Minutes of the Odanak Public Assembly
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January
31, 2009 |
PDF Version
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Glossary of
Acronyms
INAC = Indian Affairs and
Opening Prayer
and Words of Welcome
M. Raymond Watso said the opening prayer.
Rick O'Bomsawin gave the words of welcome.
Citizenship Code
The band list has been transferred to the
community. The Band Council wants to hold a special assembly to give
community members the opportunity to discuss the citizenship code.
The council feels it is important for people in the community to
read and fully understand this code.
Electoral Code
A working group will be
created in the spring to review the work done on the electoral code
proposed following the 2004-2005 Band Council scandal. The electoral
code, once completed, will not apply to the upcoming elections
because it will have to be approved by a referendum first. The
electoral code should be implemented in time for the 2011 elections.
Given that off-reserve band
members can now run in elections and the community population will
increase by 300 to 600 members once the citizenship code is adopted,
it would be important to have an electoral code.
The input of on- and
off-reserve members will be sought when drafting the electoral code.
Ideally, the code will be brought to a referendum in the fall of
2009.
Minor Repair Program
The Minor Repair Program is financed by the balance of the annual house construction funding received from INAC. However, federal government cutbacks to new home investment funding are jeopardizing the Minor Repair Program.
The Band Council wants to develop a new, long-term approach for this program, which is currently suspended. A new program to replace the Minor Repair Program will be implemented by April.
Odanak Recreational and
Leisure Centre
The Band Council would like
to implement a new community recreational program. An issue table
will be created to improve the scheduling of activities to avoid
holding multiple events on the same day, improve turnout and
maximize use of the cultural centre. A community activity calendar
will be prepared.
The exercise equipment in
the health centre may be transferred to the recreational centre to
allow people to use the equipment at night.
2009 Pow Wow
This year's Pow wow will mark the 50th anniversary of
this event. The theme would be a commemoration of the community's
achievements and history over the last 50 years. The Band Council is
encouraging people in the community to propose ideas, share their
stories of past Pow wows and get involved in the organization of
this year's pow wow. Rather than have one huge organizing committee,
the Band Council would like to have a number of subcommittees, each
responsible for one aspect of the Pow wow.
The women's
group will be organizing the bingo. The dates of the party/dance and
bingo have been reversed, with the party on Friday and bingo on
Saturday. This should increase the number of attendees at the bingo
night.
Program Update
Calumet
Restaurant
The community
will take over the Calumet Restaurant on March 15. People are
encouraged to eat there and promote it through word of mouth.
A firetruck company in Pierreville is interested in signing a
long-term lease with the community to operate its business.
Apparently, there is no more prime commercial land available in
Pierreville. If this company sets up shop in Odanak, this could be
the start of the
Negotiations
are underway with a wind turbine company; the wind turbine would not
be erected in the community, however. They would be erected on our
traditional territory near
Four-Unit
Dwelling
The four-unit
dwelling will be completed in March. If it is successful, another
will be built. This is not a low-rental building; the only criterion
for getting a lease is the capacity to pay the rent.
Health Policy
All
administrative policies are being reviewed.
Now all off-reserve members may obtain health services on reserve.
The former restriction requiring off-reserve members to live within
Non-member
spouses of off-reserve members are not eligible to obtain services
on reserve, though they can attend public information sessions.
Off-reserve members are not eligible for community homecare and
medical transportation services.
Police
Agreement
The community
police force had been operating without government funding since
last April, when the new agreement should have been signed.
The federal
and provincial governments finally signed the agreement when the
Band Council told them the police would start applying the traffic
law to the letter to every car entering the community. The SQ was
asked to monitor Odanak police force activities soon after the Band
Council's announcement. Within 48 hours, the agreement was signed.
Community
Newspaper
A few mistakes
appeared in the community newspaper. It is not true that members
will be stricken from the band list once they reach the age of 100
or if they have not provided their address to the Band Council. They
will be stricken from the electoral list.
Skating Rink
The skating
rink is now open. A nice change room is available for skaters to put
on their skates.
