CANADA: DIRECT EMPLOYMENT IMPACT-BENEFIT AGREEMENTS (IBAS); INDIGENOUS EMPLOYMENT AT VOISEY’S BAY MINE

The document describes Canada's use of Impact and Benefit Agreements (IBAs) to protect Indigenous rights and promote employment in the mining sector. It highlights the Voisey’s Bay nickel mine in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the Joint Education and Training Authority (JETA)—funded by a CAD 25 million federal initiative—trained over 1,000 Innu and Inuit people. By November 2016, Innu and Inuit peoples constituted approximately 55 per cent of the mine's workforce, with 90 per cent of those employees coming from adjacent communities.

• Canada utilizes Impact and Benefit Agreements (IBAs) as formal, sometimes legally binding contracts between Indigenous communities and the government or mining companies to protect Indigenous rights and ensure commitments to employment, training, and business development.
• The Voisey’s Bay nickel mine project implemented IBAs with the Innu Nation and the Nunatsiavut government, which prioritized the employment of Innu and Inuit peoples and the use of local Indigenous businesses to reduce costs associated with fly-in/fly-out operations.
• The Canadian government provided CAD 25 million through the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Program to create the Innu, Inuit, Métis Human Resources Development Strategy, which established the Indigenous-controlled Joint Education and Training Authority (JETA). JETA trained over 1,000 Innu and Inuit people for roles at the mine starting in 2005.
• As of November 2016, Innu and Inuit peoples made up about 55 per cent of the total workforce at the Voisey’s Bay mine, and 90 per cent of these employees resided in adjacent communities.

APA

Grice, T. (2018). CANADA: DIRECT EMPLOYMENT IMPACT-BENEFIT AGREEMENTS (IBAS); INDIGENOUS EMPLOYMENT AT VOISEY’S BAY MINE. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-canada-direct-employment.pdf

Chicago

Grice, Tim. CANADA: DIRECT EMPLOYMENT IMPACT-BENEFIT AGREEMENTS (IBAS); INDIGENOUS EMPLOYMENT AT VOISEY’S BAY MINE. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2018. https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-canada-direct-employment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Grice |first1=Tim |title=CANADA: DIRECT EMPLOYMENT IMPACT-BENEFIT AGREEMENTS (IBAS); INDIGENOUS EMPLOYMENT AT VOISEY’S BAY MINE |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2018 |url=https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-canada-direct-employment.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{grice2018canada, author = {Grice, Tim}, title = {{CANADA: DIRECT EMPLOYMENT IMPACT-BENEFIT AGREEMENTS (IBAS); INDIGENOUS EMPLOYMENT AT VOISEY’S BAY MINE}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2018}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-canada-direct-employment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }