Clients

Irving Oil, [Oil and Gas – Maintenance Turnaround] Prepared a Labour Market Study and Maintenance Shutdown Labour Strategy to reduce risks in cost and schedule. Supported project team prior to their hiring of a Full time Senior Director of Labour Relations. Have continued to work with Irving Oil through several Maintenance Turnarounds providing them with updated market studies and assistance in the development of labour strategies to ensure the success of their shutdowns.

Worley – Umicore ‘’Pacman’’ Project [Manufacturing] Prepared a Labour Market Study and Construction Labour Strategy to reduce risks in cost and schedule for the Odessa, Ontario based electric vehicle battery ore refining processing plant.

KSM – Seabridge Project [Mining – construction] Prepared a Labour Market Study and made recommendations regarding a Labour Relations Strategy for their $8 billion KSM Mine Project in Northwestern B.C.

Generation Mining – Marathon Palladium-Copper Project [Mining – Construction] Prepared a Labour Study, and Industrial Relations Strategy and a Labour Project Agreement Bargaining Mandate for the construction of this $665 million project to develop a palladium-copper deposit near the town of Marathon, Ontario, Canada.

Vale [Mining] Prepared an inventory of construction and trade project work across Canada to assist management team in assessing labour supply risks for their Copper Cliff Mine expansion project work in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.

Nova Chemicals – Sarnia site [Oil and Gas] [Construction] Provided day to day Labour Relations (LR) services for the final 10 months of the construction of the $2 billion AST2 Refinery expansion project. Included day to day LR counsel and services to the onsite construction team.

NextGen Energy [Mining – construction] Commissioned by NexGen Energy to provide a Labour Market Study for the Rook I Project (Uranium Mine) located in NW Saskatchewan. Study included Labour Market analysis, identification of risks and mitigation strategies including the need for any project labour agreement(s).

NUNA [construction – contracting] Canada’ largest majority Inuit owned contract mining and construction contractor. Provided labour relations consulting and support during collective bargaining and assisted in the development a longer-term labour relations strategy.

Running Deer Resources develops Customized Engagement Strategies to maximize opportunities for indigenous people and industry. Working Warriors is wholly owned by Running Deer and is a cloud-based management platform that assists Indigenous communities with identifying their workforce, assets related to economic development as well as managing their industry partnerships.

Oakbridges is retained to provide counsel to owners regarding the interaction of Labour laws, union practices, contractor and workforce practices on mega construction projects in Canada.  Also to assist with setting strategy and plans to achieve these two organizations goals. Oakbridges services included negotiation of province wide enabling agreements with Unions on behalf of the owners.

4 Refuel [Services] National remote refueling services provider. Developed and assisted in the implementation of a National Labour Relations Strategy that resulted in the achievement and maintenance of a direct engagement culture. Services included: supported a nationwide employee relations review; training and communication intervention; acted as chief negotiator for first contract negotiations. Subsequently we were engaged to support the business development and operating management team during their final assessment of the labour risks related to a potential acquisition.

Argonaut Gold – Magino Project [Mining – construction] : We provided Argonaut Gold’s construction team with a Labour Market Study and helped them develop a Labour Relations Strategy to reduce risks in cost, schedule and community relations and reputation for their $920 million Magino Mine Project in Dubreuilville, Ontario.

Equinox Gold – Greenstone Project [Mining – construction] Prepared a Labour Market Study and developed a labour relations strategy for Equinox to assist them in the development of the $1.3 billion Greenstone Mine asset in Geraldton, Ontario.

Hudbay Minerals – Flin Flon and Snow Lake sites [Mining] Assisted in the development of a Labour Relations and Negotiation Strategy during major downsizing and transition planning. Day to day support to management bargaining team during renewal contract bargaining of six (6) collective agreements with five (5) different unions.

NorthRiver Midstream (a Brookfield Company) [Oil and Gas]. Provided Labour Relations consultation to new management team and General Counsel post acquisition and prior to hiring an in-house VP of HR and Senior Director of Labour Relations. Support for 4 operating plants and several gas field operations throughout northeast B.C. Assisted the negotiating teams through several rounds of collective bargaining.

The Mearie Group provides insurance, financial and business solutions to the energy sector in Ontario. This member driven organization is closely aligned with the Electrical Distributors Association. Oakbridges joined Mearie’s Human Capital Risk Management Team in late 2018 as the exclusive Labour and Industrial Relations consultants to Mearie and its members. Oakbridges supplies consulting and training services to all members in this heavily unionized sector.

Util-Assist [Power]: Developed and assisted in the implementation of a Labour Relations Strategy that helped the organization maintain its direct engagement culture.

Essex Powerlines and Enwin Power: Developed and delivered bespoke training for Bargaining Preparation and collective bargaining.

Engaged to develop a Project Industrial and Labour Relations Strategy and Execution Plan for the construction of the Cote Mine in Northern Ontario.

Engaged to develop an Industrial and Labour Relations Strategy and Execution Plan for all Ontario facilities. This assignment was following a strike and involved establishing the desired industrial relations climate and culture for the future.

Fer Pal [Construction Infrastructure] Provided Labour Relations strategic advice and training during sensitive business transition to new owner.

