Sharing resources benefits all.

• Author: FAYE, DONNA
• Position: Domtar, Brunswick Industrial

Under a new agreement, Brunswick House First Nation (BHFN) Logging and Trucking Inc. is working with Domtar Forest Products to improve its logging operations through valuable training opportunities, and shared resources.

Domtar entered into a five-year agreement with Brunswick House to provide the six-year-old company with harvesting opportunities on Crown lands licensed to Domtar in the Chapleau area.

The spruce, pine and fir trees on the Crown land surrounding Chapleau are designated for Domtar's sawmill in Chapleau.

Domtar has taken on BHFN Logging and Trucking Inc. as one of its contractors, with, a contract to harvest and deliver the wood to those mills, the primary one being the Domtar sawmill in Chapleau.

Last year, after the agreement was signed, the Brunswick House company received a contract from Domtar to harvest 50,000 square metres. This year, the company received another two contracts for 50,000 square metres each.

The contract has likely created about 12 new jobs for Brunswick House First Nation, says Robert Edmunds of Domtar.

"We would be able to employ more if we had our own road equipment," says former' chief Andrew Neshawabin.

Most of the equipment being used belongs to the company, including a feller, buncher, slasher, two log trucks, one gravel truck, a bulldozer. However, road-building equipment, such as a shovel bulldozer, a wheel loader and a new grader are urgently needed.

The company is trying to purchase new road equipment of its own through various funding agencies. The agreement is in effect for a minimum of five years.

"We expect it to be ongoing though," says Edmunds.

The Ministry of Natural Resources facilitated some of the negotiating and provided support for the training of BHFN Logging and Trucking Inc. employees. Once the contract was signed, Domtar conducted a needs assessments to determine what types of training were needed among BHFN employees.

"We have ongoing meetings with them (MNR and BHFN) to provide training opportunities, so some of those are related to specific logging jobs, others are more broad based business and administration training, and how to run a successful business," Edmunds says.

Without such training the Brunswick House company would have encountered difficulties in meeting requirements such as WHMIS certification and logging guidelines, Neshawabin says.

Training has begun, and already many BHFN employees have been certified in various logging courses, including chainsaw operation...