GN Community Updates

Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw Nations
Executive Assistant & Communications Officer
jessieh@gwanakplan.org
Phone: (250) 949-8343
Cell: (250) 902-8221

Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw Nations
Executive Assistant & Communications Officer
jessieh@gwanakplan.org
Phone: (250) 949-8343
Cell: (250) 902-8221

Today we wrapped up a two-day workshop with Chris Maracle on how to do a housing strategy. The reason we had this workshop is because, as we all know, housing is such a big issue in our community (lack of houses, lots of arrears, mould issues, etc. etc.) and it's clear we need a plan to address all of these things. Recently we were promised $60,000 ($20,000 for inspections, $40,000 for planning) from AANDC (Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada) to come up with a housing strategy. We haven't received this funding yet, and this workshop was a way for us to learn about how to do a housing strategy so we do our own in the best possible way and make the best use of those funds.

As you may remember from the blog post a couple of weeks ago, the Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw Nations recently signed an agreement for the District of Port Hardy to provide animal control on the Tsulquate Reserve.

Today I got to go along for the ride as Walter Kehoe, Animal Control Officer, did his first official patrol of Tsulquate! 

Here is a picture of Walter with a dog he picked up near the Tsulquate Wastewater Treatment Plant. When he's doing the patrols he will mainly focus on picking up stray dogs. Aries Security, the same company that does security patrols around town (including Tsulquate), does the animal control, which is why Walter's Jeep and jacket say Aries Security.

Once Walter has picked up a stray dog, he will take it to the pound, out on the Coal Harbour road beside the vet's. Here is a picture of Walter convincing the dog to go into the pound :) They do everything they can to treat the animals kindly and humanely, including sending strays that aren't adopted to Victoria for adoption whenever possible (instead of killing them).

They can only take a handful of dogs at a time. The pound will hold dogs for 72 hours for the owner to claim them. If the dogs aren't claimed they go up for adoption or possible euthenasia.

Each dog has it's own big pen, with part of the pen getting natural light and fresh air. The dogs that were already at the pound seemed very happy and well treated, and were really excited when we showed up!

This guy was pretty hungry, and was eventually lured into his pen with a bowl of food. 

Here is where stray cats go at the pound. There were no cats there today.

After dropping the first dog off at the pound, we went back to Tsulquate to carry on the patrol. A couple people said hello and pointed out some of the strays. We picked up this dog, and Walter took it to the pound as well.

If your dog gets picked up and taken to the pound you have 72 hours to go out there and claim it. The fine is $50 for a first offence, and it goes up after that. There is a Facebook Page (Port - Hardy AnimalShelter) where they post photos of dogs that are picked up so their owners can be identified.

So there you have it, a day in the life of an animal control officer! We will continue to update you on how our new animal control is working. Please call the Band Office with questions, and say Hello to Walter when you see him :) He is following a contract that the Band has signed, so if you have complaints please submit them in writing at the Band Office to Les Taylor, Walter and 

others doing the patrols are required to follow the contract.

- Jessie Hemphill

Executive Assistant & Communications Officer

On May 31, 2012, the Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw Trust Committee will be hosting an All-Band Trust Meeting at the Wakas Hall from 4:00 - 7:30 p.m.

This meeting will be a great chance to learn about what the Trust Committee and project sub-committees have been up to, and to vote on two great projects. There will also be dinner and door prizes!

At this meeting GN community members will learn about the new Trust Committee Investment Strategy, the 2011 audit, and registered band members will vote on two proposals: culture and youth sports & recreation.

No new proposals are being considered yet. The culture and youth sports & recreation proposals are essentially continuations of the previous grants. The Trust Committee is working hard on establishing guidelines for future proposals so that the Trust won't ever be depleted.

Trust All-Band meetings are open to all GN community members. Voting is for registered band members only.

See the attached documents for the full agenda, voting process, and the two proposals under consideration.

If you have any questions please get in touch with Robert Walkus, Trust Committee Chair, at (250) 230-2155

You can always read about the Trust on the website

Agenda

Voting Process

Culture Proposal

Youth Sports & Recreation Proposal

The Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw Trust Committee is holding an all-band meeting at the Wakas Hall on May 31, 2012. 

We are inviting Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw community members to submit bids for catering this meeting (soup, bannock, fruit, pre-dinner snacks and beverages) for 300 people. 

Successful bidders must have FoodSafe and previous experience catering for groups of this size.

Bids should include the following information:

·    Your name & contact information

·    A description of your previous catering experience

·    A proposed menu

·    A budget

 The budget must include:

·    Cost of food and all required supplies, including dishes

·    Cost of labour to prepare, serve, and clean-up

 
Please note that the winning bidder will receive 50% of the catering fee before the meeting, and 50% afterwards, once clean-up is complete and all receipts are turned in.

