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CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who ran for office and to everyone who voted

January 24, 2006 - 6:51am | by Anonymous

The team at Keewaytinook Okimakanak congratulates all the successful candidates who will be going to Ottawa to form the next Canadian Parliament.

In our own riding of Kenora, one of the largest ridings in Ontario with over fifty First Nations located here, Liberal incumbent Roger Valley won the seat for a second term. He will be part of the official opposition working with the new Conservative minority government.

For all the results from the election visit the CBC's Canada Votes interactive results web site at http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes/electionnight

Congratulations as well to all those who completed in this election. Many issues were discussed throughout this campaign and new directions presented.

The next few years should prove to be interesting for all Canadians working within our democratic process.

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VOTE .... VOTE .... VOTE .... VOTE .... Elect your MP TODAY! ... VOTE TODAY!!

January 23, 2006 - 6:09am | by Anonymous

Today, Monday January 23, is your last chance to help elect your next member of parliament. Be sure to remind your friends, family and everyone in your community to get out today to cast their vote today.

Everyone's vote is important! Showing that you care about the decisions that are being made in Ottawa helps sends a strong message to our next member of parliament that everyone in your riding is expecting a responsible and accountable representative.

If you need more information about the people who are trying to become your next member of parliament, visit http://www.elections.ca and type in your postal code.

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Waterloo named one of the Top 7 Intelligent Communities of 2006 by ICF

January 21, 2006 - 8:03am | by Anonymous

From ICF web site at http://intelligentcommunity.org/

Intelligent Communities Forum (ICF) Names Top Seven Intelligent Communities of 2006

On January 17, ICF announced its list of the Top Seven Intelligent Communities of 2006 at the annual conference of the Pacific Telecommunications Council in Honolulu, Hawaii, January 15-18.  This announcement followed the selection of the Smart 21 Communities on November 18, which were finalists for the prestigious Top Seven list.  One of the Top Seven will be selected on June 9 as Intelligent Community of the Year by ICF's research team and jury of  experts. 

The Top Seven Intelligent Communities of 2006 are:

  • Cleveland, Ohio, USA
  • Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea
  • Ichikawa, Japan
  • Manchester, United Kingdom
  • Taipei, Taiwan
  • Tianjin, China
  • Waterloo, Ontario, Canada 

From http://ctv.ca news site ....

The communities were announced by the Intelligent Community Forum, a think-tank that focuses on job creation and economic development in the broadband economy.

John Jung, the chairman of the ICF, said Waterloo met all of the organization's criteria for an intelligent community.

"The city of Waterloo and the region of Waterloo are well-known worldwide not only for its excellence in education through the University of Waterloo," Jung said.

"But also because of the many entrepreneurs that are located there. Of course you know RIM and the BlackBerry."

The Waterloo-based Research in Motion is a global leader in wireless messaging, thanks to the BlackBerry, the most popular of all such devices.

The collaboration between Waterloo's academia, businesses and the government was also an important factor.

"We're also talking about a huge community of collaborators," Jung said.

"We're talking about people who are leaders, and we're talking about a community that understands and utilizes technology and broadband capabilities for the betterment of its community."

The ICF believes the broadband economy is changing communities throughout the world.

The top intelligent community was Cleveland, Ohio. The city was chosen because it used to be a poor community that built a broadband network to boost its economy. It also uses the network to deliver many government services.

Communities apply to be an intelligent community in the annual awards. The ICF then evaluates the applications.

"We look at things like leadership, collaboration and the synergy of the community," Jung said.

Criteria used to select the communities:

  • significant use of broadband communication to businesses, governments and homes
  • effective education, training and workplace development that can create a labour force for a knowledge economy
  • government and private-sector programs that promote a digital economy
  • innovative public and private sectors
  • effective economic development marketing that can use the community's broadband to attract new employers
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CTV's W-Five documentary on Kakegamic murder case airing Saturday, Jan 21

January 20, 2006 - 6:19pm | by Anonymous

from Wawaty Online News ...

More than five years after Max Kakegamic was murdered, a documentary about the case will air on W-Five Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. on CTV.

The documentary will chronicle the case which has seen a man, Justin Carambetsos, accused of the murder but the charge was stayed in court due to police misconduct. By staying the charge, the accused cannot be charged in connection with the death again.

