Joseph Tsannie has been re-elected to a third term as Athabasca vice-chief of the Prince Albert Grand Council.

Tsannie defeated Colleen Whitedeer 158 to 95 votes in an election Wednesday afternoon.

The newly re-elected vice-chief says one of the key issues he plans to address is the high cost of energy in the far north of Saskatchewan.

“No one from SaskPower has come to our communities and said, ‘Hey, what can we do to help you to reduce this stress on your people or encourage some green energy for your communities,’” he says. “Nothing, we need to find a solution.”

Food insecurity, inadequate policing and a need for better search and rescue equipment are other issues a number of northern communities are grappling with, Tsannie says.

A total of 254 delegates from PAGC’s 12 member First Nations were eligible to vote in the election.

Over the course of two days at the Senator Allen Bird Memorial Centre in Prince Albert, a number of resolutions were also discussed, debated and passed.

One such resolution calls on the provincial government to consult with PAGC before any changes are made to the Trespass to Property Act.

Tsannie says non-Indigenous people have been trespassing on First Nations lands for years and any changes to the act should not negatively affect traditional hunting and trapping rights.

“People have been trespassing in our territory for I don’t know how many years. Look at all the mine sites, those are traditional lands and those are the resources we agreed to share but it’s not happening. So what do we do?”

The province is currently reviewing the trespass act due to pressure from the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities to make rural private property more difficult to access.

On Wednesday morning, there was a special honouring blanket ceremony for Steve Depeel, his mother Francis Depeel and sister Marie Romanchuk.

Depeel owns a farm south of Prince Albert and he and his family offered up their land and gave support to search efforts for Travis McDonald of Stony Rapids who went missing recently.

McDonald’s body was found last week.

(PHOTOS: Top, Joseph Tsannie addresses the Prince Albert Grand Council annual assembly after being re-elected Athabasca vice-chief. Bottom, left to right, Lac La Ronge Indian Band Chief Tammy Cook-Searson, Black Lake Dene Nation Chief Coreen Sayazie, Francis Depeel, Marie Romanchuk, Shoal Lake Cree Nation Chief Norma Bear and Red Earth Cree Nation Chief Ina Whitehead. The Depeel family was given an honourary blanket for their efforts in the search of Travis McDonald. Top photo by Fraser Needham Bottom photo courtesy of Abel Charles)