Since I first announced my intention to run again for Chief of Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation earlier this year, I have been very encouraged by the response and well wishes of our Members and their willingness to share their ideas with me on how to improve our First Nation.

Having served as Chief for 12 years over four terms of office with a proven track record, I’ve found that being away from the political arena for the past four years has been very beneficial. It’s allowed me time to think about the hopes and aspirations of our First Nation, reflect on past successes and future challenges, and identify new opportunities. I’ve collected these ideas and proposals to put forward for discussion during my campaign for Chief and get your feedback.

My passion for serving NCN continues to be rekindled and I believe I have much more to give back to the community. I’m energized and enthusiastic about the upcoming election and optimistic about what we can accomplish together. I ask for your support on August 24.

Ekosani,

Jerry Primrose

“Going forward, I believe NCN leadership’s most important goal will be not only to keep our economic initiatives

growing but to rebalance our approach with a greater focus on strengthening our cultural and social needs.”

Jerry Primrose

PP

CHIEFfor

erryPRIMROSEPRIMROSEJElect

• Honesty • Integrity • Responsible Government • Respected Leadership • Commitment • Ongoing Accountability To You

New DirectioN, New Focus – turNiNg VisioN iNto ActioN to ProDuce reAl results

let me know what you think. Give me a call if you need more information or just want to talk.

Jerry Primrose 20 Westwood Drive, Nelson House, MB R0B 1A0 (204) 307-0362 primrosejerry@gmail.com

EDUCATION AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

Education and Youth Development, mentoring the leaders of tomorrow and creating a skilled capable workforce are important to ensure a strong future for our First Nation.

Using ATEC More EffectivelyNCN is fortunate to have the ATEC facility in the community and now that Wuskwatim training has wound up we need to “re-vision” the facility. We must explore ways to use ATEC to make higher education more accessible to Members in our community, such as providing a Transition Year Program between high school and university, and perhaps first and second year university courses.

For members not inclined to academic programs, ATEC could provide adult education opportunities to enhance safety and skills in traditional occupations such as trapping, fishing, prospecting, log building and tourism.

Holding a Gathering of NCN YouthOur youth are our future. The sooner we engage them in charting a course for the future, the stronger their commitment becomes to our First Nation and the easier it is for them to assume more responsible roles in the community as they become adults. We must hold a gathering of NCN youth, feature workshops and “visioning” exercises to demonstrate our commitment to them and engage them in community building.

Capitalizing on the Knowledge and Wisdom of Our EldersNCN is fortunate to have well respected elders who together are an important

community resource with a vast amount of knowledge and wisdom that could benefit the entire community. We need to enhance ways to connect our children, youth and adult members with our elders and engage them in transferring their knowledge to the next generations so it is not lost.

HEALTH AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Comprehensive health care services readily at hand and social development supports in place is important for maintaining a well-functioning society. Several initiatives could strengthen our community:

Transferring Health Responsibility to NCN from FNIHBThe Federal Government operates our current Nursing Station, but it can provide only limited health services. One option to explore would be to have the First Nations, Inuit and Aboriginal Health Branch of Health Canada (FNIHB) transfer responsibilities and funding for health services directly to NCN, similar to how education was transferred when we established NHEA. Operating our own clinic would give us more control over the services we provide and offer a higher level of care.

Establishing a Clinic in the Métis SettlementMembers with complex or serious health conditions are referred to Thompson General Hospital, a provincial facility operated by the Burntwood Region Health

PP

CHIEFfor

erryPRIMROSEPRIMROSEJElect

• Honesty • Integrity • Responsible Government • Respected Leadership • Commitment • Ongoing Accountability To You

Authority. In fact, NCN’s current health-service demand requires NCN to operate a dedicated medical transportation service to Thompson. Another option to explore would be establishing a clinic off reserve in the Métis community perhaps as a satellite clinic of the BRHA where we would bring in our own doctors. This could also provide many cost and time efficiencies.

Setting Up a Receiving Home In WinnipegNCN Members who must travel to Winnipeg for medical procedures are usually put up in a hotel, which is impersonal and adds to the stress of the trip. Setting up an NCN Receiving Home in the city operated by NCN Members would provide more personal service and could be a cost-effective alternative to hotels.

Providing Housing for the Homeless in Nelson HouseThe critical housing shortage in our community is actually creating a homelessness problem for some people in the community. We need to explore creative and affordable housing options to meet essential housing needs for these Members. Looking at what other communities are

doing can give us ideas. In Winnipeg for example, small apartment buildings have been built very economically on one residential lot to provide eight small living spaces (known as pocket suites) for singles and small families. Other communities have found creative ways to provide safe comfortable housing.

Establishing a Community Outreach WorkerEven though our Nursing Station, Wellness Centre and Medicine Lodge provide many valuable services, there still seems to be unmet needs that could be filled by a community outreach worker to address social and spiritual issues that fall outside the existing services.

Mastering the Skills of LifeI propose NCN set up parenting and life-skills courses for our young people since no resources are currently available to teach those skills.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTWuskwatim construction will wind up early in the next term of office for Chief and Council, when we must make our decision to invest and have our investment capital ready. I’m confident we will be able to secure our 33 percent investment goal.

