Wikwemikong tackles drug, violence issues

in aftermath of slaying

by Jim Moodie

WIKWEMIKONG-In the wake of last month's violent tragedy, many in Wikwemikong are still processing the fear, grief and anger that have welled up over the loss of a well-liked community member. But many are also anxious to move forward, forgive, and find ways to ensure a horrible incident like this doesn't happen again.

On Monday, a Community Critical Incident Debriefing was organized by the chief and council for Wikwemikong so that community members could air concerns about the death of Clarence 'Tate' Lewis, which police are calling a slaying by gunfire, and collectively lay out a path for healing.

Early next week, the band plans to send delegates to a conference in Sudbury sponsored by the Union of Ontario Indians, which will confront the issue of drugs among First Nation communities.

"We're doing our best to get direction on how to address the situation," said Wikwemikong Chief Hazel Fox-Recollet. "We've visited with the immediate family of Mr. Lewis and now we have to find ways to prevent this in a broader perspective. There are still a lot of questions that need to be answered, and we need to address the underlying issues."

Of the three individuals charged with the murder of Mr. Lewis, each is a young man in his 20s. Prior to this, Wikwemikong had been plagued with several stabbings, a suicide, a fatal hit-and-run, and a pharmacy break-in, most of which involved young people.

"We've been having other tragedies but we've never really talked about it in a community debriefing," said Chief Fox-Recollet. "Hopefully we can come together collectively and collaboratively to identify our priorities. This is a wakeup call."

Well before Monday's formal session to deal with the emotional aftershock of the alleged murder, residents of this rattled community were already beginning the recovery process, whether that was by attending a packed and emotional funeral for the victim, or by assembling around kitchen tables for more impromptu and intimate discussions.

On Wednesday of last week the Expositor was invited to sit in on one such gathering, at which nine individuals, including both a pipe carrier and a pastor, along with several people who counsel youth in their line of work, were present. Each was willing to share their thoughts for publication in the interest of beginning a dialogue that would hopefully continue among the broader community and, ideally, create some momentum for positive change.

Doug McCarthy, pastor of Holy Cross church, was confident that the community would rally together in the aftermath of the tragedy. "This community has a natural way of getting to a healing process," he said. "I think every time there's a tragedy the community gets stronger." When families are suffering, and a societal problem has been identified, "it brings out the best in people," he said.

"It also brings out how many youth need help," suggested Audrey Wemigwans. A longtime staffer with the Debajehmujig Theatre Group-which provides a creative outlet, not to mention employment, for youth in the community-Ms. Wemigwans has a good grasp of the challenges faced by young people. It hits particularly close to home in this case, however, as one of the young men accused of murdering Mr. Lewis had been working as an intern with the theatre troupe.

Travis Esquimaux, 22, was known to be troubled, but "I thought we were doing really good with him," said Ms. Wemigwans. "For myself, I felt really hurt that he would do something like that. A lot of us at work are feeling shock and anger."

Ms. Wemigwans feels a suicide that occurred earlier that week may have contributed to Mr. Esquimaux's mental state on the weekend of Mr. Lewis's death. Both he and one of his co-accused, Jordan Trudeau (the third suspect, Patrique Gareaux, is from Sudbury), were present at the wake for this suicide victim, who was a close friend, "and they were taking it really hard," she said. "Maybe when there's a death of a young person, especially when it's a suicide, the Elders should be there to talk to them."

The two suspects from Wikwemikong may not have been model citizens, but they weren't felt to be a danger to others. Joni Roy, a former career planning counsellor for a youth apprenticeship program in the community, is related to both these individuals, and said she "never felt threatened by them."

The feeling is that drugs must have played a role in their behaviour during that tragic weekend. "The way I explain it to my children is that when people are on drugs, it's comparable to zombies," said Ms. Roy. "They look like themselves, but they're not themselves."

