CAMPAIGN 

Good afternoon, everyone. I want to begin by thanking all of you.
Thank you for gathering here today and for taking the time to be part of
this important moment for our Algonquin Nation.
I stand before you with humility and gratitude, asking you once again for
the honour of serving Pikwakanagan as Chief.
All candidates are here today to lay out our platform for this 2026 election.
I will do so by discussing it in 4 areas;
1. Who I am
2. What my philosophy is (what I believe in)
3. What my track record is, and
4. What I intend to do if re-elected

For those of you who don’t know me so well, my name is Gregory
James Sarazin. I have lived in Pikwakanagan all of my life and I live here now with Helen, my wife of 25 years, and my 19-year-old son Kaleb. Well actually, he is off at college right now but his room is still there just as he left it last fall, and he will be home for the summer which I am very much looking forward to.

I was born and raised in Pikwakanagan, as my parents were before me, and my grandparents were and my great grandparents too. Helen and I have 7 children in our blended family and 7 grandchildren.

Some of my family live on reserve and some live off reserve, so I know how important it is to count and consider our off-reserve members as important too, and how we need to be sure to include them in our plans for services and future prosperity.
I have over 40 years of senior management experience in Pikwakanagan, extensive experience in high level negotiations representing Pikwakanagan, negotiation training from the Harvard University Negotiation Project and university education in Economic Development and Small business Management.

I would encourage you to check out my website to learn more about candidate Greg Sarazin. You can find my website by going to www.gregorysarazin.ca
I believe that leadership is not about a title. It is about responsibility. It is about listening. And it is about always putting our people first — our Elders, our children, our youth, our families, and our generations yet to come.

Thank you to Don Bilodeau and Nicole Bernard for nominating me for re-
election as Chief of Pikwakanagan.
I very much appreciate the confidence you are placing in me and thank you also to the members of Pikwakanagan for allowing me to represent you and to work for you as Chief over these past three years.
I am humbled and I am grateful.
Why am I running for re-election as Chief? I am running for re-election because, our work is not done.
Working with the council and our hardworking staff, over the past 3 years, we have made great progress in many different areas …… But the job is not finished. Much more work needs to be done in those areas to ensure that the progress we have made will endure and be built upon.
All for the benefit of Pikwakanagan and our membership, wherever you
live, on reserve and off reserve, and for our generations yet to come.
During the past 3 years, we have focussed on strengthening Pikwakanagan, from the inside out.
Under the leadership of this council, Pikwakanagan has seen improved
financial transparency, stronger relationships with municipalities and all levels of government, ensuring that Pikwakanagan’s voice is heard and respected.

We have made advancements in community services including health,
safety and culturally grounded supports. We have expanded opportunities for youth, for families and for elders - ensuring the no one is left behind.

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We have a renewed focus on land stewardship, cultural resurgence and protecting our Algonquin identity.

We have achieved steadiness during uncertain times, and we have made progress when it mattered most.

When we came into office in 2023, there were some very large and serious issues that needed to be paid attention to, to be advanced, to be worked on and to be resolved.

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The biggest overriding issue was the treaty negotiations. When we came
in to office, we picked up where previous Chiefs and Councils left off.
They had undertaken extensive consultations with our membership on
the Treaty Negotiations, and the voice of our membership was loud,
clear and documented. What the membership wanted was embodied in
the document called “Minwamon” which means, the path forward.
I believe that the Chief and Council must listen to the people. The Chief
and Council are elected to serve the people and to take direction from
the people.
Miwamon outlined 4 directives of the membership.

• First to establish the appropriate role for Historic Algonquin

Communities,

• Second, to review and amend the proposed Beneficiary Criteria,

• Third to ensure that Pikwakanagan had our own lawyer in Treaty

Negotiations to protect Pikwakanagan as the only First Nation in
negotiations and

• Fourth, to resolve the dual representation issue.

This was the voice and the direction of you, the membership, and we
worked hard to carry out that mandate over the past 3 years.
We have made great headway on those 4 items.
We have restructured the negotiation, we have our own lawyer answering only to Pikwakanagan.
We continue to work on dual representation and the Beneficiary criteria
issues.
The former negotiation team has also been replaced, and a lot of our members are very happy with that.

