Vuntut Gwitchin Trust > Questions & Answers:

1. What is the purpose of the Trust?


2. Who can be a Trustee?
   
3. Are all VG citizens eligible to serve as Trustees
   
4. Who appoints the Trustees?
   
5. For how long do the Trustees serve?
   
6. Can a Trustee serve more than one five year term?
   
7. What is the Protector and what is their role?
   
8. What are the Trustees' responsibilities?
   
9. Are the Trustees required to act prudently?
   
10. How often will the Trustees meet?
    
11. What type of information will the Trustees provide to VG citizens?
    
12. Who is the investment manager and what do they do with the
    compensation dollars?
    
13. How often will the Trustees meet with the Investment Manager?
    
14. Where will the trustees conduct investment manager meetings?
    
15. Can investment manager/trustee meetings be held in Whitehorse?
    
16. What does the logo at the top of the vgtrust website represent?
    

1. What is the purpose of the Trust?
   Under the terms of the self-government agreement, the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation has duties and responsibilities to its Citizens. The purpose of the Trust is to provide protection from the inadvertent application of tax to the VGFN compensation assets, to ensure the prudent management of the investment portfolio and to provide independent administration, investment and custody thereof.
   
   
2. Who can be a Trustee?
   The Trustees are Vuntut Gwitchin citizens who are of legal voting age. Trustees must be bondable and be of good character. To be bondable, one should not have a criminal record for major offences such as fraud, theft, forgery, robbery, assault etc. Ideally, Trustees should possess some relevant experience (investments, economics, business, finance, accounting) or have served in some capacity of trust such as an elected leader or as a Board member.
   
   
3. Are all VG citizens eligible to serve as Trustees?
   Citizens serving the First Nation in an elected capacity or in the running for an elected position are not permitted to serve as Trustees concurrently. Trustees should not be involved in, or have emerged within the past five years, from bankruptcy protection proceedings.
   
   
4. Who appoints the Trustees?
   The Chief and Council have appointed five Trustees and two alternate Trustees. From now on, the Trustees will be appointed and removed by the Protector.
   
   
5. For how long do the Trustees serve?
   With the exception of the first nine years of the Trust, Trustees will be appointed to serve five-year terms. For continuity, during the first nine years the Protector will be authorized to re-appoint select Trustees to a consecutive term after completing their first term.
   
   
6. Can a Trustee serve more than one five year term?
   Trustees must wait for twelve months after completing their term before being eligible to serve again as a Trustee.
   
   
7. What is the Protector and what is their role?
   The Protector oversees the Trustees and is accountable to the General Assembly. Within certain limits, if necessary, the Protector can terminate Trustees and appoint replacement Trustees. Chief and Council appoint the Protector for a ten-year term.
   
   
8. What are the Trustees' responsibilities?
   The Trust Deed empowers the Trustees "to do any act or thing in the management and investment of the Trust which in their judgment is wise and proper and in the best interests of the Trust and to the same extent as though they personally and beneficially owned the Trust Property". These duties include establishing an investment policy and ensuring that it is reviewed, updated and approved by the VG General Assembly at least once every five years.
   
   Trustees are to delegate their investment responsibilities to professional investment managers. The trustees are responsible for appointing (terminating) and supervising the Fund's investment manager(s), custodian and other Fund Agents such as legal advisors, auditors and consultants.
   
   The Trustees are responsible for ensuring compliance with the terms of the Investment Policy guidelines and for evaluating the Fund's investment performance. The Trustees are charged with the responsibility of formally communicating Fund performance to the Leadership and to the General Assembly.
   
   
9. Are the Trustees required to act prudently?
   The Trustees, individually and as a group have a fiduciary duty to act as would a "prudent person" when entrusted with the care of the property of another person. The "Prudent Person" standard requires that Trustees act with care and diligence when discharging their fiduciary duties and responsibilities. While the trustees need not be experts, it is their responsibility to secure expert assistance when these skills or services are required for the prudent management and administration of the Trust Property.
   
   
10. How often will the Trustees meet?
    Meetings shall be held at least once every calendar quarter and trustees shall meet in person at least semi-annually. The majority of meetings are to be held on Settlement Land, in Old Crow.
    
    
11. What type of information will the Trustees provide to VG citizens?
    The Trustees will provide the Beneficiaries with an audited financial statement within six months of the Fund's year-end. These statements and the Auditor's report will form a portion of the Trustees report to the annual General Assembly.
    
    
12. Who is the investment manager and what do they do with the compensation dollars?
    Bissett Investment management of Calgary was appointed to manage the VGFN portfolio in 1997. They will continue their mandate with the VG Trust. Bissett manages a broadly diversified portfolio of Treasury bills, government guaranteed bonds, high quality corporate bonds and invests in reasonably priced growth stocks in Canada, the U.S. and overseas.
    
    
13. How often will the Trustees meet with the Investment Manager?
    The Trustees will meet with the manager semi-annually to review Fund performance. A meeting will be held in the first quarter to review the Fund's year-end results and a second meeting will be held immediately prior to the investment manager's annual report to the VGFN General Assembly.
    
    
14. Where will the trustees conduct investment manager meetings?
    All manager/Trustee meetings will be held in Old Crow. They will be followed by a community investment presentation by the manager, which will be open to all VGFN beneficiaries and citizens.
    
    
15. Can investment manager/trustee meetings be held in Whitehorse?
    On occasion, after consulting with Chief & Council, the Trustees may choose to schedule a meeting(s) in Whitehorse. With due notice, these meetings may be followed by a public session held for the benefit of VGFN members residing in and around the Whitehorse area.
    
    
16. What does the logo at the top of the vgtrust website represent?
    The english translation of the Gwich'in word tsèe dhòh is "money" or "beaver pelt". The vgtrust logo is an abstract drawing of a beaver pelt by Vuntut Gwitchin member, Derrick Kapuschak.