Sgt. Lloyd White, a 21-year veteran of the Kenora Police Service, was convicted of neglect of duty and discreditable conduct in the investigation of Max’s death, July 14.

A second officer, Sgt. Tom Favreau faces 10 conduct-related charges. He has pled not guilty but the case hasn’t been heard yet.

Kakegamic’s family, from North Spirit Lake First Nation, marked the fifth anniversary of the murder by organizing a Walk For Justice Oct. 4 in Kenora. They have also called for coroner’s inquest into the murder.

After Saturday’s broadcast, the story will be available online at http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060119/WFIVE_kenoras_shame_060121/20060121?hub=WFive

Kenora's Shame

W-FIVE

Kenora's rugged beauty and lakeside setting is a magnet for the outdoor types. But there's a dark side to the city you won't read about in the tourist brochures. If you're poor and native, Kenora can be a dangerous place.

The number of assaults, many of them fueled by booze, is rising every year. If you want to make money in Kenora, just open a bar.

There is one exception, with the unlikely name of the Whistling Monkey. Justin Carambetsos, who owns the place, has become a pariah in his hometown -- afraid to even walk on the streets.

In Kenora, many believe Justin is a killer.

"I don't go out alone very much at all," he says. "So I prefer to just stay with friends or at the pub where I'm comfortable."

It all goes back to a favour that Justin did for a friend five years ago. Maria Campanella was alone in her apartment after midnight when she heard a noise -- somebody was in her apartment.

"I got a little bit nervous. I was home by myself, sleeping. And I had no idea who it was," she says.

Maria called the bar where Justin was working at the time and he offered to come over to take a look around. What Justin and Maria discovered was a man passed out on a chair in her living room, with blood on his face.

"I figured he'd got in a fight," says Maria. "I automatically freak out, start swearing, start crying. I'm, like, what's going on? I don't understand this."

Justin says he carried Maria's uninvited guest -- someone he'd never seen before -- out of the apartment and dumped him unceremoniously on the sidewalk outside. But neither Maria nor Justin ever called the police.

"No, I didn't even think of it," says Justin. "I didn't think it was a big deal. I figured he'd get up and stagger away wherever he was going."

And Justin insists the man was alive when he left him.

"I tossed his shoes at him. One of the shoes hit him in the leg and he wasn't too happy and he called me an 'asshole,' I believe."

BUNGLED INVESTIGATION

What Justin didn't know was that someone was watching -- a woman out walking her dogs. She saw Justin throw something -- probably the running shoes -- at the figure on the ground. Once Justin had left, the woman crossed the street to get a closer look.

What she says she saw then, and what she would see a short time later, became crucial evidence that the police would try to ignore.

In the meantime, though, things were getting a whole lot worse for Justin. He was arrested and charged with murdering Max Kakegamic, the man he had hauled out of Maria's apartment the previous night.

An autopsy found injuries all over Max's body. The coroner testified he was likely killed by a vicious kick to the neck. Just how and why Max, a native from North Spirit Lake reserve north of Kenora, ended up in that apartment remains a mystery.

Two Kenora police officers, Tom Favreau and Lloyd White, were put in charge of the case. Justin explained to Officer White what had happened and insisted Max Kakegamic was alive when he left him on the sidewalk. But White never recorded Justin's statement or told the prosecution about it, as required by law. That was the first problem.

The second problem involved the woman out walking her dogs the night of the murder. After she saw Max Kakegamic lying on the sidewalk she went back to her apartment, just across the street. And from her back window she says she saw something else -- another man acting suspiciously.

She went back outside for a closer look and saw him again, this time hurrying away.

From his characteristic limp and his white cap, she identified him as Danny Favreau, a local troublemaker. She also noticed something else. Max had been moved a couple of metres from where she first saw him, his pockets turned out. All of a sudden police had an eyewitness, another suspect and another motive.

But the police would do little, if anything, to investigate Danny Favreau, even though Favreau had a criminal record and had been seen assaulting and robbing an unconscious aboriginal man not far from where Max was found. Surprising? Perhaps not. Danny Favreau, it turns out, is the nephew of one of the investigating officers, Tom Favreau.

"Certainly he should have removed himself immediately from the investigation at the minute that his nephew's name was raised and that was a problem," says David Gibson, the criminal defence lawyer who represented Justin Carambetsos.

And there was another problem -- a history between Justin and Lloyd White, the other investigating officer. Justin says an incident happened one night at the bar when Officer White was off duty.

"He was drunk and belligerent, wanted to fight me. He was the last person in the bar and he was trying to come behind the bar to get another drink and we wouldn't let him. He threatened to go home, get a gun, come back and shoot me," says Justin.

For Justin, the criminal charges and the bad blood spelled big trouble.

"There were some obvious legal issues right from the beginning of the case," says Gibson.

The issues started with Justin's initial statement to police that was never recorded or entered into evidence. Then, of course, there was the eyewitness who told police about a second suspect, and that Max's body had been moved from where she first saw it -- all facts that were ignored or not immediately followed up on by the police.

And when prosecutors began realizing there were problems with the investigation, and started asking questions, the officers held a secret meeting to try to get their stories straight.

"A number of the officers present in the meeting realized that the affidavits that they had prepared independently were not consistent and they took the affidavits back, changed them to make them consistent and then submitted the altered affidavits as original affidavits," says Gibson. "At that point it became clear that there was something very seriously amiss."

As the case against Justin began to unravel, his lawyer asked the judge to stay the charges against Justin -- in effect, to throw the case out. He eventually did, ruling that it was impossible for Justin to get a fair trial. But the judge reserved his harshest language for Officers White and Favreau of the Kenora police.

In his ruling, Ontario Superior Court Justice Peter Hambly said: "These officers were a force unto themselves…. The courts will sometimes make allowances for poor police work done in good faith. What the courts cannot tolerate is police dishonesty."

Justin's lawyer says he believes the judge felt personally misled by the police officers' testimony.

"His outrage at that stage was quite palpable to anybody who had been following the case," says David Gibson.

Justin was a free man again, but he was never proven innocent -- or guilty -- in court. His problems were far from over.

FIVE YEARS LATER

On October 4th, 2005, the fifth anniversary of Max Kakegamic's death, natives and their supporters marched through Kenora to protest the lack of progress in the investigation. The case against Justin had been thrown out but the police were no closer to finding Max Kakegamic's killer. Among the protesters was Max's mother, Margaret Kakegamic.

"I cannot explain how saddening and frustrating it is that five years after our son's death no one is currently being tried for his murder," she told the crowd.

The case has become a flash point for native grievances. Proof -- as if more were needed, they say -- that when an aboriginal person is murdered, it's not a priority for the police or the justice system.

"The most troubling aspect is the possibility that this case will be forgotten, that the whole thing will disappear and people will think, 'Oh well, so what?'" said Mary Alice Smith, a local advocate for native rights.

One thing that hasn't disappeared is the cloud of suspicion that still hangs over Justin Carambetsos. Even though the charges against him were thrown out, many people in Kenora continue to believe he killed Max Kakegamic.

"I've had three death threats in the last month," Justin told W-FIVE. "Like people actually coming into the restaurant and telling me they were going to shoot and kill me."

It's little wonder that business at the Whistling Monkey is way down. Justin's parents, George and Arlene, had to mortgage everything to cover their son's legal bills. And they still worry about their son's future.

"Do I think he'll forget it? Never," says his mother Arlene. "On the day of the stay when our lawyer walked in here and told Justin (the charges were stayed), Justin stood up and said, 'What do I do? What do I do now? For three and a half years I put a suit on and I sat in a little box. What do I do now?' How do you answer that?"

Much of Justin's anger is still directed at Tom Favreau and Lloyd White, the two Kenora cops accused by Justice Hambly of dishonesty.

Following the judge's ruling, the Ontario Provincial Police were called in to investigate the officers' behavior. But in spite of the judge's unusually blunt language, saying that Officers White and Favreau had lied under oath and suppressed or fabricated evidence, the OPP said it could find no reason to lay criminal charges against them -- a decision that surprised Justin's lawyer, David Gibson.

But the two officers were charged with misconduct in an internal disciplinary hearing. Officer Favreau is still fighting the Police Services Act charges, while Officer White pleaded guilty. White was demoted but is back on the job -- something that shocks Justin Carambetsos.

"I don't know how they could ever take his word for anything ever again in court. There's no way he should have kept his job. I think it's absolutely ridiculous," said Justin.

W-FIVE wanted to hear Officer White's side of the story, but when we met up with him, he was in no mood to speak to us.

Justin is now suing the Kenora Police Service and the officers involved for $5 million. It's because of that suit that the Kenora police, the Crown Attorney's office and the OPP all refused to speak to W-FIVE.

In a letter to W-FIVE, the OPP, which has taken over the Max Kakegamic murder investigation, insisted the case was not closed and that all information is investigated thoroughly.

INVESTIGATED THOROUGHLY?

Investigated thoroughly? What about the second suspect, the man identified as Danny Favreau? From court records, we discovered another startling fact. Favreau had worked as an informant for the OPP. The woman who spotted him on the street the night of the murder was Heather Gunne. And here's what she told the OPP in a videotaped statement obtained by W -FIVE:

"I said his pants pockets were taken, pulled out and I figured he was robbed," she said of Max Kakegamic. "I told them that. And I had seen Danny. I am sure it was Danny."

Some time after the murder, Danny Favreau packed up and left town and no one in Kenora has seen him since. W-FIVE did manage to track him down in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Remember, not only is Favreau the nephew of one of the Kenora officers, he was also a paid informer for the OPP, which took over the investigation.

Favreau, who was born with fetal alcohol syndrome and does indeed have a distinctive limp, is living on a disability pension with his girlfriend and their newborn child. He agreed to speak with W-FIVE as long as his lawyer, Christopher Watkins, was present.

Favreau denied assaulting or killing Max Kakegamic and insisted he wasn't even in the area the night of the murder. He also denied his uncle, Officer Tom Favreau, was trying to protect him.

"He wouldn't cover for me. He wouldn't want to lose his job just for me," Favreau told W-FIVE.

When pressed, though, Favreau did admit he once worked for the OPP as a paid informant.

So were the police protecting an informant? Favreau said he has no idea -- but he did confirm the OPP never talked to him after they took over the Kakegamic murder investigation, even though Judge Hambly, in his ruling staying the charges against Justin Carambetsos, pointed to Favreau as a possible alternative suspect.

"That's something for the authorities to decide. That's not for Mr. Favreau to decide," said Favreau's lawyer, Christopher Watkins. "If there's some suggestion that he's an alternative suspect, that position is wrong."

MAY NEVER KNOW THE TRUTH

At the site where Max Kakegamic's body was found, friends and supporters still come to place offerings. And they're now pressing for a public inquiry into a justice system they say has failed.

"The Crown Attorneys are saying that they're not going to pursue any further investigation. And they're saying that's mainly because of the judge's ruling, that because of the way the investigation was conducted in the first place they can't ever go back and reopen it. And we're saying that's not acceptable," says native rights advocate Mary Alice Smith.

Still, Justin's lawyer, David Gibson, said with the passage of so much time, with a police investigation that was bungled from the start, we might never find out the truth about who killed Max Kakegamic.

"Short of a confession, short of someone coming forward and acknowledging that they committed the offence, I think it's hard to imagine that," says Gibson.

While the murder charges against Justin were thrown out, his troubles with the law are not over.

A few days before this broadcast, the OPP raided the Whistling Monkey as part of a crackdown on Hells Angels and their associates. Justin was arrested and charged with possessing a prohibited weapon ... apparently brass knuckles.

So, just who killed Max Kakegamic is a question that will continue to divide Kenora … a small town with a dark side and a long memory.

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NNEC hosts Election Issues for Youth Leadership broadcast on Bell ExpresVu 962

January 20, 2006 - 6:12pm | by Anonymous

from Wawaty Online News

Election issues to be discussed on National Youth Radio program

The upcoming federal election will be discussed Saturday during a special Youth Leadership national broadcast on Bell ExpressVu 962.

The broadcast, which will be anchored from Thunder Bay and Sioux Lookout, is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Northern Nishnawbe Education Council will sponsor the broadcast.

The NAN leadership will be on air to share information on how the outcome will affect aboriginal people.

“We hope to have candidates whose ridings fall in the NAN territories to outline their parties' platform as it affects First Nation people and issues,” said Barb Carpenter, of Wahsa Distance Education Centre, a program of NNEC, in a release. “Time will be allowed for listeners to phone in and share their views with the listening audience.”
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Different priorities between rural and urban Canada highlighted by Federal election

January 18, 2006 - 6:24am | by Anonymous

The upcoming federal election and the platforms of the different parties highlights the huge differences between people who are living comfortably in urban centres and those who are struggling in remote and rural communities. Very little discussion is being reported in the urban media that addresses the different priorities and needs of the people living in small communities across Canada. Clean water, adequate housing, fire protection, pollution, unemployment, forestry, resource management, economic and social program, education and health services as they relate to rural Canada seem to be non-issues to the media as they write about the different issues and statements being made by the party members and their leaders.

