Press Release

Fort McKay Mtis Community disappointed that there is not an Aboriginal Representative on the Government of Albertas World Class Monitoring Panel

March 14, 2012: On Tuesday, March 14 the Government of Alberta announced that they have formed an expert panel led by Howard Tennant and including Hal Kvisle, Neil McCrank Gregory Taylor Ron Wallace and Ernie Hui to decide the structure for the proposed World Class Environmental Monitoring plan. While members of the panel bring a wealth of governmental, industrial, and academic experience to the group, none of the members are Aboriginal, nor do they have extensive experience working with traditional environmental knowledge. While the Fort McKay Mtis Community is supportive of increased monitoring in the region, they are profoundly disappointed that the Government has chosen not to include an Aboriginal person for the panel. Additionally, they are concerned that the panel does not include a person with a strong background in traditional environmental knowledge research, a pillar of the proposed monitoring program. This was a big miss, and lost opportunity for the Government of Alberta states Ron Quintal. When this program was first announced in February, the Government of Alberta provided us one weeks notice to provide input, we worked hard over that week to develop recommendations that we shared in good faith, understanding that we would be part of this process going forward. It is very troubling that the Government of Alberta would now seemingly ignore one of our key recommendations and choose an expert panel that does not include an Aboriginal representative; I am always an optimist and Im always trying to find ways to make things work, but honestly Im disappointed and not sure where we go from here. While this is a definite setback, the Fort McKay Mtis Community continue to look forward to learning more about the Governments plans and hope to be meaningfully involved going forward, developing a positive, productive, and collaborative process that includes Aboriginal people.
For more information or to arrange for a media interview, please contact Peter Fortna Manager of Sustainable Development Fort McKay Mtis Community Phone: 780-381-9168 Email: manager@fortmckaymetis.com

Background
The Fort McKay Mtis Community

The Fort McKay Metis are members of the Fort McKay community which is located 60 kilometers north of Fort McMurray. The growing and diverse membership is represented by Fort McKay Metis Community, a not-for-profit society incorporated under the Alberta Societies Act. Located in the heart of the Oil Sands, the community has faced unprecedented change over the last 30 years. This change has brought both opportunities and challenges; but, by following the Elder's traditional teachings and committing to grassroots development, the community is facing their challenges head on while taking advantage of the opportunities presented to them. The Fort McKay Mtis Community is made up of the historic Mtis community that originally provided labour to the fur trade in the Athabasca region of what is now northeastern Alberta in the early nineteenth century. Its members have a mixed ancestry that includes French, English, Cree, Dene and Mtis heritage with close ties to members of the Fort McKay First Nation. The Fort McKay Mtis Community draw strength from the positive aspects of their mixed heritage embracing their Aboriginal and Euro-Canadian backgrounds. In 2010 the community initiated a strategic planning process where they identified a new vision to be growing, economically and socially prosperous communities that live in a secure, healthy and culturally proud environment. To achieve this vision they have developed a mission statement to transform the Fort McKay Mtis Community through the pursuit of self-reliance, self-determination and selfmanagement. More information about these guiding principles including their strategic goals and strategies see the Fort McKay Mtis Community website www.fortmckaymetis.com.