Sweetgrass and CFWE news - March 3, 2016

Lack of funding cancels Métis Spring Festival

March 3, 2016. The Métis Child and Family Services Society of Edmonton has cancelled the 2016 Métis Spring Festival, scheduled for the May long weekend. The annual event has drawn hundreds of artists and visitors to St. Albert since 2009 to see and hear some of the region’s top Métis fiddlers, singers and jiggers. Since taking over the festival from Poundmaker’s Lodge about four years ago, the society has been paying for it out of its contingency fund, said organizer Florence Gaucher. Late last year, the society realized they didn’t have enough money to cover the event’s $65,000 cost, which includes fees for performers, rentals, and prizes. Gaucher said the society will attempt to work out a cost-sharing or sponsorship deal to resurrect the event. She said the 8th annual spring festival could still go ahead if a partner stepped up with the funding.

Tsuut’ina Nation wins award from CCAB

March 3, 2016. Tsuut’ina Nation – Economic Development Lands & South West Ring Road is the winner of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and Sodexo Canada Aboriginal Economic Development Corporation award for 2016. “The road will stimulate economic development on a major scale – the kind of economic development that is critical to ensuring that our children, grandchildren and future generations have the potential to build successful and prosperous lives here at Tsuut’ina,” said Chief Roy Whitney-Onespot. In October 2013, Tsuut’ina Nation held a referendum that approved the transportation and utility Corridor agreement with that transferred 1,058 acres of land to the province for the construction of the final portion of the South West Ring Road along the southwest boundary of the City of Calgary. Tsuut’ina Nation commissioned several market studies into the economic development potential of their lands. The reports demonstrated significant development opportunities. At a high level, the report indicated the Nation has the opportunity to collect potential revenues of $703.9 million, over a 20 year period: $404.1 million in land rent over 20 years and $299.7 million in commercial property taxes and potential of over a thousand jobs generated. The AEDC award is the first of its kind in Canada and is designed to shine a light on the important role that Aboriginal corporations are playing in boardrooms and First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities across the country.

Provincial grants to help fire, emergency management training

March 2, 2016. Four First Nations will be joining 50 municipalities in sharing in $650,000 of provincial funding to help local authorities and volunteers prepare for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from fires and other emergency situations. Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee made the announcement Wednesday at the Ermineskin Cree Nation. The grant program is especially crucial for smaller fire departments, which rely heavily upon the commitment of volunteer firefighters. A priority is placed on applications that include regional collaboration. Grant recipients are encouraged to train together, so different municipalities and First Nations can find common ground to expand and enhance the emergency services they provide to residents in their region. “Provincial training grants help ensure our trained volunteers can enhance their expertise and practice their skills, so they are ready, and Ermineskin Cree Nation is ready, in case of an emergency,” Chief Randy Ermineskin said in a statement. In 2016, Municipal Affairs will provide $500,000 to support fire training and $150,000 to support emergency management training. March 1 was the start of wildfire season. Mild and dry winter conditions are favourable for holdover fires.

AEMERA paired with schools in oil sands region

March 2, 2016. Through a partnership between Alberta Environmental Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Agency and Inside Education, AEMERA has been paired with two schools in the oil sands region – Athabasca Delta Community School in Fort Chipewyan and Westwood Community High School in Fort McMurray – for Inside Education’s upcoming Navigate Youth Water and Environmental Leadership Summit. Navigate is an opportunity for students and teachers to examine water in Alberta from many different perspectives and to then lead practical projects to advance water education and environmental leadership in their schools and communities. “As we continue to find meaningful ways to communicate and share our environmental monitoring, evaluation and reporting work with diverse audiences across Alberta and beyond, mutually beneficial partnership’s such as this are extremely important,” said Jay Nagendran, president and CEO of AEMERA

Fox won’t seek re-election in Onion Lake

March 2, 2016. Chief Wallace Fox, who is facing charges in connection with domestic violence, has announced he will not be seeking re-election June 15 for the Onion Lake Cree Nation. Fox had been a vocal critic of the previous federal Harper government and led the legal charge against the First Nations Financial Transparency Act. He was also a rallying voice in the Idle No More movement. Since announcing his intentions not to run again, Fox said he has received job offers from Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, and Edmonton. Fox is scheduled to stand trial on the domestic violence allegations on June 29 and 30 in Lloydminster provincial court.

Homicides spike in 2015

March 2, 2016. In 2015, RCMP investigators responded to 65 homicides within its 112 RCMP detachment jurisdictions compared to 36 in 2014, a much higher rate than the 10-year (2005-15) average of 40 homicides per year. By the end of 2015, the RCMP had concluded 45 of the 65 homicide investigations. Seven perpetrators committed suicide before police could arrest and charge them. Investigations are still ongoing in the remaining cases. The RCMP has not identified any factors to indicate whether the upward trend will continue in 2016. To date this year, the RCMP has undertaken six homicide investigations in Alberta RCMP jurisdictions.