Click on the thumbnails below to find out what it's like to work on the
Long Lake Project.
February 2, 2005
Long Lake Supports Vital Child Care Initiative
Nexen Inc. and OPTI Canada Inc., joint-venture partners in the Long Lake integrated oil
sands project, are pleased to announce an investment of $100,000 over the next
three years to enhance YMCA child care services in the Fort McMurray area.
"By supporting this vital initiative we help ensure the Wood Buffalo community,
which includes our current and future employees, has access to a first-class facility
that will provide a safe and caring environment for their children on an ongoing basis,"
says Russ Waddell, Director of Community Consultation & Regulatory Affairs with the Long
Lake Project.
The non-profit YMCA of Wood Buffalo oversees 95% of the licensed child care for the
region and offers the only out-of-school care program. More than 400 attend the
association’s early childhood development programs each day. In July 2005, the YMCA was
able to purchase the facility it had been leasing since 2000, Birchwood School, from the
Province and local school board.
The Long Lake Project’s donation will help offset the cost of acquiring, as well as
renovating the facility.
"Without the support of the Fort McMurray Public School District and the provincial
and municipal governments allowing us to purchase the facility at a very reasonable
price, we would have lost the space," says Gord Winkel, YMCA of Wood Buffalo Board
Chair.
"Likewise, we are fortunate to have the support of industry partners like OPTI and
Nexen in this community," says Winkel. "We are thrilled with their donation as these
companies bring new people into our community to work on the Long Lake Project."
