Tla’amin Nation citizens will be going to the polls to cast ballots to elect a hegus and eight legislators on Saturday, September 10.
The election is historic as it will be the first for Tla’amin not directed under the Indian Act.
The first nation became self-governing on April 5 when its treaty with the governments of British Columbia and Canada came into effect.
Three hegus candidates, Vern Pielle, Clint Williams and John Steven Hackett, are running for the position of the nation’s top leader.
The Peak contacted all three candidates and asked them to answer the same four questions. One of the three candidates, John Steven Hackett, did not submit his answers by press time.
Vern Pielle
Why are you putting your name forward for hegus?
I am putting my name forward because I am passionate about the Tla’amin Nation and its citizens. We are working together at this monumental time in history. As we start with our new government, we are starting on equal grounds in learning how it will benefit everyone. I know I can work with all of our people to understand this process. It is a very exciting time to be out from under the Indian Act as we proceed into the future on our own terms.
What do you think is the most important issue Tla’amin Nation currently faces?
The most important issue is making sure everyone understands their treaty, from front to back. There is a lot of misinformation among the citizens regarding the treaty that needs to be clarified. We need to understand the laws, governance and lands that we own as a nation. Everyone needs to be aware of their new government and its structure.
As hegus, what would you do to address that issue?
I will ask the nation what it is they want to learn first and present the information in a timely manner. By listening to each and every person, we can begin to move forward together. I will treat everyone with respect, honesty and openness when they come to me with questions or concerns.
If elected, how would you proceed with relations with Powell River Regional District and City of Powell River?
Tla’amin and Powell River have an excellent working relationship. This was largely started by former mayor Stewart Alsgard and current mayor Dave Formosa. I intend to continue growing this relationship through business and mutual respect. Patrick Brabazon from Powell River Regional District Electoral Area A also shares a good relationship with Tla’amin. We have a good relationship with all our neighbours and there is no intention to change that. I have known all of them for a long time and we have mutual respect for each other.
Clint Williams
Why are you putting your name forward for hegus?
I have been so fortunate to be elected for the last four consecutive terms as chief councillor for Sliammon First Nation. A large part of the work over these last eight years has been preparing for self-government. I have worked alongside our staff and legal teams preparing for the days of implementation of the final agreement. During the planning and preparation for the future we still had to carry on with working through the challenges of the regular day-to-day business of keeping the band operational through some very challenging times. We have successfully navigated through all of the challenges and are proudly a self-governing nation. This new challenge of implementation of the new laws and regulations in this new world is very exciting for me and I would love to follow through and complete this work and help to provide a brighter future for our people.
What do you think is the most important issue Tla’amin Nation currently faces?
Proper implementation of the new laws and regulations will be key; they have been developed based on our constitution that was developed by our community, for our community. The constitution, among many things, calls for honesty, transparency, accountability and fair and equal treatment for our people. This is important because our people have recently acquired many new assets and we must ensure they are responsibly managed and fairly distributed when required to do so. It is important that business opportunities and investments are reviewed in a responsible manner and also seeking our citizens’ input.
As hegus, what would you do to address that issue?
Being a part of the team that worked very hard to get our community back on our feet through some difficult years, I never want to see our community be in an awful position such as that again. We are now in such a great financial position and have many new resources we never had access to before. My commitment is to strong but fair leadership that will look to continuously build up our assets and provide for a brighter future for our current and future generations. Education, training and effective partnerships will help us grow in many ways; we will always be searching for bigger and better but sustainable business opportunities.
If elected, how would you proceed with relations with Powell River Regional District and City of Powell River?
We have maintained and continued to develop a very active relationship with both the city and regional district. There are many projects we work on as a tripartite government and some we work on separately. Collaboration and respect between the tripartite local governments is a must; any new developments or projects that either is considering must be communicated and understood. We meet regularly to plan and prepare for the safety of our communities in the event of a natural disaster, we have developed plans to share resources to help each other out if we are ever struck with such an event. We also meet to review development plans and projects that may benefit all of our communities. As the Tla’amin Nation, we will continue to participate and continue to grow these relationships as this will benefit us all.
