2nd annual Atlantic Aboriginal Awards Gala set for September
First Nation partners assume control of Casino-of-the-Rockies operation
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An in-depth study of the salmon fisheries of British Columbia’s Nass River has earned top marks for Canada’s federal government and for the Nisga’a government, which co-manages the fishery with Ottawa.
“This is probably as good as it gets in salmon fisheries management,” says report author David Levy, one of Canada’s top salmon biologists.
The Nass River Salmon Fishery Report Card, released August 9th by the Sierra Club of Canada, gives the fishery an overall grade of “B”. A key feature of the fishery is a stock assessment system that Levy judges to be one of the best of any salmon fishery in the world.
The fishery is lucrative – the value of sockeye catches alone average about $10 million annually – and fishery benefits are equitably shared among all stakeholders, including recreational fishermen, seiners, gillnetters, and trollers. The Nisga’a people enjoy guaranteed access to harvestable surpluses according to a formula allowing for food as well as commercial fisheries through communal and individual licences. The “B” grade would likely have been higher if it weren’t for a region-wide decline of chum salmon along B.C.’s north coast. Because of conservation concerns, no directed fishery for chum salmon is permitted in the Nass River salmon fisheries.
Another concern is uncertainty about the status of small sockeye salmon runs that spawn in the Nass, which Levy recommends be subjected to DNA analysis as the fishery proceeds.
But the relatively few problems with the fishery were offset by high marks resulting from the sophisticated stock-assessment system, which involves fish wheels, a mark-recapture program and a fishway counting operation.
Coho and chinook salmon are well protected, as is a small pink salmon population that is harvested according to an effective region-wide plan.
“This is very encouraging,” said prominent British Columbia environmentalist Vicky Husband. “It should be a very important lesson to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. If he had been making the decisions, this fishery in its present form wouldn’t even insist.”
Harper has recently angered First Nations in British Columbia with his vow to return to the discredited Reform Party policy of opposing so-called “racially divided” fisheries. Harper made his comments in a surprise letter to the Calgary Herald last month.
The success of the Nass salmon fishery is directly related to the fisheries component of the Nisga’a treaty, which sets out co-management responsibilities for a variety of marine and terrestrial resources over a vast area encompassing the Nass River basin, roughly adjacent to the Alaskan panhandle.
The treaty’s fisheries sections were initialed in 1996, and when the Nisga’a treaty was finally ratified six years ago, it became the first full settlement of aboriginal rights and title claims since British Columbia entered Confederation in 1871.
B.C. conservationist and author Terry Glavin said Levy’s report serves as a rebuke to the alarmist critics of the Nisga’a treaty’s fisheries component. The loudest critics were with the Reform Party, which eventually folded into the Conservative Party. The Nisga’a fishery’s critics once included B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell, who has since reversed his opposition to negotiating commercial fisheries arrangements with First Nations.
“For years, we were told that the Nisga’a treaty would be a disaster for the Nass River salmon fisheries. This clearly proves the critics were wrong,” Glavin said. “The Nisga’a and their partners in the federal government have set a fine example for what could be undertaken up and down BC’s coast.”
Husband said she hopes that Prime Minister Harper carefully reads the Nass River Salmon Fishery Report Card before he closes the door on other negotiated agreements for commercial fisheries with B.C.’s First Nations.
“We have concerns about the Nass fishery and we’ve made a few recommendations,” Husband said, “but this is a real success story. We congratulate the Nisga’a and the Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans for what they’ve accomplished.”
2nd annual Atlantic Aboriginal Awards Gala set for September
The stage is set for the 2nd Annual Atlantic Aboriginal Entrepreneur Awards Gala! Winners will be announced on Tuesday, September 12th, 2006 at the gala awards dinner. This year’s trade show and gala will be held at Membertou First Nation’s Trade and Convention Center in Sydney, N.S.
The jury has the difficult task of selecting winners from the more than 50 nominations received for this year’s awards. Nominations for this prestigious award came from a variety of sectors across the Atlantic region, including the information technology, fisheries, security services, oil and gas industry, automotive industry, consulting, construction industry, ecotourism, corporate leasing, service industry, arts and entertainment, food industry, retail and more. Recipients will be recognized in seven categories: Atlantic Aboriginal Entrepreneur of the Year, Aboriginal Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, Aboriginal Youth Entrepreneur of the Year, Band Enterprise of the Year, Aboriginal Business of the Year (one from each province), Economic Development Officer of the Year and Life Time Achievement Award. Although only one winner is chosen per category, everyone that is nominated deserves to win. Many of last year’s nominee’s were happy to just have been acknowledged for their hard work as entrepreneurs.
