Page 64 By Kevin V incent Quietly headquartered in a serene setting in north T immins Five Nations Energy Inc has branched out The nonproft electricity provider to Attawapiskat Moose Cree First Na tion Kashechewan and Fort Albany signed a deal in early April with Indus trial Systems to create FNIS First Na tions Industrial Systems The new company will combine Indus trial Systems owner Gord Clark s 30 years of industrial systems expertise with Five Nation Energy s 22 years of expertise and service to its founding communities In an exclusive interview with Canadi an Mining Life and Exploration News Five Nations FNEI Executive Di rector Pat Chilton said the nonproft organization had been approached for more than a decade by other en tities wanting to joint venture FNEI s governing board which includes the chiefs from all fve frst nations they represent have always shied away from JV opportunities preferring in stead to partner In 2016 Chilton and Clark bumped into one another at the T oronto air port Recognizing they had similar aspirations around creating jobs for young indigenous people they start ed a conversation that culminated in the partnership struck this spring It made a lot of sense becau se Five Nations Energy was told by the On tario Energy Board that it needed to transition to a forproft entity said Chilton That was 2017 and FNEI pushed back The energy board agreed which al lowed FNEI to upgrade its transmis sion line s as well as other infrastruc ture projects and it is now ready to move into other areas FNEI had another entity on the books since the year 2000 called Five Na tions Development Inc FNDI but according to Chilton they had never breathed any life into it This is terrifc news for T immins on so many levels said T immins Mayor George Pirie a lifelong advocate for indigenous partnerships and enter prise FNIS as I understan d it will provide jobs training and a future for our growing indigenous popula tion throughou t the region When you couple that with the huge demand for skilled labour across all sectors this is a winwin for everyone It s the kind of partnership we need to see more of The objective frst and foremost was to generate jobs mostly in trades and commercial industrial work as well as residential Clark tells Ca nadian Mining Life Not only for the remote communities but applying the training we will be providing for youth by bringing them indigenous youth into some of the areas we already work in he added Clark says those areas include indus trial works renewable energy proj ects including hydroelectri c solar energy farms wind generation min ing and more Because there is such a shortage of trades taking efect now said Clark Over the next generation it s going to be very difcult to acquire trades But tapping into that untapped resource indigenous youth of remote commu nities and indigenous people and giv ing them the opportunity to train in the trades and developing selfsufcien cy within their own communities this is the objective of FNIS he adds Clark says the initial focus will be to develop skills and trades needed within the member communities and eventually exporting that talent into the many large industrial companies that need the skilled workforce and services Throughout Ontario there is a grow ing emphasis on increasing immigra tion to meet the growing demand for skilled labour Chilton Clark and may or Pirie all concur that the untapped potential of the region s indigenous youth is one answer to the growing worldwide skills gap Clark has high praise for FNEI Their success is second to none Ive been across Canada not only working in remote communities but the GT A Greater T oronto Area as well Y ou of ten see First Nations organizations in volved in joint ventures but they have no say With this new partnership the objective is to assist the communities in becoming selfsufcient Another objective of the training is to allow indigenous youth the opportuni ty to develop a skill that makes them marketable outside their communi ties across Canada in fact Five Nations Energy Partners W ith Industrial Systems Partnership to assist communities Industrial Systems owner Gord Clark L and Five Nations FNEI Executive Director Pat Chilton R in becoming more selfsufcient