Media.Knet.Ca

Anishnabe and Metis women are working cooperatively to honour murdered and missing Aboriginal women by hosting an empowerment workshop and a march in September...

Co-organiser Agnes Esquega says the purpose of the workshop is to raise awareness about missing and murdered Aboriginal women and to provide young women especially those moving to Thunder Bay from the northern reserves with the information that they need to protect themselves... The workshop takes place on September 6th at Action for Neighbourhood Changes at 500 Simpson Street in Thunder Bay... The workshop is open to ages 14 and older... A march will follow... For more information call Agnes Esquega at (807) 475-0847 or Sharon Johnson at (807) 622-8429

Equay-wuk (Women's Group) has developed their latest resource, "A Guide for Professional Caregivers:  Self-Advocation for First Nations Clients" and is hosting a workshop on Cultural Awareness and Self-Advocation Training in September 2006.

The Menonakachihewaywin Natamakewin (Better Caregiving Project) is a cultural awareness and sensitivity project, intended for non-aboriginal front-line caregivers employed to provide care for Anishnaabe clients from remote First Nation communities in Northwestern Ontario.

Workshop:  "Cultural Awareness and Self-Advocation Training Workshop"

Sunset Inn, Sioux Lookout, Ontario

September 19-21

Facilitator:  Bill Constant

Major components of the workshop include:

• Priming for cultural competence
• Understanding the historical Anishinaabe worldview

For more information, contact:

Darlene A. or Felicia Waboose
Equay-wuk (Women's Group)
Tel: (807) 737-2214 or toll free: (800) 261-8294
Fax: (807) 737-2699
email: equaywuk@nwconx.net

Workshop Information available on website: www.equaywuk.ca

Considering the historical, social and economic impacts of having young people leave their homes and communities to attend high school, it is unfortunate that local community-based high school programs are funded at such a lower rate.

From CTV.ca online at http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060827/residential_school_060827/20060827/

Modern residential school uses native culture as a lure - Aug. 27 2006 - Canadian Press

WINNIPEG -- High school principal Don Revel is busy these days gearing up for the start of another academic year, and for the roller-coaster of challenges, struggles and excitement his students will ride in the first few weeks.

All of the 170 students who will attend Southeast Collegiate next month are preparing to leave their First Nations reserves across Manitoba for the boarding school and a chance at a high school education most can't get at home because there are no schools near their reserves.

While aboriginal students from across Canada often must travel to go to an off-reserve public school that offers classes beyond Grade 8 or 9, Southeast Collegiate offers a uniquely aboriginal experience because it is owned and operated by the Southeast Tribal Council.

Revel says the school's attention to native culture, history, language, and counselling -- as well as academics -- is keeping students from dropping out while preparing many for college or university.

At a time when native residential schools are in the headlines for past physical and sexual abuse and a proposed federal compensation agreement, Revel says Southeast Collegiate symbolizes a new, positive era in aboriginal education.

"We are a modern-day residential school, and our philosophy has always been 'doing it right,"' Revel says from behind his desk hidden under mountains of papers and files.

"I don't think there's any doubt the old residential school system was an attempt to assimilate First Nations people to white culture.

"Here, it's very much more of an honouring of culture and understanding how our students can develop the skill sets to either function within First Nations culture at home, or in society as multicultural as it is in Winnipeg."

Enrolment at the school has been expanding rapidly since its doors opened 11 years ago.

When Revel joined the staff seven years ago, the school had about 80 students and a retention rate that hovered around 50 per cent.

Now, the school turns away between 50 and 75 students a year.

Revel believes Southeast has succeeded where public schools have failed because staff directly address some of the main reasons why students return to their reserves without graduating.

"We provide a home," says Revel.

"We tell staff when they are hired they're going to be parents to kids who are 200 to 700 miles away from home and who are going to suffer loneliness and need somebody to identify with."

Pauingassi First Nation, a fly-in community about 300 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, will send its entire Grade 10 class of nine students to Southeast Collegiate.

The community has long struggled with solvent and alcohol abuse, with one in five of the 450 residents considered a chronic solvent addict.

Social worker Eric Kennedy says the students are counting the days until they leave home, while their parents are relieved they'll know where they are and who is caring for them.

