Media.Knet.Ca

Health Canada press release ... 

Government of Canada Funds Groundbreaking First Nations Public Health Initiative

KENORA, ONTARIO--(Jan. 10, 2008) - The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario, today announced that the Government of Canada is investing $3.7 million to ensure that public health services can be more efficient and effectively delivered in First Nations communities across Ontario.

Representatives from Kativik Regional Government (KRG - Jean-Francois Dumoulin), K-Net (Penny Carpenter, Brian Beaton, Jeannie Carpenter, Adi Linden) and Keewatin Tribal Council (KTC - Theodore Baschak, Dan Pellerin) are meeting at the Keewaytinook Okimakanak IT Technology Centre in Sioux Lookout to finalize the Joint Venture Agreement and discuss other matters concerning the National Indigenous Community Satellite Network (NICSN - http://smart.knet.ca/satellite). Ashmede Asgarali, the lead from KTC was unable to make the trip.

The story below and the report from Statistics Canada clearly demonstrates the results of under funding for First Nations education and community support systems. Dealing with the results of this lack of funding for First Nations and their schools by putting more money into adult literacy is required but by avoiding the real challenge of adequately funding First Nation education, this literacy issue will just continue to grow in the future ...

Education Matters: Insights on Education, Learning and Training in Canada
January 2008

Click here to view this publication

This issue of Statistics Canada's free online publication, Education Matters: Insights on Education, Learning and Training in Canada, contains two articles.

The two articles below site the same study about suicides in Inuit communities ...

From the Toronto Star

Shift away from land linked to suicide rate - Study of Inuit finds first generation born in towns started trend

Jan 07, 2008 - Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

From the Continental Summit of Indigenous Peoples and Organizations website

Mandate of Indigenous Peoples and Native Nations to the States of the World

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Chimoré, Cochabamba - Bolivia, 12th October, 2007

Write to Read: A National Creative Writing Contest

World Literacy of Canada’s Write To Read Challenge at http://www.worldlit.ca/w2r07.html

Deadline: February 29, 2008

The theme for 2007, “In the News”, requires children to research local folklore or history, and write a story about humorous or bizarre ‘news’ reports in their community.

OUTLINE

From the Edmonton Sun

Healing native wounds

By ANDREW HANON - January 5, 2008

If you stand in the parking lot of the new leisure centre in St. Albert, you can look north and see a historic red barn, standing like a lonely sentinel on a rise in the field.

From the Winnipeg Free Press

Native-owned gas bars near city thrive - Aboriginal clients, First Nations benefit from special tax discounts

By Alexandra Paul - Jan 3 2008

Deanna Larocque fills a customer's gas tank at the Red Sun gas bar and convenience store in Highway 6.

BUSINESS is good for the latest urban reserve on the outskirts of Winnipeg, with 80 to 85 per cent of customers drawn from First Nations people attracted by deep tax discounts.