M e s s e n g e r APRIL 2021 T H E
WHAT’S INSIDE... Executive Updates
Current Boards and Committees Site Rehabilitation Program
Federal Update MSSTI Message
Harvesting Update
Health Board Message
...and more!
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C o n t e n t s EXECUTIVE UPDATES. ........................................................................1 President’s Message - Herb Lehr............................... 1 Vice President’s Update - Roechelle Gaudet............. 5 Elected Secretary’s Update - Dot Anderson.............. 6 Treasurer’s Update - Sherry Cunningham. ................ 7 FEDERAL UPDATE.............................................................................12 MSSTI UPDATE..................................................................................15 BOARDS AND COMMITTEES............................................................16 VOLUNTEER WEEK. ..........................................................................17 COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT................................................................32 HEALTH BOARD UPDATE..................................................................18 COVID-19 Q&A’s ................................................................................21 DEPARTMENT UPDATES...................................................................35 Administration Update ..........................................35 Harvesting ............................................................36 Consultation & Environment . ...............................38 APPENDIX A - COVID-19 Vaccine Sequencing For Healthcare Workers APPENDIX B - Site Rehabilitation Program APPENDIX C - Oil & Gas Withdrawals Report APPENDIX D - MSGC Letter to the Minister of Education APPENDIX E - Metis Settlements of Alberta: Infrastructure at a Glance SITE REHABILITATION PROGRAM. ..................................................33 SETTLEMENT INVESTMENT CORPORATION. .................................34
Suite 101, 10335 172 STreet Edmonton, Alberta T5S 1K9 Phone: (780)489-9558 Toll Free: 1-888-213-4400 www.msgc.ca M etis S ettlements G eneral C ouncil
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A Message from President Herb Lehr HOPING YOU ARE SAFE M e s s a g e f r o m t h e P r e s i d e n t
What a start we have had to 2021 – exciting news and challenging developments: Bill 57, K to 6 Draft Curriculum release, 1976 Coal Policy changes, Federal Budget, COVID-19 vaccination program rollout, on top of our regular Metis General Council ongoing work. First, I am so proud of the work our Metis Settlements General Council Executive and the health teams have been doing across all the settlements in recent weeks. We have moved forward with an effective, and efficient COVID-19 vaccine rollout program. We are on track to achieving our COVID vaccine goals. I want to take this opportunity to thank the many people that have worked and dedicated so much effort to make this all happen. The health of our communities has been in your hands, and we are so grateful to each one of you. I also want to thank the many of you across our Settlement Communities who have gone out and received your vaccine shot. It is important for each of us do our part to ensure we protect our elders, our community and our future. Each vaccination that is delivered gets us closer to stabilizing the COVID numbers and combatting this terrible virus. Much work has been done, and much more remains to be done. To learn more about the vaccine rollout and information about the vaccinations, I encourage you to read the comprehensive information in this Messenger. We also created a video in March to talk about the vaccine. I invite settlement members to watch it here: https://vimeo.com/520155837 On a far less positive note, these past weeks also saw us in a race against time with the Government of Alberta’s tabling of Bill 57: The Metis Settlements Amendment Act. The government tabled the Bill on March 11th and we have been working every day to ensure that our Metis people are properly informed of these changes that will impact each one of us deeply. We have sought legal counsel, we have met as an Assembly on impacts and next steps, and we are working hard to ensure
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M e s s a g e f r o m t h e P r e s i d e n t
that the voices of our members are heard. While we have concerns and questions about the legislation Itself, our concern stems from the clear lack of meaningful consultation. We plan to address each concern one by one with the Minister and intend to keep pushing this issue with the Government of Alberta. For two years we have eagerly awaited the announcement of the Federal budget to see if the greatest concerns of our communities have been addressed. I am proud to report that the hard work of our team has resulted in the inclusion of Metis Settlements in every funding protfolio. We are especially pleased that the budget has prioritized infrastructure. We have submitted over $500 million of shovel-ready infrastructure projects at the community level and will be diligently with the council members in each community to prioritize these projects. Shovel-ready infrastructure projects submitted include but are not limited to: • New and existing roads • Water treatment and distribution systems • Septic systems • Power • Natural gas distribution • Homes Other doors are opening as well. We continue to collaborate at the Trilateral table with both the provincial and federal governments to navigate the path forward. We anticipate access to approximately $1billion over the next four years for infrastructure. We will be doing whatever we can to maximize benefits to our communities, not only to expedite the completion of this necessary infrastructure, but also to bring much needed employment opportunites. A huge thank you to the federal government, our federal team (Blake Desjarlais - Strategy Corp., Garry Appelt - Witten LLP) and local leaders for their ongoing support. As you likely know as well, the Government of Alberta launched two new important consultations, the first on the Coal Policy where broad public input was requested through a survey, and a proposed Indigenous specific consultation has been promised. With more than 25,000 survey responses received by government, a hold has been put on exploration during the ongoing consultation period. We are monitoring the situation and expecting our role at the consultation table to come soon.
