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Diamond dust up
De Beers director denies saying aboriginals not suited to diamond work by Richard Gleeson
NNSL (Feb 11/98) - Yellowknife MLA Roy Erasmus says a top De Beers official was surprised to find out Yellowknife has modern buildings and saw Northern aboriginal people as lacking the temperament required to work on diamonds.
Erasmus met George Burne, a member of the board of directors of the De Beers international diamond cartel and head of the company's new Canadian operation, during a fact-finding trip to London and Antwerp in the fall.
"He said they weren't sure what sales plan BHP had, but that if (De Beers) was going to sort Northern diamonds, they would do it in Canada," recalled Erasmus.
"We asked him 'What about in the NWT?' I don't remember his exact words, but basically he said he didn't think aboriginal people were properly suited to doing that type of work.
"It gave us the impression they were still thinking of Indians running around on horses with head-dresses and following the caribou migration," said Erasmus.
Burne, however, had a very different recollection of what was said.
"I think he misunderstood," said Burne, when asked about the comments. "Of any ethnic group only a few would be selected because most people don't have the right temperament or eyesight required for the job."
Burne estimated only 30 of every 100 people tested for cutting and polishing diamonds have what it actually takes to be competent at the job.
Erasmus said Burne's reaction to a parting gift also surprised the delegation.
"As we were leaving I gave him a book about Yellowknife, and he looked at the picture of the city on the cover and said, 'Modern buildings!' as if he didn't know there was anything like that here."
Burne again said Erasmus was mistaken.
"He must have got it wrong, because I'd been up here before," said Burne, adding he had travelled up in the early 1990s.
The Yellowknife MLA said the delegation was alarmed that an organization with so much influence over the future of the Northern diamond industry would be so ignorant of the North.
Erasmus told the legislative assembly of Burne's comments in a question to Economic Development Minister Stephen Kakfwi.
Kakfwi responded by saying people who have lived here are, if anything, more likely to possess the skills required to refine diamonds.
"People have said (sorting and cutting) requires a lot of patience," said the Sahtu MLA. "I think, probably better than any other people in the world, Inuit, Dene and Metis people are known for that.
"The traditional lifestyle and culture of our people requires a tremendous amount of patience, something that is not held in great value or great quantity by people of the southern wage economy," said Kakfwi. |