Press Release at http://news.gc.ca/cfmx/view/en/index.jsp?articleid=240999 - September 21, 2006 

Government of Canada invests in Aboriginal training for Northern Ontario diamond mine
 
FORT ALBANY, ONTARIO-The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, today confirmed federal funding of $7.87 million for the James Bay Employment and Training project under the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership (ASEP) program. This ASEP project brings together Aboriginal communities, industry and other orders of government to offer skills development and employment opportunities in the DeBeers Victor Diamond mine operation located near Attawapiskat, a First Nations community in the James Bay lowland in Northern Ontario.

"Canada's new Government is proud to fund this project which will positively impact the future of hundreds of First Nations men and women, their families and their communities," said Minister Finley. "This training program will also help address the need for more skilled workers in the mining sector, which has always been a core part of the economy not only to the North but to Canada as a whole."

Under the project, the James Bay Employment and Training (JBET) project will provide a range of employment tools to assist Aboriginal people in achieving long term, sustainable employment in a region that has traditionally offered limited employment prospects. Employment tools include job information workshops, career counselling, training and work experience interventions, permanent job placements and advancement programs. It is expected that over 600 individuals will take part in training opportunities, with at least 190 Aboriginal people obtaining long-term employment at the Victor Mine operation.

Partners in this initiative include the Attawapiskat First Nation, Weenusk First Nation, Fort Albany First Nation, Kashechewan First Nation and Moose Cree First Nation along with DeBeers Canada, Northern College, and the Province of Ontario.

"James Bay Employment and Training welcomes the contribution made by the Government of Canada for this valuable project," said JBET's Executive Director, Philip Sutherland Jr. "This partnership will provide Aboriginal people in the James Bay region with the opportunity to gain the skills they need to find employment at the DeBeers Victor Project."

The James Bay Employment and Training project is one of nine projects currently underway receiving multi-year funding under the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership (ASEP) program. ASEP is an $85 million private-sector program partnership designed to complement the Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy (AHRDS) and fill a gap in training for large-scale economic development projects across Canada. ASEP is scheduled to sunset in March 2009.

For more information, see the attached backgrounder.

- 30 -

For more information (Media Inquiries Only)
Colleen Cameron
Press Secretary for Minister Finley
819-994-2482

BACKGROUNDER

JAMES BAY EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING PROJECT UNDER THE ABORIGINAL SKILLS AND EMPLOYMENT PARTNERSHIP (ASEP) PROGRAM

The Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership (ASEP) program is a five-year initiative launched in late 2003 with total funding of $85 million. Its overall objective is to create sustainable employment for Aboriginal people in major economic initiatives across Canada through collaborative partnerships, leading to lasting benefits for Aboriginal communities, families and individuals.

ASEP funding proposals are submitted by partnership consortia that include parties from the private sector, Aboriginal groups, and the province or territory where the large economic or resource-based project is located. Other key partners may include learning institutions, sector councils, labour, and other Government of Canada departments or agencies. Each partnership consortium must set out a comprehensive training-to-employment plan for Aboriginal people that links skills development to specific job opportunities.

A significant amount of funding for a project is expected from the partnership; the Government of Canada's normal contribution to a proposal will not exceed 75 percent. The private sector must also demonstrate, at minimum, 50 long-term sustainable jobs for Aboriginal people once Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) has completed its funding.

ASEP is administered nationally by HRSDC. It also complements the Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy (AHRDS), a five-year initiative that began in 1999 and was renewed until 2009. ASEP also complements the Northern Strategy by providing training and human resource development that is responsive to the needs of community and regional labour market conditions and economies.

The James Bay Employment and Training project is one of nine projects to receive funding under the ASEP program since its launch in October 2003.

JAMES BAY EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING (JBET)

The De Beers Victor Diamond project is an open pit diamond mine located approximately 90 km west of Attawapiskat First Nation in the James Bay lowland. The project has an expected life span of 16 years, requiring 390 workers for the operations phase of the mine with approximately 50 percent of available positions to be filled by Aboriginal people.

Labour market analysis suggested that limited experience and education would hinder access to employment at the De Beers Victor diamond mine. In light of that analysis, the overall objective of the JBET project is to help Aboriginal people in the James Bay lowland region of northern Ontario to prepare for, obtain and advance in jobs at all levels at the De Beers Victor Diamond mine. The training is also intended to provide Aboriginal people of the region with transferable skills that will open doors in the James Bay region and elsewhere in Canada.

PARTNERSHIP

The stand-alone, not-for-profit partnership consortium consists of:

ABORIGINAL

• Attawapiskat First Nation
• Weenusk First Nation
• Fort Albany First Nation
• Kashechewan First Nation
• Moose Cree First Nation

INDUSTRY

• De Beers Canada

EDUCATON

• Northern College

GOVERNMENT

• Province of Ontario
• Government of Canada

FUNDING

The estimated total project cost is $11,901,932, of which:

• Human Resources and Social Development Canada - $7,870,958
• De Beers Canada - $1,730,974
• Mushkegowuk Employment Training Service - $1,000,000
• Province of Ontario - $1,300,000

From http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=25452be5-ec96-4217-87ed-04199f74f7d1&k=45665&p=1

Nunavut hooked on Internet - EBay a big draw for isolated northern communities  

Nathan VanderKlippe, CanWest News Service
Published: Sunday, September 17, 2006

YELLOWKNIFE, N.W.T. - Like many women in Nunavut, Billy Etooangat's wife spends days every fall picking tundra berries on the steep fiord slopes near Pangnirtung, their home on the east coast of Baffin Island.

But this year, she's the talk of the town after Etooangat used a new high-speed Internet service to buy her a Swedish berry-picker, a device that's helping her outpick the other women.

"We never had that in the North, a berry-picker," he says. "So I found it and she liked it and everybody wants to have one."

Such stories are increasingly common in Nunavut, where thousands have leaped to take advantage of the new satellite Internet service, called Qiniq, which just celebrated its first anniversary.

"We're between 25 and 50 per cent over projected sales in every market," said Lorraine Thomas, project manager for the Iqaluit-based Nunavut Broadband Development Corp.

"We've met our end-of-second-year projections, and we're at the end of the first year. So we just expect to continue to grow."

The program's success has spawned plans to roll out Internet phones, online video conferencing for training and distance education -- even a kit that will power Internet access on the tundra using a snowmobile battery. It is also forcing Thomas to scramble for more government funding to keep the heavily subsidized Internet service running.

The Northwest Territories hopes to have a parallel service in place by October.

"In this day and age, it's almost a human right," said Margaret Gorman, whose Yellowknife-based Denendeh Development Corp. spearheaded the effort to bring Internet to 31 territorial hamlets.

"Everyone should have access to the same information and opportunities."

For $60 a month, the service offers speeds equivalent to the cable Internet sold in major Canadian cities. It has revolutionized Internet access in the North, allowing hunters to download satellite ice charts before leaving town and community art shops to sell Inuit crafts online.

"Everybody wants to have a laptop and get connected and make new friends, chat with people, keep in touch, get the weather," said Bob McLean, the Qiniq provider in Sanikiluaq, a hamlet of 800 located on an island in southern Hudson Bay and arguably Nunavut's most isolated community.

"EBay's pretty big around here -- people buying barbecues, Honda tires, Ski-Doo parts, stuff like that."

In Pond Inlet, a hamlet of 1,400 on the northern tip of Baffin Island, more than 100 people have signed up for the service, which also powers the community's municipal offices and major grocery stores.

Before Qiniq arrived, Martha Kyak used a fax machine to order supplies for Kisutaarvik, the convenience store she runs out of her basement.

"But there would be no pictures," she said. "With the Internet, I can actually see the pictures and it seems like it opened the doors to more variety of stuff."

