons annually; of these, the number of northerners employed was consistent, ranging from a low of 201 workers to a high of 336 persons. Expressed as percentages of the workforce, the northern participation rate was 31.2 to 39.9 per cent during the ten-year span between 1981 and 1991. In addition, between 150 and 330 persons were employed on contract at the mine sites. [Interim Report, Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management, May, 1993, Table 1.4.7.]

Over the next 20 years, the number of workers on company payrolls will fluctuate as some deposits are mined out and the production cycle begins at others. The complementary nature of several projects means that the workforce at the Key Lake and McClean Lake mills will remain relatively stable. Employment should reach a high of over 1,600 employees on various company payrolls by 2003, but drop with the depletion of the Key Lake and Rabbit Lake reserves. The number of contract employees will peak during the construction phases (1997-1999) and level off during production.

As far as cumulative impacts on the north are concerned, the participation rate by northern residents in the workforce is just as significant as the total number of jobs available. In recent years, the rate has shown a gradual steady increase from 31.2 per cent in 1985 to over 50 per cent in 1997. If the proponents meet the terms recommended for the human resource agreements in the McArthur River, Midwest and Cigar Lake surface lease agreements, the northern participation rate will increase by an annual increment of approximately 1 per cent until it reaches at least 67 per cent.

The quality of employment accessible to northern residents has also shown some improvement. In 1992,

...northerners were employed mainly as labour, mill workers, or heavy equipment operators. They comprised a considerably lower proportion of total employees in the higher paying categories of employment - the trades, the technical jobs and the supervisory jobs. [E. Weick, ESAS, A Socio-Economic Overview of Uranium Mining In Northern Saskatchewan, October, 1992, pp. 50-51.]

By October 1996, the situation had started to show signs of change:

...40% of all technical positions, 29 per cent of all trades positions, and 80 per cent of all mill and equipment operator positions are now filled by northerners...much of the progress can be credited to the Multi-Party Training Plan established in December, 1993. [Northerners reap benefits of Multi-Party Training Plan, News Release, Ministry of Northern Affairs, October 7, 1996, p. 1.]

Also encouraging is an increased acknowledgement of the need to accommodate cultural sensitivities, best evidenced by the hiring of an aboriginal employment counsellor by the proponents.

Many of these improvements have been achieved because the proponents were required to accept employment targets as part of the surface lease agreements. Several presenters testified to the positive effect of these targets on hiring practices. Governments should, therefore, continue to present the proponents with achievable but challenging northern employment targets.

5.3 Business Opportunities

The first business opportunities for northerners typically came in areas requiring little capital investment and minimal technical expertise -- security services, catering, and light construction work. Later opportunities included heavier construction projects and transportation-related activities including the transport of employees on their seven-day-in, seven-day-out rotations, the distribution of fuel and supplies, the movement of ore from mine to mill and the delivery of yellowcake to customers.

The final evolution of northern involvement in the mining industry will come when northern residents have the education and experience to fulfil the engineering and scientific research contracts. By the most optimistic estimate, this ultimate involvement is in the distant future.

In 1989, much of the money spent on goods and services was spent in La Ronge, which is a major transportation hub for northern Saskatchewan, as well as being a source for fuel, hardware, lumber and explosives suppliers. Thus, the business opportunities for northern Saskatchewan were limited to a very small area in the geographical south of the region, and were not evenly distributed.

More recently, the encouragement given by the industry to the concept of joint venturing has resulted in the awarding of some goods and services contracts to other areas of northern Saskatchewan; examples are catering (joint venture with Beauval and Domco at McClean Lake, [The Midwest Project Environmental Impact Statement, Supplementary Information, Cogema Resources Inc., May, 1996, p. 2-14.] ) and construction (joint venture with Snake Lake Construction of Pinehouse and Tron Power of Saskatoon [R. Rediron, Transcript of McArthur River Public Hearings, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, September 11, 1996, p. 185.] ). The experience gained through the joint ventures has enabled some northern companies to access contracts independently. In the future, this should become the norm for many contracts.

