The former Lieutenat Governor of British Columbia, Steven Point, has been
appointed as a judge in Abbottsford in the Fraser Valley Region.  He was one of two judges to be
appointed to the British Columbia Provincial Court to help alleviate caseload
pressures and improve access to justice, Attorney General and Minister of
Justice Suzanne Anton said. Judge Point's appointment is effective March 3.

John Rustad, B.C.’S Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, was in Fort
St. John to talk about the progress made at the First Nations LNG Summit. He
said liquefied natural gas provides a big opportunity to the province and there
is a chance for First Nations to participate in the industry.  “There’s been a series of summits to
discuss what liquefied natural gas is and to answer some basic questions, get
into details, and create networking opportunities,” Rustad said. The minister

The Edwards School of
Business at the University of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Indian
Institute of Technologies have signed their first agreement that will lead to
more Aboriginal students holding university business degrees. Through the
partnership agreement, graduates of SIIT’s two-year business diploma program
will qualify as having completed the first two years required for the four-year
U of S bachelor of commerce degree offered through Edwards. “This agreement

By the end of March, the
federal government will have transferred all land held under the Community
Pastures Program to the province and First Nations are concerned that the
history of that land will be lost to ranchers who will buy or lease it. Tomasin
Playford, executive director of the Saskatchewan Archaeological Society, is
worried that the loss of federal protection will compromise historical sites
and artifacts that document how First Nations groups lived. She said the land

The Saskatchewan government
will not be selling Casino Regina and Casino Moose Jaw to the Saskatchewan
Indian Gaming Authority despite a memorandum of understanding that SIGA buy the
two casinos. Past offers to purchase the casinos have been met with government
rejection. However, recently Premier Brad Wall started considering the option,
stating that revenue from the casinos would provide economic opportunities for
First Nations. The Crown Ownership Act sets out conditions before a Crown

The Federation of
Saskatchewan Indian Nations has delayed its decision to deal with funding of
the organization. The issue was debated and a number of options put forward at
the Winter Legislative Assembly, but a decision put off. FSIN has experienced
nearly $2 million in funding cuts in the past two years. Among the options
discussed were to use contributions from Saskatchewan’s First Nations, using
casino profits from the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority or diving into the

Six Nations of the Grand
River opened its new water treatment plant at the end of January. The federal
government provided more than $26 million towards the construction of the $41.4
million project and Six Nations of the Grand River invested approximately
$15.4. “This project is very important for the future economic growth and
development opportunities in our community,” said Chief Ava Hill, in a news
release. The cost-shared initiative encouraged the involvement of the community