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Present:
Angus Toulouse
Anna Marie Abitong (virtual)
Arnelda Bennett
Lawrence Solomon (virtual)
Leroy Bennett
McKenzie Toulouse
Michael Abitong
Nelson Toulouse
Nicole Eshkakogan
Paul Eshkakogan L
Rhonda Stoneypoint
Sheldon Toulouse
Staff:
Andrea Hajt-Jacobs, Assistant Director – Council Secretariat
Claudette Fournier, Acting Director of Education
Darla Boston, Political Office Administrative Assistant
Evan O’Leary, SDC Manager
Meggan McCracken, Director of Finance
Natalie Spencer, HR Manager (virtual)
Roger Jones, Council Secretariat
Ryan McLeod, Financial Advisor
Sean Cassidy, Director of IT & Communications
Susan Deschamps, Director of Long-Term Care (virtual)
Wade Owl, Political Office Coordinator
Vance McPherson, Director of Education
Regrets:
Ross Assinewe, Director of Planning & Infrastructure
Samantha Keysis, Director Lands, Resources & Environment
Opening Prayer by Angus Toulouse
Meeting called to order @ 3:11 PM
Motion 2023/11 #01
Sagamok Chief & Council motion to accept the agenda as presented and amended.
Moved by: Arnelda Bennett
Seconded by: McKenzie Toulouse
A/O: 1 – Rhonda Stoneypoint Discussion: One abstention CARRIED
Would like to extend a welcome and introduction to Vance McPherson as the newly hired Director of Education. While he has not started in the role as of yet, he has been gracious enough to attend both this meeting and the Senior Management Meeting last week, familiarizing himself with the area and his colleagues.
Motion 2023/11 #02
Sagamok Chief & Council motion to accept the Chief & Council minutes of October 10th, 2023 as presented and amended.
Moved by: Arnelda Bennett
Seconded by: McKenzie Toulouse
A/O: 2 – Anna Marie Abitong, Rhonda Stoneypoint Discussion: Two abstentions as they were not received as part of Council package. One correction to be made regarding McKenzie Toulouse’s attendance in person on the 10th, did not attend virtually. CARRIED
Motion 2023/11 #03
Sagamok Chief & Council motion to accept the Chief & Council minutes of October 24th, 2023 presented and amended.
Moved by: Arnelda Bennett
Seconded by: Lawrence Solomon
A/O: 1 – Anna Marie Abitong Discussion: One abstention as they did not receive the minutes as part of the Council package. CARRIED
A letter was submitted by Early Childhood Education staff at the day care regarding rumoured potential scheduled working days during the holiday closure. Given the concern raised by the staff, it should be reminded that the day care facility follows the set school calendar, and no loss of holiday hours are expected.
The audit as presented is currently in a draft, but there are no changes expected to be made in its current iteration. If any changes are necessary, KPMG will notify Chief & Council for approval, along with an explanation of any changes. Given there are no anticipated changes, it is recommended by the auditors that the proposed and presented draft be accepted and approved by Council. The financial statements are presented with a “clean” or “unqualified” opinion, which is the highest level of assurance Canadian Auditing Standards can provide.
Anna Marie – there have been some changes with the auditing process, including ownership of the audit report on page 2. This statement of ownership is a new addition that has stood out to me. What impact does this have on who “owns” the audit report?
Kyle Hill – There are two versions of this audit report; public, a barebones version which goes to Indigenous Services Canada, and the private version, which has a Council requested breakdown of departmental finances. The private version is what will be presented at the upcoming Annual General Assembly. Because of the included information in the private version, the inclusion of that statement is necessary.
Angus Toulouse – When will we know of any changes?
