the traveling feather june 2012
DESCRIPTION
Newsletter for the McLeod Lake Indian BandTRANSCRIPT
MLIB The Traveling Feather
Caribou Management in BC
Head Start Calendar
Bear Lake Youth Fundraising
Chief Derek Orr’s June Update
20No.
Lots
of n
ews
100%
Gua
rant
eed
JUNE 2012 WE, THE TSE’KHENE NATION (PEOPLE OF THE ROCK) ARE PROUD PEOPLE
Contributors
MLIB The Traveling Feather
Derek Orr, Adele Chingee, Miranda Grattan, Stephanie Chingee, Barb Heine, Jodie Ware, Kandy Klijnsmit, Meaghan van Somer, Chris Kaip, Jodi
Sharp, Eran Spence, Marc P. Klijnsmit
McLeod Lake Indian Band address
General Delivery
McLeod Lake, V0J 2G0
Toll Free 1-888-822-1143
Newsletter Submissions
Would you like to write something for The Traveling Feather? Please submit your story to [email protected]
MLIB Publiction No.20
The Traveling Feather is published up to 12 times a year. Members of the McLeod Lake Indian Band and readers of The Traveling Feather can submit t h e i r n e w s a n d p i c t u r e s a t
Office Opening Hours
The McLeod Lake Indian Band Office is open Monday - Friday
8.30am - 4.00pm.
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Dear Members,
I hope you are well and enjoying summer weather. McLeod Lake Indian Band Chief and Council are looking forward to the upcoming quarterly meetings on June 22-23, 2012. There have been many rumours and misleading information posted on Facebook by a small group of members. At the next Quarterly meeting we will enjoy the opportunity to provide our Members with factual information on many of the topics below.
Blockade
On May 24, 2012 a small group of Members Blockaded the Band Hall. Blockader’s allegations included:
1. Council signed confidential agreements with industry without proper consultation.
2. Council changed honorarium policy so that it can now be paid from these agreements.
3. Council attempted to vary the Treaty 8 Trust without membership consultation.
4. Council gave eviction notices to 10 members including 3 elders and 2 mentally ill members.
5. Council approved a pay raise that sees the Chief making almost $100,000 tax free in a community of less than 100 people.
6. 13 Elders signed declaration that they had lost confidence in Council and asked them to step down on April 24. (Justin Harris Chingee – Facebook 11:53pm May 29, 2012)
As a result of the Blockade the Chief and Council sought a Court Injunction to have the blockade removed. Council received the injunction less the ten hours after the blockade started. Unfortunately, the Injunction allowed for police to have discretion on removal of the blockade and as a result Chief and Councils legal counsel, David Sutherland, returned to the Courts on June 01, 2012 and obtained Warrants for 16 individuals at the Blockade. On June 04, 2012 police took action to remove the blockade and arrested five individuals. The rest of the blockaders left without incident and promised to appear in Court later that day (NO ELDERS WERE ARRESTED). All individuals were released on conditions not to blockade, not to block access to the reserve, and not to interrupt Band Business.
Derek Orr McLeod Lake Indian Band Chief
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McLeod Lake Indian Band Chief and Council are very pleased to be back in operations. The blockade had a tremendous impact on our ability to provide services to our Members. We will provide estimates on costs incurred by Band because of the blockade.
Website
McLeod Lake Indian Band is working to improve our website. Over the past couple of years there have been different site formats and we are working to ensure that there is only one official website for McLeod Lake Indian Band. We are also taking steps to make sure information is updated in a timely manner. The new website will include a social media page to combat rumors and false information being posted on unofficial MLIB websites.
Housing
On May, 04, 2012 nineteen eviction notices were issued to members on reserve that were not paying rent. Prior to the eviction notices two letters were sent out requesting that individuals contact the Housing Co-ordinator to complete an evaluation and income verification. Seven of the nineteen individuals came forward and worked out agreements moving forward.
The MLIB housing deficit continues to grow every year. In 2006 the deficit was approximately 159,000 and has since grown to 419,000 in 2011, and is expected to increase again for 2012. With such a large deficit, we are unable to build new housing. In addition, money used to offset maintenance costs and rental deficits could be better utilized funding programs for Elders, Health, Community Development and other beneficial programs. Therefore it is essential that we address this sensitive issue.
Treaty 8 Trust Deficit
Chief and Council continue to work towards resolution of the Treaty 8 Deficit. Chief and Council are working with consultant Tanner Elton to solve MLIB’s Treaty 8 Trust Deficit.
Enbridge
On June 07, 2012 Chief and Council of McLeod Lake Indian Band sent a letter rejecting the proposed Enbridge Pipeline offer made to us in the form of an Aboriginal Ownership Agreement. Our Members are overwhelmingly opposed to the Enbridge Pipeline. The project crosses approximately 210 kilometers of McLeod Lake’s territory and poses too many environmental risks for us. We furthermore rejected the offer on the basis that it was presented to us without any meaningful negotiation or consultation. Not all First Nations are the same nor do we all have the same interests, and the “one size fits all” approach is impossible for McLeod Lake Indian Band to accept.
www.mlib.ca
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Thanks to everyone who helped cleaning up!!
Anglo American- MOU
McLeod Lake Indian Band is working towards finalization of an MOU with Anglo American. Anglo American operates the Trend Mine to the south of Tumbler Ridge and began operations in December 2005. The mine is permitted to produce up to 2 million tonnes of coal per year. Anglo American is also working to develop the Roman Property, which is directly south of the Trend property. The Trend mine has estimated the extraction of approximately 1,400,000 Tonnes of coal for 2012. If the Roman Project is approved, the expected extraction of coal from Trend and Roman is 1,200,000 tonnes in 2013 and 1,800,000 tonnes in 2014. By 2017 it is estimated both mines will produce a combined total of 4,000,000 tonnes annually.
Helicopter Tour
On June 09, 2012 representatives from the Royal Bank, MLIB Board of Directors, Lhoosk’uz Dene Nation, Duz Cho Logging, Duz Cho Construction , T’seneglobe Media and I went on a helicopter tour to visit projects operated by Duz Cho Construction and Logging. The site tour included a visit to Nu Gold’s Blackwater project within the Lhoosk’uz Dene Traditional Territory, Thompson Creek’s Mt. Milligan, Walter Energy’s Willow Creek and the Dokie Wind projects. We also wanted to visit the Capital Wind Project near Tumbler Ridge but we ran out of time. T’seneglobe will be producing a short video. The video will hopefully help assure Members we are working towards goals outlined in June 2011 and provide confidence that McLeod Lake Indian Band is still well positioned and moving forward in a responsible manner.
In conclusion, I wish you all safe travels and I look forward to seeing you all at the upcoming quarterly meetings on June 22-23, 2012 for an update on these and more. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to call me at 250-981-1332.
Sincerely,
Chief Derek Orr & Constable Joe PlantChief Derek Orr
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Dear Band Members,
My name is Stephanie Chingee. I am 22years old. I am a McLeod Lake Band Member and I live on the reserve with my beautiful family. I am currently working as the receptionist while Tiffany Chingee is on her maternity leave. I started working this June 2012 until September 2012. I do duties such as typing letters, faxing, photo copying, mail outs and answering phones. I am very happy I have gotten the job as reception and very grateful because I now support my family.
Stephanie Chingee
www.mlib.ca
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Thanks to everyone who helped cleaning up!!
Band
Man
ager
Ade
le C
hing
ee
Danachea MLIB members,
We are on month 3 of the new 2012/2013 fiscal year. Again, we’re excited for the new fiscal year and new activities to implement.
There are many vacant positions in administration, MLIB is doing everything to recruit and fill those positions. The vacancies for Administration are in:Human Resources Mgmt Public Works Mgr (Capital Projects, Housing Maintenance and PreventiveMaintenance, Water System Maintenance, Project Mgmt) Interim Housing Coordinator Interim Elder Coordinator – recently filled Land Management Coordinator NNADAP Worker Youth Worker
MLIB business and organization has evolved over the years, and hiring practices have changed significantly, today our practice is to recruit qualified and skilled workers to fill these positions. Band Members can become part of the organization when they become trained in various capacities within MLIB. There are many training facilities in the area that educate individuals in Human Resources, Public Works, Housing, Drug and Alcohol Counseling, etc.
Housing has been a major issue within Administration. We’ve been upgrading and making amendments to the already existing MLIB Housing Policy. The major concern that still exists is the housing arrears issue. MLIB has been addressing this issue with the tenants. At this time, MLIB does not have a home ownership program. MLIB is still the owner of the housing units on reserve lands. As a result, tenants have to pay rent to MLIB on their on-reserve housing units. Rent revenue is used to offset MLIB’s costs as the owner of the housing units. Just recently tenants have been sent notices to come into the Band Office to do Income Testing and there was a list of tenants who received notification for their housing arrears total for the past year. Income testing is used to determine the rent to be paid for the housing unit over the next year.
Our stats show that only 7 tenants came into the office to address the first notices but the majority of the tenants elected to ignore the notices. Thus at the beginning of May 2012 the Housing Department issued Eviction Notices in order to compel the tenants to do the Income Testing, fill out the necessary paperwork and to make payment arrangements to catch up on their rent arrears. It’s important for MLIB to collect rent on housing units, as rent helps pay the mortgage amounts, ensures there is money to do housing maintenance and repairs and lastly covers basic community services provided to tenants, such as wood for the winter and snow plowing.
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It is unfair to the majority of the members that live off-reserve, for MLIB not to collect rent and
arrears. MLIB will continue to work with tenants and making them accountable for rent owed and ensuring tenants continue to pay their monthly rent for their housing units. There is a gap for INAC Funding for Members that live in Band Owned Houses that are on Social Assistance, INAC Policy is the Social Program does not provide Rent for SA recipients living in Band Owned Units. As a result of the gap in the INAC policy, MLIB will its use own source revenue to provide rent for SA recipients in Band Owned Housing, as long as the individual qualifies for SA under the Policy. MLIB had a rental subsidy program for elders renting from MLIB. This program was suspended back in 2008 when MLIB slashed its Budget by 41%. Since 2008 the elders rent subsidy program has not been reinstated because of continued funding shortfalls. In the past the elders rent subsidy was funded by the Treaty 8 Trust. As we’ve reported to the band members, MLIB receives funds to operate from Aboriginal Affairs (INAC), Health Canada, OGC, PGNAETA, Duz Cho Logging and Duz Cho Construction and small revenues from various companies (Spectra, BC Hydro, etc) and the Lands and Mineral Trust. MLIB is still not accessing funds for various Elders and Youth Programs from Treaty 8 Trust because the Trust is still under the minimum floor value. We are continuing to make payments and contributions to the Treaty 8 Trust because MLIB has an obligation to pay its debts just like any other borrower. As a result of not having access to Treaty 8 Trust for Elders and Youth Programs, MLIB is not able to provide any funds for elders’ rent subsidy. It is important that MLIB find other funding sources by ways of Agreements, MOU’s, proposal writing in order to be sustainable. The forest industry
has not quite picked up since its downward turn in 2008, so our revenues from our forested lands are very minimal. Forecasts in the forest industry is predicting that will turn around and the forest industry will once again be very profitable. However, we are still waiting for the upswing of the forest industry.
