Media.Knet.Ca

Over the last few weeks the First Nations Education Council has been organizing an awareness-building and public relations campaign intended to denounce the underfunding of First Nations education. You can find all the details about our campaign at www.avenir-future.com.

To this end, a number of events have taken place over recent weeks and several others are in the pipeline.

We are currently developing an alliance project with all the First Nations organizations throughout the province of Quebec. We wish to extend our campaign throughout Canada’s Aboriginal organizations and Councils. To this effect, we will send you shortly an information package as well as the alliance project document.

Meanwhile, we invite you to visit our new Web site at www.avenir-future.com , in the web site, you will find a section where you can forward support letters to different political parties as well as to the FNEC.  Please note that the content of the site will be updated on a regular basis.

Should you need any further information on our awareness-building campaign, please do not hesitate to contact me at the FNEC.

Thank you for you support.

Thanissa Lainé
Conseil en Éducation des Premières Nations
First Nations Education Council
95, rue de l'Ours
Wendake (QC)   G0A 4V0
Tel.: 418-842-7672
Fax.: 418-842-9988
www.cepn-fnec.com

The following press release describes the grant that will presented to KO today at 1 pm CDT via video conferencing. The web cast of this event can be watched by visiting http://webcast.knet.ca/events

KORI press release ...

GRAVELLE ANNOUNCES SAFER AND VITAL COMMUNITIES GRANT FOR THUNDER BAY – SUPERIOR NORTH ORGANIZATION

Thunder Bay, June 19, 2007 - Michael Gravelle, MPP for Thunder Bay – Superior North, was pleased to announce today that the McGuinty government under its Safer and Vital Communities Grant program is awarding $19,500 to the Keewaytinook Okimakanak (KO), a tribal council serving First Nations in Northwestern Ontario.

“Working together with police services and community groups, our goal is to help make a real difference in making our Northwestern Ontario communities safer,” said Gravelle. “We need to support activities such as KO in order build safe communities for our children, our youth and our seniors. We will continue to support community organizations in their efforts to prevent crime.”

The Keewaytinook Okimakanak Research Institute (KORI), a department within Keewaytinook Okimakanak, located in Thunder Bay, will adminnister the grant by seeking to facilitate eight online workshops to promote public safety awareness in Nishnawbe-Aski Nation First Nations communities. The workshops will be broadcast via IP videoconference and streaming video.  Each workshop will be archived on the project website. Topics will include: creating job opportunities on-reserve for youth; helping teachers, parents and youth in their response to youth gangs and violence; and developing skills in mentoring and leadership among youth. The workshops will run for one to two hours with a presentation, followed by a question and answer and discussion period. The objective is to engage youth in public safety awareness and have them supported by parents, elders, teachers and community.

Geordi Kakepetum, Executive Director of Keewaytinook Okimakanak, is pleased with the announcement.  “KO is the leader in First Nations connectivity, telecommunications and community-based applications.  We welcome the opportunity to work with the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services  to promote discussion and dialogue among First Nations community members on community safety through the use of IP videoconferencing,” he said. 

Funding was provided as part of the Safer and Vital Communities Grant program that supports the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services goal of working with partners to promote a safer Ontario. The program provides $792,800 province-wide to fund local crime prevention projects in areas such as youth crime, seniors’ safety, and protecting young Ontarians from Internet luring and child pornography. The grant program was made available to not-for-profit organizations and First Nations Band Councils.

Michael Gravelle, the Member of Provincial Parliament for Thunder Bay-Superior North will present Keewaytinook Okimakanak with the cheque on Wednesday, June 19th at 2 pm Eastern Standard Time at 216 Algoma Street south in Thunder Bay.  Media is invited.  RSVP franzseibel@knet.ca

Chiefs of Ontario press release ...

Ontario First Nations Reject Settlement Offer To A Share Of Provincial Gaming Revenues

TORONTO, June 18 - The First Nations in Ontario today rejected a settlement offer from the Province that would have involved the payment to First Nations of a share of provincial gaming revenues in order to settle disputes related to Casino Rama based on the Province collecting a 20% tax on the Casino Rama gross revenues in breach of promises made at the time Casino Rama was established.

