“I loved it. I get to do investigations, I get
to use my brain and I get to strategize. I
just knew that safety was my area of ex-
pertise. I just kept building and building
and learning more about it,” Whiteknife
said, comparing the detection aspect of
the work to the cases of Sherlock Holmes.
He soon realized that he wanted to have
his own safety company and ICEIS Safety
was born in 2005.
Based in Fort MacKay and Fort McMur-
ray, Alberta, the company specializes in
occupational health and safety consulting,
training and staffing. It is a member of the
Northeastern Alberta Aboriginal Business
Association, and certifications held by its
consultants include everything from envi-
ronmental site supervisor to national con-
struction safety officer.
Even before founding his company, Whi-
teknife had envisioned that his future en-
terprise would specialize in helping First
Nations with pre-qualifications for oil sands
work, something that is mandatory for on-
site work. “Aboriginal companies are hard-
working companies. They know exactly
what they’re doing. The only obstacle for
them is the fact that they don’t meet the
safety qualifications that industry has set,”
Whiteknife explained. This was why he
started consulting with multiple First Na-
tions companies and helped them enter
the oil sands industry, well before ICEIS
emerged.
OCTOBER 2016
H
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