Fort McKay and CCAB Bring Together the Oil Sands Players

There has been a flurry of media mentions last week as Fort McKay First Nation and Canada Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) gear up for the Energy and the Oil Sands Aboriginal Perspectives Conference taking place in Fort McMurray January 22-24, 2014.

JP Gladu, CEO of CCAB wrote about this partnership and the conference for the National Post in his weekly Financial Post 'Entrepreneur' column here.

"An impromptu meeting in Calgary between Chief Boucher and myself led to the development of a joint conference that would move the larger energy development issue forward — a national conversation and sharing of ideas that reflected the new reality and strength of Aboriginal business, energy, the oil sands and the Aboriginal perspective." JP Gladu

Gladu mentions in his piece that there are 600 major resource projects worth an estimated $650-billion that First Nations could potentially financially benefit from through oil and gas investment (according to this Fraser Institute study by Ravina Bains). He goes on to state that the environmental and business challenges that face Aboriginal communities give these communities a serious challenge to navigate the demands of major corporations and engage in much needed economic development, while paying heed to the social, environmental and health concerns of the community and future generations."

This sentiment is echoed in the Claudia Cattaneo National Post piece that was republished in the Ottawa Citizen, Canada.com and Regina's Leader-Post.

With tensions flaring between oil sands companies and First Nations in the Athabasca region of Alberta over growing development, the Fort McKay band is hosting a conference Jan. 23 and 24 in Fort McMurray to bring together all players. Claudia Cattaneo

This is a very electric time in the oil sands and this conference focuses on the issues that have the industry at a standstill: Working with Aboriginal business and First Nations, Treaty and Aboriginal Rights, and Aboriginal environmental concerns when working with the oil industry.

Register now (*Update 20.01.14 - Registration is now closed) to attend the Energy and the Oil Sands Aboriginal Perspectives Conference at $1,000 for attendance in all conference sessions and the Gala Banquet. You can get the registration form online here and see the full schedule online here.

For more information and / or for sponsorship opportunities contact
Frederick McDonald at: frederickrmcd@gmail.com or at: 1-780-370-8374

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