Milestone reached on Anishinabek Nation Governance negotiations; Citizen Engagement Sessions to follow

By Cindy Males

CHIPPEWAS OF GEORGINA ISLAND FIRST NATION— Anishinabek Nation Chiefs attending the Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Assembly were provided with more information about the fiscal offer that will come with the draft Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement. The fiscal offer was released on June 4, 2019, at the Grand Council Assembly, and it is significant.

The fiscal offer includes a significant increase in the overall amount of governance funding received by member Anishinabek First Nations; this global amount will be about seven times higher than the existing governance funding under the Indian Act. Each Chief learned of the amount their First Nation will receive if it ratifies the Governance Agreement. Those amounts were not released publicly.

The Anishinabek Nation Fiscal Agreement goes along with the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement, a self-government agreement with Canada that recognizes law-making powers in four areas, including elections, citizenship, language and culture, and the operations of government.

“Everything you see here before us is to benefit our First Nation communities,” says Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Glen Hare.

There is one-time implementation funding for First Nations to transition out of the Indian Act sections related to governance activities.

As of June 10, 2019, 17 Anishinabek First Nations have passed Band Council Resolutions (BCRs) authorizing and confirming a vote will be held by their citizens on the Governance Agreement.

Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging Anishinaabek was one of the first communities to pass a BCR, and Chief Melvin Hardy said, “This Governance Agreement gives me and my community something to at least start to gather some kind of honour for my First Nation, so we can start establishing the laws we need to establish.”

Nipissing First Nation Chief Scott McLeod says that the draft agreement is a first step out of the Indian Act.

“We can’t go back.  We can only move forward.”

“Do we stay in our familiar Indian Act existence or do we choose to strengthen and restore our own ways of governance?” says Grand Council Chief Hare. “We are now at the point in time where the choice must be made by our people.”

Anishinabek Nation eligible voters will vote in the coming months on the proposed Governance Agreement through e-vote, mail-in ballot or in-person at a polling station.  In the meantime, citizen open houses will begin later in June across the Anishinabek Nation. The negotiators will continue to meet with Chiefs and Councils to provide them with more information and seek BCRs from First Nation Chiefs and Councils.

For more information go to governancevote.ca.