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Sask. First Nations company signs agreement with Ontario-based nuclear company

Jan 26, 2019 | 9:00 AM

A new agreement could help bring more jobs to a First Nations community in northern Saskatchewan.

Ontario-based Bruce Power has signed a supplier agreement with the owners of the Makwa Development Corporation and Tron, a construction company based on the English River First Nation.

Under the terms of the agreement, the joint venture will help provide Bruce Power with a number of services as part of its ongoing investment program. Tron’s experience ranges from infrastructure and utilities construction to electrical and instrumentation installation, as well as vessel fabrication.

“Bruce Power is committed to developing wealth-creation solutions for Indigenous peoples on a number of fronts, and these types of business partnerships are a key element to achieving this,” Bruce Power’s President and CEO Mike Rencheck said in a statement. “The MAKWA-Tron joint venture will provide community members with excellent jobs and give Bruce Power the skillsets we require to advance our investment program.”

Des Nedhe Development, which started as a company in 1991 as an economic development vehicle for the English River First Nation, now manages a number of companies in the resource, construction, supply, manufacturing, communications, and real estate sectors.

“Through community foresight and planning, we have been forging new paths,” President and CEO Sean Willy said in a statement. “We are building on traditional values and an entrepreneurial spirit, while delivering opportunities that add value for our customers and our people. It has become one of the leading Indigenous economic development organizations in the country.”

The exact details of how the agreement will be carried out remain unclear, including whether Bruce Power has any immediate construction projects planned for Saskatchewan. paNOW has reached out for further comment from Bruce Power as well as Tron.

Residents from Prince Albert may recognize the name Bruce Power. A feasibility study conducted by the company in 2008 identified Prince Albert, along with the Battlefords and Lloydminster as a region most viable to host a nuclear facility.

 

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell