Shortly after the Daniels Decision[i] was issued on 14-Apr-2016, NBAPC met with Patrick Francis, Deputy Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and the Director of the Aboriginal Affairs Secretariat. In that meeting, they talked about developing a working relationship between the NBAPC and the provincial government of New Brunswick. The NBAPC received funding from the federal department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development (AAND) for a two-year project that started in April 2017, called “Building Partnerships and Protocols in a Relationship Agreement Toward Improving Socio-Economic Outcomes for Off-Reserve Aboriginal Peoples”.

The Partnerships & Protocols project has two parts. The first part is to develop a Relationship Agreement that outlines expectations, terms, processes and protocols for the NBAPC and the provincial government to work together. The second part of the project is to design a process for collecting information about what the membership needs, to help direct and set priorities in that working relationship. Mary C. Milliken, PhD, came on in November 2017 to coordinate the project. Some members may remember Mary from the work she did for the Council on the Kci-skicin or “The Wise Ones” Project (2015-2016).