Ucluelet First Nation held the grand opening for their satellite office in Port Alberni on Saturday, Aug. 26.
Located in the new Uchucklesaht Government Building on Argyle Street (below the Thunderbird apartments), the office will provide services to the approximately 70 percent of Ucluelet First Nation citizens who are urban and live off Treaty Settlement lands in Hitacu, 140 of which live in Port Alberni.
Ucluelet president Les Doiron was in Port Alberni on Saturday to open the new office.
“It’s something that’s been missing for a long time,” said Doiron. “One of the things I campaigned on and something I continue to insist our government must follow is equality to all of our citizens. This office will provide services to our citizens that they otherwise wouldn’t have received.”
Some of the services available at the state-of-the-art facility will include help with resumes and cover letters, birth and registration forms, housing applications, school subsidy forms, status cards, or just a coffee and someone to talk to.
The new office is funded through a negotiation for logging road access with Interfor Corporation. Because of the Interfor impact agreement, the new office is at no cost to the Ucluelet Government or treaty implementation funding.
elena.rardon@albernivalleynews.com
