Category: Uncategorized

An announcement from the MCK stating that Ohénton ĺ:iente ne Ratitsénhaienhs Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer, Ratitsénhaienhs Michael Delisle, Jr. and Ross Montour are meeting with Canada’s Justice Minister David Lametti this afternoon. The meeting was scheduled at the request of Sky-Deer to discuss gaming and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Accompanying Ratitsénhaienhs will be MCK Chief Political Advisor Winona Polson-Lahache.

The president and CEO of Hydro-Québec, Sophie Brochu, announced that she will be stepping down from her position effective April 11th. Brochu did not specify the reasons for her departure in a letter sent to employees this morning. Ohénton ĺ:iente ne Ratitsénhaienhs Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer on what the future holds:

“I don’t know who is going to be the next CEO, but it’s just disappointing because I really felt that as 2 women in leadership we’d seen eye-to-eye on a lot of things and there was a lot of good momentum that I was hoping that we would build on moving into this year and hopefully beyond, just really disappointed. I wish her the best, obviously people come to these kind of decisions not very lightly and obviously there must have been something driving her that this was the best decision for her and maybe even the company. I don’t know, there wasn’t no expressed reasoning in her, from what I’ve seen so far in the media, so I guess time will tell.”

Brochu was instrumental in working with Kahnawake on the Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line. Kahnawake and Hydro Announced back in May of 2021, a new partnership that will see the construction and joint ownership of the Hertel Line. The 58 kilometre, 400-kv underground transmission line will run from the Hertel Substation in La Prairie, Québec to the U.S. Border before heading down to NYC. Hydro released a statement from Brochu that stated: “The turmoil of the pandemic is largely behind us and Hydro-Québec is in a good position today: we have a strategic plan that sets the course for Quebec’s energy transition and the company’s financial situation is excellent. The time has come to pass the torch.”

The deadline for the Indian Day School (IDS) claims process is this week. Both the Extension Request Form and Claim Form must be received by the Claims Administrator by January 13th at 11:59pm Pacific Standard Time (PST). New claims will NOT be accepted after the deadline and you will no longer have access to apply for compensation from the Federal Indian Day School Class Action Settlement. Louise Mayo, Indian Day School Coordinator stating that: “It is very important and strongly recommended, as a claimant, to carefully reflect and take the time to recall your school events/experience and potentially traumatic events before signing off on the claim.”

To be eligible for compensation, a student must have attended at least one of the Indian Day schools listed in Schedule K from 1920 to 1988. Estates of Indian Day school survivors who passed away on or after July 31, 2007, will also be eligible to apply.

If you require assistance submitting your Claim Form for the first time on behalf of yourself or an eligible Class Member who has passed away, contact either Louise Mayo, IDS Coordinator at: 514-793-0662 or Louise.mayo@mck.ca or Class Counsel, free of charge, as soon as possible at 1-844-539-3815.

Murray Marshall’s mandate as Legal Counsel for Mohawk Online ends on December 31st, after almost 30 years of service to the community, the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) acknowledging his monumental contributions to Kahnawà:ke in the fields of regulating both internet and land-based gaming and as a stalwart presence at the Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission (KGC) since its creation in 1996. The KGC went on to become a pioneer and world leader in the world of online interactive gaming. His work there was both ground-breaking and exemplary. Marshall began his career as MCK legal counsel in 1993. During his tenure, Kahnawà:ke was involved in a number of major jurisdictional battles: in particular, the Extreme Fighting event in April 1996 and the launch of Mohawk Internet Technologies in 1999.

Marshall continued working on both land-based and online gaming throughout his very successful career on the Territory. He was also the first Director of MCK Legal Services.

Tahatie Donald Diabo has been located according to the Kahnawake Peacekeepers. Concerns were raised when he did not show for work on Monday at the Caisse Populaire Kahnawake, and never let his bosses know.  The PKs said yesterday that Tahatie was last seen at 11pm on December 18^th.  Again he has been located. Details to come as this story develops.

Expect overnight ramp Closures on the 132 tonight beginning at 8pm. The work is expected to last until 4:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Both the 132 west up-ramp (towards Montreal) & the 132 east down-ramp (from the south-bound Mercier Bridge towards La Prairie and A-30) will be closed completely.

Detours will be in place via the 138. The shutdown is required for electrical work.

For a third straight year as part of the ‘Playground Cares’ initiative, the business is providing support for those in need. They are assembling approximately 45 holiday-style food baskets for families to share. Mike Thomas works with Community Initiatives at Playground:

“We were really overwhelmed with how many people were struggling at this time of year and we said, you know it’s really not a good thing to be struggling this much at this time of the year, so we said, you know were going to reach out, put Christmas baskets together and see what we can do just to try and make this time of the season a little easier on people struggling.”

Thomas has this advice for community members:

“If you seen someone struggling, or who has slipped and fallen, please reach out and giving a helping hand up, that is who we are as a people, it’s called collective responsibility. I just want to say happy holidays to all the people and to the ones that had a difficult time, on behalf of Mack and myself I really want to thank-you for allowing and trusting us for allowing us to give you that helping hand.”

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) is seeking one individual to serve on the Kahnawà:ke Cannabis Control Board (KCCB).  The KCCB is comprised of three Kahnawa’kehró:non who are responsible for the ongoing development of the regulations required within the Kahnawà:ke Cannabis Control Law, as well as the administration and enforcement of the law in the Territory.

Expect a closure for the bridge access this weekend. The Mercier Bridge will have a night closure of the 132 up and down ramps on Sunday for work on the electrical system, with that complete closure in effect from 8 p.m. until 4am Monday morning.