The Province's settlement offer involved the payment of 1.6% of provincial gaming revenues to First Nations that could have amounted to $125 million per year for 20 years. This would amount to an average of less than $1 million annually per First Nation. However, it also involved:

• Compromising First Nations jurisdiction and sovereignty for generations to come;
• The First Nations being subject to an array of restrictions covering the use of the funds;
• The First Nations giving up their interest in Casino Rama, which should generate $10 billion in gross revenues over 20 years; and,
• Abandoning a lawsuit against the Province under which the First Nations are claiming over $2 billion in connection with Casino Rama.

The First Nations and the Province had signed a non binding Agreement-in-Principle in March 2006 outlining the proposal. However, the proposal that the Province finally presented to the First Nations contained significant provisions and restrictions that were not referred to in the Agreement-in-Principle.

Angus Toulouse, the Ontario Regional Chief, said "We are all extremely disappointed that the Province's proposal was so one-sided and contained provisions that the First Nations could not accept, particularly when these provisions had not been raised at the Agreement-in-Principle stage. As everyone knows, many of our Nations are in dire need of funding to break the cycle of dependence and poverty that plagues them. This seemed like a promising way in which a portion of the needed funding could be provided. However, the province cannot expect the First Nations to agree to unreasonable terms and conditions attached to the receipt of that funding. While the proposal involved a lot of money, there is more at issue than money."

A formal response will be forwarded to the Province that suggests positive next steps and a willingness to reach a suitable and reasonable agreement.

For further information: Pam Hunter, Policy Advisor, (416) 597-1266 Office, (613) 203-3233 Mobile

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From the National Post ....  (another example of biase headlines)

Ont. Natives fold on proposal to share gaming revenues
CanWest News Service - June 18, 2007

TORONTO -- The First Nations in Ontario on Monday rejected an offer from the province to share provincial gaming revenues.

The province had offered to pay 1.6% of its gaming revenues - an amount estimated to have been worth $125-million per year for 20 years.

But when divided among Ontario's 133 aboriginal communities, that would have resulted in an annual payment of less than $1-million per First Nation, the native group said Monday.

Chiefs, who were expected to ratify the proposal on Monday claimed in a prepared statement the deal would only compromise:"First Nations jurisdiction and sovereignty for generations to come.

"We are all extremely disappointed that the province's proposal was so one-sided and contained provisions that the First Nations could not accept, particularly when these provisions had not been raised at the agreement-in-principle stage, " said Angus Toulouse, the Ontario Regional Chief.

The proposed revenue-sharing deal with provincial lotteries and casinos would have doubled the communities' yearly revenue share by providing a percentage of gross revenues from all provincial gaming operations. Native groups currently receive gaming money from the operations of Casino Rama, in Orillia, Ont.

The deal also called for the First Nations to give up their interest in Casino Rama - a proposal they opposed.

The new agreement would have settled a series of lawsuits against the Ontario government that stem from the funding generated by the Orillia casino. A group of Ontario chiefs have challenged a 1996 decision by the former Conservative government that directed a cut of Casino Rama's profits into provincial coffers.

The Casino Rama operation was originally set up so that all revenues went to First Nations.

The June 16 story has now been followed up with the June 19 story that indicates that Ottawa will likely appeal the BC court ruling (see the two stories below) ...

From the Globe and Mail ...

Indian status can be traced through mother, court rules
BILL CURRY - June 16, 2007

VANCOUVER -- The B.C. Supreme Court has wiped out one of the most contentious aspects of the federal Indian Act, striking down part of Ottawa's definition of a status Indian and opening the door to hundreds of thousands of new applications for native services.

The court rejected part of the existing legal definition on the grounds that it discriminates against Canadians who trace their aboriginal roots through their female relatives rather than their father or grandfather.

The ruling alters the federal law that has long created two classes of aboriginals in Canada: the 767,000 who fit the definition of status Indian and the several hundred thousand more who don't.

The 2001 census found 976,000 Canadians who self-identified as aboriginal and more than 1.3 million who said they had aboriginal ancestry.

Many aboriginals who failed in their requests for status will now have a much better chance of success, said Beverley Jacobs, the president of the Native Women's Association of Canada.

