(Music)
(Graphic on screen logo)
(Text on screen: Madawaska Maliseet First Nation)
(Shots on reserve of the community, a train, and a tractor.)
(Text on screen: Stories of our Houses – Leadership Nihkanatpatimok Pm8bagnaw8gan Ylmxwm)
(Interview in a band council office)
The Madawaska Maliseet First Nation is located right in the centre of Edmundston, New Brunswick. The population in the community is approximately two hundred residents.
(Text on screen: Donna-Wallace-Bourgeault – Band Administrator / Councillor)
(Shots of a yellow house on reserve)
(Interview in a housing administrator office)
(Text on screen: Jane Girard – Housing and Maintenance Director)
We have 98 units and those units are comprised of single family homes, some duplexes and an 8 unit apartment building.
(Reserve houses)
(Donna on camera)
The reason why we wanted a Housing Committee is we can come up with different decisions that are unbiased and fair for each band member.
(Statue outside Administration building, the Administration Building, shots of a grey house outside reserve)
(Jane on camera)
What works well is the recent changes that we have made. We have these programs in place to help everyone, and I think it has really helped in treating them all with the same level of priority.
(Shots of a Housing Committee meeting, Repair garage)
(Donna on camera)
The leadership is a very big part of why the committees are all in place. The committee meets on a regular basis to look at different issues or requests that band members come to us with.
(Shots of a band member doing repairs on a reserve house)
(Jane on camera)
The Housing Committee and chief and council are here to treat everyone fairly and to be transparent with the band members. The Repair and Renovation program was a new idea that came from Chief and Council and then was talked about and implemented by the housing committee. The program helped to standardize the requests that were coming in.
(A finished living room)
(Donna on camera)
With our housing repairs and renovations in place now, people are able to put investments into their homes and it’s fair for all of our band members and home owners.
(A band member reads the brochure in his house)
We decided that the best way to explain it to all the band members was to put together a brochure; it provided them with good, basic information on how the program functions.
(Jane on camera)
(Shots of a finished house)
The community reacted quite well to the Repair and Renovation program. People are realizing the real benefit that this program can be to them.
(Donna on camera)
It’s for transparency and accountability and we think that it’s a success for us in the community.
(Aerial shot of communuity)
(CMHC logo on screen) (Canada wordmark)
(Music ends)
Program End 2 minutes 28 seconds