‍Present:

Angus Toulouse
Arnelda Bennett
Lawrence Solomon
Leroy Bennett
McKenzie Toulouse
Michael Abitong
Paul Eshkakogan
Rhonda Stoneypoint
Sheldon Toulouse

Staff:

Andrea Hajt-Jacobs, Assistant Director – Council Secretariat
Evan O’Leary, SDC Manager
Meggan McCracken, Director of Finance (virtual)
Roger Jones, Assistant Director Darla Boston, Political Office Administrative Assistant

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Guests:

Alain Bartleman, Nahwegahbow Corbiere
James Hopkins, Nahwegahbow Corbiere
Matthew Neveau, BMO
Paul Fosey, BMO
Steve Partridge, BMO
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Regrets:

Lawrence Solomon

Meeting called to order @ 9:30am

Motion 2023/06 #15 Sagamok Chief & Council motion to accept the agenda as presented and amended. Moved by: Anna Marie Abitong

Seconded by: Arnelda Bennett A/O: 0 Discussion: Meeting minutes for May 30th, 2023 and Incoming Correspondence have been deferred to the next meeting. CARRIED

RHT Update - Chief Angus Toulouse

Chief Toulouse gave an update on the Robinson Huron Treaty and how this trust will impact our community. In order to gather feedback, Political Office will be preparing a community forum. Based on the potential attendance, it may be need to be held outdoors. For those unable to attend, and to further communicate key information, there will be a handout for members outlining a basic understanding of our rights and challenges. Among those are how to protect our community from predators such as drug dealers, prevent elder abuse, and support those with disabilities. Further, how will the establishment of the trust impact those on ODSP and Ontario Works? We will need to make sure that we have supports in place when the time comes.

Presentation on Compensation Disbursement Agreement Sagamok RHT Trust Allocation - Ryan McLeod

The Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund, supported by the 21 RHT Communities, established a Compensation Disbursement Agreement in 2012. During that time, 3 key priorities were identified. Priorities will be an updated membership list, with a communique of our numbers and a report to be distributed. To help with the distribution, we can look at the Sagamok Communications Plan; and establish a Committee and Working committee to best decide how to distribute.

Presentation “Why Establish a Trust - BMO Trust Structure Considerations” by Steve Partridge, Paul Foisy and Matthew Naveau

The purpose of establishing a financial trust is to help protect and preserve assets and funds for future generations. A trust is designed with clear guidelines for use of assets held in trust, and stay in place even after a new Chief & Council are put in place. Funding held by the trust can be used for education, housing, infrastructure, cultural benefits, and per capita member payments. Members who are minors per capita payments are held in the trust until they reach the age of majority.

A trustee board requires only one member, but the typical board has four members.

Given the potential contentious reception, we will require several sessions on how to promote the Trust to the Community.

In addition, we will also require another day meeting for Trust set up.

Presentation of First Nations Trust Planning for Sagamok First Nation - James Hopkins, Nahwegahbow Corbiere

What part is taxed?

Knowing the Pro’s and Cons will help guide the decisions.

Safeguard the Principle to help make it grow.

Hydro One Presentation by Evan O’Leary

Evan presented a Briefing Note on Strategic Partnerships with Hydro One Network Inc: Opportunities for Indigenous Communities in Transmission Line Projects Following the initial meeting with Hydro One, the communities met to discuss a corporate ownership structure. A term sheet is being developed for further capacity funding, which is necessary for project engagement, community engagement, field participation, professional fees, and more. The current project leads are Jauvonne Kitto, Chief Administrative Officer at Garden River FN, and Tanya Maville, Director of Business & Enterprises at Batchewana FN. Richard King has been retained as legal counsel, given his background as an energy lawyer and has no conflict of interest with any of the First Nations. Participation in the partnership would provide a significant opportunity for Indigenous communities to share in the equity of these transmission line projects, resulting in potential economic benefits for the communities involved.

Motion 2023/06#16

Sagamok Chief & Council motion to have Gimaa Angus Toulouse sign the Memorandum of Understanding with Hydro One Networks Inc. to obtain the $20,000 for initial project development costs and to move forward with the project.