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M e s s a g e f r o m t h e P r e s i d e n t
The second major consultation has begun for the draft K to 6 Alberta Education Curriculum. The media has been reporting on the discontent being expressed by Albertans about the curriculum. Our community echoes thoseconcerns, andhassomeofourownwewouldlikeaddressed. On April 16th we convened a group of Metis Settlement educators, and former educators, to a panel discussion about the proposed curriculum and have since drafted a letter for government outline our core areas of concern, and recommendations for a way ahead. Of particular concern for us is the lack of consultation with our community on the content of the curriculum, the representation of Metis history and experience as a homogenous experience with other Indigenous peoples, the lack of context about our unique place in Canada, and the age appropriateness of the content overall. We are asking the Minister of Education to strike a Metis Settlements advisory committee of educators and elders to help inform the final curriculum during the year-long consultation ahead. The weeks ahead will continue to bring new challenges and new information, and your Council Executive will keepworking hard on these, and other important projects for our members. And we will continue to share news with you as often as we can. Keep watching our social media channels, our website and contact our office if you have questions. It continues to be my honour to work with my Council colleagues for the betterment of our community. Changes, especially big changes, can be unsettling. Even positive change presents some unknowns: will I be included? How will this benefit me? When will normalcy return? When will our constitutional rights and hard-won legal victories be completely implemented? While the important progress reported in this edition of the Messenger is good news, we still have some work to do. We face an almost constant threat of being ignored or avoided; just look at our exclusion from the curriculum development and lack of consultation on Bill 57 as examples. Standing together has never been so important. We can learn from others who have been in this situation before. While all Metis voices must be heard, when we speak to another government, we need to have one voice. One message. We cannot allow dissension among community leaders permit the government or funding agency to use that as a reason to turn us down. This is a time for “all hands on deck.” Cooperation among our leaders, project developers, families and individuals leads to benefits for everyone. If someone has more to offer, we should graciously accept their talent and interest. We can’t view funding opportunities as reasons to compete with each other.
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M e s s a g e f r o m t h e P r e s i d e n t We each have different strengths and now is the time to identify those talents and put them to work for everyone. We need everyday heroes whose contributions will lift our spirits and improve all Metis lives. I am working on a program to develop the leadership skills in the next generation. Some of us have given our adult lives to the betterment of our people. Now is the time to prepare the people who will take our places. In the corporate world, this is called succession planning. It is done to ensure the continued success of the corporation. We need to so that for ourselves. I will be proposing a unique training program to elevate the young people for whom being Metis is more than a birthmark, it is a calling. Stay tuned for news on this front. If you know of someone who would take up this challenge, please let me know.
Not every goose knows which way to migrate. But they each take a turn and when it is their time to lead, they get to make those hard decisions. Some will be satisfied to follow. But when they fly, they fly together. And they arrive successfully at their destination. It is less important who turned left at the border as long as the goal is achieved without leaving any goose behind. And as I close out my message for this edition of The Messenger, I want to again express my, and my family’s deepest sympathies to those in our community who have lost loved ones in recent months to COVID or other circumstances. This is a difficult time for so many in our community and our prayers are with you. - Herb Lehr -
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A Message from Vice President Roechelle Gaudet M e s s a g e f r o m t h e Vice President
Hello Everyone!
Hope you all are staying safe as we are still navigating through this pandemic. It has been a busy year to say the least at the Central Office and we have gotten off to a busy start this year with an Federal capacity grant that will allow financial support to flow to the local settlements for developing our recognizedMetis Harvesters database, and it will provide support for the central office to build up our records and information management system. We have also made a request to the Provincial government for capacity support through Alberta Environment and Parks for our Harvesting file. The Metis Settlements were in receipt of Period 6 funding under the site rehabilitation program to do site rehabilitation and reclamation work this fiscal year as well and our administrative team at MSGC worked with the GoA to assist in the roll out of the Period 6 funding. On April 19, 2021 the Federal government released the first budget in 2 years and we are currently working with all our stakeholders to identify areas of opportunity for the Metis Settlements in the varios streams announced, this is a large undertaking as the budget is 738 pages. We have an Implementation Team Meeting under the Long Term Arrangement scheduled this week to approve moving forward on some of our planned LTA infrastructure projects on the settlements, we will have more details coming within the coming weeks at a local level. As always, my door is always open to members concerns and ideas for the betterment of our communities.
