THUNDER BAY – With the Ring of Fire front and centre in the minds of mining companies, First Nations, and communities across Northwestern Ontario, there is an opportunity for First Nations community leaders to find out a little more, and to make connections to some of the leading mining companies in Canada. This March, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the Aboriginal program of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s 2011 convention has expanded and also includes a scheduled first visit by Shawn Atleo, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. PDAC 2011 runs from March 6-9 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
“We’re adding more programming to serve more people to help raise the awareness and understanding of both representatives of the mining community and Aboriginal people,” said Glenn Nolan, the PDAC’s first vice president and chair of a technical session panel on Monday March 7 called Collaborative approaches to capacity development and wealth creation for Indigenous communities: Canada and international, with speakers from Canada, Mexico, Australia and Chile.
“We provide a forum that encourages open discussion and sharing of ideas, because we believe it will help bridge the gap between communities and companies,” Nolan said. “If we understand each other better, we’ll find ways to work together that will help companies do better business and also improve the living standards in some of Canada’s more remote and economically disadvantaged areas. We’re pleased that once again we’ll be welcoming more Aboriginal delegates than ever to our convention”.
One of the forums, Collaborative approaches to capacity development and wealth creation for Indigenous communities: Canada and international will be run by Glenn Nolan, Noront Resources Ltd., and Raziel Zisman, Fogler, Rubinoff LLP & Andrés Recalde, Consultant Toronto, Canada. That forum is on March 7th.
More than 200 Aboriginal delegates from across Canada attended the convention last year and the PDAC is expecting many more this year, as well as a growing number of indigenous delegates from abroad.
The Aboriginal Forum, also scheduled for March 7, is another popular event that has been expanded this year. It brings several successful Aboriginal communities and companies together with other Aboriginals who want to learn more about the mineral sector.