Band membership services and programs were severally impacted when Chief and Council and Band Administration was denied access to the band office by a blockade. The Blockade had other impacts to the Band and its Operations. Not only was staff denied access to deliver services to the members, but there was the delay of the start of MLIB Annual Audit and business meetings with various companies had to be cancelled to be rescheduled. We had to turn away contractors that came to the o f f i c e . R e n o v a t i o n s a n d o t h e r commitments were put on hold.
After twelve days the blockade was removed after MLIB obtained an Injunction and compelled its enforcement. T h e Blockade had a huge impact on the finances of MLIB as there are the unexpected and added costs to our Operations. MLIB will be tracking and reporting the costs of the blockade. The biggest threat to our Operations was the threat that Aboriginal Affairs (INAC) might insist on a 3rd Party Manager. Back in the late 90’s MLIB was managed by a 3rd Party Manager which cost MLIB hundreds of thousands and almost destroyed Duz Cho Logging. Because of that threat and distruption in the community and services to member, MLIB Leaders and Management worked t o g e t h e r a n d o b t a i n e d a C o u r t Injunction. Every day the blockade continued, the individuals that were manning the blockade were in violation of a Court Order. The protestors were reminded everyday by the RCMP that there was a
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www.mlib.ca
Court Injunction to remove the Blockade and for the individuals to move on. Chief and Council had met with the main protestors and insisted that before they would listen to their issues, the Blockade had to come down so staff could resume their work. The protestors finally had to be removed by the RCMP because of their unreasonable behavior. It was another ‘sad day’ to add to our history’ as MLIB leadership and management made tough decisions that would allow them to gain control and access to the office.
At the present time, C&C, community members and staff are trying hard to deal with the impacts of the blockade. Many have said they are scared and feeling unsafe since the blockade. MLIB Administration has organized a professional to come in to debrief with staff, C&C and community members to begin the healing process. Administration will look into ways to improve our Operations so that we don’t have to halt services again.In light of the blockade, it’s good to remind members that MLIB is governed by the MLIB Elections Code, which was ratified by band members in 1998 and then amended in 2004. The MLIB Elections Code, which was approved by vote of the members in 2004, sets out the process by which MLIB elect its governing body. Changes to that process can only lawfully be made by a ratification vote of the adult members of the Band. MLIB is currently going through a similar process of amending our current Election Code. All members are encouraged to participate in order to ensure our governing documents reflect what the members want and work as well as possible. If you have any questions or input into the Amendment of the MLIB Election Code, 2004 please contact Yasmin Prince ([email protected]) or call the Band Manager at the MLIB Office.
On a more positive side, MLIB continues to work with companies and Industries to building positive relationships. Outside companies, assist MLIB especially with our Youth and Elders programs and initiatives. We are always looking at and setting up positive community interactions for our community and organization. MLIB is working with a First Nation company to upgrade and improve our already existing Website. For this initiative, the First Nation company will not only design the new Website but will train 3 staff members to keep the Website current and always inputting the latest information to MLIB. We are also looking at setting up links to Twitter and Facebook social networks that will have the latest and accurate information from MLIB. There are other Facebook Sites out there, those Sites are not affiliated or supported by MLIB. Once development of the new website is completed, members can keep in touch with Chief and Council and Administration on the new Facebook and Twitter sites. It is important that the band members get the most recent information but most important that the information they are receiving will be accurate also communicated in a respectful way. We are very excited about this new direction we are taking.
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To close out my report I wanted to share with the members that I grew up in McLeod Lake on IR 1 with my family and famous dad “Ollie (Alec) Chingee. He was very a respectful man of the community. He adored his community and was always willing to help anyone out and welcomed anyone that came to his door. All of these traits indicated he was very communal individual. My dad was also very traditional, his communication was in his language, he loved going out to his country (especially the Parsnip River) to hunt, trap or camp. I remember going out with him to check his traps and many times he took us out berry picking, sometimes as far as War Lake areas. He loved sharing his moose or other meats with his community members. I have very fond memories of my dad and miss him deeply and relish his memory each day I come out to the Rez to work. It is important for our community to reinstate values of respect, kindness and trust because it was the way of our ancestors.
In my dad’s memory, I venture out on the Parsnip River with my family during the summer, last year we made it as far as Arctic Lake. I can’t wait to the next well deserved trip and worthwhile journey to help me as I rejuvenate my Tse’khene Spirit.
MLIB has exciting times coming as we’ve planned the Annual Camping Trip to Carp Lake on July 20, 21 and 22 and the AGA on August 2nd and 3rd. We did add August 1st for a Canoe Journey with the RCMP (Aboriginal Policing has provided 2 (13 man) canoes) and elders, youth and community member canoe journey to kick off the AGA. Members are certainly encouraged to sign up and join these worthwhile events. There is truth in the saying, “the more the merrier”.
Please contact the Band Office for more information on the events or if you have questions on our services and programs we provide to the band members. We can always find someone to answer your questions.
Respectfully,
Adele ChingeeBand Manager
www.mlib.ca
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MLIB Youth Department Miranda Grattan
Danache’a!
I have been working with the MLIB Youth since February, and in that short amount of time, there have been a lot of events, accomplishments, visitors, and unforeseen changes. Before I let you know what you can look forward to for the summer, I would like to quickly review what we have done in the Youth Program since January.