God Bless. Roechelle Gaudet
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M e s s a g e f r o m t h e Elected Secretary
A Message from Elected Secretary Dot Anderson
Hello to all Metis Settlement Members
It is a great pleasure for me to address you all once again as we start on another busy year here at MSGC. We have certainly had a busy first quarter to 2021 with the governmental relations work that I and my colleagues have been busy on, all in light of a pandemic that continues to hit our members and settlements over and over again. I wish to once again extend my condolences to those who experienced loss during 2020 and to send my continued prayers to anyone who is facing other difficulties. In terms of our central operation, I am pleased to report that under the guidance of our CAO, Justin Gaudet, the virus did not stop our team from moving forward on the various files and program initiatives for the MSGC and the Settlements. I would also like to extend a note of recognition to our Health Board Coordinator Darlene Carifelle, who has managed to take up the charge and lead many positive moves during this Covid pandemic, from information gathering to vaccination rollout. Please take a moment to read through the reports for economic development, health, Early Learning and Childcare, Indian Residential Schools, MMIWG2S, the FASD Network, and Strategic Training Initiatives for details pertaining specifically to my portfolio. We have included a a great number of resources in this issue pertaining specifically to COVID-19 and the health pandemic. I would also like to remind and encourage you to check out of social media sites on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter if you are on social media or check out our website as well at www.msgc.ca We are aiming to keep everyone fully informed of the work we are continuing to do here at MSGC and for the Metis Settlements. In closing, I have been very proud of the staff who have been steady in their own efforts to stay safe while also continuing to serve the communities – their hard work and dedication has been exceptional through this public health crisis. Please do not hesitate to contact any one of them if you have any questions about their reports. Thank you as always for your curiosity and I welcome your feedback. Feel free to call me anytime on my cell at 780-235-5515 I would be pleased to hear from you.
Ikosi, Dot Anderson
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A Message from Treasurer Sherry Cunningham M e s s a g e f r o m t h e T r e a s u r e r
Hello Fellow Community Members: Metis Settlements General Council 2021 Funding/ Budget: On March 24, 2021, the MSGC Assembly approved a Financial Allocation Policy (FAP) and Budget for MSGC Central Office. Policy approval procedures are contained in the Metis Settlements Act and accompanying policies. Basically, in the case of
FAPs, Central Office develops a draft budget/accompanying FAP. These documents are then discussed with the Assembly prior to December 31 of each calendar year. Once Settlement consensus or majority agreement is obtained, First and Second Readings of the FAP take place. Third Reading then takes place after the policy has been posted in each community for the required number of days as contained in the MSA. Sometimes obtaining consensus and/or majority takes a bit longer than anticipated. The discussions this year took a bit longer than usual for a variety of reasons. Several concerns were expressed regarding the balance of the Future Fund, no assurance of Federal Funding etc. When there is a delay in obtaining FAP approval, it has been the practice of MSGC to request the Honourable Minister of Indigenous Relations to bring the policy into force and effect prior to the expiration of the 90- day veto period. It is never the desire to use funds from the Future Fund for operational purposes, however, until other funding can be obtained, MSGC Central office has no other source of revenue to continue operations. MSGC Investment Committee: The MSGC Investment Committee meets on a quarterly basis to discuss and review the performance of the Future Fund. The Investment Committee has appointed an Investment Consultant and two Money Managers who ensure that prudent investments are done in accordance with the Management and Administration Guidelines as approved by the MSGC Assembly. Reports are provided to Committee members on a monthly basis and an annual report is provided to the Assembly at the LTA (Long Term Agreement) Tech Team Meetings – Regular Meetings of the LTA Tech Team take place on a monthly basis. Attendees fromMSGC and the Government of Alberta participate in these discussions. These meetings basically involve updates on each of the LTA Schedules as well as a review of action items contained under the Annual Plan/Budget. LTA Implementation Team Meetings – Scheduled meetings of the LTA ImplementationTeamgenerallytakeplaceonaquarterlybasis.EachSettlement appoints one representativewho participates in discussions regarding the LTA. MSGC Annual Meeting. Long-Term Agreement:
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In January 2021, the MSGC Assembly approved a Financial Allocation Policy inanamount of $2,100,000.00 forMSGCcontractual commitments towards the LTA – Schedule B. This commitment represents a total of $26.4 million which MSGC has committed towards the LTA for Schedules B & C. One final year of contributions remain (2022-23). These funds have been primarily contributed from the MSGC Future Fund. In February 2021, the LTA Implementation Team approved LTA funding for the new fiscal. The $5,000,000 GoA allocation was approved as follows: Schedule B - Infrastructure $2,100,000.00 Schedule F - Education $194,000.00 Schedule H - Safe & Healthy Communities $1,326,000.00 Schedule I - Consultation $880,000.00 Other Schedules: Implementation etc. $500,000.00 $5,000,000.00 WiththesubstantialdecreaseinLTAfundingandincompletionofSchedule J (Financial Sustainability), decisions surrounding LTA allocations to the communities can be very difficult. Most of the $5,000,000.00 currently provided through the agreement is already allocated. This leaves very little to assist the Settlements in providing Capacity, Education etc. There are no dollars allocated for the provision of essential services. In some communities, the Covid pandemic has decreased the ability of some Settlements to collect for these services from their residents. It is very difficult for residents to pay for essential services when many have lost jobs. The MSGC Future Fund has been relied upon to assist some communities in covering essential services costs. MSGC is still working on finalizing the LTA Eight Year review. Dr. Marie Delorme has been contracted to complete this task. The Eight Year Review will encompass Dr. Delorme completing various interviews with the negotiators of the LTA, MSGC leaders, MSGC personnel, GOA personnel and Settlement membership. Once completed, Dr. Delorme will compile a report which will outline the different perspectives of all parties involved. Unfortunately, due to Covid, face-to-face membership sessions have been on hold. However, we are hopeful that these sessions will be completed in late spring or early summer 2021. The next LTA Implementation Team Meeting will be held on April 29, 2021 where approval of the 2020-21 LTA Annual Report will be requested. In addition, approval of the Capital Infrastructure Program Report (2020-21) and Capital Infrastructure Program for the 2021-22 fiscal year will also be requested. M e s s a g e f r o m t h e T r e a s u r e r