Robert Pheasant, a spiritual guide in the community, has some insight into the ways that an otherwise decent young person can descend into an abyss of addiction and violence. As a troubled young man himself-having endured a childhood that included abuse, the suicide of his mother and placement in foster homes-he found himself, in a drunken rage, plotting to kill several of his cousins, while saving "the last bullet for myself."

Fortunately, he never did follow through on this demented campaign, and eventually-though it took many years-found a way to come to terms with his messed-up childhood and become a grounded, gentle person.

Still, as much as he appreciates the kind of circumstances that can send a young man down a twisted, violent road, he said it is going to be hard for him to forgive those responsible for this recent death. The victim was his first cousin, and "he couldn't hurt a fly," said Mr. Pheasant.

"I was so furious at first that I thought they should get the death penalty, or be banished from the community," he said, as tears formed in his eyes. "I had to try to calm myself down."

Mr. Pheasant described his late cousin as a harmless and easy-going man who "worked for the band doing roads, cut wood, took care of his house." He had also received a hip replacement recently, he said, and "had just gotten knee surgery not long ago."

Such procedures meant Mr. Lewis needed pain relievers to recuperate, and Mr. Pheasant suspects that these pharmaceuticals might have been the object of interest of his alleged attackers.

"It's going to be very hard to forgive," he said. "Maybe down the road, but not right now."

Others are finding it hard to get past the anxiety they felt as police put up roadblocks that weekend and combed the community for suspects, without necessarily informing them of what was going on.

Erika Manitowabi, a guidance counsellor at Wasse-Abin High School, was in a particularly edgy state, given that her home is a stone's throw from the house where the crime occurred. She had to pass through the police barricade to reach her home on that weekend, yet didn't know until Monday, when the high school was kept open, that someone had been allegedly murdered and at least one of the suspects remained at large.

"The only way I found out what was going on was because I saw it on Facebook," she said. "It was scary, and to this day I'm still scared. I have two young kids, and if I smoke outside now I keep the light on. On the Tuesday, my son wanted to play outside, and I told him, 'No way.'" At that point, the community still didn't know for sure that all of the suspects in the case had been arrested.

The Wasse-Abin worker feels more could have done, either by the police or the band leadership, to inform residents in the area of what was happening. "All they did was ask if we'd seen anything suspicious, and told us to lock our doors," she said. "That wasn't comforting at all."

Pastor McCarthy agreed that the uncertainty in the community led to a general state of distress. "For the first couple of days, all we had was rumours, and that adds to the trauma," he noted.

At this point, community members aren't glancing over the shoulders every waking minute, but the incident continues to haunt them. Peggy Manitowabi, a counsellor at Pontiac School, said "everyone felt fear, and there were lots of questions as to why these three individuals had committed such a horrific crime. The questions are endless and our minds are left wondering."

Ms. Manitowabi noted that the family of Mr. Lewis is not the only one scarred by the tragedy. "They not only hurt us all but also their own families," she said of the alleged killers. "Their families have to live here and face the community and carry the burden of what they just did."

If the accused were under the influence of drugs, that might partially explain why the scene turned so deadly, but "this is no excuse for committing murder," she maintained. And if the men were supplied with drugs, "then the drug dealer is also guilty," she added.

Identifying the source of disaffection and substance abuse within the community is not a simple matter, particularly since so many young people seem to be doing quite well and staying out of trouble. "I look at these kids, and they're all talking, they look healthy," said Pastor McCarthy. "Then you hear these horrible stories. On the one hand there is a lot of good, but on the other hand there is a lot of pain."

Ms. Roy feels parents may need to take a more firm and active role in their children's lives. "A lot of our kids are being raised in school, and parents who work only have a couple of hours in the evening to spend with their child," she said. "These kids need more nurturing and structure."

The schools themselves provide a variety of useful programs apart from the typical lessons in reading and writing. At Pontiac School, for instance, young pupils are visited by a mother and baby through the Roots of Empathy initiative, which has proven effective in fostering compassion and reducing bullying. At Wasse-Abin, students are exposed to cultural teachings and are discouraged from drug and alcohol abuse through the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program.

