Planting the next generation of workers.Three Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is the part of the province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron (including Georgian Bay), the French River and Lake Nipissing. Northern Ontario has a land area of 802,000 km² (310,000 mi²) and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it forestry companies have united with Aboriginal communities to offer youth a chance to gain insight into wood harvesting operations. Bowater Canada, Tembec and Weyerhaeuser in conjunction with Outland out·land n. 1. A foreign land. 2. outlands The outlying areas of a country; the provinces. out Reforestation Reforestation The reestablishment of forest cover either naturally or artificially. Given enough time, natural regeneration will usually occur in areas where temperatures and rainfall are adequate and when grazing and wildfires are not too frequent. Inc. and Confederation College Confederation College is a provincially funded community college located in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1967, and has area campuses in Dryden, ON, Fort Frances, ON, Geraldton, ON, Kenora, ON, Marathon, ON and Sioux Lookout, ON. , are launching an expanded version of the First Nations program. Last year, Bowater sponsored 18 youth from nine First Nation communities. This year, they sponsored 30. The companies approach elders and parents in the First Nations communities where they operate and ask them to supply names of youth who would be interested in learning more about forestry. Once the company has the names, they are given to Thunder Bay's Outland Reforestation operation, a silviculture silviculture: see forestry. company headed by David Bradley David Bradley is the name of:
The students get work brush sawing, planting trees and performing other duties. They are given tours of the woodlands and harvesting operations, pulp plants and saw mills. They are also toured around areas that have been clear cut, with five years' and with 15 years' growth, respectively. "They can see how it grows," says Niels Carl, superintendent, Aboriginal business development with Thunder Bay's Bowater Canadian Forest Products Inc. "It is a real eye opener for some of them. They will know the business from the ground up." Confederation also provides the participants with academic experience, and health and safety training. Graduates of the program come back as camp leaders. For the first time since the program opened five years ago, First Nations youth are heading up some of the newcomers. There is a real camaraderie, Carl says. As much as the Aboriginal youth are learning the way of the forest through the company's eye, company officials are equally getting a taste for First Nations culture. Aboriginals have reverence for the land and it helps companies to understand the need to be mindful of trap lines areas and sacred grounds. First Nations are becoming more involved in the forestry sector. They want to be consulted and rightfully so, Carl says. It is important to give both parties a chance to build trust and form relationships. Who knows, he says, First Nations people may be the next generation of foresters. Over the next 20 years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time Aboriginal working-age population is expected to grow three to five times faster than its nonNative counterpart. As the aging workforce retires more jobs will come open and companies such as Tembec expect to get most of their workforce from the Aboriginal communities. "Last year was the first time we had to hire people to work on equipment near Kapuskasing," Rick Groves, Tembec's chief forester for Ontario operations recalls. Technicians and tradespeople trades·peo·ple pl.n. 1. People engaged in retail trade. 2. Skilled workers. Noun 1. tradespeople - people engaged in trade are hard to come by now and the future is only going to get worse. Already the industry is crying for electricians, millwrights, instrumentation technicians, heavy equipment operators and mechanics. Tembec has been very pleased with the success of the program, Groves says, and plans to expand it to northern Quebec. www.outland.ca www.bowater.com By KELLY LOUISEIZE Northern Ontario Business Northern Ontario Business is a Canadian magazine, which publishes monthly in Greater Sudbury, Ontario. The magazine covers business news and issues in Northern Ontario. |
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