‍Present:

Angus Toulouse
Anna Marie Abitong
Arnelda Bennett
Lawrence Solomon
Leroy Bennett
McKenzie Toulouse
Michael Abitong
Nicole Eshkakogan (virtual)
Paul Eshkakogan
Rhonda Stoneypoint (AM virtual)
Sheldon Toulouse

Staff:

Andrea Hajt-Jacobs, Director of Council Secretariat
Claudette Jones, Acting Director of Education
Evan O’Leary, SDC Manager Juanita Skrubis, Director of Child & Family Services
Meggan McCracken, Acting Director of Finance
Roger Jones, Council Secretariat Ross Assinewe, Director of Planning & Infrastructure
Samantha Keysis, Director of Lands, Resources, & Environment
Sean Cassidy, Director of IT & Communications Wade Owl, Political Office Coordinator

Guests:

Ainslee Kent, Orbis Risk Consulting
John Lees, Orbis Risk Consulting
Ryan McLeod

Regrets:

Nelson Toulouse
Darla Boston, Administrative Assistant – Political Office

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Opening Prayer by Leroy Bennett

Meeting called to order @ 9:44 AM.

Motion 2023/05 #09 ‍

Sagamok Chief & Council motion to accept the agenda as presented and amended.

Moved by: Arnelda Bennett
Seconded by: Nicole Eshkakogan
A/O: 0
Discussion: Moved the EWG Communications Plan alongside the rest of the EWG documents for presenting this morning; BN on the Greenhouse has been moved out of the consent agenda into Administration of Governance near end of day. CARRIED

Motion 2023/05 #10

Sagamok Chief & Council motion to accept the minutes as presented and amended.

Moved by: Nicole Eshkakogan
Seconded by: McKenzie Toulouse
A/O: 0
Discussion: Include a tracking list to ensure follow-up on tasks assigned; will make a practice going forward. CARRIED

Correspondence

All correspondence received by Political Office has been related to Housing matters, primarily renovations and assessment. The received items have been sent via email to Ross Assinewe and Arnelda Bennett as members of the Housing Working Group. An additional item that was received verbally was a request for assessment on Elizabeth Eshkakogan’s rotted kitchen counter and floor near the sink. Request was brought forward by her sister Vera Toulouse, and is seeking a renovation to replace the affected areas. The received items will be discussed at the next tentatively scheduled Housing Working Group meeting on June 6th, 2023.

Scheduling Note – First Nations Finance Authority

The First Nations Finance Authority presentation by Sybil Campbell has been deferred to a future meeting due to scheduling conflicts that have arisen. The presentation will be brought forward as part of a future Council meeting agenda.

Elections Working Group Update – Roger Jones, John Lees, McKenzie Toulouse

The Briefing Note on the Updated Election Law has been a living document, consistently revised as the Elections Working Group continues to meet. One result of the meeting is expanding the role of the EWG and finding a home for constitution development and a review of Committees of Council, Youth, & Elders Councils. There are a few recommendations made: adopting the EWG Terms of Reference, the preferred approach to the next election scheduled for August 2024 is through the First Nations Election Act as outlined in the workplan, a Communications workplan has been drafted to support the August 2024 Election approach, adopt the Committees review process that John Lees will speak to, instruct the development of a Constitution development workplan, and lastly, a motion is required to allocate a budget of $30,000.00 for the one round of off-reserve community consultation. This is in connection to the EWG Workplan. Workplan goal is the adoption of a BCR for the First Nations Election Act by October 2023, with Federal Approval by March 2024 ahead of the August 2024 Chief & Council Election. Community Consultations scheduled for July 12th and August 23rd, ideally a day session and an evening session, plus several off-reserve consultations in Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, and Toronto within a similar time frame. Reports following the consultations noting pertinent questions, but note that no actual decisions should be made at these meetings. McKenzie will speak to the Youth Council portion of the EWG. In August 2022, the restructuring of the Youth Council was identified as a priority, and a Youth Forum was held to determine on May 6th and 7th, 2023 to determine any gaps and goals for youth. Some barriers are lack of consistency, motivation, and Youth Council member resignation, inability to fill positions for Youth Wellness, need for teambuilding between administrative departments and Youth Council, and direct communication and support from leadership. Recommendations are to review and adjust the Youth Wellness Employment Posting with a focus on Indigenous Language, Education, and Leadership skills.

