Saint Mary's University Honorary Degree Awarded

June 4, 2014, Tribute by Krista Brooks, B.A.,L.L.B.

Senior Policy Analyst/Legal advisor
Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs Secretariat

Lawrence knew my grandfather quite well and used to tell me stories about when they would get together....Lawrence was the one who hired me (20 years ago now) at APC straight out of law school and when I was done articling....I remember he said, can you incorporate our organization? I said, well I don't know how to right now but I will find out and do it. I learned so so much from him and he will never ever be forgotten by me and so many others, including a lot of our Chiefs and staff who will miss his humor and leadership.....He certainly has left an imprint on me that will never be erased. We spent so much time with him, both John and I over the last twenty years, presenting at Parliamentary Standing Committees or attending meetings with Ministers in Ottawa, most of that time he was our CoChair as you are aware. He never showed that he was nervous or anything and I always made sure I briefed him verbally on issues and if I ever needed him to explain a policy context or background to me, he always was able to provide me with an answer or who to ask to find out more....he was so smart and had so many interesting and hilarious experiences to share.....

His passing is such a huge loss to the entire Mi'kmaq Nation and region. There will never ever be another person like him...... My heart is so broken....I was filled with anxiety driving to his is funeral as it is overwhelming to me for us to lose such a great leader and negotiator and friend...I respected him so much because he always put his community's interests first....I saw it many, many times in what he said and did.....he has just played such a big role in the evolution of my career and taught us all so much about politics and life...

I am just so grateful that I had the opportunity to meet him and that he became such a part of my life and my career....almost like a father/grandfather figure type for me....he will never be forgotten...

Krista

Obituary, Truro Daily News, May 31, 2014

Chief Lawrence Alexander Paul, born in Saint John, New Brunswick, after suffering a long illness, surrounded by family and friends, passed away at the Colchester East Hants Health Centre, Truro, on Wednesday night, May 28, 2014, he was 79.

Chief Paul was raised on the Shubenacadie Indian Reserve, now Indian Brook, and attended the Indian day school on the Reserve. Later in life Paul joined the Canadian Navy and Army. He attended many educational courses during his younger years and was a graduate of Success Business College, Truro. He was also a graduate of one of the world's great institutions, the University of Life, which served him well by providing him with the negotiating skills and lobbying tactics that he utilized very skillfully in his role as Band Chief, which realized many groundbreaking economic opportunities for his community and for other First Nation Communities.

Paul served several terms as a Millbrook Mi'kmaw community Band Councillor and went on to serve 28 years as the community's Chief. Among his many outstanding accomplishments were he was the driving force behind the founding of the Millbrook Power Center, a founding chief of the Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq, the Atlantic Policy Congress, etc.

In recognition of his economic development skills Saint Mary's University, November 14, 2004, awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law Degree. Among other honours Atlantic Canada's Business Magazine named him one of the area's top 50 CEOs and he was named 2001 Newsmaker of the Year by the Truro Daily News.

Chief Paul was predeceased by his parents, William Gabriel Paul and Sarah Agnes Noel; a son Shawn; brothers Frank, John and Robert; sisters, Francis, Eileen, Sylvia, Violet Lewis and Rhoda. He is survived by his estranged wife Jane Markie; sons Chief Terry Paul (Tracy), John Paul and Lance Paul; two daughters Sharon Touchie (Dave) and Cindy Paul. He is also survived by brother, Daniel Paul; sisters, Jane Adema, Evelyn Paul, Rebecca Paolini, Rosalita Macmillan and two special foster sisters, Starlene Wysote and Violet Paul; 11 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren and dozens of nieces, nephews and god children.

Danny, Mi'kmaw Sa'qmaw (Elder) (Dr.) Daniel N. Paul, C.M., O.N.S., LLD, DLIT

May 30, 2014

Chief Lawrence, the 9th of fourteen children, and nine of my sisters and brothers were born in New Brunswick, I and four of my sisters were born in Nova Scotia, Shubenacadie Indian Reserve, now known as Indian Brook.

The reason Lawrence and many of my siblings were born in New Brunswick was that after our Father, William G. Paul, and Mother, Sarah Agnes, nee Noel, were married in Truro, while residing in Millbrook, they decided, along with many other Mi’kmaw families, that perhaps they would find a more viable means to alleviate their poverty existence while residing in that Province, which worked quite well until the 1929 Recession hit and great many people where being laid off by the early 1930s.