Youth may have much less support outside of the school environment, however. "If mom is too busy with bingo, and dad is too busy being drunk, a student could be going through a lot of confusion and need someone to really listen to them," said Erika Manitowabi.

Wikwemikong has an unusually high percentage of young people. "We have around 800 under the age of 18, and 1,500 under 35," noted Ms. Roy. That's out of a total on-reserve population of about 2,500.

Of those who graduate from (or drop out of) school and remain in the community, opportunities for work are scarce, as are healthy outlets for expression. There's a youth centre, but it closes at 9 pm; a skateboard park was built, but it wasn't treated too respectfully, and not everyone can afford a skateboard.

"A lot of our youth today are into rap music and are writing their own raps," noted Ms. Roy. "But how can we hear them?" If a venue was available for such music to be performed, this might provide an empowering focus for the musicians, as well as allow for constructive criticism among listeners, she suggested.

For instance, the sort of gangster talk that infuses much of this style of music, and makes guns and crime sound glamorous, would be discouraged by anyone with an appreciation for traditional ways amongst the community. "The only people who have guns here should be hunting," said Ms. Roy.

Last week, educators in Wikwemikong were invited to participate in a three-day workshop that addressed working with high-risk youth. The timing was coincidental, as the program had been scheduled weeks earlier, yet it couldn't have been more appropriate in light of recent events.

"One of the things I got from the workshop is that when you hear of youth breaking in somewhere, they get labelled as the bad ones," said Erika Manitowabi. "But how did they get that way? Underneath that, they're not bad. They're just regular kids who need someone to talk to."

If drugs are contributing to Wiky's woes, one of the ways to confront that would be to impose stiffer penalties for offenders, it was suggested, as well as root out the dealers of illegal substances in the community.

This isn't as simple as finding a few pot plants in someone's backyard, however. Increasingly, the drug of choice among young people seems to be prescription painkillers, which get nicked from drugstore shelves and medicine cabinets, and in crushed form produce a heroin-like high.

Drugs, though, are not the root of the problem but rather a symptom of a deeper malaise. One that several of the commentators last week attributed to an increasing alienation among the younger generation, raised on PlayStations and YouTube and Pizza Pops, from traditional activities and teachings.

"What people are lacking is spirituality," said Rubina Bondy. "A lot of our young people are going around in circles, trying to fill that space that's missing. When I talk to the young people they don't know the Creator or the teachings."

Ms. Bondy was in a similar place herself at one time in her life, full of pain and confusion, but found spiritual help through the late Elder Sam Osawamick. She now shares that same knowledge with others, provided they are open to guidance. "I do the work but I don't go out there to say, 'I can help you,'" she said. "People have to come after it."

Ms. Wemigwans agreed that many in the community could benefit from spiritual instruction, "whether it's through the church or Native traditions," but noted that "it takes a lot of courage to ask for help."

For Mr. Pheasant, the turning point in his own life came "when I was in jail and hit rock bottom." He reached out to Elder Danny Manitowabi as a lifeline and appealed to the Creator for forgiveness and direction.

"That's when things started changing," he said. "I went to my mother's grave and forgave her, and it was like daytime got brighter."

He believes it will take time for the community to heal from the recent tragedy, but is optimistic that the terrible event could be a catalyst for constructive change. "Sometimes things like this have to happen first before things get better," he said. "But it's going to happen."

Tehkummah property gets

national nod as star haven

by Lindsay Kelly

TEHKUMMAH-A Manitoulin eco-tourism facility has earned a prestigious designation from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC), after meeting all its requirements for a dark sky preserve.

Tehkummah-based Gordon's Park, an eco-tourism business featuring camping, wilderness tours and astronomy education, has earned the designation of a dark sky preserve, one of only a few in Canada to receive the designation from the RASC, the definitive Canadian astronomical association.

