Company asked to give more thought to hiring locally
A local drilling contractor says the mining company pursuing the Howard's Pass project should be putting more emphasis on local employment.
A local drilling contractor says the mining company pursuing the Howard's Pass project should be putting more emphasis on local employment.
Clayton Bolduc of Earth Tek Drilling acknowledges that Selwyn Chihong Mining is a private company free to hire who it wants to hire.
As a junior mining company which relies on support for its project from the Yukon community and the government, Selwyn Chihong should reciprocate by hiring local companies, Bolduc said in an interview last week.
He pointed out Selwyn Chihong recently awarded a multimillion-dollar contract for work at Howard's Pass to companies from B.C. and Manitoba, while local drilling companies are starving for work.
"There are three of us in the Yukon totally capable of doing the work and none of us are working,” Bolduc said.
He emphasized this is not a case of "poor-me.”
Rather, when companies rely on the community for the positive support of the mining industry, they should show a preference for local hire, particularly in these times of drought, he said.
Bolduc said during the boom of a couple of years ago, companies were screaming for drilling companies, but today is a totally different story.
Earth Tek, Bolduc pointed out, has laid off office and shop staff in Whitehorse, but staff with the companies from Manitoba and B.C. are still working.
"Now is the time for junior mining companies to support us,” he said.
"If they do not support us, we will all be out of business, and then these junior mining companies will have no choice but to use Outside companies.”
Bolduc said he's written Selwyn Chihong and Premier Darrell Pasloski to express his disappointment.
He doesn't expect the premier and his Yukon Party colleagues can do anything about his concern, but perhaps they can influence a preference for local hire among the private sector in the future.
"I am not outraged just because we didn't get the contract,” he said. "Nobody in the Yukon got it.”
Bolduc said he doesn't know what the price difference was between his bid and the bids of the two companies awarded the work, though he's confident his was the low bid based on his experience.
Maurice Albert, Selwyn Chihong's vice-president, said Friday the company uses a tender policy to ensure it gets the best value for its dollar.
In this case, he pointed out, Selwyn Chihong put out a request for proposals to 12 companies, requesting they provide a description of the their company, qualifications, experience and capabilities.
Six were shortlisted, two of which were Yukon companies which ended up fourth and fifth in the evaluation, he said.
Albert said the companies from Manitoba and B.C. placed first and second.
Both companies have been working in the territory since 2010, he pointed out.
Albert noted the two companies have signed memorandums of understanding with the Kaska setting out benefits they intend to provide to the First Nations, in keeping with the requirement by Selwyn Chihong.
The contract to drill 55,000 metres this year is worth $12 million between the two companies, with another $10 million in associated costs such as providing the camp service, along with mobilizing and demobilizing the equipment, he explained.
Selwyn Chihong is advancing the Howard's Pass open-pit project, and is currently completing an all-season road to the property located east of Ross River on the Yukon-N.W.T. border.
The company describes Howard's Pass as one of the largest undeveloped deposits of zinc in the world.
Comments (7)
Up 0 Down 0
K makasoff on Mar 29, 2016 at 10:23 am
I know of a company that's from the Yukon in Whitehorse. They should not even call themselves a drilling company. Saftey is out the window, the people at the top are a bunch of halfwits and their gear is junk - out dated old garbage. So I could see that if I was looking for a contractor, it would not be them. I would hire out of the territories also.
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Joel on Mar 13, 2014 at 9:45 am
Why does this seem to be so hard to understand. There were 2 Yukon companies that qualified for the tender and they came in 4th and 5th out of 6. If the Yukon companies were good enough to get the contract, they would have. Locals will also get some benefit from the MOU with the Kaska from both of these southern companies. This is a requirement of the mining company itself and not something that was forced upon them. Fair contracting is great until someone doesn't get the job I guess.
If I was in business I would choose my top contractors, not the last on the list.
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Set to Fail on Mar 12, 2014 at 1:30 pm
Many southern companies have employee drug testing.
For many Yukon workers this is a test they cannot pass. Unfortunate but it's what it is.
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hmmm on Mar 11, 2014 at 11:12 pm
It would be very simple for the government to include a clause in the contract providing funding that the company has to hire X amount of Yukoners and/or have X amount of sub-contractors from within the Yukon. They can use KPIs to monitor this and have financial penalties if the KPIs are not met.
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Just say'in on Mar 11, 2014 at 4:03 pm
How about those kickbacks to the "First Nations". How do you get that gig? I want some of that. If you want to operate on our "TURFF" you gotta pay.
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June Jackson on Mar 10, 2014 at 11:55 am
Selwyn Chihong gets support..is that funding? From the Government of Yukon.. so..the Yukon Government make agreements and contracts, without any stipulations regarding local employment?
Well.. what can I say? That's par for their course.
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BnR on Mar 10, 2014 at 9:22 am
And this is the reality of large mines in the Yukon; most of the work goes to Southern companies.
I have been to Wolverine numerous times, and Yukoners are a rare commodity there, as are Yukon firms.
Mind you, so many local firms have been burned financially by mining companies in the past, many won't bother with them.