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M e s s a g e f r o m t h e T r e a s u r e r
Political Update: Provincial Discussions Hon. Minister of Indigenous Relations:
Over the past few months, members of the MSGC Board including the MSGC Executive have had discussions with the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Ministry staff. The President has provided an overview of these discussions in his report. At this time, Bill 57 is currently being debated in the Legislature with debate expected to resume sometime the week of May 03, 2021. Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC) – On November 26, 2019, the “Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation Act” received royal assent and was proclaimed. The AIOC was established to facilitate and backstop up to $1 billion in investment by Indigenous communities in natural resource projects and related infrastructure. This initiative supports Indigenous communities to directly invest in medium-to-large scale projects, thus creating economic benefits. Many of the Settlements are currently exploring various economic ventures anddetermining their options for investment. The AIOC loan guarantee is one option which is being pursued by some communities. Ministry of Justice & Solicitor General: Over the past while, Settlement Councillors and MSGC Executive members have participated in meetings with representatives from the Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General. Discussions have taken place regarding policing issues as well as the Police Act (Dec. 3/20, Dec.18/20, Jan. 14/21). Representatives have been very vocal in expressing concerns as well as providing possible solutions to deal with the various issues in the communities. As part of establishing safe communities, some Settlements are doing preliminary work to develop local Community Safety Bylaws. Last fall, some communities were able to obtain member feedback on proposed bylaws. It was very beneficial to have RCMP Officers and Legal Counsel attend these sessions which were very informative and provided an opportunity for Settlement members to ask questions and obtain procedural clarity. Policing/RAPID (Rural Alberta Provincial Integrated Defence) Force – Last fall 2020, MSGC was informed that as a result of increased crime in rural areas, the Province would be extending authority levels to Sheriffs and Fish & Wildlife Officers. This initiative was to be rolled out in three phases.
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Settlement Councillors and MSGC Executive members expressed concerns including, but not limited to: 1. Possible overexertion of Officer authority. Who is in charge of ensuring authority will not be misused by Officers? 2. High level of racism towards Indigenous persons 3. Officers unaware of Metis Settlement culture 4. Lack of consultation with Metis Settlements regarding changes to policing Some recommendations were made: 1. Body cameras to be worn by officers 2. Cultural awareness training – Metis Settlement specific 3. Additional training for new Officers 4. Experts to be brought in as required (Ie: mental health, etc.) 5. Bylaw enforcement officers required for each community. Capacity required. 6. Stats to be kept. Regular reviews to be conducted. 7. Round-the-clock policing 8. Exploration of an Aboriginal Police Force 9. Government Ministries/Communities to work together to address root causes of incarceration 10. Restorative justice to be extended to apply to adults 11. Metis Settlements must be a part of any advisory group During a conference call on April 13, 2021, with the Honourable Kaycee Madu, Minister of Justice & Solicitor General and the Honourable Rick Wilson, Minister of Indigenous Relations, Executive members were informed that Phase 1 of the RAPID initiative did roll out on April 01, 2021. MSGC Executive members re-stated the concerns previously mentioned by Settlement leaders. It was also made very clear that discussions with each individual community must take place to get their perspectives on the RAPID initiative as well as other policing concerns. The Honourable Minister of Justice & Solicitor General made assurances that if Officers go beyond their authority, they will be dealt with accordingly. Also, the additional 320 Officers (Sheriffs and Fish &Wildlife personnel) will only be called upon to assist during emergencies. First Nation, Metis, Inuit Education – On March 29, 2021, members of the Executive participated in a Conference Call with the Ministry of Education. The Ministry provided an update on the K-6 Curriculum revision. The MSGC discussed formulating a response regarding the contents of the curriculum. It was decided to get a group together ofMetis Settlement subject-matter experts to reviewandprovide recommendations for a response. Correspondence was then forwarded to the Minister of Education, Honourable Adriana LaGrange on April 23, 2021. M e s s a g e f r o m t h e T r e a s u r e r
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Grade 12 Graduates - It has been a very challenging year for everyone. The end of the school year will soon be upon us. While some in-person Grade Twelve graduations may again be modified, all graduates are to be commended for their perseverance in staying the course especially through this difficult time. Congratulations are extended to each and every student who will be graduating in 2021! M e s s a g e f r o m t h e T r e a s u r e r
Community Events: Congratulations to Miss Adelle White: Kikino In February 2021, Ms. Adelle White, took first place in a “Pink Shirt Day” contest within the Northern Lights School Division. Her design was inspired by the 7 virtues used in the Kikino School Code: Kindness, Self- control, Empathy, Respect, Conscience, Tolerance and Fairness. To congratulate Adelle and recognize her accomplishment, she was presented with a Congratulatory letter from the MSGC President as well as MSGC paraphernalia. MSGC is very pleased to acknowledge Adelle on her achievement!
