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WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM ● A5 A former Cree member of Par- liament and a longtime mil- itary member has been named the Canadian Armed Forces’ first Indigenous Knowledge Keeper. Warrant Officer Robert-Fal- con Ouellette was set to be promoted to captain in a cere- mony hosted by the military in Winnipeg on Thursday even- ing. “It’s about the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples fully within the institutions of our nation,” Ouellette said in an interview ahead of the cere- mony. “We’ve moved in such a way with reconciliation that we have this opportunity to real- ly demonstrate what the Can- adian Forces can be.” Ouellette said he is a fourth-generation military member with nearly three decades of service. He started with the Navy League and Sea Cadet pro- gram and is currently with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles unit. From 2015 to 2019, Ouellette represented the riding of Win- nipeg Centre as a Liberal MP. He is currently an associate professor of education at the University of Ottawa. The military said the new position is part of its effort to embrace Indigenous spiritual- ity. The Forces offer spiritual and religious care to members and their families through the Royal Canadian Chaplain Ser- vices. There have been Indigenous chaplains in the past, including Lt.-Col. Catherine Askew, but this is the first time someone has been designated to provide spiritual teachings from an In- digenous point of view instead of a Christian one. Before this, chaplains would have to rely on a network of Indigenous representatives for spiritual and emotional sup- port. For many years, Indigenous peoples were banned from practising their spirituality. Ouellette can remember a time when he faced harass- ment for being Cree. “There were times when I had terrible discussions with commanding officers and others within my unit. I have long hair and sometimes that would upset people who are older military members,” he recalled. “Today it’s much different. People are much more ac- cepting.” Indigenous soldiers have built their own network within the military, meeting for drum groups and traditional cere- monies, said Ouellette. Indigenous people made up 2.9 per cent of the Canadian Armed Forces as of Novem- ber 2022. Approximately 23 per cent of Canadian Rangers self-identify as First Nations, Inuit or Métis. Ouellette said his role not only supports Indigenous people, but educates non-In- digenous members as well. “I see myself supporting all soldiers … there’s something much larger than this.” — The Canadian Press T HE provincial government is reviewing a proposal to regulate professional mu- nicipal administrators, after a handful of incidents in which top bureaucrats were investi- gated for fraud. Manitoba Municipal Admin- istrators, which represents about 370 civil servants across the province, has developed a framework for what would be a formal licensure body. Under Manitoba’s current laws, municipal administra- tors — including those hired as chief administrative offi- cers and tasked with managing budgets, human resources and overseeing day-to-day oper- ations — are not required to have any official qualifications. Other high-level profes- sionals, such as city planners, lawyers and physicians are represented and regulated by legislated bodies. “It’s a very large job with a lot of varied requirements and it’s hard for a council to know sometimes who or what they are looking for in terms of qualifications,” said Nicole Chychota, Municipal Adminis- trators president. “We are not setting them up to succeed and when we are not setting them up to succeed, we are not setting the community up to succeed.” Chychota met with Mona Pandey, the deputy minister for municipal and northern af- fairs, last month to present a 120-page proposal to overhaul Manitoba’s municipal adminis- trative landscape. It included a recommenda- tion to give Chychota’s organiz- ation the authority to issue and enforce professional designa- tions. She proposed a two-tier system to provide education and certification for both chief administrative officers and people working in lower admin- istrative roles such as finance managers, municipal clerks and assistant CAOs. If the framework was adopt- ed, people hired into such pos- itions would be required to hold one of those certifications. The plan is influenced, in part, by a similar system in Saskatchewan, which is the only Canadian province to re- quire its municipal administra- tors to be certified. Minister of Municipal and Northern Relations Glen Si- mard said his department is considering Chychota’s propos- al. “We’re reviewing it closely and we’re very interested in what’s in there,” Simard said in an interview Wednesday. “Having good, solid city man- aging leadership — outside of the elected officials — provides that consistency and that sta- bility that communities need to move into the future.” Michael Brunen, a long-stand- ing councillor and deputy reeve in the RM of Lakeshore, said professional oversight is “long overdue” for municipal admin- istrators. His municipality, which en- compasses several hamlets in the Parkland region, near Dau- phin, is resettling after upheav- al within its governing council. Lakeshore’s former reeve and two councillors stepped down around September. Those positions were filled in a bye- lection this month. The former CAO and his assistant were then placed on leave in October, after Brun- en became acting reeve and uncovered deficiencies with spending and financial ac- counting, Brunen said. The deficiencies are the sub- ject of an ongoing police probe, launched after concerns were brought to local RCMP, he said. Brunen could not disclose details of the financial issues (fearing it might compromise the investigation) but said he hopes they soon come to light. “I want everybody to know how this happened, why it hap- pened, how we’re fixing it and where to move forward. Noth- ing should be a secret,” Brunen said. The deputy reeve supports the province introducing a li- censure body, but warned it must consider the financial cir- cumstances of smaller munici- palities. He suggested developing pay scale guidelines or provincial tax incentives for remote muni- cipalities to help them find suit- able candidates within limited budgets. Along with enforcing certifi- cation, a regulator could help vet prospective administrators to ensure they do not have a legal history — involving either criminal or civil matters — that would be cause for concern, Chychota said. Her organization already has a professional code of conduct for its members with a formal complaint and enforcement process. Former RM of North Cy- press-Langford CAO Trisha Dawn Fraser is the only mem- ber to have been expelled since the policy was enacted in 2023. She pleaded guilty in May to misappropriating municipal funds to replace $30,000 she’d stolen from the Carberry Curl- ing Club while serving as its treasurer. Last week, RCMP announced charges against former Gilbert Plains CAO Amber Fisher, who is accused of stealing more than $500,000. Those charges have not been tested in court. “We keep, unfortunately, seeing situations like in Gil- bert Plains, like in North Cy- press-Langford, and we need to do something. “Now is time to act,” Chy- chota said. Chychota has requested a fol- low-up meeting with Simard’s office once it has completed its review of her proposal. tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca NEWS I LOCAL / CANADA FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2025 TYLER SEARLE No qualifications required for Manitoba CAOs Province considers licensing for municipal administrators after fraud investigations Armed Forces name first Indigenous Knowledge Keeper BRITTANY HOBSON CPT. MIGUEL MOLDEZ PHOTO The Canadian Armed Forces have named Warrant Officer Robert-Falcon Ouellette (right) its first Indigenous Knowledge Keeper. ;