These differences are highlighted by yesterday's report that the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples' National Chief Dwight Dorey and National Vice-Chief Patrick Brazeau endorsed the Conservative party after meeting with Jim Prentice to discuss the Conservative Party’s policies on Aboriginal affairs. The Congress represents Aboriginal peoples living mainly in urban areas across Canada.

Meanwhile, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine said he's not satisfied by recent comments by Harper that the party supports the principles of the Kelowna native deal, but not the final agreement and dollar amount. "Any suggestion that one supports the objectives and the targets but not the approximately $5 billion allocated to these targets is of great concern to us because we won't be able to meet the targets without money,'' he said.

Other interest groups are recognizing the importance of some new presentations and the effect they will have on rural Canada.

  • The Canadian Climate Coalition complained that the Tories were the only party that refused to respond to a questionnaire on the Kyoto Protocol, and accused Harper of moving Canada "into the same camp as U.S. President George W. Bush.''
  • The Council of Canadians expressed concern about recent comments by Conservative MP James Lunney favouring bulk exports of Canadian water, and called on Harper to clarify his position on the issue.
  • Sixty-six economists signed a joint statement warning that the tax breaks being offered by the major parties would leave a huge deficit in social services and hurt the poor. They took special aim at the Conservative proposal to eliminate taxes on reinvested capital gains, saying it would "deliver very large tax savings to a tiny group of high-income Canadians.''

It is important that EVERYONE in remote and rural communities across Canada gets out to vote on January 23. Please help encourage your neighbours, your friends, your co-workers, your family to vote next Monday!

EVERY VOTE COUNTS!

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AFN National Grand Chief's letter expresses concerns about Conservative platform

January 14, 2006 - 10:22pm | by Anonymous

An open letter from Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine to Conservative Party of Canada leader Stephen Harper

OTTAWA, Jan. 14 /CNW Telbec/ -

Dear Mr. Harper:

I am writing you to raise several critically important issues which require your immediate attention and response. Because these issues are matters of important public policy for all Canadians you should know that I will be releasing this letter publicly.

Over the past several days you have sought through the media to clarify your party's position on the Kelowna First Ministers Meeting agreement and, secondly, on the residential school settlement agreement.

Your responses to both issues are of great concern. Should your party form the next government, we believe that your actions on these two important matters will indicate how the Conservative party will deal with our people in the years to come. Therefore your response to this letter will be weighed carefully by our people when they make their decision of who to vote for on January 23rd.

With respect to the residential schools Settlement Agreement, The Globe and Mail reported on Friday, January 13, that: "The Conservative Leader said, however, that he would follow through with the agreement to compensate victims of residential school abuse, although he may make slight adjustments". We would like to know precisely what you mean by "slight adjustments". Given the complexity of the Settlement Agreement, the great difficulty in achieving it, and the terms of the abeyance agreements of the class actions, even the slightest of changes will legally undo the Agreement and send thousands of cases and numerous class actions back into the courts. This will result in severe legal and financial consequences for Canada and untold social and personal consequences for First Nations communities and individual survivors. We believe the Settlement Agreement is an important and historic milestone in the relationship between Canada and its first peoples. Any retreat will be seen as a fundamental betrayal and will result is a massive lost of trust and even greater harm than has already been inflicted on the survivors and their families.

If the Agreement is destroyed, the likelihood of resolving the residential school legacy or restoring trust will be next to none, at least in my lifetime or yours. Most cruelly, destruction of the Agreement will deny elderly residential school survivors their promised early payment which was due to be received by them in a few weeks time. Many of them will die in the ensuing months without experiencing the satisfaction or comfort the symbolic early payment and a settlement agreement would provide. They will never have the chance to reconcile with Canada or the churches. These will be the unintended but unconscionable results of tinkering with the Settlement Agreement. I am sure that you or any other leader or party would not want this to happen.

