Women in Mining Spotlight: Freda Campbell

As Director of Employment and Training for the Tahltan Central Government, she developed OnTrack: Tahltan Essential Skills Database, that allows Tahltan people to access job opportunities in their Territory. OnTrack has also revolutionized how the industry views applicant eligibility for jobs in the mining industry.

The goals Campbell developed for the Tahltan Mentorship Program are to prepare Tahltan mentees for management roles in the mining industry and connect mentees with Tahltan Territory, culture, and community. The program provides opportunities for the Tahltan mentees to go home to Tahltan Territory, many for the first time, to connect with their families and participate in cultural activities.

Campbell shared some career highlights and industry insights in this exclusive interview.

MDC: What led you to a career in mining?

Campbell: I don’t think any woman thinks ‘I want to go into mining — that seems like a really good idea.’

I’m Tahltan, but I grew up outside my territory. When I was 22 I decided I wanted to come home. I live in Dease Lake, in my traditional territory. My father is Kaska, and he lives in Watson Lake. I wanted to spend more time with my father, who I didn’t grow up with and spend more time in the territory because it was so interesting to me, having never experienced that. It was like kind of feeling lost, but not really knowing your lost. And then all of a sudden, you’re not lost anymore. You know you belong somewhere, and there’s a place you fit.

I took business administration and accounting in the early 90s at Camosun College. I thought ‘I love Victoria’ and I thought I’d stay there forever and work for the government in an office in the Parliament buildings.

People from the business community would come and let graduating students know about the kinds of opportunities there were, and each week a different student had to start up the question period. The week it was my turn it was Jack Thompson of Homestake and I asked him how he thought native land claims were going to affect mining, which I don’t even know if anybody was talking about back then.

He talked about a project called Eskay Creek that was in Tahltan territory. After class I went up to him and told him I was Tahltan, and [asked] would he give me a job? And he said yes.

I started as the receptionist because they didn’t have an accounting department. They wanted me to do payroll and paid for me to take a payroll course and moved [me] into accounting. It was a safe place to work and there were different opportunities, I knew I could go into different departments. I could take a trade, which I did. I became a warehouse journeyman.

I remember going to camp for the first time — there was a shuttle that picked me up in Dease lake and drove me to site. And there was an exploration camp that was about 12 kilometers before the main camp with tents and the core shack. I was going to get out of the car and they [said] ‘no, no, you don’t get out here.’ That’s how little I knew about mining.

But I loved camp life and I really loved having two weeks off every two weeks. It was very secure and I made more money than I had ever made. I thought it was absolutely fabulous.

MDC: How have you seen the industry change and evolve since then?

Campbell: I started in 1994 and it has changed so much. I remember being told point blank to my face: ‘You don’t belong here. Women do not belong on a mine site.’ I think it is still is mostly men, but it was worse back then.

There were the few women geologists, Tina Roth who did her Masters degree on Eskay Creek. There’s a few of us around but the biggest change I’ve seen and feel so privileged to be a part of is the involvement of Indigenous communities and the Indigenous workforce I started at Eskay Creek when I [asked], ‘why are we flying people from Newfoundland again?’

In my territory I saw people who could do those jobs. There wasn’t much recruiting, there wasn’t much going out to the schools and talking to kids. A young person living in these [communities], they’re never going to meet a geologist or an engineer. And they won’t know about those kinds of opportunities unless somebody actually tries.

Jerry Asp was Tahltan Chief, and he was pretty adamant about Indigenous involvement.  The whole time I [said] “you know you could save a lot of money if you filled roles at site if you trained Indigenous people for critical roles.” I was there during a skill shortage — it was 2007. I remember getting an e-mail from a journeyman who said, “tell me about your company, and I’ll think about coming to work for you.”

How valuable is a workforce that you don’t pay to get there and that won’t leave you in a skill shortage?

MDC: Can you tell us about Skeena’s approach toward Indigenous engagement?

Campbell: Skeena shows they support UNDRIP and Indigenous involvement. I am now the Community Relations Director and I came into it not really knowing the EA (environmental assessment) process. I usually show up when the mine is in production help a company create the kind of policies and procedures that would support an IBA (impact benefit agreement-. I usually don’t go through and EA process deal with other First Nations, but Skeena hired me to do those kinds of things. It’s been a steep learning curve for me, but it’s been so interesting.

The project itself is in Tahltan territory and the asserted territory of Shxw’ow’hamel. The transport route goes through Gitanyow territory and Nisga’a territory, and orders will be loaded to ships in niche territory, so we deal with the Tahltan, Musgaamgw, the Nisga’a and the Gitanyow on a different level because we’re transporting through their territory.

Skeena supported me being able to learn in this role. And I think it might have been a probably a bit of an asset that I came into it not really knowing because we wanted to do things differently, so me being able to go into that process without already a lens on how it should be done might have been a good thing.

They have their own environmental assessment process and it’s called the WSAP: The Wilsons Stainability Assessment Process. It’s very different than the EPA and it’s their own thing — we are the first company to do that with them.

That Skeena supports that —it made the province a little uncomfortable I think. It’s so interesting to see their process, and it deals with what’s important to them, and how they want to determine the impacts and the impacts they want to see addressed. 

I’m learning about the EA and it takes a lot of capacity to be able to work through all of the comments in the IPV, the DPD, the draft application information requirements the First Nation would need.
That’s been working really well and it’s been great to see and learn about their process and see how they’re how they’re doing things and  to be the first one to do that with them.

My coordinator, Emily Milne, she’s brilliant and amazing and she really took a deep dive into the getting in their history and the WSAP and it was a pilot and nobody had done it yet, but she had her head wrapped around what they were looking for.

When we talked to them, we tried to target our conversation to what we thought was important to them (Nisga’a). And it was great. Like ‘Thank God you didn’t come and dump this huge document on our desk and tell us about a bunch of things that aren’t relevant to us.’

Working through how the transportation route affects their treaty, and that’s an interesting process. We’re embracing UNDRIP and working with First Nations the way they want to be worked with.

MDC: What are some of the biggest challenges and opportunities you see facing women in the industry?

Campbell: Jobs in the mining industry aren’t front and center. I think most women don’t really know what kinds of opportunities there are, and it’s a male dominated field. The things that attracted me to the industry, nobody talks about. And back in 1994, I was told point blank: ‘Women should not be on a mine site.’

I think that’s changed some —but it hasn’t changed completely. I think that’s that there’s still an element of that and it’s challenging to navigate [in] real life with parenting and a family if you work two weeks on and two weeks off.

MDC: What is the biggest misconception you see about the industry?

Campbell: I don’t know if it’s a misconception or a lack of understanding of the kinds of opportunities there are and the working conditions. I’m thinking probably people think it’s yucky and cold and muddy and the physical working conditions probably aren’t great when they’re not bad in the summer, and living conditions are pretty good.

There is so much value in using the local workforce. I think that industry has been missing the boat forever on not utilizing those that have been right there — that could almost throw a rock and hit the mine site.

I think helping the young workforce understand the kinds of opportunities, what working out there looks like and the benefits of it.