Kakisa finding jobs with promise from its natural resources
Derek Neary
Northern News Services
Kakisa (Apr 27/01) - Three joint-ventures with southern companies have provided this small community of 50 people with plenty of jobs.
Allan Landry, director of oil and gas for Kakisa, said partnerships with a surveying and engineering company, a logistics company and a camp and catering company have resulted in training and work for several people in Kakisa, as well as for a few residents of Trout Lake and Fort Providence.
"Our goal was to get jobs and that's way we have done," he said of the joint-ventures. "These are all well-established companies that have been started by individuals."
Training costs are included in the deals.
"The experience is priceless," he said.
"We're trying to train in every field so when work comes up here two guys from here can go do the surveying or whatever."
The deals were signed late last year after many preliminary meetings, but they will not compel the community to develop any of its natural resources before residents are ready, Landry noted.
Instead, each of the companies was promised exclusivity in projects on Ka'a'gee Tu traditional lands as they occur. Landry declined comment on the length of terms of these joint-ventures, but he said they could be dissolved at any time by either party.
"We understand (the companies) are here to make money, but they're committed to having the community grow with them," he said.
Not all projects will be oil and gas related, he added. For example, the surveying company will be involved in upgrading
Kakisa's access road as well as work on water and sewage improvements, he said.
