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Golf course for sale
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by Diana Smith
MANITOWANING ---The Assiginack Wikwemikong Mnidoo
Valley Golf Club has been put up for sale by the Business Development
Bank of Canada (BDC). According to BDC Vice President, Kevin
Dane, the Club is not in receivership nor has the BDC foreclosed
on the Club, instead the action is a "Power of Sale". "Under
the Power of Sale means that we have the ability to sell the
assets, we do not act as the owner or take possession of those
assets," said Mr. Dane. "In general terms, the assets are advertised
for sale and we wait for offers on those assets." It's estimated
that the overall debt owed by the Club was about $1.7 million
and an injection to the BDC of around $750, 000 was needed to
keep the Golf Club from going up for tender. Brad Ham, president
of the Board of Directors, said that "every possible effort
was made and every avenue has been exhausted to retain possession
of the golf course." Mr. Dane said it is the BDC's intention
to sell the Club to a private enterprise as soon as possible.
"It is not in our interest, or our customers interest, to drag
things out. After these types of events, we like to try and
deal with any business, sell it, and get it up and running as
a profitable private enterprise." He added that he doesn't expect
to get no offers for the Club, calling that scenario "a pretty
unusual circumstance." "There is usually somebody out there
that is prepared to try and pick something up. I am not sure
what our next step would be under that scenario (of getting
no offers). We would not be (interested) in running a golf course.
As with any business, when we go about our process, we try and
keep community concerns in mind." According to sources, a last
minute attempt to meet again with the Wikwemikong Band Council
fell apart just prior to Club Treasurer Wally Manitowabi's meeting
with the BDC at the end of January. Charter members in general
were upset over the proposed sale of the club, as many felt
that they had not only put money, but a lot of volunteer time
and effort in as well, during the early days of construction.
Many of the 103 charter members felt that there had not been
enough communication from the Board in the months leading up
to the Club's demise. Jean McClennan, one of the original members
of the Board, is upset over the present situation and expressed
hope that the new owners would keep the club open to the public
and keep the price for rounds of golf reasonable for the local
golfers. Dave Ham, who, along with others, is credited with
the original idea of the Golf Club, said he thought the turning
point that led to the Club's demise "was the failure to receive
the funding of slightly over $1 million that we applied for
from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC).
This bad news occurred at a very crucial time." At the time,
the Club was extremely confident, and had been 99 per cent assured
by the NOHFC, that the money that was applied for was going
to be there. The news that this funding was not coming occurred
at the worst time possible, the clubhouse was nearly completed
and the back nine had already been started. Pierre Trudeau,
superintendent of the Club, who has put his heart and soul into
its construction since the inception, said he is also saddened
by the recent turn of events. He was also upset that it was
the newspaper and not the Club's board members that informed
him that the BDC had put the course' assets up for sale. "Knowing
the work that had been put into the Golf Course - and the BDC
is aware of that - for them to not come up with a better package...the
sale by tender has turned my heart a little bit and has turned
my stomach." One thing that everyone does agree on is that whomever
does end up with the former Assiginack Wikwemikong Mnidoo Valley
Golf Club will have a premier golf course with the "Cadillac
of Greens."
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BDC
barred and bolted
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by Diana Smith
WIKWEMIKONG --- The Wikwemikong Development Commission
(WDC) had its doors chained and padlocked on Saturday, by order
of Chief Gladys Wakegijig, according to a sign posted on the
locked door. Band Councilor Cecilia Pitawanakwat , who was viewing
the padlocked doors on Saturday, was confused as to who had
given the direction to lock up the building. She said there
had been no order by Band Council to lock the WDC doors. Economic
Development Officer, and General Manager of the WDC, Mary Lynn
Odjig, said she didn't know what was happening either, adding,
"I would rather this be resolved internally with the Band."
