Aboriginal procurement, employment and training

Procurement

Procurement opportunities will be comprised of:

Direct awards to Northern Gateway
Direct awards to prime contractors
Joint ventures participation
Services that can be managed via Aboriginal “set asides”1

We have identified the following key participation opportunities for Aboriginal businesses:

Clear, log, salvage
Access roads
Camps and catering
Security
Air Charter
Concrete weights
Skids and mats
Stockpiling
Trucking
Reclamation
Fuel Supply
Consumables
Surveying

Another part of our plan will be to identify and inventory potential Aboriginal suppliers of these services within targeted communities and to ensure Aboriginal suppliers are qualified for direct opportunities.

Aboriginal business involvement in construction activities will be dependent upon community capacity and desire to participate. We are currently entering into commercial memorandums of understanding to ensure interested communities are able to fully participate.

Northern Gateway anticipates that combined employment, procurement and joint venture opportunities will reach approximately $400 million in value over the three years during construction.

Employment

Northern Gateway is committed to hiring local people to construct the Project along the pipeline route to the greatest degree practical. Overall, Northern Gateway expects to create 62,700 person-years of construction employment throughout Canada over the 3-year construction period of which 24% will occur in Alberta and 57% will occur in BC.

Aboriginal people will comprise approximately 15% of construction labour. Northern Gateway will work to identify direct and indirect employment opportunities suitable for members of neighbouring Aboriginal communities.

Project operations will directly employ 104 regional residents and 20% of these jobs are expected to go to Aboriginal candidates.

Training

In order to fulfill our commitments to optimizing Aboriginal participation in the Project, Northern Gateway will focus on training that will enable realization of procurement and employment objectives and lead to sustainable employment long after the pipelines project is completed. The Northern Gateway Skills and Employment Initiatives team will collaborate with training providers, government sponsors and applicable trade unions to ensure Aboriginal participants get quality training in time to meet project recruitment requirements. Northern Gateway will also ensure prime contractors implement similar initiatives as part of our contract with them. Northern Gateway is committed to giving British Columbians and Albertans skills training opportunities related to the project. For local and Aboriginal communities, our approach includes:

Working with the community as an ally to support their vision of education, employment and business opportunities
Building partnerships to strengthen skills and education training
Understanding the community’s needs and how they may contribute to and benefit from the project
Building training plans with communities based on opportunities before, during and after construction
Supporting programs that promote transferable and essential skills
Supporting the development of as many community resource people as possible
Providing communities clear labour market information that relates to the project
Educating communities about pipeline projects

Marine Services Portfolio

Northern Gateway is currently evaluating the prospect of supporting one or more Joint Ventures between Coastal Aboriginal communities and established Marine Services Providers.

Arising from current efforts, both employment and progressive business ownership is expected in relation to marine services activity such as:

Escort tugs
Berthing tugs
Mooring boats
Advance spotter boats
Regional first response
Environmental monitoring
The value of the employment and future business ownership opportunities on the coast is estimated to be approximately $200 million.

All of these benefits and opportunities are determined on the basis of the project scope and unclassified capital cost estimate as described in the May 27, 2010 regulatory application filing with the National Energy Board ($5.5B). When the project advances to the full execution phase, a rigorous and comprehensive classified capital cost estimate will be completed. This classified estimate will result in a revision of the opportunity values prior to commencement of the procurement and construction of Northern Gateway.

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