Stay Safe In an effort to reduce the number of Covid (plus variant) cases in the Province, the Provincial Government has recently re-instated some previous restrictions. Hopefully, these restrictions will be successful in achieving the reduced Covid-19 Province wide infections and hospitalization rates. I would also like to thank community members, staff members and elected officials for their patience and diligence throughout this past year. Adaptation has not been easy. Hope is on the horizon for getting through this pandemic. Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions.
Take Care and Stay Safe!!
Sincerely, Sherry
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Federal Government Delivers First Budget Since 2019 Election: What does this mean for our Metis Settlements?
Also in this update: Bill-15: The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) & Federal Health Legislation: Report by Blake Desjarlais, B.A (Political Science) April 27, 2021. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Finance Minister & Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland. Tables 2021 Federal Budget. April 19 2021.
The Government of Canada has finally tabled its first budget since the October 2019 election (which resulted in a Minority Government, meaning the Liberal’s requires at least one opposition party to agree in order to pass laws and budgets). On April 19, 2021, the long-awaited budget was finally tabled in the House of Commons and voted in-favour, by the Liberals and the NDP, on Monday April 26th 2021. This budget, being one of the largest in Canadian history, will be putting into effect new programs, spending, and supports to which Canada will began implementing with partners, such as MSGC, immediately, with budget engagement work starting as early as Tuesday, April 27th 2021.
Canada’s 2021 budget is focused on implementing a Universal Child Care program, a COVID-19 economic recovery and addressing Climate Change. In addition, the federal government plans to spend more than $18 billion over the next five years to try to narrow the socio-economic gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland, originally hailing from Alberta has made history this budget, becoming Canada’s first women to ever table a federal budget in the House of Commons. She said in her budget speech that the government has made “progress in righting the historic wrongs in Canada’s relationship with Indigenous Peoples” but noted a lot of work remains to be done. MSGC has been working stead-fast with the federal government and Members of Parliament throughout this session and in a pandemic to advance Metis Settlements members interests in this budget. MSGC has fought hard to be included in this budget from appearances in the House of Commons, to providing sworn testimony in federal committee (which ultimately did recommend funding support for MSGC). Although much more needs to be done, this budget is the first of hopefully many that will benefit our communities with priorities such as infrastructure, new jobs, housing, and health. The MSGC-Canada-Alberta Tri-lateral Working group will be working diligently over the next few months to immediately begin implementation of this new budget and to identify funding amounts for our communities now that the budget has been tabled and passed. The government proposes to spend more than $6 billion for infrastructure in Indigenous communities, a top priority for MSGC, including funding for clean water projects, housing, roads and other community priorities. Our Metis Settlements will now have historic access to federal infrastructure funding with implementation work starting as early as April 27th 2021.
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MSGC meets with Honourable Bob Bratina, Chair of the Indigenous & Northern Affairs Committee.
Other Budget highlights important for our Metis Communities: • In addition to the near $6 Million-Dollars in direct-member-support funding MSGC has secured & transferred to the Metis Settlements since the pandemic began, the 2021 budget is set to provide Indigenous communities with an additional $1.2 billion this fiscal year to support our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. • The budget also promises to invest an additional $2.2 billion over five years to address the roots of the tragedy of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Bill C-15: An Act Respecting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) The Federal Government plans to legislate the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as soon as legislatively possible. As a matter of summary, on November 21, 2016, the Metis Settlements General Council Assembly unanimously passed a resolution endorsing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People in its entirety. This decision was highly anticipated following the tabling of NDP Private Members Bill C-262 (UNDRIP Legislation) in April 2016. Although the legislation passed with majority in the House of Commons it failed to get Senate approval before the October 2019 Federal election, a disappointment to many, Bill C-15 is another attempt to ensure it passes. In the same year of 2016, MSGC began working with Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister, Dr. Carolyn Bennett on the than newly established Recognition of Indigenous Rights and Self-Determination negotiation tables. Since then, MSGC and Canada have renewed our relationship by negotiating two relationship agreements: (1) Memorandum of Understanding (2017) and (2) Framework Agreement (2018), that are foundational to our new Nation-to-National relationship. This work in-part demonstrates our shared commitment to the implementation of the UN Declaration as we embark on a shared journey towards the recognition and implementation of our Metis Rights. The work of Metis people toward the true recognition and affirmation of our basic rights as Indigenous people and the true pioneers of these lands remains undone. Although we recognize that Federal UNDRIP legislation is not a “silver-bullet” solution and will need to be accompanied by real implementation and cooperation from all levels of government. It does still offer us a real start toward true partnership with Canada, beyond provincial work, and contains two worthy goals: 1. Prevention of the type of Human Rights abuses Indigenous people have experienced and to ensure they are never repeated. 2. To implement and protect our existing rights as Indigenous People. The draft stipulates that the government of Canada must “develop and implement a National Action Plan to achieve the objectives of [UNDRIP]”, MSGC looks forward to engaging on the development of the proposed National Action Plan with Canada, which if passed, requires the Minister of Crown- Indigenous Relations to report each year on any progress made on the co-developed action plan and on aligning Canada’s laws with UNDRIP.