It's good news for proprietors Rita and Terry Gordon, who have been working diligently to secure the designation for their facility, which has been offering astronomy education for a number of years.

"To get this designation we had to do the following: be nominated by astronomers, have our skies read (rated) with a sky quality meter reader over several nights, have letters of support from the public and visitors to the park, and have letters of support from surrounding municipalities," writes a thrilled Ms. Gordon in an email to the Expositor.

Support came from a variety of sources including Laurentian University astronomy professor Paul Emile Legault and Tayoob Sattaur, a Toronto-based astronomer who visited the Island last year for the park's annual summer star party. He was so impressed with Manitoulin, he suggested it was "darker than the first designated dark sky preserve in Canada, that being Torrance Barrens in Muskoka," Ms. Gordon says.

The townships of Assiginack, Tehkummah and Central Manitoulin were also supportive in the park's efforts, citing the dark sky bylaws they have passed in letters that accompanied the application.

Ms. Gordon notes that, "technically, Gordon's Park is the first dark sky preserve to be located within a dark sky sanctuary (Manitoulin)."

"Our dark sky ratings came in at 21.96 and as high as 22.45-the best reading you can get is 23 so you can see it is pretty impressive," Ms. Gordon writes. "These readings were taken by (amateur astronomer) John Albers and other astronomers on various nights both during star parties and other times."

The designation comes in time for the International Year of Astronomy, selected by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and UNESCO to be observed around the globe through 2009. Astronomy-geared events will take place throughout the year, including at Gordon's Park, which will feature a pair of star parties and weekly astronomy educational evenings during which visitors can visit the dark sky preserve to learn more about the science of star-gazing.

To learn more about Gordon's Park, visit www.gordonspark.com.

Municipal leaders propose replacement of swing bridge

by Jim Moodie

with files from Tom Sasvari

MANITOULIN-The Island's iconic swing bridge is slated to receive a new deck, rebuilt substructure and fresh coat of paint, but some municipal leaders feel the province should be taking a more prompt and dramatic step by scrapping the entire structure and building a new one in its place.

At a meeting of the Manitoulin Municipal Association (MMA) late last month, Tehkummah Reeve Gary Brown suggested the bridge "could be replaced and transported to an area close by where it could be used as a tourist attraction."

While Mr. Brown admitted that he "would hate to see a part of our heritage being taken away," he argued that "for safety's sake something needs to be done."

Sharing Mr. Brown's concern was Steve Orford, who described the historic span as "a single-lane, bumpy, 100-year-old bridge that needs a lot of repairs."

The bridge hasn't actually joined the century club just yet, as it was built in 1913, and won't mark its 100th birthday for another four years. By that time, the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) hopes to have the structure fully renovated so it can perform many more years of useful service.

"The focus is currently the deck replacement, as well as repairs to all the concrete piers and abutments," communicated Gordan Rennie, regional issues advisor for the MTO's Northeastern Region. "Painting of the upper portion of the bridge will take place under a separate contract after the deck work is completed. The goal is to have all the bridge work completed and the structure refurbished in time for the 100th anniversary of its construction in 2013."

MTO officials, along with representatives of the McCormick Rankin Corporation, which undertook the preliminary design study for the coming phase of repairs to the bridge, were on the Island this past fall to outline the process and invite comments from the public.

At that time, it was explained that new decking material, consisting of panels made from prefabricated stress-laminated wood, will be laid down in place of the aging and worn timbers that currently create a rather bouncy passage for motorists.

As well, the ailing piers and abutments that form the span's undercarriage will be shored up and rebuilt, with additional reinforced steel installed and exposed areas above the water line refaced with a layer of concrete.

Mr. Rennie said the preliminary design study will be completed by April of this year, with detail design work to follow over the summer and wrap up in the fall. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2010.

That's not soon enough for some observers, however, who feel the bridge has become an eyesore and hazard. "If the bridge were ever to go down at this time of year, it would cause a serious safety issue," said Mr. Brown.

