Part I of a series

Net Pain

Minor hockey watchers express major concerns

EDITOR'S NOTE: In this hockey-mad country, our so-called 'national pastime' is never really out of the news. But it seems particularly topical this year, between the revamped NHL, an over-achieving World Juniors squad, and now, the Torino Olympics. Yet while the sport remains as popular as ever, it is not without its dark side-and we don't mean gambling. In the current media obsession with Gretzkygate, a more chronic and troubling trend is being overlooked: players are getting hurt-badly, and often needlessly. It's true at the professional level-the men's Olympic squad features several banged-up stars, several missing altogether due to injury, and one who was previously ostracized for an act of on-ice brutality-but it's also an issue among tykes, novices, atoms, peewees, bantams and juniors. In this series, the Expositor will address the phenomenon of hockey violence, beginning with a look at the level of injury within the local minor hockey scene, and the question of when to introduce hitting. Next week, the series will continue with a sports-psychology perspective on hockey aggression.

by Jim Moodie

MANITOULIN-Nearly every hockey fan likes to see the sport played at a brisk and physical pace, but when the number of crutches in the stands begins to rival the number of sticks behind the bench, people-especially parents-become understandably alarmed.

"In the first two months of the season in Gore Bay, I counted up 10 kids who had either been picked up by an ambulance or their parents had driven them to the hospital," says Wendy King of Kagawong. "And that's just one town."

Ms. King's own two sons, Jordan and Chris, were both injured this year, the former with a broken leg, the latter with a concussion. Jordan, who plays bantam with the Gore Bay Bruins, caught a rut and collided into the boards in what his mother admits was "a fluke accident"; 11-year-old Chris was driven into the boards by another player, and had to be taken to Sudbury for a CAT scan.

"In all the years I've been involved in minor hockey, I don't remember an ambulance being called so frequently," says Ms. King. "This year, it's been a steady stream."

When Chris was hurt during a game in Mindemoya, an ambulance was called to pick him up, but paramedics "had to go and pick up another kid with the ambulance before they could take him," notes Ms. King. "There were two ambulance calls in back-to-back games!"

It isn't only boys who are being hurt. Lisa Tann of Mindemoya, a 14-year-old skater with the Gore Bay bantams, was whisked away in an ambulance earlier this year with a concussion. "I got tripped and smacked my head off the boards and onto the ice," she says, adding that the trip to the hospital remains a blur.

After banging her head, Ms. Tann finished her shift, but became dizzy when she reached the bench. "I kind of fell and blacked out a little bit," she says. "I don't really remember the ambulance ride."

Ms. Tann plays in a co-ed league-she is one of three girls on the Gore Bay bantams-but it was actually in a game against the all-female Ice Angels in which she was injured. "The guys don't really go after the girls," she maintains.

At present, body-checking in Ontario is permitted at the atom level (nine- and 10-year-olds) for competitive rep teams, while house league teams, in this area at least, are introduced to body-checking at the peewee level (age 11-12).

That's too young, according to a study released earlier this month that compared emergency room visits by young players in Ontario to those of their counterparts in Quebec, which doesn't permit body-checking until kids reach the bantam level (age 13-15). The study, authored by a York University kinesiologist and an orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital for Sick Children, determined that boys aged 10-13 in Ontario were almost twice as likely to wind up in the hospital due to a checking-related injury than their peers in the Belle Province.

Not everyone is convinced, however, that outlawing hitting until a player is at the bantam stage will solve the issue of hockey injuries. Laura Wall-Varey, president of the Little Current-Howland Minor Hockey Association, said she read a different report not long ago that argued "players should actually start younger, because at the age where it comes in now, they're so aggressive, with the testosterone flowing, whereas when you start at four or five, when the size and aggression isn't there, it's more of a tool or skill you learn, like passing. And I kind of agree with that."

None other than the currently-embattled Great One, Wayne Gretzky, has publicly championed this approach, arguing that kids need to learn how to take a hit-or avoid one, for that matter-at an early age, if they hope to excel through the various levels of the game.

Not every child is going to grow up to make the NHL, however, let alone become the next Gretzky, and many people involved in minor hockey feel that there is no need for body-checking at all in house league hockey, which involves the majority of players on Manitoulin.

