Resource extraction is one of the key drivers of Canada’s economy, this sector, “which includes oil and gas and mining companies, generated $174 billion in exports for Canada in 2013, accounting for over 39 percent of total domestic exports.” This industry has many well known implications for the land and climate near which its various projects reside, but a lesser known implication is its impacts on Indigenous women, girls and LGBTQIA+. The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls identified that “there is substantial evidence of a serious problem demonstrated in the correlation between resource extraction and violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.” Work camps, commonly called man “man camps,” where mostly young non-Indigenous men stay during their rotational work in the resource extraction industry are often located near Indigenous communities. These workers go into these towns close to the extraction site to “blow off steam” with “high salaries and little to no stake in the host Indigenous community” which is one of the main causes of the violence Indigenous women experience in relation to these projects.
The influx of transient workers associated with rural projects often located near indigenous communities, or towns with high Indigenous population is the most prevalent cause of this increase in Violence against Indigenous women, girls and LGBTQIA. As I mentioned, most of these workers are men, non-Indigenous and do not have any stakes in the host communities near their job sites. The nature of resource extraction work tends to be labour intensive, stressful, and long, and during the small brakes that these workers have it is common to “blow off steam” in neighbouring communities. A 2014 study done in Fort St. John, which is notorious for the presence of transient workers, found that “93 per cent of the Aboriginal participants had experienced some form of violence, while 73 per cent of their non-Indigenous counterparts had experienced violence—a definite gap.” These comparably high rates of violence for women, especially for Indigenous women in this communities points to a correlation in elevated violence against women in a community with a high prepense of transient workers.
The book “Keetsahnak: our Missing and Murdered Sisters” mentions how work in the extractive sector “breed hyper-masculinity and high rates of substance use, which have been shown to be a causal factor of violence against women.” Along with this “the men in the camps are underserviced in terms of social and health programs.” The influx of transient workers with high rates of alcohol and drug usage in Indigenous communities tends to be dangerous for Indigenous women, because of its proven causal effect of violence. There is also evidence that greater availability of these substances can lead to higher rates of usage, meaning elevated rates of drug and alcohol consumption in Indigenous communities. The [report by the Women’s Earth Alliance and the Native Youth Sexual Health Network](http://landbodydefense.org/uploads/files/VLVBReportToolkit2016.pdf?) argues that the increasing availability of drugs can exacerbate trauma in Indigenous families which can increase domestic violence. “Research by Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada into the impacts of resource extraction projects on Inuit women documented a significant increase in alcohol consumption in Baker Lake, associated with the construction of a gold mine. This increase in alcohol consumption was associated with increases in domestic violence.”
In a study of Pauktuutit Inuit women working at the Agnico-Eagle Meadowbank gold mine, it was identified that sexual assault and harassment are serious concerns, especially when paired with race based discrimination common in the workplace. Similar studies and first hand testimonies corroborate these concerns in resource extraction projects across Canada. The work environments at these various projects tend to be hyper masculine, and in combination they are often isolating geography, female workers can be the only women that these mostly male workers see during their rotational shifts. This can breed an environment where women are more susceptible to sexual violence like assaults and harassment. There are also many testimonies of women failing to report incidences of sexual assault and harassment due to the fear of loosing employment. Many Indigenous women in rural areas are forced to rely on resource extraction projects as the only employment opportunity, putting them at risk of violence in the workplace.
Indigenous women face significant barriers restricting them from participating in extractive industry jobs like oil field and mining projects. These barriers include the rotational work schedule, can be extremely difficult for mothers who have to care for their children, a “hyper-masculine” work environment, and experiences of assault, harassment, and racist discrimination. “Indigenous women who do get work at mines are often stuck in relatively low-paying jobs in housekeeping, cleaning, and food services.” While facing these barriers to profiting from these projects, “rapid growth in population associated with resource booms can drive high rates of inflation and housing shortages.” Economic insecurity can place Indigenous women at a higher risk for violence due to housing insecurity, economic reliance on a spouse or partner, and entrance into dangerous professions like sex work. One witness in the Final Report of the national Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous women stated that “many Indigenous women in northern British Columbia remain in abusive relationships because they are economically dependent on their spouse.” This ties into housing insecurity which can put a woman in physical risk of violence to a lack of proper shelter. “Northern Health and the Provincial Health Services Authority of British Columbia also drew connections among resource extraction, economic insecurity, sex work, and violence” which is exacerbated by economic insecurity.
Research by Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada also documented a connection among rotational shift work, family breakdown, and domestic violence in Nunavut. At the Meadowbank gold mine, shifts are usually two weeks with up to 12-14 hours of work meaning that workers are separated from their families for long periods of time, and return home exhausted from the laborious work which they endured which can increase family conflict. A 2008 report by the National Aboriginal Health Organization notes that the rotational shift work associated with diamond mines in the Northwest Territories also “exacerbated problems with domestic violence in Indigenous communities”. This cause of violence against Indigenous women associated with the extractive industry points to the way that this sector targets Indigenous women from multiple angles, not only do they face violence from being in the workplace and transient workers, this industry also can cause violence to creep into the home.
There is a notable lack of inclusion of the discussion of the safety of Indigenous women when weighing the impacts of potential projects. “Indigenous organizations and women’s groups have repeatedly called for socio-economic impact assessments of proposed resource extraction projects to include gender-based analyses” This however, is largely yet to happen.