Nigig Gamik, our Pikwakanagan Child and Family Services agency, was
also just voted in by referendum of the membership, and therefore, it
was your vote that put NIGIG in place, and it was our job follow the will
of the membership - and to work to ensure its full implementation.
 

We needed to complete the negotiation of the Long-Term Relationship
Agreement with Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories and AECL. Then to
implement that agreement and monitor and nurture its operation for the
benefit of Pikwakanagan and our future generations.

The water treatment plant construction and water supply to the
community needed to be managed. Input, decisions and training were
required.

We needed to develop and implement plans for the Kilby and Rattray
properties to ease the existing and ongoing financial burden on
Pikwakanagan, and we needed to develop policy and process to ensure
we never ended up in that situation again, because when we came in to
office the yearly costs of paying down the loans, paying for insurance
and paying the taxes was a huge financial burden on Pikwakanagan.
We now have rental income to pay those expenses at the Kilby farm,
and we have plans for Rattray.

When we entered office, Pikwakanagan’s financial audits were 3 years
behind, which was due to several very unfortunate situations, including
the pandemic of 2020. Being 3 years behind on our audits caused
significant financial uncertainty and funding issues for Pikwakanagan.
I am happy to report, that our audits are now up to date and
Pikwakanagan is once again in TOP financial standing.

I don’t want to give the impression that Chief and Council of these things
by ourselves, we didn’t do it alone, but we played a big part in them.
Progress is a product of teamwork and the Chief and Council, our
dedicated and capable staff and the community are all part of that team.
We all need to continue to work together.

In 2023, when we came in to office, we found that our presence and
recognition in our own traditional territory was not seen or well known.
When governments, agencies, the Assembly of First Nation and others
thought of Algonquins in the Ottawa valley, they first thought of Kitigan
Zibi First Nation, not Pikwakanagan First Nation, and that is where opportunity for territorial benefits went. To Kitigan Zibi, not us. Not Pikwakanagan. We worked hard to raise our profile and bring those opportunities and potential benefits to Pikwakanagan.

We have also taken our place among the other Algonquin First Nations,
those in Quebec, and we are working together with those Algonquin
First Nations, on a couple of very large projects.
In the summer of 2024, I, as Chief of Pikwakanagan, along with 2
Algonquin Grand Chiefs from Quebec and the Minister of Indigenous
Services Canada signed an agreement to build an Algonquin dedicated
space, an 8 story high building overlooking Parliament Hill, which
Canada will pay for, and the Algonquin Nation will have control and use
of our own Algonquin Nation office tower in downtown Ottawa.

We are also working with the Quebec Algonquin First Nations to acquire
land from the Canadian government in the Lebreton Flats area in Ottawa
where the Ottawa Senators Hockey team will be building a new arena.
And we are working with the Ottawa Senators to explore being partners
in business ventures with them, close to that arena.
Also, we are working towards some sort of partnership with the hockey
club itself that is inclusive and represents our Algonquin presence and
history. We have been in discussions with the Sens owners and
management and our relationship is positive.

Post Secondary education for Pikwakanagan is chronically underfunded.
Pikwakanagan has historically had to prioritize funding assistance for
our students, and this meant that we were unable to fund all
college/university students in some years and no students at all for
higher education after the first level of university, such as Masters and
PHD studies.
In 2024/25 this council invested additional funding support to our post-
secondary education program, to ensure that all of our students that
wanted to go to college or university, could go. We achieved that.
In 2025/26 we allocated significantly more additional funding to
ecourage advanced education for our members in Masters and
Doctorate studies.
With these additional funds, we were able to fund 10 students for
Masters/PHD and 5 for trades studies. These are our students that
would have otherwise been unfunded.
More educated Pikwakanagan members, means a stronger Algonquin
Nation.

