Funding woes frustrate chiefs

Ottawa refers Fond du Lac’s road, runway requests to provincial gov’t

Indigenous leaders in Saskatchewan are calling on the federal government to rethink how federal funding is given to First Nations communities.

After a visit to Ottawa to request funding for a longer runway and an all-weather road for his remote northern community — which is still reeling from a plane crash in December and recent suicides of two members of the community — Fond du Lac First Nation Chief Louie Mercredi was told he would have to approach the provincial government.

“We had a meeting with the province a few days before we went to Ottawa and didn’t get an answer there so we went to the federal government,” he explained.

“Whatever agreements are done between the governments, we as the First Nations are never included.”

Currently the only way in and out of Fond du Lac is by plane, but since the crash in December, flights have been unreliable, Mercredi said.

He said passengers are bumped from flights on a daily basis, making it more difficult to get to medical appointments and other necessary trips outside of the remote community.

When Mercredi met with the federal government, he was trying to secure funding for an allweather road to provide a connection between his remote northern community of Fond du Lac to other Saskatchewan communities alongside a new, safer, runway at the community airport — which he says is currently too narrow and at least 1,200 feet too short of what’s needed.

He said they were only allotted a 15-minute meeting with a representative of Infrastructure Canada — which Mercredi says was far from enough time to properly discuss how the investment would benefit his community.

“My concern for my people is for their health and safety,” Mercredi said.

“If they won’t give us an all-season road, at least give us a state of the art runway.”

Chief Bobby Cameron of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations said bilateral agreements mean the federal government provides a specific amount of money to the provincial government to help fund First Nation communities when there is an obvious need or a request is made.

Cameron is standing behind Mercredi, saying the federal government is shirking its obligations and not treating Indigenous communities fairly when funding is required.

He said the gap is easy to see when you compare how the provincial government treated landowners during the wildfires in the north two years ago and the wildfires that took place late in 2017.

“Our First Nations in the north are still trying to get compensation for a variety of items,” Cameron explained. “But in southern Saskatchewan, (the government) turned around and said to the farmers and ranchers, ‘We’re going to compensate you,’ while we’re still waiting in the north to get compensated.”

Both Cameron and Mercredi said it would be much easier if the money was immediately provided to the First Nations who know the problems their people are facing and will take it more seriously.

“There must be a better way to do business,” Cameron said. “Why would (the federal government) continue to flow money to the provincial government when our First Nations feel they’re not being treated equally — something has to change.”