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MSGC Executive Meets with Federal Minister for Indigenous Services, Honourable Marc Miller on priority topics, now in Budget 2021 (Metis Settlements access to Federal infrastructure support, submission of 10-year business case)
Indigenous Health Legislation: In its September 2020 Speech from t he Throne, the Government of Canada proposed to co-develop Indigenous Health Legislation with partners, including the Metis Settlements General Council (MSGC). Canada has proposed that in
addition to engaging with First Nations and Inuit, that it has heard the MSGC’s call for federal inclusion in this critical piece of legislation starting from square one. This is a much-welcomed opportunity for our communities that have been working so hard to ensure federal health access for Metis peoples. The Government of Canada has stated: The perspectives of Métis peoples will be of utmost importance in ensuring that the proposed legislative options are comprehensive and reflective of [their] unique intersectional experiences. As such, [Canada will] support your participation in this engagement process. Funding is available to support roundtable(s), and/or specific projects related to health legislation. The Federal Minister of Indigenous Services has a mandate to expedite the co-development of this distinctions-based Indigenous health legislation and introduce legislation in the winter of 2022, which means co-development is anticipated to commence in the fall of 2021. With MSGC starting work with Canada officials as early as April 26th, 2021.
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H ello Everyone/ Tansi, Spring is in the air! I hope you are all doing well and staying safe.
It is that time of year again where students are almost done their Winter courses and some of you may be completing your desired program of study. And some of you may be looking at taking some Spring courses. If you are thinking of doing so, please ensure you reach out to your local Human Resource Officer as you are required to re-apply. All new 2021-2022 MSSTI Applications & Career Investigations Report will be available April 1, 2021. For all the upcoming high school graduates, who are thinking of continuing with College or University, I encourage you to reach out to your Human Resource Officer at the Settlement Administration office. I have also included some information for you as well: MSSTI would like to provide a bit of history for those who are wondering who we are and what we do. MSSTI Central Office administers and reports a Federal Agreement known as Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Strategy (ISETS) to the eight metis settlements in Alberta. These dollars are to provide training and education to: Metis physically residing on a Settlement, or a Settlement Member on an authorized leave of absence as defined by the Metis Settlement Act, section 85. MSSTI also provides services in your Settlement such as • Career Decision Making; • Legally entitled to work in Canada • Have a SIN number prior to approval • In good standing with the previous funding with the Metis Settlement Strategic Training Initiatives Society’s program • Must require assistance to overcome existing or anticipated labour market barriers How to apply for Sponsorship: • A letter of acceptance from a training or education institution including start and end dates, course outline for the complete year, outline of all costs (include tuition, books, supplies, student fees, etc.) • Completion of Application and Career Investigation Report If you require any assistance with the above or assistance is resume writing, cover letters or applying for EI; our Human Resource Officers can assist you in many areas regarding Labour Market opportunities. There are alsoMSSTI applications, career investigations, scholarship, bursary links and further information if needed on the MSGC website. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. My number is: 780-822-4069 (OR) 780-887-1939, I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you and have a great day, • Skills Enhancement; • Job Search and; and • Employment Maintenance. Client Eligibility for Individual Sponsorships or Group Training Projects are as follows:
Dianne Desjarlais Director – MSSTI
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M etis S ettlements G eneral C ouncil
B o a r d s a n d C o m m i t t e e s
Executive Officers Board of the MSGC: President - Herb Lehr Vice-President - Roechelle Gaudet Elected Secretary - Dorothy Anderson Treasurer - Sherry Cunningham Harvesting Committee: Roechelle Gaudet - Executive Portfolio Archie Handel – BLMS Ray Supernault – EPMS Raymond Desjarlais – EMS Monica Cardinal – FLMS Dave Lamouche – GLMS Chad Cardinal – KMS Bob Ghostkeeper – PPMS Rene Cunningham – PVMS
Investment Committee Sherry Cunningham - Executive Portfolio Harold Blyan - BLMS Karen L’Hirondelle - EPMS