Please leave bids at the front desk of the Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw Band Office, addressed to:

 Robert Walkus, Trust Chair

 Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Trust Committee

(250) 230-2155

POSTING CLOSES ON MAY 16^th, 2012 AT 4:00 PM

Dogs have been a major issue in our community for a long time. Every once in a while the dog population gets so large that the dogs form packs, which can be dangerous. Dogs have attacked little kids at our school. Aggressive dogs have attacked people trying to deliver newsletters or walk home.

As of May 1, 2012, we will finally deal with this problem effectively!

The District of Port Hardy has signed an agreement to provide animal control services to the Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw Nations. Aries Security is the same company that does the animal control, so when they do their security patrols of Tsulquate, they will also be on the lookout for stray dogs.

So, community members, these are the new rules for ALL dogs on-reserve:

• They must be licensed (go to Port Hardy Municipal Hall, next to the Civic Centre. It's $50 per dog per year)
• They must be spayed or neutered, unless you get a business license to breed ($200 per year for the license)
• They must be tied up, behind a fence, or on a leash at all times. Any dogs (including puppies!) running around could be picked up and taken to the pound

If you think your dog is impounded:

• Check out Port-Hardy AnimalShelter on Facebook to see if they have your dog
• You have 72 hours (not including holidays or weekends) to retreive your dog from the pound, which is out by the vet on the Coal Harbour road
• You will have to pay a fine, which increases the more times your dog is impounded

According to the contract, here are the services we will receive and also what we are responsible for doing:

2. The District agrees as follows:

2.1 to catch and impound dogs within the boundaries of the Reserve that are found

 to be at large;

2.2 to patrol Gwa’sala-Nakwaxda’xw Reserve (the “Reserve”) a minimum of three

patrols in each calendar week;

2.3 to respond as needed to calls for patrol;

2.4 impound cats that are delivered to the District’s Animal Shelter or delivered to

the Animal Control Officer during his patrol;

2.5 provide a written activity report on a monthly basis, detailing dates and times of

patrols.

3. The Council agrees as follows:

3.1 the Council shall, for the duration of this Agreement, maintain public liability

insurance against any and all claims made with respect to the performance of

the District within the lands under the control of the Gwa’sala-Nakwaxda’xw

First Nation;

3.2 the Council shall enact a Band Council Resolution pertaining to animal control

and said Resolution is attached hereto as Schedule “A”;

3.3 the Council shall initiate an animal care educational program for all members of

the Reserve;

3.4 the Council shall require that all dogs resident on the Reserve be licensed;

3.5  the Council shall appoint a primary contact(s) to liaison with the Animal Control

Officer and to request extra patrols;

3.6 the Council shall be responsible for all veterinary expenses for treatment or

euthanasia of animals, such treatment provided at the discretion of the Animal

Control Officer but excluding spaying and neutering.

4. The Animal Control Officer shall not respond to animal noise complaints.

5. It is understood that the Animal Control Officer does not have the authority of the

SPCA for purposes of animal cruelty investigations.

Housing Committee Update

We have been having some really good support coming from YOU, the community in regards to our housing situation. Our Band manager (Les) will be taking part in our next meeting, which will be in-camera. We are hoping to get him in at least once a month to give his input & help in regards to housing. 

Leo Lawson is originally from Bella Bella and has worked in their community for a number of years. He has also worked  for the Kwakiutl band he  will be our guest speaker for next week's meeting that will be open to the community. He specializes in  Capital Funding, Housing, & Infrastructure. I encourage all to come out to next week's meeting which will be held @ our family unit starting @ 6pm, Thursday April 12th

I'm requesting funding for our Housing Committee's needs. Eddie Charlie has agreed to build us an office on the side of our family unit (10' x 12'). Right now we are renting a laptop, with the expenses of all the ink for our (myself & Danny) printer coming out of pocket. Our Treaty Advisory Committee (TAC) has almost the same members and at the last TAC meeting I received a big red binder of information. At our last housing committee meeting, I found myself passing around my binder, so everyone could see the housing list. I will be sure to fill you in on the outcome of my funding request.

To touch on a couple of our committee concerns that we have been discussing, the first one is our ARREARS, the second is HOUSING LIST. We will be talking about these concerns in the weeks to come.

There have been some really good ideas we need to put on paper & address to C&C. I assure you these ideas having a really good chance of becoming reality. Not everyone is going to like all of the ideas but we have the best intentions for our Community and hope that together we can find solutions that work for everyone.

Thank You

Ricky Coon ( Chair )