Over the course of four months, the youth program has held 26 Homework Nights for the youth. The goal of this program is to facilitate an organized environment where the kids receive support and encouragement regarding educational and leadership activities, such as school, reading, fundraising, and Tse’Khene culture. There have been 10 weekend or pro-d-day activities including 2 sport camps, escort to the Canucks Alumni game, making bannock, snowshoeing, fundraising, community clean-up, and clean up around elder’s homes. During Spring Break, the youth participated in another sport camp, art work, fundraising, and a field trip to Prince George for a movie. A total of 7 workshops were facilitated for the youth which have focused on a variety of topics that relate to youth.
Six MLIB Youth, and three chaperones were sponsored to attend the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards in Vancouver this year. This opportunity was so generously sponsored entirely by Summit Pipelines. Thank you so much to Summit for your support in facilitating rewarding opportunities for our youth!
The kids were surprised with a friendly visitor during our Easter Hunt since Tamara Dugan, the previous Youth Support Worker stopped by to check in with the kids. She spent the entire group with us, and the kids were very happy to see her again.
Throughout all of this busyness, the youth have managed to be very successful with a couple of fundraising efforts. They hosted an Indian Tacos community lunch. They worked very hard and deserve a lot of recognition for this endeavor. Another success was the Youth Painting Silent Auction. They created 20 paintings, which were then displayed in the band hall and auctioned off to the highest bidder. They are very proud that every painting was purchased and thank the community for all of their support and encouragement.
A very special congratulation goes out to Desiree Steele on being the very first youth to win the MLIB Youth Education & Leadership Award! Desiree is a constant participant in Youth Program activities and she has shown a lot of initiative in taking on various tasks that relate to education as well as being a leader within the community, which include reading, completing homework, learning Tse’Khene language, fundraising, and contributing to the community by assisting elders and taking on a community clean-up. Way to go Desiree!!
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Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.
Unfortunately the Youth Department has faced challenges to permanently fill the full-time Youth and Family Worker position since January. We hope
that with successful recruitment for this position, Youth Department programs and initiatives will run a lot more consistently. Due to the lapse of
time during the blockade as well as this staffing shortage, we were forced to close the Homework Night program early in order to plan and organize for an exciting summer. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused parents and children.
The summer plans are organized so parents should keep an eye out for the upcoming calendar of events or give me a call and I am happy to forward it to you by email. Some of the events to look forward to for children under 12 are the Actua Science and Mad Science Red Hot Robots Camps, a Dance Camp, and tons of crafts and activities throughout the summer. Youth over 12 can look forward to a trip with the Elder’s to Tsay Keh and Kwadacha, golfing, bowling, fishing, and other fun excursions. All MLIB youth will be hosting an Elder’s Luncheon that will also involve BINGO and presentations.
Families are welcome to attend the Carp Lake campout, and will also be able to enjoy attending the PGX again this year since Chief and Council have generously agreed to sponsor wrist bands again! Thank you Chief and Council
The Youth Cookbooks which were kindly developed by Tiffany Chingee are still on sale for $15. You can purchase them by contacting me in the Youth Department.
I have sincerely enjoyed working with the kids in the short time that I have been here and look forward to spending a lot more time with them over the summer.
Take care,
Youth Liason Worker and
Youth Support WorkerMiranda Grattan
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Jije Inza 2012 July 2012
Head Start will
continue with the
language program 3
days a week Monday-
Wednesday at the
daycare with all
attending children
times will follow as
we coordinate with
the daycare.
All other programs
listed will be held
at the Head Start
Building
Mini Cultural Camps
will be held at the
Heritage Site
(weather permitting
and times may
change)
**Watch For Bike
Rodeo**
Head
Start
SUN
MON
TUE
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 Headstart
Reading
Program
12-1pm
10
Mini
Cultural
Camp
*watch
for
times*
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Headstart
Language
Program
With
Craft
12-1pm
12
13
Jodi In
14
15
16
Headstart
Reading
Program
12-1pm
17
Headstart
Family
Walking
Club
12-
12:30pm
18
Headstart
Language
Program
With
Craft
12-1pm
19
20
Mini
Cultural
Camp
*watch
for
times*
21
22
23
Headstart
Reading
Program
12-1pm
24
Headstart
Family
Walking
Club
12-
12:30pm
25
Headstart
Language
Program
With
Craft
12-1pm
26
27
Jodi In
28
29
30
Headstart
Reading
Program
12-1pm
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Mini
Cultural
Camp
*watch
for
times*
Thanks to everyone who helped cleaning up!!
Dear Members,
Mackenzie Job Option students completed the classroom work and have been working towards finding full time employment of their choosing. Good Luck with your job search and I hope that you may find what you are looking for so you never have to work a day in your life.
AGA planning committee is in full swing and to date have gotten invites out and have started receiving donations and planning this year’s Annual big event!
I have put a couple of students through Occupational First Aid Level 1 and Transportation Endorsement with CNC Mackenzie. I have also helped a few community clients renew their safety tickets to help them become more employable.
Two community members took the initiative and have gone back to work for Golder Associates Site “C” Clean Energy Project, without any help from the E/T Department! Thank Doug & Calvin your incentive to work is inspiring.
Two local community members went to Moberly Lake B.C to obtain Pesticide Applicator course & Integrated Pest Management training on behalf of Spectra Energy. The students told me that the course was challenging and they hope to have passed the test to obtain their certificate. This training is going to lead into summer employment with Asplundh, so I wish these students the best of luck that they passed their test and I hope that it leads into summer employment.
Sincerely,
Terra TyleeEmployment & Training Department
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Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.
