Our Approach

Our community investment in the oil sands is wide-ranging, supporting corporate values and priorities of safety, education, environment, family health and wellness, youth and cultural preservation. We focus on creating capacity in local communities to increase benefits from industrial activity near their community. Some examples of these programs include:

• In 2008 and 2009, we supported a number of educational initiatives at Keyano College, including the Community-based Environmental Monitoring Program, Multi-Trades Outreach Program Feasibility Study and Aboriginal student support. We are also working with Keyano College to develop a Community Development Diploma program, targeted towards members of local communities.
• Annually, we sponsor multiple programs and events dedicated to preserving and honouring local culture including traditional healing camps, elder gatherings and Annual Treaty Days celebrations.
• In 2009, we funded the pilot of the Gathering of Parents Program in Janvier. This program is focused on incorporating traditional Aboriginal knowledge into parenting and life-skills sessions.
• Annually we provide $30,000 in monetary support to the Fort McMurray Food Bank to continue providing services to rural communities.
• In 2009, we contributed $30,000 to a feasibility study for the Fort McMurray Food Bank. This study investigates primary and secondary housing units to serve the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

Our work with community youth focuses on supporting their role as catalysts for change in their communities. In 2008 and 2009, we sponsored over 25 programs and events targeted to youth in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. These programs, as part of our Gen Y: We Care initiative, were focused on the healthy and positive development of youth and children. Examples of some of the innovative programming include:

• Summer employment programs in Conklin and Janvier/Chard, which teach important job skills to local high school students.
• A joint initiative with three schools in three different communities that resulted in 32 local youth attending the Dream Catchers Conference. This annual event is held in Edmonton and promotes cultural pride and positive life choices.
• The Safe and Sound Program, in collaboration with Lac La Biche Victim Services, which teaches young women and children personal self-defence techniques and self empowerment. This program has been delivered in five nearby communities since the end of 2007.
• The Paradigm Esteem “I am Beautiful Because” Program, developed in collaboration with Lac La Biche victim services, which is a self-esteem training workshop for youth. Since 2008, this program was held in Heart Lake, Beaver Lake, and Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation and will be offered in Fort McMurray First Nation and the community of Anzac in 2010.
• The “Unity Run,” a two-week cultural event where Aboriginal youth run each day and stay in camps and visit reservations throughout Alberta. Along the way, youth meet with elders and others to learn traditional teachings, explore social issues and reinforce cultural values.
• In 2009, we funded the retrofitting of a new youth centre in the community of Janvier, Alberta.
• In 2009, in partnership with several other industry members, we supported the funding for a Community Youth worker in Janvier, Alberta through the Ghost River Rediscovery Centre.
• In 2009, we, in coordination with the Mark Amy Treatment Centre, provided funding for the creation of a preventive drug awareness program for youth called the Mark Amy Treatment Centre Youth Awareness Project.

Please download our Community Investment In Our Community brochure for more information.