President's Message

Season's Greetings Elders, Members and Youth!

Christmas Season is here! As we're in the final stretch of 2011, it is my honour to share the events and highlights that have occurred over the last half of the year for our Tahltan Nation. Our annual general meeting was held August 22 to 24 in Iskut and we had a great turnout. A special thank you to the community of Iskut for hosting the event. We appreciated the nice shelters and warm stoves to keep us energized in the cool weather. We discussed Nation business, received updates on various projects, enjoyed delicious feasts and got to take in some good music from our Tahltan musicians in the evenings. As always, this event provided our people a chance to come together to engage in discussion about our Nation and to celebrate our culture and traditions. Medu to everyone who attended.

We also had a vote in July on two impact benefit agreements negotiated with AltaGas for the McLymont Creek and Volcano Creek hydroelectric run of river projects; members voted 71% in favour of both. Medu to everyone who came out to vote and got involved in the discussion. The agreements were signed at the end of September. You can see photos and read the story in this edition. We look forward to working as a partner with AltaGas in the development of these projects.

Information meetings were held inside and outside Tahltan territory about the proposed Imperial Metals Red Chris mine project to enable members to learn more about it, ask questions of Imperial Metals and speak with our membership Tahltan to Tahltan. The project has not been endorsed by the Tahltan Leadership, as a relationship with the company is still developing between the communities and leadership. If members provide direction, there may be an opportunity for an impact benefit agreement to be negotiated prior to the mine beginning construction. We are developing workshops for our membership on the project for the new year, which we encourage you to attend and ask questions. Provincial Regulators involved in the Mines Act Permitting Process for the Red Chris Project, as well as senior provincial representatives, will be visiting our communities during the week of January 9 to 12, 2012.

Development of the Tahltan Nation Plan, the community vision for our future, has also been progressing. The plan describes how we want to develop our government, economy, land management capacity, social support system and cultural grounding into the future. A preliminary draft of the plan has been prepared, working with the people who manage Tahltan organizations. Your input is an important part of the plan's development. The next step will be to get member thoughts about how you would like to see our nation develop. Watch for community meetings in the new year.

You can read about some of the other activities and initiatives that have taken place or are underway in this newsletter. I hope you enjoy reading about our incredibly talented people and that it brings you the same sense of pride and inspiration as it does for me. I encourage you to continue sharing your feedback and suggestions for future editions.

With Christmas around the corner, I want to thank you for your support the past year and to send my best wishes to you and your family over the holiday season.

Warm regards,
Annita McPhee, Coscuya  

Past President's Messages