New Relationship Trust

Cranbrook


Voices from Southeastern BC.

The Cranbrook meeting was held at the stunning St. Eugene Mission Resort, a wholly First Nations owned business. The meeting was attended by surrounding communities which make up the Ktunaxa nation and language group. The tone of this meeting was very unique because leadership had gathered in the days before and worked on a joint presentation on behalf of all Ktunaxa communities. Everyone in the room was on the same page and attendees were largely unified with their recommendations and feedback.

Chief Sophie Pierre presented the recommendations of the Nation council, which made the following points (here in brief):

  1. The New Relationship is a breakthrough in relations between First Nations and the Province.
  2. 100 million is not much money, especially considering the socio-economic gap and compared to government budgets. It is less than one third of one percent of the province's budget, and is very little compared tot he $6 billion offered to organized labour to stage off unrest leading up to the olympics.
  3. Only $8 million a year goes from the Province to Aboriginal programs and services. The New Relationship Trust is a step in the right direction.
  4. The trust fund is flexible and an investment in improving the lives of First Nations. We recommend that a main goal of the Trust is to leave a lasting Legacy - we all hope the impact will outlive its existence./
  5. The nation recommends that the Fund be kept whole and focussed on major undertakings, rather than being divided up into many smaller pieces, which would render it just another band-aid.
  6. Same as #5.
  7. Of all competing need, the Fund should make investment in business and economic development the top priority.
  8. The fund should be complimentary to other funds and initiatives
  9. Recommend that the Province set aside a permanent allocation to BC First Nations of at least 5% of annual gaming revenues. This would put BC at par with other provinces. With such additional funding the Trust would grow, and interest earned would be applied to First Nations business investment in the form of joint venture equity.
  10. The Trust should be complimented by a strategy of tax credits to attract investment into First Nations communities.
The summary of the presentation was as follows: "The Ktunaxa Nation believes that the concept of creation of wealth with this Fund, rather than succumbing to the status quo, will take courage and determination, discipline and wisdom; It will in fact take political will and vision."

Special Download:
After the presentation from the Nation Council, a group discussion was facilitated with the following results:

What is Missing?
  • SMART objectives - need measurable targets and goals for example increase __ to __ by ____.
  • growth of the fund
  • deeper efforts from the province, change of attitude to reflect the new relationship at all levels
  • The NRTF is important but is lost in a sea of initiatives - the fund needs to be connected and coordinated.
  • Need to focus on Nations instead of individual bands (DIA mentality)
  • Lack of commitment from the BC government in terms of funds over time.
  • Connection between nationhood / capacity building and language, culture
  • Missing the feds. In order to reach goals the feds need to be involved.
  • Missing communications and participation planning.
  • There is much more to a new relationship than money.
Challenges:
  • Proposal writing to access funding
  • Lack of human investment
  • Lack of visionaries in First Nations communities, many are stuck in DIA mentalities.
  • Systems and infrastructure that is not ours. Lack of understanding of our own history and how we got here.
  • Missing the will on the Government's side to put words to action. We wouldn't need the trust objectives if there was will across the board on the part of the Government.
  • Need public education - change myths in the general public.
  • Out of a 36 billion provincial government budget, only 8 million is for Aboriginal programs. If the government was really concerned about the well being of First Nations, more money would be on the table.
  • There is little or no money for economic development.
  • Need more interdisciplinary teams to solve problems from a holistic perspective.
Goal of the Nation:

Strong healthy citizens and communities speaking our language and celebrating who we are - and our history and ancestral homelands working together, managing our lands and resources as a self sufficient self governing nation.