Siksika Nation Chief and Council leads by example though the act of taking a voluntary drug test.

April 19, 2017

Siksika Nation, a proud member of the Blackfoot Confederacy and Treaty 7, is a Nation located in southern Alberta. The Chief and Council leadership announced today, a continued commitment to the mandate of the Siksika Crime Prevention task force by voluntarily taking a drug test. They have schedule this voluntary drug test for Monday, April 24, 2017.

This action by the leadership follows the notice of April 5, 2017 to the Siksika Nation membership regarding the formation of a task force. The Siksika Crime Prevention task force mandate will work in partnership with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Justice Department and key Siksika Nation departments; Health, EMS, Housing, Education, Flood Rebuild and Membership.

Councillor Marsha Wolf Collar, who brought this particular motion forward for consideration said “When you lead by example, it’s not just a political thing it’s a holistic concept. As role models for the community, it’s important to advocate Wellness in the Workplace, its needs to be a priority at all levels.” She continued

“Doing the drug testing at the leadership level, this is showing true leadership to the community. To be well rounded leaders who are healthy mind, body and soul. This makes for a more competent and productive workforce. If we, as leaders are going to impose drug testing, we need to be examples by participating in the drug testing,”

Following the initial announcement of the Siksika Crime Prevention task force, the community continues to take steps towards enforcing policies, by-laws and Band Council Resolutions (BCRs). The Siksika Crime Prevention engagement process will include surveys, community meetings and various other ways to gather feedback and input. The feedback from community members as well has been generally positive, and they are eager to participate in this initiative.

Spokesperson and member of the task force, Councillor Buck Breaker said “We hope this voluntary drug test and future actions taken will make a significant and measureable impact on drug trafficking, violence and other crimes.” He continued “We are actively working on encouraging participation from membership in this process. It is important for us to keep our families and community members safe.”

Siksika Chief and Council hope to lead the way in influencing other departments on their Nation to offer a voluntary drug test. They continue to fully support the task force and communicate next steps to Siksika Nation membership and departments.

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Media Contact:

Lowa Beebe, Public Relations, Media & Communications

Lowa.Beebe@shaw.ca 403-852-8181

NT5