"This opens the floodgates," she said. "I don't think we could have asked for a better judgment."

Aboriginals with status qualify for prescription drug coverage and can apply for postsecondary assistance.

Status Indians are also exempt from paying taxes on income earned on reserves. But Sharon McIvor, who successfully challenged the law with her son Jacob Grismer, argued in court that status also carries a huge social value in native communities that can mean the difference between acceptance or rejection.

In an interview yesterday, Ms. McIvor, a professor and lawyer who lives on the Lower Nicola Indian Band, where she traces her native lineage to her matrilineal grandmother, predicted the decision will have a major impact.

"Conservatively, we're looking at probably 200,000 people [who could now qualify for status that did not before the ruling]," she said. Before contact with Europeans, many native tribes operated under matrilineal power structures in which women were the community leaders. After Confederation, male-dominated ruleswere imposed on those communities through the Indian Act that meant only men could pass along native status.

The federal government claimed to have addressed the long-standing discrimination in 1985 though Bill C-31, which added about 175,000 more people to the Indian registry. But the B.C. Supreme Court said that bill did not go far enough and created problems for future generations.

"I have concluded that the registration provisions embodied in [Section 6] of the 1985 Indian Act continue the very discrimination that the amendments were intended to eliminate," wrote Madam Justice Carol Ross. "The provisions prefer male Indians and their descendants to female Indians and their descendants."

Federal government lawyers urged the judge to suspend her decision for 24 months to give Parliament time to consult aboriginal groups and draft new legislation. Judge Ross rejected that argument, meaning that Section 6 of the Indian Act - which is the entire section outlining how someone can qualify as a status Indian - "is of no force and effect insofar, and only insofar, as it authorized the differential treatment of Indian men and Indian women." The federal government is still reviewing the ruling and has not decided whether to appeal.

The Assembly of First Nations, which represents status Indians who belong to reserves, has been increasingly concerned about the rules governing status. The National Chief of the AFN, Phil Fontaine, has warned discrimination against descendants of native women is just one of many problems caused by Bill C-31.

With estimates that more than half of all natives now marry non-natives, the current law's "second-generation cut-off" means an increasing number of natives are unable to pass on their status to their children.

"The McIvor decision puts pressure on the Government of Canada for policy and legislative reform. The Government of Canada will no doubt appeal this decision," Mr. Fontaine said in a statement yesterday. The national chief of the main off-reserve and non-status group, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, said the ruling supports his organization's long-standing argument that thousands of natives are being unfairly denied access to services.

"I don't think that the majority of Canadians are aware that there are over 400,000 non-status Indians in this country who unfortunately can't access any programs and services," said Patrick Brazeau, who urged Ottawa not to appeal. "More and more people are becoming non-status Indians, so it's a question of liability and therefore a question of dollar signs."

++++++++++

From Globe and Mail ...

Appeal of native ruling likely, Ottawa says
BILL CURRY - June 19, 2007

OTTAWA — Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice said his government will likely appeal a major court ruling that would expand the number of aboriginals qualifying for services by hundreds of thousands.

In a statement released by his office yesterday, the minister said he would need a ruling from a higher court than the B.C. Supreme Court, which released the judgment last week.

"I expect that the decision will be appealed, although that decision has not yet been made," Mr. Prentice said. "The [B.C. Supreme Court] decision is a significant one and it is reasonable to expect that the final decision will have to be made at a higher appellate level."

The appeal would come in spite of recently released internal documents showing Ottawa has been fighting the issue in court fully expecting to lose.
 
The B.C. Supreme Court decision could transform the way Ottawa deals with aboriginals. It struck down part of a 1985 change to the Indian Act called C-31 on the grounds that it discriminates against natives who trace their roots through their female forebears. The court also raised concern about what is known as the "second-generation cutoff" in which many grandchildren of people who were status Indians in 1985 are now being denied status due to marriages with non-natives.

For the most part, Ottawa has limited its legal obligation to "status Indians," a term it created that currently applies to about 700,000 people. That leaves out hundreds of thousands of Canadians with aboriginal heritage.

