NLX Trust

Nlaka'pamux Legacy Trust Summary

WHAT IS THE NLX TRUST?

The Nlaka’pamux Legacy Trust (2013) The (“NLX Trust”) is a trust created by the Ashcroft Indian Band, Boston Bar, Coldwater, Cook’s Ferry , Nicomen, Nooaitch, Shackan, and Siska Indian Bands (together the “Participating Bands”) to manage and invest funds that the Eight Participating Bands receive from agreements the Bands have signed with the Province of BC and Highland Valley Copper Mine/Teck (“HVC”) related to the operation of the Highland Valley Copper Mine in their Territory. The Nlaka'pamux Legacy Trust is a sovereign wealth-like trust fund, established to benefit the members of Eight Participating Bands of the Nlaka'pamux Nation communities.

In 2013 the Participating Bands and the Province of BC signed an Economic and Community Development Agreement (ECDA) to share certain Mineral Tax revenues paid to the Province by HVC on the HVC mine. In addition, the Participating Bands signed a Participation Agreement with HVC to share profits and obtain other benefits from the operation of the HVC mine. The Bands also established the Citwx Nlaka’pamux Assembly (CNA) to appoint and oversee the NLX Trustees and to implement the Participation Agreement with HVC. One of the agreements provides for the establishment of the trust for the long-term socio-economic well-being of the eight communities and their members.

The Trust Indenture is the official document that governs how the trust operates. It contains the rules and responsibilities that Trustees must follow. The NLX Trust is managed by three Nlaka’pamux Trustees (“NLX Community Trustees”) appointed by the CNA and one Administrative Trustee (“Admin Trustee”) appointed by the NLX Trustees in consultation with the CNA.

Each of the eight bands is eligible for money from the trust. Funds are only paid to the bands or the non-profit entity. No individual member payments are permitted by the indenture.

WHAT DO NLX COMMUNITY TRUSTEES DO?

The Trustees’ duties are described in the Trust Indenture document.

In summary, the three NLX Community Trustees make all decisions on how to invest the funds held in the NLX Trust and approve the distribution and uses of NLX Trust funds to the Participating Bands and the CNA on behalf of the beneficiaries.

The NLX Community Trustees are required to maintain bank accounts for the NLX Trust Funds, get advice from investment experts, maintain financial records, attend regular meetings with the CNA, prepare an annual budget, and gather reports about how Bands use money from the trust.
All Trustees must work honestly, in good faith, and in the best interests of the beneficiaries. Trustees must keep themselves informed about the Trust and participate in decisions. Each Trustee is appointed to use his or her own judgment and cannot follow the direction of the Council or Band that they belong to. The Trustees must share information about any potential conflict of interest they may have.

The NLX Community Trustees can make their own policies and procedures on how they conduct business to run the NLX Trust. They are required to meet at least every six months, and the meeting notes, or minutes, must be written, signed, and distributed to all Trustees, each Band, and the CNA. A Trustee can participate in the meeting via conference call. Trustees will not be held liable unless they are grossly negligent or fraudulent.

The Trustees, with the CNA, hire independent auditors from an accounting firm from time to time. The Bands and the CNA receive copies of the annual audit reports prepared by the auditors.

THE ADMINISTRATIVE TRUSTEE

The Admin Trustee is there to ensure that the uses of the funds meet the requirements of the Trust Indenture. They oversee all financial reports, review concerns or complaints, and keep the CNA and Bands informed about the Trust.

The Administrative Trustee acts independently of the Bands and the NLX Community Trustees and does not get a vote in Trustee meetings but has a legal responsibility to ensure all decisions made are allowed under the Trust Indenture document.

HOW CAN NLX TRUST FUNDS BE USED?

The Trust Indenture authorizes fund spending for only the following Fund Uses and Purposes:

General Administration and Governance of the Trust
Culture, Heritage, and Language
Governance
Social Development
Economic Development
Environmental and natural resources
Education, training, bursaries, and scholarships
Community Infrastructure, and
Sports and Recreation

The Trustees can distribute funds for the above nine purposes through the Bands (Available Band Funds) and the CNA (Available Nation Funds).

The NLX Community Trustees can only distribute funds as long as they meet certain conditions:

They cannot give away more money than is in the account
They cannot pay Band Members directly, but only through programs established by the Bands or CNA
They have to maintain a Minimum Protected Balance of funds in the NLX Trust at all times at a level established in the Trust Indenture
Band Funds will be distributed based on the available funds of each Band.
They cannot give funds to a Band in default, who has not fulfilled its commitments for use of past funds
They have to record all money they distribute to a Band or the CNA.
Trustees must pay the costs of operating the NLX Trust from the Available Nation Funds.

All proposals for trust fund distributions have to be reviewed by the Administrative Trustee.
If a Band, or the CNA, fails to use a distribution for a Fund Use or fails to report on the use of the distribution, they are in default and cannot receive further distributions until the problem is resolved.

WHO CAN BE A COMMUNITY NLX TRUSTEE?

Trustees cannot be Chiefs or Council members, bankrupt, mentally incompetent, or people with criminal convictions unless the conviction was for civil disobedience to support Aboriginal rights and title. NLX Community Trustees are appointed by the CNA for five-year terms.

WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION?

The Trust Indenture is available at all Band offices. NLX Trust Audits are available through each of the Participating Bands. Records of NLX Trustee meetings are available by request through each Band office. The Trustees must keep good records of everything in the Trust and the main records will be kept by the Administrative Trustee. Band representatives, authorized by each Band Council, can access information related to the Available Band Funds for their Band only, and appointed representatives of the CNA can access reports on Available Nation funds.

DOES THE NLX TRUST EVER CEASE TO EXIST?

The Trust Indenture provides for a Final Distribution date when the Trustees must distribute all of the remaining Trust Property to the Bands based on the sharing formula and remaining balances in the Available Band funds. That happens 80 years after the Trust was created, or in 2093. The Participating Bands may choose to create another trust to continue after that.