"It's appropriate for the NOHA," says Little Current physician and hockey coach Dieter Poenn. "But I feel very strongly that there should be no body contact at the house league level."

He notes that "with the kids in our house league bantam teams, you're seeing a sudden difference in terms of size, where one kid could be a head or more taller, and 40 pounds heavier, than some of the other ones. And the little guys are getting creamed all the time."

Body-checking is supposedly a tactic used to separate an opposing player from the puck, notes Dr. Poenn, but too often, he says, "it's done to punish or retaliate; I see vicious contact very routinely." And this type of vindictive, nasty hitting, combined with the size disadvantages, is driving many young teens away from the sport. "I see big dropouts beginning to occur among the peewees, bantams and midgets," he says.

That, to him, is huge shame. "I really want kids to play, and enjoy themselves. I don't want them to be frightened off. You look at girls' hockey, which I'm coaching now-there's no body-checking, but it's fast and fun; they're having a good time. Why not remove body-checking from house league?"

Critics argue that doing so will leave a child ill-prepared to make a jump to a more competitive league, where hitting is permitted, Dr. Poenn concedes. "But, realistically speaking, even of all of the Island kids playing on travelling, major league teams, only the very best of those kids, maybe one or two, will maybe make the OHA," he points out. "So if you take the best of the crop from the Island house league, they have an extremely small chance of making it to the big leagues."

Mindemoya referee Bruce Wiggins, a veteran of 30-plus years of patrolling the blue and red lines, tends to agree. "I'm all for taking hitting out of the house league; I don't care if there's hitting at all at that level," he says.

Mr. Wiggins is not opposed to physicality in the sport; far from it. "When I coached, I wanted my guys to hit as much as they could, and throw the other team off their game," he says. But he hates to see the sport deteriorate into cheap shots and gratuitous violence.

"I quit reffing for a couple of years at one point, because it just got stupid," he recalls. At that time, prior to the Panthers organization being an option on the Island, there were two strong teams based in Little Current and Mindemoya. Both were talented clubs, but "when they got together, it was about who could run who," the ref relates. "That fans were all cheering the hits, and all the players wanted to do was hurt each other. So I got out of it for two years."

These days, Mr. Wiggins finds refereeing a lot more rewarding than it was at one time. "It's not so much that hockey's tamed down that much, but there's a lot less mouthing off," he says. As well, while injuries still occur, a crackdown on hits from behind has had some effect, he notes. "Now, almost all the sweaters have a stop sign on the back, and you get two minutes and a game misconduct, or five minutes and a game." Checks to the head are policed with a similar degree of zero tolerance.

But players still get hurt, sometimes by accident, or as the result of a clean check; too often, though, it's through an act of deliberate, illegal violence. Midget Panther player Daniel Wall, son of Ms. Wall-Varey, "had his rib broken this year because he was hit after the whistle," notes the mom. "He'd just got a goal, and was celebrating with his arms in the air, when he got nailed." Daniel was out eight weeks with his rib injury.

Younger players are particularly susceptible to upper-body injuries, notes Dr. Poenn. "With the Islanders (Junior A) guys, it's more knee and lower-limb injuries, which is a function of the speed of the game, but with the younger guys, who have less muscle and protection, it's usually being crunched into the boards. So it's AC joints, backs, collarbones."

Chris Carrick of Mindemoya knows how boards and collarbones can come together with a sickening crunch. Having finally recovered from a spleen injury last winter (incurred while riding a dirt bike), he suited up for a hockey game, wearing brand new skates-and piled into the boards on his first shift. "It was a clean check, but he broke his collarbone," says mother Joyce. The teenager wasn't particularly keen on hockey to begin with-his mother says he played last year mostly because "they needed players and he didn't want to let the team down"-but he's much less keen now. He hasn't played since his injury.

In the experience of Manitowaning coach Brad Ham, however, injuries have been anything but rampant this year. "From my point of view, it's been great-there have been no injuries on my team at all. And to my knowledge, we haven't inflicted any, either," he adds.

Mr. Ham coaches the undefeated Manitowaning bantams. He admits that "there is a lot of contact" at this level, as well as "quite distinct size differences," so there is "potential for kids getting hurt." But he believes that much of the potential for harm can be harnessed by proper coaching. "You have to handle kids on the bench; I was 14 once, so I know how the testosterone can get going a bit." If players are getting riled up, "you have to tell them to calm down, or else face some consequences, like missing a shift or a game," he says.

As for when body-checking should be introduced, Mr. Ham says, "personally, I think it shouldn't be in until bantam, when players are 13, 14; the younger teams, atom, novice and peewee, should concentrate on skating." He contends that hitting, at those levels, is "unneccessary, and if you teach good skating skills, some of that contact can be avoided when it is introduced later."

He notes that one of his players, Dustin Peltier, is among the most skilled bantams on the Island, and "he avoids checks because he's got good vision and is a good skater."

Proper coaching, and encouraging players to develop skills rather than focus on how to deliver punishing checks, is just one piece of the puzzle, however. Parents and fans need to play a role, too. As Ms. Wall-Varey notes, "I hate it when parents cheer a hit, rather than teamwork or a good pass. They should be cheering those positive things, instead of creaming another player."

In her view, reducing the degree of violence and injury in the game requires "a concentrated effort from everyone: the referees have to be quick to call penalties, and parents, coaches and associations have to educate players."

Ms. King agrees. "I really don't think you can point your finger in one direction. The fans, and the kids themselves, have to take some responsibility for their actions, while the coaches need to teach when it's appropriate to use the body, and referees need to set the tone. It's a little bit of responsibility right across the board."

As for those players who have missed chunks of their seasons due to collisions with the boards (and other players), most, if not all, are still eager to return to the hallowed oval of ice, such is their love of this sport.

Ms. Tann, who figure skated earlier in her sporting career, jumped right back out there in her hockey equipment after a two-week recuperation from her concussion. "I love it," she says of the game, adding that body-checking, for her, is an acceptable part of the sport. "I don't see anything wrong with it, if you know how to do it right."

Chris King has also recovered from his concussion and returned to the ice, although he hurt his foot from blocking a shot not long ago, so isn't totally pain-free.

Jordan, who broke his leg in November, isn't quite there yet, although he did begin skating with his squad again in practice. He still wears a brace to protect his healing leg, and isn't quite 'good to go,' as they say, but at least he's mobile and doesn't need crutches anymore.

According to his folks, the long layoff from the sport was incredibly frustrating for the young player, who could often be found wearing his glove and twirling his stick while watching NHL games on TV, just to retain a feel for the game.

Hopefully, by the time he returns to the rink, the only red lights in evidence will be the type announcing goals. No-one likes to see an ambulance, lights ominously aglow, parked outside an arena.

Part I of a series

Vital Signs

Helpers look for 'behaviour markers' in suicidal individuals

EDITOR'S NOTE: Suicide has been described  as "a permanent solution to a temporary problem." French thinker Albert Camus deemed it "the one truly serious philosophical problem." It's an act that confounds everyone, and leaves loved ones feeling both heartbroken and guilty. While great strides have been made on Manitoulin to address the issue, this most perplexing and tragic of social problems continues to crop up, with a distressing number of suicides having occurred here in recent months. Following last week's coverage of an unusually public suicide in the North Channel, and an attendant piece on depression, the Expositor now continues its focus on this issue, through a multi-part series that aims to both highlight the indicators of suicidal depression and outline the resources available in the community to combat the problem.

by Lindsay Kelly

MANITOULIN-Suicide can be devastating to any family. The sudden loss of a loved one shakes its foundation, and leaves those left behind questioning why it had to happen. But there are signs and triggers that people can watch for to signal the onset of suicidal thoughts in a loved one, and if these signs are caught in time, and measures are taken to help these people, suicide can be a preventable occurrence.

Marcel Roy is a social worker who has worked for many years in the area of violence, and is trained as a suicide intervention worker. An important factor in determining how people cope with feelings of suicide are the resources available to them, he says, which can take many different forms, including counsellors or friends and relatives.

"In a rural area, distance may be a factor and they may not be readily available," he says, of counselling services. "But they might have lots of relatives and friends, whereas in the city they may know no-one."

Suicide does not discriminate; it is present in all age and gender groups. In older people, it manifests itself when a person is retired, their family lives far away, or if they've just lost a spouse. These factors can leave people feeling helpless even though they may have a network of friends and family who care for them. Teenagers can turn to thoughts of suicide for several reasons, including a relationship gone bad, bullying, or a general feeling of hopelessness.

