Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Community C/O Chief and Council
Dear Community & Chief and Council, It has come to my attention that certain members of our community may have questions in regards to the current and past employment practices of KEDC. I do not subscribe to Facebook (except for family photo sharing) and believe that all social media should be tempered with a high degree of respect and truthfulness, this letter is my attempt to help inform some “truths” and take away the negativity that is all too many times the easiest form of communication. Please accept my apologies for not having this very important information available to you sooner- it has been exceptionally busy.
I would like to describe to you some very important facts:
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KEDC began operations Dec. 2014 KEDC has been operating for 1.5 years KEDC created 6 new corporate entities (businesses) In creating these new businesses we have created 80 +/- full time jobs We have had over 150 people come through our employment to achieve these 80 jobs KEDC has never paid minimum wage- our lowest rate= $13.50/hr We currently have approx. 80 employees of that 80 approx.80% are First Nations, a further 80% of that are from the GNN about 52 GNN community members Direct payroll to GNN community members since KEDC started (1.5 years) = $900 580.34 GETTING CLOSE TO $1 Million Dollars KEDC construction has already paid the same amount of payroll to GNN community members in the first 6 months of this year than all of what it paid to them last year
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All management positions not currently held by a GNN person,have a 5 year mandate to have a GNN member trained to take over that position (including mine) provided that the candidate has the required skills and ability KEDC is constantly looking for GNN community members with the skills and abilities to employ (the standard of skill and the application of abilities is paramount) KEDC has the ability to train community members into different Red Seal (apprentice) technical positions KEDC will begin a concerted effort to visit all of our young community members in school to engage them in planning for their future. We are creating a very diverse number of businesses and know we will have to have our youth coming to us with higher levels of education- we don’t want our community to supply just labour! We will have to work together on eliminating unscheduled absences- these will severely hamper any business from being successful We will have to work together on creating a positive work place that encourages and engages all of our workers to be the best team possible We have a number of projects proposed whose funding is directly related to successful completion of stages of the project- these are around renovations and new home builds on reserve. Our staff has to be “firing on all cylinders” to ensure that these timelines are met so we can continue to get more funding to improve more of our on reserve houses Every business that KEDC is engaged in is a service provider business- we are looking for team members who have the desire to excel at providing the best service possible- EVERY TIME!
There is more to add to this update but will not take up the rest of the YO! News space As a community you should be extremely proud and excited by all the amazing things KEDC and its excellent team of community and non-community employees are achieving, together we are creating an exceptionally bright future not only for today but for our future generations. Gila’kasla Conrad Browne, CEO KEDC
Yo! News is prepared by Bernadine Clayton Gwa’sala’Nakwaxda’xw Receptionist This newsletter is delivered to all houses on the Tsulquate Reserve every first of the month and posted to the Gwa’sala’Nakwaxda’xw website. If you have questions or comments about this newsletter, contact Bernadine at (250) 949-8343 or e-mail bandreception@gwanak.info The purpose of this newsletter is to keep Gwa’sala’Nakwaxda’xw community members informed about what is happening in the Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Band Office and the surrounding community. Anybody is welcome to make submissions to the newsletter, including announcements, lost-and-found, photographs, bakwam’kwala words, stories, legends, drawings, etc. etc. etc. Other ways to stay connected to the Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw community are: Website (www.gwanak.info) Facebook (User: Gwasala Nakwaxdaxw) Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Nations Band Office PO Box 998, 154 Tsulquate Reserve Port Hardy, B.C. V0N 2P0
