Chiefs disappointed Merasty leaving grand chief role

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Gary Merasty, grand chief of the Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC), said he won't be seeking re-election at the upcoming annual assembly.

Merasty, who has served as PAGC grand chief for six years, announced on Aug. 31 that he won't be running in the Oct. 16 election.

A member of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, Merasty has spearheaded a number of education and economic development initiatives during his two terms as head of the PAGC.

The tribal council is involved in a number of business ventures, including West Wind Aviation, Dakota Dunes Golf and Country Club and the non-profit Northern Broadband Network, which is working to provide Internet access to communities and schools across the north.

Merasty's efforts in the area of economic development were recognized recently when the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology awarded him an honourary diploma in entrepreneurship and small business.

"It's too bad that he's not running again because he was very instrumental with his time at PAGC as grand chief," said Chief Walter Sewap of Cumberland House Cree Nation. "It's sad to see a person like that leave, especially when you know he is doing a good job."

Sewap said the 12 chiefs on the grand council are sitting at the round table thinking about who would be the right person to act as grand chief once Merasty steps down. He said Merasty worked in all areas with First Nations, including housing and economic development. He also made federal and provincial affiliations that would benefit the grand council.

"He did all of that for grand council," Sewap said. "He did an excellent job."

Sewap said he personally would never even consider running for the position of grand chief.

"Even at the band level, it's overwhelming," he said. "At the grand chief level you are dealing with 12 other bands about daily issues and that would be a little too much for me."

Montreal Lake Cree Nation Chief Lionel Bird said he was disappointed by Merasty's announcement because Merasty had made such a positive impact within the grand council. "You don't want to lose that creditability," he said.

"When Gary indicated that he was not going to be running, I was a little disappointed in that regard, but at the same time I also felt comfortable that whatever decision he made for the future he would be involved in something that is going to impact us further down the road," said Bird.

"Gary is not going to phase out of the picture. I know he will be involved in one way or the other."

Bird said that the move to elect Merasty as grand chief had been a good choice because there have been a lot of positive changes since he took office.

"When he first came to the grand council to run for grand chief, a whole bunch of us were working hard to get him elected and part of our thought was to get Gary in so he could change the system and change the way the organization ran," said Bird. "We wanted to see change in the focus of the direction of the grand council and we did. Through the last several terms, Gary has made a positive impact and brought a lot of credibility to the organization."

Bird said he was impressed with the way that Merasty was able to present issues to the federal and provincial governments.

"He brought the backup information to political leaders that resulted in positive changes," said Bird.

Whoever succeeds Merasty as grand chief, that person should certainly re-visit unity within the tribal council, Bird said.

"I believe that, in terms of the direction of the grand council, I believe it needs to be community-based, because sometimes we lose sight of whom we are actually working for."