My father was among those laid off in 1934 and had to apply for City Welfare. Saint John, rather than pay for his family’s upkeep, shipped him and his family off to Shubenacadie Indian Reserve, a place where they had never seen before. It was November and the compassionate Indian Agent provided a roll of tarpaper for Dad to build a tar paper shack for his large family to call home. I’ll put it this way, during the Recession many Caucasians were suffering quite badly, however, the treatment Registered Indians were receiving from the Indian Affairs Agency and it’s Indian Agent, especially food rations, housing, and medical care, made the hard times Caucasian’s were experiencing seem like heaven to us.

One the fond memories I have of these early tuff years was when him and I snatched blankets from the Shubenacadie Indian Agency Farm. To put this into perspective at the time, early 1940s, loads of used army and RCMP clothing and blankets were given to Indian Agents by the federal government to distribute to the impoverished “Indians.” The Agents generosity was overwhelming, our large family received one blanket. To remedy this situation Lawrence and I traveled with our Mother to the Agents farm where we used the time wisely, while she had to suffer the indignity of kissing his butt for food, to identify a means to increase our blanket share.

While the Agent was thus occupied with our Mother’s pleas for assistance Lawrence and I managed to get into the basement storage room where the blankets were kept. I stood outside the window and he passed me out a dozen or so blankets that we soon had hid in the woods adjacent to the farm Agency. I can testify that they kept our family nice and warm that winter.

The kind of poverty stricken background I’ve mentioned is what has propelled the both of us to seek a better world for our people the Mi’kmaq and other First Nations Peoples. I wrote a Halifax Herald column about Lawrence on March 1, 2002 entitled “Chief Lawrence Paul: Mi'kmaq innovator”, I’ll share part of with you:

“SINCE 1994, when I started writing occasional columns about the achievements and exploits of outstanding Mi'kmaq, there was one that I didn't relish the thought of doing - he is my brother, and people might think me a wee bit biased. But after he was named 2001 Newsmaker of the Year by the Truro Daily News, I decided, brother or not, I had to do it.

I'll kick off by quoting a from the Truro Daily News story of Jan. 6, 2002:

"New-found prosperity in the Millbrook (Mi'kmaq) First Nation has brought unheard-of attention to the small community of 1,200 people near Truro and a new appreciation of their chief of the past 17 years.

"Chief Lawrence Paul has come into his own as a leader and as a hard-nosed negotiator, the benefits of which can be seen in the prosperity of the band as it stands now, and the vision of the band for the future.

"A symbol of the prosperity and power of the small . . . (community) . . . could be seen early in January when Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault showed up to officially open the first stage of the Truro Power Centre . . ."

The article cites many of Lawrence's other lifetime achievements, finishing with a comment about how he settled the acrimonious fishing dispute between Millbrook and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans:

"When all was said and done, all interested parties returned to the table for negotiations. Although Paul will confront business and political leaders when he disagrees with them, he's not one to carry grudges over them. He knows he doesn't have to be friends with his peers in the business and political world. One day he might argue about an issue with his peers; the next day he might support them on another issue.

"For those reasons and many others, the Truro Daily News has designated Chief Lawrence Paul Newsmaker of the Year."

Lawrence was born July 23, 1934, in Saint John, N.B., the tenth of Mom and Dad's 14 children. Some of his fellow chiefs tease him about it by saying, "He was born in Maliseet territory," which makes him one of that nation. However, he was born on the north side of the river, which is in Mi'kmaq territory, so I can testify that his Mi'kmaq roots are genuine.

Elsie Basque, who taught Lawrence at Indian Brook, describes him at that time in these words: "He was a good little boy, inquisitive, well-mannered, ambitious and attentive." From experience, I can state that he was also a bad little boy who began to hone his now considerable skills at wheeling and dealing way back then, in particular for getting out of work. From the time we were able to handle chores, Mom assigned us tasks around the house; as the "much" younger brother, I often wound up doing his. This changed as I grew older and developed skills at evading traps set up by wheelers and dealers such as him.

Though we had a hard, poverty-stricken life, we did have fun growing up. I vaguely remember an occasion during the war when we were playing in the woods and heard an airplane coming, and decided to hide in case it was the enemy. Lawrence selected the weirdest location as his hiding place: the top of a tree. Of course, it was his tree that the plane flew over, almost touching it and causing it to sway. Looking back on it, we were sort of like the Beverly Hillbillies - without the money, of course.