Last year in Manitoba, 1,249 students left their reserves for high school -- with 740 of those coming Winnipeg, says a spokesman for the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs.

Those who don't go to a boarding school are part of the department's private home-placement program. The students choose the public school they want to attend and find their own accommodation, which is covered by the department.

But after seeing many children drop out within weeks when left on their own to find a school in Winnipeg, Kennedy says he hopes the Grade 10 class heading to Southeast will become an example for the younger kids still at home, proving there is a way to continue their education away from solvents.

Kennedy says the emphasis on native culture is the key to keeping the kids in class.

"When I walk through the doors it brings back that I'm proud of who I am, being native, and I think that's what's so unique," says Kennedy.

"They're going to be interested in finding out about their heritage."

The school is considered a provincially funded private school, although Revel says he doesn't have any students that meet the criteria for provincial funding.

Instead, the federal Department of Indian and Northern Affairs pays $11,000 per student annually for tuition, as well as $13,000 in room, board and trips to and from the students' home reserves.

Revel says that while Southeast Collegiate couldn't be more different than the once-mandatory residential schools some of the students' parents and grandparents attended, their sometimes painful memories are hard to erase.

"Some families are very apprehensive and some don't want to be supportive of the system, because even though it's run by a First Nations organization, there's still a belief they're trying to change their youth to a white culture," he says.

For others, it's the chance for their kids to live and learn in an environment far better than what they have at home that allows them to embrace the school.

"Housing becomes a serious issue for a lot of people," says Chief Terry Nelson of the Roseau River First Nation, about 75 kilometres south of Winnipeg.

"So if somebody wants to concentrate on their education and really get through it, they could choose a residential system where they don't have to live with five or six siblings in a crowded house."

Guitarists have been exchanging tips on how to play songs on a number of online guitar tablature sites. These are sites where amateur musicians trade “tabs” — music notation especially for guitar — for songs they have figured out or have copied from music books. The sites include Olga.net, GuitarTabs.com and MyGuitarTabs.com as well as discussion boards on the Google Groups service like alt.guitar.tab and rec.music.makers.guitar.tablature. Music publishers like Sony/ATV and EMI lose money if people obtain the music from such sites rather than purchasing commercially produced sheet music or books of guitar tablature, as do the artists who hold copyrights to their music. "Music Publishers’ Association and the National Music Publishers’ Association have shut down several Web sites, or have pressured them to remove all of their tabs, but users have quickly migrated to other sites. According to comScore Media Metrix, an Internet statistics service, Ultimate-Guitar.com had 1.4 million visitors in July, twice the number from a year earlier." BOB TEDESCHI, The New York Times, August 21, 2006, (free registration required). The article illustrates the potential of the World Wide Web and Internet to promote cultural exchages, and the power of the medium and some implications for its impact on commerce in cultural materials.  

From New York Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/21/technology/21ecom.html?ex=1156392000&en=619d14efa02e7c66&ei=5087%0A

Now the Music Industry Wants Guitarists to Stop Sharing

By BOB TEDESCHI, August 21, 2006

The Internet put the music industry and many of its listeners at odds thanks to the popularity of services like Napster and Grokster. Now the industry is squaring off against a surprising new opponent: musicians.

Lauren Keiser, president of the Music Publishers' Association, says guitar tablature Web sites reduce the earnings of songwriters.

In the last few months, trade groups representing music publishers have used the threat of copyright lawsuits to shut down guitar tablature sites, where users exchange tips on how to play songs like "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," "Highway to Hell" and thousands of others.

The battle shares many similarities with the war between Napster and the music recording industry, but this time it involves free sites like Olga.net, GuitarTabs.com and MyGuitarTabs.com and even discussion boards on the Google Groups service like alt.guitar.tab and rec.music.makers.guitar.tablature, where amateur musicians trade "tabs" music notation especially for guitar for songs they have figured out or have copied from music books.

On the other side are music publishers like Sony/ATV, which holds the rights to the songs of John Mayer, and EMI, which publishes Christina Aguilera's music.

"People can get it for free on the Internet, and it's hurting the songwriters," said Lauren Keiser, who is president of the Music Publishers' Association and chief executive of Carl Fischer, a music publisher in New York.

