Governance Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Transcription

1 Governance Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Chief Patrick Michell Kanaka Bar Indian Band Thursday May 4, 2017 at 12:30 pm The Law Courts Inn (Vancouver) 800 Smithe Street 4 th Floor Kanaka s Website:

2 What is Governance? Common Themes Somebody at the Top Monarchs, Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Premiers What about Warlords, Dictators and people like Hitler? House of Lords, Commons and Senate CEO s and Managers? Academic Institutions & Municipalities Teachers and Parents Rules and practices that regulate life Might makes Right and the Golden Rule The 10 Commandments Bible (2000 Years) and Quran (1400) Examples of all the universal holy books Magnacarta (Britain 1215) American Bill of Rights (USA 1776) British Colonies (BC 1858) Canadian Constitution (1867 & 1982) Legislated statutes and regulations and policy Corporate Bylaws Is governance a static or a living thing?

3 Governance Challenge First Nation Diversity 633+ Bands in Canada 203+ Bands in BC 27 Nations in BC Each with similar but also different stories of governance. Therefore: No one size fits all Matrilineal or Patrilineal Hereditary or elections Community based model or centralized Nation body Where is the writing?

4 Nlaka'pamux Governance Yesterday 7000 Years of Governance: handed down orally through daily interaction then came change! June 20,1808 Simon Fraser arrives at Lytton and says: They have a great many Chiefs KOKPI SYSTEM: leadership though knowledge, skill set, charisma or oration. What is a Chief? What is a Kokpi?

5 Nlaka'pamux (The People Here) Couteau Tribe or The Thompson Indians? Nlaka'pamux Nation Lands T'eqt''aqtn' Traditional Territory The crossing place

6 Nlaka pamux Contact and Colonization Time Immemorial then.change! 1808: first contact with Simon Fraser Nlaka'pamux Name change) 1846: Colony of Vancouver Island 1857: Fraser Canyon War starts Nlaka'pamux Unification occurs 1858: Colony of British Columbia Kanaka Name Change 1867: Canada s Confederation (British North America Act) 1871: BC joins Canada (Article 13 Terms of the Union ) 1876: First Consolidated Indian Act Created Bands and Chief and Council 1967: Canada s 100 th birthday Lament for Confederation Where are we now? 1972: Calder decision 1982: Constitution Act of Canada Section : Sparrow decision Natural Resources Agreement 1997: Delgamuukw 2003: Nlaka pamux Writ in BCSC Seeking declaration of Title 2014: Tsilhqot'in decision 2016: UNDRIP 2017: Canada s 150 Birthday

7 Nlaka'pamux Governance Colonisation froze us time Years of Subjugation, Oppression and Denial Indian Act 69 Nlaka pamux communities now 15 Bands Indian Act defines Chief and Councils Jurisdiction defined and limited to reserve boundaries Reserve lands Kanaka has 6 Reserves (700 acres) from which 250 were appropriated for public rights of way. Residential Schools Closed in 1976 (no language, disconnection from land, family and traditional knowledge transfer) Court case after Court case Indigenous Title and Rights (still denied?) We never evolved into a Nation state. Equates to a 1970 s Status Quo Anger Despair Frustration Dependency Suicide, addictions and all those other social ills! How are we supposed to act as a Government today then?

8 Kanaka Governance Like the old ways at the community level Change the Status Quo Looked at what was happening around us (awareness) Began making small scale changes in the way we lived (housing, offices, administration, relationships etc.) Chose one major project for advancement (learning opportunity) Began Codifying (writing down) laws, and policy and plans. Create both a Vison and Goals Energy Food Employment Financial And the foundational policy and infrastructure to make it last. Community Vision Statement: return to a self-sufficient, sustainable and vibrant community.