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Please accept our invitation to the
3rd Annual
Elder, Youth & RCMP
Camp-Out! When: July 21st-‐22nd
Where: Carp Lake
Come out and enjoy some food, activities, swimming
and more! For more details or to RSVP,
please contact:
Chris Kaip (250)750-‐6853
Miranda Grattan (250)750-‐4415 Local 271
APRIL 2012
April 1st: Sat with Ken Solonas at the Annual Trade Show (final day) in Chetwynd, BC.
April 3rd: Council Meeting in McLeod Lake. Next steps regarding the BC Hydro (Site C Project), establish a committee to focus directly on this project alone. Yasmin, Fred Jr., Geri, Albert and I have all agreed to sit on the committee; as well, we will be looking for two more elders and two more members to sit on the committee.
April 10th: District of Mackenzie Town Council Meeting at 10am, Shell Canada Meeting at 1pm; both held in McLeod Lake.
April 12th: OGC Meeting at 10am, Housing Meeting at 1pm; both held in McLeod Lake
April 14th: Board of Directors Annual General Meeting in McLeod Lake. Council in attendance were Derek, Fred Jr., Geri and I.
April 16th: Career Fair Day in McLeod Lake. Big congratulations go out to Terra Tylee and Jen Dyble for putting on such a great and successful event. A big thank you to the College of New Caledonia for funding this event and Summit Pipelines for funding the luncheon! There were a total of about 25 companies (booth’s) at the event, the gymnasium was packed! Hopefully we can turn this Career Fair into an Annual Event!
April 23rd: Council Meeting in McLeod Lake at 9am.
April 24th: Regular Council Meeting in McLeod Lake at 9am.
April 25th: Annual General Assembly Planning Committee Meeting, members so far are Jodie Ware, Adele Chingee, Terra Tylee and I. Main goal at this point is to get out our invites/sponsorship requests to the corporations. If anyone is interested in helping out with AGA in any way don’t hesitate to contact me at all.
MAY 2012
May 1st: AGA Planning Committee Meeting at 10am, were able to recruit Nicole Thomas and Ken Solonas onto the committee!
May 3rd: Economic Development Strategies Meeting in Prince George at the Days Inn.
May 8th: Housing Meeting in McLeod Lake.
May 17th: Regular Council Meeting in Prince George at the Coast In of the North.
May 22nd: Meeting with K. Brown at 9:30am, and Spectra Energy Meeting at 1:30pm
held in McLeod Lake.
Destiny Bear Youth Councillor Report
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Nic
ole
Thom
as
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Danache’a (Hadih) everyone,
My name is Nicole Thomas, I am the Infant & Family Development Worker at the McLeod Lake Indian Band. I work with the families and children in McLeod Lake. I support the families and caregivers in promoting the development, well being and successful inclusion of children here in McLeod Lake. I work with the Elder Coordinator, Youth Coordinator, Head Start Coordinator, Cultural Advisor & Day Care Workers to promote activities involving Language & Culture. I hold workshops for all community members and free of charge. I am currently living on reserve with my spouse (Lionel Chingee) and my 2-year-old son (Atreyu Chingee). I am learning the Tse’Khene Language & promote cultural activities at my home in McLeod Lake. Here are some activities I have held in the past few months:
- May 10th & 11th, Clothing Exchange, 1-3pm (Welcomed any community members to bring old clothing/toys/shoes/etc. to Hall. Any of items were free for anyone else to take home. I left the items in gym for a week, I then loaded the things in the vehicle. The Mackenzie staff dropped off the items at the Thrift Store in Mackenzie)
- May 14th & 16th, Breakfast Program, 6-6:30pm- May 15th, Vision Boards, 1-3pm, (Had 2 members request I do it
again, so I did. The members enjoyed it.)- May 16th, Community Kitchen, 5-7pm, (All community members are
welcome to hang out and have dinner)- May 17th, Budgeting/Money Management Workshop, 1-3pm, (All
members were welcome to talk about what they knew about money. We did a practice budget together, then did a budgeting worksheet to give a idea about how much money we spend. I gave away 3 door prizes and all participants enjoyed the information.)
- May 21st & 23rd , Breakfast Program, 6-6:30pm- May 24th, Men’s Night (Did not happen due to Blockade at office this
day. I plan to have this event in June. )****I do a Shopper’s Wholesale Grocery Order every 2 weeks, on Thursday. The order arrives in McLeod Lake at 12pm the following Tuesday. I do all orders for the other programs for example, Day Care, Headstart, Youth, etc. I am always willing to do food orders for any members. These members can just come and talk to me, before I send out the order. I like to have the orders on the Wednesday, day before order is sent.
That is all I have had, at least until the blockade at the office. I will be attaching a calendar for June 2012, so you can see what events I have coming up.
Snachailya cho (Thanks very much),
Nicole Thomas
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Geraldine Solonas Elders Councillor ReportCouncil had a few special Council meetings to discuss issues such as: Band members’ requests for financial information; MLIB Membership code; and, Site C issues. A working committee is being formed to deal specifically with Site C to include Council and Band members as BC Hydro is gearing up to complete Phase 3 of this project. MLIB members will be engaged in the next few months for the required Traditional Land Use study, so any information of traditional activities you do as a Band member will be greatly appreciated for this study, especially activities done north of the Pine Pass. Another special meeting to discuss: Ongoing request issue for MLIB financial information; BC Hydro consultation committee; Enbridge hosting a Fort Mac tour; Social Housing issues; meeting with Minister Polak; Trust matter; and, Membership code issues. We met with Shell Canada reps regarding relationship building. Chief expressed lack of communication has led to poor relationship and Shell owes MLIB payment for invoices which is being dealt with. They claim to have little work at this time and keen to have a positive working relationship with MLIB and are working towards that. They agree to do a community presentation on ‘fracking’ whenever we want.