Promoters of the service have billed Qiniq as a critical step in promoting the territory's economic development, allowing students and entrepreneurs access to information and markets never before possible.

Thomas once shared a cab with a person who told her, "It's the best thing that's ever happened in Nunavut."

"Better than hospitals? Better than Grade 2?" she asked herself, before reflecting on the importance of online access to health care and education.

"It's critical to every part of the services and products and economic development," she said.

In reality, said John Henderson, Pond Inlet's Qiniq representative, "I would bet that most people are on for chatting."

Some worry their kids are getting hooked on instant messaging programs, which have spread like wildfire across Nunavut.

"They spend too much time on the Internet," Kyak said. "They could be doing other stuff, but they end up being glued to the computer."

Increasingly, they're also accessing bandwidth-hogging material like videos. That, along with the program's unanticipated success, has sparked concerns over the cost of keeping the North online.

Ottawa kicked in nearly $4 million to install Nunavut's network, plus nearly $1 million per year over eight years to offset the cost of satellite bandwidth, which is hundreds of times more expensive than southern fibre optic connections.

But as people begin downloading movies and using their computers to video-conference, Nunavut will need to double or triple the size of its data pipes in the next few years. Thomas says the only way to do that is with more government funding.

"We're going to have to look at federal programs to make sure there's money flowing into Nunavut so (people) can turn around and purchase the bandwidth required to do what they want," she said.

There's no way around it in a place where everything from fuel to potato chips is subsidized, she said.

"It's actually a pretty small investment when you look at the cost of doing anything else," she said. "It's $1 million to build a kilometre of gravel road up here. Compare that to a few hundred thousand for some additional bandwidth for all Nunavut to share."

nvanderklippe@globaltv.com

From http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2006/09/13/qc-nativehealthstudy.html

Leaders demand urgent action to improve Quebec aboriginal health
Last Updated: Wednesday, September 13, 2006

First Nations leaders in Quebec are calling for urgent action to improve living standards on reserves, in light of a new health study that reveals the majority of the province's 80,000 aboriginal people smoke, and are overweight or obese.

'With those numbers, I'm ashamed to be Canadian. Our health is the same as people in Third World countries.'
- Dr. Stanley Vollant, aboriginal surgeon and former president of the Quebec Medical Association

The study, which was based on interviews with 4,000 Quebec aboriginal people living on and off reserves, found the obesity and overweight rates among adults and seniors were two and three times higher than the national average.

The study also found that more than 50 per cent of people participating in the study smoked cigarettes.

The situation is scandalous, said Dr. Stanley Vollant, an aboriginal surgeon and former president of Quebec's Medical Association.

"With those numbers, I'm ashamed to be Canadian," said Vollant, a member of the Montagnais community of Betsiamites. "Our health is the same as people in Third World countries."

The study found the following obesity and overweight rates within aboriginal communities:

• 52 per cent of aboriginal children.
• 42 per cent of adolescents.
• 67 per cent of adults.
• 71 per cent of elders over age 55.

Aboriginal communities could face an alarming number of cases of diabetes and respiratory disease in the near future if nothing is done to address the situation right now, said Vollant.

"You can expect in 10-15 years, an epidemic in diabetes. The rates will increase two, three, four times," he warned.

Economic and social conditions on both reserves and in urban settings exacerbate the problems, said Ghislain Picard, chief of the Assembly of First Nations for Quebec and Labrador. The combination of underemployment and poor access to healthy foods makes it hard for people to make the right choices.

It's time all three levels of government — band councils, the province and Ottawa — act fast and act together to stem the tide, said Picard.

"Maybe the investment we have so far from the governments hasn't been properly placed," he said Tuesday.

