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Saturday, January 28, 2012
Meeting
To days meeting was well very disappointing., With only 13 members the , The Chief said it was because everyone is satisfied with every thing. All that was said about the Cold water treaty wa s they the chiefs would be meeting in a few weeks. And there had to be i few things ironed out . We will be paying Orillia to take our compost why i don't no. The Parking Lot was talked about and we will be talking about it more on Mondays open council meeting. , Hope to see you all there
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See this is what happens when people dont say anything, what happened to going YELLING , Sharon Henry is this what you think well i guess you would as you and council have no F...King idea.
ReplyDeleteSharon can believe whatever she wants...but in REALITY having few community members showing up really shows how people don't trust or feel comfortable in the dragon's den ;-)
ReplyDeleteAaniin, Id like to make a few comments regarding the community mtg...The mtg and attendance was pretty much "same old same old". There were a hanful of community members present and the rest, perhaps most, were staff. Opening remarks by Chief Stinson Henry included announcing the 2008 Health Centre of Excellence project is dead but there are plans (unknown) to expand Health Centre services. There was also info provided regarding future parkng lots, for casino. These lots are part of the casino deal signed in 2010, so we get more pavement and more lights on Benson. "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot." Miigwech Chief and Council. Department presenters were from Education, Ontario Works, Fire and Facilities. Part of Facilities presentation was on the environment and Rama's initiatives. It was pretty informative, and later, l couldnt help but note that lunch was provided on styrofoam plates. Staff also discussed 2012 pow wow grounds, to be on lands between the Band Office and Seniors. Re attendance, we have had this bad attendance almost as long as Stinson Henry has been Chief, imo, and lve been attending these mtgs for years. @ 2nd anonymous, i hope you re right and that people still care about Rama. For anyone interested, evening council mtg Monday (tonite) nite, 7 pm. We will hear more about the parking lots, health centre of excellence, shark fin soup issue and pesticides use on territory. If these concerns are also yours, please attend. Miigwech.
ReplyDeleteThe Future Of are Children you are right we were told alot of things to get a yes vote for the casino, There has been so many fail ventures, lots of money down the drain.Thanks for this blog Cheryle keep up the good work it shows you care about the future of our children and our land.
ReplyDelete@ Tracey....of course the people care...but in regards to poor attendance by the people at meetings...I wonder if the "system" is kind of rigged with intimidation, and a tad bureaucratic for some people? Kind of like the playing field is so littered with lawyers, consultants and government speak...no one feels they are speaking the same language?
ReplyDeleteTo be blunt: Political shits make rules that undermine trust and control the playing field.
Well l hope enough people care enough and show this at next election by not voting Sharon Stinson Henry in as Chief. Her leadership style is one of exclusion and the rest of Council goes along with her, or so it appears. And if this is not the case, can a Council person speak up!? I for one am tired of this dictatorship...
ReplyDeleteRIP Health Centre of Excellence (2008 - 2012). After close to 2 M $ (last known figure) spent on this (and lm not sure where and how $ was spent), they finally had to admit this was a dead project. But the Chief said there are plans to enhance our current health centre. However, there is nothing concrete at present. Luckily, they have protected Dora Benson's property for a future health centre.
And as far as the parking lots, we re getting 486 spaces, more lights and more traffic on Benson as long as a traffic study supports traffic lights at Benson and Rama Road. This new lot, for Casino employees, is to be located on the west side of casino service road (opposite Public Works), to creek (just west of Isobel Shilling's old property). And since l didnt get a say in the land usage, l am hoping the traffic study returns a negative result.
Finally, since the Casino, there has not been any economic developmnent for our people. Its like the C&C believe the Casino is the answer to everything. Yet, the stores in the Casino dont make money and actually never have, and we keep throwing good money after bad. And by "we", l mean C&C, the controllers, in their wisdom and "looking 7 generations ahead".
A sad joke.
