Read on for all the details as shared on the Indigenous Services Canada website.

Former and current members of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Context

A service members agreement was developed by the Government of Canada, Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation and the Federation of Newfoundland Indians to establish criteria for accepting former and current members of the CAF and the RCMP as Qalipu founding members based on the special place of honour they hold in the Mi’kmaw culture due to their service as protectors of Canada and their communities. The agreement applies to persons who were part of the enrolment process between 2008 and 2012 but were denied founding membership based on the group acceptance criterion.

Opportunity

The agreement applies to persons who had founding membership under the 2008 agreement and who, on September 22, 2011, were or had been:

• officers or non-commissioned members of the CAF serving in the Regular Force or the Primary Reserve after completing basic training, including those honourably released

or

• serving in the Canadian Rangers, including those honourably released

or

• police officers of the RCMP, including special constables and reservists appointed pursuant to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, excluding those dismissed with cause

and

• applicants for founding membership under the 2008 agreement

Those persons will now be eligible to submit documentation proving their service so as to meet the group acceptance criterion. Applicants will still need to meet the self-identification criterion, the connection to a pre-Confederation Mi’kmaq community criterion and the Canadian Indian ancestry criterion, as set out in the 2008 agreement and the supplemental agreement.

Process

Persons denied under the group acceptance criterion can expect to get a letter in January 2023. They will have 45 days from the date of the letter to provide the required documents. The only documents accepted will be those proving service in one of the groups listed under Opportunity. Applicants may want to reach out to the CAF or the RCMP to obtain documents proving their service. The documents provided will be sent to the enrolment committee for assessment and decision. Decisions will be communicated in the summer of 2023 and will provide information on next steps.

Note that if an applicant’s Canadian Indian ancestry was not assessed previously, it will be reviewed from their original application package.

Hundreds of students have been making positive advances in reclaiming our Mi’kmaw language since Qalipu First Nation introduced its Mi’kmaw language training initiative L’nui-kina’masulti’kw (we are learning to speak Mi’kmaw). We’re so proud of everyone who has been working to learn the language and we’re pleased to share the next steps and upcoming classes! While our Mi’kmaw Language Facilitator, Dean Simon, is on leave we will continue our learning journey with Michael R. Denny who will be offering beginner and simple conversational lessons starting this week. Classes will begin on January 25, will run on Wednesday evenings online after work hours. New and returning students are welcome and intake will be ongoing until all spots have been filled. Please register here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XZHLQQP

Please contact Allyson Robbins at arobbins@qalipu.ca if you have any questions.

The next regular meeting of the Chief and Council will take place on February 11 in Corner Brook in the Community Room at 1 Church Street. The meeting will begin at 9:30 am. Band members are welcome to attend and can pre-register by contacting Suzanne at 634-5111.

This meeting will also be streamed from the ginu membership portal.

The Skills Parachute Program is designed to increase the skills of the client and improve their chances of maintaining or gaining employment. The Skills Parachute Program is for short-term courses up to a maximum of 5 days in length and at a maximum cost of $1,500.

Recertification of expired courses may be eligible for support under this program in circumstances where the client is not currently attached to the labour force and requires recertification to increase employability. The Skills Parachute Program will not cover the cost of driver education or hunter education courses.

For courses longer in duration (longer than 5 days but shorter than 12 weeks) and at a maximum cost of $5,000 we also have funding available through a program called “Short-Term Courses Funding Program”

Please note: You must apply for this funding before taking the course, this is not a reimbursement program for courses you have taken without applying for this program.

For more information, please click here https://qalipu.ca/education-and-training/short-term-course-funding-program/ or contact Yvonne at ymacdonald@qalipu.ca

This year’s recipient of the Bernie Hanlon Memorial Scholarship is Julianna Brinston. Julianna is a third-year Biochemistry Nutrition Student at Memorial University in St. John’s. She plans to study Medicine at Memorial once she completes her current program. Her desire to remove inequalities in the Healthcare system have been a driving force in her educational journey.

In Julianna’s application essay she wrote, “As an Indigenous woman in STEM, I hope to break boundaries and become an advocate for the Indigenous community, a group that is all-too often the victims of stereotyping and abuse in the Medical system.”

Julianna’s previous volunteer experience includes House Council Mental Health Representative, First Light Friendship Center, and Ronald McDonald House. She is currently volunteering at Planned Parenthood, is serving as Third-Year Representative of the Biochemistry Society and secretary of Women in Science and Engineering society (WISE).

Julianna says of receiving the award “The Bernie Hanlon Memorial Scholarship is one of the greatest honours I have received in my academic career. It demonstrates that I have achieved one of my lifelong goals to improve my community.”

Bernadette “Bernie” Hanlon dedicated her life to supporting and encouraging the Indigenous people of Newfoundland both culturally and in working with them to meet their educational dreams. Bernie always went above and beyond for her students and tried to help in any way possible through her many years with the Federation of Newfoundland Indians and later with the Qalipu First Nation. Bernie worked tirelessly to help those around her develop personally as well by supporting and encouraging cultural and spiritual growth. The Bernie Hanlon Memorial Scholarship was created to help a client of The Education and Training Department attending college or completing an undergraduate degree to continue to pursue those dreams.