Education: Although Lawrence attended courses ranging from bookkeeping to welding, and graduated with certificates from several, he is mostly a graduate of the University of Life. His biggest asset is that he is a very intelligent man who can see what he wants to accomplish, plot a course of action to do it, and then, in most instances, get it done.

Lawrence's life has not been without tribulations. At a very young age, he acquired an alcoholism demon that has hurt him greatly over the years. It sometimes got him into pickles where he had to use all of his smarts to escape.

Unknowingly, I was dragged into the midst of one of these, which, at the time, outraged me; but now, in retrospect, I laugh about. One morning, I received a call from a mutual friend who related that Lawrence, under the influence of alcohol, had got himself into a particularly bad situation and that I would probably see it in the morning paper. Sure enough, it was prominently featured on the front page of The Herald. However, the picture used to accompany the report of the incident was mine. The paper printed a front-page retraction the next day, but for a considerable time afterwards, I would catch people giving me a puzzled look.

In view of what Lawrence has accomplished in spite of his addiction, I've often wondered what he might have done had he not been hampered by it. I've concluded that he could have made a considerable mark in many fields, mainstream politics in particular.

On Feb. 20, members of the Millbrook Mi'kmaq First Nation Community expressed their continued confidence in Lawrence's leadership by returning him to office for the 10th time by a landslide. I take great pride in the individual accomplishments of members of the Mi'kmaq community; but in this case, because Lawrence is my brother, it's special. May the Great Spirit grant him good health for many more years and continued success in his endeavours.”

My brother is gone now, he has passed to spend eternity in the Land of souls with the Great Spirit and our Ancestors, and to await our arrivals. May the Creator grant him peace and eternal rest!

********************

Halifax Herald, May 29, 2014

His younger brother, noted author and historian Daniel Paul, said the Mi'kmaq leader died Wednesday night in a Truro hospital. Paul said his brother had been hospitalized since October with dementia and was waiting to be transferred to a care facility.

He was 79.

Paul was chief of the 1,700-member band near Truro for 28 years, until he was defeated in the 2012 election.

He is widely credited for his vision that brought a retail and commercial development known as the Truro Power Centre to an area off Highway 102, and was lauded as a tough negotiator in business and politics.

"He was tenacious when it came to going after something. Sometimes, I think they just gave in to get rid of him," Daniel Paul said with a laugh.

"He was restless. He wanted to do things. Be involved. And what he did for Millbrook — his negotiations with the Canadian government and the provincial government — were groundbreaking things that opened the door for other Mi'kmaq communities and other First Nations communities across the country to access the tools they need to be able to make progress."

Millbrook Chief Bob Gloade said his predecessor was a man who saw opportunities for the people of Millbrook.

"He's always had the vision of economic development and self-sufficiency for our community," he said.

Gloade, who called Paul "a role model and mentor," was on council for 12 years with Paul as chief.

"He's been the spokesperson for our community for many years. And how we were able to achieve our success is by his dedication, commitment and overall drive to enhance the quality of life for our community."

His commitment to address the needs of all of the community's members and his ability to work closely with councillors to ensure his vision "was well-shared and well communicated" are principles that continue with Millbrook's leaders, Gloade said.

Daniel Paul said his brother, the ninth of 14 children, was born in Saint John, N.B. Their parents had gone to New Brunswick searching for a better life but returned to Indian Brook, near Shubenacadie, where their children were raised.

At that time, education was mostly out of reach, and natives weren't even allowed to vote, he said.

That his brother went on to achieve so much on behalf of Millbrook is a testament to his ability to see what needed to be done and then figure out how best to get that accomplished, Paul said.

Lawrence Paul was first elected Millbrook's chief in 1984. He went on to win 14 consecutive elections.

As a result of his commitment to improving the economy of Millbrook, Paul was named one of Atlantic Canada's top 50 CEOs by Atlantic Canada Business Magazine.

He served as co-chair of the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs and on several boards. He received many awards and was given an honorary doctor of civil law degree in 1994 by Saint Mary's University in Halifax.

In a news release, Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil called Paul a "tireless champion of his community" who "dedicated his life to opening up economic opportunities for his people."

His legacy "has left Millbrook stronger and made Nova Scotia a better place," said McNeil.

Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley MP Scott Armstrong remembered Paul as a man of "vision, courage and conviction."

"He will be remembered for his leadership, which transformed the Millbrook First Nation into the significant economic force it is today," Armstrong said in a news release.

