Skownan Business Centre now ready to be built

Skownan, Treaty 2 Territory – History was made at Skownan First Nation shortly after 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 26th, 2012, when officials of the First Nation and the provincial governments put their shovels into the ground for the sod-breaking ceremony which was the official start of the First Nation’s new business centre.

The million-dollar, 3200 sq. ft. centre will include a restaurant, postal services, convenience store and a fuel station.

Officials participating in the ceremony included Chief Cameron Catcheway and Councillors Sterling Catcheway, Joseph Maud and Charlotte Nepinak along with local MLA and Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn. The SKO Development Inc. Board of Directors was represented by Peter Chartrand, Irvin Maud and Dennis Catcheway. Also participating was the First Nation’s CEO/Business Manager, Boh Kubrakovich.“Getting to this point wasn’t easy,” Chief Catcheway said. “But once we understood how to work with programs that are out there to assist First Nations with programs, advice and loans, we knew we were going to make a success for the people of our First Nation.”

The Skownan First Nation Assembly composed of the membership then created a business development corporation, designated lands for commercial use, and then assembled the business arrangements for the necessary capital. All in all, it took 14 months to get to the sod-breaking ceremony.

“We owe this initiative to the hard work and dedication of the people of Skownan and we hope this facility will make money for us, create jobs and for the first time have a centre setup as such in the community”, said Peter Chartrand, SKO Development president.

The sod-breaking ceremony was also a sign of success in building a well-administered government which could in turn create an economy for the Skownan community. Since their election, Chief Catcheway and the Councillors have managed to move from a situation where a co-management regime had been imposed on the First Nation to an administration which was dedicated to creating businesses leading to job creation for its members.

“Today was a great feeling and this is a great start to something good. I want to thank my Council for supporting our vision, thanks to the people for being patient, and thanks to our business team for their focused efforts in making sure this centre becomes a reality”, Chief Catcheway said.

In addition to participating in the ceremony, MLA Ron Kostyshyn also was involved in a meeting of the Manitoba government with the First Nation’s government. Eric Robinson, deputy Premier, was also present.

Backgrounder on Business Centre

The Skownan Business Center is a commercial retail and service space with a floor plan of 3240 square feet in size with a footprint of 36′ X 90′. Although the business centre will be setup for rental all tenants will be operated under the SKO Development Inc. excluding the Canada Postal Service who presently have a service agreement with the SKO Chief and Council. The corridor will accommodate one main entrance with the break off to the Restaurant (36’x36′) and deck, Post Office (8’x14′) and Convenience Store/Fuel Station (36’x36′). We will also be offering a number of additional services such as: ATM Cash Machine and Pay Phone.

The funding is now in place with the First Nation investing $110,000 dollars, the Federal Government through Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) programs CEOP and ABDP will be contributing $327,406, with the remainder coming in from loans from CIBC and First Peoples Economic Growth Fund(FPEGF) lending the SKO Development Inc. totaling $509,000.

Backgrounder for Land Designation

The purpose of “Land Designation” is basically to allow reserve land to be leased out to third parties so that the First Nation can gain profits from business entities that have interest in utilizing Reserve Lands for business purposes. A designation is conducted in accordance with the rules set out in Sections 37 to 41 of the Indian Act and the Indian Referendum Regulations. Referring to the same, it is understood that there are specific procedures set out which ensure that all the First Nation members have the opportunity to vote on how the reserve land will be developed. A designation occurs only if a majority of the electors (who come out to vote) give their consent through a formal, official referendum vote. Before any vote on a designation is cast, it is the responsibility of Skownan First Nation to give members all of the facts of the designation process and any present and future business project under consideration. The First Nation did this by mailing information packages to off-reserve members and having available for pick-up the same packages to on-reserve members.

In the Lands Designation process it is important to note that land units/parcels that are proposed to be designated will not lose their reserve status at any time. Even after the land is designated, it will still always be reserve land for the Skownan First Nation. The lands are only leased to our Development Corporation for their use during the period specified in the terms and conditions of the lease document.

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For more information on Skownan First Nation:
www.skownanfirstnation.com or call our CEO/Business Manager Boh Kubrakovich at 204.628.3373 or 204.648.6268

NT3