Y O!
Trust meeting
Report
NEWS
After three hours waiting for quorum, for a meeting that was supposed to start at 1:00 p.m. it was starting to feel tense in the Wa’kas Hall. With 120 Band Members required to start the meeting, we still had 50 to go. But somehow, through text messages, phone calls and last-minute reminders, we got quorum at 4:50 p.m. Because of the late start, it was decided to move the vote on funding for Marion Wamiss’ house up to the front of the agenda. En masse and led by singers, the family made one last plea for assistance to help rebuild the house that Marion and Spruce Wamiss are living in, plagued by mould, drafts, and other health-threatening issues. Chief Paddy Walkus also made some supporting comments, and the issue immediately went to vote. With Donna Gault as the Electoral Officer, the votes were counted and the final numbers announced at 6:39 p.m.: 83 in favour of funding Marion’s house, 39 against, and 2 spoiled ballots for a total of 124 votes cast.
During the voting community members shared frustrations with our Band’s housing situation, and the meeting quickly became more of a housing meeting than a Trust meeting. Rick Coon asked “Why is it such a problem? Why are so many young people living across the bridge?” Gloria Walkus asked “Do you have a longterm plan or some money put aside to deal with this in the future?” Other issues that people brought up were the need for more fire exits, the need to prioritize community members with disability, and the overall lack of consistency and transparency within housing. Chief Paddy said “Collectively we want to address housing in a way that’s gonna be productive for everyone” which, according to Paddy, includes the revival of the Housing Committee. Council encouraged those who shared their frustration to participate in the new
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OCT 11 2011
FROM the band manager
4 Elders’ Update 5
misc. notices
6
Public Works & Birthday Wishes
7 Sasamans society update 8 Social Development Form 9
local job postings
10
40 assets for teens
11
colouring
12
mark your calendar
committee to make sure their concerns are addressed. Trust Chair Robert Walkus pointed out that “the biggest problem we have is that a lot of the people that get caught in this red phase, they see other people not paying their rent, so they stop paying theirs and it sets us back.” Because it took so long to get quorum, and because of the time taken to discuss housing, the original agenda was cut short. Besides a short update from Jamaine Campbell (Eke Me-xi First Nations’ Support Worker) on the Youth Sports & Recreation program, none of the other reporting took place, such as going over the Trust financial records in the annual report, or discussing Towers Watson, the company newly hired to help with the Trust investment strategy. It is clear that, without some progress in the area of housing, it will be difficult to focus on anything else at the next all-band meeting. A huge thanks to everyone who did come out for the meeting, and those who did the organizing, set-up, cooking and clean-up. If you have any questions about the Trust, please contact Trust Chair Robert Walkus at (250) 230-2155. Please note also that for future Trust all-band meetings, community members with FoodSafe will have the chance to bid on the catering. By Jessie Hemphill
Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Nations Yo! News - 11/10/11 Page 1