Kahkewistahaw chief calls on Mosaic to communicate, work with nation

"We have included the Kahkewistahaw fabrication shop in 109 bids for work," The Mosaic Company said in an emailed response, noting its on track or exceeding its engagement goals.  Chief of the Kahkewistahaw First Nation Evan Taypotat has called out the The Mosaic Company for what he contends is a failure by the potash giant to "meaningfully engage" with the community while it mines natural resources in the province. 

Kahkewistahaw chief calls on Mosaic to communicate, work with nation Back to video 

Taypotat, along with community members, elders and legal counsel held a press conference on a blustery Thursday morning across from Mosaic Stadium, days before the 109th Grey Cup game, to express their frustration.

"Kahkewistahaw First Nation would like Mosaic Potash to stop lying to us," Taypotat declared.

The company disagrees with that characterization.

"We understand Chief Taypotat's frustration. However, in the last two years, we have included the Kahkewistahaw fabrication shop in 109 bids for work," Sarah Fedorchuk, Mosaic vice-president of government and public affairs for North America, said in an emailed statement.

"They have responded to 3 and after working closely with them, we did award them work in 2022 in the hopes that this would lead to a mutually beneficial and long lasting relationship," Fedorchuk continued. 

Taypotat pointed to the community's Melville business, Kihew Fab-Co, which currently employs four people but could employ as many as 80 workers if it had more work. 

"We keep bidding on bids for our custom steel fabrication plant and they keep coming back saying "no, no, no." It's not even that, sometimes they say we're overpriced - so be it. Work with us, show us how because everything on your website says you work with First Nations in surrounding communities. You're not working with us," Taypotat continued. 

The company has bid on several contracts since April 2021, winning one for six pipe stands. A month after that successful bid, Taypotat said another bid was made for six more pipe stands but it was unsuccessful because it was deemed too pricey. 

The chief accused the company of throwing "bread crumbs" and "trinkets and beads" to the community while awarding contracts elsewhere. Taypotat said the band isn't looking for a hand out, they're just looking for work. 

"Kahkewistahaw First Nation has built a business thinking we would be able to participate and employ our members and other surrounding First Nation workers through trades like welding and pipefitting and other trades, only to be completely shut out by local senior sourcing managers," Taypotat said. 

The First Nation is speaking out because it says niceties and diplomacy have not been successful in discussions with Mosaic, the chief said, adding Mosaic executives have toured the Melville facility. 

Kahkewistahaw's legal counsel, Malcolm Macpherson, a B.C.-based lawyer specializing in Indigenous law and general business law, echoed earlier comments by Taypotat that Indigenous relations in Saskatchewan were decades behind other provinces like British Columbia. 

Macpherson points to B.C's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), which he said has helped some Indigenous groups, like the Haisla Nation, establish themselves as the recipients of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of work. That has not been the experience of Kahkewistahaw, he added. 

Treaty rights are "inextricably tied" to natural resources, Macpherson said, in reference to The Saskatchewan First Act, which he said puts Saskatchewan first, ahead of Indigenous communities.

On the subject of resource sharing, Fedorchuk said Mosaic will pay $1.2 billion in resource taxes and royalties to the province.

"This is far and away the most exhaustive resource tax regime in the world with our global competitors paying 40 per cent less taxes than the Canadian potash producers," Fedorchuk continued. 

The company's statement said it has made "significant progress" on its key pillars of Indigenous engagement efforts. Efforts are "on track or exceeding" those goals in 2022, Fedorchuk added. 

"The work we do with our Indigenous partners is key to our success and it is our hope that we can have a constructive and engaging relationship with all of the communities that surround our operations," Fedorchuk's statement concluded.