Media.Knet.Ca

Nishnawbe Aski Nation press release ...

NAN Chief demands action before another Kashechewan

     THUNDER BAY, ON, Oct. 3 /CNW/ - Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Stan Beardy supports Marten Falls First Nation Chief Eli Moonias as he demands immediate rectification of a water and sewer emergency declared by he and council after a July sewage spill in the remote, fly-in community approximately 500 km northeast of Thunder Bay.

     "Our concern is the danger of the continuing spillage of effluent into the pristine Albany River threatening to contaminate our water intake which is downstream from the spill," said Eli Moonias, Chief of Marten Falls First Nation also known as Ogoki Post and one of 49 First Nation communities part of NAN.

     "Myself and the council realized the danger back in July and reported it immediately to the provincial spill agency which in turn advised INAC, Health Canada, and the federal department of the Environment," he added. "Despite recommendations from an Environmental Health Officer, federal government agencies didn't act with the urgency required in matters of health and instead are using regular bureaucratic processes causing delays in repairs and long-term upgrades."

     Moonias' comments come after a July 17th sewage spill occurred upstream of the water intake in his community of approximately 300 people - similar to the situation that led to the presence of e-coli in the drinking water in Kashechewan First Nation and subsequent evacuation of 1,700 people last October.

     The July 2006 sewage spill was a result of a lightning strike to the lift station of the water treatment plant destroying its automatic function. As a temporary fix, the community operator ran the lift station manually, however shut-downs caused by over-heating resulted in sewage overflows, a subsequent spill into the Albany River September 8th, and continued raw sewage overflow still occurring today.

     In addition to this year's sewage overflow and spills, turbidity, slow filtration rates, and the lack of capacity of the current water treatment plant not only resulted in a boil water advisory one year prior, but continues to deteriorate water quality in Marten Falls today.

     The lacking capacity of the current water treatment plant forces the community to shut it down overnight in order for it to fill enough to circulate properly. Limited to no water is available during this time, increasing the community's vulnerability to fire.

     "The federal government wants to fix this problem with a business-as-usual attitude and since Marten Falls isn't on the INAC priority list of communities with most-urgent need of repairs for water and sewer, it could be years before an upgrade is done to satisfy and rectify the whole situation," said Moonias, adding water plant upgrades typically take three years to complete once on the list.

     "If this isn't going to be recognized as an emergency situation by the feds, we really have no other choice but to go about having it fixed ourselves because the longer we wait the more chance there is for contamination to occur, especially due to the limited filtration capacity. The danger of something like the crisis of Kashechewan happening in Marten Falls is growing daily."

     In a September 25th letter Health Canada advised boiling drinking water must continue in Marten Falls and recommended bottled water be made available to all members of the community until necessary repairs are made to the water treatment plant.

     It's expected Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) will follow up to Health Canada's recommendation. INAC was aware of a boil water advisory in the community one year prior to the July 2006 spill.

     "It's almost one year since the evacuations of Kashechewan and we said then it was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of faulty water treatment plants and design flaws across NAN territory," said NAN Grand Chief Stan Beardy who represents NAN communities within James Bay Treaty 9, including Kashechewan and Marten Falls. "It seems like every solution is simply a band-aid on top of another band-aid which clearly isn't working and costing governments more in the long-run."

     Beardy's comments come about one month after the Safe Drinking Water Panel concluded its public hearings across Canada. The panel did not visit any NAN First Nation communities directly.

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/For further information: Jenna Young, Director of Communications, Nishnawbe Aski Nation, (807) 625-4952, (807) 628-3953 (mobile)/

From http://www.anglicanjournal.com/issues/2006/132/oct/08/article/former-students-urge-fairness-in-settlement/

Former students urge fairness in settlement

Marites N. Sison, Staff Writer, Oct 1, 2006

Ten former students of Indian residential schools, among them former Keewatin bishop Gordon Beardy, took the podium on the last day of the Ontario hearing for the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and raised objections to parts of the deal struck this year between the federal government, churches and some native groups.