Ulnooweg Development Group, the only Aboriginal owned capital lending corporation in the Atlantic region, is hosting this year’s event. They are proud to work once again with their funding partners to present this prestigious and long over due celebration. A major partner in the event is the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) in addition to Industry Canada through its Aboriginal Business Canada (ABC) program and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). The initiative has also received support from the First Nations and Inuit communities throughout Atlantic Canada as well as nationally. Dawn Madahbee, Executive Committee Member of the National Aboriginal Economic Development Board attended the awards gala last year and presented the Aboriginal Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award along with President of the NS Native Women’s Association, Clara Gloade. "Aboriginal entrepreneurship is a growing contributor to the economy of the Atlantic region, and to the country as a whole," said Ms. Madahbee.
Attendees will have the opportunity to take part in a trade show, a networking session, a panel discussion where last year’s winners will share their secrets of success, a key note address, and a reception before the 6:00 gala awards show.
Chief Terry Paul, the chair of the Ulnooweg Development Group Board, remarked on the caliber of the nominations: “We are very proud of those who have been nominated and wish all nominees success in their business ventures. Based on the success and enthusiasm from last year’s inaugural we are looking forward to this year’s celebration,” said Chief Paul. “There is so much to be proud of, so much to look forward to as we build our economies and meet the challenges necessary to sustain our future generations. It is an exciting time to be doing business in this country and around the world. We have so much to offer as First Nations businesses and entrepreneurs as we begin to enjoy the opportunities that exist today as a result of years of struggle to support our economies. For anyone looking to do business with Aboriginal businesses and communities, this is the place to be! For more information, please contact Ulnooweg Development Group 1-888-766-2376, www.ulnooweg.ca.
First Nation partners assume control of Casino-of-the-Rockies operation
On June 14th, the St. Eugene Resort celebrated a milestone achieved by the First Nation partners on April 1, 2006, when they assumed operational control for Casino of the Rockies. Dan Shilling, President of SEM Resort Ltd., said that the celebration marked the end of a remarkably smooth transition process.
“We are focused on our players and working in partnership with British Columbia Lottery (BCLC), the April 1 transition in assuming responsibility for casino operations from Lake City Casinos Inc. was seamless,” he said.
The move brings resort operations under one umbrella which Shilling says will provide better tailored packages to customers, more responsiveness to the tourism marketplace and new growth in programming for the facility. The resort is the third largest private employer in the local area with 246 employees, many of them residents of Cranbrook.
“We consider our community to have incredible tourism potential, and we plan to develop and promote packages that will appeal and attract tourists not only to our resort and casino but also our province,” said Shilling.
Shilling is confident that the management experience in place will develop and implement strategic planning programs essential to make St. Eugene Mission Resort a tourism destination for travelers from throughout Canada and the United States.
“SEM is the first Native-run casino in British Columbia, something our First Nation partners are very proud to have achieved,” said Shilling. “We are committed to working with area businesses and BCLC to bring more tourism to the area and to share in the opportunities we can develop together.”
SEM Casino Limited Partnership is comprised of three First Nations: Ktunaxa Nation of British Columbia, Samson Cree Nation of Alberta, and the Rama Mnjikaning First Nation of Ontario. The partnership was formed in November of 2004 when Samson Cree and Rama Mnjikaning purchased equal one-third shares in the St. Eugene Mission Resort from the Ktunaxa Nation.
Schilling credits Maxwell Dressler, General Manager of Casino Operations, with being the chief architect of the successful transition.
Dressler joined SEM in September of 2005. He is the former Vice President, Gaming Operations, for the Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation, a position he held for four of the eight years he worked with the corporation.
Monir Nasif has been named the Chief Executive Officer over the entire operation, a position which will facilitate management of the golf course, casino and hotel.
Nasif spent 12 years with Venture Manitoba Tours Ltd. as CEO and General Manager for Gull Harbour Resort and Conference Centre, Hecla Island and Falcon Lake Golf Courses.
BCLC is the agent of Government responsible to conduct and manage casino gaming in BC. The Corporation contracts with private companies to provide day-to-day facility and operational services for its 16 casinos and one racetrack gaming centre.