INAC will only fund those returning to reserve under McIvor
By Stephanie Dearing
Writer
When it comes to federal funding for Six Nations, INAC has a clear message and it isn’t a case of if you build it they will come. Six Nations is receiving only $19,090,414.00 for the 2011-2012 fiscal year. That’s only $235,311 over the last fiscal year when Six Nations received $18,855,103.00 in federal funds. And its new funding agreement appears to be a year to year agreement instead of the usual multi year agreement. With the recent McIvor decision that will see status returned to the grandchildren of women who lost status when they married non-natives, at least 10,000 new people are expected to be added to Six Nations band lists. But, Six Nations has been told by INAC, those new members may demand services such as educational funding but INAC won’t provide the funding unless they move to the reserve. INAC has made it clear, band councillor Helen Miller says, new band members have to actually move to Six Nations for the community to get funding for them. She added the INAC representative who had met with council on the subject last year “said if they don’t move here, we won’t be getting nothing. Even though we’re going to be funding them, for education.” She said” if we do get additional funding it’s only going to be for those people that move back to the reserve.” A new funding agreement between the federal government and Six Nations will see the band getting an increase of $235,000 over last year’s amount after council decided to sign the deal. Trudy Porter, Finance Director, SAO Dayle Bomberry and Tim Brubacher from the Policy Department were asked to analyze the agreement. Porter said, this year’s agreement “appears to be entirely new.” The new-look document uses different language than past agreements, she pointed out. “It’s a different agreement,” Porter told council, “but the basis is the same.” Bomberry said the deal was presented as a multi-year agreement, but is more of a year-to-year agreement. He recommended signing, as did Porter and Brubacher. Bomberry told council, “Even though it’s laid out as a five year agreement, the option is in there for us to make changes and amendments and cancellations. If we find, for whatever unknown reason, if we disagree, the availability for council to get out of this is still very real."
Turtle Island News - North America's #1 Native Weekly Newspaper
By Stephanie Dearing
Writer
When it comes to federal funding for Six Nations, INAC has a clear message and it isn’t a case of if you build it they will come. Six Nations is receiving only $19,090,414.00 for the 2011-2012 fiscal year. That’s only $235,311 over the last fiscal year when Six Nations received $18,855,103.00 in federal funds. And its new funding agreement appears to be a year to year agreement instead of the usual multi year agreement. With the recent McIvor decision that will see status returned to the grandchildren of women who lost status when they married non-natives, at least 10,000 new people are expected to be added to Six Nations band lists. But, Six Nations has been told by INAC, those new members may demand services such as educational funding but INAC won’t provide the funding unless they move to the reserve. INAC has made it clear, band councillor Helen Miller says, new band members have to actually move to Six Nations for the community to get funding for them. She added the INAC representative who had met with council on the subject last year “said if they don’t move here, we won’t be getting nothing. Even though we’re going to be funding them, for education.” She said” if we do get additional funding it’s only going to be for those people that move back to the reserve.” A new funding agreement between the federal government and Six Nations will see the band getting an increase of $235,000 over last year’s amount after council decided to sign the deal. Trudy Porter, Finance Director, SAO Dayle Bomberry and Tim Brubacher from the Policy Department were asked to analyze the agreement. Porter said, this year’s agreement “appears to be entirely new.” The new-look document uses different language than past agreements, she pointed out. “It’s a different agreement,” Porter told council, “but the basis is the same.” Bomberry said the deal was presented as a multi-year agreement, but is more of a year-to-year agreement. He recommended signing, as did Porter and Brubacher. Bomberry told council, “Even though it’s laid out as a five year agreement, the option is in there for us to make changes and amendments and cancellations. If we find, for whatever unknown reason, if we disagree, the availability for council to get out of this is still very real."
Turtle Island News - North America's #1 Native Weekly Newspaper