Media.Knet.Ca

On April 18 & 19, 2006, the Ontario Geological Survey department of M.N.D.M. held an information meeting in North Spirit Lake.

The presentation was on the “Far North Geological Mapping Initiative”, a 3 year program, now into its second year.

Presenters travelling to North Spirit Lake for this meeting included:

• Andy Fyon, Director, Ontario Geological Survey, Sudbury
• Lori Churchill, Information and Engagement Officer, Sudbury
• Jack Parker, Senior Manager, Precambrian Geoscience Section, Sudbury
• Andreas Lichtblau, Regional Resident Geologist, Red Lake

The intent of the “Far North Geological Mapping Initiative” is to produce up-to-date and more detailed geological maps for the mining industry (Data collection, Analysis, Delivery & Marketing).

The presentation is part the program’s “Aboriginal Engagement Approach”

1. Activity this fall, airborne geophysical surveying.
2. Activity next year, data collection by ground crews in the North Spirit Lake area. (3 crews of 5)
3. Opportunities for North Spirit Lake First Nation :

• Training (in the community) for “prospecting” and “claim staking”
• Employment opportunities for First Nations individuals (line cutting)
• First Nations individuals staking claims.
• Joint ventures with mining industry.
• Term position available for an information co-ordinator/liason person in the community.

This was an important step by the Ministry, to engage the First Nations community by way of meeting each other and exchanging information.

Visit http://www.mndm.gov.on.ca/MNDM/mines/Default_e.asp for more information

Video available, at http://www.mndm.gov.on.ca/mndm/mines/ims/investment/default_e.asp

From http://www.nunatsiaq.com/news/nunavut/60421_01.html

Prentice: I’ll study, review, discuss and consider
But I’m not ready to spend on Kelowna, DIAND minister says
JIM BELL - April 21, 2006

Prentice meets the press: Jim Prentice, the DIAND minister, with Levinia Brown, Nunavut’s minister of community government and transportation, and Lorraine Thomas of the Nunavut Broadband Development Corp. which gets $575,000 in federal money to expand its services. - see Funding announcement at http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/nr/prs/j-a2006/2-02759_e.html

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He’ll study, review, discuss, consider and assess, but the one thing Jim Prentice won’t do yet is spend.
That means Nunavut residents will likely wait longer to learn whether the new Conservative government will pay for Nunavut’s latest big-ticket demands, including Thomas Berger’s expensive fix for Nunavut’s school system, and up to $300 million worth of northern social housing discussed at last year’s premiers’ meeting in Kelowna, B.C.
Prentice, the minister of Indian affairs and northern development, stopped in Iqaluit this past Monday and Tuesday on the first leg of a pan-territorial tour that will take him to Iqaluit, Yellowknife and Whitehorse.
While in Iqaluit, Prentice “announced” $6.36 million in federal spending, from a stash of economic development money approved for 2005-06, when the former Liberal government was still in power.
The money will pay for a long list of projects, most of them related to mining, the fishery and Nunavut’s Broadband Development Corp.
But he’s a long way from saying how he plans to deal with the enormous expectations raised by last year’s meeting in Kelowna, B.C. between Canada’s first ministers and national aboriginal leaders, saying no money has been committed to pay for the things listed in its final communiqué — worth about $5.2 billion over five years.
And he doesn’t even use the word “agreement” to describe the outcome of the Kelowna meeting.
Instead, he calls it a “process.”
“At the close of the Kelowna process there was a single-page document tabled that described a series of numbers. I think it’s important to note that there never was a financial plan built around Kelowna. None of the monies that were ever discussed were ever budgeted for by the Parliament of Canada and none of them were approved by the Parliament of Canada,” Prentice said.
This means Nunavut’s social housing tenants, and would-be tenants who languish on waiting lists for years, won’t likely see large amounts of new housing coming up on this year’s sealift, contrary to expectations raised earlier this year by the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and others.
Prentice says only that he supports the “targets and objectives” discussed at Kelowna.
“I think they were laudable. I think they were very optimistic... But there was never a specific plan with concrete measures that was adopted and financed at that time,” Prentice said.
And because of the absence of that plan, Prentice says “the work continues.”
He also dismisses an assertion made last month by Ralph Goodale, the former Liberal finance minister, that money to pay for Kelowna was provided in the federal budget.
“I was present in the House of Commons when there were several Liberal budgets. Kelowna monies did not form part of those budgets,” Prentice said.
But housing, nonetheless, appeared to be at or near the top of his to-do list in meetings with northern premiers and aboriginal leaders. Prentice said he wants to use those meetings to “assess” the situation.
And he did hint that when he is ready to spend, northern housing may be a priority.
“Some of the first meetings I had after I became minister related to the housing circumstances here, and the overcrowding circumstances, and I have heard consistently and clearly from your leadership in the North that overcrowding and housing is a major issue. One of the reasons I am here is to assess that so that we be proactive about that,” Prentice said.
As for Thomas Berger’s recommendations for fixing Nunavut’s school system so that the Nunavut government can better meet its Article 23 Inuit employment targets, Prentice is equally non-committal.
In his final report, which was aimed at helping create a new implementation contract for the Nunavut land claims agreement, Berger recommended two things: $20 million in immediate spending to help raise the number of Inuit at the Government of Nunavut, plus more federal spending to pay for a complete bilingual school system from kindergarten to Grade 12.
Again, Prentice said he supports the goal set out in Berger’s report.
“We have to achieve better levels of graduation than we currently are and that’s a big concern for all of us,” he said.
But he’s also not ready to make a commitment, especially in paying for a revamped bilingual education system for Nunavut.
“The concept is there and the idea is there and it warrants study and attention,” Prentice said.
And since no one knows how much the scheme would cost, Prentice said he’s open to the idea of creating a “working group” to look at the idea and figure out how much it would cost.
Prentice showed little interest in following up on a motion from the last Parliament that would see the creation of an independent inquiry into the killing of Inuit sled dogs in the 1950s and 1960s.

