As Indigenous people of this island, we have responsibilities to preserve and protect our culture. This also means we must protect and respect one another. It is my belief that Qalipu First Nation has a great responsibility to set an example of this by ensuring policies exist to protect our staff.

During my time as an employee of Qalipu First Nation and then again in my first term of council, there were internal issues that arose that were difficult to navigate. Having experienced these issues firsthand, I felt compelled to encourage us all to take a closer look.

The role of Council is to listen to the needs of community and administration by implementing measures that can effectively improve workplace safety and overall operations of the band. By doing so, we provide staff with a productive workplace that best serves our community. This work is ever changing, it is our responsibility to monitor and respond when the need for improvement arises.

With the assistance of external experts, we have been conducting a full review of our policies because we believe that to best serve our community, we must uphold each other to a standard that allows us all to come to work each day with the confidence and comfort required to best do our jobs, understanding that we are all accountable for our actions.

This work is not limited to human resources, it extends to all areas including financial management. Qalipu First Nation has one of the lowest financial risk ratings in Canada according to Indigenous Services Canada because of our responsible compliance and accountability. We are members of the First Nation Financial Management Board and follow extremely strict guidelines to maintain that certification.

We are committed to accountability and are determined to overcome any obstacles along the way to ensure our members, council and staff are confident in our ability to achieve our goals. It is an honour to work for you and for our future generations.