STAFF Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Band Office Phone: (250) 949-8343 / Fax: (250) 949-7402 Roger Nopper, Band Manager Manager@gwanak.info / (250) 902-2309 Margaret Bernard, Finance Margaretb@gwanak.info / (250) 902-2308 Conrad Browne, Economic Development conrad@kedc.ca / (250) 230-5081 Colleen Hemphill, Treaty chemphil@telus.net / (250) 949-8424 Linda Paul, Treaty Administrative Assistant kasalas4859@hotmail.com / (250) 949-8994 Chelsey Walkus, Food & Nutrition Coordinator chelseywalkus@gmail.com/(250)949-7406 Katrina Johnny, CCP Coordinator katrina@gwanakplan.org / (250) 902-2305 Lucy Scow, Social Development lucyscow@gmail.com/ (250) 902-2307
COUNCIL
Lorna Henderson, Housing lornah@gwanak.info / (250) 902-2304
Chief Paddy Walkus: (250) 949-1486 Sits on all committees / paddywalkus@gmail.com
Leo Lawson/ Capital Specialist officer lhanslawson@msn.com / (250) 949-2306
Gary Walkus: (250) 230-3852 Health and Social Development,Ec. Dev. Band Office, Capital, Treaty, Education, Personnel, Infrastructure, fishing, FuneralPortfolios
Grace Smith, Education grace.smith176@gmail.com / (250) 902-2320 Bob Swain, Public Works bswain4@telus.net / Cell: (250) 230-0087
Leslie Walkus: (250) 230-0034 Ec. Dev, Youth, Housing, Education, Fishing Portfolios
David Schmidt, Natural Resource manager david.schmidt@snrc.ca / (250)902-2310
Grace Smith: (250) 230-5001 Treaty, Housing, Infrastructure Portfolios
Elisha Taylor-child/Native Court Worker (250)902-2223
Lucy Scow: (250) 230-4275 Ec. Dev, Youth, Treaty, Education, Infrastructure Portfolios
Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Elders Centre Silena George Elders’ Coordinator Silena@gwanak.info/ (250) 949-7406
Dodie Rufus: (250) 230-4642 Youth, Education, Infrastructure Portfolios
Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Health & Family Services
Darryl Coon: (250) 230-0360 Housing, Social Development, Ec. Dev, Youth, Housing, Education, Personnel, Fishing, DarrylPortfolios
Front Desk: (250) 949-8131 / Fax: (250) 949-6811 Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw School
Terry Walkus: (250) 230-2459 Social Development, Ec. Dev, Band Office, Capital, Treaty,Housing, Personnel, Fishing, Funeral Portfolios
Front Desk: (250) 949-7743 / Fax: (250) 949-7422 www.gwanak.bc.ca Eke Me-Xi School (250) 949-8332
Eddie Charlie; (250) 230-4212 Social Development, Personnel, Housing,
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Social Assistance News! Special Needs Special Needs is available for Pick up with me, there is no need to make an appointment just let me know where you want it for. There will be no personal Purchases this year meaning that Cheques will not be made to individuals, you can only purchase from stores in town or I can try and order something at your price range from Sears. Social Assistance Cheques They will be handed out at the band office from now on, we don’t want to run into anymore problems with mail. Wood Orders We have Had far too many orders come in the past couple months this is abnormal for our program, people who haven’t ordered before has started, we will be checking in to see if you have a woodstove as we can only give wood to those who have a wood stove. We have been warned the funds will be depleting by end of summer if we keep going the rate that we are going, that would mean that there would be no funds for wood for the winter time. All social assistance clients will be based now on what you would be eligible for. Elders are still eligible for 2 loads per month. We have 4 guys that do the wood for the community these guys are -
Jeff Fields Albert Charlie Patrick Walkus Brian David
You can request who it is that you want and we will do the purchase order and get a hold of whomever you choose.
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TREATY UPDATE
Message to the Graduates!
Today is the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw students grad celebration! It is so exciting to see the large number of young folks moving on with their education. It seems these days it is nearly impossible to think about a future without education certificates, diplomas or degrees. These are the ‘tickets’ to opportunities in forestry, fisheries, social services, health, education, computer technology, and even the arts fields such as film.
It is heartening to see and to know that many of you have a vision for your future, that you understand your own strengths and weaknesses to move you to that next stage in your lives.
