PBCN signs historic employment agreement with Federal Government

By Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince Albert Daily Herald Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) leadership said a new independent agreement signed on Aug. 22 will allow the First Nation to take greater control off the future of its workforce. PBCN leaders signed the agreement with Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty and Secretary of State for Rural Development Buckley Belanger. The signing makes PBCN Saskatchewan’s only independent agreement holder under the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) Program. The agreement took effect Jan. 1 under the First Nations stream of the federal ISET Program. “For years, we have said that our people know what our communities need, and this agreement puts that principle into action,” Chief Peter Beatty of PBCN said in a press release. “We can now design