Rather than invest in a makeover, Mr. Orford felt the bridge should be removed and a more modern type put in its stead. "I think it's unwise to continue to spend so much money on an old bridge," he opined.

The province feels differently, and is committed to upgrading the structure, at no cost, it might be noted, to Island municipalities. "The swing bridge is still a very sound bridge and has historical character," said Mr. Rennie. "We're looking at how to rehabilitate it and maintain that character."

The project has already been approved through the Northern Highways Program, with funds budgeted by the province to cover the cost of the work, said Mr. Rennie.

At last month's MMA meeting, several municipal representatives wondered if federal infrastructure dollars, as announced in the recent budget, could be applied to a speedier repair job or indeed used to finance an entirely new structure.

"If we are talking about a whole new bridge, perhaps we might get some (infrastructure) funding to replace it," suggested Gore Bay Mayor Joyce Foster.

That, however, is an unlikely scenario, according to Mr. Rennie of the MTO. "Historically Ontario has not received much federal money for highways," he said.

The exceptions, noted Mr. Rennie, are a number of projects that have qualified under the Strategic Highway Infrastructure Program (SHIP), through which the federal government has chipped in $168 million over nine years on a 50-50 cost-sharing ratio with the province. An example of a SHIP project would be a portion of the four-laning of Highway 69 south of Sudbury.

Concerning the recent stimulus package announced by the Harper government, Mr. Rennie said "it would be premature to say what impact the budget will have" in regard to roads and bridges that fall under the jurisdiction of the MTO.

"There's a lot of talk about how municipalities will get in on this funding," he noted. "But as far as the MTO, we don't have the details yet. Some projects do get federal funding, but the province hasn't typically been a beneficiary."

Regardless of how the federal infrastructure package shakes down, the province will stick to its strategy for sprucing up the swing bridge. "We're committed to that predetermined plan," said Mr. Rennie.

Once work does commence on the bridge, the impact on traffic and emergency services should be negligible. "Any work that affects marine traffic will be carried out in the winter," indicated Mr. Rennie, while "any work that will affect highway traffic will be scheduled to minimize impacts to motorists." As well, "we will ensure emergency vehicles can continue to cross the bridge during construction," he added.

In the meantime, the MTO is "asking for the public's continued patience as we work towards replacing the bridge deck and upgrading the bridge," he said.

Unfortunately, the mechanism that allows the bridge to pivot is sensitive to weight being added to the structure, meaning "interim deck improvements are not possible," said the MTO spokesman. Drivers, in other words, will have to put up with a somewhat bumpy ride over the semi-fixed link for a few more months to come.

That said, the ministry will continue "to patch any potholes that develop on the bridge approaches" while awaiting completion of the detail design study and readying crews for a thorough deck replacement, noted Mr. Rennie.

That degree of stop-gap maintenance isn't likely to satisfy MMA representatives, who hope the process of fixing or replacing the bridge can be expedited by lobbying members of the provincial government.

At the association's recent meeting, it was suggested that Island delegates could gain the ear of the transport minister at the Ontario Good Roads Association (OGRA) conference on February 22-25. "We might be able to speak directly with the minister there," said Ms. Foster.

Better yet, the holder of Ontario's transportation portfolio could be enticed to check out the situation first-hand, suggested one MMA member. "It would be good to have the minister walk across the bridge to get a close-up view of the problem and our concerns," said Mr. Orford.

Should Transport Minister Jim Bradley take up the invitation, it wouldn't be unprecedented. Donna Cansfield, who previously headed up the ministry, made a memorable stroll across (and up and down the stairs of) the bridge on a rainy day in 2005. At the time, the Expositor celebrated the tour with a front-page story headlined, "MTO minister swings through Little Current."

Nor is the current minister apt to be unaware of our pivoting marvel, given that he was born in Sudbury and counts Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Mike Brown as his parliamentary assistant.

