Millbrook Administration Office and Millbrook Health Centre will reopen at 1 PM, Tuesday, February 6, 2024

MILLBROOK, NS, Jan. 18, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, the federal government announced more than $7 million in funding for Millbrook First Nation to build more affordable housing.

This announcement was made by Darren Fisher, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health and Member of Parliament for Darthmouth – Cole Harbour – on behalf of the Honourable Sean Fraser, Member of Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities, and Bob Gloade, Chief of Millbrook First Nation.

This funding will assist the Millbrook First Nation in building 34 new affordable homes.

Funding provided for this project is as follows:

• $4.3 million from the federal government

• $2.9 million from Millbrook First Nation and other funding sources.

This project is supported by the federal government's additional investment of $1.5 billion through the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI), bringing the program's total to $4 billion to support those most in need. This investment is expected to create at least 5,200 more affordable homes for across the country, with one third of investments going towards Indigenous-focused housing projects. 

Quotes:

"This initiative is more than building houses; it's about securing a better future for our people and contributing to the well-being of our community. I'm thankful for this collaborative effort that will not only bridge the housing gap, but also create local employment opportunities in the housing sector. We're taking a positive step towards ending the housing crisis that has touched several communities, including our own. I look forward to the transformative impact on the lives of our residents." – Chief Bob Gloade, Millbrook First Nation 

"Today's announcement isn't about dollar amounts and units, it's about ensuring that 34 families have a safe and affordable home to live in and thrive in. Our government is supporting the development of new homes with Millbrook First Nation, work that will improve the quality of life for families who are in core housing need and will create good jobs along the way. Thanks to the combined efforts of our partners, we are building up and strengthening communities across Nova Scotia." – Darren Fisher, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health and Member of Parliament for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, on behalf of the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities

Quick facts:

• The Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) is part of the Government of Canada's National Housing Strategy (NHS), an $82+ billion plan to give more Canadians a place to call home.

• As of September 30, 2023, the federal government has committed over $38.89 billion to help build over 151,803 units and repair over 241,133 units. These measures prioritize those in greatest need, including seniors, Indigenous Peoples, people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and women and children fleeing violence.

• RHI provides funding to facilitate the rapid construction of new housing and the acquisition of existing buildings for the purpose of rehabilitation or conversion to permanent affordable housing units. The additional funding for the third round of RHI will be divided into two streams: $1 billion through the Projects Stream and $500 million towards the Cities Stream.

• Launched in 2020, the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) is delivered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

• The Government of Canada's additional investment of $1.5 billion through Rapid Housing Initiative brought the program's total to $4 billion to help provide homes to those in need.

• With its third phase, launched in 2022, the Rapid Housing Initiative once again exceeded targets. It is expected that over 5,200 new homes will be created, of which almost half will be for women and one third will be for Indigenous Peoples.

• The total number of units created with the support of the three rounds of the Rapid Housing Initiative is expected to be over 15,500 units.

• The RHI takes a human rights-based approach to housing, serving people experiencing or at risk of homelessness and other vulnerable people under the NHS, including women and children fleeing domestic violence, seniors, young adults, Indigenous Peoples, people with disabilities, people experiencing mental health and addiction issues, veterans, 2SLGBTQI+ individuals, racialized groups, and recent immigrants or refugees.

Related links:

• To find out more, visit RHI3 and eligibility criteria.

• As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers unbiased housing research and advice to all levels of Canadian government, consumers and the housing industry. CMHC's aim is that everyone in Canada has a home they can afford and that meets their needs. For more information, please visit cmhc.ca or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.

• To find out more about the National Housing Strategy, visit: www.placetocallhome.ca

• Check out the National Housing Strategy Housing Funding Initiatives Map to see affordable housing projects that have been developed across Canada.

SOURCE Government of Canada

For further information: Micaal Ahmed, Office of the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, micaal.ahmed@infc.gc.ca; Media Relations, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, media@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

Poor weather conditions - January 10, 2024

However, Millbrook’s Administration office will remain open as today’s weather is expected to become hazardous. Some staff who commute outside the Truro area may work from home today.

To better serve community members and stakeholders, Millbrook First Nation is seeking to enhance its online presence by revamping our current website. Millbrook First Nation is requesting proposals from qualified website designers and developers. Click below to view the Request For Proposals and guidelines.

Contact: webredesign@millbrookfn.ca

Deadline for submissions: January 5, 2024.

STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Issued by Millbrook Fisheries

Lack of transparency by DFO leaving commercial lobster fisheries with questions and Mi’kmaw fisheries in the lurch

[Millbrook, NS] December 13, 2023. Recent speculations in the media surrounding diminished lobster catch rates in Lobster Fishing Areas (LFAs) 33 and 34 must be debunked by fisheries organizations and researchers. The narrative, clouded by misconceptions and fuelled by lack of transparency by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), fails to grasp the intricate dynamics at play in the region's commercial fishing sector.

The delay in the start of the commercial season in LFA 34 was initially due to robust winds, a significant drop in ocean temperatures from the previous season, and powerful full-course tides. These factors have all contributed to the reported decline. However, the perceived fault unfairly falls on Mi’kmaw livelihood fishers, conveniently overlooking critical environmental factors.

