Proponents of resource development often cite wage employment as a key benefit that Indigenous communities receive from resource development. This is based on the assumption that there is a sufficient supply of desirable employment and that job quality is high. Accordingly, provisions in Impact Benefit Agreements often focus on hiring and promotion and neglect job quality even when the latter arguably affects the desirability of mining employment. At the same time, labour unions, pivotal to improving work conditions, wages and benefits in mining, have been losing ground as global firms expand their use of subcontractors and shift to smaller, more skilled and mobile workforces. In this paper we investigate the complexity of the shifting industrial relations in Northern Canada, drawing on case studies of two mines with Impact Benefit Agreements in Nunavik: Raglan mine owned by Glencore, and Nunavik Nickel mine owned by Canadian Royalties. Drawing on document analysis and interviews with representatives from mining companies, unions and Inuit governments and organizations, this paper highlights how the complex relations among unions, companies and Inuit governments, as mediated by Impact Benefit Agreements, influence employment and job quality for Inuit workers. We propose that greater alliances between unions and Inuit governments are critical to Indigenous employment initiatives. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

With recent increases in mineral prices, the Canadian Arctic has experienced a dramatic upswing in mining development and exploration. The communities living in close proximity to proposed mining are poised to experience dramatic change in the face of industrial development and an injection of wage employment. With the development of the Meadowbank gold mine, the nearby Hamlet of Baker Lake, Nunavut is currently experiencing these changes firsthand. In response to an invitation from the Hamlet of Baker Lake, this research seeks to document Baker Lake residents’ experiences with the Meadowbank mine. During two months of fieldwork in 2010 and 2011, these experiences - manifest in stories, opinions and concerns - were recorded. It is evident that the community has changed with the opening of the mine. The employment rates and income have increased, and there have been resulting decreases in food insecurity, increases in hunting participation and increased hope for the future of Baker Lake. However, these outcomes are not felt homogeneously across the community; indeed, residents’ experiences with mining have been mixed. Beyond this core finding, the research suggests four further notable insights. First, employment has provided the opportunity for people to elevate themselves out of welfare/social assistance, provide for their families and pay down debts. Second, the pursuit of high school and post-secondary education has become more common, but some students are leaving high school to pursue mine work. Third, local businesses are benefiting from mining contracts, but this is generally limited to those companies that had the capital and equipment in place before the mine; economic diversification and the development of small business have been minimal. Finally, varied individual experiences are in part generated by an individual’s context; that is, the experience of the mine is conditioned by personal context (finances, education, family, personal history) and personal choices (e.g. alcohol vs. debt repayment, unskilled mine employment vs. education/training). The documentation of these experiences is useful not just for our understating of mining’s impacts on Aboriginal communities, but also for the efforts of the Hamlet of Baker Lake and higher government authorities to develop mitigation measures including niche programs.