Wednesday, Dec. 19, was an important day for the members of Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs.
The occasion was the Annual General Assembly for the organization. The meeting included chiefs, elders and members from the seven area First Nations that make up BATC: Sweetgrass, Saulteaux, Moosomin, Red Pheasant, Mosquito, Ahtahkakoop and Stoney Knoll.
Alison Tatar, director of governance for BATC, said they were there to discuss and make decisions on our previous year of operations and going forward. They also did their annual fundraisers and had Christmas dinner during the noon hour.
The day was filled with presentations from the various aspects of the organization. It included a report from BATC Community Development Corporation as well as reports on housing and engineering, investments, employment and training, and social development.
For the CDC it was another strong year. The total BATC CDC funding in 2017-18 was $3,134,329, up from 2,688,303 the previous year. Included in those totals was $819,139 went to the seven BATC First Nations, $261,147 which went to the four Battlefords Tribal Council member First Nations, and $538,392 which went to the Battlefords.
In housing and engineering, BATCs activities included development of a five-year strategic plan, as well as a climate change assessment done to assess its overall impact on housing and services.
BATC executive director Neil Sasakamoose spoke of the investments BATC had made. He spoke of the organizations activities in oil and gas and in energy services, but said they have been looking to diversify.
He spoke of BATC’s activities in the newly-legalized cannabis field, including a 25 per cent stake in GreenTec. They hold the retail license in Nipawin, though the store is not yet open.
Some increases were noted in the employment and training area. In a three-year period ending in 2017-18 their numbers of people training had gone up from 325 to 860, and they went from 215 employment opportunities up to 535.
While a lot of business got done, it was also a somber occasion due to news of the passing the previous day of Senator Don Pooyak, Elder from Sweetgrass First Nation. Pooyak had long been active in BATC in various capacities including with the CDC.