So far, the Music Publishers' Association and the National Music Publishers' Association have shut down several Web sites, or have pressured them to remove all of their tabs, but users have quickly migrated to other sites. According to comScore Media Metrix, an Internet statistics service, Ultimate-Guitar.com had 1.4 million visitors in July, twice the number from a year earlier.

The publishers, who share royalties with composers each time customers buy sheet music or books of guitar tablature, maintain that tablature postings, even inaccurate ones, are protected by copyright laws because the postings represent "derivative works" related to the original compositions, to use the industry jargon.

The publishers told the sites that if they did not remove the tablatures, they could face legal action or their Internet service providers would be pressured to shut down their sites. All of the sites have taken down their tabs voluntarily, but grudgingly.

The tablature sites argue that they are merely conduits for an online discussion about guitar techniques, and that their services help the industry.

"The publishers can't dispute the fact that the popularity of playing guitar has exploded because of sites like mine," said Robert Balch, the publisher of Guitar Tab Universe (guitartabs.cc), in Los Angeles. "And any person that buys a guitar book during their lifetime, that money goes to the publishers."

Mr. Balch, who took down guitar tabs from his site in late July at the behest of the music publishers, added that, "I'd think the music publishers would be happy to have sites that get people interested in becoming one of their customers."

Cathal Woods, who manages Olga.net, one of the pioneer free tablature sites, said he had run the site for 14 years with the help of a systems administrator, "and we've never taken a penny." Mr. Woods, who teaches philosophy at Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, said Olga.net had earned an undisclosed amount of money by posting ads on Google's behalf, but he said that money had paid for bandwidth and a legal defense fund.

Anthony DeGidio, a lawyer for Olga.net, said he was still formulating a legal strategy, while also helping decide whether the site could pay licensing fees "in the event that that's required." For now, though, the site remains unavailable to users.

Because the music tablature sites are privately held, they do not disclose sales figures, and because industry analysts generally do not closely follow tablature sites, it is unclear how much revenue they generate. But with the Internet advertising market surging, almost any Web site with significant traffic can generate revenue.

Google also dabbles in tablature through its Google Groups discussion board service, in which guitar players trade tabs they have figured out by listening to the songs, or by copying tabs found elsewhere. A Google spokesman, Steve Langdon, said Google would take down music tablature from its Groups service if publishers claimed the materials violated copyright agreements and if Google determined that infringement was likely. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Web hosts may review, case by case, a publisher's claims regarding instances of copyright infringement.

To hear music publishers tell it, though, the tablature sites are getting away with mass theft. Mr. Keiser, of the Music Publishers' Association, said that before these sites started operating in the early '90s, the most popular printed tablatures typically sold 25,000 copies in a year. Now the most popular sell 5,000 copies at most.

But Mike Happoldt, who was a member of the '90's band Sublime and whose music is sold in sheet music books, said he sympathized with the tablature sites.

"I think this is greed on the publishers' parts," said Mr. Happoldt, who played guitar on Sublime's hit "What I Got."

"I guess in a way I might be losing money from these sites, but as a musician I look at it more as a service," said Mr. Happoldt, who now owns an independent record company, Skunk Records.

"And really, those books just don't sell that much for most people." 

Assuming a tablature site musters the legal resources to challenge the publishers in court, some legal scholars say they believe publishers may have difficulty arguing their complaints successfully. Jonathan Zittrain, the professor of Internet governance and regulation at Oxford University, said "it isn't at all clear" that the publishers' claim would succeed because no court doctrine has been written on guitar tablature.

Mr. Zittrain said the tablature sites could well have a free speech defense. But because the Supreme Court, in a 2003 case involving the extension of copyright terms, declined to determine when overenforcement or interpretation of copyright might raise a free speech problem, the success of that argument was questionable. "It's possible, though, that this is one reason why guitar tabs generated by people would be found to fit fair use," Mr. Zittrain said, "or would be found not to be a derivative work to begin with."

Doug Osborn, an executive vice president with Ultimate-Guitar.com said his site violated no laws because its headquarters were in Russia, and the site's practices complied with Russian laws.

