Media.Knet.Ca

The three members of Canada's Telecom Policy Review Panel met with community champions in Whitehorse, Yukon on Friday, September 9. Brian Beaton, K-Net Coordinator shared two presentations. The first presentation addressed "Community Readiness for Broadband. The second presentation provided information about the "Lessons Learned after the introduction of Broadband Connections in Remote First Nations".

Information about this gathering and all the presentations are available on-line. Everyone is invited to share their stories concerning access to broadband in your community in the on-line discussion forum being hosted on their web site at http://www.telecomreview.ca/epic/internet/intprp-gecrt.nsf/en/Home

The team from Keewaytinook Okimakanak Telehealth and K-Net will be hosting an operational telehealth environment at the upcoming AFN Telehealth Summit starting on Friday, Sept 23 in Winnipeg. Broadband connections are being installed at the Fairmount Hotel to demonstrate the use of IP video conferencing, telemedicine applications, IP telephone services and on-line First Nations health education services.

Canada's newest Medical School opens its doors

TUESDAY, SEPT. 13, 2005

Canada's first new Medical School in a generation was opened today in high-tech fashion by Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty following a telemedicine roll call to more than 10 far-flung communities that will be involved with the new School.

The Ontario Premier declared the Northern Ontario School of Medicine officially open after establishing two-way video conference links to a series of cities, towns and villages across Northern Ontario.

The first Medical School in Canada to open its doors in the Internet Age, it is also the country's first twin site Medical School, with a West Campus located at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, and an East Campus hosted by Sudbury's Laurentian University.

The Grand Opening this morning was a two campus videoconference, with Premier McGuinty and His Excellency John Ralston Saul among the distinguished guests at Laurentian University, while Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper and Ontario Minister of Health George Smitherman were among the featured speakers at Lakehead.  Ontario Lieutenant Governor James Bartleman and Canada's Commissioner of Official Languages Dr. Dyane Adam joined the proceedings by videolink from Toronto and Ottawa, respectively.

With a special emphasis on rural and remote medicine, NOSM will pioneer the marriage of technology, education, research, and health care delivery, promised Founding Dean Dr. Roger Strasser.  The School is based on the premise that medical students tend to practice where they have studied, and NOSM graduates will contribute to reducing the critical shortage of physicians in Northern Ontario.

"Since beginning our work on this project three years ago, the staff of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine has promised to create 'A Medical School like no other,'" Dr. Strasser noted.  "We want to reaffirm that promise to the people of Ontario, and to you students of the Charter Class, here today."

The School's first 56 undergraduate class members arrived on their respective campuses ten days ago, and have already begun their studies which will be undertaken in a wide variety of community and health science settings across Northern Ontario.

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For more information contact: 
Yonaniko Grenon           
Communications Officer - East          
(705) 662-7243 or (705) 669 -7943
yonaniko.grenon@normed.ca

Tracie Smith
Communications Officer - West
(807) 766-7314 or (807) 624-7862
tracie.smith@normed.ca

NAN HOSTS ANNUAL DAY OF PRAYER

THUNDER BAY, ON Monday September 12, 2005:  Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Deputy Grand Chief Goyce Kakegamic will host the fourth annual NAN Day of Prayer in Thunder Bay this week.

DATE:            Wednesday September 14, 2005

TIME:             10:00 a.m.

LOCATION:   Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Main Boardroom, 710 Victoria Avenue East Victoriaville Mall, Third Floor (Centennial Square entrance/Victoria Ave. entrance)

NAN Day of Prayer is a spiritual event designed to raise community awareness and support of the rising number of suicides among First Nation people, particularly in NAN territory - an area covering two-thirds of Ontario spanning East to Quebec's border, West to Manitoba, and North of the 51st parallel to the coasts of James and Hudson's Bays.

Community members, including elders, women, and youth across NAN territory are expected to participate in the event.

* * *

For more information please contact:
Jenna Young
Communications Officer
Nishnawbe Aski Nation
(807) 625 4952
(807) 628 3953 (cellular)

RALLY ON PARLIAMENT HILL SEPTEMBER 16TH 2005 AT 10:00 AM!!!

MARTHA JOSEPH’S VICTORY WALK FOR JUSTICE  FOR ABORIGINAL RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL SURVIVORS

This day will mark a historic day in Canada! Martha Joseph, from the Gitxsan Nation, a 67 year old survivor of the Port Alberni Residential School will arrive in Ottawa on Parliament Hill. Martha’s Journey started on May 26th 2005 from the door steps of the Okanagan Métis Children and Family Services in Kelowna, British Columbia. Aboriginal Residential School Survivors, Aboriginal Citizens and Non-Aboriginal Citizens walked with Martha to the city limits as she and friends began their quest to walk to Ottawa.