Consultation Committee: Roechelle Gaudet - Executive Portfolio Horace Patenaude - BLMS Ray Supernault - EPMS Raymond Desjarlais - EMS Monica Cardinal - FLMS Les Calahasen - GLMS Randy Hardy - KMS Alden Armstrong - PPMS Rene Cunningham - PVMS Health Board: Dot Anderson - Executive Portfolio Archie Handel – BLMS Delores Desjarlais - EPMS Kathy Lepine – EMS Kristen Lindsay - FLMS Edward Anderson - GLMS Lee Thom - KMS Danielle Poitras - PPMS Leeann Gauchier – PVMS Irene Zimmer - EMS Karen Telford - FLMS Art Tompkins - GLMS Dean Thompson - KMS Alden Armstrong - PPMS Ken Noskey – PVMS Alberta Foundation of Métis Settlements (Board of Directors of MSGC): Stan Delorme - BLMS Peter Patenaude - EPMS
All Councilors - EMS Travis Daniels - FLMS Ed Anderson - GLMS Randy Hardy - KMS Bob Ghostkeeper - PPMS Glen Anderson - PVMS
Settlement Sooniyaw Corporation (SSC): Herb Lehr - Executive Portfolio Horace Patenaude - BLMS Raymond Supernault - EPMS Kathy Lepine - EMS Monica Cardinal - FLMS Art Tomkins - GLMS Dean Thompson - KMS Alden Armstrong - PPMS Ken Noskey - PVMS Métis Settlements Education & Training Incentive Scholarship Society: Horace Patenaude - BLMS Raymond Supernault - EPMS Kathy Lepine - EMS Monica Cardinal - FLMS Art Tompkins - GLMS Dean Thompson - KMS Alden Armstrong - PPMS Ken Noskey – PVMS
Trilateral Negotiations: Harold Blyan - BLMS Lori Wanuch - PPMS Wayne Daniels - FLMS Ray Desjarlais - EMS
Section 35 Rights: Harold Blyan - BLMS Harry Supernault - EPMS Kathy Lepine - EMS Ed Anderson - GLMS
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A P R I L 2021 ME S S E NG E R
T H A N K Y O U V O L U N T E E R S ! Thank you community volunteers! April 18th to 24th was National Volunteer Week in Canada. We want to take this opportunity to thank volunteers from across our communities, and from across Alberta, for the hours of dedication they share to better the places where we call home. THANK YOU! MARRSI!
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We continue to work diligently in strengthening partnerships, increasing the profile of the Metis Settlements, looking at training opportunities and addressing health related issues that were identified in the Community Based Health assessment on the Metis Settlements completed February 2017.
To date various grant funded projects have been executed to begin the process of addressing priority areas identified in the assessment, the health boards vision is that in the near future our Settlements will have funding to run sustainable programs to address youth programming, mental health and addictions, senior services, etc. In 2020 grant funded programs provided employment and program delivery funds to the settlements for 8 Prevention and Addictions Coordinators: 8 part time youth workers (Caring for our Future Leaders) and 2 Mental Health and Addictions Navigators and 2 Data Interns from Elizabeth and Peavine who work out of the MSGC office. Health Surveillance Analyst Interns/Training/work opportunity- 2 interns Goal of this initiative is that the Metis Settlements will one day have their own database to house Metis Settlement specific health data. Although numerous studies on aboriginal health exist, few studies differentiate between Metis’, Inuit and First Nations Populations. The studies that focus on Metis health are national or provincial in scope, with no specific studies that focus on the Alberta Metis Settlements populations’ overall health status. • A Data Accord would be a partnership between Alberta Health and the Metis Settlements • The Metis Settlements would have ownership and control to their own Metis Settlement Specific Data and Alberta Health would do the collecting. • With the Metis Settlements approval and consent, Alberta Health would mark trends in our communities. • Based on the data collected Alberta Health would advise Alberta Health Services to create culturally appropriate programs and services to the Communities. On February 27,2020, the results were presented to an All Council Assembly and approval was received to proceed with entering into a Health Data Accord with Alberta Health. May 1,2020 a draft Health Data Accord Agreement was forwarded to the Settlements for review and approval and we received approval from 5 Settlements, unfortunately due to COVID-19 this initiative has been delayed. Jennifer and Chelsea are currently also working and reviewing the last years census data and making recommendations on changes that should occur to ensure that data aligns and is comparable to Alberta Health Services and the Provinces census. Status of Youth Report: In 2018, the Students Commission of Canada and the Youth Secretariat partnered to develop Canada’s first ever Youth Policy, in the policy, the Government of Canada committed to publish a report highlighting the State of Youth in Canada. This and other engagement sessions with youth will help develop Canada’s first State of Youth Report.
