Media.Knet.Ca

The 2nd Annual  Niigantige 2004 Ontario Aboriginal Youth Achievement Awards and Career Fair will be held on Tuesday 30th November 2004 at Fort William First Nation Community Hall to recognize the successes of First Nation and Metis youth from across the province in a variety of categories. 

‘Niigaantige’ which means ‘looking to the future’, will be the theme of the banquet and awards will be presented to youth role models who have demonstrated excellence in the principles of athletics, community leadership, business, arts, health education, personal achievement, and traditional employment. A variety of guest speakers, organizations and businesses are participating in the event to provide hands on learning and research opportunities.

Says Meladina Hardy: “This is an important event that seeks to build self esteem in our youth. The purpose is to recognize the achievements of those who have overcome major obstacles to reach their personal goals and to provide them with access to opportunities that might motivate them to continue to pursue their personal ambitions.  We would like to encourage local people, businesses and organizations to either sponsor our event or to purchase tickets to the dinner in support of these hard working young people. All proceeds from the event will go towards student bursaries”

The event is being organized by volunteers from Matawa First Nations Management, Thunder Bay Indian Friendship Centre, Anishinabek Educational Institute, Yes Employment services.

For further information please call: Georgette O’Nabigon, Matawa First Nations Management: (807) 346 8009

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Media Contact:

Stephanie Ash
Firedog Public Relations & Marketing: 807 767 4443 or email: stephanie@firedogpr.com

Consumer and Business Services Minister Jim Watson launched the new www.serviceontario.ca web site last week. The new site offers Ontarians (at least those with access to broadband) "one-stop access" to government services and information.

From the  IT World Canada article describing this announcement ...

Ontarians, said Watson, "can change their address on their driver's licence, register a business name, and plan an Ontario holiday all in one place."

Watson and Minister of Culture Madeleine Meilleur, who demonstrated ServiceOntario at the Toronto Reference Library, described the new portal as "the new face of government service delivery."

Simplicity, convergence and ease of use are the hallmarks of the new Web site.

By centralizing everything in one location, ServiceOntario eliminates the need to visit 200 Web sites, 70 call centres and over 1,500 counters to access information from three levels of government.

All it will take is a click – perhaps a few clicks – of the mouse to access relevant information and services.

And it gets even better.

"For those who don't have Internet access at home, public libraries offer free access. This reinforces their role as important neighbourhood hubs, helping to build strong and healthy communities," said Meilleur.

Here’s what individuals and business can currently access on ServiceOntario:

• Links to three new Ontario government Web sites: the Children's Information Portal, the Workplace Gateway, and the Women's Information Gateway;
• The ability to change or update the address on one’s health card, driver's licence and outdoors card;
• A treasure trove of information and resources for Ontarians during important life events, such as retirement or having a baby;
• Business tutorials on topics like How to Run a Construction Business, How to Start and Run a Tourism Business;
• Capabilities for registering or changing a business name online;
• More than 400 government forms classified under easy to understand topics and categories

ServiceOntario can be accessed at http://www.serviceontario.ca/

Of the 4,685 communities ranked in INAC's well-being index, 92 First Nations appear in the bottom 100! One First Nation community appears in the top 100 communities. Click here to read the Canada Newswire article.

INAC's First Nations Community Well-Being Index assesses quality of life based on indicators such as education, life expectancy and income (information can be found on-line at http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/pr/ra/pub4_e.html). The government study ranks 4,685 Canadian communities, including 541 First Nation communities.

In response to the INAC document, the Assembly of First Nations published a document called "Federal Government Funding to First Nations - The Facts, the Myths, and the Way Forward" - Click here to read this document

For the past year or so, Pikangikum has undergone a huge change for the better. Our Lord Jesus Christ has blessed the youth in our community with spiritual gifts and is empowering our youth. Almost everyday, we hear someone getting saved by giving their life to Jesus. It is just awesome how the numbers are growing.