Bishop Beardy, who is Oji-Cree, said the agreement’s provision limiting the Common Experience Payment (CEP) to all residential schools students who were alive as of May 30, 2005 was “unacceptable.”

“To those of us with family members who died before May 30, 2005, this is not acceptable for us,” he said. Bishop Beardy had three siblings who attended residential schools: Tommy Albert, who died in 1987, Martha Lavina Kakepetum, who died in 2002 and Maurice, who disappeared 40 years ago. Tommy returned from residential schools “a very angry man,” said Bishop Beardy; Maurice was “stabbed and sexually abused and came back home for awhile and then left and disappeared,” and Martha went to the Pelican Falls residential school at a “very young age” and stayed there for six or seven years, he said.

Bishop Beardy, who was the first to approach the podium of the courtroom packed with former students who had suffered abuse while in residential schools, also took issue with the list of schools covered by the agreement, saying it was incomplete.

He also told Ontario Superior Court Justice Warren Winkler, who presided over the three-day hearing, that the government must address the “serious concern” about missing records of former students. He said that there are students, some in their 80s, who have been told by government employees that there is no record of their attendance in residential schools. (Anglican church negotiators had also earlier raised this concern.)

“Some of them were those who fled and escaped because of the abuse and stayed for a year and they don’t speak English,” he told Justice Winkler, “Our people are poor and struggling, I ask you to seriously consider our concerns.”

Rev. Andrew Wesley, a Cree priest who runs the urban native ministry of Toronto’s Church of the Redeemer, also raised the issue of missing records, citing his own experience.

“I myself requested my records and received a letter saying I never did attend the residential schools,” said Mr. Wesley. “But I did my time for 10 years.” Mr. Wesley attended the Anglican-run Bishop Horden Hall residential school in Moose Fort, Moose Factory, and the Roman Catholic-run St. Anne residential school in Fort Albany, both in northern Ontario. Mr. Wesley, who said he suffered abuse in residential schools, said he at least has a copy of a school report card, which had been kept by his parents. There are many others who have nothing, he said.

Two other objectors raised the issue of missing students who never returned from the schools and whose parents wonder, to this day, what became of them. The issue of missing students is not mentioned in the agreement.

“Nobody has mentioned the children that passed away or weren’t sent home. Some weren’t even registered,” a teary-eyed Shirley Roach said. “There should be a recognition of them because they were there and their parents never saw them again.”

Other objections focused on the amount of the CEP (the agreement provides a payment of $10,000 plus $3,000 for each additional year spent in residential school), which some referred to as “unjust” and “not enough to compensate for the pain” that they went through. There were an additional 100 written objections submitted to the Ontario court.

In response, government lawyers said that the amount was “the best we could get” and was a “step in the right direction.”

During the hearing, Justice Winkler clarified a concern raised by some former students who said that lawyers had informed them that aging claimants who received the advance CEP of $8,000 are to repay the money in the event that the agreement is not finalized. The agreement must be approved by nine provincial courts to become final (Ontario’s was the first court to examine the deal).

“No one is required to pay the $8,000 back. It’s a demonstration of good will,” said the government lawyers, in response to a query made by Justice Winkler.

At the hearing, one of the government’s lawyers, Paul Vickery, presented Justice Winkler with an affidavit that set out the government’s plan for achieving the agreement’s goal of having 2,500 hearings each year for cases involving physical and sexual abuse that will undergo the Independent Assessment Process. Earlier,  Justice Winkler had questioned how “realistic” the goal was.

The affidavit specified the government’s “current planning assumptions,” which include the hiring of 445 people to implement the process.

In an interview, Ellie Johnson, who represented the Anglican Church of Canada in negotiations for the revised agreement, said the affidavit did not address the issue of missing student records. Ms. Johnson, the church’s former acting general secretary, called the situation “very unfair” and said that while CEP claimants may appeal a national administration committee, those who have filed for advance payment have no such recourse.

“One of our jobs is to be ready with our (church) records if the attendance records are not found. There might be photographs that can help. People will need alternatives,” she said in an interview.

Justice Winkler said he was not certain whether to issue his ruling on the agreement before or after the eight other courts are done with their own hearings. The last hearing is scheduled Oct. 17 at the Supreme Court of the Yukon.

From http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060926.RTELCO26/TPStory/Business

POSTED ON 26/09/06

Groups can appeal CRTC phone overpayment decision - SIMON TUCK

OTTAWA -- Consumers scored a legal win yesterday when the Federal Court of Appeal granted permission to appeal a CRTC decision to not return $652.7-million in overpayments to telephone customers.

The federal telecommunications regulator ruled in February that the telephone companies would be allowed to use the money for specific projects, such as new high-speed Internet services in rural and remote communities, that are deemed to be in the public's interest.

But just a few weeks after the ruling, consumer groups such as the National Anti-Poverty Organization and the Consumers Association of Canada sought leave to appeal the CRTC decision. With their win today, the consumer groups will now file the appeal documents with the Federal Court of Appeal. A hearing and decision are expected next year.

"We are pleased to have a chance to convince the court the money should be returned to consumers," said Michael Janigan, general counsel for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, which represented the consumer groups in the proceeding.

The overpayments, which amount to about $50 per telephone customer, are the result of a 2002 effort by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to encourage competition in the local phone services market by making rates high enough to attract new entrants. In effect, a cushion was built into the rates and the companies were told to put some of the money into so-called deferral accounts.

Despite that effort, however, the incumbents continue to dominate local service.

The expansion of high-speed Internet services has been a federal government priority for at least five years, although Ottawa has yet to allocate enough money to provide access in most rural and remote communities. As of last year, Canada had fallen to sixth among the 30 countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in the provision of broadband access, down from second place just a few years earlier.

Most urban residents have a choice of broadband providers, with most high-speed customers choosing a telephone or cable company. Most remote communities, however, do not yet have access to the service, which many analysts and government officials argue is quickly becoming essential.

Some consumer groups say that does not change their view that overcharged customers should get a refund. They argued that none of the money belongs to the phone companies -- or the regulator -- and that most subscribers will not benefit from the expansion of services they already get.

From http://ogov.newswire.ca/ontario/GPOE/2006/09/27/c2421.html?lmatch=&lang=_e.html

More Ontarians To Benefit From Faster, Easier Access To Services

TORONTO, Sept. 27 /CNW/ - More Ontario families are benefiting from better access to government services now that they can go online to use an all-in-one application to register their child's birth, apply for a birth certificate and a Social Insurance Number, or request a marriage or death certificate, announced Premier Dalton McGuinty.

Also,

Premier McGuinty was at Women's College Hospital today to unveil the government's plan to put more services online. As of today, people can go to www.serviceontario.ca to apply for marriage and death certificates. These new online services will soon come with a money-back guarantee.

Visit http://www.serviceontario.ca for more information

Furniture as Art - Major Value Added Wood Products

http://www.ralphpucci.net/explorer.html

Take some time and check out the wood furniture of Chris Lehrecke, Christophe Delcourt, Jens Risom, Jerome Abel Seguin, Kevin Walz, Paul Mathieu, Robert Bristow, Trace Simple (#13), Vladimir Kagan.

Furniture like this does not require mass production and marketing, yet has the potential to provide a lucrative living for an enterprising sort. 

Don't forget the NOHFC Young Entrepreneur and Enterprises North Job Creation programs.  (www.nohfc.com)

KNOWLEDGE ONTARIO SUCCESSFUL IN ACQUIRING PROVINCE WIDE LICENCES FOR A CORE SUITE OF DIGITAL RESOURCES

The Ministry of Culture and the Management Group of Knowledge Ontario are pleased to announce that negotiations have been successfully completed to supply all publicly funded libraries in the Province of Ontario with a core suite of digital products.

The resources contained in these databases will provide access to information that is needed everyday by individual Ontarians and students of all ages.  The resources and materials go well beyond what is available on the Internet offering full text of newspapers, magazines and books.  

