Rio Tinto Alcan has started the $200-million Canada fund, aimed at giving back to communities in Quebec and British Columbia, where the company has operations. The subsidiary of mining juggernaut Rio Tinto (RTP-N, RIO-L) plans to build the fund — which was announced last year — over a five-year period.
“Rio Tinto believes firmly that it is in our strategic interest to support local communities as we expand our footprint and capacities in Canada,” said Dick Evans, CEO of Rio Tinto Alcan in a press release.
Money from the fund has already been committed to projects that include the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Montreal Neurological institute, the Montreal Planetarium, and others in the Saguenay, Que., and northern B. C. regions.
The company has contributed more than $1.2 million to the International Dragon Boat Festival, in B. C. over the last 12 years.
In addition to existing programs, Rio Tinto plans to establish new ones that focus on areas where the company is working.
Overseeing the Rio Tinto Alcan Canada Fund is a board of directors chaired by Evans. Its members are Helene Desmaris, CEO and chairman of the Montreal Enterprises and Innovation Centre; Brian Fall, former British high commissioner to Canada; Clifford Moar, former chief of the Montagnais First Nation; Gaston Ouellet, associate professor, HEC Montreal; Monica Patten, president and CEO of Community Foundations of Canada; and David Thompson, chairman of Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.
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