It has come to a point where the church where these youth meet almost every night has become too small to hold all of the youth. There are times when some people simply return home due to the lack of adequate space. It has come to the point where we need a bigger space to meet. It has been prophesied numerous times to us that outside help was going to come in and assist us in getting a bigger place to have church because more young people are on their way.

The youth of the church with the assistance of the church elders are going to try and raise money to put a down payment on a bigger place. We will kindly accept financial contributions made by anyone who's heart is in helping the youth of our community.

AND ALSO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR OUR RADIO BROADCAST COMING UP IN THE NEW YEAR.

You can email me if you have any questions or comments right here on K-Net at samsonkeeper@knet.ca.

Neskantaga will be hosting a Sobriety Pow Wow on November 19 - 21, 2004

The purpose of the pow-wow include:

• to celebrate sobriety and healthy lifestyles;
• to raise awareness on addictions and substance abuse;
• to promote personal and community healing;
• to encourage and enable people to continue their wholistic healing journey phsically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually; and
• to celebrate and validate our culture.

For those that will be coming in to our community, we encourage you to contact us so we can make appropriate local transportation and accommodation arrangments.

The airport is approximately 10km from the community. We do not want anyone to be stranded at the airport.

Committe:

Neskantaga Health and Social Services

Coordinators

• Bill Mequanawap, Community Resource Worker (807) 479 2530 billmequanawap922@hotmail.com
• Kelvin Moonias, Recreation Worker (807) 479 2570 kelvimmoonias@knet.ca
• Chris Moonias, Health and Social Services Director (807) 479 1152 chrismoonias@knet.ca

This event is sponsored by Neskantaga Otaminoweshonia Cultural Projects and Health & Social Services.

The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) presents:

First Nations Youth Art Contest!

The community of Constance Lake First Nation is uniting with various local organizations in the area in a battle against the abuse of prescription drugs in their community. Although not a new phenomenon, the illegal sale and use of prescription drugs such as Oxycodone, Oxycontin and Percocet is becoming a growing concern to local council and healthcare workers.

Constance Lake officials are alarmed at the increasing supply of prescription drugs coming into their community on a regular basis. According to sources, individuals are coming into the community with as many as 900 tablets for sale at one time and at a cost of $9 per tablet. Community members have been warned that a No Tolerance policy has been adopted and shall be strictly enforced within the community against any individual found selling or abusing these drugs.

Says Chief Arthur Moore of Constance Lake First Nation: “The major challenges of this drug problem are accessibility and tolerance. We want to see more stringent policies being implemented by local pharmaceutical outlets when it comes to the sale and filling of their prescriptions. The abuse of these drugs can be linked to various health and social problems in the area such as break-ins, and not just on our reserve but in the surrounding towns too.  We would like to encourage as many people as possible to unite with us in this No Tolerance campaign and contact the authorities immediately if they see anyone abusing or selling prescription drugs.”

The community of Constance Lake is currently working closely with various other First Nation communities who are struggling with similar problems. Other organizations who are joining the campaign include; The Notre Dame Hospital in Hearst, on-reserve Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police, Crime Stoppers and Matawa First Nations Management Services.

The post office at the North Pole is ready and Santa's dedicated Postal
Elves are raring to go! Click here to read more.

Ottawa - The post office at the North Pole is ready and Santa’s dedicated Postal Elves are raring to go! Santa’s local post office is ready to receive the more than a million letters that he gets each year, and he is eager to begin reading each one. Children from around the world are encouraged to send Santa their holiday letters – or that special list – at his exclusive postal code at the North Pole. They can send their mail to:

SANTA CLAUS
NORTH POLE H0H 0H0
CANADA

Santa reminds all his young friends that it is very important to include a complete return address, so that Canada Post can deliver his reply.

Children will also want to check out Santa’s special web page (click here) where they can play some really cool games and discover easy holiday recipes and crafts. They can also send Santa an e-mail from this special Canada Post site.