"The root for any suicide is some pain," Mr. Roy explains. "A helper does his best to try to hook into the pain and how it feels like for that individual."

To help a person deal with their suicidal thoughts, one must look at the circumstances behind the pain and why that person has chosen suicide as a solution to act on that feeling of hopelessness.

A clinician with Manitoulin Child and Family Services, Ken MacKenzie works with youth aged 18-and-under in crisis assessment. He notes that youth are at greater risk for suicide than any other age group, and nationally, one out of 17 people in the age group is suicidal.

That does not mean that those people commit suicide, but that they are thinking about it.

"They're thinking of it as a choice, and if we can catch them when they're thinking about it, we can really help," he says.

The clinician is trained in the applied suicide intervention skills training (ASIST) program, an initiative begun by the Canadian Mental Health Association, and says it is a successful tool in assessing the immediate needs of patients with suicidal tendencies.

"The first thing is to keep people alive," he says. "It's surprising, but what's most common in suicidal people is that they'll tell you they're thinking of suicide."

While they may not use the term 'suicide,' most people with suicidal tendencies will be honest about their thoughts if asked directly, Mr. MacKenzie explains. They will commonly use metaphorical language, saying they're going to enter 'the big sleep,' or 'you won't have to worry about me anymore' to indicate their thoughts.

This kind of language sends up red flags for counsellors, who then attempt to counsel the person in a respectful way, Mr. MacKenzie notes. Counsellors will ask a person outright whether they have been experiencing suicidal thoughts. If a counsellor can pick up these signs while talking with a suicidal person, they may be able to prevent a person from ending their life.

"I've never asked and got in trouble for asking," Mr. MacKenzie says. "And I've never asked someone who denied it and then killed themselves."

When a person admits to having suicidal thoughts, they are letting the counsellor know that they need help and inviting conversation about their situation.

People with suicidal thoughts will also exhibit changes in their personalities. "We look for changes in the way they present themselves, both in mood, in the way they dress, and the way they talk to people," Mr. MacKenzie explains, calling these 'behaviour markers.' These can also include a purging of their possessions, the organization of their life, and high risk behaviour, such as an excessive use of alcohol or drugs. But, the clinician notes, the main thing is to keep a person alive until they can receive a more thorough assessment and assistance oriented to their specific situation.

People with suicidal thoughts are commonly labelled as 'attention seekers,' says Mr. MacKenize, and this is accurate, since they become suicidal through feelings of disengagement and a sense that there is a lack of support in their lives.

And although copycatting is commonly referred to when several suicides occur in a short time span, it's not as common as popular culture would make it out to be, says Mr. MacKenzie. Copycat suicides frequently happen when a person loses a family member, or someone close to them, and they miss their companionship.

"Every case is individual," he says. "They're very specific, and it's not as weighted as other factors."

At the Sheshegwaning health centre, Joe Laford is also trained in the ASIST program. In First Nations communities, people are commonly unwilling to talk about suicide openly, he notes, and because of this, more people wishing to commit suicide are choosing to do so in a way that makes it look like an accident, including those that happen while four-wheeling, driving or swimming.

"Our own people take issue with suicide as being inappropriate," he says. "We don't want to share our pain with the community."

Even when visiting a nurse, doctor or counsellor, First Nations people are at first reluctant to share their feelings of suicide, and start by talking about something "totally different," says Mr. Laford.

But he believes suicide manifests itself similarly in Native and non-Native communities, and in equal numbers, and symptoms and signals are commonly the same. The core of this pain lies in the neglect of their spiritual self, he says.

"The first step to First Nations people finding their spirituality is to get sober," he says. "You've got to be sober to accept who you are and know that the Creator is looking after you."

Generally, suicidal patients can look to several avenues to get help, but it depends largely on their situation and what has provoked their suicidal thoughts, says Mr. Roy. Family doctors, emergency room physicians, and counsellors can all be approached to get help, but at times help is mandated by the court, when a child is at risk in a home.

"During an intake, if you do a good assessment, you can get a lot of information, if you know what to look for and what kinds of questions to ask," he says.

Suicide can be a common pattern in families, so it's also wise to look into the family dynamic for signs of either patterned behaviour or clinical depression. If clinical depression is diagnosed, medication can be prescribed to manage it.

But treatment is largely subjective and "depends where the person is at," Mr. Roy says.

