Message from the Co-Chairs
September 2006

This year's AGM marks the conclusion of ITHA's eighth year of operation. To some of us, it seems almost like yesterday that we were starting out. We set out to replace the functions performed by Health Canada's Vancouver Island Zone Office in Victoria. We took almost two years to develop our ideas, talk amongst ourselves, consult with our leaders and negotiate with the Medical Services Branch regional officials in Vancouver. We also took the time to craft a Constitution and Bylaws that would establish the purposes of our new organization and provide the procedures and processes for its governance. We did this in many meetings up and down the Island. Today, our membership is 28 First Nations strong! This year, the Board of Directors is presenting the Members with proposed changes to both the Constitution and the Bylaws. We are doing this in accordance with a Resolution passed at last years' AGM. The changes proposed to the Bylaws are minor. We are recommending that ITHA Members not tinker with a model that has served us all very well so far - as the saying goes, "if it ain't broke, why fix it". Most of the recommended changes to the Bylaws are intended to ensure compliance with the law, including the Society's Act of British Columbia, under which ITHA is incorporated; and, also to ensure clarity for Members, its Board of Directors, the staff and the communities for whom ITHA has fiduciary responsibilities and obligations. It is recommended that the size of the Board, which has the important responsibility of governing ITHA, remain the same - eight Directors. It is also recommended that the methods of selecting the Directors remain the same. These methods have worked throughout our young history as an organization and reflect the geographic, cultural and political diversity of Member Nations. The Board is recommending that Members consider more significant changes to our Constitution. The current Constitution is reflective of where we were as an agency at the time we were negotiating the transfer of second and third level health services. Some of us have come to recognize that our original purposes were related more to our relationship with Health Canada (and our transfer contract with the government) than to our own future as an independent entity intended to support the inherent rights of our Member Nations to control their own health systems. We are recommending the expansion of our original constitutional purposes to include health support and services, traditional healing, prevention and promotion, research and other categories of health service that we have become involved in over the years. These changes will represent the first amendment to our Constitution and Bylaws since our beginning, eight years ago. They have been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors and we respectfully request their approval by the Members. Inter Tribal Health Authority continues to thrive as a unique entity in British Columbia. We often get calls from other parts of the Province or the country from others wanting to know what we are about and how we do it. Often, these enquires are referrals from federal or provincial government officials, with whom we continue to enjoy positive relations. On behalf of the Board of Directors, we thank all Member Nations for their support and commitment over the past year. David Bob,Southern Co-Chair Pearl Alfred, Northern Co-Chair

Legal Notice

© All contents are copyright 1998 - 2006
No material from this site may be reproduced, modified, republished,
transmitted or distributed in any way without the owner's prior approval.
All Rights Reserved by Tehaliwaskenhas Bob Kennedy
An Aboriginal Owned and Operated Web Site