The Easter holiday was in early April and I hope everyone had a safe, happy and healthy time with family and friends and celebrated the season.
Our Council continues to meet with Mackenzie Town Council once in a while to discuss each of our community planning. We are keen to keep the good relationship we have with them and continue to support each other in initiatives considering we have reserve lands within their town.
Council negotiating team met with OGC (Oil & Gas Commission) in April and in May. First meeting was on: Capacity funding ($50,000.) which is provided for negotiating of current agreement; MLIB response to OGC Funding proposal, which MLIB is extremely unhappy with as it is deficient and inadequate; meaningful consultation is required; same livelihood must exist prior to and after treaty agreements; broader issues such as wind energy, gas, mining are in play but cannot be part of this agreement; and, when are we going to have an EBA( economic benefits agreement, such as royalties for resources taken out of our Traditional Territory)? They say they can only deal with oil and gas! Second meeting was to discuss MLIB’s wish to hire a consultant to review the operations and design of the Land Referral office; and, we went through the clauses of the current agreement. Our June meeting with OGC had to be postponed due to the blockade.
In our meeting with Minister Polak and her entourage at the government office on 5th and Queensway, she indicated she would look into the Western boundary issue MLIB is involved in and see why the Province is taking the stand they are considering that the boundary of MLIB Traditional territory was dealt with in our Adhesion Agreement; and, she said they will proceed for a mandate for an economic benefits agreement with MLIB.
MLIB Entities held their Annual General Meeting at the Band hall in mid-April with minimal attendance by Band members. Information provided to the general Band membership was the current financial status of the Band companies and jobs they are engaged in and what to look for in the same areas for the upcoming year: MLIB has been blessed with this year’s revenue. Mussi cho to each of the management of our companies!!! Wonder where the Band members are who say we (Council and administration) do not provide information on Band owned businesses.
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MLIB had a job fair in April, which was well attended by local Band members. This was hosted by the MLIB Education and Employment & Training Departments who did an excellent job in having so many businesses come into the community for this.
In the future, it would be good to see this open to Band members from outlying areas, wherever possible, and include the town of Mackenzie just for added participation!
There are approximately forty-five MLIB Elders. In the past, approximately eighteen got involved with meetings and activities, mostly because of residence. There is a group of Band members who do not support the current Band Council and keep insisting they have the support of the Elders. I would like to let the Elders know that the Council knows this is not so. We thank all Band members who have and continue to support this Council in the work we do for the benefit of this and future generations. The three spokespersons for this group all lost in the last election and are now costing the Band time and money when the majority of them and their supporters do not speak up at regular community meetings, which is what community meetings are for. At the end of April Chief Orr, Councillors Zepheria Isadore, Yazmin Prince and I travelled to Fort McMurray on a one day tour of Enbridge’s facilities, which will include a tour of a small area of the tar sands. I finally understand that Enbridge is only a transporter of oil from the tar sands and this tour was excellent in that it was an eye opener to see how the land is devastated by oil companies. Please note that as Council, we understand that the majority of the Band members are opposed to the proposed Gateway pipeline and you will be receiving a letter the Band has written to Enbridge. Contrary to rumours, please note this decision was made before the blockade, which held Council off in providing the decision to Enbridge. Council met with Anglo American; formerly Peace River Coal, who seem extremely keen on building their relationship with MLIB, who presented MLIB with their proposed agreement, which was to be reviewed by the end of May, 2012 and this did not happen. For more information google “Anglo American Tumbler Ridge”. There are ongoing meetings with Anglo American. I attended governance training “Aboriginal Strategic Planning” in Band from May 14th to the 18th, which was sponsored by Enbridge. They support many First Nations in attending such training and I thank them for that. Council met with Spectra Energy regarding looping they wish to do in MLIB traditional territory and they require MLIB consent and land use study to be done in the near future. MLIB has advised them to host a community meeting for membership input into any of their proposed projects in our traditional territory. Most of the members know there was a blockade at the Band office on our reserve from May 24th to June 4th. An Injunction was obtained by Council to have the protesters removed. The protestors refused to adhere to the Injunction. MLIB Council agreed to meet with the protesters on May 28th to discuss their issues on the condition they removed their blockade by Monday morning. Hands were shaken this would take place. The protesters did not remove the blockade, so a further Court Order was obtained to enforce the Injunction, with the protesters’ blockade removed on June 4th by the RCMP. Once the injunction is in place, only a Court can remove it. Council cannot agree to let protesters breach a Court Order. Members must understand that what is
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printed in newspapers, on face book or in the news media is only one side of the story. Council cannot make public comments at this time due to court proceedings. I attended the First Nation Summit meeting from June 6th to 8th in North Vancouver. Agenda items were reports from the Executives; Treaty Negotiations table; FN Fisheries Council: FN Energy and Mining; FN Child and Family Wellness Council; Aboriginal Sport for Youth legislation issues; Industrial Council for Aboriginal Business; Ending Violence Ass’n of BC; Residential Day School class action update; Musqueam Marpole Midden update; BC Hydro meter issues report; Assembly of First Nations reports from National Chief, BC rep and National Centre for FN Governance rep; and, Review of this Summit’s Draft Resolutions. Lots of information to digest, but a worthwhile meeting to see what other First Nations’ concerns are and to network. I pray that our people will become one, supporting each other for the benefit of our future generations. We need to work together in focus of our motto, “May the footprints we leave behind be the ones our children are proud to walk in”.
