Tag: Fort McKay First Nation

Categories
Alberta Ft Mac Health Politics

Moose Lake Reserve Promise Not Being Upheld According To Fort McKay First Nation

Is the provincial government failing to uphold a promise made by Jim Prentice when he was premier concerning the Moose Lake Reserve? This is exactly what the Fort McKay First Nation is accusing the government of doing. In a statement from the First Nation group Prosper Petroleum Ltd. Plans for an oilsands lease situated near the reserve have been approved by the Aboriginal Consultation Office, but the Fort McKay First Nation has been working together with Alberta Environment so that the area can be protected. Early last year when he was still premier a letter of intent was signed by Prentice for the development of an access management plan for the reserve area which surrounded the lake. A statement by Chief Jim Boucher explained “Former premier Jim Prentice recognized that Moose Lake is the last and best remaining area in which Fort McKay can preserve its heritage and cultural activities.”

Indigenous Relations Minister for Alberta, Richard Feehan, explained that when public hearings on the Moose Lake Reserve application start the Fort McKay First Nation will have the chance to argue their case. Feehan said that having both review processes going at the same time is not unusual and is common, and he stated “The one process we are committed to is the Moose Lake Management Plan… At the same time, industry has been asked to move ahead with work they want to do and that triggers a series of processes. We know Moose Lake is important to them in a cultural and ceremonial sense.” According to First Nation Sustainability Department Director Alvaro Pinto any central processing facility located within 10 kilometres of the Moose Lake Reserve is unacceptable to the chief and the council, and the facility planned by Prosper Petroleum would only be 3 kilometres away.

Categories
Economic Ft Mac

Fort McKay First Nation Enters Agreement With Province to Protect Moose Lake Lands

Moose Lake, Fort McKay First Nation

The Fort McKay First Nation band has entered into an agreement with the province to protect Moose Lake lands. The area in question is considered culturally important to the band, and objections against the development near Moose Lake was dropped over a year ago. Recently a letter of intent was signed by the province for the Fort McKay First Nation that pledges a plan for access management for the area which surrounds the lake. This area is situated roughly 100 km to the north of Fort MacMurray. Development of the plan will take place over the next year. A regulatory appeal was filed by the band in 2013 against the Dover Commercial Product, and the project in question was expected to produce 250,000 barrels of oil per day.

Initially the Fort McKay First Nation band asked for a buffer zone in exchange for support for the project, but the joint review panel approved the project application and rejected a request concerning Moose Lake by the band. After the rejection the band argued that their charter rights were violated by the Alberta Energy Regulator, but this and other objections to the project were dropped when an agreement was reached with PetroChina and Athabasca Oil Corp. Both companies were running the Moose Lake project that the Fort McKay First Nation objected to. Details of the agreement have not been released to the public, but all of the parties involve agree that there needs to be a plan in place to ensure that no environmental harm occurs if the project development continues.

Categories
Alberta Canada Economic

Fort McKay First Nation Leader, Chief Jim Boucher, Well Compensated

Chief Jim Boucher, Fort McKay First Nation
Chief Jim Boucher, Fort McKay First Nation

The Fort MacKay First Nation leader Chief Jim Boucher receives the second highest salary out of all the chiefs in Canada, and is the highest paid chief in the Alberta region. The only individual who made more as a chief was Kwikwetlem First Nation Chief Ron Giesbrecht of British Columbia. Chief Jim Boucher received a salary of $644,442 according to statements which were provided to Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. According to the audited statements that were filed Boucher also had a little over $60,000 in expenses for the annual period that ended on March 31, 2014. To put the salary in perspective several of the highest paid councilors in the region earned less than half of what Chief Jim Boucher earned, and some only earned a little over $200,000. Mayor Melissa Blake of Wood Buffalo earns an annual salary of just $127,671.

There are some who believe that Fort McKay First Nation Chief Jim Boucher is overpaid, while others defend the high annual salary and point too a budget in the millions of dollars for the group. The band gets around $2.5 million from the federal government, but this amounts to under 4% of the 2014 budget for the First Nation which is $70 million. The band ended the year with a surplus in the amount of $3 million, and some point out that this shows that Chief Jim Boucher manages the financial situation of the band wisely. Dayle Hyde commented that “The assumption is that First Nations are relying entirely on taxpayer dollars to operate. That’s not always the case, especially for Fort McKay. Our governance structure is a little more complicated than other First Nations.”