COLD LAKE - The City of Cold Lake approved a $10,000 sponsorship for the Cold Lake First Nations (CLFN) Treaty 1-11 Gathering, titled “Carrying the Fire Forward.” The event is set to take place from August 26-30 at the English Bay Treaty Grounds.
At the regular council meeting on May 15, CAO Kevin Nagoya highlighted the event's potential impact on the community.
“This is going to bring a lot of youth to the community. There are estimates of between 1,000 to 3,000 leaders, founders, youth and community members that are going to be looking to come to this function,” he said.
Mayor Craig Copeland also spoke about the event’s significance.
“It's amazing... to have this magnitude of an event at Cold Lake First Nations is pretty huge. For Western Canada, this is massive. So, I mean, this is pretty significant,” he stated. He also noted the uniqueness of the event, saying, “This will be a one-time event” and the event likely would not return to the area for a long time.
While supporting the funding, Coun. Vicki Lefebvre voiced her concerns about future financial requests.
“I guess my only concern is, is this going to be the only ask then for Cold Lake First Nations? Because we don't want to dry up the funds for any other events that they want to do within the community... They have a number of things that they like to do within the community,” said Lefebvre.
Council made a motion to support the event with a $10,000 contribution.
