A historic joint meeting of North Battleford and Battleford council took place Thursday evening where resolutions were passed to pave the way for an official signing. (Tyler Marr/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Tyler Marr

HISTORIC AGREEMENT

City, town, area First Nations set to sign landmark collaborative working agreement

Jun 20, 2019 | 6:40 PM

Five regional First Nation governments, the City of North Battleford and Town of Battleford are set to sign an agreement that will see them work towards a reconciled regional community.

The First Nation communities signing on include the Moosomin, Sweetgrass, Saulteaux and Little Pine First Nation, and the Lucky Man Cree Nation.

Two resolutions passed Thursday evening during a joint meeting of municipal lawmakers in Battleford paved the way for an official signing Friday during Indigenous People’s Day celebrations in North Battleford.

In June 2018, several leaders from the area met and decided it was time to find better ways to work together. In the months to follow, chiefs from surrounding communities and both Battleford mayors continued to meet.

On Feb. 15, 2019, the group agreed it was time to move forward with advancing the idea of a jointly developed regional community framework to provide continuity and relationship sustainability.

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The result is the Sacichawasihc Relationship Agreement, which sets a foundation for the communities to establish and maintain co-operative government-to-government relationships and build on history for the health, well-being and property for all involved.

“Everything we do in the city, in the town, in the communities around us, is to better the people in this region,” Coun. Kelli Hawtin said during the meeting. “The people that use the amenities in our communities, that work in our communities, their borders are not municipal government borders.”

She said the agreement will advance how everyone works together to ensure the people of the region “have the best possible of life they can have in every way.”

The agreement commits signatories to find ways to work collaboratively to ensure the socio-economic sustainability and vibrancy of the Regional Community of the Battlefords, and to develop and implement projects of mutual benefit.

It calls on the governments to strike a working committee to collaborate on building intergovernmental relationships, cultural and historical prosperity and engagement, collaborative land use planning, social enhancement, environmental stewardship, and joint advocacy, among other objectives.

Hawtin’s colleagues seconded her remarks, as did Mayor Ryan Bater, who added plenty of work was poured into getting to this point, but much more lies ahead.

“There is a great recipe here, but the proof will be in the pudding,” he said. “This all came about because of the challenges we face as a region and an acknowledgement that municipal governments only have so many resources and authorities and powers that can address issues like poverty and homelessness and food security and crime and community safety.”

He said the relationship will be about aligning regional governments and hopefully, one day, being able to align with the provincial and federal levels of government, too, “for a real opportunity to see change.”

Nothing in the agreement shall be interpreted to take away from the Treaty or rights of the participating First Nations or limit the responsibilities and legislation of the municipal governments.

With seven governmental organizations on board, Mayor Ames Leslie anticipates once other groups witness the agreement’s success, that number will grow.

“This is the first step to us bridging that gap in relationship building for all communities inside and outside the Battlefords,” he said.

—

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr