Looking forward with the Chief

/0 Comments/in /by

After the first few weeks of 2016, Chief Scott Martin sits at his desk, surrounded by stacks of papers. At the very top is a sheet signed on Jan. 18.  It finalizes the creation of the trust fund – the final step in the settlement agreement.

The official creation of this fund is the last piece of the puzzle, and Chief Martin feels good about it –  nothing was overlooked.

“[There’s] a lot of happy people,” he said. “It was a long process.”

The fund will hold the per capita distribution (PCD) funds for the 793 minors who are eligible to withdraw their portion once they turn 18. It will also hold the funds for the 431 band members that have not applied yet. They have five years to do so.

With this completed, focus can now shift to other projects and priorities

“We intend to create more employment for the community,” Chief Martin said.

A lot of interesting options are being considered, including partnerships with investors on a medicinal marijuana facility. Chief Martin was approached at the start of the year about creating a proposal. Discussions will continue. It will require a lot of work, but it has the potential to generate revenue, and jobs.

Another potential project is the gas station. As the planning work is being done, the vision is becoming clearer. The goal would be for it to be more than just fuel pumps. An attached strip mall is being considered. A seafood restaurant is also under consideration.

“There’s about 2 million tourists that go through the highway every year,” Chief Martin said.

The LMG has already identified willing investors. 

Chief Martin also confirmed that the election term will definitely not be changed this election. Changing to four-year terms can be done with an order from Chief and Council, after two public consultations. But he doesn’t want to rush it.

“I’d rather give them more time,” he said.

However, the last 18 months saw a lot of progress.

“Coming into a 20 million dollar deficit, [with] old files that were never resolved – we resolved a lot of them.”

The result was stability in the eyes of the Federal Government. The LMG was released from the Management Action Plan (MAP), which has re-opened doors.

Now, with access to Ministerial Loan Guarantees again, the LMG intends to work toward returning to the building capacity of as much as 20 homes a year.

Working with the new provincial and federal governments is looking good in a variety of ways. Both have expressed interest in exploring how they can help.

This year will also see results and progress from ongoing projects, including the fishing quota allocation to PEI, and completing agreements involving the wind farm.

“It looks promising for the future,” Chief Martin said. “We’re starting to go forward.”

Collecting Oral History

/0 Comments/in /by

It all started by gathering stories about the Restigouche river.

Sailor Lloyd Jacques was interviewing community members, when everyone at the GMRC realized the importance of what was being learned.

“We all got interested in the history our elders had,” Jacques said.

Jacques and Charlene LaBillois are now conducting interviews in Listuguj, Eel River Bar, and Pabineau about the river, land, and resource use. Interviews are planned in Listuguj during the first weeks of February, but they are flexible.

They want to know what people remember, and what are some of the biggest changes people have seen. Jacques said he has some outline questions, but he prefers the interviews be conversational. All information is welcomed. It could help projects in the future.

“Based on the history given orally, we get to pinpoint where in time things started to change, and investigate it further,” Jacques said.

They’ve already learned about erosion of the river banks, the increase in eel grass, and the new arrival of snow geese.

Changes in people’s relationships to the water and land is also a focus. Jacques enjoyed learning about the reality of “living off the land” – a term often exaggerated by Hollywood and pop culture.

Large portions of the community have heavily relied on fishing, hunting, and following the cycles of nature, as recent as 20 years ago. But, Jacques says, it was in a more “modernized way.”

“It still exists [today],” he said. “But not to the extent that it did back in the 80’s and 90’s.”

Jacques managed to interview his grandfather before he passed away, and learned of how the community changed during his lifetime.

He was told that 20 years ago, driving down the road in the spring, you would see everyone out sewing their fishing nets. 50 years ago, kids would go down to the beach to fish after school. They swam in the river then, and played in the mud.

People enjoyed the interviewing process, even though they thought they had nothing to share, at first.

“For years they were taught that their knowledge isn’t good,” Jacques said. “But their knowledge is good because they’ve lived off the land most of their lives and they witnessed how it was used.”

Interviews in Listuguj will be taking place during the first part of February. If you have anything to share, please contact Sailor Lloyd Jacques or Charlene LaBillois at the GMRC at (418) 788-3017.

Listuguj Mi'gmaq Government's new snowblower

New Snowblower

/0 Comments/in /by

Capital Works has purchased a new snowblower that will make cleaning the streets faster, and cheaper.

Two winters ago, there was a record snowfall in the area. Municipal budgets all around the area were strained by the added burden. This was part of the reason the funds to purchase a new snowblower were approved.

Listuguj had to outsource snow-blowing to a contract in previous years. It would cost  approximately $3,000 each time.

The contractor was need 7 to 10 times last year, said Jody Mitchell, the Director of Capital and Infrastructure.

The snowblower has already been used twice this year, during this relatively mild winter.