Three regional Indigenous development corporations (IDCs) – Tłįchǫ Investment Corporation, Det’on Cho Group of Companies, and Metcor – released a report on the impact of diamond mines in their communities: Tłįchǫ Government, Yellowknives Dene First Nation, and North Slave Métis Alliance. Economist Graeme Clinton examined the full impact over the last 25 years.
Key findings include 355 Indigenous jobs (direct, indirect, and community-based services) in Yellowknife, Ndilǫ, Dettah, and four Tłįchǫ communities; $39.6 million in annual employment income for local Indigenous residents; and $104 million in annual revenues to the IDCs, representing 36% of NWT business community spending by diamond mines.
The three IDCs, along with Denesoline Corporation, employ over 675 individuals in the Northwest Territories. The report aimed to estimate the contribution of labour and capital from the three groups to the three existing NWT diamond mines.
Support from the diamond mines has enabled IDC businesses to handle more complex projects, such as the Tłįchǫ housing initiative, NSMA Métis Community Freezer-Meat Processing Facility, and Det’on Cho Logistics’ expansion into Nunavut and Saskatchewan.
Marc Whitford, Paul Gruner, Mark Lewis, and Leigh-Anne Palter, leaders of the involved organizations, issued a joint statement on the report.
“This report crystallizes the progress towards economic reconciliation made over the last twenty-five years through our relationships with NWT diamond mines to build capacity for corporations, develop our employees, create shareholder value for our members, and make direct investments in our respective communities. We recognize immense opportunities to preserve and build upon this foundation and retain skilled northerners in the North to work on the much-needed infrastructure that will create opportunities for the region, fortify Arctic sovereignty, and improve the lives of northerners.”
