Nunavik’s young mine workers pave way for future generations

These three young Nunavimmiut have found success in the region’s mining sector, and now work to recruit and train new Nunavimmiut. From left, Glencore Raglan employees Siasi Kanarjuak and Samwillie Grey-Scott and Canadian Royalties Nunavik Nickel employee Elaisa Uqittuq in Kuujjuaq last week where they spoke to KRG council about their jobs. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

KUUJJUAQ — Siasi Kanarjuak never imagined working at a mine.

Growing up in Kangiqsujuaq on Nunavik’s Hudson Strait coast, she was aware of the nickel mine operating only 60 kilometres to the south. She knew people from her community who commuted there for work.

But in her mid-20s, something clicked. Looking at her job options across Nunavik, Kanarjuak realized that work at a mine could offer benefits that other jobs couldn’t.

“So I went for an interview at Raglan (Glencore’s nickel operation in Nunavik) and I found out they cook for us,” Kanarjuak told a meeting of Kativik Regional Government councillors last week at their meeting in Kuujjuaq.

“Then I would be home for two weeks — not just a weekend — and that was very appealing to me,” she said. “It gave me time to travel. If you look at it, it’s like having five months off [a year.]”

Today, Kanarjuak, 29, works to bring new Inuit staff to the Raglan mine site, as Inuit recruitment supervisor under the KRG’s Tamatumani on-the-job training program.

She’s one of roughly 160 Inuit employees who work at Raglan, about 18 per cent of the mine’s total workforce. And her job involves trying to entice more Nunavimmiut to look to the mine for jobs.

That’s been a challenge since the nickel mine went into operation in 1998, while Inuit employment numbers have remained below the 20 per cent level initially targeted for the region.

But Nunavik’s leadership hopes to change that, given that estimates have shown that over the next 10 to 15 years, there could be as many as four to six thousand jobs in the region’s mining sector.

A new plan launched earlier this year, the Kautaapikkut mining strategy, aims to double the current number of Inuit current employed in Nunavik’s mining sector and plans to prioritize the hiring and retention of Nunavimmiut women and youth.

There is also a push to retain current Inuit employees and help move them up from entry level positions.

At Glencore Raglan, for example, more than 30 Inuit employees have been identified under the Rapid Inuit Development Program, which targets staff for on-the-job training to move into more senior and management positions.

“Some people say that Inuit are not qualified enough [for mining jobs], but we’ve told them they could do on the job training for them,” Kanarjuak said.

That’s what her co-worker Samwillie Grey-Scott’s focus is.

Originally from Aupaluk, Grey-Scott was hired at Raglan as an underground miner four years ago. Earlier this year, he earned a new title: underground mine trainer.

Since March, Grey-Scott has been training Inuit on heavy equipment, working closely with one or two staff at a time.

Much like at Agnico Eagle Mines’ Meadowbank mine in Nunavut, Inuit — men and women alike — are moving into skilled positions as haul truck drivers and heavy equipment operators.

“Every morning when I see a driver, I usually find they’re driving too long in the same place,” Grey-Scott told KRG councillors last week. “I recommend they move around and learn more.”

While Grey-Scott is considered a success story in Nunavik’s mining industry, he faces the same challenges most of his fellow Nunavik colleagues do.

“I do miss my family, I do miss birthdays, hunting — that’s the hardest,” he said. “I try to keep in close contact with my family, but you get used to the routine.”

Along Nunavik’s nickel belt, Canadian Royalties’ Nunavik Nickel project shipped its first load of copper concentrate last November.

That’s where 30-year-old Elaisa Uqittuq is doing a similar work to her childhood friend Kanarjuak, as Inuit employment and training officer, although on a smaller scale.

There are only about 20 Inuit employees currently working on the mine site, out of what Uqittuq estimates just under 200 employees. (Canadian Royalties has not published its employment numbers.)

“I like my job because I can travel to the communities to look for new workers,” Uqittuq, from Kangiqsujuaq, told KRG councillors.

“Sometimes it’s hard. But I keep at it because I’m always learning something new.”

All three mine employees acknowledge that they are considered role models to other young Inuit considering a career in mining.

KRG chair Maggie Emudluk said she’s proud to see young people benefitting from the industry.

“There are many job opportunities that can be taken by Inuit. It’s slowly growing,” Emudluk told the KRG council.

“There aren’t many opportunities in Nunavik for those who go south for school and return home, but this is one area where there are options for them.”