A powerful blessing ceremony from the Haisla Nation Hereditary Chiefs Jassee Sammy Robinson and Jake Duncan last month marked the start of construction on Coastal GasLink Section 8 for the Ledcor-Haisla Limited Partnership (LHLP).
Located in Kitimat Village on the north coast of British Columbia, the Haisla Nation formed its partnership with Ledcor, one of Canada’s largest construction contractors, in June 2011. Since then, Ledcor and the Haisla Nation have worked together on numerous successful projects.
“We value our strong partnership with the Haisla Nation, formed on respect, trust, and a willingness to work together for mutual success,” said Dan Tobin, Vice President of Ledcor Pipeline.
As a geographically complex area, Section 8 continues to be the most challenging area for construction as it feeds through the Coast Mountains. Ledcor has been building pipelines in Western Canada for over 40 years and partnering with SICIM, an internationally recognized pipeline contractor with expertise in mountainous and extreme terrain projects will add another level of expertise to the project. With these strong partnerships established, bringing together technical experience from SICIM and local knowledge from Haisla Nation, Ledcor is well positioned to complete a project with this level of complexity and unique construction challenges.
The support and cooperation of the Haisla Nation is integral to maintaining Ledcor’s commitment to Indigenous communities. Both LHLP and Coastal Gaslink are committed to creating and maintaining strong relationships and providing skills training, employment and contracting opportunities for Indigenous and local community members.
“We have common goals that we want to see our people succeed, and it’s through projects such as Coastal GasLink that allows our people to succeed,” shared Chief Councillor Crystal Smith of Haisla Nation.
Vice President Dan Tobin of the LHLP expressed that this “once-in-a-lifetime project” will “build a career foundation for all those who are fortunate enough to participate in it.”
Learn more about the work Ledcor does to cultivate meaningful relationships with Indigenous communities.