Kyle Hill – Yes, any changes will be informed before then. Presenting the audit from a summary perspective, and to keep the presentation high level; the financial statements themselves are large and complex. The audit has preliminarily gone through the Finance and Audit committee during their meeting Friday, November 17th. The presentation will start with the Consolidated Statement of Operation to show the financial “story” from an operating perspective, comparing last year’s numbers to this year’s. On the consolidated statement, there is a $19.6 million accounting surplus; with the majority of the surplus is coming from the New School project. The reason the New School is showing as a surplus is none of the expenses from the ISC funding are recognized within the statement until the project is complete. Another component attributing to the surplus is the change to the ISC funding arrangement. Sagamok now receives funding through a New Fiscal Relationship grant arrangement with ISC. Previously all grants were specific to a fixed arrangement and program; now money received is fluid within Sagamok to use at its discretion. Excess funds are placed into internally restricted reserves for future use. Consolidated statement of Remeasurement Gains is put in due to a new mandatory rule requiring investments entered into in an active market, measuring the unrealized gains or losses of portfolio investments. This is in reference to the various construction projects Sagamok has supported financially with the intention of investing revenue back into the community. Consolidated statement of Cash Flow shows a $20 million increase in cash from operations, with a $7.9 debt issued from the First Nations Finance Authority loan, $1.2m cash related to debt principal repayments, $18.5m to acquiring capital assets, $11.9m to loan receivable, and $2.6m to purchase of portfolio investments. Consolidated statement of Financial Position is a snapshot of the financial picture, broken down into Financial Assets, Liabilities, and Non-Financial Assets. The net-debt position currently is approx. $950,000.00, down from $2.9 million in the previous Fiscal Year.
Nicole Eshkakogan – Regarding the loans receivable for ZCLP, what’s the expected length of time for the various loans Council has provided?
Ryan McLeod – The different loans have the different payment sequences up to 5 years, the status of which is a strategic conversation that Council needs to have. ZCLP are repaying the loans on a monthly basis.
Kyle Hill – Within the audit, the loans haven’t impacted the bottom line or surplus, overall.
Motion 2023/11 #04
Sagamok Chief & Council motion to accept the 2022/23 Audited Financial Statements as presented by KPMG.
Moved by: Anna Marie Abitong
Seconded by: Sheldon Toulouse A/O: Discussion: Anna Marie Abitong - Wanted clarity on the 1.2 million listed here under the RHW heading. Angus Toulouse – the Litigation Management Committee needed a community to float money through to the provincial and federal government to cover negotiations There was 0 cost and benefit to Sagamok, beyond a small admin fee. The flow through listed has no bearing on funds or the settlement agreement. May want to request Kyle to rename the mentioned bullet point to something more representative of what it was rather than the current name. Arnelda Bennett – Economic Development & ISETP are now under SDC but are still shown under Sagamok’s financial statements. Ryan McLeod – The federal portion of Economic Development funding is still under Sagamok, and the rest that are shown under Sagamok is the result of it being a transition year for the programs. CARRIED
In speaking with Legal Counsel, it was recommended that a separate corporate for-profit entity be established to both protect community assets and ensure that all proper financial practices are being followed when making investments in real estate proposals. Ryan McLeod has prepared a Briefing Note outlining this and is presenting to Council.
Motion 2023/11 #05
Sagamok Chief & Council motion to approve BCR 2023-11-40 – Establishment of a For-Profit Corporation for Off-Reserve Real Estate.
Moved by: Paul Eshkakogan
Seconded by: Nicole Eshkakogan A/O: 0 Discussion: The current board members for SDC will be the board members for this new board. Paul Eshkakogan, Nicole Eshkakogan, McKenzie Toulouse, Leroy Bennett, and Michael Abitong would be the initial board members; appointments for president, secretary, and treasurer will be appointed at a future SDC Board Meeting.
CARRIED
Motion 2023/11 #06
Sagamok Chief & Council motion to approve the presented holiday recommendations as presented.
Moved by: Nicole Eshkakogan
Seconded by: Leroy Bennett A/O: 0 Discussion:
CARRIED
Paul would like to defer this to the November 28th, 2023 Daytime meeting to allow for a member of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition Society to present before Council if possible. Communities are beginning to favor equity ownership for environmental and resource development projects as opposed to impact and benefits agreements.
The BCR has been tabled until the November 28th, 2023 meeting.
The Youth consultation session is scheduled for December 8th, 2023, the Elders consultation session is set for December 12th, with the Christmas gathering soon after, and the general community consultation is set for December 13th. Additional consultation sessions will need to be set for the New Year, starting in January 2024.
Motion 2023/11 #07
Sagamok Chief & Council motion to adjourn the meeting.
Moved by: Arnelda Bennett
Seconded by: Nicole Eshkakogan A/O: 0 Discussion:
CARRIED
Z’gamok Enterprises Inc. is a corporation 100% owned by the Sagamok Anishnawbek. It is mandated to maximize the economic development opportunities of the Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation within its traditional lands and within the Northern Ontario region in the resource sector and in services related to construction and resource development.
