° During the opening ceremonies each Wapawekka worker accepted commemorative gifts as recognition for their hard work and commitment in getting

the mill up and running.

Partners celebrate

Continued from page nine

Mr. Michel said that his band is
interested in the development of
human resources and call as nat-
ural resources and that it is ready
for more joint ventures. It already
has business interests in telecom-
munications,
hotels, general >
contracting,
wood harvesting,
properties, retail
sports equip-
ment, ambulance
services and
insurance.

Chief Harry
Cook of the Lac
La Ronge Band,
which has a pop- ° Harry Cook
ulation in 18
reserves and six communities total-
ing some 6,700 people, said that
Wapawekka is an example of how
partnerships can make the province
a better place to live.

“In Wapawekka we have found a
way to share these resources so that
benefits can go to partners, employ-

ees, suppliers and the governments.
The whole province benefits from
this type of coop-
eration.”

Chief Richard
Bird, leader of
the Montreal
Lake Cree Na-
tion which is
based in central
Saskatchewan,
and has a popu-
lation of about
2,500 members
living mainly in
four communi-

Ni
e Ron Michel

. ties, was not in attendance but sent

his regards and greeting from his
people.

The Montreal Lake Nation is
involved in Woodland Cree
Resources Ltd. and is diversifying
itself through the Wapawekka joint
venture.

Weyerhaeuser Canada Limited
President Bill Gaynor, who is also
the president of Wapawekka Lum-
ber Ltd., said that the new facility
has been built on time and on budget
and that Weyerhaeuser has gained
valuable knowledge and experience
in working together with its part-

ners towards a common goal.

He said he has been asked why
Weyerhaeuser would partner up in
such an arrangement.

“The answer is that becoming
involved in a viable business part-
nership with the First Nations peo-
ple with who we share part of the
Saskatchewan forest is rapidly prov-
ing to be a great business decision
and that’s the foundation for how we
are going to move forward.

“Looking forward, I believe
Wapawekka Lumber will best serve
the partners, its employees, its cus-
tomers and its communities through
being a successful business,” he said.

Mr. Bowersock introduced I.W.A.
Local 1-184 First Vice President
Paul Hallen and said that the union
has been a supporter of “the
advanced and progressive work sys-
tem that has been created here at
Wapawekka as well as being highly
respectful of the joint venture part-
nership that has been created and
the vision that the organization has
pulled together.”

“They (the I.W.A.) have been visi-
bly involved in the design of the
work systems. They have be
involved in benchmarking advanced

LUMBERWORKER/SEPTEMBER, 1999/23

work systems across North America
and they have also bee an active par-

ticipant in the 3 day conference (held
in April) that was used to help
design and cre-
ate a lot of the
work systems
that are in place
here.”

Local union
First Vice Presi-
dent Paul Hal-
len, who men-
tioned that local
union President

Dennis wonyille! ¢ E. Lautermilch

available due to medical reasons,
said that “working together we can
make a difference in our province
and our country and that means
good things for workers...”
Hallen said he was pleased to be
part of the decision-making process
at the 3 day work design conference.

“Tt’s been a pleasure to be working
with the employees at Wapawekka,
he said.
“This company has put a tremen-
dous emphasis on safety — we as a
union pride ourselves on our historic
background in working for safer
workplaces.”

Hallen added that a successful
company leads to a good workplace
with good benefits and a healthier

community.

“I want to be here 20 years down
the road colebratnete anniversary
of Wapawekka and hopefully we will
be part of that.”

Minister of Energy and Mines
Eldon Lautermilch, read a message
from Premier Roy Romanow. It said:
“This not only is a new.development.
I think it signals the kind of
arrangement and the kind of part-
nerships that will create a
Saskatchewan that will look much
different...”

Lautermilch said that Wap-
awekka “will be very much a flag-
ship of success in the future” and
that it will be one of many partner-
ships that are going to create jobs for
northern Saskatchewan people.
Among the other speakers intro-
duced were Cynthia Williams, an
assistant deputy minister for Abo-
riginal Affairs and Evelyn Cham-
bers, a regional consultant for
Human Resources Development
Canada, which knuckled up
$500,000 for worker training.