4 local governments in Fort Smith, N.W.T., sign new collaboration agreement

Four governments in Fort Smith, N.W.T., have signed a new agreement which they say creates a framework for collaboration in the present and future.

The memorandum of agreement (MOA), signed on Friday, is between the Salt River First Nation, Smith's Landing First Nation, Fort Smith Métis Council, and the Town of Fort Smith.

"It was important for everyone… all the leaders in the community, to get together, to work together and, you know, strive for the goals for our community," said Chief Toni Heron of the Salt River First Nation.

"Working together, it makes it a lot stronger and a lot stronger and one voice," she added.

The agreement prioritizes caring for land and water, celebrating and preserving cultural heritage, and enhancing the social and economic wellbeing of the community, according to a joint press statement.

Leaders for all four governments, as well as Thebacha MLA Jay Macdonald, signed the agreement after several meetings that took place over a year and a half. The meetings were led by the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER), which the governments say supported them in collaborating and advancing reconciliation.

Securing the future

Although the four governments have worked together for decades, the new MOA formalizes the relationship.

"I've been around a long time and this is the first time the leaders who have worked together over the years, on a project-by-project basis, have agreed that it's time to move to a more formal relationship," said Michael Miltenberger, former N.W.T. MLA who works as a special adviser for CIER.

"Because there's things they can only solve together."

Miltenberger said this kind of political agreement is important because it creates a precedent and framework for cooperation that isn't "tied to the personalities" of whoever is in power.

"This is now in place for the successor leaders who, of course if they want to pull out [they] can do that, but the pressure is going to be very great for leaders to stay at the table and to start talking about things that are really important," he said.

The collective of governments has already scheduled a first meeting for this week, and will receive funding from CIER to help organize the work.

Macdonald, the MLA for Thebacha, said that seeing this agreement through is one of the things that drove him to get involved in politics at the territorial level. He hopes the agreement will improve the local economy.

"I would like to see us, as a community, lessen our reliance on the [territorial government] to drive our economy," he said.

"I think there's opportunity here for us to work together to find ways forward to look for new initiatives, you know, as a collaborative so that we can be self-sufficient as time goes on."