In comparison to 1989 figures, business opportunities for the north have shown substantial gains. In 1989, the uranium mines reported spending approximately $23-million in northern Saskatchewan. This was approximately 16 per cent of the operating expenditures of the mines. Transportation services accounted for much of the expenditures. [A Socio-Economic Overview of Uranium Mining in Northern Saskatchewan, E. Weick, ESAS, October, 1992, p. iv.] The more recently proposed uranium mines will be expected to purchase a minimum of 35 per cent of goods and services from northern suppliers. Although it would be tempting to view the gain in northern contracts as a cumulative impact of uranium mining, the increase in business opportunities does not necessarily represent a lasting impact on the north. Some of the businesses will only last as long as the mines are operating, and may not be viable without the major uranium industry contracts. What will endure are the skills and experience gained from the contracts.

5.4 Local Participation

Many people currently living in northern Saskatchewan are the descendants of aboriginal people who have inhabited that part of Canada for many centuries. Because of their long and continuous residency, they have come to look upon northern Saskatchewan as their homeland -- a place to which they are attached both historically and spiritually. It is little wonder, therefore, that they may be dismayed when changes propelled by outside forces take place, and especially if they have little understanding of the possible impacts of those changes on them and on future generations. They have a right to be informed about the developments and to participate in the planning process.

Local people and outside developers must seek effective methods of communication; both have much to gain from a dialogue with each other. It is, therefore, important that local people be provided with an opportunity to express both their aspirations and their concerns about the projects under consideration. Just as importantly, mine operators and government regulators have a responsibility to seriously consider the wishes of local people when the projects are developed. It is essential that the proponents of development projects in northern Saskatchewan find ways to encourage local participation and to make use of any available local knowledge in the planning and implementation of their projects.

The Environmental Quality Committees and the Athabasca Working Group are the best avenues currently available for an exchange of information and ideas. It is therefore in the best interest of all concerned that these organizations be supported and that their participation become an integral part of the planning and regulation processes.

5.5 Environmental Quality Committees

In response to a recommendation contained in our 1993 report, the Government of Saskatchewan established three Environmental Quality Committees (EQCs) in 1995. At approximately the same time, the Northern Mines Monitoring Secretariat (NMMS) was established with an office in La Ronge. [The Government's Position on Proposed Uranium Mining Developments in Northern Saskatchewan, Government of Saskatchewan, December, 1993.] Part of the mandate of the NMMS is to provide support for the EQCs, including the development of educational materials for use by northern residents on how and why monitoring is undertaken and how the information is used.

The members of the three EQCs are representatives from the communities in three geographic regions of northern Saskatchewan. The West Side EQC is comprised of members representing the impact communities identified in the Cluff Lake Human Resource Development Agreement (Beauval, Birch Narrows First Nation, Buffalo Narrows, Buffalo River First Nation, Canoe Lake First Nation, Clearwater Dene Nation, Cole Bay, English River First Nation, Green Lake, Ile-à-la-Crosse, Jans Bay, La Loche, Michel Village, Patuanak and St. George's Hill). The South Central EQC members represent communities identified in the Key Lake and McArthur River Human Resource Development Agreements (Air Ronge, Beauval, Brabant Lake, Buffalo Narrows, English River First Nation, Cumberland House, Cumberland House First Nation, Denare Beach, Green Lake, Ile-à-la-Crosse, La Loche, La Ronge, Lac La Ronge Indian Band, Montreal Lake First Nation, Patuanak, Pelican Narrows, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, Pinehouse, Sandy Bay, Southend, Stanley Mission and Weyakwin). The Athabasca EQC consists of representatives of the impact communities for Rabbit Lake, McClean Lake, Cigar Lake and the Midwest Project (Black Lake Denesuline Nation, Camsell Portage, Fond du Lac Denesuline Nation, Stony Rapids, Uranium City and Hatchet Lake First Nation).