“I’m energized and enthusiastic about the upcoming election and optimistic about what we can accomplish together.”

GOVERNANCE

Taking Time to Implement a Solid Governance ModelGovernance is an important tool to fulfill our vision of becoming an independent self-governing First Nation and I don’t believe the process should be rushed. Developing a solid governance approach involves ongoing community input, continuous workshops with Members and a community vote on the governance model. We should consult with and learn from other First Nations, such as the West Bank First Nation in British Columbia, which has already put in place a successful governance model.

COMMUNICATIONS

Building Stronger Communications from Chief and CouncilIn the interests of openness and transparency for Chief and Council, I believe we need more frequent and regular communications using newsletters, the NCN website and our radio station to better inform Members about what is happening on various issues and initiatives. We should develop our own in-house communications capability with a designated budget and grow the communications talent from within our own Members, perhaps encouraging youth Members to study journalism, Creative Communications or broadcasting at college or university.

COMMUNITY-BUILDING INITIATIVESBuilding and strengthening the community is made up of many different activities and responsibilities that are a combination of government and individual efforts. Some additions and improvements that need to be explored include:

Developing a Community Justice SystemDiscussions with Manitoba Justice should be initiated to explore developing a partnership for implementing a community justice system. Community justice should involve mediation programs and Member input in determining potential community service sentencing to help crime victims feel a fairer sense of justice.

Removing individuals who break the law from the community for judicial procedures, sentencing and serving their sentences also removes them from their support systems and the influence of the community in encouraging acceptable behaviour. Establishing a community justice system may be the most effective way to discourage negative behaviour and put offenders on the right track.

To demonstrate proper respect for justice, a separate House of Justice or Courthouse needs to be built that would house judicial proceeding and related functions such as mediation services.

Currently judicial proceedings take place in other facilities around the community that don’t reflect the proper respect for the law.

Upgrading NCN’s Water Treatment and Sewage Lagoon SystemCommunity growth has resulted in our water treatment and sewage lagoon systems reaching capacity several years ago with the need to upgrade and expand them, which I see as a priority. Delaying this critical action could affect future community expansion and potentially threaten the health and wellbeing of our Members.

Encouraging Local Gardening and Self SufficiencyA program could be developed to encourage NCN Members to grow gardens to supply produce as a way to encourage self-sufficiency, healthy and affordable eating and participation in the 100-kilometre diet movement. This could be done by developing individual gardens to supply families, community gardens for Elders and disabled individuals and a seasonal greenhouse for the community. A year round greenhouse, heated with a geothermal heating system would supply fresh produce in winter and give an early start to garden plants in spring.

Recommitting to a Community Beautification ProgramSeveral years ago Manitoba Hydro provided the community with ornamental shrubs and trees to enhance our community.

“My vision for NCN is a strong independent First Nation.”

When that program ended, nothing was put in place to continue it. Ornamental trees in our yards and public places greatly contribute to community beautification. A renewed community beautification program could arrange a group order for ornamental trees from a tree nursery for delivery by truck to Nelson House for planting.

Community beautification could also benefit from a small NCN-owned farm tractor, which would be very useful and versatile for tasks around Nelson House such as grass cutting, brush thinning and tilling flower gardens.

Acquiring a Portable Sawmill to Assist Independent HomebuildersTo encourage Members who would like to build their own homes, NCN could acquire a portable sawmill that Members could use to mill their own lumber for building homes.

RECREATION AND CULTURE

I believe our community needs to enhance the recreation and cultural activities available to create a more vibrant and diversified community and I propose the following ideas:

Hiring Recreation Leaders Assigned to Different Nelson House NeighbourhoodsCurrently all recreation programs are provided centrally. To make programs more accessible and to improve participation,

I propose hiring three recreation leaders, each to be assigned to a specific Nelson House district. They would coordinate recreation in those neighbourhoods and ensure our Members have acces to activities throughout the year.

Assigning Full-time Coordinators for Organized SportsOrganized sports activities like hockey, track and field, and baseball could benefit from a full-time coordinator to ensure they are well organized.

Organizing Cultural Events and Monthly Community EventsEven though we have summer and winter festivals, I believe opportunities are available to enhance the cultural and entertainment programs in our community.

New cultural events such as violin, guitar or singing workshops could be organized to help Members improve their skills. Perhaps a small community band and or choir could be organized.

Monthly community entertainment events featuring activities such as community feasts, square dancing or singing would enhance life in our community.

By assigning responsibility to different community organizations to each be responsible for hosting an event would share the workload.

Providing Community CampsEven though we live in Canadian Shield country with beautiful forests and trees, many Members don’t have access to the great outdoors to commune with nature. NCN could economically set up tent camps in various locations near Nelson House that would be available for our Members to use. In some cases it may be necessary to provide boat transportation to sites on a lake.

oN August 24, Vote JerrY PriMrose For cHieF

CHIEFfor

erryPRIMROSEPRIMROSEJElect

• Honesty • Integrity • Responsible Government • Respected Leadership • Commitment • Ongoing Accountability To You

“I have been very encouraged by the response and well wishes of our Members and their willingness to share their ideas with me on how to improve our First Nation.”