Taking action in support of our vital natural resource sector

Canada’s natural resources sector plays a huge role in generating public revenues that go towards healthcare, education, and other social programs Canadians rely on every day. And it seems that not many people are aware of the sector’s substantial donations, volunteerships, and other supports it provides to our communities either.

Canada Action’s Resources for Good series showcases how natural resource companies and their workers are contributing to communities across the country. In Part three of our series, we discuss three recent examples of how Canadian resource companies have become an integral part of the very fabric that holds our communities together. Also see:

• Resources for Good: Part 1
• Resources for Good: Part 2
• Canadian Resource Companies donate to STARS Ambulance
  

Teck donates $10 million to emergency department at St. Paul's Hospital

(March 2021) – Teck Resources Ltd. announced a $10 million donation to help build the emergency department (ER) at the new St. Paul’s Hospital, a new construction project underway in downtown Vancouver.

Don Lindsay, President and CEO of Teck, says that he and his company are “…proud to support the talented team at St. Paul’s Hospital in delivering an exceptional level of healthcare to British Columbians in a new state-of-the-art facility. We commend the team at St. Paul’s for recognizing this opportunity to make the emergency department even safer by incorporating antimicrobial copper into the emergency department of the new hospital.”

St. Paul’s Hospital is currently a high-volume facility with one of the busiest ERs in British Columbia and provides healthcare for a full spectrum of patients, including those with challenges such as poverty and homelessness. The facility will be named after one of its major funders, designated as the “Teck Emergency Department.”

The new facility will help to address issues such as:

• Wait times for treatment
• Access for non-emergency illnesses and injuries
• Mental health and substance use
• Increased protection from bacteria and viruses through the use of the mineral copper

Teck’s deep-rooted support of St. Paul’s Hospital has enabled our frontline medical team to provide expert patient care, research and medical advancements that impact people throughout British Columbia. With this gift, Teck is ensuring the clinical, teaching and research expertise will continue to be recognized as among the best in Canada,” said Dick Vollet, President & CEO of the St. Paul’s Foundation.

Coastal GasLink invests $150,000 in UNBC university programs

(April 2021) - Coastal GasLink is donating $180,000 over the next three years to The University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) to support civil and environmental engineering programs and provide funding for Indigenous students.

UNBC has stated that these scholarships will help to address the barriers identified by local Indigenous communities when it comes to finding new financial supports for post-secondary students.

Several grants will be available each year over that time frame, including $3,000 each for UNBC civil and environmental engineering students. Indigenous students enrolled in any undergraduate or graduate program are also eligible to apply for grants of the same value.

Roots to Harvest receives $80,000 donation from mining companies

(April 2021) – Since early 2020, Roots to Harvest, a non-profit out of Thunder Bay, Ontario, has shifted its focus from providing food education programs to food hamper programs to help Canadians weather the pandemic.

Roots to Harvest’s efforts to serve our communities during these tough times have not gone unnoticed, with a group mining companies donating $80,000 to their cause. Because of this donation, the organization was able to deliver meals to residents in the city's COVID-19 isolation shelters, continue running a food hamper program for seniors, and begin helping First Nations communities with food-security-related issues.

"I was blown away and … really overwhelmed, to tell you the truth, because $80,000 translates to so much impact that we can have," said Erin Beagle, the executive director of Roots to Harvest.

Roots to Harvest has done a great service for our communities and is well-deserving of any donations that will help it continue to operate and provide much-needed food services for thousands of Canadians and Indigenous Peoples.

Natural Resources Benefit Canadian Families

Opponents of Canada’s natural resources sector will tell you that our companies are “dirty” and harmful to communities while infringing on Indigenous rights. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Natural resources provide well-paying, long-term, career-making jobs for millions of Canadians and generate tens of billions in revenues for our governments each year while contributing immensely to our local communities and families.

The three stories above are just a few examples of many where our home-grown mining, oil and gas, or forestry companies are giving back to communities across the country. We should be proud!

If you have an example of how a natural resource company is giving to your local community in Canada, we would love to hear about it! Tag us @CanadaAction or #CanadaAction on Facebook / Instagram / Twitter, or send an email to [email protected] – we greatly appreciate it!