The study was carried out by the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Committee in 2002. Aboriginal people living on 23 reserves and in Montreal, Quebec City and Val d'Or took part in the investigation. The study excluded northern Quebec Crees, the Mohawk community of Kahnawake and the Inuit.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• See http://www.turtleisland.org/discussion/viewtopic.php?p=7430#7430 for Bob Kennedy's report on this story
• See NAHO's Regional Health Survey Homepage at http://www.naho.ca/firstnations/english/regional_health.php
• RHS Independent Review Final Report.pdf
• First Nations Regional Longitudinal Health Survey (RHS) 2002/03 - Results for Adults, Youth and Children in First Nations Communities (Nov 2005) - PDF, 4.3M
• RHS at a Glance, PDF, 360K
•  RHS Survey Highlights
• Adult
• Youth
• Children

From http://www.onewebday.ca/

Introducing the first-ever, annual One Web Day on September 22.

Ten years ago, it seemed like only teens and tech-savvy people were online. Now, everybody from 8 to 88 is surfing, emailing, and cybering. In fact, in May 2006, over 21,297,000 Canadians were online, getting connected. And that deserves a celebration!

Watch the 2006 Cross-Country Tour

But before we break out the bubbly for One Web Day, we want to find out what the Internet means to Canadians like you. So from August 7 to September 8, we're embarking on a cross-country tour. Watch right here as Gavin, our One Web Day Ambassador, interviews Canadians from coast to coast to coast to find out how the Internet has changed their lives. What you hear just may surprise you!

How can you celebrate One Web Day?

You can start by exploring this website, watching Gavin's cross-country interviews or learning more about online challenges. What else can you do? Tell a friend, send an email, Google™ something new, or IM your friends. Or check out how the rest of the world is celebrating by visiting http://onewebday.org.

Whatever you do - do it online. You'll make history by being part of the first ever One Web Day. 

From CBC online at http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2006/09/22/tech-onewebday-060922.html#skip300x250

One Web Day celebrates internet
Last Updated: Friday, September 22, 2006

Internet enthusiasts around the globe were celebrating the online world Friday in an event they hope will become an annual occurrence.

Organizers want One Web Day to become a yearly event that encourages individuals and companies to celebrate the World Wide Web, educate the public at large and make personal efforts to mark the day in a variety of ways, according to OneWebDay, Inc., the not-for-profit U.S. company that launched the initiative.

Several prominent and influential bloggers serve on OneWebDay Inc.'s board of directors, including Doc Searls (Doc Searls Weblog), David Weinberger (Joho the Blog) and Mary Hodder (Napsterization).

Examples of activities organizers suggest people can participate in include collective online art projects, gathering accounts of what the web means to people and teaching others how to blog.

Organizers hope the event will continue to be held on Sept. 22 every year.

In Canada, the not-for-profit body assigned to govern the country's .ca Internet domain is spearheading celebrations.

"One Web Day ... was created to connect the more than 21 million Canadians online either surfing, e-mailing or cybering, through the launch of a national tour to discover first-hand the impact of the internet in their daily lives," the Canadian Internet Registration Authority said in a statement.

The authority commissioned Canadian-born feature filmmaker Gavin Michael Booth to tour the country, visiting all three coasts to ask Canadians about their online experiences and share their thoughts about the value of the internet. The footage is online at the Canadian One Web Day site.

The Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples will be in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario during the last week of September, looking at various factors that hinder or contribute to successful business or economic development in aboriginal communities. The committee will hear testimony from various witnesses and experts. All sessions will be open to the public.

From their web site at http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/committee_Senhome.asp?Language=E&parl=39&Ses=1&comm_id=1

As part of their ongoing study on the conditions that foster or hinder successful economic development in aboriginal communities, the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples will be traveling to Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, during the week of September 25, 2006 to conduct a series of hearings in Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Thunder Bay.

