The Nacho Nyak Dun First Nation has a majority interest in a new partnership with EBA Engineering Consultants.
The NND EBA Land Protection Corporation, announced Monday, will see the engineering and sciences company and the First Nation work together on a range of potential projects in the hopes of increasing jobs for Mayo, said Pat Titus, NND Development Corporation’s chief operating officer.
“We see land as our resource. We’d also like to see our land protected as well. They’re an environmental engineering business, so we’ll be looking at projects within the mining sector, renewable energy and mine closures,” said Titus.
The First Nation has worked with EBA on projects before, so forming a new partnership made sense, according to EBA project director Ryan Martin.
“We have a longstanding working relationship and previous projects with NND. Both sides saw it as a great opportunity,” said Martin.
Working with NND will allow the new corporation to submit proposals on projects set aside for aboriginal companies. In return, Mayo and NND will see more jobs working on those projects,” said Martin.
“We’re hoping that eventually, this will mean more jobs for NND. Any opportunities would be available to people with suitable training. The idea is to help develop that capacity,” said Martin.
Titus said that training for NND citizens will be a focus of the new partnership to help keep jobs in Mayo.
“We’re looking at training our citizens. Training is part of this for sure, and meeting the needs with our business for sure,” said Titus.
While there is no clear timeline for when new projects might get underway, “there are definitely project ideas on the table,” said Martin.
They could include everything from mining to renewable energy to environmental studies.
EBA Engineering Consultants is owned by California-based engineering giant Tetra Tech, which has 330 offices worldwide and works on everything from groundwater studies and oil and gas exploration to nuclear weapons configuration. Tetra Tech first expanded into Canada in 2009.
Contact Jesse Winter at
jessew@yukon-news.com