Prime Minister Harper is about to begin exploring constitutional reform measures with the provinces. He made this commitment during a speech in Quebec. It will be interesting to hear how he will be addressing First Nation constitutional issues during these discussions with the provinces.

from http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/04/20/1542639-cp.html

PM promises constitutional reform

By LES PERREAUX - April 20, 2006

MONTREAL (CP) - Constitutional questions kept in deep storage since the early 1990s are about to get a fresh airing, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday.
While he promised to stop short of the ambitious, tumultuous Meech Lake project of former prime minister Brian Mulroney, Harper said the do-nothing constitutional era of the former Liberal government is about to end. "We will go step by step," Harper told reporters after speaking to nearly 2,000 business leaders in Montreal.
"Mr. Mulroney tried to change everything and it was ultimately not successful. Mr. (Jean) Chretien and the previous Liberal government decided it would change nothing and reform nothing. We happen to believe the federation has to evolve."
Harper said he will move to put a formal limit on the power of the federal government to spend money in provincial areas of jurisdiction, although he avoided saying if a constitutional amendment would be required.
"We have the intention of limiting our power, if such a power exists," Harper said. "My preference is to have a formal limitation on this power.
"We're not talking today, we're not talking yet, about constitutional amendments, but my position is known."
Harper's plan to stay out of areas of provincial responsibility is part of a package of policies that have special appeal in Quebec, the province that may hold the key to a future Conservative majority government.
In his speech to the Montreal Board of Trade, Harper promised a new era of openness that will include a Quebec that is "autonomous."
Harper later said every province should be autonomous in a federation like Canada.
Harper also promised to start addressing the so-called fiscal imbalance within the year. The provinces have long argued that Ottawa is collecting billions in tax dollars that should go to the provincial capitals instead, although each province has its own idea of how this imbalance should be corrected.
"We will present specific proposals on the fiscal imbalance . and let me tell you what they won't include: a hike in federal spending in areas of exclusive provincial jurisdiction," he said.
Harper's words had politicians from two Quebec provincial parties applauding at the head table of the big-business luncheon.
Liberal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Benoit Pelletier called Harper's plans "a very good start."
"It's just the beginning," Pelletier said. "These elements are proving that we are going toward something that is new, and we have the historic responsibility to take this opportunity in order to make sure we advance the case of Quebec while strengthening the federation."
Action democratique du Quebec Leader Mario Dumont said major changes are coming to the way Canada deals with Quebec.
"There is a healthy spirit of co-operation that is very different from what we've seen for years," Dumont said.
"We must take full profit from Mr. Harper's force of character, his desire to do things differently, the door he has opened wide to Quebec."