Access to these databases will be available from wherever people are in Ontario; at home, work, or school.  The variety of information to be found in the databases will satisfy the youngest school child, the researcher in a University lab, in fact any citizen of Ontario.

The databases roll out across the province beginning in January.  
Users authenticated on a library system through the web will have access to the astonishing range of information to be found in the databases.  To preview the databases which will be available through Knowledge Ontario go to http://access.gale.com/ontario/  to find a core list of databases to be supplied by Thomson Gale.  In addition to all the databases listed at this site, Knowledge Ontario has also licensed Canadian Reference Centre from Ebsco.

Training sessions on using the databases will take place in regional centres throughout the province over the next three months and will be held at OLA Super Conference 2007.  Marketing materials, press releases, in-house training webcams and other materials to aid individual libraries in launching this new service will be made available so that libraries will be ready before the databases go live on January 1, 2007.

We will undertake to keep you informed about where training sessions are being held and on what to expect through this listserv.  Stay posted.  Depending on what sector you belong to a letter to the Minister of Culture, the Minister of Education or the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities stating how important these resources will be to your institution would also be in order.

For more information please contact your sector representative on the Knowledge Ontario Management Group who will put you in touch with your sector representative on the Digital Information Resources Committee.

A list of the members of the Knowledge Ontario Management Group follows:

Public Libraries – Ken Roberts – kroberts@hpl.ca
School Libraries – Liz Kerr – liz_kerr@kprdsb.ca
College Libraries – Janice Hayes – Janice.hayes@bibliocentre.ca
University Libraries – Gwen Ebbert – gebbett@uwindsor.ca
Government Libraries – Vicki Whitmell – Vicki_whitmell@ontla.ola.org
Peter Rogers – Chairman of the Management Group – rogerscottage@homail.com
Gerda Molson – Interim CEO, Knowledge Ontario Project – molson430@yahoo.com

______________________________

Larry Moore, AMLS, Executive Director,
Ontario Library Association
50 Wellington St. East, Suite 201,
Toronto, ON     M5E 1C8

416-363-3388 or 1-866-873-9867 ext 24
FAX 416-941-9581 or 1-800-387-1181
lmoore@accessola.com

www.accessola.com

The two day First Nations IT capacity building "think tank" workshop (Sept 29 - 30) was hosted by the First Nations Technology Council in Vancouver, BC. Brian Beaton, K-Net Coordinator participated via video conference from KO's Sioux Lookout office. Susan O'Donnell from the National Research Council also joined the session via video conference from New Brunswick. Bridging and archive services were made available to the gathering by K-Net within Industry Canada's First Nations SchoolNet program.

From a message written by John Webb for workshop participants ...

The provincial BC government has a plan to connect all 203 First Nations in BC to broadband networks over the next couple of years. They realize that just making broadband available is only part of the job. An accompanying capacity building program is now being planned to ensure that the communities have the resources in place to begin to use information and communications technology effectively.

The participants in the workshop reviewed the government's draft plan for capacity building and provided suggestions and directions for the team at the First Nations Education Steering Committee (http://fnesc.bc.ca) for the implementation strategy.

The draft plan that secured the provincial funding included ...

• Each community taking part in the project will be provided with a Tele-centre consisting of a suite of PCs. (2 to 5 depending on size of community), a scanner and printer. 
• The band will be asked to provide a building or room for the computers accessible by band members and provide heat, light and washrooms. 
• A band member will be brought to Vancouver or other provincial centre for, an intense train-the-trainer program.
• They would then return to their community to become trainer/operator of the tele-centre and in the case of a community where the government is establishing the broadband, a wireless network. 
• Continuing education and support for both this individual and community members would be supplied using online applications and tools such as Apple iSight video conferencing technology. 
• The government would pay the community member an annual honorarium to staff the centre on a part time basis for two years. 

Discussions at the workshop included presentations from participants and the use of the open space workshop process to explore topics including:

• the feasibility of this government plan,
• what the initial training should consist of,
• what the next level of training should be,
• what tools we need to continue to support the Tele-centre and the training needs of the community, and
• generally any other wisdom that the participants could impart to this project.