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In December 2020 the MSGC received an invitation to coordinate youth to participate in 40-60 minute online focus groups style sessions through virtual engagement platform Zoom to discuss one of the six youth-identified priorities. -Environment and Climate Actions -Leadership and Impact - Employment -Innovation, skills and Learning -Truth and Reconciliation - Health This engagement session was coordinated by Chelsea and occurred on January 26,2021, unfortunately due to the short time frame and other commitments that came up, some of the youth that originally committed to participating were unable to join, however we did have 4 youth participate in total from 3 different settlements. It is our hope that one day the Metis Settlement Youth will be invited to actively participate in important initiatives such as this. Addictions and Mental Health Navigator : Grant funded initiative with a Western and Eastern Addictions and Mental Health Navigator. Objectives of grant: • Establishment of culturally appropriate prevention and intervention programming aimed to reducing and preventing Drug and Alcohol use among MS members. • Address lack of information and service gaps to improve access to services • Facilitate collaborative service planning, linkage and referral facilitation for any individual, family who requests assistance with mental health or substance concerns. • Serve as information resource for community and/or service providers • Assist communities in public awareness campaigns “Raise our Voice against Stigma”
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Promoting Resilient Youth – Cultural Camp - Objectives of grant: Support Youth in developing a strong sense of cultural connection and identity, through connection to the land, elders and knowledge helpers; Although we were approved initially for funding for this year, we unfortunately had to postpone due to COVID-19 and associated restrictions, I am currently in discussion with funding agency for possible funding for the upcoming fiscal year. Caring for our Future Leaders: over 2 years Funding received from the Indigenous Health Innovation and Cancer Prevention Initiative, program dollars for this initiative was distributed to the Settlements to each have a part time youth worker, unfortunately funding for this program is due to expire on March 31,2021. Objectives of grant: to address the issue of unhealthy and sedentary lifestyles of our youth as
identified in our community health assessment. • Smoking cessation programs adults/youth • Promotion of how to reduce sedentary behaviour • Recreational, leadership and skill development programs • Promoting healthy lifestyle choices.
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VACCINE PRODUCTS What vaccines are available and how do they work? The first COVID-19 vaccines available in Alberta are the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Both are mRNA vaccines. An mRNA vaccine is a new type of vaccine that prepares the body to defend and protect itself against infectious diseases – in this case, COVID-19. The mRNA vaccine teaches your body’s cells to make a viral protein that triggers the immune response. When a person is given the vaccine, their body’s cells will read the instructions from the mRNA and produce the harmless “spike protein” which is the same protein that is normally found on the surface of the COVID-19 virus, but not found in our bodies. The person’s immune system will then treat this spike protein as foreign and produce defenses to fight against it. These defenses are then ready to protect the person against the real COVID-19 virus. Why does the mRNA vaccine need to be frozen? The mRNA vaccine is stored in frozen or ultra-frozen temperatures because mRNA is more likely to break down above freezing temperatures. To ensure the vaccine will work the best when it is administered, the vaccine is stored frozen before ready to use. The manufacturers continue to study the stability of the vaccine in various storage conditions and the temperature guidelines for storage may change in the future. VACCINE EFFECTIVENESS How effective is the vaccine? The initial Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines available for use in Canada have been demonstrated to be over 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 disease in clinical trials. What is the difference between vaccine efficacy and effectiveness? ‘Vaccine efficacy’ is the term used to describe the percentage reduction of disease in an immunized group of people compared to an unimmunized group in clinical trials where the study conditions are controlled. It does not describe whether an immunized person can still transmit the virus. ‘Vaccine effectiveness’ is the term used to describe how the vaccine works in the real world where conditions cannot be controlled, such as previous exposure to the virus, the immune status of the individual, and if people receive both doses that are required. Vaccine effectiveness will continue to be evaluated as the COVID-19 immunization program is rolled out. The vaccines are reported to have different efficacy rates against COVID-19. Is a vaccine with a higher reported vaccine efficacy better than a vaccine with a lower efficacy? It may seem that 90% is better than 80% when looking at vaccine efficacy, however, with vaccines it is not that simple. Efficacy does not mean effectiveness. Efficacy refers to the difference in infection rates between a group that got a vaccine, and a group that did not. If there’s no difference between the two groups, efficacy is zero. Differences in efficacy numbers may be because the vaccines were tested in different locations, at different phases of the pandemic, against different strains and over different schedules (e.g., one vs. two doses over different timeframes). What is important to know is the COVID-19 vaccines are demonstrating a reduction in hospitalizations, deaths and severe disease. Health Canada would not approve a vaccine if they determined it to be insufficient to protect against disease. Will the vaccine work against the COVID-19 variant strains? Mutations in the COVID-19 virus over time are expected, and can cause variant strains of COVID-19 to emerge. At this time, there are several variant strains circulating around the world, and vaccine manufacturers are conducting studies to determine whether current vaccines work against these variants. We are watching this information closely.
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