We invite press, Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal dignitaries, and citizens of Canada to Parliament Hill on September 16th 2005 at 10:00 am to welcome Martha’s Victory Walk for Justice.

This Rally is to bring awareness to all Residential School Survivors in all of North America. In addition, Dennis Weber a first cousin of Louis Riel and a well known Métis Artist, will be presenting his original painting on behalf of all Residential School Survivors to Parliament.

Please refer to our website www.okanaganmetischildrenandfamilyservices.ca for the upcoming agenda on the Victory Walk for Justice Ceremony and Celebration!

PLEASE join us in this historic event!

For further information please contact the Okanagan Métis Children and Family Services at

(250) 868-0351 and locally (613) 798-1488.

from Kelly Kubik k.kubik@telus.net, Director of the Kelowna Metis Children and Family Services

Gavin Brown, Associate Regional Director and Richard Leikkari, e-Health Solutions Program Manager from First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) of Health Canada are meeting the next two days in Balmertown with the KO Telehealth team. Discussions include:

• an update on the KO Telehealth initiative
• the sustainability of the KO Telehealth initiative
• the network operations
• the service level agreements

Members of the KO Telehealth team participating in these meetings include Robert Thomas, KO Health Director, Kevin Houghton, KO Telehealth Project Manager, Dan Pellerin, K-Net Network Manager and other KO Health staff members.

PRESS RELEASE - Tuesday,  September 6, 2005

Northern Ontario Gives Huge Welcome to School of Medicine's Charter Class

Hundreds of people came out to greet the Charter Class of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) as the students made their way across Northern Ontario last week. 

All 56 Charter Class students arrived in Thunder Bay on Sunday, August 28, to visit the School's West Campus at Lakehead University and to start their Orientation Week of activities, workshops and lectures to help students make the transition to medical school.

In addition to the Orientation Week sessions, the School hosted a Community Welcome barbecue on Monday where well-wishers from the City of Thunder Bay, Lakehead University and the School were introduced to the students.

From there, the students traveled by bus to the School's East Campus at Laurentian University.  En route, they stopped in Marathon to meet and spend time with rural physicians at Penn Lake Park, stayed overnight in Wawa where they enjoyed hiking and kayaking, stopped to meet NOSM clinical faculty in Sault Ste. Marie, and landed in Sudbury on Thursday, September 1 for a Community Welcome barbecue at Laurentian University.

Dr. Jill Konkin, NOSM's Associate Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs noted that it was important for the students to enjoy Northern Ontario right from the start.  "This past week was about experiencing the warmth of the people and communities of Northern Ontario, providing an opportunity for the students to get to know each other, giving students a chance to see first-hand just how excited everyone across the North is that they are finally with us, and providing them with the information they need to start their academic studies."

Founding Dean Dr. Roger Strasser noted that the students were heading back to their respective campuses this past weekend - 32 students will study out of the East Campus at Laurentian University and 24 out of the West Campus at Lakehead University.  "Their work will start today, as they begin their four-year long journey of learning from a state-of-the art curriculum.  They will study in small groups, learn in a variety of health care settings and make use of technology to its fullest as they pursue their dream of becoming a physician."  

The official Grand Opening of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine will be held on Tuesday, September, 13th with a full day of celebrations.  Many dignitaries from across the country will be participating in the day which will showcase the School's technology and pan-Northern mandate by holding the event simultaneously between two campuses and having communities from across the North participate in the declaration of the School's opening.  More details will follow.

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is a pioneering faculty of medicine.  The School is a joint initiative of Lakehead and Laurentian Universities with main campuses in Thunder Bay and Sudbury, and multiple teaching and research sites across Northern Ontario.  By educating skilled physicians and undertaking health research suited to community needs, the School will become a cornerstone of community health care in Northern Ontario.

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For further information please contact:

Yonaniko (Iyo) Grenon
Communications Officer - East Campus
(705) 662-7243
Yonaniko.Grenon@normed.ca

Tracie.Smith@normed.ca
Communications Officer - West Campus
(807) 766-7314
Tracie.Smith@normed.ca

Communications Unit
Northern Ontario School of Medicine

West Campus
Lakehead University
955 Oliver Rd.
Thunder Bay ON  P7B 5E1
Tel: 807-766-7300
Fax: 807-766-7370

East Campus
Laurentian University
935 Ramsey Lake Rd.
Sudbury ON  P3E 2C6
Tel: 705-675-4883
Fax: 705-675-4858
E-mail: NormedNews@NorMed.ca

Everyone interested in public access (ie. CAP sites) or in broadband infrastructure development (ie. BRAND projects) or in the use of telecommunication systems (ie. SchoolNet, Smart, Voice-over-IP telephones or video conferencing) or in community broadband networks or in broadband applications such as telehealth, internet high schools, personal homepages ... and the list goes on ...