A recent publication describes the role of the EQCs:

The EQCs provide a forum where information from government and the mining companies is relayed to the communities, and where communities are able to bring forward their comments on uranium mining projects. It is a mechanism which ensures consideration of the concerns and recommendations of northerners regarding how the uranium resource is developed in northern Saskatchewan. Suggestions and recommendations are forwarded to the mining companies and to governments. In this way the EQCs influence the way in which development occurs. Regulatory authority over the industry, its development and operations remains the responsibility of government. [Environmental Quality Committees and Northern Mines Monitoring Secretariat Report to Communities 1996/97, Saskatchewan Northern Affairs, August, 1997, p. 3.]

The two primary activities of the EQCs to date appear to have focused on the need for the membership to become fully acquainted with the uranium industry in northern Saskatchewan and on their wish to share information concerning the industry with other members of their individual communities.

According to their recent publication, [Ibid, p. 4.] the committees have been very active since their inception. With the assistance of the NMMS Director, Pam Schwann, they have been involved in a large number of activities including:

• a review of the licence renewal documents for Cluff Lake;
• a review of the Environmental Impact Statements for the Midwest, McArthur River and Cigar Lake projects;
• a review of the Conceptual Decommissioning Plans for the Midwest, Rabbit Lake, Key Lake and Cluff Lake mines;
• a review of the Federal Fish Habitat Compensation Policy;
• a review of generic surface lease agreements and human resource development agreements;
• a review of the Cumulative Effects Monitoring Program;
• tours of six mine sites;
• the presentation of briefs at public hearings on the Midwest, McArthur River and Cigar Lake Projects;
• the presentation of briefs to the AECB;
• the development of a proposed Fish Habitat Compensation Plan for the McClean Lake Project;
• the participation in the Caribou Sampling Project in the Wollaston Lake area;
• the development of a recommendation for a review of the abandoned Nisto Mine near Black Lake and implementation of decommissioning activities;
• the attendance at a conference sponsored by the Canadian Aboriginal Minerals Association; and
• a tour of the Saskatchewan Research Council Laboratory in Saskatoon where analyses on air, water, fish and wildlife samples are performed.

In addition to informal exchanges of information between the members and their communities, the EQCs attempt to share information with northern residents by providing meeting minutes and summaries of their activities for each Band and Municipal Council in their area. The NMMS assists them in their efforts to be two-way communicators by preparing educational supplements that are contained in the publication Opportunity North, which is distributed on a semi-monthly basis to every household in northern Saskatchewan. For example, a recent issue contained an excellent summary of tailings disposal technologies. [Opportunity North, Volume 4, Number 3, 1997.]

It is our observation that the EQCs fill a highly important role with respect to the uranium industry in northern Saskatchewan. Through them, northern people are acquiring a better understanding of the industry and its potential for both positive and negative impacts on the people and environments of northern Saskatchewan.

We regard the establishment of the EQCs as being one of the most lasting contributions arising from our work. Providing northern people with a better understanding of this industry and empowering them to participate in its future developments, we are convinced, is the best way to protect the northern environment.

We commend the Province for its foresight in establishing these committees and we strongly recommend to both the federal and provincial governments, as well as to the mining companies, that they continue to support the work of these committees. Governments should ensure that they are provided with sufficient funding to fulfil their mandate and the companies should continually seek ways to provide them with any required information in a manner that is both accurate and understandable.

5.6 Revenue Sharing

The panel first became aware of the wish by northerners to share in the revenues generated by uranium mining during scoping sessions held in 1992. [L. Wolfe, Summary Report on Scoping Meetings for Cigar Lake and McArthur River Projects, 1992, pp. 44-45.] The desire on the part of northern residents for a program of revenue sharing became a recurring theme whenever we were in northern communities and we subsequently made recommendations in support of revenue sharing in each of our reports.

