Located near Chapleau, Ontario, Goldcorp’s Borden project is home to many different communities and stakeholder groups, including the owners of cottages on nearby Borden Lake. The Borden team recognized that the project would bring changes to the area, and that building positive relationships and trust with the local community would be critical to ensuring long-term success.
In 2015, the Borden team implemented a grievance mechanism called the Community Feedback Protocol. Based on open communication and systematic response to stakeholders’ concerns, the Protocol included frequent visits and dialogue with local stakeholders to better understand the project’s local impacts and respond to community concerns.
Key concerns identified by locals were the visual and noise impacts related to exploration drilling. Through dialogue with local stakeholders, the Borden team identified several solutions to address some of the impacts, such as sound walls, soundmonitoring equipment and noise-mitigation procedures.
The Community Feedback Protocol has been a critical tool to hear and address local stakeholders’ concerns, and the Borden project continues to use it as an important engagement and grievance management tool. Trust between local stakeholders and the Borden project team has improved, with the project team successfully completing its 2015 drilling programs.