New Anishinaabe Governance central body welcomes its CEO

By Rick Garrick

WHITEFISH RIVER — Whitefish River’s Leslie McGregor looks forward her new role as Chief Executive Officer at B’Maakonigan, the central governing body for the First Nations that have signed the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement and others that sign on in the future.

“I’ve always been interested in governance,” McGregor says. “Earlier in the summer, I saw the governance coordinator position with Nipissing and I was debating that but I didn’t apply for it. When this one came up I thought, well, it’s being presented to me again, this is the direction you need to go in.”

McGregor says her biggest task in her new position is the setup of the organization, hiring staff, getting policies in place, and ensuring she has a relationship with the communities.

“And looking at all the other factors that are influencing how the organization moves, so the relationship with Anishinabek Nation as an example, the new communities that are potentially coming on, looking at the relationship with the federal government and how all those things fit together as this organization forms and drives forward,” McGregor says.

McGregor says B’Maakonigan is a coordinating body that will hold information for the Signatory First Nations and support them as they govern themselves, noting that there are currently five Signatory First Nations and three other First Nations looking at signing on.

“One of my tasks is before these [other First Nations] come on is to have a framework for them so it is easier as they join in,” McGregor says. “Right now, my focus is on the framework, the actual structure; the analogy I like to use is we’re building a house and the foundation needs to be there before the walls. So right now, my focus is on the foundation, ensuring there is a structure that can do these things for those communities, and I think that one of the most important things for me is the five communities that have signed on to this are driving this process.”

McGregor says the location of the B’Maakonigan office has yet to be determined, but she is looking to bring on a finance operations director, an executive assistant, communications officers, and policy analysts.

“We’re looking at shared services as well with other organizations so that everything is more streamlined and we’re not duplicating a lot of services,” McGregor says.

McGregor says she had an opportunity to meet many of the Chiefs at the B’Maakonigan Board meeting in January.

“Depending upon them, they may want me at a Council meeting,” McGregor says. “So I have to be able to accommodate their schedules and look at the best way that they feel most comfortable and both of us are getting what we need out of the meeting.”

McGregor says she was born and raised in Whitefish River but then lived off-reserve for more than 25 years.

“After school I actually worked at York University in environmental studies — they had a Native Canadian Relations theme area where they would bring in any issues that related specifically to the environment,” McGregor says. “My role at that time was more administrative but I picked up a lot of key skills like facilitating groups and planning and coordinating and kind of the foundations of research.”

McGregor says she also worked in computer training for fly-in and road access communities, as a program manager and then with political territorial organizations before taking on health and social services manager and family well-being roles in her community about nine-and-a-half years ago.

“I’m also doing my Master in Public Admin right now at Queen’s University,” McGregor says, noting that she graduated from the Public Admin and Governance program at Toronto Metropolitan University and First Nations Technical Institute, respectively, in 2018.