Engaged to develop a Project Industrial and Labour Relations Strategy and Execution Plan for the construction of a new green field Pea Processing Plant in Portage la Prairie. Manitoba.

Reviewed Operations and Technical Service Department structure and processes and made recommendations to improve decision making at their Trail B.C. smelting operations. This work has developed into a major study of all functional areas.

Axalta Coating Systems [Manufacturing] Labour Relations consultation and training for Management to improve productivity and labour relations within the plant. Provided support for bargaining preparation and during collective bargaining.

Riversdale Resources – Grassy Mountain Project [Mining – Construction] We provided this Australian based mining company with a Labour Market Study as part of the early development of the Grassy Mountain Mine Project near Crow’s Nest, Alberta.

The Miller Group [Construction Services] Provided support for negotiation preparation and day to day support to the Management bargaining team throughout first contract negotiations.

Provided Labour Relations consulting services to senior leadership team related to a significant jurisdiction grievance received from the Power Workers Union. Advised on longer term Labour Strategy.

Prepared a Labour Market Study for a construction project taking place in southern Manitoba. The Study provided data for use in preparing the construction estimate and risk and benefits management plans.

Provided Labour Relations counsel to senior leaders regarding the establishment of construction and services joint venture companies. Ensured Impact Benefit Agreements for the gold mine project in the region were adjusted to guarantee beneficial labour outcomes aligned with community interests.

Worked with Seven Generations (co-owned by Rainy River First Nations (FN) and Big Grassy FN) to develop an online Indigenous Cultural Awareness training product.

Supported Aboriginal Skilled Workers Association (ASWA) with the planning of a Construction Contractors conference for those interested to Bid and Win work in the Canadian Mining Industry. Facilitated the conference proceedings and provided Keynote address and participated in Panel Discussion.

Developed Labour Relations strategy and assisted company in preparation of collective bargaining with a mandate to address changes needed in a highly competitive consulting marketplace in the Nuclear Sector in Ontario. Note: The company was acquired by Kinetrics in 2018.

Provided industrial relations (IR) strategy development and execution support pre-construction and during construction for the $1B Rainy River mine site located in northern Ontario. Also provided industrial relations (IR) strategy support during the feasibility and identification stages for the New Gold Blackwater mine project in BC.

Provided on demand Industrial and Labour Relations consulting services to strategy to SVP HR and Director of Labour Relations. Conducted workshops and planning meetings with senior operations and HR/LR leaders to review and adjust business strategy and plans to ensure compliance with Labour Relations strategy.

Worked with North American leadership team to establish a labour relations (LR) strategy and governance structure. Created bargaining strategy and provided LR oversight for union negotiations related to 2015-2016 $50M new capital investment project in Kentucky. Also provided collective bargaining support for facilities in Calgary (Alberta Distillers Ltd.) and in St. Croix (Cruzan Rum Distillery).

Worked with Project leadership team to develop the Industrial and Labour Relations Strategy for the Energy East project. Developed Rev 1.0 of the project Labour Relations Project Execution Plan.

Over a two year period, worked with the Canadian leadership team to create and execute a Labour Relations Strategy following a recent merger and acquisition.

Provided Labour Relations workshops to entire City management team: Preparation for Collective Bargaining, Managing in a Union Environment, and Performance Management in a Union Environment

Developed a long term Industrial Relations strategy with the Senior Executive team, supported the development of the collective bargaining mandate for Ekati mine site, aided in preparation for bargaining and supported the negotiating team and provided supervisory training.

Conducted strategy and bargaining preparation workshop with Management Bargaining Team and related consulting services following a recent merger and acquisition.

Conducted a cultural analysis to determine the efficacy of Human Resources and Industrial Relations programming and reported findings on how to improve program delivery with emphasis on improvements to the Human Resources Partners’ model.

Developing a strategy to explore a shared-services model that enables the power distribution company (LDC) to diversify its revenue streams and reduce operating costs by offering common core services to other LDCs and organizations outside the sector that have similar needs. Also facilitated a Business Strategy workshop for the senior management team.

Prepared the Project Industrial and Labour Relations Strategy for the construction of the world’s most northern operating mine located on Baffin Island.

Provided on demand Labour Relations consulting services to Head of HR and Labour Relations.

Reviewed Fort Hills construction project team’s Project Labour Cost assumptions for input to the Fort Hills Project Estimate.

Developed Industrial Relations strategies for four distinct operations in Saskatchewan and Washington State including providing labour relations governance over two “managed open site” construction projects worth in excess of $5B, establishing a bargaining strategy to introduce a new operating model with the ILWU (Longshoremen) and operating a state-of-the-art mining operation in Saskatchewan union-free.

Conducted a situational assessment and prepared a Labour Relations Report and recommendations as input to business planning.

Conducted a situational assessment and prepared a Labour Relations Report and recommendations as input to business planning.

Developed long term labour relations plan to regain management rights and contain union jurisdictions by examining all processes involved in the administration, application and interpretation of the collective agreements. Successes included suspending the Society of Energy Professionals veto authority over contracting out and eliminating mandatory interest arbitration (in order to fully leverage future collective bargaining opportunities).