• Tuesday, September 26, 2006: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Radisson Hotel Saskatoon, 405 20th Street East (Agenda);
• Wednesday, September 27, 2006: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Radisson Hotel, downtown Winnipeg, 288 Portage Avenue (Agenda);
• Thursday, September 28, 2006: Thunder Bay, Ontario, Valhalla Inn, 1 Valhalla Inn Road (Agenda)

For more details about the hearings, contact the committee clerk, Gaetane Lemay at 613-993-8968 or by e-mail at lemayg@sen.parl.gc.ca

THUNDER BAY TOURNAMENT CENTRE

Womens Broomball Tournament

Thursday October 5th to Monday October 9th 2006

Open to 20 teams

more info: www.marcelmckay.myknet.org

Mens Hockey Tournament

Thursday October 5th to Sunday October 8th 2006

Open to 12 Teams

more info: www.timothyfox.myknet.org

National Chief Phil Fontaine's presentation to the federal Finance Committee on Tuesday, September 19 highlights the results of continuous government underfunding for remote and rural First Nations across Canada. A crisis situation exists in Canada with the facts facing federal politicians ...

• There are more First Nations children in care today than at any time in history --including residential schools
• 30-40% of all children in care are First Nations, Inuit or Métis
• Over 10% of First Nations children are in care
  • Compared to less than 1% of other Canadians
• This number is up 71.5% between 1995 and 2001 and is a direct result of a lack of adequate government funding
• Other key drivers of this situation include:
  • Poverty, poor housing and health issues

Below is the handout presented to the media and committee members. Click here for the 18 page presentation. (PDF, 1.2Mb)

"The greatest omission in the work that I see is that it fails to stress the reality that most of the mental health disorders affecting Canadians today begin in childhood and adolescence. Failure to recognize this fact leads us to dealing with a stage-four cancer, often with major secondary effects, instead of a stage-one or stage-two disease. Like obesity, mental health issues, if not addressed early in life, threaten to bankrupt our health care system. " Diane Sacks, Out of the Shadows at Last: Transforming Mental Health, Mental Illness and Addiction Services in Canada. Final Report of The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, May 2006, p. 135 September 21, 2006 Stigma is a serious issue affecting children and youth with mental health difficulties and families beleaguered by a fragmented system Research shows that perhaps up to 20% of Canadian children and youth are living with mental illness. In Ontario, many of these children have trouble in school. Whether they are being teased by their peers or waiting on long lists for referral and treatment, these children and families live every day with the stigma and shame that goes hand in hand with mental illness and mental health problems. Can stigma be reduced? Could our schools become the solution? The Provincial Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health invites all of us to work together to find out. Read the full report: Sticks and Stones: Breaking the stigma of child and youth mental health difficulties through our schools New from The Seventh Generation Project: events to mark International Suicide Awareness and Prevention Week in Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) communities "There is a suicide epidemic where I live in Northwestern Ontario." Find out what the NAN Decade Youth Council and VOICES are doing to commemorate Yellow Ribbon International Suicide Awareness and Prevention Week. And, read the recent youth report on the suicide epidemic in First Nations communities and what they're doing about it. Visit The Seventh Generation website Add your voice to Voices Got an idea for a report? Contact us. Know someone who would be interested in this report? Forward this e-Bulletin. Haven't joined our e-Bulletin service yet? Sign up now! Learn how your organization can sponsor a future e-Bulletin! is a registered charity dedicated to promoting the well-being of Ontario's young people. We disseminate knowledge and ideas to influence public awareness, policy and practice. We produce the information you need to know. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please contact: Cathy Vine, Executive Director, tel: 416-489-5485 or email: cathy@voicesforchildren.ca. Voices for Children is proud to acknowledge our sustaining partners: Child Development Institute, the Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Foundation and Scotia Capital.

Voices for Children turns ideas, knowledge and experience into positive lasting change for the well-being of Ontario's young people. If you would prefer not to receive future e-mails or e-Bulletins, please click to unsubscribe from our mailing list. Thank you. Click here to update your preferences or subscription information.

Visit www.nan.on.ca to see the NAN press release below.

NAN Decade for Youth Promotes Suicide Prevention and Awareness

Posted by: Communications and Media jyoung@nan.on.ca
9/18/2006

NAN Decade for Youth and Development kicked off events recognizing the 12th Annual Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention and Awareness week during a news conference in Thunder Bay Monday September 18, 2006.