Cultural
Committee
An information session will be held on Saturday, February 7, at 1:30
p.m. to give an update on the Cultural Committee's activities. Two
guests from Mashteuiatsh and one from Wendake will speak about their
respective community's cultural policy. The entire community is
invited to attend.
La cross
A game of la cross is held every Monday night at 7:30 p.m. at the
Pierreville community centre. The game is open to players of all
ages and both genders. The equipment is provided.
Museum General
Assembly
The museum
general assembly will be held on February 22 for members of the
museum. The financial statements will not be ready until March,
however.
Major
decisions will be made at the assembly. Several board members will
be leaving:
M. Rick O’Bomsawin, Jacques T. Watso and
Mrs
Winter
Festival
The Winter
Festival will be held either on the last weekend in February or the
first weekend in March. Parents are encouraged to take part. The
festival will comprise a number of activities and end with a
spaghetti dinner.
Olympic Torch
Relay
The Olympic
torch relay will go through Odanak. One member of the community will
be selected to carry the torch. Anyone else has the opportunity to
carry the torch by registering online. A special event comprising
community games will be organized when the Canadian Olympic
Committee comes to Odanak.
Community
Centre
The community centre tenant has left. A few repairs will have to be
done, such as to the bathrooms and floor.
Question
Period
Q1-When are we getting water meters?
A1-The Band Council is looking into installing water meters in on-reserve homes and other buildings (commerces). This would enable those living alone to reduce their water bills, as they use less water than a family of four. Also, this could raise awareness of water consumption and encourage people to not waste water. Having water meters in people's homes would serve to identify the location of water pipe leaks.
Q2-Is
the decision to get the water meters official?
A2-A
request for funding has been made to INAC, but no response has been
received yet. INAC is open to
the idea. The funding would cover water meter purchase and
installation costs.
Q3-What
happens if INAC says no?
A3-The
Band Council will take funds from the maintenance budget to buy and
install the water meters.
Q4-What
about the money from Crespieul’s settlement?
A4-The
funds are still in the bank. The two million dollars can only be
spent on projects approved by referendum.
Q5-When
are the new Indian card will be issued?
A5-No
new cards will be issued to stop the counterfeit card industry. The
government will be issuing new cards with enhanced security features
and is asking communities to not issue any of their own cards.
Q6-I
am concerned about having youth supervise other youth at the
recreational centre. Will they be able to maintain discipline and
protect the equipment there?
A6-The
incident on Saturday evening is under control. Police will be making
regular visits to the centre. Youth were hired because the previous
solution for running the centre was not cost effective. Having youth
run the centre is being done on a trial basis.
Q7-When
will the museum open and when will changes be made there?
A7-Anyone who wants
more information about the museum should attend the meeting on
February 22.
The museum is operating
according to the winter schedule at present (open upon request
only). The regular hours will begin in March. The board will be
reviewing and restructuring the museum to make it profitable because
the community cannot continue to invest funds into it.
Rick will withdraw from the
museum board because he feels he is in a position of conflict of
interest. He hopes many new people will be elected to sit the board
at the February meeting; the museum needs fresh blood.
Q8-Will
something be done about the presbytery?
A8-The
Band Council did a feasibility study on the idea of converting the
presbytery into a bed and breakfast and found that it would not be
profitable. The Council is asking the community to submit ideas on
what to do with the building. The members of the Church Committee
are interested in preserving the building, too.
Q9-Concil was supposed to send me the confirmation that the Chief faxed our petition to INAC about Shirley de Wind case?
A9-The Band Council can give Dodo a copy of the faxed request sent to INAC. No response has been received as yet.
Comment 1-Rick pointed out that he speaks on behalf of the entire Band Council.
Q10-We
heard that Council was working on a new electoral Code?
A10-The
Band Council wants to get people from the community to join the
committee to develop the electoral code.
Q11-Will there be parade for this year's pow wow?
A11-Yes, but the parade route will be changed to get more people from Pierreville to attend the Pow wow. The parade will start at the old train station and will end at the swimming pool.
Date of the Next Assembly
Assemblies
will be held on the last Saturday of January, May and September. The
dates of the next meetings will appear in the newspaper.
Transcription of the minutes by Greg Kelm
Read and approved by Daniel G. Nolett, Director general
