McLeod Lake Indian Band Chief Derek Orr has responded to concerns raised about the band's monetary distributions to members on Thursday.
The Citizen reported concerns raised by Chris Woolfrey that his four minor-age children were excluded from distributions made to band members. Woolfrey called for minors to have their distributions held in trust until they turn 19.
"The Membership Code, that is our governing code that we have to abide by -and that was ratified by our members," Orr said.
The McLeod Lake Indian Band's Membership Code, which was updated in 2004, specifies that members are only entitled to per capita distribution or any other distributions at the age of majority -which in B.C. is 19.
Orr, who was elected in 2008, said he was not part of the decision-making process on the membership code, but he is always open to receiving feedback from members about how to improve them.
"We are looking at a lot of the codes of the McLeod Lake Indian Band to try to improve and modernize them," Orr said.
Orr said the band's trusts are well-managed and have healthy balances.
Both the band's Treaty 8 trust, created when the band signed onto Treaty 8 in 2000, and Lands and Minerals Trust - funded by revenue-sharing agreements from resource companies working the band's traditional territories - have trust documents that spell out how the trusts are managed. The trust documents set out minimum balances that must be maintained and the trusts are managed by elected boards of trustees, Orr said.
These measures will safeguard the trusts for future generations, he said. In addition, Orr said, he and the current council have made it their mandate to promote economic development and better quality of life for the band's members on and off the reserve.
"These dividends are being given out because of the success of the McLeod Lake Indian Band. We like to invest in our community," he said. "I can't tell you the exact balance [of the Lands and Minerals Trust], but I can tell you since 2008 it has doubled."
