CreeQuest Corporation and Aramark Canada have renewed a partnership agreement to continue providing Detour Lake Mine with catering and janitorial services.
The companies started partnering eight years ago. Aramark Canada president Andy Siklos said the partnership has kept the mine safe and clean, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I am very proud that Aramark Canada can keep helping Kirkland Lake Gold meet its commitment to building Indigenous communities through our longstanding business partnership with CreeQuest,” Siklos said in a statement.
According to the news release, their partnership employs 120 people, 40 per cent of whom are Indigenous and 51 per cent are women.
“Through our partnership with Aramark Canada, CreeQuest is proud to be one of the largest employers of women at the Detour Lake Mine, and one of the contractors with the largest percentage of Indigenous employees as well. Through our partnerships with companies like Aramark Canada, we can continue that success," said CreeQuest’s president Tina Sheridan.
Sheridan, who’s a member of Taykwa Tagamou Nation, founded CreeQuest in 2010.
Over the years, the company has grown from a sole proprietorship to a regional Indigenous business providing camp management, catering, janitorial and laundry services as well as exploration drilling. The company is now owned by Sheridan, Moose Cree First Nation member Greg Sutherland and Wahgoshig First Nation member Virginia Forsythe.
Aramark offers services in food, facilities management and uniforms across several industries including educational institutions, healthcare facilities, stadiums, arenas, workplaces, rigs and remote sites.