In retrospect, it would appear that a great deal of the concern with respect to revenue sharing may have been a result of unfulfilled expectations that had been created by the Cluff Lake Report in 1978. [E.D. Bayda, K. McCallum and A. Groome, Final Report Cluff Lake Board of Inquiry, May, 1978, pp. 187-194.] The provisions of that report, which called for the provincial government to, "institute a uranium royalty sharing scheme under which the government would pay a share of the uranium royalty to certain northern governing bodies", were never implemented, much to the disappointment of many northerners.

In our 1993 report we recommended that, "no new uranium mining developments be undertaken until a form of revenue sharing, acceptable to the majority of impacted communities, has been agreed upon". [D.G. Lee, J.F. Archibald, J. Dantouze, R. Neal and A. Yassi, Dominique-Janine Extension, McClean Lake Project, and Midwest Joint Venture, Supply and Services Canada, October, 1993.] In response, the provincial government implemented a rather large number of initiatives including a commitment to share in the cost of the Multi-Party Training Plan, the introduction of amendments to the Northern Revenue Sharing Trust Account that would allow for greater northern participation in setting priorities for use of that fund, the establishment of a Northern Development Fund to assist northern business activities, the introduction of a Northern Mines Monitoring Secretariat to provide the public with accurate and credible information concerning the mines, the initiation of an integrated cumulative effects monitoring program, improvements to the road between La Ronge and Points North Landing, and the establishment of Environmental Quality Committees for each group of impact communities to improve the communication of information concerning the mines. [The Government's Position on Proposed Uranium Mining Developments in Northern Saskatchewan, Government of Saskatchewan, December, 1993.] However, when we returned to public hearings on the Midwest Project in the spring of 1996, it was clear that these measures had not been recognized by most northerners as a form of revenue sharing, perhaps because they had not been directly involved in the development of these programs. Resentment with respect to the perceived failure of governments to respond in a satisfactory manner continued to grow and was, we believe, the primary reason why some of the northern communities boycotted our 1996 hearings on the McArthur River and Cigar Lake projects.

Following the release of the McArthur River report, [D.G. Lee, J.F. Archibald and R. Neal, McArthur River Uranium Mine Project, Supply and Services Canada, February, 1997.] the Premier of Saskatchewan and six of his Cabinet responded to one of the recommendations in that report by meeting with northern leaders in Saskatoon on May 12, 1997. Revenue sharing and other matters were discussed and an agreement to hold another meeting was announced. [Government and northern leaders meet to discuss northern issues, News Release, Executive Council, Government of Saskatchewan, May 12, 1997.] Subsequently, the Province announced the initiation of a dialogue with northern leaders to develop a "Northern Strategy that fully reflects the social and economic priorities of northern people". [T. Penikett, Submission of the Government of Saskatchewan to the Federal-Provincial Review Panel on Proposed Cigar Lake and Midwest Uranium Mine Developments, La Ronge, Saskatchewan, August 28, 1997, pp. 2-4.] At the same time, it was revealed that the Provincial Minister of Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs, the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, and the Chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations had signed a tripartite Fiscal Table. The purpose of this agreement is "to negotiate fiscal arrangements on several related financial issues including offloading, taxation, self-government financing and revenue sharing". [Ibid, p. 4.]

We understand that solutions to the concerns which northerners have with respect to revenue sharing and related issues will not come easily. It is apparent that the decisions which flow from these initiatives may have broad implications that extend beyond northern Saskatchewan. It is noteworthy that similar discussions are taking place in other provinces [The Globe and Mail, Quebec agrees to negotiate with Crees, June 13, 1997.] and there will be a need for consistency between jurisdictions. At the same time there is a need to act in a timely fashion, before all of the uranium has been mined, milled and marketed.

As a panel, we believe that our responsibility for drawing this issue to the attention of governments has been discharged now that discussions with northern leaders have been initiated. In many respects, the issue is primarily political and only peripherally related to environmental assessment. We are, therefore, satisfied that resolution in a political forum has begun. We can do little more to assist northerners in their efforts to benefit from the removal of riches from an area that they have for generations regarded as their homeland.