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Despite Canada’s internationally recognized leadership in forest management and conservation, certain anti-forestry activist groups continue to spread false and misleading information about the Canadian forest products sector and companies like Resolute. As a principled and ethical organization and a recognized global leader in sustainability, Resolute believes it has a duty to confront these distortions about our company and our stewardship of the forests, and that’s why we are setting the record straight here.
Skills Ontario is a province-wide program, which aims to introduce young people to the world of skilled trades and technology. The program is particularly focused on enabling and empowering young women as well as members of First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) communities. Each year, the Skills Ontario Competition brings together students from across the province, providing a forum for them to showcase their competencies in their chosen fields. Resolute was proud to support this year’s event, held on May 10, 2018, in Toronto (Ontario), with a donation of four bundles of lumber used in carpentry competitions.
Resolute is proud of the strong partnerships we have built with First Nations communities across Ontario and Quebec. We maintain close ties with nearly 40 such communities, working together to create mutually beneficial opportunities and shared prosperity.
Resolute is proud to help establish pathways of success for Aboriginal students through its partnership with Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Resolute has collaborated with the college to develop a two-year mechanical engineering technician (MET) program that will prepare students to enter a broad range of trades including millwright, machinist and steam fitter. We also present an award and bursary each year to an individual Aboriginal student whose academic achievements have distinguished them.
In this series of posts featuring highlights from our 2016 Annual Report, which provides both financial and sustainability information, we explore how Resolute brings principled leadership to every aspect of our business, in order to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.
Resolute added its voice to a distinguished group of municipal and business leaders who recently attended the 2017 Ontario Economic Summit to discuss new opportunities to grow the province’s bottom line.
Resolute Forest Products focuses on developing constructive relationships with Aboriginal communities, with whom we work collaboratively to ensure that our forests continue to provide for future generations.
Resolute works with many local and Aboriginal business partners to keep our woodlands and mill operations running smoothly.
Derek George is a Resolute Ignace sawmill apprentice, and a previous Lambton College millwright mechanical 2015 grad who has been selected to participate in the 2017 Skills Ontario Competition.
We are pleased to announce that on February 15th, we signed a five-year commercial agreement with the Red Rock Indian Band (RRIB) – an Ojibwe First Nation located in Northwestern Ontario, Canada.
The Governor General of Canada, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, visited our Thunder Bay pulp and paper mill on March 29 as part of a trip to northern Ontario.
President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Garneau kicked off the event, providing a high-level overview of the company with a focus on our Northwestern Ontario operations and our overall commitment to sustainability.
Funding to Ontario college focuses on training First Nations students, and Resolute commits to hire them.
Getting a good education is just one part of the puzzle. You also need a good job. For the six aboriginal students enrolled in the Industrial Mechanical Millwright Technician Program at Cambrian College in Sudbury, Ontario, that won’t be a problem.
At Resolute, we’re proud of the strong partnerships we have built with dozens of First Nations across Ontario and Quebec. These partnerships demonstrate our commitment to working alongside First Nations to create mutually beneficial opportunities. Over the past year or so, Resolute has signed agreements representing over C$100 million in new economic investment with seven First Nations (Nigigoonsiminikaaning, Lac des Mille Lacs, Seine River, Couchiching, Mitaanjigamiing, Lac La Croix and Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek) in Ontario. These agreements have led to contracts in areas such as construction, transportation and harvesting – to name just a few. The communities involved have told us about the positive impact these agreements have on their quality of life, particularly for young people.
On December 18, Resolute signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Chief White Cloud of the Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation (LDMLFN) to identify and pursue new economic opportunities.
We’re proud of the work our people do here at Resolute, but these latest nominations are a chance for us to be proud of the work our people are doing with others. Our First Nations partnerships are the focus of both the Northern Ontario Business Award (NOBA) we’re receiving and the Ethical Corporation’s Responsible Business Award, for which we’ve been shortlisted.
Many of our operations in Canada are located in areas where First Nations peoples form a large portion of the population. Not only do we share in the respect and importance of forest resources, we also understand that these resources are critical to the prosperity of Aboriginal communities.
How do you work with First Nations?
In a number of ways. It starts with respecting treaties, traditions and rights. That’s outlined in our Aboriginal Peoples Policy. In Canada, the legal responsibility to consult with First Nations and harmonize forest management practices with their traditional land uses lies with government.
Within this framework, we collaborate with First Nations and government to promote constructive discussions that we hope will lead to long-term solutions. And in many cases it has. Resolute maintains close ties with 27 First Nations in Ontario and in Quebec, we regularly engage with 12 different communities from five separate First Nations.
On May 14, 2015, Resolute signed a new Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Chief Wilfred King of the Gull Bay (Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek, or KZA) First Nation to identify and pursue new economic opportunities.
Resolute and six First Nations celebrate a ground-breaking agreement in Ontario
Engaging our First Nations partners to support our operations in Northwestern Ontario just became a little more official. On February 10th, we signed a Memorandum of Agreement that sets out the framework for several contracts that have resulted in C$100 million in new business for our six First Nations MOA partners.