g ather inf ormation on plans that the y hav e t o open up the Ring of Fir e We hav e been instruct ed b y our le ader ship t o ensur e that our c ommunities ar e w ell inf ormed of the st eps t ak en mo ving f or w ar d and that w e e xplor e the v arious options no w on the t able so that MT C c ommunity member s will also benefit f ully fr om the tr aining and job opport unities Ther e is a str ong c aution that w e mo v e slo wly and c ar ef ully ensuring that the envir onment al c onc erns ar e alw ays in the f or efr ont Our ne xt st ep is t o se t up mee tings with Matt aw a Chief s discuss imp acts and possible p articip ation in some pr ojects and t o de v elop a business plan on ho w w e w ork t og e ther and ho w w e c an all benefit We ar e seeking f unding t o help us g ather mor e inf ormation and t o pr o vide appr opriat e c onsult ations with our o wn member s 3 W at er and Se w er Infr astructur e We ar e e xploring an inno v ativ e appr o ach t o addr essing w at er issues in all our c ommunities thr ough an applic ation t o P3 Canada b y putting all our pr ojects t og e ther w e hav e a be tt er chanc e of g e tting f unded o v er a long er period of time We c an also w ork with the Matt aw a c ommunities and e v en municip alities in the v arious pr ogr ams av ailable fr om the pr o vinc e and the f eder al g o v ernment We ar e also seeking planning monies f or this appr o ach It may be that w e will need t o e xplor e se tting up a W at er A uthority These ar e just thr ee it ems I will mention in this ne wsle tt er but I will be pr o viding my updat es on the all these files on our w ebsit e and on W aw at ay R adio Ther e is so much t o t alk about and so much pot ential f or opport unities f or all our people I look f or w ar d t o c arr ying on my t asks and t o c ontinue w orking with y ou all Mee g w e t ch Lawr enc e Martin Deputy Gr and Chief L eo F riday In this wint er se ason w e should t ak e time t o p ause and r eflect on the p ast y e ar while w e also look f or w ar d t o what will c ome in the Ne w Y e ar This y e ar w e hav e lost many member s in our c ommunities including our Gr and Chief and most of our f amilies hav e been t ouched b y these losses I e xt end my thoughts and pr ay er s t o all those who grie v e As w e look f or w ar d t o the Ne w Y e ar I w ould lik e t o e xt end a w arm w elc ome t o our ne wly elect ed Gr and Chief Lawr enc e Martin These ar e import ant and challenging times f or the Mushk e g o wuk Fir st Nations and the people hav e chosen a str ong and e xperienc ed le ader t o t ak e us f or w ar d I look f or w ar d t o w orking closely with the Gr and Chief o v er the c oming months b y building on our p ast and cr e ating ne w opport unities f or the people of our c ommunities No w that the w e ather is t urning c old ag ain and the ic e be gins t o thick en w e will be ent ering int o a busy time of tr av el mee tings and r ene wing friendships I look f or w ar d t o our upc oming Mamo wihit o win and the import ant decisions that will be discussed ther e We need t o r emember why w e ar e her e on e arth All of us hav e a duty t o do our best t o ensur e that our childr en and their childr en will be able t o liv e our tr aditions f ar int o the f ut ur e 2