Brandi Morin
APTN National News
The newly elected Alberta Assembly of First Nations regional Chief Craig Mackinaw is ready to tackle his new role starting July 1.
Current regional leader Chief Cameron Alexis did not seek re-election this term as he stepped down to care for his wife who is ill with cancer.
Mackinaw, from Ermineskin Cree Nation in Maskwacis, spent 18 years as a band councillor and then served as chief of the First Nation for two years. Within those two years he also served as grand chief of the Confederacy of Treaty Six.
He was elected at the Assembly of Treaty Chiefs gathering in Edmonton this past May and said he is confident his previous experience in politics will help him represent Alberta First Nations.
“I have a good idea of what’s going on and what work needs to be done,” said Mackinaw.
Some of his top priorities will be calling for action on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, addressing education gaps, child welfare issues, health inequities and resource revenue sharing.
Mackinaw believes revenue sharing could be the answer to solving social and economic issues plaguing many First Nations. Alberta makes billions of dollars of profits off natural resource development and its First Nations should be making a cut of them.
Alberta chiefs conducted a study several years ago which revealed that if First Nations received only 5 per cent of provincial resource revenues they would be more than capable of financial independence.
“Revenue sharing would help the bands in providing services to their members. It could help in having another funding source separate from AANDC dollars. If the governments work with us it will be beneficial for everyone.”
Chiefs in Alberta have been pushing the topic of resource revenue sharing for several years. In 2011 they took the issue to Prime Minister Stephen Harper who advised the chiefs to take it back to the province.
Then in a 2013 meeting between chiefs and former Alberta Aboriginal Relations Minister Robin Campbell, chiefs requested the province consider resource revenue sharing. The answer was “no.” Campbell referenced that First Nations benefit from revenues like any other Albertans and said in an interview with the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society that, “we’re not going to take a share of our resource revenues and give it to First Nations.”
But it’s about implementing the original intent of Treaty’s, said Mackinaw and it’s a dispute he will continue to push to resolve.
“In regards to Treaty agreements the government needs to work with us on fulfilling their end. There’s some unfinished business that needs to be discussed and we need to bring those items to the table to agree on moving ahead.”
Alberta chiefs believe their Treaty equates to revenue sharing, as they never signed away all of their resources.
“The way it (Natural Resource Transfer Act) was set up and drafted in 1923, by the Province of Alberta regarding all our oil and gas, timber and mining and all the various industries fall underneath that. When it was drafted they didn’t consult with us. That’s where part of our problem with, especially oil and gas, there’s no revenue sharing. We should be having revenue sharing,” said Mackinaw.
He is hopeful the new Alberta NDP government will sit down to discuss the issue.
“It’s a wait and see what happens. Hopefully what they’re saying and what we’re reading in the news will be followed through on. Myself, I’m waiting to see. I guess we will see within the next year how they stand and how they’re going to work with us.”
Chief Craig Mackinaw had control of natural resource money for 20 years and unsure what financial situation Ermineskin was left with