We would also like to know your party's position on an apology for the residential schools tragedy. The Political Agreement we signed with Canada on May 30, 2005 recognized the need for an apology and although the apology was not a part of the Settlement Agreement, (for constitutional reasons only) it was and is understood by all parties to the Agreement to be an integral and component of the full, fair, and just settlement we seek with Canada. We have been engaged in discussions with the government regarding an apology and fully expect that it will be given by the Prime Minister in a significant ceremony.

Of equal concern is your published party platform, which is silent on the comprehensive residential school Settlement Agreement of November 20, 2005 and merely makes reference to the much more limited March, 2005 recommendations of the Aboriginal Affairs Committee. We hope this is an oversight on your part and that it will be will be corrected as soon as possible. If it is not an oversight and your party's commitment to the resolution of the residential schools legacy is solely to the Committee's recommendations, we must strongly protest. Not only would such a commitment mean that you intend to do much more than make "slight adjustments" to the settlement package, it would fundamentally alter the agreement by taking away its central component, the lump sum payment. It would also violate the terms of the Political Agreement signed by the AFN and Canada on May 30, 2005, which formed the basis of the negotiations process and the ultimate settlement package. Any attempt to dismantle or diminish the either the Political Agreement or the Settlement Agreement will be vigorously opposed by every First Nation in Canada and by millions of Canadians who have come to understand the need to bring closure to this tragic chapter in our history. I urge you to clarify both of your statements, your party platform on this matter, and your position with respect to an apology from the Prime Minister for he residential schools experiment era, and to do so today.

Our other key concern is your party's lack of commitment to the outcomes from the Fist Ministers Meeting on Aboriginal Issues. Your response, as reported by the media and highlighted on the Conservative party website, is not only deeply troubling; it is based on errors of fact. I believe it is important for you to be aware of the correct facts in order for you to better determine an appropriate response to questions about the Kelowna agreement.

The agreement reached included a carefully considered implementation plan. All governments agreed on a process of regional tripartite agreements to elaborate on the direction set ensuring relevance to each particular region. The commitments also guaranteed a follow-up process with a First Nation Multilateral Forum and future First Minister Meeting, as well as a set of indicators for monitoring progress. Federal, Provincial, Territorial and First Nations governments' accountability processes were therefore firmly established in Kelowna.

The Conservative Party press release also says that there was no agreement about how monies would be divided between on and off-reserve or between provinces. These statements reveal a fundamental lack of understanding of the Kelowna agreement. The division between on and off-reserve was made explicit on each subject matter, assigning specific allocations for specific programs or activities. In addition, it was also clear that the monies would not be "divided up among provinces" but rather the First Nation portion, for example, would directly facilitate First Nation government capacity development in coordination with other governments.

Finally, the Conservative statement says that the Liberals have not budgeted for this expenditure. In fact, the full expenditure is budgeted within the Liberal plan as can be referenced in their platform released on Jan.11, 2006. Likewise, the New Democratic Party has identified how this money would be allocated within their plan. In contrast, when we examine the Conservative spending promises, there is not a single reference to spending for the implementation of the Kelowna agreement. This demonstrates to us that the only way the Conservatives could respect the Kelowna agreement would be to run a deficit.

First Nations have waited a very long time and have worked very hard on this agreement. It represents years of dedicated effort and waiting through expenditure and program review processes and at least three federal budgets until, finally, the First Nation agenda has made it onto Canada's agenda. Now it would appear that the Conservatives are saying that, if elected, First Nations would be at best sidelined and at worst, ignored. From reading your platform it appears that the Conservatives know what is best for us and will develop their own plan without our involvement. We had truly hoped that this approach - emblematic of Canada's disgraceful past colonial relationship with our peoples - was behind us. No one can design solutions for us.

It has never worked in the past and never will. Indeed, we continue to suffer the consequences of similar wrong- headed actions of the past. Solutions to our problems must be driven by our people, for our people. Real solutions must not only accept these fundamental principles of equality and respect, they must also embrace the moral, political and legal responsibilities of Canada to work with us to close the poverty gap between First Nations and Canadians. I urge you to reconsider your position with respect to First Nation issues and the fiscal plan articulated in your party platform.

At this time, we continue to review the entire Conservative platform. As other issues arise in reading and analyzing the platform, I will communicate these concerns to you directly.

I look forward to receiving your response.