Geraldine Solonas
www.mlib.ca
Community Health Rep NEWS
Did you know……..
MEDICAL TRAVEL: Just a reminder that medical travel gas vouchers are available not only for doctor appointments but also for: Dentist Eye exams Chiropractor Physio Therapy Acupunture Specialist appointments (and other)
MEDICAL SUPPLIES: Many medical supplies and equipment are covered under the NIHB plan. Things such as; Hearing Aids and suppplies, bathing and toilet aids, mobility aids such as wheelchairs, orthotics and custom footwear. NOTE: Prior approval is required and physician referral necessary.
YOU CAN PICK UP YOUR COPY OF THE “GUIDE FOR ON INSURED HEALTH BENEFITS” at the band office or call me to find out more details.
EXCITING NEWS!!!!
Shelly Barwise is our new Home & Community care supervisor with Northern Health. Shelly will be in the community one day per month. Shelly is also a DIABETES EDUCATOR! She will be working closely with me to develop an ongoing Diabetes education program that will encompass HEALTHY EATING & EXERCISE!
Give me a call if you are interested in setting up an appointment with Shelly!
Barb Heine,Community Health Rep
250-750-4415
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Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.
June 11 2012,
Bear Lake Youth Fundraising for Ness Lake Bible Camp.
My daughter Jillian Arthurs starting going to church 2 yrs ago………that was her decision and since then she recruited 9 of her little friends also from Bear Lake.
Every year the church sponsors at least 2 children to attend Ness Lake but given there is now 10 kids attending church…….so this year they thought they would raise the money for all 10 kids to go.
They held a garage & bake sale in front of the store thanks to Don Callaghan……and thank you to the community of Bear Lake for donating their cans and bottles for the bottle drive. Even the tree planters got involved.
It was a huge success the youth of Bear Lake raised just over $2,500.00 and now they get to go to Ness Lake Bible Camp.
It takes a whole community to raise a child……..once you put your energy together you can make good things happen.
Mussi Cho,
Jillian Arthurs & Eugenia Isadore,
Bear Lake,BC
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HEAD START PRESCHOOL CLASS OF 2012
Cameron, Amelia, Lakota, Rhiannon and
Calvin Jr who will be attending kindergarten in September 2012.
Debbie Pinkston
Land Referral Clerk
Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.
Caribou Management in Northeast British Columbia
Environment Canada is currently working with the provincial government and First Nations to examine the issue of the declining caribou herds in northern BC within a fifty year forecast of monitoring, inventory and research, providing a wider perspective on the potential for their sustainability, recovery and continued decline.
For an area to provide adequate means for caribou inhabitance, it requires undivided, sparsely vegetated, treed peat lands with terrestrial or arboreal lichen forage base, low valleys with wetland and dense cover in the summer and high elevation ridges in the summer. One of the greatest impacts to the caribou is the cumulative impacts of development within or surrounding inhabited areas, and the division of migration corridors and seasonal habitat.
In relation to the impacts of industrial developments upon remaining habitat, some of the considerations are to allow no further development in these areas, only honouring existing developments and restoring active habitat. The solutions are different for each herd and location, with ongoing research to determine each appropriate solution, utilizing current methods and developing new ones as the process grows.
The implementation of the Caribou Management Plan would update standards to
maintain population distribution actions, habitat protection, resource review areas and threat mitigation. The decisions within this plan are influenced by past and current industrial activities, current resource development commitments and future socio-economic considerations, namely, future revenues from industrial development.
The objectives of the proposed plan would provide the protection of sufficient habitat to facilitate herd recovery, recruiting new areas that are capable of providing habitat and restoring them to suitable conditions, minimizing the industrial footprint, mitigating the effects of industrial development by reducing predators, managing habitat and monitoring the effectiveness of management actions then modifying those actions accordingly.
The impacts of the interaction between various wildlife species are under investigation, particularly the methods of preventing further predation by examining alternative prey and raising calves in captivity. Another method of reducing predation by wolves would be to promote forage for caribou and anti-forage for alternate prey that might prevent them from utilizing these areas of caribou habitat, because an essential part of managing wolves is managing their prey, though the reduction of wolf populations is considered a secondary emergency measure to habitat protection, beyond the development and restoration of sustainable habitat values. Part of developing that sustainability is mapping ecosystems to identify areas of potential for suitable habitat, and also to analyze connectivity. In the process of mapping the potential for caribou, traditional knowledge will also provide a larger aspect of the caribou history throughout northern British Columbia, long before any industrial development began.
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Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.
Some further methods of studying predator-prey interactions were to collar wolves and caribou, or to install motion activated cameras along well inhabited areas and trails, in addition to current methods like radio-telemetry, used to determine the distribution, movements, population size and trend, habitat use, and predator/prey relationships. A statement recently mentioned in the development of caribou management plans was that wolves have always eaten caribou, so what’s changed in relation to their decline? Are the beavers responsible for keeping the wolf population up? Are bears also eating caribou? What other species are interacting with caribou and what is their relevance to the subsistence or decline of endangered populations? It was also mentioned that caribou follow the burnt areas, so maybe that would be a means of initiating the development of new caribou habitat.
Another issue that was brought up at the Caribou Management workshop last week was the impact of buffalo herds trampling muskeg and grasslands where caribou follow into the destroyed habitat, which also leads to predation, as the land has been opened by the lack of tall grass and other vegetation to provide cover for the caribou.
