Vendor Profile: Synterra Security Solutions

 The story of Synterra Security Solutions, a majority-owned Indigenous security company, provides a strong example of how industry and First Nations communities can work together for mutual benefit.

In 2010, Newmont’s Musselwhite mine held discussions with Kingfisher Lake and Wunnumin Lake First Nations regarding a need for an Indigenous Security Service. In 2011, after much discussion and planning, a groundbreaking agreement was signed with the First Nations officially creating Synterra Security Solutions LP. At the time, it was the very first Indigenous majority-owned security company in Northwestern Ontario. That year, Synterra signed a service agreement to provide security for Musselwhite and hired its first workforce, consisting of six security guards.

With an original mandate to provide security services to job sites operating in the traditional territories of its three ownership communities, located in Treaty 9 and Treaty 3, Synterra has expanded its operations significantly across Northern Ontario. The company now has offices in Thunder Bay, Devlin, Elliot Lake and St. Mary’s, and is on the brink of being awarded an agency license for the Province of Quebec as part of Newmont’s expansion plan to service our Éléonore mine. The company is now 75% First Nation-owned and has a workforce of roughly 200 employees, 40% of whom are Indigenous.

23 First Nation Communities directly benefit from employment, revenue sharing, education and capacity building as a result of the company’s operations. Synterra has expressed that they will always hold Newmont Musselwhite in the highest regard for its willingness to work with local First Nations, and Newmont Musselwhite is grateful for the opportunity to help create meaningful business and employment opportunities for our host communities.