PRESENT:

Angus Toulouse
Anna Marie Abitong
Arnelda Bennett
Lawrence Solomon
Leroy Bennett
McKenzie Toulouse
Michael Abitong
Nelson Toulouse
Nicole Eshkakogan
Paul Eshkakogan
Rhonda Stoneypoint
Sheldon Toulouse

STAFF:

Andrea Hajt-Jacobs, Director of Council Secretariat
Darla Boston, Administrative Assistant – Political Office
Evan O’Leary, Sagamok Development Corporation Manager
Meggan McCracken, Director of Finance
Natalie Spencer, Human Resources Manager
Juanita Skruibis, Director of Family & Community Social Services
Roger Jones, Council Secretariat
Ross Assinewe, Director of Planning & Infrastructure
Ryan McLeod, Financial Advisor
Samantha Keysis, Director of Lands, Resources & Environment
Sean Cassidy, Director of IT & Communications
Shelley Watt-Proulx, Director of Mental Health & Addictions Susan Deschamps, Director of Long-Term Care
Vance McPherson, Director of Education

GUESTS:

Neil Cooper, Consultant – The Osborne Group

MEETING CALLED TO ORDER AT 9:44 AM.

Agenda Items

Motion 2024/03 #05
Sagamok Chief and Council motion to accept the agenda as presented and amended.

Moved by: Anna Marie Abitong
Seconded by: Michael Abitong
A/O: 0
Discussion: Agenda amended to accommodate the change of Friday’s meeting date; any items not seen to today will be presented at the Saturday, March 23ʳᵈ, 2024 meeting.
CARRIED

Motion 2024/03 #06
‍Sagamok Chief and Council motion to accept the Chief & Council minutes of February 6ᵗʰ, 2024 with the proposed edits.
Moved by: Anna Marie Abitong
Seconded by:
A/O: 0
Discussion: Clarify language in Rhonda’s statements, remove duplicate text, and correct heading during Meggan’s Housing Capital presentation.
CARRIED

Correspondence

Treaty Day Scheduling

Motion 2024/03 #07
Sagamok Chief and Council motion to accept the proposed date of June 27ᵗʰ, 2024 for annual Treaty Day disbursements.
Moved by: Nelson Toulouse
Seconded by: Leroy Bennett
A/O: 0
Discussion: We require a full day rather than the proposed half-day put forward; will need to communicate the need to the committee.
CARRIED

Sables-Spanish River Joint Meeting

A request to for casual lunch-time meeting was extended by the Sauble-Spanish River Council for April 19ᵗʰ, 2024, and a response was sent offering to host the meeting in Sagamok. A favorable response was received by Anne Whalen, the township’s Clerk Administrator.

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Claims & Negotiations 2024/25 Workplan | Michelle Toulouse & Paul Eshkakogan

The workplan and budget planning began with a meeting with Lands, Resources, & Environment last week, facilitated by Roger Jones. Given the recency of the department, it was understood that the budget and workplan will evolve as the department evolves, as there are currently a staff of two. At the meeting, a vision and mandate were established; ensuring Sagamok’s rights, titles, and interests are safeguarded, and all development in traditional territory is done in accordance with our values and principles, while maximizing training, procurement, and financial benefits for Sagamok and its people.

Given the scope of the department’s mandate, much of the department’s work will be done with assistance from LRE. The new organizational structure has outlined a Consultation Coordinator, a role with funding that was assumed from LRE. Hiring is a priority, which includes an admin assistant. The current goals are to finalize a 5-year workplan, establish the file structure in SharePoint, we require an RFP to update the Mining Strategy, and develop a communications strategy.

Once all hiring has been made in accordance with the proposed org chart, a full strategic review and planning session will need to be scheduled. Three new positions are expected to be required. The external consultation process will need to be reviewed; the current system does work well, but an update is required along with a dedicated role to respond to consultants and calls for consultation.

The traditional territory map will also need updating, vetted through Council and backed by researched facts. As part of this, we will also review and reestablish protocol agreements with neighbouring First Nations. We are working on identifying the capacity required to take on storage and protection of archival documents and historical research, and establish a schedule for our research team to provide updates to both CNU and Council.

The approval, presentation, and implementation of the Victoria Mine IBA is a goal for this upcoming fiscal year; and assumption of the responsibility for the Totten Mine IBA from LRE to potentially renegotiate for financial benefits.

Lastly, there are further agreements, Memorandums of Understanding, and projects are to be explored.

Lands, Resources, & Environment Workplan | Samantha Keysis

Workplan was based off the Council priorities; land-based learning was identified as a priority. A communication strategy to help improve communication between the community and the unit, which will be collaborated on with IT & Communications. A partnership between the Ojibway Cultural Foundation for the storage and exhibition of artifacts discovered as part of an archaeological exploration of For LaCloche is being developed.

A development of a Land Registry is planned for the future, which requires training for Mitchell Eshkakogan, our GIS technician, and collaboration for asset management with P&I, assuming their program is transferrable to LRE.

The Land Use plan is collaborative between LRE & P&I, and will be covered in its own presentation.

Land Use Plan

Work is connected to $75,000.00 of funding, need to develop the working groups specific to certain objectives such as housing. Need to gather all documents related to land use, including but not limited to infrastructure, waste management, etc. An inventory of lands exist in the current GIS system, but there are gaps for homes in Espaniel and River Road, such as lot sizes for houses and band infrastructure. Adding those parcels with dimensions is a priority.