With teens, for example, "the best tool any parent has is levelling with them, and being able to sit and talk with them," he says. In older people, it is important to sit and talk with them as well, and ensure that communication lines are drawn up amongst family members.

Disassociation from Native culture can play a role in the problems facing First Nations people, which can lead to suicide, says Mr. Laford. Through the practice of traditional customs, such as fasts, powwows and sweats at sweat lodges, however, First Nations people can rediscover their roles in their families and communities.

Some key facets of Native culture have only been reintroduced to First Nations within the last 30 to 35 years, however, so people are still adjusting to the acceptance of their traditions, Mr. Laford says.

"Our people are reluctant to get back to the circles and join together," he says. "They feel lost and ashamed of the culture; it's shameful to be an Indian, because of the drinking, the abuses and the sexuality. Suicide is a part of that."

To get to the heart of why a person is considering suicide, Mr. Laford said he talks to suicidal people about why they want to die, and whom it will benefit. Then, he says, he reverses the questions and forces them to look at what they have to lose and who will miss them when they are gone.

"Somebody always has a tie to something or someone that they love," he says. "I tug at the life side and the dying side, and allow them to go through this."

He also conducts a popular workshop which gets people to rediscover their connection to their traditional culture. He begins by placing a drummer playing a Native drum in the middle of the room, then having children, mothers and fathers, and grandparents surround the drummers in circles, holding hands.

He then gets them to imagine the arrival of the government and priests in First Nations and their subsequent assimilation of First Nations peoples, along with the arrival of alcohol, which has devastated many communities. One by one he removes the essential parts of the circle-first the drum, then the children-and asks the adults to stand apart, with their backs to the circle, and explain their feelings.

They tell him that they feel disconnected, lost, alone, hopeless and neglected-all feelings associated with suicide. But when he brings the drum back to the circle, he points out that "it never did really go away," and people need to focus on that, which represents the life and the heartbeat of a community.

For youth, Mr. MacKenize conducts ongoing education about suicide. He holds presentations at Manitoulin Secondary School every year for the Grade 12 class, and he says the education students receive today is "definitely an improvement" over what they used to learn, which was nothing.

Still, "it's hard for people to come out and talk about it," he notes, because of the stigma attached to suicide.

There is a crisis triage line available across the Sudbury-Manitoulin District for those feeling suicidal. By calling 1-877-841-1101, people can speak directly to a crisis worker who will ask questions to determine a person's needs, and refer them to someone who can provide further help.

Supervised strike vote this week

by Lindsay Kelly

NORTHEAST MANITOULIN-By the end of the day today (February 15), the Northeast Town will know where it stands with the bargaining unit of the CEP union, after the striking town workers cast their ballot at a supervised vote to be held this afternoon.

Following the breakup of negotiations on January 27, the town invoked its right to request a supervised vote (monitored by a representative from the Ontario Labour Relations Board), which would give the striking workers an opportunity to cast a secret ballot on the contract offer currently being proposed by the town. The vote comes as the two parties move into week 20 of the labour dispute.

Union representative Fred Bond said that, from the union's perspective, no new developments have arisen since negotiations broke off two-and-a-half weeks ago. The union is waiting until the ballots are counted, but Mr. Bond said he hopes the result will jump-start talks again.

"The workers will have a chance to vote on Wednesday," he said, noting that the results of the vote will indicate how the workers feel about the offer. He also expressed hope that the town would respect the vote results.

The union's bargaining team will still be recommending that the bargaining unit reject the town's most recent offer, but Mr. Bond said he hopes the vote result will prompt the town to sit down again with the workers and figure out a fair deal.

The current offer "comes far short" of what the workers want, he continued, adding that the offer has much less in it now than what it did prior to the strike.

He suggested that ballots would be counted following the close of the vote, and a result could be expected this evening.

On Monday, the town issued a press release stating that it received an official Notice of Vote for February 15 from the Ministry of Labour, and copies of the town's latest offer were "hand-delivered to each of the 22 eligible voters over the weekend."

This includes those people who were part of the bargaining unit from the start of the strike, noted Mayor Joe Chapman, and it is mandated by the Ministry of Labour under the Labour Relations Act.

But he believes it is unlikely that those people who have since crossed the picket line would vote, because they are content with the way things are now running at the town, and also because "there is a lot of animosity between the non-union and union employees and the non-union and contract employees."

