Our Governance
Our Current Governance Model
South Island Indigenous Authority is a not-for-profit society registered under the B.C. Societies Act.
As a society, we are currently governed by a Board of Directors composed of representatives from each of our seven Member Nations, as well as representatives from three of our urban Indigenous Agency partners. These three agencies are considered to be the major service providers for child and family services to our urban Indigenous community, and do not have a direct governance link to our member First Nations.
Our current Board of Directors is composed of the following individuals:
Councilor Debra Lazzar (T’Sou-ke)
Chief Arliss Daniels (Pacheedaht)
E.D. Suzanne Paterson (Surrounded by Cedar)
E.D. Ron Rice (Victoria Native Friendship Centre)
E.D. Kendra Gage (Hulitan)
Chief Tanya Jimmy (Tseycum)
Councilor Jeanine Cooper (Tsartlip)
Chief Jerome Thomas (Esquimalt)
Councilor Jackie Albany (Songhees)
Chief Russell Chipps (Scia’new)
Our Future Governance Model
Our current governance structure is temporary, and will change as SIIA shifts to a service oversight and administration organization. Moving forwards, SIIA will remain a non-for-profit society, and will retain a Board of Directors, but our governance model will have to shift to avoid conflicts of interests in relation to funding allocation.
In our Draft Legislation, we have established a Representative Council and a Council of Indigenous Guests. We also have established an Elders Council and a Youth council to advise and assist SIIA within our future structure.
Representative Council:
Under our future governance model, the Representative Council will consist of one representative from each Member Nation, to be appointed by the Council of each Member Nation, and three additional representatives for the Indigenous Guest Community, to be appointed by the Council of Indigenous Guests.
Council of Indigenous Guests:
Under our future governance model, a Council of Indigenous Guests will be established to represent the interests of the Indigenous Guest Community. The Council of Indigenous Guests will consist of five representatives who are not members of the Member Nations, and are to be appointed by the Representative Council.
SIIA Directors:
An expert board of seven (7) SIIA Directors will be established under our future governance model to manage the business and affairs of SIIA. The board of SIIA Directors will be appointed, from time to time, by the Representative Council.