The swing bridge is unlike any other in the province-there's one of a similar style and vintage linking Parry Island to the mainland near Parry Sound, but it's not as big, and lacks the peaked profile of our own-and is significant enough to have earned a designation in 1983 as an Ontario Heritage structure.

The swivelling span warrants its own Wikipedia page, appears in several YouTube videos and at least one literary novel, appears as the backdrop of too many paintings and Expositor photos to count, and lends its shape to the logo of the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands.

EDITORIAL

Norisle could offer hands-on learning for tradespeople

A recent news story from Sault Ste. Marie described the imminent destruction, for salvage, of an historic steam-powered barge which plied Lake Huron for over 100 years.

The old barge sports an apparently rare quadruple-expansion steam engine which has been deemed too massive to lift out of the old craft before she is broken up.

What a success, by comparison, have been the efforts of the Friends of the Norisle in their commitment to the rehabilitation of the old Owen Sound Transportation Company ferry that, since she was replaced by the M.S. Chi-Cheemaun car ferry on the Tobermory to South Baymouth run, has been tied up at the Manitowaning dock beside Burns' Wharf Theatre.

Whether the Norisle actually faced the same potential fate as the old Sault Ste. Marie barge, the fact that Assiginack council considered scrapping its local piece of maritime history (along with other options) a couple of years ago was enough to galvanize a dedicated core of support for Manitowaning's boat.

These "Friends of the Norisle" have, for over two years, worked steadily towards refitting the ship with the long-term hope and plan of making her seaworthy once again.

It's clear now that the Norisle is going to remain an important part of Manitowaning's history; anything else would be something like politically incorrect in the face of the support for the ship and the project to restore her have spawned.

It probably makes sense that the ownership of the Norisle eventually passes to the Friends of the Norisle who can easily enter into a win-win partnership with the Township of Assiginack, which can continue to provide, for example, dock space for the boat on Manitowaning Bay.

But control of the Norisle vested in a foundation would free the Norisle's friends to independently seek new and clever uses for the historic boat, in addition to acquiring charitible status that should help in fundraising activities.

Like the Segwun on Lake Muskoka, the Norisle is an important tie to days gone by when the towns of Manitoulin and the North Shore were serviced with necessities by means of these relatively tiny craft travelling back and forth from home ports in Owen Sound and Collingwood.

That, and the Tobermory to South Baymouth ferry run, were what the Norisle was built for over 60 years ago.

For most of the 35 years that the Norisle has been moored at the Manitowaning dock, she has been a part of the Assiginack Museum complex.

While this was appropriate for the first stage of the Norisle's retirement, she has the potential of playing an active role, rather than a passive one, in the community.

In the hands of an appropriately credentialed foundation, the Norisle could attract steam buffs who would be keen on seeing an operating triple-expansion steam engine.

The Norisle's foundation could enquire about allying itself with, for example, Georgian College and become a part of its Owen Sound campus's seamanship program.

As work progresses on the restoration of the Norisle, individuals interested in ship restoration could work on the project under the tutelage of journeymen welders, steamfitters and ships' carpenters and receive prior learning credits that could be applied to further studies.

The Norisle is about to have a life of its own and it is important that this senior citizen of the seaway be treated with the respect she deserves.

If the next phase of her life on the lake is accurately charted and carefully piloted, she will continue to draw positive attention to Manitoulin Island in general and the town of Manitowaning in particular.

Answers needed in regards to Assiginack doctor shortage

Community should demand better medical care

To the Expositor:

Regarding the February 4 story, "Manitowaning utilizes locum as search for physician continues," my responses to the comments made by the Manitowaning Medical Clinic manager are as follows:

Sandra Pennie is quoted as saying she "believes the nurses at the clinic have provided sufficient care required for residents of Assiginack Township."

Although the medical staff we have at our clinic (two part-time nurses) do a good job, they are not doctors. This statement is just the opinion of Ms. Pennie and although entitled to that opinion, myself as well as many, many residents of this township do not feel sufficient care is being provided. At this point in time we have no doctors or nurses for numerous days this month.

