UBCIC 56^TH ANNUAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY (HYBRID)
MUSQUEAM COMMUNITY CENTRE, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (MUSQUEAM TERRITORY) AND ZOOM
SEPTEMBER 24^TH TO 26^TH, 2024
FINAL NOTICE: UPDATED DRAFT AGENDA V2, DOOR PRIZES, REGISTRATION

Download Agenda

September 20, 2024

Dear Chiefs Council, sister organizations, and friends:

The 56^th Annual General Assembly (AGA) is next week, September 24^th - September 26^th. The hybrid AGA will be held at Musqueam Community Centre, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam Territory), and there will be an option to join virtually via Zoom. Please register here and contact [email protected] if you would like assistance.

Because it is the AGA, we respectfully ask members to register and attend to address organizational business such as passing the audit and accepting minutes from the previous year, as well as setting mandates for the upcoming year. If you are unavailable, please send a proxy. Attached, please find a proxy template letter and a membership letter for the 2024-25 fiscal year. Please contact Tracy Point ([email protected] or 604-831-4265) if you have not yet renewed your membership.

The UBCIC 56^th AGA Draft Agenda V2 is attached for your review. We are pleased to have a special session on the provincial election and will hear from Premier David Eby on advancing reconciliation in the provincial government as well as Anton Boegman, Chief Electoral Officer at Elections B.C. We will have a legal update from Mandell Pinder and welcome Louise Mandell providing comments on the recent Haida Recognition legislation. We’ll also have a special session on children and families with the Representative for Children and Families Dr. Jennifer Charlesworth, representatives from Huu-ay-aht and Cowichan on coordination agreements, and discussion on the draft Final Settlement Agreement on Long Term Reform with National Chief Woodhouse, ISC and Mandell Pinder. Other topics include moving from deferrals under the OGSR to permanent protections, the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs’ Interim Measures on the Mineral Tenure Act Reform, Bear Dens, a session on citizenship and sex discrimination in the Indian Act, First Nations housing governance and needs, and specific claims. We are honoured to welcome representatives of shíshálh Nation to provide comments on litigation recently filed by the Pender Harbour and Area Residents Association that seeks to dismantle the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and frustrate shíshálh Nation’s efforts to protect and preserve shíshálh swiya in partnership with the Government of B.C. We will also have Dr. Roshan Danesh providing an update on the UBCIC Negotiators Forum that is currently being planned.

Door prizes will be drawn at the end of each day and include beautiful UBCIC embroidered jackets, $150 gift cards, a Samsung Tablet, a karaoke machine and a drone!

All meeting information can be found on our website: https://www.ubcic.bc.ca/ubcic_56th_aga

Respectfully,

Andrea Glickman, Policy Director

Union of BC Indian Chiefs

INFORMATION TO ATTEND UBCIC ANNUAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SEPTEMBER 24-26, 2024

Registration for In-Person and Virtual Attendance

 Please PRE-REGISTER

 (https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0qdOGtrzItEtW5PLV4clb-4iDvSTmTJmRS)   

no later than 4:00 pm on September 23^rd, 2024, to receive your meeting link.

• Everyone must pre-register for the UBCIC Annual General Assembly meeting via Zoom, regardless of if you are coming in person or attending virtually.
  Registration helps staff track and support meeting delegates (Chiefs, proxies, representatives), speakers and observers. Pre-registration is also required to receive a unique Zoom meeting link. All registrants will receive a Zoom meeting link. If you are attending in person, you may ignore this link.
• Everyone must register with a unique email address. Do not use the same email address to register multiple delegates.
• Be sure to use an email address that you can access as needed. Only those who register in advance for the UBCIC Annual General Assembly meeting will receive their unique Zoom meeting link via email.
• An email will be sent with your confirmation email and again the day prior to the meeting. Please retain the email with the Zoom meeting link as it will be required to attend the meeting.

Registration Confirmation:  Once you have submitted the online registration form, you will receive an email within 48 hours indicating that your registration has been confirmed.  The email will be sent from [email protected] under the subject line “UBCIC ANNUAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY Confirmation”.

If you have indicated upon your registration that your community is not currently in good standing
(membership dues owing), please contact Tracy Point ([email protected])  
or 1-604-831-4265) to arrange for payment.

 Per the UBCIC Constitution and Bylaws, only members in good standing in the current fiscal year (April 1^st, 2024, to March 31^st, 2025) may speak from the floor or vote on resolutions brought forward during the meeting.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A REGISTRATION TUTORIAL.

Registration Support:  Please direct any registration questions or concerns to Angie Bain, Registration Lead ([email protected]). Angie and the registration team are also available for registration support during the meeting.

Proxy Information

We ask members to be prepared with a proxy letter in advance of the meeting, whether you are sending a proxy in case you need to step out briefly (and return later), or if you need a proxy to stand in for you throughout the entire meeting. Advance preparation will also help ensure that the meeting maintains quorum for voting purposes.

Attached is a proxy template letter for your convenience. You are welcome to put the wording on your own letterhead, OR you can copy, paste, and fill in the proxy letter directly into the body of an email to Elena Pennell ([email protected]). Please reach out to Elena if you have questions regarding proxy letters.

Accommodation

We are pleased to inform you the UBCIC will reimburse travel and accommodation costs for the Chief or the Chief's proxy for this Annual General Assembly meeting if you are attending in person, in alignment with the UBCIC travel claim policy.

Please contact Mildred Chartrand ([email protected]) if you require assistance booking a hotel.

Meeting Materials & Resolutions

Meeting materials will be available in advance for download, rather than provided in hard copy.

Please bring your laptop if you are attending the meeting in person so you can use the digital kit.
If you require a hard copy, please email [email protected] ASAP.

 Draft resolutions will be provided by email to delegates and will also be available in hard copy at the meeting for those attending in person. The UBCIC Resolutions Process is outlined at: www.ubcic.bc.ca/resolutions.  

A draft agenda is attached and incorporates directions on priority items provided by the Chiefs Council. If you would like to suggest an agenda item for a future meeting, please don’t hesitate to call 1-800-793-9701 or email [email protected].

Health and Safety

We recognize the sometimes sensitive and triggering nature of topics discussed. To ensure the health and wellbeing of all, cultural supports will be available on site.

The health and safety of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs members and staff is of utmost importance to the organization. The risk of transmitting COVID-19 and other communicable diseases increases the closer you come to people, the longer you spend near them, and the higher the number of people you come near. As we will be spending long days together indoors, please:

• Do not attend the meeting in-person if you are ill. All registrants will be provided with a Zoom link, so please join the meeting that way if you are feeling unwell.
• While proof of vaccination and masking is no longer required in British Columbia, masking is still encouraged, particularly if the space is small and crowded as we do not know what health situations others may be dealing with. UBCIC will have N95/KN95 masks available.
• There will be cleaning of the meeting space throughout the day. Hand sanitizer will be provided. Please use it before and after touching common touchpoints, eating, and drinking, and removing and putting on your mask.
• Please follow any other instructions provided during the meeting to ensure participant safety. COVID-19 rapid tests will also be available onsite.

UBCIC Contacts:

• Policy Director, Andrea Glickman [email protected]
• Admin and Research Director, Jody Woods [email protected]
• Office Manager, Mildred Chartrand [email protected]
• Registration Lead/Support, Angie Bain [email protected]
• Membership Clerk, Tracy Point [email protected]
• Proxy Letters/Support, Elena Pennell [email protected]
• Draft Resolutions/Briefing notes [email protected]

Download Documents:

• Download Final Notice
• Download Proxy Template
• Download Draft Agenda V2