Indian Affairs documents obtained by NDP MP Jean Crowder show the department was bracing for "disruption" and rising costs after an expected defeat.

Ms. Crowder said the documents show it is time for Ottawa to stop the legal battles and craft a way forward with aboriginal groups, several of whom have also urged Ottawa not to appeal. "This government has been talking about how it's a champion of human rights, so if they appeal that decision, I wonder how they are going to justify that," she said, in reference to a bill introduced by Mr. Prentice to allow the Human Rights Act to apply on reserves.

Liberal Indian affairs critic Anita Neville agreed. "I'm disappointed he's appealing," she said. "More taxpayers' dollars should not go into fighting aboriginal women after the years of discrimination they've endured."

From Winnipeg Free Press ...

Hope amid a tragedy - An exchange trip to Shamattawa opens the door to an enduring friendship
By Alexandra Paul - Jun 17 2007

A group of 15 Ontario students visiting the remote Cree First Nation of Shamattawa last week saw an RCMP SWAT team, camouflaged and carrying rifles, search the streets for an alleged gunman, and then pitched in to help a devastated community cope with the suicide of a 12-year-old boy.

You'd think these teens from the Mississauga New Credit First Nation near Toronto would want out of the troubled community.

And you'd be wrong.

Shamattawa is fighting its way out of the grip of a solvent abuse epidemic in Canada's North that dates back decades. Five years ago, a despairing chief declared a state of emergency after three suicides in eight days. Even police are wary there.

But for the Ojibway students from southern Ontario on a trip north to see their friends in a student exchange program, the violence was eased by "tonnes" of great food, pristine scenery, fishing and great warmth from their hosts.

"We had a hard time leaving. We wanted to scoop up all the kids and bring them home with us," chaperone Veronica Jamieson, one of two adults with the 15 teenagers from southern Ontario, said from her home, 70 kilometres southwest of Toronto, this week.
 
For a send-off, the whole community got together with the visitors for a rally and a feast. Tina Keeper, the area's MP, flew in for the event and visited privately with the family of the boy who died. The bonds she saw impressed her.

"There was tragedy but in the middle of it all was this culture (with the kids). They were an impressive group, solid. These were teens meeting teens. Their experience together was give and take and it was really generous," Keeper said.

The groups got so close that one Shamattawa teenager got permission from her family to fly back with the group.

"I brought one of the girls home for the summer," said the chaperone, who raised six kids of her own, now all in high school or university. The teenager was part of a Shamattawa exchange visit to New Credit last month. Shamattawa teachers had previously pegged her as one who "could make it" outside the reserve, thinking she'd leave when she went south to high school.

The suicide made the teen seize the moment.

The chaperone said they'll never forget the week-long trip north, part of an exchange program run by the YMCA-YWCA to promote anti-bullying in schools.

"It was eye opening for the kids from Ontario to go up there. Some of the kids are still crying. I think it's still sinking in, the difference in the environment (up north). The kids are so thankful for what they have here," Jamieson said.

The group arrived for a week on Saturday, June 2. Overnight Sunday, the RCMP detachment reported hearing half a dozen gunshots ricocheting off the detachment's exterior walls. Three officers on duty huddled on the floor until daybreak. Then, they cautioned everyone to stay indoors and took action.

The RCMP flew three planeloads of officers from Winnipeg and Thompson. They painted their faces in camouflage colours, wore camouflage gear and searched the streets of the town with armed rifles.

No gunman turned up; no arrests have been made to date.

Shamattawa chief and council say they're skeptical there were any gunshots. They discovered a girl was throwing rocks at a building next door the same night. "We're saying, 'They jumped the gun'," Chief Jeffrey Napoakesik said, with dry humour. He's lodged complaints with RCMP headquarters over the reaction.

Shaune Rice, the guidance counsellor at the Shamattawa school who helped arrange the exchange student trip through the YMCA-YWCA said the arrival of the SWAT team was like something on TV, and confusing, too.

"It was unreal. It was like warriors circling with guns. It was like an Oka crisis," Rice said.

Then, Thursday night, two youngsters stumbled across the body of a troubled boy. He'd hanged himself from a tree in a backyard. Practically in plain sight. Attempts to resuscitate him at the nursing station failed.

