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By Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Saturday, January 10, 2009

DENINU KU'E/FORT RESOLUTION - By his own reckoning, Garry Bailey will be a busy man in his new role as president of the Fort Resolution Metis Council.

Bailey, who was elected to the position on Dec. 27, has a long list of goals and issues he wants to speak about.

Garry Bailey: newly-elected president of the Fort Resolution Metis Council. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

And, the new president describes himself as a vocal person.

"You won't get anything if you don't say anything," he said.

One of his main goals is to continue working on the decade-old negotiations for land, resources and self-government between the Northwest Territory Metis Nation and the federal and territorial governments.

"I think it's a stage for self-government, for sure," he said. "Hopefully, we're all ready for it."

Bailey previously worked for seven years as a community negotiator for the Fort Resolution Metis Council until the position was terminated about two years ago.

"I was always involved," said the 35-year-old. "I wanted to be part of making history."

As an employee, he couldn't run to become a member of the council, but did serve on council from 1997 to 2000 before becoming community negotiator.

Bailey plans to involve other members of the executive and the board in the negotiations for a team approach.

"I think the more people who get to know what it's all about means we can make a good decision when it comes time for ratifying," he said.

Bailey said another of his goals is to establish a "meaningful relationship" with the mining and mineral exploration industry on Metis traditional lands.

"Right now, I don't see any," he said, adding court rulings elsewhere in Canada require the industry to consult with aboriginal people and accommodate their rights.

Currently, he said mining companies – including Tamerlane Ventures, which is planning a lead/zinc test mine about 100 km west of Fort Resolution – just announce what they are planning.

"I plan to get working relationships with them," Bailey said, adding that includes more employment opportunities for Metis in Fort Resolution.

Bailey also said diamond mining companies should not be prejudiced against hiring people with criminal records.

"I think they have to go past that," he said, adding all people deserve a second chance and have to provide for their families like everyone else.

Bailey said he is aware of a few people in Fort Resolution who have been unable to obtain employment in the mining industry because of criminal records, even after completing mining training.

Another issue he hopes to address is territorial public housing in Fort Resolution. He said some houses are empty because many people don't fit income criteria.

"They don't make it fit what you can afford," he said.

Bailey also said the government mostly builds three-bedroom homes in Fort Resolution and they are sometimes not large enough for larger families. "That's a big one, housing," he said. "I want the Metis to be more involved in the decision-making."

Bailey works as a haul truck driver at Diavik mine and plans to continue with that job despite his now role as Metis president.

During his off hours at the mine, he said he can keep in touch with the Metis Council via e-mail and do research on the Internet.

In addition, he is a member of Fort Resolution's Deninoo Community Council, having been elected to a two-year term in December of 2007.

Bailey also plans to make sure the ancestors of Metis people in Fort Resolution are not forgotten.

"I want it recognized and respected that our Metis people in Fort Resolution are people from Little Buffalo River, Jean River, Stony Island, Rocher River, Taltson River, Tuban River, Rat River and surrounding areas," he said.

"This is our homeland just as much as any other aboriginal ground around the lake," he explained. "We are the descendants of the signatories of

Treaty 8 and that should not be forgotten or ignored."

Bailey said Metis people have always been kind of left out, adding they do not receive as much federal funding for programs and services as First Nations.