Bouchier - Celebrating Business Excellence

Bouchier Building Strong Business Through Indigenous Partnerships

BY RENNAY CRAATS

B

ouchier is more than a highly respected integrated site services company in northern Alberta; it’s an organization committed to strengthening the sustainability of the oil sands region through local procurement, employment, community investment and cultural support. Bouchier offers a quality product while helping build up local Indigenous communities and supporting Indigenous entrepreneurs.

David Bouchier started Bouchier in Fort McKay in 1998 and held down a full-time job while launching it. He became established with CNRL’s Horizon project and as Horizon grew, he saw an opportunity to grow alongside it.

“In 2004, Bouchier went into full-time operations, and that’s when both Dave and I left our full-time jobs and jumped into Bouchier with both feet,” says Nicole Bourque-Bouchier, CEO and co-owner of Bouchier.

What began as contracting for civil earthworks projects and road maintenance has grown into a fully integrated service provider with more than 400 pieces of equipment, fulfilling longstanding contracts with all the major suppliers for civil maintenance and construction, facility maintenance and project management. It boasts the expertise to design, engineer, execute, manage and maintain projects as well as the creativity to tailor solutions to individual projects.

Bouchier has loyal and long-standing clients including CNRL (a client for nearly 20+yrs). Current contracts include multi-year roads and grounds commitment with the Rural Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Suncor Energy and Imperial Oil. The company also provides dorm renovations and facility maintenance at major oil sands’ sites and most recently Bouchier completed a critical research project with Syncrude on clean water return to treat water from tailings.

The company has grown exponentially, necessitating a move into a larger Fort McKay office, and it aims to double in the next five years.

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Given its reputation for exceptional customizable turn-key projects and solid relationships with clients, this is definitely attainable.

Bouchier acts more as a valued partner than a contractor, and it has established itself as a partner to the Indigenous community.

The Bouchiers are deeply connected to their communities, with David being Fort McKay First Nation and Nicole being a member of the Mikisew Cree First Nation, and it was a priority for them to create a diverse company.

“As a local born-and-raised Fort McKay First Nation member, I am extremely proud of the growth of Bouchier to include 1,000 employees, with 40 per cent fellow Indigenous employees from all over Canada,” says David Bouchier, founder, president and co-owner of Bouchier.

Indigenous values are foundational at Bouchier and the family’s values, guided by the Seven Sacred Teachings, shape the company. These traditions exemplify the basis of a happy and balanced life and are an important part of the values that remind the Bouchiers to remain connected to staff, clients and the land. The teachings highlight love, respect, honesty, courage, wisdom, humility and truth, and they guide the team toward building wahkohtowin – community and family.

The organization’s Indigenous story has evolved over the years, and the Bouchiers abandoned their early efforts to get along as just another non-Indigenous company and instead have drawn attention to the amazing work Bouchier is doing onsite and in the community with Indigenous owners at the helm.

“Maybe it’s because of truth and reconciliation, but we feel that the time is now to be changing that outlook and bringing TRC into our organization – really being proud of who we are as Indigenous owners and an Indigenous company and starting to tell that story more,” says Bourque-Bouchier.

The result is a company culture of family, respect, inclusivity and professional pride that educates about Indigenous culture and dynamics.

Employees are carefully selected to align with that culture, and Bouchier has a target of 45 per cent Indigenous staff and continually brings on more Indigenous contractors and suppliers.

Bouchier is blessed with long-time partners and long-tenured employees who are invested in the company’s success, and the company is invested in staff too with its strong safety focus.

“In our backyard, you are only as good as your safety record, and I am proud that we send people back to their families safe at the end of each shift. For three years in a row, we have achieved one million hours recordable injury free.

This is a team effort and doesn’t happen without a great family-based culture,” says Bouchier.

Family is key at Bouchier, and caring for family extends beyond staff and into the community.

The company strives to help however it can, supporting key organizations within Wood Buffalo from youth recreation programs to culture and community initiatives to lifting barriers through female empowerment in order to help the community grow.

Through hard work, a quality product and a diversity that promotes Indigenous partnership in business, Bouchier has become one of Canada’s leading Indigenous companies. The family plans to expands beyond its Wood Buffalo backyard and into other provinces to bring this unique model to other communities in the future.

Head Office: Incubator Park, Fort McKay, Alberta T0P 1C0 Phone: 1-780-790-1682 | 1-888-624-0203 Email: reception@bouchier.ca Web: bouchier.ca