"The thing with suicide is you hear about it all the time, but then, we were right in the middle of it," Jamieson said.

The community is devastated by the loss, the chief said this week.

"He had to have had bad feelings to do this kind of thing," the chief said in a phone interview, almost at a loss for words to explain boy's violent death. On Tuesday, one of the boys who'd found the body hanging from the tree was so distraught he, too, tried to kill himself. He was maybe nine, or perhaps 11, the chief said. Somehow, the little boy blamed himself for the other boy's death, the chief said. "He was crying and I told him it was not his fault," Napoakesik said.

YOUTH suicide rates soar among First Nations. But not this young. Not even in Shamattawa. This is a place where leaders are trying hard to make life better. The exchange trip was the latest in a couple of excursions over the past few years designed to give youngsters a taste of the world beyond the isolated reserve.

Right now, the local Awasis child and family service agency is investigating the suicide and there's speculation the boy hanged himself out of a repressed despair.

"He lived with his grandpa. His father had married (again) and his mother had passed away a few years ago. She committed suicide as well," the chief said.

So, last Thursday, it was midnight, an hour after the boy was cut down from the tree when news of the death swept the community like a wild fire. The chaperones and the students from New Credit and Shamattawa swung into action, together.

Rice said he took a group of kids home where he keeps a hand drum. They got through the night with talking and singing.

Jamieson said she did the same with four local kids and more of her students, staying in the teacherage.

They, too, talked most of the night. For both groups, the violent events helped them forge an amazing bond, like comrades who survive wartime.

"True friendship is meaningful when atrocities are confronted and shared," Rice said.

Jamieson said she and her students worked hard to cheer up their new friends by telling them how they worked hard to make a better life in New Credit.

"We have our talking circles and our kids are active in singing and dancing (culturally). We said you can change things. You can make it a better place to be. It just takes a small group," Jamieson said.

"We said if you want to do a powwow (later on) we'll help you."

+++++++

A Shamattawa snapshot

The site of a former trading post for the Hudson's Bay Company, Shamattawa First Nation was established as a permanent Cree community in 1950. It is 720 kilometres north of Winnipeg, on the north shore of God's River where it meets Echoing River, south of Hudson Bay and close to the Ontario border. It is one of Canada's most remote communities.

* 1,270 registered population; most living on reserve.

* Fly-in community; no permanent road. Winter road is 200 kilometres long.

* Sewage treatment plant supplies water.

* Nearest bank is 320 kilometres away in Thompson.

* Volunteer fire department and fire hall.

* Governed by a chief and four councillors, elected according to custom to indefinite terms.

* Total annual federal funding of $12,786,134 in 2005, the last year for which audited statements are available.

* RCMP detachment with eight full-time officers, covering shifts 24/7.

* Nursing station staffed by three nurses. Fly-in doctor available four days a week.

* Abraham Beardy Memorial School, nursery to Grade 10, 250 students

* Three Christian denominations, the Full Gospel Church, the Pentecostal Church, the Anglican Church. Plus traditional cultural beliefs.

* Most residents, including youth, are fluent in Cree and use it more than English.

* Unemployment rates soar to 98 per cent.

* Alcoholism and sniff (solvent abuse) rates are also high. Drinkers make do with their own home-brew, a cocktail described as packing a punch that will put you out, but good.

* Crime rates are rising for break-ins, acts of vandalism and various forms of violence.

* Some 200 children under age 18 are under the care of Awasis child and family services. Agency has five workers on staff in the community. Most kids in care are boarded off-reserve in foster homes scattered from Winnipeg to Thompson.

Sources: Chief Jeffrey Napoakesik, Beardy Memorial School, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada,

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca

Keewaytinook Okimakanak Telemedicine (KOTM) has developed a paper focused on and entitled Making First Nations Telemedicine Policy in Ontario. This paper was distributed at the Chiefs of Ontario meeting in Sioux Lookout this past week. We are sharing this paper in order to initiate a dialogue on how everyone can make Telemedicine available to all First Nations in Ontario.