He said Paul was the leader for other significant investments, including a building to house a General Dynamics helicopter support facility on the band's Cole Harbour Reserve, a wind energy project and a planned deepwater port in Melford. At Sheet Harbour and Joggins, the band developed wharf facilities and maintains small fishing fleets.

Progressive Conservative Leader Jamie Baillie said Paul "exemplified the term community spirit" and steered his people to economic success.

Paul had six children. As well as his brother, he is survived by four sisters.

About the Author

KELLY SHIERS STAFF REPORTER

Premier Expresses Condolences to Family of Lawrence Paul
Premier's Office, May 29, 2014 11:11 AM

Premier Stephen McNeil expressed condolences to the family of former Millbrook First Nation Chief Lawrence Paul today, May 29.

"On behalf of all Nova Scotians, I want to extend my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Lawrence Paul at this difficult time," said Premier McNeil. "Mr. Paul was a tireless champion of his community of Millbrook First Nation and dedicated his life to opening up economic opportunities for his people."

Mr. Paul was born in Saint John, N.B., and served as chief of the Millbrook First Nation from 1984 until 2012. Under his leadership, Millbrook benefitted from economic development that helped to place it on a firm financial footing, while contributing to jobs and growth for the local area.

As a result of his commitment to improving the economy of Millbrook, Mr. Paul was named one of Atlantic Canada's Top 50 CEOs by Atlantic Canada Business Magazine. He served as co-chair of the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs and on numerous boards.

"I know his passing is a great loss for the whole community of Millbrook and the Mi'kmaq in Nova Scotia. Lawrence Paul's legacy has left Millbrook stronger and made Nova Scotia a better place," said Premier McNeil.

May 29, 2014

Assembly of First Nations Offers Condolences to Family of former Chief Lawrence Paul

(Ottawa, ON) – The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Executive Committee today offered condolences to the family and friends of former Millbrook First Nation Chief Lawrence Paul who passed away overnight at hospital in Truro, Nova Scotia.

It is with a heavy heart that I offer sincere condolences on behalf of the AFN National Executive to the family and friends of former Chief Lawrence Paul, the entire community of Millbrook First Nation and all citizens of the Mi’kmaq Nation,” said Morley Googoo, AFN Regional Chief for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. “Former Chief Paul had a long-standing commitment and dedication to achieving self-sustaining and self-sufficient economic success for Millbrook and all First Nations as a foundation to strengthen our peoples, languages and cultures. In this and in so many other ways, his efforts will continue to benefit the citizens, community and Mi’kmaq peoples for years to come and his legacy will live on for future generations.”

Lawrence Paul served as Chief and band councilor for Millbrook First Nation for 28 years and also served as Co-Chair of the Assembly of Nova Scotia Chiefs. He received an honourary degree for business acumen from Saint Mary’s University. He was 79.

The Assembly of First Nations is the national organization representing First Nations citizens in Canada. Follow AFN on Twitter @AFN_Comms, @AFN_Updates.

Contact information:
Jenna Young AFN Communications Officer
613-241-6789, ext 401; 613-314-8157 or
Alain Garon AFN Bilingual Communications Officer
613-241-6789, ext 382; 613-292-0857

Statement from John G. Paul, Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs Secretariat

May 30, 2014

Atlantic Policy Congress Expresses Condolences to Family and Friends of Chief Lawrence Paul Dartmouth, Nova Scotia – All 37 APC Chiefs wish to express their deepest sympathy in the loss of a fellow leader Lawrence Paul of Millbrook First Nation. Chief Lawrence was a great innovator and helped create the focus on prosperity and economic development for the community of Millbrook and was a strong direct voice for all communities in the Atlantic region.

“Chief Lawrence will be remembered as one of our greatest Mi’kmaq leaders, one that advocated for our people and their economic prosperity” stated Chief Dean Vicaire, APC Co-Chair. “Chief Lawrence’s personal and direct approach to important issues will be missed”.

As a founder and long-time Co-Chair of the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs Secretariat, a policy and advocacy organization, Chief Lawrence was the voice for all First Nations people in the region with both federal and provincial governments, the business community and the general public. Chief Lawrence never missed an opportunity to advocate on important issues facing First Nations and his community and regularly contributed to media outlets locally, regionally and nationally. His personal style and focused approach allowed him to achieve results and success for his community and our region.

“Chief Lawrence was a longtime colleague, mentor and very dear friend. He was a leader who spoke his mind and put his heart and soul into his work for the good of the entire Mi'kmaq Nation” says Chief Deborah Robinson, APC Co-Chair. “He set a very high standard for all of our Chiefs and our communities and will never be forgotten. His legacy will live on.”