Mr. Bond said the union will not object to workers who crossed the picket line to take secretarial positions participating in the vote (as is their prerogative), but believes staff members should not have the right to vote.

"It's a silly proposition that they have a right to vote on a contract that they're not covered under anymore," he said.

Mayor Chapman also repeated an earlier-stated belief that council would not move from its present offer, and said the likelihood of council returning to the bargaining table were slim. "I don't see any negotiations happening for quite some time," he noted.

The mayor also believes that many throughout the community are looking to make the strike a political issue, and that the union will aim to stay on strike until the municipal election in the fall. At that time, taxpayers will show the town how they feel about the strike, and whether they agree with the contract the town has been offering. Until then, he expects the two sides will remain at an impasse.

"I hate to say it; I don't like to sound pessimistic," he said. "I would like more than anybody in town to get this thing solved. But I don't see there being much, if anything, in the way of a settlement."

The main issues causing the divide continue to be job security, managers performing bargaining unit work and the contracting out of services by the town.

DOWNHILL DASH: The action was fast and furious on Jake's Hill in M'Chigeeng during the Lakeview Winter Carnival on Friday, with teachers Dianne Debassige and Lorraine Debassige leading the students on a merry downhill mission.

SEE MORE PHOTOS ON PAGE 5A. photo by Jane Hubbard

EDITORIAL

Harper's cynical moves worthy of voter outrage

The dawn of the Stephen Harper's Conservative Brave New World brought a sadness and foreboding instead of hope to voters across the nation last week, as political expediency and cynicism trumped the Conservative's moral high ground within moments of the swearing in of the new prime minister.

Mr. Harper's appointment of a senator from the shadows of the Conservative back room, in full contravention of his lofty pre-election support of an elected upper house, was followed by the almost-as-odious appointment of the newly-minted and un-elected senator to a senior cabinet position-free from the televised scrutiny of Question Period in the house.

While the new Prime Minister's actions are fully within the law, and far from being without precedent, voters could be forgiven spasms of revulsion and indignant outrage at the level of cynicism with which Mr. Harper declared that a Conservative Ottawa would continue with business as usual.

While the electorate across the nation reeled from that news, their shock paled before the stunned outrage of the electors of Vancouver-Kingsway when David Emerson, the man they had elected just days before as a Liberal, crossed the floor to accept the Industry portfolio as a Conservative. To add insult to injury, the Conservative party's own candidate had finished as a distant third choice behind the NDP.

The ability of a member to cross the floor as a matter of good conscience is an important parliamentary safeguard against tyranny in our system, and all whining by the side 'betrayed' is little more than theatre-despite modern distortions, we still elect the individual to parliament in Canada, not the party.

That having been said, the enormity of the contempt for the will of the electorate expressed by Mr. Emerson, Mr. Harper and Mr. MacKay is represented not by the defection of Mr. Emerson itself, but lies within the shock those politicians expressed when faced by the outrage of Mr. Emerson's constituents, and the country as a whole for that matter, over their cynical attempts to cloak those actions as matters of good conscience.

They simply did not realize we cared, and, apparently, still cannot for the life of them understand what our problem is.

Let us explain. Instead of rebuilding faith in our electoral system, bringing a new ethical standard to bear and beginning the task of fulfilling the promise to end corruption and cronyism in Ottawa, as promised, Mr. Harper has lowered the bar of fidelity to the electorate even further-an accomplishment that until a few days ago seemed all but impossible.

The opening moments of Mr. Harper's government has, in but a few short ill-considered moments, validated the rejection of all things political by our nation's youth-and therein lies the source of a growing sense of foreboding about what is yet to come.

It would do Mr. Harper well to remember, that Joe Clark's record of government longevity stands ready to be broken. Mr. Clark, you may recall, was also facing a party whose leader had just retired.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Good leaders don't antagonize friends

We don't need mudslinging

To the Expositor:

RE: "Wiky threatens Manitowaning's new water plant if Cardwell St. is not repaired," February 8.