In 2023 at the direction of the community, we declared a State of
Emergency (SOE) in Pikwakanagan due to the Opioid Crisis. Our
people were overdosing and dying.
We undertook measures and have been working along with our very
capable staff to solve this crisis ever since. The result of our collective
efforts, to date, is that things are much better now than they were three
years ago. By all reports, Pikwakanagan is quieter and safer right now.
We have been working with the Crown Attorney’s office, the courts and
the OPP to have our laws enforced so that we can keep the drug
dealers and other criminals out of Pikwakanagan. The facts are that our
bylaws are outdated, ineffective and unable to be enforced. We now
have experts working on our bi-laws and hope to have them updated
and in place very soon so that they can and will be enforced.
As a result of our ongoing efforts working along with our SOE task force,
the increased cultural programming and other treatment measures, we
have had more of our members that need help, actually seeking help to
enter rehab Treatment Centers.
The problem is that public treatment centers are full and the waitlist is long.
Many/most members with substance issues can relapse if they can’t get
in to a drug rehab facility in a timely basis. For the health and safety of
our members, this Chief and Council allocated specific funds for private
treatment centers so that our members could get the much needed
treatment.
So far, we have 4 members who have made it in to private treatment
centers and 2 more are going soon, funded by that extra money. That is
6 of our members getting drug rehab that would not have otherwise
gotten it. If we can save even one life then I think it is worth it.

On November 12, 2025, Pikwakanagan made history when we, along
with the Ontario government and our business partners, broke ground
on our Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project near Brockville
Ontario which also happens to be the largest Battery Energy Storage
System in Canada.  BESS is a huge battery storage system.
The way it works is that we buy electricity from the grid during the night
when electricity is cheaper, store it in the huge batteries, then sell it back
to the grid during the day when demand is high and prices are higher.
A lot of money will be made for Pikwakanagan over many years.
Once again, this is an example of how the teamwork approach can be
very effective. Chief and Council, our very capable and professional staff
and our membership all do our parts. Taking these projects (there are 5)
from the application stage, to moving forward with the business side of
projects, to actually seeing a financial return on the investments.

These projects and other projects like the LeBreton Flats land deal and
the potential Ottawa Senators business relationship, are planned to
make a lot of money for Pikwakanagan.
These projects will generate “own source revenue”, and we need to
make plans for responsible money management so that we can ensure
maximum benefit for Pikwakanagan.
To do that, we are working to establish a Legacy Trust.

A Legacy Trust is like a bank account that will hold the funds and will be
managed by independent Trustees, selected from our membership.
The Trust will invest the moneys to grow the funds so that we can break
our existing complete dependency on government funding.
Right now, all funding Pikwakanagan receives is tightly controlled as to
what we can use it for. “Own Source Revenue” will provide freedom to
enhance our programs and consider how we can extend services to our
off reserve membership, which we are now not able to do.
These are things we can do together. This is how teamwork works.
Chief and Council do our part, our capable staff do their part, and our
community does their part.

I believe that the Chief and Council are elected to serve the people of
Pikwakanagan, both on reserve members and off reserve members.
Chief and Council must listen to the people.
Strong Nations are built on stable leadership – leaders who understand
our history, respect our protocols and remain committed through
challenges and change.

CONTINUITY…is how we move forward… TOGETHER.
With your support, I look forward to continuing the work we’ve started –
strengthening our governance, advancing our rights, supporting our
families, and building a future rooted in unity, culture, and overall well-
being.

Your voice matters, your vote matters. I humbly ask for your support in
this election so we can continue building a strong, unified, future-
focussed Pikwakanagan – TOGETHER.
Over the past term, Council and I have worked hard during challenging
times. We have faced uncertainty, rising costs of living, growing needs in
housing and health, and the responsibility to protect our lands, culture,
and rights. Through it all, we have stayed focused on stability,
accountability, and respect for our First Nation.

We have worked to strengthen our voice with governments, advocate for
fair recognition, and push for solutions that reflect our priorities — not
someone else’s. We have supported programs for housing, education,
community safety, and economic development, knowing that strong
families build a strong Nation.

But I know that the work is not finished.
If reelected, my commitment is clear:

• To listen more and communicate better, so every member feels

informed and included

• To continue standing up for our rights and recognition, with

confidence and unity

• To support Elders and protect our culture and language, because

our Algonquin identity matters

• To invest in youth, education, and opportunity, so our young

people can remain strong and rooted in their Algonquin identity.

• To strengthen transparency and accountability, because trust in

leadership is earned through action

I believe our Nation is strongest when we move forward together — not
divided, but united by shared values of respect, honesty, and
responsibility to one another.
I am proud of who we are as a people. I am proud of our resilience. And
I am committed to continuing this work with integrity, courage, and
openness.

On election day, I respectfully ask for your support — not for myself, but
for stability, experience, progress and a future built together.

Meegwetch all. Thank you for your time.