To help those interested in a career here with our community there are many sources to research. Check out the GN Economic Development Corporation, KEDC to find out more about activities going on such as our hotel business, ecotourism, hospitality, watchmen and boat operations to name a few.
On June 21, Katrina Johnny launched the newly amended Comprehensive Community Plan (CCP). The exciting thing about this “vision for the future” is that our community members met together many times and put their ideas forward to say what they wish to see for our community – for the youth, for elders and everyone else. These ideas are now all compiled into one booklet. In a way this could be called a ‘blueprint’ for our future. Take a look at this, you could get many ideas for training and future studies that would prepare you to carry out jobs and activities that we wish to see here in Tsulquate. It is always said that we would like our young folks (and older people) to train to get jobs that become available especially in areas such as education, administration, bookkeeping, health, social services, forestry, fisheries, land and resource management, recreation, youth planning, elders care.
From the perspective of Treaty, we strive to negotiate for a strong future and in particular that means management and control of our Traditional Territories. It also means that we want more and better housing, a Bighouse, revival of our villages such as Takush and Ba’as with homes and business opportunities to allow us to live there. In fisheries we want to care for the fishery stocks so that they can be strong and healthy to continue to produce many fish to meet the needs of our people and for future generations. To help you to prepare for jobs to meet the needs that will be available pre and after treaty it would be useful to consider careers in marine biology, certifications for boat maintenance and operation, first aid, fire arms, and swift water training. Why not become a community planner who helps to map out opportunities for our community. For foresty think about a power saw operation and maintenance course, log scaling, falling, GIS mapping to name a few.
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Here at home in Tsulquate – we want the best programs and services for our folks where we manage and take care of ourselves in a way that fully meets our needs. There are many career choices that can be accessed and having the education, training, certificates and degrees gets us there. To learn more about the opportunities that are out there make a phone call, come and talk to people who are here to help. I for one, in the treaty office, would love to discuss future training and employment needs with you. Talk to Katrina Johnny about the newly released CCP booklet to learn about activities and jobs that could be coming in the future. I am sure that our fisheries folks as well as forestry and economic development folks would be happy to share plans that are in place for training and employment.
As a grad, dream big and grab hold of your own future. We, the community, are behind you. We are proud and want to see the very best for all of you! Gila’kasla. Written by: Colleen Hemphill, Chief Negotiator June 23, 2016
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Yo Wiksas? Happy Summer to you all! We have had a very eventful month, to say the very least. The Elder's Program has continued on with Wednesday luncheons starting at 12pm. Next week we will have t'sapa! Please make note that Elder's Council voting will be next Wednesday June 29th from 10am-4pm. Here is the list of Elders that have been nominated: Mary V. Rufus Alfred Rufus Charlotte Walkus Doug Johnny Don Felkley Mable James Willie Walkus Mary Johnson A maximum of 5 Elders will be voted for by each of you G&N Elders over the age of 60. Please be sure to come in and cast your vote next Wednesday, June 29, 2016 @ the Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw Elder's Centre. Gilakasla, Silena George Elder's Coordinator 250 949 7406 silena1314@gmail.com
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LOCAL JOB POSTING Interested in getting into Trades? - FullTime Company: Industry Training Authority (ITA) Industry: Construction/ Trades Wage: N/A Expiry Date: Friday, June 24, 2016 - 9am Details: Wondering about trades and apprenticeships and the jobs that could be available to you? Knowing where to start your research can be difficult. ITA guides you through everything you need to know about apprenticeships and industry training in BC. Come and meet with Doug Podetz, Apprenticeship Advisor with the Industry Training Authority (ITA). Bring your questions and explore your next steps! Qualifications & Experience: This information session is being held onsite at NIEFS Port Hardy office in the Thunderbird Mall on Thurs, June 23rd from 2:00 - 3:30pm and is free and open to the public but registration is required. How to apply: Please call NIEFS at 250.949.5736 to register for this information session. Website: http://www.itabc.ca/ Taxi Driver - Part-Time Company: Town Taxi Industry: Transportation Wage: $16.45/ hr Expiry Date: Tuesday, July 5, 2016 - 9am Qualifications & Experience: Job requirements: Class 4 Driver's Licence Experience Driving Taxi and handling cash. How to apply: -Apply in person with Resume to Bal -Mail Resume to: Box 2691, Port Hardy BC, V0N 2P0 -Phone Employer Directly: 778.223.5153 Program Coordinator - Full-Time Industry: Social Services Wage: TBD Expiry Date: Wednesday, June 29, 2016 - 9am Qualifications & Experience: Infant Development/Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Program Coordinator • Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, child & youth care, Early Childhood Education
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Certificate and / or a combination of related education and experience. • Specific training in inclusion, family-centred service delivery, child development, delay and disability, early intervention, facilitating individual planning and service coordination for families. • 5 years’ experience providing services to families with infants, children, and youth experiencing developmental delays and disorders How to apply: Email resume and covering letter (.doc,.pdf,or .rtf) to Althea Vermaas, Executive Director @ althea@nicccs.org.