The history of humanity has depended on leadership. For example, in Christianity the exemplifacation of such leadership is the person of Jesus Christ. He is the image for the need for leadership-to take a broken humanity which found itself in the age of Tiberius and Agustus before him, under the rule of evil. And in this evil someone came as a leader and as a model of leadership and sacrificed their life willingly, not to flee from death but to stand in place and put their life on the line for the sake of future humanity. That is a leader. Remember Dr. Martin Luther King: he stood and died, not for just African Americans but for all humanity, in the image of Christ, which inspired him. Or consider that the begining of modern European civilization was made possible by a little girl, Joan of Arc. She refused to flinch in her mission, and her courage in being burned alive by the Inquisition inspired France to become the first modern nation state, which inspired the renaissance, launch of Italy, which created modern society and brought us out of the Middle Ages.

I decided to open this letter with a little history lesson because it would seem that some local politicians have not yet come to understand what makes an effective leader in a time of crisis. Effective leaders do not break bonds, and so causually treat their neighbours with such disdain. Effective leaders don't go starting Cold Wars with their friends. If a first shot is to be fired let us fire it together. Let us work to solve this problem, not act like terrorists trying to take a community hostage. The whole notion of this being a race issuse is crazy. I would be embarrassed to even suggest such a plot for fear people would see me as a complete idiot. It clearly demonstrates that lack of leadership that can be found in some public offices. We need a plan that both communities can come together and share responibilities on. We don't need mudslinging or finger-pointing-those tactics are for the weak. Let us forgive these ill words and threats and try and solve these problems for the good of all involved, not just for the communities of Wiky and Manitowaning, but for all humanity. Let's show them our best not our worst.

Fionn Closs

Manitowaning

Students attracted to Greens' positive outlook

Youth don't want to be ignored

To the Expositor:

Re: "Students waffle to the left in parallel election," February 1.

Youth are learning more than 'the three Rs' at school. They are learning that their future is in peril. Scientists now agree that the survival of society as we know it is directly threatened by the current rise of world temperatures. There's no more sticking our heads in the sand-this is a reality. Just look outside. What else do we see? Pollution of our food, air and water, and our sedentary/stressed-out lifestyles, are causing maladies from cancer to depression. That is the root cause of our health-care crisis.

Youth are attracted to Green politics because it provides a positive outlook on our dire situation. The foundation for Green politics is 'deep ecology': nature has an intrinsic value beyond harvestable income. For example, a tree has value once it's cut down and formed into boards or paper. Yet, a tree also has value simply as a part of a living ecosystem. Politics from a deep ecology viewpoint goes beyond the left-right political spectrum; it represents a whole new way of seeing the world and our place in it.

Deep ecology can be applied in realistic ways. We can create a new form of capitalism where pollution has a negative cost (through taxation) and preserving life has financial reward (through subsidy). In this way, financial incentives are used to benefit the health of all Canadians, not just those who have powerful lobby groups.

Youth don't want to be ignored, and their future must be protected. Green solutions put smiles on people's faces and hope in their hearts. Remember, green things always grow.

Sarah Hutchinson

Sandfield

Wiky student needs support of community

Child wants to better herself

To the Expositor:

I have decided to write a letter in support of Sydney Kanasawe ("Student wants right to attend school of choice," letters, January 25).

I don't know why but I have been unable to get this child out of my head.

I don't know her, but it would seem to me that here is a child who wants to better herself, and explore what is out in the world.

We all have to get out there at some point in our life and see what the world has to hold for us, and it would seem that Sydney wants to take it on to her fullest.

Most parents are fighting with their children to get them to go to school and to do well.

I don't have all the facts as to why the members of her reserve are insisting that she have to go to that school, and there me be a lot that I am not aware of.

You hear so much of when our Native people were sent residential schools, and they were not given the choice either of where they could go to school.

But it would seem that our reserves are trying to keep their young people from leaving the nest, to protect them. But I don't think that is working. So many of our youth are stuck on reserves and there is nothing for them to do but explore alcohol and drugs. And we have seen so many times the results of that. I think that Sydney's community should support her and help her to spread her wings. And maybe she will come back and be a wonderful benefit to her community. I just wanted to let Sydney know that she is not going unnoticed, and that there are people out there who support her wish.

I hope that she will get what she is fighting for, and that she will do us all proud.

Keep fighting Sydney, and don't let anyone crush your spirit.

I know that I am not the only one pulling for you.

Lydia Trudeau

Send your Dear Dave letters to: the Expositor, Box 369, Little Current, ON, P0P 1K0 or email