The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations plans to set up its own cooperative to deal with First Nation emergency and technical matters.
FSIN Interim Chief Kimberly Jonathan is demanding provincial and federal governments stop all planning and talks on First Nations emergency services without consulting First Nations.
Chief Jonathan says she was angered to hear the federal government is giving the provincial government $10 million for First Nations services after no consultation with First Nations groups.
“Experience and common sense supports that the most effective solutions are those that are formed by effective communities — in this case, First Nations,” said the FSIN chief. “The federal and provincial governments have been forming these bilateral agreements by developing plans for First Nations without input from First Nations.”
She says the government has failed in their duty to consult.
The FSIN and its executive members are now planning their own Technical Services Cooperative for First Nations to be run by Saskatchewan First Nations leaders.
“The cooperative would enable First Nations through their tribal councils to benefit from best practices and experience in technical service program delivery,” said Chief Jonathan. “Essential services such as fire protection, water quality, housing codes, community standards and emergency management will be overseen by the co-operative.”
The co-operative would be responsible for dealing with the provincial government on matters relating to technical and emergency services. Chief Jonathan is requesting that the federal government give the FSIN and tribal councils the $10 million original planned for the province to create/implement this cooperative.
“As citizens of Saskatchewan, First Nations deserve to equally benefit from the resource revenues generated in this province despite assurances this already occurs,” said Jonathan. “We are presenting an opportunity to address inequities and ensure safety and protection for everyone in the province. Indigenous people are not less important than any other people that live within Saskatchewan.”
The cooperative is in its early phases and still needs to be presented to provincial chiefs for approval. An implementation date could be as early as next spring.
Jonathan says she has made attempts to set up a meeting with Premier Brad Wall to discuss these and other issues, but to this date no meeting has been scheduled.
The interim chief made the announcement Friday afternoon at a press event in Prince Albert after a meeting with the group’s Executive Council.
A spokesperson for the provincial government said they are unfamiliar with the details of the FSIN proposal at this time and will not be commenting until Monday.
Meanwhile, Jonathan says there is hope after a roundtable on missing and murdered Aboriginal women.
The roundtable took place in Ottawa in late February and brought together people to discuss the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women.
Jonathan says she was honoured to partake in the roundtable and says it was positive to see families affected by missing and murdered women share their stories.
“The focus needs to be on the families,” said the chief. “The focus needs to be to ensure no other little girl, lady or woman goes missing or is attacked.”
Jonathan told reporters Friday the FSIN had a very limited amount of time to speak at the gathering, but the main goal was to give families the chance to speak.
Before the national roundtable, the FSIN had several provincial roundtables and think tanks to prepare for the national event.
“We went into this roundtable with optimism and hope and we left this roundtable with optimism and hope,” said Jonathan. “The roundtable wasn’t the beginning and it’s not the end. There are years of pain from kicking murdered and missing Aboriginal women in their graves.”
Jonathan and the provincial government continue to pursue a national inquiry into the issue.