"Six Nations Band Council wants control of $2 Million trust fund"

Six Nations Band Council wants to take control of its $2 million revenue trust account currently being held in Ottawa.

The suggestion came after Councillor Ava Hill told council that Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) could only release $80,000 from the fund, even though she requested $100,000.

"It's our money; why can't we have it?" she asked. "If there's $2 million sitting in Ottawa and it's our money, why can't we get our hands on it? And why can't we get it transferred here? What can we do then to get it?"

Hill said AANDC told her Six Nations only had $80,000 it could take out this year, which "raised flags" with her.

The revenue trust account is an interest-bearing account controlled by AANDC. Capital and revenue monies are held in separate interest­-bearing accounts under the name of the particular band concerned in Canada, according to the AANDC manual on the administration on band monies. AANDC maintains one capital account and one revenue account per band in Canada (about 1,400 accounts in total).

Elected Chief Bill Montour said Six Nations draws on the interest annually to help pay for Bread and Cheese celebrations, among other expenses.

"We only draw down on the interest revenue," said Montour. "The capital still says there. That's at $2 million."

This year, council wants to divvy up the interest money for Bread and Cheese celebrations, paying towards the deficit at Parks and Recreation, and council donations. When council made the original $100,000 request, it was going to give $60,613 to Parks and Rec; $24,387 to Bread and Cheese; and $15,000 to donations. It had to cut its allotment to Parks and Rec by $20,000 to make up for the money it couldn't get released from the account.

Montour said Six Nations had land lease revenues and revenues from the old gypsum mine going into the account.

Six Nations doesn't get the gypsum income anymore since the lease ran out on the mine, said Montour.

"That revenue is now gone. Gas tax is another political thing that we've never gotten our due recognition. We've never gotten the money from that. We've got 18 gas stations on the territory, but all that money seems to be going north all the time. (Aboriginal Affairs) got their hands on it."

The revenue trust account has been tightly controlled by AANDC. Montour said Six Nations had to hold a referendum in the 1960s to get $260,000 to build an arena.

"We had to make a promise to the council of the day that we'd pay that back, even though it's our own money," said Montour.

Hill asked, "How can we get that money here instead of sitting in Ottawa? They invest that at a very poor rate."

AANDC and Indian Act rules have a section granting bands the authority to control their own revenue accounts. Section 69 of the Indian Act allows for that control, but AANDC has rules spelling out how bands have to go about gaining that control.

AANDC says the process begins when "members of a band provide their informed consent to its band council to acquire section 69 authority. A BCR, along with the supporting documentation to confirm the community consent, is submitted to the regional office."

"I think we better start a political process," said Montour.