The DFO has been cognizant since 1999 of the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed Treaty Right allowing Mi’kmaw people to fish for a livelihood. Over the past 24 years, the DFO has authorized the transfer and reissuance of numerous privilege-based licenses among non-Indigenous commercial fleets. Despite a legal obligation to curtail fishing in the "limited entry" sector to accommodate Mi’kmaw access, the lack of transparency has led to misguided conclusions within the commercial lobster industry.

Chief Robert Gloade of Millbrook First Nation voiced concerns, stating, "The industry continues to make million-dollar investments, over two decades, on a false premise, while Mi’kmaw livelihood fishers are further excluded and marginalized from exercising their affirmed Treaty Rights."

Contrary to misconceptions, lower lobster landings in Southwestern Nova Scotia are not the result of Mi’kmaw overfishing. A staggering 94% of Nova Scotia lobsters are still harvested by the non-Indigenous commercial industry. The marginal amount of interim communal-commercial access (4.7%) has been afforded through the Marshall Response Initiative, as a stopgap measure. 

DFO has the opportunity to address this imbalance through a proactive reduction in fishing effort via a directed volunteer license buy-back program. However, the department has chosen not to pursue this course of action, exacerbating conflict on the waters and jeopardizing the long-term sustainability of the lobster resource. Moreover, independent studies reveal declining lobster populations across their natural range, impacted by climate change altering thermal habitats.

Addressing sustainability and fair access, Chief Gloade urged, "DFO needs to immediately reduce the number of licenses in the commercial fishing sector through fair compensatory processes and stop obstructing equitable rights-based participation by Mi’kmaq."

As the eighth anniversary of the National Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action approaches on December 15th, Chief Gloade emphasized the urgency of implementing Calls to Action 85 and 86, Media and Reconciliation. He added, "We would like to see the media represent all perspectives, not only non-Indigenous interests, especially when it comes to the fishing industry."

This call for balanced representation underscores the need for comprehensive, unbiased coverage in the pursuit of truth and reconciliation.

About Millbrook Fisheries

Millbrook First Nation is a Mi'kmaw community of approximately 2200 members, centrally located in Truro, NS. Millbrook prides itself on the positive economic growth and development it has fostered for the community, including participation in the Communal Commercial Fisheries and a strong presence by the community in Food, Social and Ceremonial (FSC) fisheries. Millbrook Fisheries is committed to providing permanent, meaningful employment to its community, as well as dollars for socioeconomic programs to support the community, while still following the Mi'kmawey principles of Netuklimk - the use of natural bounty provided for the self-support and wellbeing of the individual and the community at large.

For media inquiries or further information, please contact:

Nzingha Millar, Media Contact for Millbrook First Nation

902-789-9464

nmillar@millbrookfn.ca

-30-

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/inland-terminal-offers-jobs-in-downtown-halifax-1.7048586

Facility will be located near Truro, with construction due to begin next year.

Millbrook First Nation has entered a partnership with a transportation logistics company, Canadian Rail Equipment Works and Services, to develop an inland shipping terminal near Truro in central Nova Scotia. (Eastpoint)

Millbrook First Nation has entered into a partnership with a transportation logistics company called Canadian Rail Equipment Works and Services to develop an inland shipping terminal near Truro in central Nova Scotia.

The facility is meant to improve the flow of cargo through the Port of Halifax and reduce congestion on downtown streets caused by heavy trucks.

"If we can move more cargo by rail out to somewhere as far as Truro, being that a lot of the trucks are going up through Cape Breton or across to P.E.I. and places like that, if we can move more out by rail then we reduce the number of trucks that come into the downtown core," Campt.Allan Gray, president and CEO of the Halifax Port Authority, said Monday.

"That's a big win. It's, from a green point of view, it's more energy efficient, reduces emissions and from a congestion point of view we reduce the number of trucks," he said.

The terminal, named We'kopekitk, will be built on land near Onslow that offers easy access to both the main rail line through Nova Scotia and the Trans-Canada Highway. The facility will have railway sidings stretching for more than three kilometres, equipped with cranes and warehouses to speed the sorting and transferring of containers.

Chief Bob Gloade of Millbrook said the name We'kopekitk in Mi'kmaq means "end of the water's flow," and it was chosen because Cobequid Bay branches into the Shubenacadie and Salmon rivers.

Claire Marshall is the Executive Director of Millbrook First Nation. (CBC)

While the inland terminal is expected to improve conditions in the port, it will also bring benefits to people living around the facility.

"All of the revenues that will be realized through these partnerships, both Scotia Port and the We'kopekitk rail terminal, will go into contributing to Millbrook's infrastructure, its housing and its social services," said Millbrook Executive Director Claire Marshall.

The terminal is expected to create about 300 jobs. Marshall said the hope is that people in the immediate area, not just residents of Millbrook, will be able to get the training to compete for those jobs.

Construction on the facility is scheduled to begin next year.

Blair Rhodes has been a journalist for more than 40 years, the last 31 with CBC. His primary focus is on stories of crime and public safety. He can be reached at blair.rhodes@cbc.ca

Due to the road conditions and expected forecast, The Millbrook Band Office will be closed today and reopen Tuesday, December 5.

Deadline for Application March 15, 2024 at 4:00 PM

Deadline for Application March 15, 2024 at 4:00 PM

Notice to Millbrook First Nation,

Re: Glooscap Drive new extension, Millbrook First Nation

Please be aware that there will be a delivery of housing units this week and possibly next week. Traffic may be briefly impacted in this area due on-going work of the development of the new subdivision.

Thank you for your understanding.

Millbrook Housing Department