Current caribou mitigation standards maintain standards for timeline restrictions on ground disturbance activities, habitat setbacks to prevent intrusion or disturbance, cease work orders reporting of any sighting or evidence of caribou in project areas, speed limits on roads within caribou habitat, line-of-site deviation along right of ways and access corridors to prevent hunting and reduce predation, and the implementation of interim reclamation program for decommissioned sites.
Proposed methods of restoration of caribou habitat include: treating contaminated areas, mounding to support seedling growth, tree planting with fertilizer bags, straight planting, fertilizer treatments, slash roll-back, brush mat planting, tree falling the physical blockage.
Environment Canada intends to work with first nations to combine modern science with traditional knowledge to improve the accuracy of population estimates and mapping previous, existing and potential calving areas and winter habitat, better understanding of how to aid adult and calf survival, also focusing on the key limitation to knowledge.
More information on Caribou Management can be found on the Ministry of Environment website, in the article "Implementation Plan for the Ongoing Management of Boreal Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou pop. 14) in British Columbia"
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Land Referral Office - June UpdateWAC Bennett Dam Riprap Repair: BC Hydro has confirmed that there is significant damage to the existing riprap and are currently exploring the possibilities of locating adequate materials to mitigate the erosion risk. Originally, sandstone was used to construct the riprap, without consideration that it may not be most reliable material, and now they are looking for sources of limestone to facilitate this repair. LRO was out on a site visit with BCH and the other First Nations to a potential location of this material. The limestone outcrop is located approximately 23kms west of the dam. The concerns noted on this visit were the impacts to the regenerating forestry cutblock surrounding the site, the potential for erosion, as this site is located along the northern slope of the Peace Reach, and the method of transporting the material. It was suggested that they carry it down the slope and barge it to the dam in the summer for installation in the winter, or to upgrade the old forestry road heading out to the dam. At this time, it is the closest source they have found, but are also looking for other sources that would be easier to access.
Liquid Natural Gas: Expansions to the pipeline infrastructure for the global distribution of liquid natural gas have been proposed in pre-planning engagements with companies like Spectra and Shell, the development of which would require funding from producers in northeast British Columbia as well as overseas interest, also including the development of processing plants in Kitimat and the barges necessary to transport product to China and Japan. To follow the existing route through the Pine Pass was not considered feasible as it is already too crowded to add further developments. Another proposed route was to pass through north of Mackenzie, which Spectra estimated as a twenty year development, also with expansions from Node 5 to Taylor, and a feasibility study is being conducted for a Fort Nelson Carbon Capture facility for the permanent storage of volatile organic carbon, reinjected into ‘impervious’ rock at a depth of 2500m.
TM Mobile Inc./MFLNRO: We met with Alex Ostapiuk on May 17th to address concerns regarding four applications submitted to the province for communication towers at the Kennedy Road, Firth Lake, Honeymoon Creek and Summit Lake, that would provide additional cellular service from Prince George up into the Pine Pass. If you would like to review the communications regarding these proposals, I can forward the email to you.
Canfor: LRO met with Canfor in April to discuss their Annual Operating Plans for their 2012 harvesting proposals in the Peace River and Prince George forest districts. We also discussed their Johnson and Falling Creek FSR’s that were impacted by flooding and their plans to mitigate that for the future by removing culverts, cross ditching, opening channels and recontouring sloped roads.
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Septimus Creek Wind Project: Zero Emissions energy Developments have provided us with their Baseline Environmental Report for review and we will have a teleconference on the 27th to discuss this with them. They plan to utilize an existing CNRL right of way for their transmission line, and the Oreo and 300 Roads for access with some additions.
Northland Power Wind Projects: May 29th, Michael Margolick and Fred Schwartz presented proposals for several wind power projects at Boulder Creek and Caron Creek, to the west of Chetwynd; other projects in the Stewart, Halfmoon, Brassey and Tremblay, all east of Chetwynd, north and south of the Groundbirch area. They are still investigating all of these locations, but will only look into developing a few of them. Both of these companies have welcome the education on environmental, wildlife, construction, relations and other issues that they will encounter throughout the process and have expressed a great interest in developing business relationship for the future development of their projects
Southwest Dawson Creek - Wildlife Habitat Environmental Reserve Project: We met with Garry Loiselle and Ken Kalirai of the PRRD last week to discuss this project and why the PRRD turned down our proposal. It was explained that the PRRD does not have jurisdiction to make decisions about crown land and we have been directed to the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations as they would be the Ministry responsible for making these decisions. We will be sending a letter to Marianne Novotny this week in a further attempt to establish this section of land as a preserve for wildlife and old growth forest.
www.mlib.ca
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Eran Spence
MLIB Newsletter No.21 will be available August 1st 2012 online at www.mlib.ca or, on request, in print at the McLeod Lake band office.
Elders DepartmentJune/July 2012
My name is Kathy Parkinson and I have recently relocated to Mackenzie from Duncan BC. I am a Cowichan Tribes band member and I have worked with my community for the last nine years at our Cultural and Conference Centre. I have been invited to the McLeod Lake Indian Band to work as the Interim Elder Coordinator while the position is being posted and I am very excited to work with the community members and getting to know you all.
In the next month I will be contacting the elders to introduce myself personally, and look forward to hearing your input and ideas of how you would like to see my role assist you to create a healthy and active community.
I will be working out of the Elders building Monday-Friday 8:30am-4pm, at #41 Duz Cho Place. Please feel free to stop by for a coffee or tea to introduce yourself, or discuss any ideas that you may have.
You can also reach me on the telephone at 250-750-4617 or by email [email protected].
Huy’ch’qa (Thank You)
Kathy Parkinson