Your time is up, Mr. Tonks.
Evidence of meeting #44 for Natural Resources in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was bloom.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #44 for Natural Resources in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was bloom.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Leon Benoit
We now go to Madame Brunelle for seven minutes. Go ahead, please.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Leon Benoit
Madame Brunelle, just wait a minute while we make sure the gentlemen get their translation devices working.
Okay, carry on.
Bloc
Paule Brunelle Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
The ACFN Business Group is made up of five companies that belong entirely to the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. I thought most of your employees had to be aboriginal to work in your company. But I see that’s not the case. What percentage of aboriginals work for you? Could you also tell me the percentage of aboriginals in administrative or executive roles?
Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Business Group
Thank you. Maybe I could answer that.
Within the ACFN Business Group, 9% of our total employees are of aboriginal descent. That is our core business, of which we own 100%, and 54 employees out of a total number of 585 are of aboriginal descent.
Four per cent of our total employees are ACFN members, so that's 21 out of 585 employees. Some 39% of our aboriginal employees are ACFN members. That's in all of the businesses, all 11 businesses. The number of working-age ACFN members living in Fort McMurray and Fort Chipewyan combined is 234. ACFN employees number almost 9% of that population.
I hope that provides you with the right....?
Bloc
Paule Brunelle Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
I will take my question a little further. You will see what I am trying to get at.
You told us that 74% of aboriginals left school in grade 10. So the aboriginals are experiencing a significant school drop-out rate. I told myself that, under those conditions, perhaps none of them could be administrators or executives in the companies that belong to a First Nation. I was wondering whether you felt that it was your responsibility to do something about the drop-out rate problem facing aboriginals, or you felt it was the federal government’s job to take action, so that some might be able to get a good salary and an executive position in one of your companies.
Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Business Group
Thank you.
The numbers I provided are correct on the high school dropout rate for grade 10 or below grade 10. I provide employment for people of different educational levels, but I'm not at a political level to encourage them within their community to continue with their education. That is mostly in the community of Fort Chipewyan, where I don't live or reside. I just provide employment for those people when they do come to Fort McMurray.
As far as administrative positions go, if an ACFN band member qualifies, I have a sense of priority for that person to get the position applied for, but they must qualify like everybody else.
Do I feel that it's the federal government's responsibility to push or provide encouragement to these people to continue with their education? To me, it's an individual responsibility. I think the federal government and the provincial governments do provide the resources for these people to succeed or to go back to seek an education, but it's an individual thing. The higher your qualifications are, the better position you can land with me, and the higher the salary.
Does that answer your question?
Bloc
Paule Brunelle Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
Yes, thank you.
Mr. Bloom, you are telling us that natural gas is cleaner than oil, in terms of the carbon footprint. So I wonder why it is not used as much in Quebec, for example. Is it just because of the widespread use of hydroelectricity?
President, Spectra Energy Transmission West
Thank you.
We see in Quebec as well as in several other jurisdictions, Manitoba and British Columbia among them, that we have an abundant hydroelectric supply. Those two are very clean sources of energy, and as a result, between the clean and abundant nature of the supplies and the relatively competitive prices, we see that hydroelectric energy captures a large area of the energy market in jurisdictions such as Quebec and British Columbia.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Leon Benoit
Thank you, Ms. Brunelle.
Mr. Cullen, you have up to seven minutes. Go ahead, please.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Thank you, gentlemen, for being here today.
I just want to get some context first.
Thank you, Mr. Flett, for the numbers and for your thoroughness.
February 15th, 2011 / 4:20 p.m.
Conservative
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
The statistics were about ACFN members. About 2% of the employees in your joint ventures and 4% in the ACFN solely owned companies are ACFN members. Is that right?
Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Business Group
Yes, that's correct.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Does your organization set targets? Is there a goal you hope to achieve? I understand all the factors that you presented, the educational levels and costs. I think that was the context of the presentation. Does your group seek to set any targets for what the employment numbers would be like? They seem pretty low if 96% of the employees are not ACFN members.
Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Business Group
The total number of band members is around 920. Out of the working age, the percentage gets lower, and there are professionals and technical people who go into different arenas for employment, so that leaves a limited few to pick up. A lot of them are for unskilled positions, and I employ a lot of those.
To answer the question on whether I provide incentives—
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
I was asking if you or any of your companies set targets. For example, you're at 2% right now, but you'd like to get to 10%, or you're at 4% and you'd like to get to 8%. Does anything like that go on for you?
Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Business Group
Thanks for clarifying. No, I do not set targets. I can only wish to increase my numbers.
As I stated earlier, if, across the board, everyone has equivalent skills and one is an ACFN member, I will give the AFCN member the advantage. However, you need to have all the other qualifications.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
In your joint ventures, are the companies that you joint venture with comfortable with that policy, the policy that if there are two equal candidates, you're going to give preference?
Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Business Group
We discuss it in our quarterly and semi-annual updates. Yes, there's a comfort level with it.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Mr. Bloom, a number of oil and gas companies have mentioned the need to establish a Canadian energy security strategy. They have spoken of a need to begin a national conversation on energy security, which many see as generally absent. I don't know if it is attributable to just having a lot of energy.
Does Spectra have any opinion on that?
