I would like someone to explain this for me. From the above fact sheet we learn on the one hand that "almost 136,000 Albertans are employed in Alberta's mining and oil and gas extraction sector."
On the other hand we learn that "about 1,700 First Nations were employed by oil sands explorations - about 10% of the oil sands workforce."
Granted I'm not a mathematician, but based on my calculations 1,700 is 10% of 17,000 and 10% of 136,000 is 13,600.
So which is it - are there only 17,000 people working in this sector - or do First Nations people represent something more like 1.25% of the workforce in this industry?
My rough calculation of the numbers around First Nations and Metis populations in Alberta suggest that they make up around 10% of the population. Thus, a 10% employment rate in this sector would seem "fair" (despite the fact that the impacts of these projects are arguably disproportionally felt by those living in the relatively remote areas in northern Alberta, frequently First Nations people), so I can see why a 10% employment rate would be a positive number to put forth as say, a goal. But a goal does not a fact make.
Update: I received this link via twitter, on the Labour Market Workforce Stats: http://woodbuffalo.net/November%202009/upstream-production-oil-san.jpg - it appears that the number of 136,000 posted on the Alberta Oilsands Factsheet may a bit deceiving, as these people might not all be counted as participating in the Oil Sands Workforce, but rather in the entire gas and mining sector (p.s. that's not what the fact sheet is about).
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