The Town of Hearst and the Constance Lake First Nation announce a sustainable development project

March 29, 2018

The Town of Hearst and the Community of Constance Lake announced today a major partnership on waste management. At the signing ceremony, the two communities indicated that they will work together to demonstrate the value of cooperating on solid waste management to improve the environment, reduce costs, cooperate and establish a base for future relations.

Funded by Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, the Community Infrastructure Partnership Project is a national program headed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and focused on joint management of solid waste by First Nations and municipalities.

“This opportunity to work together with our neighbours has been so valuable. It has provided us with a solution but also opened doors for work on other future projects,” said Constance Lake First Nation Chief Richard Allen. “We have a better understanding now of one another’s common challenges and values to be able to move forward.”

The aim of this unique program is to increase the capacity of community members and allow partners to learn about the culture, history and governance systems of neighbouring communities. In addition, it allows solid waste services to be shared to obtain economic and environmental results, and improve overall results.

“I am pleased to see that the recent negotiations between our two communities were successful, resulting in the signing of this significant agreement, which will contribute to strengthening the relationship between the Town of Hearst and Constance Lake First Nations”, added Hearst Mayor Roger Sigouin.

The partnership signed between the Town of Hearst and the Constance Lake First Nation shows that community infrastructure partnership projects can lead to joint solutions to pressing waste management problems while establishing government to government relations based on respect, responsibility, cooperation and partnership.

“We firmly believe that the continuing support of the federal government will help us achieve our goal of continuing to build positive relations between communities throughout the country. FCM is proud to work with our federal, municipal and First Nation partners in carrying out projects that will make a difference in the field through a collaborative approach”, declared FCM President Jenny Gerbasi.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is the national voice of municipal governments. It has almost 2,000 members representing over 90% of Canadians.

Information

City of Hearst: Janine Lecours, (705) 372-2813, jlecours@hearst.ca
Constance Lake First Nation: Lillian Sutherland, (705) 221-7554, lillian.sutherland@clfn.on.ca
FCM Media Relations: (613) 907-6395, media@fcm.ca

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