Jacqueline C. Charlesworth, senior vice president and general counsel of the National Music Publishers' Association, would not comment on the legality of specific sites, including Ultimate- Guitar, but she said she had seen no international licensing agreements that might make free United States distribution of guitar tablature legal.

Online discussion boards have been thick with comments from guitar tablature fans, looking for sites that are still operating and lamenting the fate of sites they frequented. One user of the guitarnoise.com forums, who calls himself "the dali lima," said he had no doubt that the music publishers would win the battle.

"Hopefully we will get to a place where the sheet music/tab will be available online just like music $0.99 a song. The ironic thing might be that a service like that with fully licensed music/tab offered at a low per song rate might actually benefit guitar players by providing the correct music/tab and not the garbage that we currently sift through."

A small handful of sheet music sites now sell guitar tablature. Mr. Keiser, of the Music Publishers' Association, estimated that, including overhead costs, tablature could cost about $800 per song to produce, license and format for downloading.

Musicnotes, an online sheet music business based in Madison, Wis., is considering a deeper push into guitar tablature, said Tim Reiland, the company's chairman and chief financial officer. The site has a limited array of tablature available now for about $5 a song, and it also offers tablature as part of $10 downloadable guitar lessons.

But Mr. Reiland said that with the music publishers "dealing with the free sites," and a stronger ad market, his business might be able to lower the cost of its guitar tabs.

"Maybe we could sell some of the riffs to Jimmy Page's solo in 'Stairway to Heaven' for a buck, since that's really what the kids want to learn anyway," Mr. Reiland said.

Low prices are only part of the battle, though, Mr. Reiland said. The free tablature sites often host vibrant communities of musicians, who rate each other's tablature and trade ideas and commentary, and Musicnotes would have to find a way to replicate that environment on its site. Furthermore, these communities often create tablature for songs that have little or no commercial value, he said.

"Less than 25 percent of the music out there ends up in sheet music because sometimes it just doesn't pay to do it," Mr. Reiland said. "So the fact that someone comes up with a transcription themselves just because they love that song and want to share it with people, there's some value to that."

"I don't have an answer for that," Mr. Reiland added. "But I think the industry needs to play around with it, because it could be a nice source of revenue for songwriters, and for the community it could be a really good thing.

Deer Lake Sports & Recreation Presents Mixed Baseball Tournament

August 31- Sept 3, 2006

5 Men 4 Ladies

From http://www.timminspress.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=168629&catname=Local+News&classif=

Military, Ontario have plan to clean up radar bases near Hudson Bay - CP - Saturday, August 26, 2006

A plan to clean up 17 toxic radar bases in Northern Ontario could soon be up for federal approval, the Defence Department says.

Department spokesman Doug Drever said Friday military officials have spoken with senior Ontario government officials on a joint effort to clean up abandoned radar posts along the southern shore of Hudson Bay and the western shore of James Bay.

The sites have been contaminating nearby First Nation communities for decades.

"As a result of these discussions, senior government officials have developed an approach that will be presented to the federal government for approval," Drever said.

"The time frame for this is not known at this time."

The sites were once part of the Mid-Canada Radar Line, built in the 1960s.

When the sites were abandoned they were turned over to the province. At many sites, barrels of oil, fuel and PCBs have been left to rust for decades.

As a result, contaminants have leached into the hunting grounds and waterways of dozens of First Nations communities.

MP Charlie Angus (NDP - Timmins-James Bay) says a federal government advisory telling the communities not to eat wild animals or fish is useless, since these animals are such a vital food source for the First Nations.

"These people have to survive off wild game," he said. "They have no other choice."

Angus said was pleased that the military has changed its tone on the issue, but said First Nations communities need a firm timeline for the work to be done.

"The commitment to talk is better than the position that (then Defence Minister) Bill Graham took, which was to stonewall us," Angus said.

"But, a commitment to talk is not a commitment to clean up."

Angus described the First Nations community along the northern stretch of the Winisk River as Ground Zero for contamination.

At an old radar base near that community, aerial photos show thousands of rusty barrels stacked 10 high left to deteriorate.

Thousands of barrels have already washed into the river, elevating the amount of PCBs to dangerous levels, Angus said.

At another site north of Kapuskasing, the level of PCBs in the ground is 16,000 times above acceptable amounts, Ontario government documents indicate.

Angus said he wants the federal government commit to a long-term health study on the effects of these toxic radar bases on nearby First Nations communities.

He said higher cancer rates in these communities illustrate how serious the problem has become over the last several decades.

The Journal of Aboriginal Health
Published by the
National Aboriginal Health Organization

*NEW* Journal of Aboriginal Health Call for Abstracts

View poster: Call for Abstracts - Aboriginal women's health (pdf)

Deadline for receipt of abstracts is October 15, 2006. Direct inquiries to dsoucy@naho.ca  

The Journal of Aboriginal Health will share traditional knowledge, success stories, issues, new information, and the latest research results. It will publish in-depth analysis of health research and issues with full citation of sources; facilitate informed discussions of new research, recent publications and projects; and explore health determinants with Aboriginal approaches.

The Journal is published by the National Aboriginal Health Organization. The goal of the Journal is to cultivate a dynamic community of those concerned with Aboriginal health matters through information exchange, networks and partnerships while contributing to the critical thinking and learning process. Ultimately, the Journal will lead to improved health and increased capacity and participation of Aboriginal People in health care fields.

The primary audience will be Aboriginal community members including traditional healers; Aboriginal health care practitioners and practitioners in health care for Aboriginal People; and Aboriginal health organizations. Other readers will include Aboriginal community, tribal, treaty, and national political organizations; Aboriginal health scholars and researchers; people who influence and determine Aboriginal health research and policy including politicians, public servants, consultants, think tanks, and foundations; and those outside of Canada who are interested in Aboriginal health issues.

Each issue of the Journal of Aboriginal Health will feature a theme. A Guest Editor will solicit appropriate papers from a variety of perspectives. Each Guest Editor is an expert in the subject area and has an established network of contacts in the field. They are responsible for acquiring and evaluating submissions before papers are sent to peer review.

The Journal of Aboriginal Health will be available online on the National Aboriginal Health Organization's Web site at www.naho.ca.  For more information, contact naho@naho.ca.

Journal of Aboriginal Health, January 2004, Volume 1, Issue 1

Journal of Aboriginal Health, March 2005, Volume 2, Issue 1

NAHO Journal Guidelines

Plain Language Guidelines

Writing Style Guidelines

Terminology Guidelines

A message from Jean Crowder, MP for Nanaimo-Cowichan, NDP Critic for Aboriginal Affairs encouraging everyone to share their thoughts about HRSDC's online consultations concerning Post-secondary Education in Canada.

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I wanted to make sure you were aware of consultations the federal government is conducting right now on post-secondary education. They want to gather Canadians' opinions on the objectives, roles and accountability for post-secondary education and training. The deadline for submissions is September 8, 2006.

You can view the website at http://www3.hrsdc.gc.ca/ . The main themes of the consultation are:

1. Objectives for post-secondary education (PSE) and training

• What objectives should Canada aspire to for PSE and training?
• Which objectives would you rank among the top three priorities for action?

2. Clarifying roles and responsibilities in PSE and training

• Given what you have identified as objectives, what would be the most important roles for the Government of Canada to play?
• Where would clarifying roles and responsibilities amongst governments be most helpful? Do you have advice on how these roles could best be defined?

3. Developing a framework for ensuring measurable results and accountability

• What results would be most useful to measure in terms of PSE and training?
• How could governments report on progress so that they are held accountable?

People can also submit their views by mail or fax.

This is part of the federal government's review of the fiscal imbalance. I believe it is important for the federal government to hear the perspective of First Nations, Métis and Inuit people on both the fiscal imbalance and post-secondary education and training. I ask that you forward this information to anyone you know who might be interested in making a submission. Details about the fiscal imbalance consultations can be found at http://www.fin.gc.ca/activty/consult/fiscbal_e.html .

Please note, this is a separate consultation from the Study on Education that the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs will be conducting when the House returns on September 18th.

Yours truly,

Jean Crowder, MP
Nanaimo-Cowichan
NDP Critic for Aboriginal Affairs

Click here for more information and an earlier story about the Safe Water Commission.

From the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal at  http://66.244.236.251/article_8317.php

Water situation ‘deplorable’ By JIM KELLY, Aug 24, 2006
 
Frank Beardy has a theory that the high rate of cancers among Nishnawbe Aski Nation communities is related to the water residents drink.