Motion 2023/05 #11

Sagamok Chief & Council motion to accept the recommendations of the Elections Working Group. Moved by: McKenzie Toulouse Seconded by: Leroy Bennett A/O: 0 Discussion: CARRIED

John Lees is presenting on the Elections Working Group Review of Committees, proposing a process to review and select Committees, both composition and mandates of Committees, modifying committee membership. A Council resolution approve the continuation June to Sept. Internal meetings be held with directors regarding committees, the roles of community members on committees, etc.

Motion 2023/05 #12

Sagamok Chief & Council motion to accept and approve the process described in the Briefing Note of the Elections Working Group for the review and development of committees of Council, including mandates, member composition, and operational protocols. Moved by: Lawrence Solomon Seconded by: Nicole Eshkakogan A/O: 0 Discussion: Arnelda Bennett – Re: the Economic Development & Employment Committee, some of the duties are covered by the SDC Board currently. Committee terms of reference will be brought back to the Council table before any assignments or appointments are made. CARRIED

Short Term Investment Opportunity – Ryan McLeod

Sagamok was approached Westroy Asset Management for a short term investment opportunity to assist in completing the mental health facility in Owen Sound. They are requesting a loan of $4,000,000.00 for a maximum of 5 months, up to November 2023. Interested generated off this loan at 18% will equal up to $300,00.00. This was presented to the Finance and Audit Committee on May 23, 2023, with two options presented: to invest or not invest. Due diligence has been done, cash flow has been reviewed with a strong position to proceed. Nicole Eshkakogan – how are we able to do this given the rate of interest seems abnormally high? Ryan McLeod – The reason for the interest rate is that the investor is after flexibility over a short term, and looking to avoid the hassle of receiving a loan from a banking facility. The bank’s appraisal process would take too much time, and the convenience of this allows for the contractors to work on multiple projects at once.

Motion 2023/05 #12

Sagamok Chief & Council motion to support the investment opportunity presented for a 5 month loan and the interest generated be allocated at a future meeting. Moved by: Lawrence Solomon Seconded by: Michael Abitong A/O: 1 – Rhonda Stoneypoint Discussion: Angus Toulouse - Rather than allocating the funds generated by interest at this time, we can allocate the earnings at a future meeting. Sheldon Toulouse - Additionally, while investments like these are a good source of revenue, it’s important to remember that our departments and programs shouldn’t need to jump through hoops to get needed supplies while we allocated funds to projects like this. Nicole Eshkakogan - Next meeting we have operational plans/workplans, and the bulk of operation funds required for services comes from CWD and Education, would like this fact recorded. CARRIED

RH Trust Development Presentation – Ryan McLeod

Recommendation to proceed with Nahwegahbow Corbiere and BMO as trust advisors, plus to retain the services of tax experts

Motion 2023/05 #13

Sagamok Chief & Council motion to accept BCR 2023-05-04 Engagement of BMO Trust & Wealth Services. Moved by: Anna Marie Abitong Seconded by: Sheldon Toulouse A/O: 0 Discussion: CARRIED

HR Committee Update

As McKenzie Toulouse is now an employee of Sagamok, she is no longer eligible to be a member of the HR Committee. Sheldon Toulouse volunteers to be the new Council representative on the HR Committee.

Motion 2023/05 #14 Sagamok Chief & Council motion to appoint Sheldon Toulouse to the Human Resources Committee, replacing McKenzie Toulouse. Moved by: Arnelda Bennett Seconded by: Leroy Bennett A/O: 0 Discussion: CARRIED

Housing

Renewal of Phase 19

Motion 2023/05 #09

Sagamok Chief & Council motion to approve the loan renewal for CMHC Account #16 134 982 017. Moved by: Arnelda Bennett Seconded by: Leroy Bennett A/O: 0 Discussion: CARRIED

Motion 2023/05 #09

Sagamok Chief & Council motion to approve the new location of the proposed greenhouse. Moved by: Anna Marie Abitong Seconded by: Leroy Bennett A/O: 0 Discussion: CARRIED

Discussion of Next Dates

New dates are June 22nd and 23rd during the day, to take place in the community. On the agendas (find out from Andrea), get Darla to put it together.

Closing Prayer by Nelson Toulouse

Meeting adjourned at 8:07 PM.

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