Enumerators - Part-Time Company: Statistics Canada - Census Industry: Other Wage:$16.31/hr Expiry Date: Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - 9am Details: Statistics Canada is looking to hire Crew Leaders and Enumerators for the upcoming Census. These non-office jobs require staff to work in neighborhoods and communities in all urban, rural and remote areas across the North Island. As an Enumerator you will distribute questionnaires door-to-door and conduct personal interviews and follow-up both in person and by phone. Varying employment periods between mid-April and the end of July 2016, depending on the assignment. If you like working with people and are detail-oriented, this may be the job for you. Qualifications & Experience: Are you: 18 years or older? A Canadian citizen or eligible to work in Canada? Able to commit to at least 20 hours per week including days, evenings, weekends and holidays as required? A valid driver's license and access to a vehicle are required in some areas. Candidates should be computer literate and have access to a home computer with Internet. Candidates must pass a written test, reference check, and government security assessment. How to apply: For information on the application process, please visit the census website: www.census.gc.ca/jobs Website: http://www.census.gc.ca/jobs Crew Leaders - Full-Time Company: Statistics Canada - Census Industry: Other
Wage: $19.91/hr Expiry Date: Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - 9am Details: Statistics Canada is looking to hire Crew Leaders and Enumerators for the upcoming Census. These non-office jobs require staff to work in neighborhoods and communities in all urban, rural and remote areas across the North Island. As a Crew Leader you will train, lead and supervise a team of Enumerators. You will be involved in the recruitment of staff. Varying employment periods between early March and the end of July 2016 depending on assignment and location. If you're a proven leader in your community who can motivate others, this may be the job for you. Qualifications & Experience: Are you: 18 years or older? A Canadian citizen or eligible to work in Canada? Able to commit to at least 20 hours per week including days, evenings, weekends and holidays as required? A valid driver's license and access to a vehicle are required in some areas. Candidates should be computer literate and have access to a home computer with Internet. Candidates must pass a written test, reference check, and government security assessment. Supervisory positions will require the candidate to pass an interview. How to apply: For information on the application process, please visit the census website: www.census.gc.ca/jobs Website: http://www.census.gc.ca/jobs
Housekeeping - Part-Time Company: North Shore Inn Industry: Tourism/ Hospitality Wage: DOE Expiry Date: Monday, June 27, 2016 - 9am Details: Cleaning of rooms, balconies and bathrooms. Vacuuming, laundry, dusting, making beds, etc. Qualifications & Experience: We are willing to train, but must be responsible and reliable. Able to work alone as well as with a team. Attention to detail is important. How to apply: In person, with resume 7370 Market St, Port Hardy
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BIRTHDAY/REQUEST Charlotte Dubitski: Happy birthday to Terrisa king love you so much love from me and zariyah & Bob
Happy birthday to Lisa Michelle dawn on July.28 love u so much sis love Jake char & kids ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ethyl Marie Skookum: Sending very special birthday wish to our beautiful daughter Violet Shannon for June 26th Lots of love from mom & dad ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Angel Isabelle Walkus: Happy 15th Birthday to my daughter Lucy Wallace June 30th ❤ love from Mom & Brothers & Sisters