Moved by: Paul Eshkakogan
Second by: Nicole Eshkakogan
A/O: 0
Discussion: CARRIED

Internal Loan Program Presentation - Ryan McLeod

Ryan McLeod presented a proposed Internal Loan Program, which would provide loans to Sagamok members, with a focus on those who are directly working for Sagamok related entities. The loans would be provided with the intent of stimulating and promoting Sagamok businesses. Larger loans, such as those used for equipment or vehicle purchases would be reviewed on an individual basis. A commitment of up to $1,000,000.00 was proposed; repair loans would not exceed $75,000.00, and equipment loans would not exceed $250,000.00.

Community members would complete an application, and any loan would align with the length of the member’s contract, if applicable.

Motion 2023/06 #17

Sagamok Chief & Council motion to further investigate, gather more information and return with expanded details back to Council.

Moved by: Paul Eshkakogan
Seconded by: Michael Abitong
A/O: 0
Discussion: n/a CARRIED

Motion 2023/06 #18

Sagamok Chief & Council motion to enter an in-camera session.

Moved by: Nicole Eshkakogan
Seconded by: Arnelda Bennett A/O: 0 Discussion: n/a CARRIED
Motion 2023/06 #19
Sagamok Chief & Council motion to move out-of-camera.
Moved by: Michael Abitong
Seconded by: Arnelda Bennett
A/O: 0
Discussion: n/a CARRIED

Meeting break called at 4:30pm; will resume tomorrow.

Meeting resumed June 23, 2023 @ 9:38am

Nogdawindamin Relationship Discussion w/ Family, Community & Social Services Unit - Juanita Skrubis

Koognasewin coordinated two Band Rep meetings between North Shore First Nations with the goal of identifying issues that impacted the ability for Nogdawindamin to deliver child welfare services. This report was shared with Nogdawindamin, and in response, Nogdawindamin presented their answer with offers to meet individually with each community. Council will take up that offer and be meeting with Nogdawindamin Senior Management at a date to be determined. Council will be briefed on the challenges and next steps needed to bring forward. An important note to keep in mind is there is currently no approved protocol between Sagamok and Nogdawindamin.

Motion 2023/06 #19

Sagamok Chief & Council motion to appoint the following volunteers to the Child Welfare Working Group; Lawrence Solomon, Leroy Bennett, McKenzie Toulouse, & Nicole Eshkakogan.

Moved by: Arnelda Bennett
Seconded by: Michael Abitong
A/O: 1 - Rhonda Stoneypoint as a C&FA Employee
Discussion: n/a Carried

Presentation of Operational Plan and Overview Communications & Information Technology Unit by Sean Cassidy

The current state of Communications is an overreliance on social media; to resolve this, a greater diversity in mediums, and enhanced organizational measures are being implemented to more efficiently deliver messaging. On the IT side, IT assets are scattered and lack standardization, security, and backup. Consolidation, organization, and backups are needed to avoid future outages and security risks.

Current immediate priorities are a Microsoft 365 Clean-Up to deactivate unused accounts, reducing our current bill by 20%, further implementation for the FreshDesk ticketing system, hiring of a webmaster to decommission the old website and redirect to the new website URL, asset management, and implementation of a Service Level Agreement.

Digital Language - Joanne Owl & Sean Cassidy

The Education Department has invested in developing a series of books with Sagamok Elders commissioned for audio translation. This is important, as the language will be preserved in a Sagamok dialect. Digital download and paper copies of the books are both options being made available for distribution. In order to recoup some of the costs incurred through printing, digitization, and translation services, it is recommended to attach a small fee to each book. If the books prove popular enough, it may even produce a profit that can be used for future endeavors. Some questions raised by Council are, how best to distribute and make available for everyone, the question of copyright and involvement of legal counsel, allocating further funding for language revitalization, and another look at language strategy and language sessions.

Elections Working Group Updated Work Plan with Dates by Roger Jones

There are a few key dates to keep in mind for future Election Law feedback sessions. The first is June 29th, 2023 – McKenzie Toulouse will be staffing a booth at the upcoming Treaty Day event held at the Multi Ed Center to distribute information regarding the election laws. Next is July 17th, 2023 to be held here in Sagamok. Off-reserve events will be held July 21st, 2023 in Sault Ste Marie, then July 23rd, 2023 in Sudbury, and July 29th, 2023 in Toronto. Further events may be held as necessary.

Motion 2023/06 #20

Sagamok Chief & Council motion to adjourn the meeting.
Moved by: Arnelda Bennett
Seconded: by Leroy Bennett
A/O: 0
Discussion: n/a CARRIED

Closing Prayer by Michael Abitong

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