Management of the Mi’kmaw Economic Benefits Office (MEBO) had a great meeting today with management at Canadian Coast Guard College (CCGC) in Sydney. Some great discussion and great ideas, action items, to work towards greater engagement of Aboriginals at the college and with the Canadian Coast Guard.

Visited the Dexter HQ in Bedford today. They are the largest civil construction company in Atlantic Canada, with some 2,000 employees. Highway construction is a big part of their work. MEBO is proud to be partnering with Dexter towards having more local Aboriginals intheir workforce.

Waycobah, NS, Dec. 14… No it’s not Membertou, it is a small, rural First Nation community in central Cape Breton, on the Trans-Canada Highway. It is called Waycobah, to some, to others it’s called Whycocomagh. “The Future Has Come to Waycobah”, said Chief Rod Googoo, as he proudly took us on a tour of the new commercial development in his community. “We realized that we had to go out into the world. We’re not waiting for things to happen.”

Woodbine, NS. Dec. 6, 2016… Today there are about two-dozen local Aboriginals working on the $1.5 billion Maritime Link. That’s about 10% of the overall workforce. This included those working on transmission lines, those working in security and another dozen people are working in construction.

In an effort to keep communities and our partners informed, the Mi’kmaw Economic Benefits Office (MEBO) would like to provide this update on its activities during this past year and outline some of our plans for the coming year.

“Soon, I hope this will not be new or the exception, but the norm for all levels of government and all government departments to have policies and procedures to ensure Aboriginals are part of their contracts,” said Alex Paul, Executive Director of the Mi’kmaw Economic Benefits Office.