Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) will hold a companion plebiscite to determine direction on certain environmental issues before the next general election in November.
The plebiscite, or community vote, will allow for a consistent transition between the current council and the succeeding council and decide a stance for SNEC on environmental issues. Six Nations' land claim researcher Phil Monture presented to motion to SNEC during the June 19 political liaison meeting.
SNEC detailed a number of environmental issues the community is currently dealing with, including large truck traffic causing significant damage to the territory's roads; smoke factories and other large buildings being built in residential areas; the dumping of untested soils and waste material on Six Nations' lands; as well as the largest Carolinian forest in Canada being in jeopardy unless protective measures are put into action.
Monture spoke on the local environmental issues being faced by the community and says he hopes to form a Six Nations specific justice system from the results of the plebiscite.
"It's very difficult for our people to do the best they can for the environment down here when there's no rules and regulations," he said. "So this would be the first step I'd see in starting to formulate our own justice system to have enforcement, so we can have a safe and healthy community."
"That should be our goal, because we have to leave this place better positioned and in better condition than we've inherited it,," he added. "That's our obligation."
Six Nations Chief, Mark Hill agreed with Monture's statement saying the community also needs to be committed to working on these issues together.
"We just spoke on the importance of what you're bringing up in relation to building out the rules and regs, but also allowing some mechanism for enforcement, because at the end of the day it's going to take our entire community to come together and to be able to respect the land and follow the rules."
SNEC passed the motion during the June 19 political liaison meeting and the plebiscite will move forward before the next Six Nations of the Grand River general election for the 59th elected council.
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