She also claims that the clinic has achieved its goals and the medical needs for the local population have been met.

I'm not sure the standard has been set high enough then! The needs of my family as well as those of numerous other taxpayers have not been met.

I understand the problem of the doctor shortage plaguing our province today; however, this is not my concern regarding our medical clinic. What my family and others are questioning is why do the doctors who come to work in Manitowaning quit after a short time, but they are staying on the Island and working out of other communities?

What is it about out our town? Why can't we keep doctors here? Is it other staff at the medical clinic? Maybe it's the clerical staff? Or maybe it is our reeve and council?

Although they are just rumours, rumours start somewhere, and I have heard all of the aforementioned reasons why the doctors get fed up and leave.

My husband boldly asked our last doctor why she was leaving, and the reason she gave him was a far cry from the different versions I have heard from our reeve, Les Fields.

People can believe what they want, but I am going to listen to the word of the questioned doctor rather then political jargon spoken by Les Fields regarding this subject.

It is time for Assiginack residents to speak up and make changes. We have to remember that the reeve and council work for us, as do all municipal employees. We are paying for these services! If you don't like the way issues are dealt with then let your voice be heard!

Call or write Reeve Les Fields and ask her why the doctors have left. Call or write to the members of the Assiginack Medical Board, who are as follows: Jan Purdy, Judy Trimmer, Paul Rowe and Les Fields (in my own opinion this is a conflict of interest), and ask them the reason given for why each of our last few doctors have our community. If you choose you can ask the doctors (who are still on the Island) who were employed here. There has to be an answer out there and it is up to us to sort through the rumours, find the truth and fix it so that if and when we get another permanent doctor he or she won't leave within months.

C. Bowland

Manitowaning

Budget panned for neglecting environment, social programs

Harper has missed opportunity to reshape Canada's economy

To the Expositor:

I certainly agreed with your April 4 editorial ("Harper government must steer stimulus quickly") on the premises that it is usually preferable to have somebody governing the country during a time of economic hardship and that stimulus packages work best when monies are released quickly.

I found myself quite bemused, though, at the idea that Prime Minister Harper's lackluster budget could provide him with an opportunity to be seen as a "great and courageous leader" simply by being expedient.

This suggestion would be akin to commending an ambulance driver for carrying a critical patient at record speeds in the opposite direction from the hospital.

Does Canada need an economic stimulus package? Surely, the answer is yes.

But when that stimulus package fails to address an obvious long-term need to move Canada into the new green economy-failing even to acknowledge environmental concerns-then we need to have a serious discussion about its merits.

This budget represents a failed opportunity to reshape Canada's economy and bring it into the 21st century. Even the American administration has begun to come to terms with the idea that governments need to give the proper incentives to businesses to reduce pollution and make products, like wind turbines and solar panels, that can simultaneously reduce our carbon emissions and our dependence on oil.

Mr. Harper had two months to draft this budget and still managed to have no plan besides simply throwing money at the problem while reducing taxes-all but guaranteeing a future culling of our social programs.

This is not the stuff that makes a prime minister great or courageous.

All he has done is prove that neither he, nor any of the ex-Reform and Harris-era Conservatives that make up his cabinet, have the capacity to look beyond their narrow ideological views and lead Canada through this recession into the Green economy that lies beyond.

The editorial did make one very accurate comparison, however.

John Diefenbaker refused to arm Canada's Bomarc missiles with nuclear warheads in an apparent stance against nuclear arms-or at least a stance against the United States government-choosing instead to arm them with sandbags.

The fact that an attack from the Soviet Union on North America launched over Canada's Arctic territory was a real and imminent threat apparently did not cross his mind when he rendered the multi-million dollar missile defence shield useless.

History only slightly vindicates him because his reckless decision did not bare any of the tragic consequences that could have been.

Like "Dief the Chief," Mr. Harper has armed his budget with sandbags when a heavier payload is necessary.

Chris Kivinen-Newman

Sudbury