Introducing LMG’s new CEO – Bassem Abdrabou

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The Listuguj Mi’gmaq Government is pleased to announce the acquisition of the new Chief Executive Officer, Bassem Abdrabou. Abdrabou has taken on the role officially as of June 31st this year.

Abdrabou has a very impressive repertoire of education and work experience. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering, as well as a Master’s Degree in Building Engineering and Construction Management.

He began his career with the Listuguj Mi’gmaq Government in 2017 in the Capital and Infrastructure Directorate and has managed more than a hundred million dollars worth of projects in Listuguj. He has worked hard over the years to gain the trust of funders and offered his expertise in all major projects in the community.

Abdrabou feels there are a lot of opportunities for improvement and growth while working in Listuguj. He has worked with several private sectors and international organizations in the past but states it is rewarding to see the beneficial effect on the community directly. He said, “I believe the success stories we have in Capital could be replicated in all LMG. I can work hand-in-hand with the directors and support them, help them achieve their goals, and improve all the services.”

His plans as the new CEO are to ensure that all the services available in the Capital Directorate are brought above the National Standard, more economic development in the community, and to assist in providing all the needs required from housing to health care in Listuguj.

Abdrabou will also continue to maintain the role of Interim Director of the Capital and Infrastructure Directorate for the time being.

By Ann Marie Jacques

Chief’s Corner with Chief Scott Martin – August 2023

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At the end of July, I was presented with a traditional headdress made by Claudia Gray, Pernell Wysote, and Oakley Rain Wysote Gray. I would like to thank them for this kind gesture, and for all the hard work that went into making it. With Summer coming to an end and the Fall months approaching, just a reminder to please be considerate of students returning to school in the community. On behalf of Chief and Council, we hope you all had a memorable Summer with your family and friends.

Mi’gmawei Mawio’mi Secretariat

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The Mi’gmawei Mawio’mi Secretariat’s mission to gather, engage, and inform the people of Gespe’gewa’gi. We are dedicated to providing you with relevant information to keep you informed and engaged in the affairs of our community and ensure that you are involved in every step of our Nation’s development in Gespe’gewa’gi.

To further facilitate communication and engagement, we have established a dedicated email address that serves as a direct line of communication between you and the Secretariat. We encourage you to contact us at stayconnected@migmawei.ca with your inquiries, feedback, and suggestions. We are here to listen and respond to your needs.

As part of our commitment to transparency and keeping you well-informed, we will regularly publish public documentation such as press/news releases, Gespisig, annual reports and Gnuataqan. These public releases highlight important developments, achievements, and announcements within our community. You can find the information on our website, ensuring you are updated with the latest happenings in Gespe’gewa’gi.

Join Our Team! At the MMS, we are always seeking new, fresh perspectives and talents to join our team. We are currently establishing our resume bank and see you contributing your unique skills and ideas to our communication efforts. Whether you have experience in public relations, content creation, administration, governance, environment, territory stewardship, management, social media management, or community outreach, we welcome your expertise. Together, we can create effective communication strategies that resonate with our community members and promote meaningful engagement.

If you are interested in joining our team, please submit your interest and resume at resume@migmawei.ca. We look forward to hearing from you and exploring the possibilities of working together to serve the Citizens of Gespe’gewa’gi.

Our new website www.migmawei.ca will soon be available and be sure to visit regularly for the latest news, press releases, and updates. Together, we can build a stronger, more informed, and more connected community.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact us at stayconnected@migmawei.ca. Your input is invaluable to us as we work towards our shared vision for Gespe’gewa’gi.

By Chastity Mitchell

CCP’s Youth Art Gala Night

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With great success the CCP Team hosted the Listuguj Youth Art Gala on Monday, August 21, 2023.

Over 100 art pieces and essay submission were showcased, all thanks to the insightful and beautiful minds of our Listuguj youth.

Wela’lioq to the 125+ people who took time out of their busy schedules to come and support our youth and CCP Planning in Listuguj. It was a blast to share experiences with you!

I would specifically like to acknowledge the Art Gala preparation team (see picture)– Alicia Simon, Tamara Jacques, Felicia Mitchell, Kayla Isaac and Jasmyn Nicholson. Your hard work made all the difference!

As well as our much-appreciated volunteers, Yasmine Isaac, Casey Metallic, James Simon and Camden Metallic.

Also, our event would not have been possible without the participation from the following.