Happy 9th Birthday to my son Phillip Walkus on June 30th love from mom & Brother & Sisters we love you ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Norman Charlie: church we will be having at the coffee house this weekend please, Gladstone brother's are going to be here. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mary Walkus: Just wanna send a huge congrats to the Eke'Me-Xi Graduates Of 2016 Jeremy, Terrisa, & David. Also to the ones who graduated from PHSS! Whoo hoo super proud of all you guys Wish you all the best!! From BabiGurl & Family ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tiff Wallace: June 30th ~ A very Happy Birthday to my beautiful niece Lucy Violet Rose❤ I love you lots babe and wish you all the best
Also a very happy birthday to my beautiful niece Riah Nellie❤love you so much babe! You deserve nothing but the absolute best! - love Aunty Tiff & fam Joanna Jack-King: Happy birthday to my daughter tomika Mckenzie jack-king June 30th I love you so much love from mom, your sisters and brother ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gary Walkus: Happy birthday Jenni Walkus June 24th and happy birthday Mariah nellie June 28th love uncle gary and family ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Melanie Casmil: Happy birthday Gary Walkus
Happy birtday jen Walkus and happy birthday mariah nellie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maggie Jack: Wishing my granddaughter Tomika ( Tommy Girl ) a very Happy Birthday and have fun and enjoy your special day sweetie and Auda loves you lots. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Daisy Coon: Would Love To Say To All Our Families/❤Friends ... My Love N Prayers With All N Need ..❤.. Heartfelt Prayers Always With U All .. Keep Safe .. Keep Ur Love Open n Respect With Kind Heart..❤❤..Hold Each Other's With Love..❤❤....Love N Hugs ...From My Family To Yours.. Daisy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Priscilla Charlie: Happy Birthday sister Brenda King we love you sis. June 25th Happy Birthday sis Maxine Walkus we love you sis. Best wishes to our beautiful sisters on your special day. Love from Priscilla, Loretta, Diana, Luis, baby Rj ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Vanessa Eve Walkus: The GNN Youth Group is having an Indian Taco sale Friday, June 24th starting at noon. $8.00 per plate, comes with a drink at The Elders Center. Eat in or take out or delivery for a small fee of $2. To place a preorder text or phone 230- 2167. Please support our group, we are wanting to travel to Victoria in August! Huge thanks! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rebecca Truelaine Charlie: We would like to wish our daughter Haley Grace a very happy sweet 16th birthday. June 28th. Love Mom, Dad, Eli & Claire, Seabass, Cahramia, Wade Jr, Ta'nis, Carey and Amelia <3 Also would like to wish my husband Wade Charlie a very happy 8th anniversary. I love you so much and look forward to the rest of our lives together <3 July 1st Gloria Walkus-Brotchie: Wishing a wonderful man Rick Shaw a very Happy Birthday! From Gloria, Brennen and Dorie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wishing my daughter evette a Happy 4th Birthday coming up on June 28th love mom, dad and brothers
Also wishing my niece’s Treasure and happy belated birthday and happy belated birthday to Meadow. Love aunty, uncle and cuzzins
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GET YOUR DRUMMING ON! Port Hardy Twining Society is proud to bring the Uminari Taiko Drummers from Victoria BC to Port Hardy TWO Taiko drumming workshops will be held Saturday July 16 at 3:00 pm and 4:30 pm at the Port Hardy Civic Center. $10 per person…. Only 12 spots per workshop..….adults and youth 13 years and over are welcome! Please call 250-949-2315 to register and reserve your taiko drumming lesson
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