If you are interested in working with or using any of these tools then you should register for the upcoming Telecommunications Policy Review Panel public on-line consultation opportunity that is starting during the one day workshop from Whitehorse, Yukon. Register at www.telecomreview.ca/yukon. The Community Access Program (CAP) groups are asking that people put the word CAP after their names.

Everyone is encouraged to listen to the presentations on Friday, September 9 (click here to see the agenda) and to contribute to the on-line discussions during the event and afterwards.

We do need these three review panel members to know that there are a lot of people in remote and rural communities who are demanding that their needs and requirements are addressed. As it stands now, the telecom industry has produced their reports that indicate that they can take care of connecting all of Canada to broadband. Bell Canada provides a process where they are recommending that the rural communities should pay more for the same the services Bell is providing in urban centres so Bell can build (and own) the infrastructure necessary to deliver these services. Click here to see the list of 102 submissions presented to this telecom panel.

If that is the case, then why are these systems presently not in place? Everyone remembers how Bell Canada waited 25 years before putting a telephone system into North Spirit Lake First Nation. They only did this work after being paid 100% of the cost of the work by the community. This picture shows the service Bell provided to the residents of North Spirit Lake for 25 years ... a single pay phone on the outside of a local building (Click here to read the NSL telephone story).

The Sioux Bulletin (August 31) issue contains an article with pictures of the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Shibogama First Nations Council that took place in Kasabonika First Nation on August 16. Click here to see the KNEWS story for the agenda.

Human rights fellowship winner studies disputes over ancestral lands

(Ottawa, August 31, 2005) ― The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) announced today that University of British Columbia history professor Arthur Ray has been awarded the 2005 Bora Laskin Fellowship to examine what he calls Canada’s biggest unresolved human rights issue—Aboriginal land claims.

Granted annually by SSHRC, the Bora Laskin National Fellowship in Human Rights was established in 1985 to honour the late chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. The prestigious 12-month, $55,000 fellowship is awarded to a leading Canadian researcher in the field of human rights.

“Land claims are based, more and more, on historical research,” explains Ray, who has served as an expert witness in several landmark Canadian court cases on Aboriginal rights. “And how the courts treat this evidence is creating an uneven type of justice.”

For example, Aboriginal communities located close to major fur trading routes may have a wealth of historical evidence to draw from when arguing their claims—documents like personal diaries or business records that mention their community and way of life. Yet, says Ray, more isolated groups do not. These groups must often fund new research to prove their claims, or lose the right to live on and use the natural resources of their ancestral lands.

The result, says Ray, is that land claims are becoming so expensive only the wealthiest communities can afford to participate.

“Expert testimony is taking up more time in the courtroom,” says Ray. “For example, the Sampson Cree case still being decided in Alberta has already taken 365 trial days and has included a huge cast of historians, anthropologists and other experts.”

Such cases also make unrealistic demands on trial judges, who must develop a PhD level of knowledge on the subject almost overnight, and sort through many different points of view to make decisions about new historical facts.

Because these decisions often have historical as well as legal implications, Ray will use this fellowship to compare different approaches to land claim settlements in Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Australia over the past 50 years. He hopes his research will pave the way for more balanced—and less expensive—solutions to disputes over Aboriginal rights in Canada and around the world.

“These decisions have real consequences: for the rights of Aboriginal people, for governments who sometimes pay millions of dollars in compensation, and for our understanding of Canadian history,” says SSHRC president Marc Renaud. “The work of Professor Ray will help us learn how we can reduce the potential costs of land claim disputes, both in terms of money and human dignity.”

For additional information on this release and other SSHRC research projects, please contact:

Doré Dunne
Media relations officer
Telephone: (613) 992-7302
E-mail: dore.dunne@sshrc.ca

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Aboriginal Research Program Funding from SSHRC ...

• Application deadline: September 15, 2005
• Value and Duration:
  • Development Grants: up to $25,000 for up to 2 years.
  • Research Grants: up to $100,000 annually with a maximum of $250,000 over 3 years.

This program has two overall objectives. The first is to facilitate research on a range of policy-related issues that are of concern to Canada's Aboriginal peoples, including urban issues, economic development, the environment, education, research ethics, intellectual and cultural property, and languages and cultures.

The program’s second broad objective is to build up the capacity of the humanities and social science community to operate within, and to benefit from, the approach to Aboriginal research outlined above.

http://www.sshrc.ca/web/apply/program_descriptions/aboriginal_e.asp