Many of us have been talking about the issue of First Nations ICTs for a number of years.  I do not expect to be given a second chance at this and I appreciate greatly the support and council you folks will bring to this project.

John Webb
Executive Director, Communities and External Initiatives
Office of the CIO
Province of British Columbia
tel: (250) 952-0671  fax: (250) 387-1940

First Nations Connectivity Research Project

The Province of BC is committed to bridging the digital divide for First Nations communities to provide access to e-Health, e-Learning, and e-Business opportunities. To accomplish this goal, the 2006 provincial budget included a commitment of $15 million over two years to work with federal partners to provide broadband, last-mile connections, computers and training for First Nations in BC. Providing broadband infrastructure is a high priority for First Nations organizations and several provincial and federal ministries. The School of Communication, at Simon Fraser University, has extensive technology research expertise and is ideally suited to design and conduct an evaluation of the impact of providing First Nations with high speed connectivity. This multi-year project will assist in providing a third-party evaluation of the First Nations Connectivity Project, baseline information on the impact of connectivity to first nations, and identify gaps and issues with connectivity. Please visit our research wiki for more information and to participate in the project.

Donna Williams, KO Telehealth Program Manager and Penny Carpenter, K-Net Business Manager joined other health service providers from across the region in a two day workshop (Sept 27-28) in Sioux Lookout. The workshop was hosted by the Northwestern Ontario Health unit (http://www.nwhu.on.ca/). 

Discussions centred around the delivery of public health services in First Nation communities across the region.

Representatives from the tribal councils, the Assembly of First Nations (Sagatay Williams), Northern Ontario School of Medicine (Orpah McKenzie), Ontario Telehealth Network,(Stewart Stein), Health Canada and the NWHU spent the two days exploring strategies to ensure equitable access to services in the remote First Nations across the region.

Health Canada press release

Health Canada announces $8.1 million for NurseOne Portal: Cutting edge tool another step to improving health care

OTTAWA, Sept. 28 /CNW Telbec/ - The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health, today announced federal funding of $8.1 million over six years to launch and maintain the NurseOne web Portal, a tool of particular importance for the recruitment and retention of nurses in First Nations and Inuit communities. Minister Clement made this announcement following a meeting with the Board of Directors of the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA), in Ottawa.

NurseOne (www.nurseone.ca) is a bilingual Portal that has been in development by the CNA since 2002 and contains a wealth of health information for the Canadian public and for all nurses across Canada. This Portal allows nurses to obtain timely, easily accessible information on all aspects of health care - from public health alerts, to consultations with experts and health specialists, to best practices. In short, it gives nurses many new tools to better treat their patients and improve their professional skills.

"NurseOne will certainly empower nurses everywhere in Canada, but particularly those working in rural, isolated and First Nations and Inuit communities. This Portal will provide nurses with quick access to reliable resources, enable them to improve quality of care and will assist in reducing wait-times," Minister Clement stated. "This investment will serve as an important contributor to the advancement of the professional practice and development of Canada's front line health providers - our nurses," he added.

"NurseOne is a significant tool which will provide access to quality, up-to-date health information to support the 250,000 plus nurses working in urban, rural and remote parts of the country to deliver effective, evidence-based care," says Marlene Smadu, President of the Canadian Nurses Association. "This investment supports nurses in caring for their patients, families and communities, managing their careers and connecting with colleagues and experts with the click of a mouse. In addition, NurseOne supports employers in recruiting and retaining nurses."

Health Canada had previously contributed $3.98 million to the Canadian Nurses Association to develop this Portal which was introduced at the Canadian Nurses Association Biennial Convention in Saskatoon on June 19, 2006.