LMG Economic Development Unit

Listuguj Community Development Centre

LMG Communications Department

CHRQ Radio

FM Sounds & CJRZ Radio

JB Toys & Novelty

Decoration Services from Rose Metallic

Amelia Rioux, Emma Metallic & Hailey Swasson (Kid Activity Supervisors)

Zoe’s Bakery

Christine Desjardins (Caterer)

Ismael Lavallee (Facepainting)

Don Bernard (Magic Show)

Xpress Printing

Welteg

This event sprouted from a beautiful idea from CCP Assistant Coordinator, Alicia Simon. Let’s keep up the good work! Community planning is important – especially for our future generations.

Wela’lioq m’set wen!

  • Dawn Germain-Metallic, CCP Coordinator for Listuguj

Education Summer Students

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The Listuguj Education Directorate is grateful to the post-secondary students who joined our team this summer. We’re proud of the work they accomplished and want to introduce them to you. We sat down with each summer student to learn more about how their summers went.

We first spoke with Hailey Swasson who started her summer as an educational assistant at the Alaqsite’w Gitpu School. Throughout the summer, she assisted our coordinators with the Mi’gmaq Language Camp and Sports & Recreation Camp. Hailey is currently studying art at the University of New Brunswick and wants to pursue an education degree after completing her current program. “Working here honestly allowed me to have a whole different point of view on school. Before, it was really hard getting into it, but as I started working with the children at the school, seeing how much they appreciated me […] really inspired me to go back and get that degree, come back to the community and help them,” Hailey shared. One of her favourite experiences was participating in the school’s talent show with her group of Grade 5 students. Hailey shared that she used to be too shy to participate in talent shows as a child, so helping her students choreograph a dance and perform it with them was a rewarding experience for her. Well done, Hailey!

Amelia Rioux also joined our team as an educational assistant and summer camp counsellor. She is currently studying kinesiology at Holland College. Amelia is interested in becoming a physical education teacher, but with a diploma in kinesiology, she can explore many other career paths within the healthcare system. Amelia has been playing sports since she was two years old and has just finished her first year of college-level soccer and basketball. After a summer of working with our youth, Amelia is returning to school motivated and confident that she chose the right field. She has had an incredible summer – even competing in the North American Indigenous Games in Halifax! She shared with us some of her favourite moments from this work experience: “I loved feeling like a gym teacher, Tyler and Jen would let me run the class sometimes. Working with the younger ones and seeing their minds blown when we do something new with them. Being able how to teach kids how to play soccer, when they didn’t even know that they could do that or play like that.”

Ivy Grenier is a talented photographer and artist who joined our communications team this summer. She recently graduated from the Photography/Videography program at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design (NBCCD) and is returning to NBCCD in their Advanced Studio Practice program. As Communications Assistant, Ivy took photos at our end-of-year events and summer camp activities. “Taking photos at prom and graduation has helped me overcome my anxieties in talking to people/asking others if I can take their photo. As well as helping me focus on the important details of the event/day. Taking photos during sports camp has helped me learn the right settings to better capture quick movements during unpredictable, fast-paced games.” Ivy also worked on building our collection of stock images that will be used in future social media posts. Thank you, Ivy, for capturing every beautiful and important moment, from prom to graduation and all the summer fun in between.

Thank you again for all your hard work, Hailey, Amelia, and Ivy! It was a pleasure having you on our team. We wish you all the best in your studies and careers. As you return to school, know that everyone at the Listuguj Education Directorate is cheering you on!

By the Listuguj Education Directorate

A BACK-TO-SCHOOL SAFETY MESSAGE FROM THE LISTUGUJ POLICE DEPARTMENT 

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The Listuguj Police Department would like to remind the public that School Zone speed limits will resume as of the morning of September 5, 2023 in the designated locations. (Caplin Road in front of the AGS, Riverside East in front of the Education Complex, and Pacific Drive from LMDC to the Daycare). 

Also, please ensure the safety of students getting on and off the bus by always obeying the signals of the School Bus.  Failure to respect the school bus signals can result in public injury and an infraction ticket being issued.

Example of Infractions: 

Speeding in a School Zone: 

[Example if you are doing 50km/hr in a posted 30km/hr School Zone], Section 329 of the HSC = $200.00 fine and 3 points from your driver’s license. 

Failure to Stop for a School bus while Red flashing signals are activated and stop signal: 

Section 460 of the HSC = $313.00 and 9 points from your driver’s license. 

The LPD staff would also like to wish all the students a safe and happy return to school, we hope you have an awesome year! 

Wela’lioq 

Chief of Police Peter Arsenault 

Listuguj Police Department 

We appreciate the public’s co-operation, as this is for the safety of our community and children. 