Beardy, former chief of Muskrat Dam First Nation, made a presentation Wednesday to the expert panel on safe drinking water for First Nations.

The panel, which held two days of hearings in Thunder Bay, is holding informal sessions across Canada and accepting written submissions until Aug. 31.

The panel will present an interim report to tIndian and Northern Affairs at that time. A final report will be released this fall which will analyse options for regulations.

“I know what I’m talking about,” said Beardy who lost his wife Lucy to cancer.

“It (cancer) was unheard of 20 to 30 years ago,” he said. “Now, we have the highest cancer rate per capita among Canadian society.”

Panel member Prof. Steve Hrudey of the University of Alberta, said from the evidence available to him, it’s unlikely the cancers in First Nations communities were caused by drinking water.

“For many years we’ve been plagued by many experts,” Beardy told Hrudey. “Despite the views of the experts, we know what we’re living with.”

He said NAN covers about two-thirds of Ontario and includes 49 First Nation communities, 19 of which are under boil-water advisories.

“It’s truly amazing that with the abundance of water in our territories, we cannot drink from the lakes and rivers,” Beardy told the panel.

“Ontario First Nation communities experience some of the poorest water quality in the province. This is deplorable,” Beardy said.

He said the communities do not benefit from federal and provincial guidelines. Health Canada tests some First Nation water supplies only once a year.

“We’re always on the outside. The federal government is responsible for safe drinking water.”

Beardy said most First Nation communities don’t have enough money to hire and train the best qualified water plant operators, who instead are scooped up by municipalities.

Beardy said he has a simple solution: “Once clear standards are set, it will be easier to determine what needs to be done to meet those standards. Let’s start working now to implement safe water standards,” he said.

Arnold Gardiner of Grand Council Treaty No. 3 said First Nation communities want to be accountable to themselves.

“We want to be self-sufficient,” he told the panel. “We want to take over the resources on our lands and we’ll look after our water.”

Panel chairman Harry Swain said it’s not within the panel’s mandate to deal with treaty rights.

© Copyright by Chronicle Journal.com

First Nation Site Liaison position posted Aug 19, 2006 at http://66.244.236.251/article_8180.php

Shaping the future

• AMEC is an international project management and services company that designs, delivers and supports client assets for customers worldwide across the public and private sectors.
• AMEC employs 44,000 people in more than 40 countries. AMEC has approximately 7,000 employees operating from over 150 offices in North America.
• AMEC was ranked by Engineering News Record Magazine as the #1 International Design Firm in Canada and the U.S.

De Beers Canada Inc. (DBC) has contracted AMEC Americas Limited to provide project management, construction management, engineering and procurement services for the development of the Victor Mine, to be located in the Western James Bay lowland area.

DBC and AMEC are committed to working with First Nations people, specifically the Attawapiskat First Nation, to help create business, employment and training opportunities.

This is where you come in.

First Nation Site Liaison

Based at the Victor Site, this position will involve working closely with First Nation workers, contractors, AMEC and DeBeers personnel, the project’s Community Relations Team and surrounding communities. You will have a unique opportunity to promote the project’s vision, provide cross-cultural training, and generally work to maximize First Nation benefits from the project.

This exciting mandate requires an individual with strong communication skills and a proven record in community relations within both cultures. Post-secondary education or equivalent background, experience in a construction setting and computer skills are required. The ability to speak Cree is an asset.

The rotation schedule is 3 weeks in, 1 week out. There are regular flights from Timmins and the James Bay coastal communities.

Please forward your resume and covering letter by August 28, 2006 to: AMEC, Human Resources, 2020 Winston Park Drive, Suite 700, Oakville ON L6H 6X7. Fax: 905-829-9481.
E-mail: careers.ec.oak@amec.com.

We work worldwide, responsibly and for the long term.

AMEC is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in employment. We thank all applicants and advise that only those candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. No phone calls or agency solicitations will be accepted.
www.amec.com

© Copyright by Chronicle Journal.com

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From http://www.timminspress.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentID=159898&catname=Local+News

Victor project ahead of schedule - Arron Pickard
- Saturday, August 19, 2006

In a matter of only six months, De Beers Canada has transformed about four kilometres of mushkeg-laden territory located 90 kilometres west of Attawapiskat into the makings of a future diamond mine.