First Nations Telemedicine services have been operating in Ontario since 2001. During that time, KO Telemedicine has worked directly with First Nations and their mandated health organizations to respond to community-based demand for access to these services. After implementing services throughout the Sioux Lookout Health Zone, in the Beausoleil First Nation on Christian Island and in the Weenusk First Nation in the western James Bay area, expansion of First Nations Telemedicine services has more or less ceased. Still, we regularly receive requests from communities to gain access to this service. The Telehealth/Telemedicine Service Model presented in this paper needs to be a supported priority in all the remote and rural NAN First Nations due to their lack of immediate medical services. This effort is a critical component of this work.

KO knows that continuing to expand services to northern and isolated communities and eventually to all Ontario First Nations will require collaboration among First Nations and their health and political organizations in addition to federal and provincial system stakeholders. Everyone needs to be discussing how we might work together to bring Telemedicine services to First Nations throughout Ontario.

The Making Telemedicine Policy for Ontario document is very timely in light of Health Canada's First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) interest in distributing recently announced e-health funding in this fiscal year for Telemedicine expansion that would be integrated into the provincial telehealth syste. As well, Infoway has also expressed an interest in matching these investments within provincial jurisdictions.

Click on the document to view these PDF files:

1. Title page and executive summary (8 pages)
    
2. Whole document (34 pages)

Press release ...

Spider Resources Inc. and UC Resources Limited Commence Spring Geophysical Program at McFaulds VMS Project in Northern Ontario

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(June 15, 2007) -

Spider Resources Inc. ("Spider") (TSX VENTURE:SPQ), and UC Resources Ltd. ("UC") (TSX VENTURE:UC) are pleased to announce the startup of a UTEM (deep electromagnetic) geophysical program at the McFauld's Lake volcanic-hosted massive sulphide ("VMS") project, located in northern Ontario in the James Bay Lowlands. La Montagne Geophysics Limited ("La Montagne") of Kingston, Ontario has recently been awarded the geophysical contract to complete a UTEM 3 survey over Grid "C" that covers McFauld's #3 and #1 VMS occurrences. The La Montagne geophysical crew mobilized to the project and arrived on site June 8, surveying commenced on June 9. Approximately one half of the proposed program (plus infill lines) has been completed to date, they expect to be finished this phase of the exploration program by June 20th.

Cabo Drilling (Ontario) Corp. has recently been awarded a drill contract that involves the drilling of 4000 meters of core to commence prior to end of June. Les Helicopteres Abitibi Ltee., have been contracted to support the geophysical and drill programs. Several workers are presently on site, some of whom represent the Marten Falls Reserve and Webequie First Nation engaged in the geophysical phase of the project. Other First Nation communities will be introduced to the project during the summer program in various roles. The on-site field aspects of the project are being overseen by Billiken Management Services Inc. ("Billiken") of Toronto. Dr. Howard Lahti P.Geo., an Independent Qualified Person has been mandated with overseeing the field aspects of the project by Billiken. Neil Novak P.Geo., President of Spider Resources Inc., Vice President of UC Resources Ltd., and the former President of Billiken is fulfilling the role of Qualified Person on behalf of Spider and UC. As of June 1, 2007, Mr. Novak's interest in Billiken was sold to an arms length party, and Billiken therefore ceases to be a related party.

The current program is funded entirely by UC Resources Limited ("UC"), in compliance with their funding obligation for the project. UC has an option to earn-in up to a 55% undivided interest in the McFauld's Lake project, which is currently owned, as to an undivided 50% interest, by each of Spider and KWG, as per the LOI signed in early March 2007. UC shall then become the operator of the property during the term of their option.

The McFauld's Lake VMS project was initially discovered in 2002, while Spider, KWG and De Beers Canada Exploration Inc. were exploring the project area in joint venture for kimberlites. De Beers holds a 1.5% net smelter royalty on the project, 0.5% of which can be purchased from De Beers by Spider and KWG for $1.5 million. The claims outlined for the aforementioned perimeter survey define the property that De Beers has the royalty on. To date, 10 isolated VMS occurrences have been identified and drill tested on the project, two of which (McFauld's #1 and #3) have undergone detail drilling.