9 Birth of the idea for a renewable energy project Water licence for Kwoiek Creek EAO Certificate Membership Code Election Code Governance Code Regular Council & Community Meetings Adoption of FAL and Certified by FMB CEBF Lot-16 Acquired Kwoiek s Refinancing LUP Bi-annual Planning Process Website Another CEO 7 th Gen Separate Economic Development Arm CEDP New Fee- Simple Properties CWPP HR Policy Wellness Plan EPA acquired from BC Hydro Hired a SFU Research Intern Hired a CEO ECDA Organization & Situational Analysis Kwoiek Creek Project achieved C.O.D FCRSA Xyntax Health Department New Council Housing Program Organization Chart Lands Department Siwash Partnership Solar Pilot Project Food Selfsufficiency Pilot Project Territorial Lands Strategy New Sub-division Development

10 Kanaka s Current organizational chart Separating: Business and politics Social from Profit Decision making from implementation

11 Organizational chart (holistically)

12 At Kanaka Governance is. Transparency, Accountability and Recall Snip from our Summer Plan 2017 all online Website updated weekly All plans and strategies are online Bi-annual reports online (last 6 months and next 6 months) Meeting with membership every 3 rd Thursday starting at 5:00 A verbal 30 day look back & next 30 days Last agenda item is recall Office open Monday to Friday with a toll free number Council and managers available for one on one AGM for band and all corporations. Membership have telephone and access to community lawyers and accountants. These professionals also come to the office. Information is Power and Kanaka gives it away for free!

13 Governance Today Challenges Everywhere for Everyone Focus distractions, curveballs and spontaneity Decisions live with success and learn from failure (on small scale) Work/Life Balance Family, children and self Jobs and Economy Wealth transfer 4 Deficiencies Technology Time Money People

14 What Kanaka is working on.overwhelming! Still working on the dependency mindset (learning/unlearning) Kinder Morgan Pipeline Highland Valley Mine CNR and CPR BC Hydro Highways Revenue Sharing with Province Addressing housing conditions Reducing food and energy imports Establishing own source revenues Decreasing Federal Transfer Dollars Climate Change Wild Salmon disappearing Forest Fires Heat Erosion and Sediment Controls Water Quantity and Quantity Ecosystems are changing Mapping the past and present land and resource uses Wind, Solar and hydro projects Reintroducing Agriculture

15 What is Governance Then? At Kanaka Governance is: To Produce: 1. Leadership 2. Community 3. Balance 4. Decision Making What is the Priority? Recovery Transparency and Accountability Stability and Fairness Predictable quality of life All of which is sustainable for our future generations. What we do to the land, we do to ourselves!

16 Governance of Tomorrow What's Next for Kanaka Then? Continue Self-sufficiency Goals and Foundational infrastructure for the small scale economies of tomorrow! Energy Food Employment Financial Plus creating the documents and processes that guide us today but remain flexible enough to adapt to the needs of tomorrow. What needs to be written next?

17 Governance for the Rest of the World Leaders that Lead Same old Same old or. That 1% thing growing inequity creating more marginalized people Import/Export market uncertainty Government Instability Ecosystem, species and population shifts Prices going up while everyone's revenues go down.i m thinking first steps.transition End the go big or go home mentality Promote Small scale diversity Reduce high and lows Promote return to regional based economies good neighbors, sharing and cutting back on the wants Reduce dependency on the global market (consider economic leakage and produce that what we need) Motivate and subsidize harm reduction and harm reversal programs and sustainable industries OR (next slide please)

18 The Fall of 2017 Let them Eat Cake? The current governance messaging out there is scary. Are our Leaders in denial? When a government does not listen nor make the changes that were promised, what can we, as the population, do? Give Up Accept return of the might makes right and the golden rule Recall (the current ABC campaign) Protest Revolution

19 Governance and Climate Change There is no planet B Its real and what's happening will increase in: Frequency intensity and duration creating both a global slow down and ultimately a systemic shut down of our economies due to the now overwhelming crises. We are all in the same boat! Climate Change Adaption What we have done we can undo.

20 Governance is Entities Working Together First Nations Federal Government Provincial Government Areas of Commonality Governance Lawyers & Financial Institutions We all need each other We all need certainty We all have future generations Developers What are you advising your clients? Thank You Questions?