Acting as the unified voice for 37 First Nation communities across Atlantic Canada & the Gaspe in Quebec, Chief Lawrence always held fellow politicians accountable, and made sure they were aware of APC’s perspectives on critical issues. Prior to the 1999 Supreme Court of Canada decision regarding Donald Marshall Junior, he worked closely with federal Ministers to get a peaceful resolution and an outcome which would benefit all communities.

“May he move into the spirit world with pride based on all his life work and accomplishments which would have never happened if he did not play such an important role for decades as Chief. His and friendship will be greatly missed” stated John G. Paul, Executive Director.

About APC

Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs Secretariat is a policy research and advocacy organization that analyzes and develops culturally relevant alternatives to federal policy for 37 Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy and Innu communities and peoples.

For further information contact:
John G. Paul, Executive Director
Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs Secretariat
Phone: 1-877-667-4007

Halifax Herald, May 31, 2014

Editorial Column

In 2009, at age 74, Chief Lawrence Paul of Millbrook First Nation was named an Olympic torchbearer, one of those honoured to carry the flame en route to the Vancouver Games.

But Chief Paul, who died Wednesday, was always a torchbearer. He played a profound leadership role in asserting the rights and improving the well-being of the Millbrook community, of the Mi’kmaq people and of First Nations people across Canada.

Chief Paul’s extraordinary career as Millbrook’s elected leader, spanning 28 years, was marked by a string of “firsts.”

Under his leadership, Millbrook was the first band in the province to strike deals with non-native investors and the first in the Maritimes to administer its own commercial property taxes.

It was in the vanguard of striking gaming and fisheries agreements that provided revenue for reserve business development.

Chief Paul built the first and only 100-series highway interchange aimed to spur commercial growth. As he predicted, access from the province’s busiest highway, the 102, has powered substantial growth at Millbrook’s Power Centre business park.

With $30 million of investment, the Power Centre is the most visible legacy of Chief Paul’s drive to achieve independence through economic development. A 12-metre statue of Glooscap, impossible to miss from the highway, presides over a Mi’kmaq cultural centre and a growing collection of tenants like Super 8 Motel, Needs, A&W, Tim Hortons, a theatre complex, Saltscapes Restaurant, Ultramar and an aquaculture operation. His investment drive also included fishing wharves at Joggins and Sheet Harbour, a wind energy project, and apartments and a high-tech office building on band-owned land in Cole Harbour.

Chief Paul’s business acumen won him acclaim as a first-rate CEO. But his vision wasn’t limited to commerce. He worked hard to improve health, education and public safety services in his community, expanding the role of aboriginal police, establishing trust funds young members could use for education and supporting programs to deter smoking and drug and alcohol abuse.

He spoke frankly about his own lifelong struggle with alcohol addiction. That honesty made him a very human voice on what it takes to beat the grip of adversity. We admired his achievements all the more, knowing that they came on top of hard-won successes in overcoming this illness.

Millbrook’s growth was also the result of Chief Paul’s political moxy. He refused to accept a demeaning highway agreement that allowed the band to merely sell handcrafts at a 102 exit in return for crossing Millbrook land. When the province dragged its feet on better terms, he built a gas station and paved an access road without provincial approval. He got Ottawa to agree to build an interchange, then started the work with band funds, so the feds couldn’t drag out the process.

When governments tried to duck First Nations issues, Chief Paul might raise the spectre of highway blockades. But, really, his energies went into building access to roads, not blocking them.

By his intelligence, toughness and initiative, he wrung not just better policies, but the respect First Nations deserved, from governments he dealt with.

He was a great Mi’kmaq champion, a great Nova Scotian and a great Canadian.

Bidding farewell to former Millbrook chief Lawrence Paul | The Chronicle Herald, June 3, 2014

MILLBROOK — They came in shorts and jeans.

They came in tidy dresses and neat suits.

They came in sandals and sneakers, and they came in heels and polished loafers.

They came with the boundless energy of youth, and they came with the wobbly legs and unsteady gait of the aged and infirm.

They came on foot, and they came by the carload.

They all came to the tiny Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Millbrook on a beautiful afternoon to bid farewell to Lawrence Paul, a native advocate and longtime Millbrook chief.

They all came from near and far because Paul was a man of the people — of his Mi’kmaq people and of all people.