Anna – a survey of how many homes are connected to high-speed would be helpful.
Sam – that could be included as part of the hydro line in the GIS system, gathering the information would likely require a door-to-door survey. 13,000 is needed for community engagement, 10,000 for Community Engagement, and $2000,00 for Communication, as they internalize costs for printing and this would assist them in freeing up their budget.
Lawrence – how do we communicate the land developments for our off-reserve members?
Sam – we need to build in the online aspects to our meetings, and that would require a lot of effort on the part of IT & Communication.
McKenzie – a distribution of hard copies issued prior via mail to off-reserve members would go a long way, as those interested often may not have a laptop or other tech equipment.

Planning & Infrastructure 2024/25 Work Plan | Ross Assinewe

P&I’s workplan is mostly project related, some of which are still in draft and not included in this presentation. The first is the interior roads, received funding 5 years ago for road improvements, River Road had rock excavation and road realignment. Asphalt was looked at, extending from Kokoko Road to McBean. There is a one-year warranty on roadwork done from Sagamok Point to McBean; any issues that arise are covered by the contractor until the period ends in October/November of 2024. Once completed, a report will come to Council.

As for future work, there are plans for Maple Ridge surface treatment to be budgeted out.

Angus – With Maple Ridge being a new area, a walking trail or sidewalks with streetlights, plus a playground area would something that the community would like to see, at least the area cleared ahead of time.
Arnelda – Jordan’s Principle could fund a playground.

Waste Management update; in Spring of 2022, the proposed WMG plan was adopted. ISC provided funding to complete the plan, and the plan was submitted in April 2023. The consultant is in process of selecting a site for a waste transfer station, and three potential areas are being identified. No decision has been made as of yet, and then consultation will be brought forward for the community and leadership input. Construction for a transfer station is estimated for July, but the landfill won’t be expected to be closed until the transfer station is complete.

The water system upgrade is in progress, with the repairs and safety updates needed for the water tower to be assessed. The tower has been in use for 20 years, and regulations regarding safety standards have changed. In order to ensure fire protection while changes are being made, collaboration with other community fire departments are in the works.

On the subject of beautification, hanging plants have fallen by the wayside but if they are considered to be a priority, we can find the time and capacity; as for the community gravesites, the sites need to be addressed either through summer student workers, or resuming the Ambassador program.

A proposal is going in for recreation maintenance for upkeep of our ballfields and other recreation sites; even if the proposal is not accepted, we should still seek a department or programs in community to take the lead and provide a portion of funding. A portion of the monthly ZEI contributions could be diverted for this purpose.

SDC 2024/25 Workplan | Evan O’Leary

The third iteration of SDC since 2012; developed a workplan alongside the Osborne Group, who has previously worked with ZEI and ZCLP. A strategic plan was necessary for securing funding, and a new mandate was needed to better define the role of the organization.

The new primary focus is an 80% focus on for-profit initiatives, and 20% will be directed to support of new organizations until they are able to stand alone. To support this, separation of the community focused initiatives from the economic development opportunities will be necessary.

Community focused elements should be moved to Administration and a new for-profit entity will be created. SDC as it is now will be retained as a corporate entity to provide support to the for-profit entity, and govern the relationship between Sagamok and any government entities, such as Canada Post.

A majority of the operational budget is sourced from OFNLP and by going towards for-profit opportunities, it will allow us to grow and ideally become self-sustaining through own source revenue or a trust.

Depending on the legal requirements of the various for-profit projects, there may be required separate legal entities to hold each project.

Motion 2024/03 #08
Sagamok Chief and Council motion to approve the proposed SDC Strategic Plan with revised mandate; and to implement the proposed organizational changes and change management plan.
Moved by: Nelson Toulouse
Seconded by: Sheldon Toulouse
A/O: 1 – Arnelda Bennett, as Economic Development Manager.
Discussion:
CARRIED

Education 2024/25 Work Plan | Vance McPherson

Council provided 4 strategic directions for Education to pursue in the 2024/25 fiscal year: ground all services in the learner’s journey, increased transparency and flexibility, supporting students and staff, and do so following Anishnaabe-Aadziwin tenets and practices.

A communications strategy requires a full-times communication resource person, and a dedicated Education website is in the works.

A safety and accessibility audit is needed for both spaces and processes, and identify what is needed for improvement in all aspects; a proactive approach for this is best.

BCR for | Ryan McLeod

Motion 2024/03 #09
‍Sagamok Chief and Council motion to BCR 2024-03-52 – Director of Finance Approval Authorization.
Moved by: Nelson Toulouse
Seconded by: Leroy Bennett
A/O: 0
Discussion:
CARRIED

Sault Ste. Marie Urban Housing Development Update | Ryan McLeod

The urban housing development in Sault Ste. Marie is looking to continue work ahead of CMHC funding approval. To that end, they are seeking additional short term investment from Sagamok in order to facilitate continued construction work. This would entail increasing the funding allocation Sagamok provides from $100,000.00 to $300,000.00

Motion 2024/03 #10
Sagamok Chief and Council motion to support the increase in the funding allocation from $100,000.00 to$300,000.00 for the urban housing development.
Moved by: Lawrence Solomon
Seconded by: Sheldon Toulouse
A/O: 0
Discussion:
CARRIED

Adjournment

Motion 2024/03 #11
‍Sagamok Chief and Council motion to adjourn the meeting.
Moved by: Arnelda Bennett
Seconded by: McKenzie Toulouse
A/O: 0
Discussion:
CARRIED
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CLOSING PRAYER BY NELSON TOULOUSE

MEETING ADJOURNED @ 4:20 PM.

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