CanNorth Celebrates 25 Years

CanNorth turned 25 in August! One of the largest environmental service providers in Saskatchewan, CanNorth is proud to be 100% owned by Kitsaki. Their projects extend across Western Canada, where CanNorth teams provide a wide range of environmental and heritage studies for a diverse client base in power generation, mining, heritage, and more. In 2022, CanNorth completed Environmental Site Assessments for the LLRIB and Indigenous Services Canada to facilitate the transfer of administration of the First Nations lands between the Government of Canada and the LLRIB.

With warmer weather and access to lakes extending into October 2022, staff spent a large amount of time in northern Saskatchewan collecting water, fish, plant, and other samples. The community division was busy conducting engagement activities with industry clients and traditional foods studies. A large project this year involved assisting the McIlvenna Bay Operation in the preparation of their Environmental Impact Statement for the McIlvenna Bay copper mining project located in east-central Saskatchewan.

Congratulations goes out to CanNorth’s General Manager Peter Vanriel who received the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal from the Government of Saskatchewan in November in recognition of “demonstrated exceptional qualities and outstanding service to the province.” The award was presented to Peter by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, Russell Mirasty, who is an LLRIB member.

CanNorth maximizes Indigenous community involvement wherever possible, integrates traditional knowledge into projects, and prioritizes investment in Indigenous talent through the creation of employment opportunities. If you are interested in learning more about working at CanNorth, please contact human resources department at hr@cannorth.com

Find out more at cannorth.com

ACLP Goes Full Service

Exploration Hub Opens in La Ronge

Athabasca Catering (ACLP) used downtime in its operations due to reduced uranium production toward the end of the 2010s to invest its efforts expanding its client base outside that sector. When the pandemic shut things down even further, ACLP was already exploring new avenues for expansion, identifying many opportunities for growth.

This macro approach to strategy has served ACLP well as it ramps up to meet increasing mining sector growth fueled by global demand for uranium and rare earth metals. The calendar’s year end will also drive investors to release significant growth and exploration funding. For December 2022, this means a massive increase in the request for ACLP’s services.

“This year is nuts,” says Alan Cole, ACLP’s Managing Director. “We’ll easily meet pre-pandemic averages serving our existing operating clients alone, and we’ll add to that with new clients in exploration by at least 25-30% in 2023.”

ACLP has been investigating new opportunities and markets since 2017, first identifying a gap in services to the exploration segment in northern Saskatchewan.

“We knew the services that segment needed were in our wheelhouse,” says Cole. “Our crews have no problem working at camps and in the bush. Shorter-term contracts also have the flexibility our team members are looking for.”

Opportunities in exploration and growth in the mining sector overall pushed the needle on ACLP’s goals to move toward a full-service operation. They added internet and communications to the established roster of ACLP services in 2019. Tented accommodations followed soon after.

“In 2022, we went full-service,” says Alan. “We took advantage of the opportunity a slower market provided when it came to enhancing our skillset, and also used that space to promote our services.”

New relationships with a helicopter operator and Saskatch- ewan-based drilling company shifted ACLP’s offerings to covering a full complement of related services, moving ACLP to explore warehousing options closer to operations. The new exploration hub in La Ronge opens at the end of 2022.

“Our La Ronge warehouse is ground zero for our operations in the north,” says Cole, “Logistically, it’s an important staging space that helps us maintain and distribute vital equipment to existing and future clients.”

A regional hub with warehousing capacity also enables ACLP to buy bulk and control more aspects of the supply chain, giving them more control on costs, and ability to estimate for the year ahead. The exploration hub helps ACLP and its clients mobilize on various projects, while also generating more opportunities for regional employment.

“One ACLP differentiator is that it’s Indigenous-owned,” says Cole, “We’re also able to provide a range of services without extensive subcontracting. This gives us, and our clients, greater ability to estimate overall project costs and plan for margins that its clients can manage.”

Regional, direct service models are taking prominence in the resource-related sectors across Canada, enabling service providers to plan for more kinks in the supply chain along a products’ journey from manufacturing to operations. This model, and the soon-to-open exploration hub, strengthen ACLP’s buying position.

“No matter how big your buying power is, you can’t control world pricing inflation rates,” says Cole. “It’s about the standard approach to commercial models. ACLP’s estimation is more holistic, build around considerations for flexibility in delivery if the dominant commercial options are unavailable.”

Lots of action needs lots of hands! Find out more about ACLP projects and career opportunities at athabascacatering.com.

March Consulting Plans for Bright Future

Supporting Demands of Booming Resource Sector

To meet the demands of a booming potash sector, as well as First Nations infrastructure and clean energy sectors, March Consulting Associates Inc. (“March”) needs additional talent – and lots of it. The company is aiming to achieve hiring goals by building relationships to increase science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) talent in First Nation communities and by expanding their offices outside of the province.

“We decided to open an office in Calgary in September,” says Ritu Malhotra, March President & CEO. “Like all others in our sector, we’re facing some challenges with skilled labour shortage. While March has been fairly successful in recruiting top talent in Saskatchewan, growing our presence outside the province will help us meet our project needs in Saskatchewan and open the door to new project opportunities in Alberta.”

March is not just growing in Alberta – the company is on a hiring spree in Saskatchewan as well. With the addition of eight team members already in Calgary, March is expecting to close in on a team of 100 employees and contractors in 2023.

What’s fuelling this growth? First and foremost, the potash sector’s challenges related to managing global shortages resulting from conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Russia and Belarus supply 40% of the world’s potash, and with 25% of their potash shipments constrained, Canadian mining companies are ramping up to meet demand. March is busy working with all the major potash producers in Saskatchewan to support increased production. As the world moves towards cleaner energy sources, the work in the Uranium sector with Saskatchewan’s top producers continues to be strong.

It’s not just Potash, Uranium and clean energy sectors that March is focusing on for 2023. When Kitsaki bought a 25% share equity in March in 2014, March committed to pursuing opportunities with First Nation businesses needing engineering, project and construction management services and expertise. In October 2020, March was awarded the Project Management Institute – North SK’s Project of the Year award for the recently completed Woodland Wellness Centre project in Air Ronge. March’s plans for 2023 include pursuing opportunities with First Nations to provide EPCM services to improve infrastructure – from new office buildings to multi-purpose health and wellness facilities.

To hire the right people for potash, infrastructure, and beyond, March believes in investing in local talent, especially Indigenous peoples pursuing new careers in STEM.

“Building Indigenous talent in STEM is crucial to ensuring local people can participate in projects in their communities,” says Malhotra. “We will continue to build relationships and provide training and mentorship opportunities to make sure people from the community are able to meet their career goals and play integral roles in the projects located in their own backyards.”

Interested in a career with March Consulting? Visit https://www.marchconsulting.com/careers to learn more.