Violet Paul eulogized her uncle Monday by saying that he was so successful during his 28-year tenure as chief in Millbrook and so highly regarded beyond the First Nation that a group “asked him to step down as Millbrook chief and run for mayor of Truro.”

Former federal fisheries minister Herb Dhaliwal came all the way from his British Columbia home for his friend’s funeral, gaining an inconspicuous standing spot by the entrance of the church.

“He was a wonderful human being and a great Canadian,” Dhaliwal said of the man he negotiated with long and hard before reaching a native fishing deal with the Millbrook First Nation.

That deal was one of dozens hammered out in the wake of the 1999 Supreme Court of Canada decision that affirmed a treaty right to hunt, fish and gather in pursuit of a moderate livelihood.

“He was a determined man for the betterment of his community and for the betterment of his country,” Dhaliwal said as he left the church.

It was packed with about 200 people. A similar number stood outside listening to the mass and waiting for the post-service reception at the church hall.

Besides negotiating federal agreements and leading the First Nation of about 1,500 people, Paul is credited with bringing to fruition the retail and commercial development off Highway 102 known as the Truro Power Centre.

His niece remembered him as a mentor and teacher who showed her the way things got done in politics.

“We’d go on road trips and he’d play his Johnny Cash music, chain smoke with the windows rolled up and would talk all the way,” Violet Paul said.

He even left some room for her questions.

“He wasn’t one to carry on grudges after 4 or 5 p.m.,” she said, adding that Paul could vehemently disagree with someone one day and the next day embrace that person’s views on a different subject.

“He taught me that you don’t have to like the people you work with. You just have to get the job done.”

She also remembered a strong, humorous and loving uncle.

Paul was born in Saint John, N.B., in July 1934. His niece said that he was often kidded about being a Maliseet, not a Mi’kmaq. But he would always shoot back that he was born on the north side of the St. John River — the Mi’kmaq side.

Paul died Wednesday at 79. He is survived by three sons, two daughters, a brother, four sisters, 11 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.

A founding member of the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq and a key player in the Atlantic Policy Congress, Paul was remembered by his niece and by Rev. Dariusz Miskowicz in his homily as a man who went against the flow.

“It’s always difficult to go against the wind and stand up straight and say no,” Violet Paul said.

Making his way tentatively from church to hall as strains of a Johnny Cash song provided the recessional background, Joe Julien, 74, said simply, “He was my brother-in-law.”

From the Mounties in red serge who carried the casket to the young and old who congregated, they came to help Paul along his way — a peaceful send-off with no more need to push back against the wind.

“The Lord has prepared a place for him,” his niece said. “Say goodbye to a wonderful person.”

June 4, 2014

Andy Nicholas, Elder, First Energy First Nation, Tobique First Nation

It was a privelege for me to work with Chief Lawrence Paul, as his Engineer. He never ceased to amaze me with his negotiating. He'd get funding for community projects when there was just no funding available. We'd go to Amherst,Halifax or to New Glasgow. He'd say "Andy start that job tomorrow morning". I never knew when he took "no" for a final answer. He'd say "there's always wiggle room- give the other guy a chance to wiggle" I think right now he's negotiating some wiggle room with a Higher Power. I'm positive he will get his rightful place, high on a mountain - with Johnny Cash, and George Jones. He enjoyed Life to the fullest. Most certainly a lesson for all who really got to know him.

Andy

June 6, 2014

Wayne G. Wouters
Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet

Quoted from a letter of Condolence to Daniel N. Paul

“.....I was privileged to have known Mr. Paul during his time as Chief and look back fondly on our many exchanges. During our work together, I learned as so many have witnessed over the years, that he was a deeply caring human being, a determined negotiator and a tireless advocate for his community. I also learned that Mr. Paul was dedicated to building respectful relationships that would allow him to work through difficult discussions on behalf o his community, and to chart a common path forward with governments and other communities. Hi approach in this regard has left us with an important example of how reconciliation can have meaning in the many cooperative endeavours between First Nations and governments.... “

June 2, 2014

Hon. Bernard Valcourt, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Quoted from a letter of Condolence to Daniel N. Paul

“....Mr. Paul was highly respected by those who had the opportunity to work with him in many capacities over the years. He was a dedicated leader of his community and was instrumental in ensuring that his community became financially sustainable though economic development opportunities. There is so much to be remembered, not the least of which was his 28 years of service as Chief of his community. He was named one of Atlantic Canada’s top 50 Chief Executive Officers, served as Co-Chair of the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs, and of course his work in furthering economic devolvement for First Nations.