Listuguj Pow Wow

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Rain or shine, the spirit of Listuguj Powwow shines bright. Together, we’ve proven that nothing can dampen the spirit of our powwow family.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to our vendors for their dedication and determination in serving our visitors, despite the challenging conditions. Your creativity and commitment truly shined this weekend!

Thank you to all of our guests for braving the wet and muddy conditions to come out and support our vendors, dancers, and drummers.

To all the incredible Powwow Family, thank you for bringing your dance talent and song into the Arena. You guys ARE the powwow ❤

Special thanks to our elders Rose Ann Martin and Michael Martin for the Sunrise Ceremony.

To our firekeepers John Paul Lavigne, Tim Adams, and Gullege Isaac.

To our grounds keeper John Paul Lavigne for all his hardwork.

To our volunteers who were here daily leading up to the event.

To Chief Scott Martin and Council.

To our Golden Age headdancers Chris Sanipass and Rebecca Sanipass, our Youth headdancers Jacob Bernard and Honour Young-Stephens, and last but not least our head dancers Owen Mayo and Kwena Boivin.

To Our Host Drum Crazy Spirit

To our Guest drum Wabanaki Confederacy

To our Emcee Trevor Gould

To our Arena Director Christian Barnaby

To our Drum Director Joshua Dedam

To our sound Director Shamu Martin

To Ronnie Swasson Moffat for keeping our grass upkept.

To BlackBear cadets for always being happy to volunteer.

Special thanks to those who directed traffic and parking, the sanitary and garbage team, the runners and golf card Driver.

Huge thank you to our feast and breakfasts cooks for serving a delicious meal for all of our guests. And to our coffee baristas for serving coffee all weekend long.

Thank you to the Moffat Family for sharing your space with Powwow.

Huge thank you to all of our sponsors for your support.

-LMG

-TD Bank

-MRC Avignon

-LPD and LFD

-Indigenous Reconciliation Fund (Gaspe dioces and Hamilton Dioces)

-Heritage Canada

-Desjardins

-City of Campbellton

-Meubles Klomie

-LFG Construction

-Dedams Grocery

-Wysotes Corner Store

-Arco lumber

-Groupe Lebel

-Atholville Mill

-MMBC

-Mi’gmaq Star

-Popoff Morrison

-Restaurant Pastalli

-GDS

-CN Rail

-Home Hardware

-Mahers Funeral

-Pecheries Merinard

-Pharmacy Louis-Alexis

-Moms Dufy Free

-NAPA Auto Parts

-Barnabys Grocery

-Nadia Wysote

-JM Arsenault

-Canadian Tire

-Jeromes Grocery

-Initinative

-Elizabeth wilmot

-Derek Condo

-Jeanette Henry

-Elizabeth Wilmot

-Healing Stitches

-George Martin Rez411

-Abby Metallic

-Welteg

-Honour Young-Stephens

Last but not least thanks to Lita Isaac for 31 years of dedication and to all of the powwow committee for coming together to pull this event off.

Without everyone above we would not have a powwow. You guys are appreciated!

Wela’lioq!

-Nation Isaac, Powwow Coordinator

Listuguj Community Garden

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Garden coordinator Sue Ann Clement began working in the community garden in 2019. At that time, the garden was on a small plot measuring roughly one acre, but today the space has increased to 13 acres. Currently, one acre is used for food for the community.

Clement said, “I’d love to be able to keep the one acre for the community and the other 12 acres we developed, to start selling for CSA (Community Support Agriculture) baskets.”  For this to happen, the garden staff require more equipment and machinery.

The garden is run by nine employees in total, and all the labour is done manually. “Everything we do is by hand. We pick by hand; we make the beds and rows by hand. When it comes to bugs – everything is by hand, we don’t spray any chemicals. Everything is all-natural,” Clement said.

The need for the community garden really escalated when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. There were few grocery and fresh food options for community members and travelling across the J. C. Van Horne Bridge came with challenges. Clement knew that this was the time for Listuguj to be self-sufficient and provide the community with locally grown vegetables. After its success during COVID-19, the garden staff continued to work hard and provide food for the community.

There is a wide variety of vegetables available in the garden. Various types of tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, onions, lettuce, kale, and much more.

The garden staff works in critical weather conditions to ensure Listuguj has access to freshly harvested produce. Clement said, “The crew goes above and beyond. I did the planning and numbers, but it’s them who created the garden. They made it come to life.”  The staff each bring something different to the table and offer different skills and techniques when it comes to the art of gardening.

The Listuguj Community Garden is run seasonally from May to October, and it is located on Bordeaux Road just past the Etlinpisulti’gw Healing Grounds. The staff’s hard work and hospitality do not go unnoticed, and the community thrives on their services.

By Ann Marie Jacques