Results of the recent (April 2007) gravimetric survey by Dr. Allan Spector, consultant to JVX Ltd., suggested that there are present 4 gravity anomalies, coincident with the 4 known and partially drilled sulphide occurrences (referred to as McFaulds #1, #2, #3 and #4) all within the main "C" grid. When referring to McFaulds #3 occurrence, Dr. Spector stated "M3 is an egg-shaped gravity anomaly about 0.8 mgal in amplitude, observed on 3 lines; 500E, 800E and 1100E." The anomalous zone has a strike length of about 800m. From modeling it has a thickness of about 20m and a depth extent of over 300m." Dr. Spector estimates that the M3 anomaly represents excess mass of 6 million tons. This estimate is not considered a "resource estimate" for the McFaulds #3 massive sulphide occurrence, it is merely an interpretation of mass based upon the measured varying physical properties of the rocks that contain this massive sulphide occurrence, when compared to the surrounding rocks. This information, however, gives management a better understanding of the possible scope or size potential for this partially drilled off massive sulphide occurrence, as well as the other nearby occurrences, which were covered by the recent survey.

UC plans to continue exploring this new VMS camp and will initially concentrate their efforts on the McFaulds #3 and #1 occurrences.

States Neil D. Novak, President & CEO of Spider, as well as VP Exploration for UC: "Spider and UC are quite excited to commence this late spring, early summer program on the McFaulds project. The completion of the recent gravity survey funded by Spider offered some understanding of the scope of the project. The ongoing compilation of existing geophysical data for the project, merged with this new UTEM data, will facilitate the planning of the next, more expensive, round of exploration which will include drilling the McFaulds VMS occurrences beyond what has already been drilled. Spider and UC are currently finalizing an updated NI 43-101 report that summarizes the project results to date, and will file same upon completion. In addition RPA Scott Wilson have also been retained to provide an initial review and quantification of the resource potential of the two massive sulphide zones already drilled, which will be updated as the drill program progresses over the summer."

Spider Resources Inc. is a tier 2 Canadian exploration company, quoted for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol SPQ. There are 242,193,535 shares issued in Spider.

On behalf of the board of directors,

Neil Novak, President and CEO

This press release, required by applicable Canadian securities law, is not for distribution to U.S. news services or for dissemination in the United States, and does not constitute an offer of the securities described herein. These securities have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. persons unless registered or exempt therefrom.

This press release includes certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the US Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. Other than statements of historical fact, all statements are "Forward-Looking Statements" that involve such various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove accurate. Results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers of this press release are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these "Forward-Looking Statements". All dollar amounts are Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

For more information, please contact

Spider Resources Inc.
Toronto Head Office
#1000, 15 Toronto St.
Toronto Ontario, M5C 2E3 Canada
(416) 815-8666

or

Spider Resources Inc.
Jim Voisin
Communications Manager
(519) 699-5352
Website: www.spiderresources.net

From the National Post ...

First Nations important to energy future: minister
April Lindgren, CanWest News Service, June 14, 2007

TORONTO -- Aboriginal land claims in Ontario represent both a challenge and an opportunity in terms of the province's future energy security, Energy Minister Dwight Duncan said yesterday.

"First Nations are extremely important to our energy future, particularly our renewable [energy] future," Mr. Duncan told reporters after announcing a program aimed at encouraging the development of small water power projects in northern Ontario.

The minister acknowledged the slow pace of resolving land claims has caused delays in some cases.

"I wouldn't call it a threat [to the province's future energy security] but it causes too much time to go by ... We believe they [land claims] have to be resolved."

The Ontario Power Authority, for example, last year outlined a long-term power-generation-and-transmission plan that aims to ensure adequate supplies of electricity in the future. Release of the final report, however, has been delayed by several months until August in order to consult more fully with aboriginal groups.

In addition to encouraging the development of small hydro projects in the province's north, Ontario's Liberal government is negotiating a major purchase of electricity from Manitoba that would require the construction of a long-distance transmission line across large tracts of land claimed by aboriginal people.

Mr. Duncan noted aboriginal leaders have expressed an interest in becoming partners in a range of electricity-related projects and "our view is that we have to involve them intimately."

Michael Fox, a resource development adviser with the Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund in northern Ontario, said yesterday aboriginal groups see the power projects as a major opportunity to generate jobs and investment.