-30-

/For further information: Media Enquiries: Carole Saindon, Health Canada, (613) 957-1588; Erik Waddell, Office of the Honourable Tony Clement, Federal Minister of Health, (613) 957-0200; Tina Grznar, Communications Specialist, Canadian Nurses Association, (613) 240-7830, Public Enquiries: (613) 957-2991, 1-866-225-0709; Health Canada news releases are available on the Internet at www.healthcanada.gc.ca/media/

The announced $1 billion in program cuts will hurt the least served across Canada as the Conservative finds new ways to fund their war machine. Announced cuts to FedNor, the Community Access Program and other community and regional programs will negatively affect all communities in northern Ontario and elsewhere across Canada. First Nation programs are being targeted as well (see Tobacco Strategy program cut news story below).

The Federal Government has announced that it is cutting uncommitted funds for the social economy, along with a long list of cuts to grants and contribution programs for community non profit organizations. 

The full announcement and links follow ...

Today the President of the Treasury Board announced a series of measures <http://www.fin.gc.ca/news06/06-047e.html>  to achieve expenditure savings and focus resources on government priorities. 
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/media/nr-cp/2006/0925_e.asp

Amongst those targeted:
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, Industry (FedNor), Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council & Western Economic Diversification - Elimination of Non-Committed Funds for Social Economy Programs $39.276M

Also listed is:  Elimination of Support to Canadian Volunteerism Initiative $9.744M, cut in Social Development Partnership program $13.8M, cut in youth employment programs $55.4M, cut in workplace skills programs $17.6M, cut in adult learning/literacy $17.7M.

From http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=e59139cb-7247-4bb2-9af7-e9dad5773733&k=47951&p=1

Aboriginal group slams Tory government as discriminatory after spending cuts

Alexander Panetta, Canadian Press - Published: Wednesday, September 27, 2006

OTTAWA (CP) - Canada's largest aboriginal group is claiming discrimination after the new Conservative government cut funding for a First Nations health program.

The government announced Monday it will kill the First Nations and Inuit Tobacco Control Strategy at a savings of $10.8 million to taxpayers over two years.

The Assembly of First Nations denounced the move and pointed out that other smoking awareness programs aimed at non-aboriginals were left untouched by Monday's cuts.

"We see this as discriminatory treatment," assembly chief Phil Fontaine said in an interview Tuesday with The Canadian Press.

Fontaine said he's starting to detect a pattern.

First, the Tories turned their backs on a $5 billion deal for aboriginal housing, education and health care that the previous Liberal government signed with the provinces and native groups.

Then they joined Russia as the only two countries in the world to oppose the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Now this.

"We ask ourselves if this government really cares about First Nations," Fontaine said.

"Is it concerned about the single most important social-justice issue in this country?"

The government says it is scrapping the awareness campaign because it failed to reduce smoking rates among aboriginal people. And it says it will work with aboriginals to produce a more effective strategy.

"It is eliminating funding of the First Nations and Inuit tobacco control strategy . . . because the program has been ineffective in achieving its goal of lowering the smoking rates among First Nations and Inuit," said Health Canada spokeswoman Carole Saindon.

But Health Canada's own statistics fail to support the government claim.

Its most recent numbers date back to 2003 and they indicate a three percentage point drop in aboriginal smoking rates from 1999.

Smoking rates among aboriginal people were at a staggering 62 per cent in 1999, the tobacco program was created in 2002, and the rates were at 59 per cent the following year.

Late Tuesday, the government offered a new rationale for cutting the program when told their figures failed to support their initial explanation.

The program was being cut, government officials said, because aboriginal smoking rates continue to be roughly three times the Canadian average.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty was unapologetic.

"That's a program that didn't work," he said.

"It just didn't work effectively in reducing the incidence of the use of tobacco. So then what do you do if you're in your own household or in your own business or in the government?

"You look and say, 'Hey, we better find a better way of doing this, a better way of spending the money so that we accomplish the goal of reducing smoking.' "

Fontaine said the smoking announcement added insult to injury.

Just a few months ago, he noted, the government said it couldn't afford the $5 billion Kelowna accord.

"Then to learn (Monday) they're going to apply $13 billion to the debt is just mind-boggling to us," he said.

© The Canadian Press 2006