Vale Manitoba Operations

Header Image: Vale leadership on Orange Shirt Day, September 2021

Vale has been a long-term partner of the Thompson Aboriginal Accord and Thompson Urban Aboriginal Strategy and is committed to strengthening relationships with our Indigenous partners.

We value relationships with our communities, making commitments to listen to, respect, and support the people who live and work here. Vale added the Business and Reconciliation calls to action to our Community Liaison Committee (CLC) Terms of Reference in 2018. The CLC connects Vale, Thompson and neighbouring communities by holding quarterly stakeholders’ meetings on sustainable mining matters: environmental monitoring, economic development, careers and training and more. The Community Liaison Committee will seek to make recommendations and hold Vale accountable to the implementation of these Calls to Action.

Vale is committed to providing education for management and employees on the history of Aboriginal peoples. COVID-19 restrictions created challenges for in-person training in 2020 although some employees and leaders were able to attend two days of training in September. This training focused on Indigenous and Northern Perspectives, Historical Treaty Education, Corrective History and Cultural Proficiency, to help create meaningful and respectful working relationships. In 2021, Vale will be launching an online Indigenous Foundations training for its employees and leaders.

Part of our role in the reconciliation process is to provide meaningful opportunities for Indigenous peoples in the areas of employment, business and training. Vale partnered with University College of the North (UCN), Workplace Education Manitoba, Manitoba Skills and Employment Partnerships and the Look North initiative, to offer the Wilderness Safety Certificate Program. Annually, Vale awards four CLC community scholarships – these are named in honour of Indigenous elders and contributors.

Other events and initiatives Vale supports include National Indigenous People’s Day, Skills Manitoba virtual school career events, Career Trek – Get Ready to Work program, Thompson Boys & Girls Club, Thompson YWCA, MKO Community Christmas Feast, University of Manitoba Engineering Access Program and WISE (Women in Science & Engineering) Kid-netic Energy program.