I think it makes sense to point out that since Sharon Harper became Chief there has been no job creation by partnerships or economic development in our community. She however would probably argue that the band has created plenty of jobs. The fact is not everyone can work for Rama, we need projects, partnerships and economic development that respects and sustains our way of life. There are dozens of guys in the community who make a living with their hands and backs, well when there's no work to sustain them guess what? Those guys with those skills have to seek social assistance. Tell me that isn't a kick in the pride. And don't be telling anyone if they don't like it they can just leave and find work else where. I shouldn't have to remind anyone that that's not our way and not how were supposed to treat each other. It makes me sad and sick to see the state of our community morale and spirit, but I also have hope. The time is NOW to rally for change, not in August when it's election 'season'. We need to agree to disagree, and work together for the common good. It can be done. Other communities have done it, so can we. We can create partnerships, and entrepreneurs and get work in the community. We can have a say and a voice over matters regarding our lands. We can create the kind of community leadership we need to see to make the changes we need to see. And we can do all this without being dictated to. It's bad enough our lives our dictated by INAC, they shouldn't also be dictated by a control freak leader and a council along for the ride.
ReplyDeleteSS
From what I observe on this blog, the most common complaint seems to be about DECISION MAKING.
ReplyDeletePeople seem fed up with the current process.
My suggestion is to focus on CHANGING the DECISION MAKING PROCESS
instead of focusing on changing the players. If you don;t change the process, you will only get new faces stuck in the same processes.
How can this be done?
Imo, regular band members cant change anything, let alone a process put in place by, l assume, the current Chief (since this type of governance didnt happen until she arrived). Im not sure what it is, but l did request a copy of their confidentiality forms, and i was unsuccessful, this will not be released to anyone. Apparently when you get into Council, there is some type of form they all sign off and it appears to give the Chief the authority to speak for all Councillors and they only speak if she says "the Councillors can jump in and comment at any time", such as what happened at the Coldwater mtg we had in December. We need to change the players at the table so they will play with community members. Hopefully the right, new players will stand up for the people.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone on Council wishes to comment on the confidentiality form, perhaps provide knowledge about this, l would welcome this.
@ Tracey
ReplyDeleteI think we have to look at chief and council as "plugged in" to the casino, the government and whomever else they do business with...and it only makes sense to conclude that OUTSIDE interests seem to matter more, while the community comes second. A confidentiality form sounds more like LEGAL SPEAK...ie a gag order to serve the outside stakeholders while keeping the appearance of order.
For example, if BUSINESS with/for the casino is to look good, we can't have councilors talking about the drugs, gang shit and social destruction that is directly a result of having a casino here. So lawyers come in, and wave their magic papers around and SUPPRESS truth and FREE SPEECH .
So, CHANGING THE PLAYERS won't do much if the larger context and loyalties aren't considered. Yes, we elect the C & C, but they work for the casino, and the gov, and those obligations run COUNTER to community well being.
How can you solve community issues if no one can even talk about it?
Therefore community members MUST speak, since they are not bound with gag orders, nor do they have divided loyalties.
The players must change yes, but the system must also.
PS isn't it interesting how we now say things like "players" and "change the players at the table" ????
See how much the gaming trip has infiltrated our minds?
@ Tracey & peeps
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your efforts to obtain a confidentiality form... it would be interesting to know the depth of control and suppression involved.
Sidenote: I wanted to sign up on the Rama First Nation Website...for access to the "members only" docs, meeting notes etc...(yes I am a community member) but I didn't...WHY?
Because you have to click "agree" with the confidentiality statements that are HIDDEN and only presented AFTER you click "agree."
There is something wrong with having to agree to some terms without seeing them first. I am talking specifics here. But the so called "agreement" is a blanket control tactic which basically DIS-EMPOWERS anyone from free speech whatsoever if u agree!!!! "confidentiality" is a sweetened term for "we will sue you should you disagree or speak about anything OUR STAKEHOLDERS may not approve of."
Furthermore, the only detail on the pre-sign up page is that:
"Members agree that rules directed at them and published on Rama First Nation website from time to time constitute a part of this agreement."
"Members agree that terms and conditions with respect to information and services provided on the Rama First Nation website constitute a part of this agreement as well."
In plain english, this means C & C can change the rules whenever they want, and that YOU, if you agree, are agreeing to anything and everything THEY say, even if it isn't printed yet! It's insane!
Weirdly corrupt. Would you buy a car without test driving it? Or seeing it? Would you buy a house without reading a contract? Of course not...yet these politicians and their business partners (read:handlers) seem to think they can pass this shit off as fair, honest and democratic. It is nothing but control and it undermines your rights to free speech and an access to knowledge you need to make wise decisions.
Welcome to the RAMA CONTROL BOARD, where we suppress your voices to protect our corporate masters!!!!!!!!