He said there are at least two dozen hydro and wind projects in the north that First Nations groups expect to participate in either as the principal developers or through minority or majority partnerships.

An alliance of First Nations is also exploring the impact of the proposed transmission corridor from Manitoba with a view to perhaps becoming the main proponent for the project, he said.

Mr. Fox said aboriginal groups in the north are also benefiting from an Ontario government policy that says only aboriginal groups can apply to develop hydro projects on northern rivers.

"That's a quantum leap from the old Ontario Hydro days, when they would come in and cherry pick" the best projects, he said.

Mr. Duncan's comments come as Ontario First Nations chiefs prepare to vote on a proposed deal that could bring them $2.5-billion in provincial lottery and casino revenue over the next 20 years.

The agreement in principle was signed a year ago and negotiators have been working out the details since then.

It will go before Ontario chiefs for ratification on Monday.

Under a pre-existing contract that runs until 2011, First Nations in Ontario were entitled to a share of gaming revenue from a single site, Casino Rama.

That was worth about $60-million annually.

Once the existing deal expires, the new arrangement will give 133 aboriginal communities about $125-million a year from all provincial gaming operations.

From CNEWS ...

We need to listen to Native leaders
By CHRISTINA BLIZZARD -- Sun Media - June 14, 2007

PICKLE LAKE (Sun Media) -- It was the children who captured the heart of Governor General Michaelle Jean on her first visit to a remote Ontario aboriginal community.

At a small welcoming ceremony at Pickle Lake airport, it seemed as if everyone in this tiny, isolated community 2,200 km northeast of Toronto had turned out to meet her.

The Canadian Rangers, an aboriginal group attached to the military, stood stoically on the sweltering tarmac awaiting Jean's inspection.

School children waited patiently, carefully holding up a Canadian flag for the vice-regal visitor.

On cue, they burst into a heartfelt rendition of O Canada. They waved their flag and sang at the top of their lungs for her.

It touched the hearts of the visitors not just, I suspect, because adorable children doing lovely things always touch our hearts.

In this case, you also look at their young faces and wonder whether that flag and the government it represents deserve such passionate loyalty from this group of disadvantaged children.

Poverty is intense in isolated aboriginal communities. You see the ramshackle homes, the poorly-equipped schools and you come to the conclusion this is our Third World -- in the backyard of a First World country.

That's the view of Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Stan Beardy, who was on hand in neighbouring Mishkeegogaman First Nation, where 134 chiefs from around the province welcomed Jean to their annual three-day conference. He noted that the 100th anniversary of the signing of Treaty 9, which established his nation, happened two years ago -- so a visit from a government official is overdue to celebrate the centenary.

That said, he's glad Jean battled the blackflies to meet with them.

The Grand Chief added that treaties have worked well for the rest of us in the province -- but not for aboriginals: "Canada and Ontario have benefitted greatly from the agreement we made 100 years ago, but from our side, we haven't benefitted at all."

Beardy isn't a hothead. We should take heed when he says he'd like to see First Nations people share in the rich resource revenues. They need a cut of the economic pie.

Aboriginal young people want training in mining, forestry and the pulp and paper business but Beardy points to the De Beers diamond mine near the James Bay aboriginal community of Attawapiskat as an example of goverment meddling.

First Nations leaders negotiated a revenue-sharing deal directly with the multinational diamond company. But those revenues have now been sharply reduced by a massive hike in mining royalties announced in Finance Minister Greg Sorbara's spring budget.

Beardy represents 50 communities over a 5-million hectare area. Two-thirds of the population is under 29 and unemployment in that age group is 85%.

In Ottawa, Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice announced a new process to speed up land claims this week.

At least it's a start.

Beardy says the native Day of Action June 29 isn't about blockades and disruption. He hopes it will be an opportunity to peacefully educate the rest of the country about the disgraceful conditions on remote reserves.

"I hope we can create awareness for the general public that yes, there are treaties that are legally binding," Beardy said.

We should listen to him. Then when aboriginal children like those at Pickle Lake proudly wave their red maple leaf, we can look them in the eye and tell them we will not fail them.