Since January, the company has managed to dig up a 30-metre-deep quarry, with the rock being used to build the foundation for a full-fledged mining camp.

De Beers has also constructed an airstrip, as well as state-of-the-art water filtration, waste management and incinerator plants and is well on its way to full production of the Victor project - Ontario's first diamond mine.

In fact, development of the $928-$982-million mine site is progressing so well, project vice-president Jeremy Wyeth said, the production date has been moved ahead six months. It is now estimated the mine will enter into its production phase by April, 2008.

"We've made tremendous progress, but there's still a lot of work to do," Wyeth told The Daily Press.

"It has taken a big team effort to get this far this fast and the next 18 months are going to be very, very busy."

De Beers is in the process of connecting about 400 kms of power line that stretches as far away as Moosonee and contractors are continuing to build on-site facilities such as a processing plant, workshops and a pit-dewatering system.
Furthermore, as the project nears production, De Beers will construct an additional accommodation complex to house the 400 employees it will take to mine the 0.6-million carats per year. As of right now, the mining camp can accommodate up to 270 people.

Then, once winter hits, De Beers can begin clearing the 15 hectares of mushkeg that cover the Victor kimberlite.

Wyeth described mushkeg as mainly wetland with few high points or rock outcroppings. As such, he said the land needs to be frozen because it would be impossible for workers to clear that amount of mushkeg during the summer.

The Victor kimberlite, which derives its name from the phonetic alphabet, measures about 250 metres in depth and at the end of production, will look something similar to Timmins's own Dome Super Pit, said Victor project communications co-ordinator Trish Buttineau. However, she said there are another 16 diamondiferous kimberlites within the immediate vicinity of the Victor project that could extend the mine's lifespan past 12 years.

"These are rather insignificant, smaller kimberlites and none of them would be able to sustain a mine on its own," Buttineau said. "But, they could very well add to the Victor project's own significance," should De Beers choose to mine them.

Because the Victor kimberlite is located on Native land, De Beers has included First Nation communities along the James Bay Coast in its plans. The majority of the workforce during both development and production will be made up of residents of those Aboriginal communities.

On June 21, 2005, the First Nation community of Attawapiskat and De Beers finalized an impact benefit agreement, ensuring residents along the James Bay Coast will reap their own rewards from the Victor project.

De Beers has built a $750,000 training centre in Attawapiskat and has also partnered with the coastal communities to secure federal funding to create 1,210 program seats in that centre. Training is being provided in environmental awareness, environmental monitoring, health and safety, heavy-equipment operation, food preparation, mechanical work and drill operation. The 400 jobs that will be created through the Victor project once it reaches production will first be made available to qualified people of Attawapiskat.

Thereafter, the positions will be filled by other residents of the James Bay Coast.

"The two phases (development and production) of the project are very different in terms of employment," Wyeth said. "The development phase is comprised of high intensity, short-term specific skills. These are jobs where employees come in, accomplish their task and leave. It's not a phase suited for training purposes.

"During the operational phase, jobs will be more routine. There will be the type of activities that are longer-term and better suited for training."

Wyeth said while it is mostly contractors tackling the development phase of the project, residents of Attawapiskat are currently completing their training at the centre and will be ready in time for the production phase.

Following their education, Wyeth said, it is De Beers's plan to get as many of them employed as possible, get them trained and into supervisory positions. That way, there is constantly room for new employment opportunities.

Quick Facts

Following is a breakdown of the Victor project, spearheaded by De Beers Canada:

• The Victor kimberlite is one of 18 pipes discovered on the property, 16 of which are diamondiferous
• The Victor kimberlite has a surface area of 15 hectares and consists of two pipes that come together at the surface
• The geology of the Victor kimberlite is complex, comprising pyroclastic crater facies and hypabyssal facies and has a highly-variable diamond grade
• The mine will be open pit with an expected life of 12 years and a total project life of 17 years

For more information about the Victor Project, visit http://www.debeerscanada.com/files_2/victor_project/factsheet.html