Click Here for a full schedule of events of Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention and Awareness Week September 18-23, 2006

Some of the events taking place during the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention and Awareness Week include youth forums and roundtable discussions on suicide prevention, ceremonial yellow balloon launch for NAN members lost to suicide, and powwow.

NAN Decade for Youth and Development is a 2001 initiative declaring an entire decade to empowering and mentoring youth within NAN territory. Suicide prevention is one of many focuses of the program which launched the We Care Yellow Balloon campaign in March.

Voices for Children promotes the well-being of children and youth in Ontario by disseminating information to influence policy, practice and awareness.

There have been 19 suicides in NAN territory this year. There were 25 suicides in 2005 which is almost double the national average.

Aliya Pardhan, a University of Guelph Masters of Science graduate completed the defense of her thesis this past summer. Her thesis, "EXPLORING KEY STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVES FOR A COLLABORATIVE FIRST NATION RESEARCH PROTOCOL", is an important publication for anyone interested in working with First Nations in the delivery of health and other services.

Dr. Ricardo Ramirez was her Academic Advisor at the University of Guelph for this work. Aliya visited Thunder Bay, Sioux Lookout and Fort Severn to complete the research portion of her thesis, working with the Keewaytinook Okimakanak team and Fort Severn leadership and community members.

From the abstract ....

This thesis proposes a set of recommendations to assist the Keewaytinook Okimakanak Research Institute (KORI) in developing codes of conduct of research with the First Nation. 

It places the discussion of research ethics in the context of cultural world view and the struggle for self-determination as peoples and nations. 

It affirms that the First Nation Peoples have a right to participate as partners in research that generates knowledge affecting their culture, identity and well-being.

To provide the context and rational for the recommendations presented, the thesis outlines how ethics are framed in the First Nation with respect to research design, informed consent, entry into the field, confidentiality, approaches to data collection, participant roles, ownership of data and dissemination of results.

The thesis also describes how First Nation perceptions of reality and ethical behavior contrast with the norms prevailing in western research.  The perspective of community ethics suggests that representation of multiple voices, enhancement of moral discernment, building capacity, empowerment, and self-advocacy need to be critical components of research. 

This study emphasizes that the research process needs to be reciprocal and collaborative, with communities, researchers, research organizations, academic institutions, research councils and funding agencies working together to shape the conception, definition and direction of research in the North.

Click here to read the entire 201 page thesis (918K, PDF document)

Concerning her future adventures, Aliya writes ... "I actually did get accepted into a PhD program here at Guelph in epidemiology/population medicine. I do intend to build on my thesis with more of a health/infectious disease perspective. My research is being funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada."

Keewaytinook Okimakanak congratulates Aliya on her successes and looks forward to working with her on her doctoral research.

The North West Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) is a new organization designed to plan, integrate and fund health services in Northwestern Ontario, including hospitals, community care access centres, home care, long-term care, community health centres, community support services and mental health and addiction services.

The North West LHIN has been working with health service providers, communities and the public to develop an Integrated Health Services Plan (IHSP) for Northwestern Ontario. This plan will set out broad health care priorities and strategies for our area for the three year period beginning in April 2007.

The Integrated Health Services Plan will be submitted to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care by October 31, 2006 and will include:

• An assessment of health needs, services, issues and challenges across Northwestern Ontario;
• The North West LHIN’s vision, values and principles;
• Priorities for health system improvements; and
• Action plans to address priority health care issues during the three-year period.

A draft plan is now available and the North West LHIN is
seeking public input on this document.

You can access the draft plan and the accompanying feedback survey on the Northwest LHIN web site at www.lhins.on.ca, or you can contact the North West LHIN for a copy.

Contact: Maria Harding
Administrative Assistant
Toll-free: 1-866-907-5446, ext. 2009
Tel.: 807-684-9533, ext. 2009
E-mail: maria.harding@lhins.on.ca

The North West LHIN will receive feedback on the plan until October 10, 2006.