Yours Truly,

Phil Fontaine
National Chief

-30-

For further information:
Don Kelly, AFN Communications Director,
(613) 241-6789 ext. 320 or cell (613) 292-2787;
Ian McLeod, AFN Bilingual Communications Officer,
(613) 241-6789 ext. 336 or cell (613) 859-4335;
Nancy Pine, Communications Advisor, Office of the National Chief,
(613) 241-6789 ext. 243 or cell (613) 298-6382

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Anishinabe Sioux Lookout District Health Plan initiative update

January 14, 2006 - 9:44am | by Anonymous

Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority

“IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FIRST NATIONS TO DEVELOP FUTURE HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS”

The Sioux Lookout Anishinabe District Health Plan:  What we have done and need to do ...

What is the District Health Plan?

The District Health Plan is a planning project funded by the Province of Ontario and Health Canada through March 31, 2006. The goal is to provide better access to coordinated health services.

What we have done

  • Eighteen communities were visited between August and December 16, 2005. Each visit included a formal presentation about the District Health Plan, and a live radio show. 
  • The Health Directors met in October 2005 to learn more about community health planning, and start the process for building the reinvestment plan.
  • The Primary Healthcare Working Group is developing a system that enhances the access and services to everyone in our communities. The system is being built on our   traditions and culture, with a balance between supportive, promotive, preventive, and curative, and rehabilitative services. The plan is including what services are provided and where.
  • Community leaders are receiving information as we complete each phase.

What needs to be done

A tight timeline lies ahead to complete the design and implementation plan. The work includes:

  • Bringing the Health Directors and Primary Healthcare Working Group together, January 24, 25 & 26, 2006, to further develop the reinvestment plan, and review the first draft of the primary healthcare system.
     
  • Chiefs Committee on Health meeting to review the plan and options for governance.
     
  • Determining the financial and human resource requirements to make the system work.
     
  • Meeting of the Chiefs in February to review the District Health Plan which includes the reinvestment plan.
     
  • District Health Plan which will include the negotiation plan to be completed March 2006.

For more information contact the SLFNHA at 1-800-842-0681 and ask for the Communication Coordinators: Anna Mckay or Joe Beardy or email: anna.mckay@nodin.on.ca or joe.beardy@nodin.on.ca

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VOTE - Advance Polls are open TODAY, Saturday and Monday

January 13, 2006 - 6:17am | by Anonymous

Let's get EVERYONE out to vote this year!!

ALL voters in the KENORA RIDING can go to any of the ADVANCE POLLS today (January 13), Saturday (January 14) or Monday (January 16) in any of the following centres

  • Sioux Lookout - the Recreation Centre
  • Red Lake - the Heritage Centre
  • Ear Falls - the Legion
  • Ignace - Public Library
  • Kenora - B.D.C. Building, 227 Second Street
  • Dryden - 52 Van Horne Avenue

Advance polls are open from noon to 8 pm. If you are not presently on the voters list, you will need proof of identity - a photo id with your address will work (ie. a driver's licence).

Anyone can walk into either of the two ELECTIONS CANADA offices for this riding in Kenora (B.D.C. Building - 227 Second Street) and in Dryden at 52 Van Horne Avenue when they are open and vote, with proof of identity.

Click here to visit the Elections Canada web site for this riding.

Click here for more information about voting in this election.

Make sure you and everyone you know votes!

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Federal party leaders provide their responses to AFN's seven questions

January 13, 2006 - 6:16am | by Anonymous

To find out how each of the federal political parties are promising to address each of the issues concerning Aboriginal people as presented by the Assembly of First Nations, visit the AFN web site at http://afn.ca/article.asp?id=2025

 

Political parties have now responded to the National Chief’s questions – click on the party below to read the responses! (Requires Acrobat Reader)
Bloc Quebecois
Conservative Party of Canada
First Peoples National Party of Canada
Green Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
New Democratic Party of Canada

Other political updates from the AFN include:

There are at least 62 federal ridings in this election in which Aboriginal peoples comprise a substantial portion of the electorate and 25 ridings where Aboriginal peoples make up 10% or more of the voters. First Nations can be the deciding factor in these ridings. We can have a real say in who forms the next government. If this election is as close as predicted, that means First Nations voters have tremendous influence over the final outcome. Every vote counts. This reality should compel all the parties and their leaders to speak out about First Nations issues and their agenda for change>

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