“It’s one thing for governments to be able to close our doors, but they can’t close our minds,” said Satsan Herb George, executive director for the National Centre for First Nations Governance.

Almost two weeks after the federal budget was brought down, George received word from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada that funding for the centre had been cut. The organization has gone from $3 million to $1.5 million effective April 1. There will be no funding after the end of this fiscal year, which will mean the doors will be closing on or before March 31, 2013.

Dear Editor:
We are at a tipping point in the progression of human history and are now making the final decisions that will lead to the slow suicide of our species or its salvation. For too long we have walked heavily on this earth and our massive footprint can now be seen from space.

We have accomplished wonders and committed atrocities. We have built monuments to our greatness and we have dug mass graves.

It seems to us that the Aboriginal Affairs ship being captained currently by MP John Duncan has been set adrift by its political master, Prime Minister Stephen Harper. It’s not only just off course; there seems to be no course charted at all, and that’s a disgrace after all this time. Aboriginal Affairs is just a cork bobbing in high seas, aimless, directionless, hopeless, hapless and of no good use to anyone at the moment.

Kenneth McLeod, a graduate from the University of Calgary Law School in 1985, is one of three new judges appointed to the Provincial Court of Alberta. His appointment to Calgary Criminal is effective April 10. McLeod’s principal area of practice is litigation and dispute resolution, often for First Nations clients. Also appointed were Robin Brian Camp and Gordon William Sharek, Q.C.

The Fort McKay First Nation and Fort McKay Group of Companies LP continues to support the annual National Aboriginal Achievement Awards. “Recognizing the accomplishments of Indigenous people in Canada are what the awards are all about. With the generous support of Fort McKay, we were able to continue to celebrate the excellence in our Indigenous communities,” said Roberta Jamieson, president and CEO of Indspire, formerly the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation. The awards were established to encourage and celebrate excellence in Indigenous communities.

NorQuest College and Northern Lakes College are among the post-secondary institutions to have been found to lack basic financial controls according to a recent report undertaken by the Auditor General of Alberta. Also found to lack basic financial controls were Grant MacEwan University, Alberta College of Art and Olds College. The report explains the control deficiencies related to internal controls such as financial reporting, enterprise risk management and endowment management.

Expanded mental health and addictions programs will mean better outcomes for Albertans coping with mental illness and addiction. “The Alberta government’s integrated services will increase much needed supports to the community, and significantly enhance the implementation of programs such as Housing First,” said Susan McGee, executive director, Homeward Trust Edmonton, in a news release.

Lisa Squire has been named the new director of marketing at the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. Squire, who is a citizen of Saddle Lake Cree Nation, graduated with distinction from the University of Alberta’s School of Business. Raised in Edmonton, she has performed various marketing and communication roles within private and public sectors including: Petro Canada Retail Operations, the Business Development Bank of Canada, Edmonton Fringe Theatre Festival and CBC Research. Squire started with APTN in June 2007 as the manager of research.

Lawyer Jean Teillet was one of three women to receive Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medals at a ceremony hosted by the Women of the Métis Nation general assembly in Edmonton on March 30. Teillet has represented the Métis Nation of Alberta in a number of court cases, including the ongoing Métis harvesting case. Also receiving medals were Shirley Isbister, an advocate for Métis Children and Families involved in child welfare and lawyer Kathy Hodgson-Smith, who has worked on various national policy initiatives for the Métis National Council.

Jim Boucher, chief of the Fort McKay First Nation for almost two decades, was stripped of his title by a Federal Court decision. Boucher won the 2011 election by one vote. The court is citing voting irregularities as the reason. Cecilia Fitzpatrick, who lost the election, appealed the decision to an arbitrator. The arbitrator ruled against her. The CBC News reports no election date has yet been set.