PINTER & Associates Ltd. received ACEC-SK’s 2021  Community Initiative Award for their Fond Du Lac & Hatchet Lake COVID-19 Relief Initiative. This award is presented for a company’s role in donating their time for the benefit of a community or group in Saskatchewan or on the national or international stages.

On 9 November 2020, a state of emergency was declared on the Fond Du Lac Denesuline Nation Reserve (Fond Du Lac). The community was battling a rise in COVID-19 related cases at the same time as their access to clean drinking water was interrupted. Fond Du Lac’s water treatment plant was shut down due to mechanical issues, which was in part attributed to increased water use because of COVID-19. In addition to these challenges, food and supplies for the on-reserve community of approximately 1,133 people were limited due to decreased flight schedules and elevated freight costs because of COVID-19 concerns. COVID-19 and the limited access to supplies also had an immediate effect on neighbouring communities in northern Saskatchewan including Hatchet Lake Denesuline Nation.

PINTER decided that this dire situation provided a chance for our company to give something back to their clients and friends at a time when they needed assistance.  PINTER felt that this was one of those situations where they could do something outside of their project work, on their own time, to provide help and support.

Lawrence Pinter, CEO of PINTER, gathered members of the PINTER team to strategize on how to best assist the communities affected by the supply shortage. PINTER reached out to each community to find out what they needed. Diane McDonald of Fond Du Lac and Mary Denecheze of Hatchet Lake, the COVID-19 relief coordinators for each community, provided a list of needed supplies. 
The PINTER team coordinated to procure, package, and arrange for shipping of the relief supplies. The PINTER team utilized their company truck and a trailer, donated by one of their staff, to pick up supplies from Costco and other local grocers. The first shipment was comprised of four trollies worth of stacked goods to ship to the communities. They reached out to RiseAir (formerly TransWest Air) to coordinate the shipment of supplies.  RiseAir offered a 50% discount on freight charges for this northern community assistance initiative. This allowed PINTER to use more of their overall relief budget for the purchase of supplies and increased the assistance to communities which they desperately needed.
The first shipment was sent on 18 November 2020 and arrived a day after. Supplies were distributed throughout the community via the COVID-19 coordinator and their helpers. Once inventory was assessed by the communities, another request was received by PINTER for a second shipment. PINTER contacted ACEC-SK to reach out to its membership for additional support. An additional $3,700 was raised from members of ACEC-SK including JD Mollard, WaterMark Consulting and Allnorth. In addition, Paddock Drilling, a drilling contractor from Manitoba who worked in Fond Du Lac for the past two years also contributed to the COVID-19 relief program.
The second shipment was coordinated with assistance from WalMart Canada on 3 December 2020. Additional PPE, hygiene products, baby supplies, cleaning solution, cold & flu medicine, and digital thermometers were shipped to both Fond Du Lac and Hatchet Lake. This shipment allowed each community to gain access to supplies without having to wait weeks for many of these essential items and supplies. 

This initiative aligned very well with PINTER’s policy of Social Responsibility.