b'INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPSDecontie Construction was awarded the $4.5-million Corbeau Hydroelectric Station decommissioning project in Maniwaki, Quebecits first major contract outside of reserve boundariesOne lease the band wanted terminatedsediment remediation; and the removalcomprising some of the youngest and was a shake and cedar mill operating onof existing infrastructure.fastest growing populations across its land. [The owner] had been goingthe country, First Nations could be the outside of the scope of his lease andWe were able to get the lands to a placeanswer to Canadas aging construction getting involved in recyclable materialsnow where we are now able to movesector, which will need to recruit more and all kinds of stuff, Knights says.forward with a new tenant, Knights says.than 307,000 workers over the next We negotiated a new lease with lightdecade, according to BuildForce Canada.The band was eventually able to get theindustrial as opposed to heavy indus-tenant removed from their land, but atrial that was there in the past. Now weWith the right partnerships in place, ones lot of remediation work was requiredhave a medical marijuana facility and awhere communities can gain experi-before they could lease the propertybuilding for craft brewers.ence to branch out on their own and to a new tenant. The band ended upform their own contracting firms, many creating a joint venture with MilestoneThe partnerships untaken by DecontieFirst Nations communities will have the Environmental Contracting to jointlyConstruction, Kwantlen First Nation andopportunity to expand their businesses remediate the land over multiple phasesKwikwetlem First Nation with Milestonecapacities and revenue generation and from 2017 to 2019. This included siteEnvironmental Contracting showcasebuild exciting new career paths for the and ground water remediation; stabi- opportunities for other potential posi- next generation.lizing a failing slope with a lock blocktive joint ventures between First Nation retaining wall; the demolition of struc- communitiesandtheconstructionAndrew Snook is a writer and editor tures,foreshoreandwater-basedindustry. With Indigenous communitiesworking out of the Toronto area.Aboriginal BUSINESS REPORT29'