Q: In regards to your comment that economic conditions are improving for First Nations largely through joint ventures and indigenous entrepreneurship, you’ve explained examples of some joint ventures, does your reference to indigenous entrepreneurship tie into that or are there separate initiatives you had in mind?
A: It does tie into it but…I’ll give you an example (of entrepreneurship). When you were asking earlier about education initiatives, here’s one example where we could create one of the single largest transfers of wealth in the province that would make an enormous impact on remote First Nations communities, and that’s around the (hunting and fishing) lodges. …Think of all the fly-in lodges in Northern Saskatchewan. The vast majority…are owned by people from Southern Saskatchewan or Americans.
…There are two large obstacles for First Nations engagement. One is the skill set to operate and manage the lodges and second is access to capital to purchase. …Once in a while these lodges come up for sale. …With some careful planning… some distance education and some on-site…entrepreneurship programs…we could provide the education and equity funding to provide the skill sets and (the opportunities) for First Nations to take over and own these lodges. It could be the single largest transfer of wealth without increasing an additional single tourist in Saskatchewan and those are the kinds of opportunities we are going to see emerging in spades over the next decade or so.
Q: That’s interesting. Would there be anything preventing First Nations from starting these fishing and hunting lodges up on their land today?
A: Not at all and there’s examples around Deschambeault, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, Jim’s Camp out at the base of Nistowiak Falls, which is on the Lac La Ronge First Nation, so you do have examples in the province where that kind of entrepreneurship exists right now.
Q: You mentioned that “focusing program delivery at the band level is unrealistic in many instances,” noting, “Regional models of governance and program delivery” are the way to go. Does that mean many bands within a region should receive the funding, rather than individual bands?
A: Yes. I’ll give you an example. A lot of folks focus only on (the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada) for program delivery but Health Canada has a huge role in First Nations programming from the federal Crown.
…When you look at Northern Saskatchewan, we have some very large First Nations…that are almost tribal councils (in their own right) and can do a lot on their own but then there are a number of smaller communities that may only have 200 to 500 residents on reserve and any community that size just doesn’t have the capacity to take on a lot of federal and provincial programming.
…One of the innovative things that has been done for example out of Prince Albert, (is) the Northern Intertribal and Regional Health Authority has been tremendously successful because you have First Nations working together at a regional governance model level to provide critical service to northern First Nations people, and that was a grassroots, bottom-up approach that achieved those kinds of economies of scale.
If you look at Meadow Lake Tribal Council around the biomass initiative, again, that’s the kind of initiative which takes a collective effort, where you can pull the resources and have the economies of scale to affect the economic opportunities or program delivery in social programming or education.
If you look across Canada, that’s where the success stories have been. Look at the Nisga’a (in British Columbia), which is really four First Nations communities (within a) regional governance model, as well as a local governance model, (who) are able to achieve things through an economy of scale. Or, Métis settlements in Northern Alberta, they have a Grand Council which works with all eight settlements, again, achieving that kind of regional model.
The Yukon First Nations are leaders in Canada around implementation of modern treaties and self-government agreements. Eleven out of the 14 First Nations self-government agreements (are among Yukon First Nations), but again, they’re working collectively around the best practices, ensuring that kind of knowledge and resources, which is eminently sensible, rather than going it alone. So, (often) where the success models have been is where inter-First Nation regional cooperation (exists).
…One of the innovative things that has been done for example out of Prince Albert, (is) the Northern Intertribal and Regional Health Authority has been tremendously successful because you have First Nations working together at a regional governance model level to provide critical service to northern First Nations people, and that was a grassroots, bottom-up approach that achieved those kinds of economies of scale. - Dr. Greg Poelzer
Q: You and Dr. Coates noted that “federalism is part of the problem” and that indigenous people in the northern Territories are having greater success than indigenous peoples in the northern parts and southern parts of the provinces. Could you elaborate on that?
A: Sure. There are a couple of things. If you look at north of (60 degrees latitude), constitutionally territorial governments don’t actually have constitutional standing. They’re actually a creature of the federal government and so the role of the federal government is much greater in the territorial north than…in the (provinces).
The federal government also has the ability to negotiate (how) most of northern Canada has been settled, (how) the land claims have been settled. A number of First Nations (in the Territories) have self-government agreements in place. Nunavut is in place. And, that ability and flexibility to do innovative, progressive, governance models—in those kinds of negotiations, there’s a freer hand for the federal government to do that.
When you come south of 60 (latitude)—and this is just the nature of the beast—provincial governments constitutionally own the land and resources. …In the provincial north (is) where we’re seeing the Kashechewans and Attiwapiskats. …For the provincial governments, a lot of times, it’s out of sight out of mind, and northern First Nations communities in particular don’t get the attention, or nearly the resources that they need to address the very profound challenges, or to take advantage of the opportunities.
…This is where the federal government historically has taken a cumbersome, one size fits all approach, whether it’s treaty negotiations (or) whether it’s to program delivery models. …And this is where partnerships with the provinces (are required).
Q: When you speak of the authority and responsibilities of First Nations having to be expanded, would your reference to education be an example of one of these responsibilities and an area where First Nations should be given more authority?
A: Absolutely. And, this is one of the things where there are demands by First Nations for greater accountability of their own governance. …Part of the demands around transparency and accountability is to solve problems in your own community, in your own region. Typically folks who are going to be the most successful at solving problems are the ones who understand what those issues are and those are going to be the folks closer to home.
So, the expansion of moving toward self-government in a province like Saskatchewan is absolutely necessary in empowering First Nations to identify and address the issues themselves.
Q: Would that model be similar to how municipalities govern themselves, where they would be under the authority of the provincial government?
A: It would be more than that, and this is the nature of the history of First Nations relations in Canada. Municipalities have a very small delegation of authority from the provincial government. …When we’re talking about First Nations models of self-governance, we’re looking at areas of health and education, areas that would typically fall under provincial jurisdiction and because of the relationship between First Nations and the federal Crown that falls within the jurisdiction of the federal Crown.
…Those kinds of authorities would be fairly more expansive than what we see with municipalities, and this comes back to the earlier point of why regional models of governance are going to be important as part of the puzzle.
With files from Postmedia Network
Jason.Stockfish@tc.tc