Band Council met Monday night and discussion on the matter was
to have taken place. The WDC is the economic development arm
of the Wikwemikong Band. It is mandated to develop and sustain
the natural and human resources of Wikwemikong. The WDC is a
non-profit organization, incorporated without share capital
under the laws of Ontario in 1973. Business Services administered
by the WDC include the CEDO Grants and Loans Program available
for new business start-up and the expansion of existing businesses,
the Aboriginal Business Service Network, and Wii-ni n'guch-tood
LDM, a self-employment and training development delivery mechanism.
Other services overseen by the WDC are the Wiky Bay Marina,
Wiky TV 5, and Wiky News. On Monday morning, the chains on the
WDC doors were cut, and staff was back working in the building.
Leaked documents indicate that on Saturday morning, after the
lock out at the WDC offices, a meeting was held between most
of the Board members of the WDC and LDM. Also present at the
meeting were Robert Corbiere, Band Councilor with the Economic
Portfolio, Ms. Odjig, and Colleen Wassegijig-Migwans, LDM Coordinator.
Apparently, not only had these Boards been locked out, but Chief
Wakegijig had also frozen all of the bank accounts of these
Boards on January 25, 2002. The minutes of Saturday's meeting
go on to say that the two Boards are in consensus that the "ongoing
correspondence and unilateral directives" from Wikwemikong's
currently elected Chief - for example the locking of the WDC
doors - is seriously jeopardizing and hindering delivery of
programs and services to Wikwemikong band members and organizations,
as is the ceasing of WDC and LDM financial transactions. The
two Boards also object to the dismissal of the WDC Board of
Directors, travel restrictions, erroneous information regarding
a corporate entity (WDC) being circulated to band members, and
the abrupt termination of a lease (Island Claims Office), thereby,
impacting the revenue generation of WDC on leased properties.
Also objected to is the undue stress to the WDC/LDM Boards of
Directors and employees. The Island Claims Office had its doors
locked shortly after Chief Wakegijig's election in September
of 2001. When the doors were locked at the Island Land Claims
Office, a memo was sent to Albert Peltier which advised him
that his services as Special Projects Officer for the Island
Ad Hoc Committee were no longer required. Mr. Peltier had been
hired by a resolution of Band Council and his contract was ratified
in January of 2001. In May 2001, Band Council accepted minutes
from the Island Ad Hoc Committee establishing Mr. Peltier's
position as permanent, and stating his rate of pay as a Band
Employee at $30 per hour for 37.5 hours per week. At this time,
Ms. Wakegijig, as a Band Councilor, opposed the hiring. After
being locked out, Mr. Peltier took his complaint to the Wikwemikong
Band Council in November 2001. He asked to be reinstated to
his position and requested back pay and expenses of $7,000,
claiming there had been no resolution in Band Council to dismiss
him. Band Council agreed with Mr. Peltier and passed a motion
in his favour, however, as of Monday, Mr. Peltier still had
not been paid, or re-instated. Meanwhile, the WDC and LDM are
requesting a public apology from the Chief to the Board of Directors
and employees of WDC and LDM, and that a separate apology also
be made to band employees, regarding the recent events. They
are also requesting that the Wikwemikong Band Council take whatever
action necessary to address these concerns. "We applied for
and accepted Board of Director positions with the WDC and LDM
with the understanding that we would be assisting Chief and
Council in their respective mandates," states the meeting minutes.
The minutes go on to say that the two Boards have conducted
their business with transparency and accountability, and indicated
that their community development policies were evidence of their
good business affairs. Attempts were made to contact Chief Wakegijig
on this matter, but no calls were returned.
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OCF
launches symposium on residential schools
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Part I
EDITOR'S NOTE: This week the Expositor begins a special series
on 'The Legacy of the Residential School.' The series is based
on the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation's upcoming three-part symposium
on the residential school in Spanish, which begins on February
9. The Expositor's four part series will follow the symposium,
beginning with this week's article, and covering the subsequent
sessions. Part One is an introduction to the symposium, detailing
what people can expect over the next three weeks. Parts Two
to Four will cover each of the symposium sessions.
by Neil Zacharjewicz
M'CHIGEENG - Many of the survivors of the residential school
experience returned to their communities to become respected
leaders and teachers. This is the focus of a symposium on the
residential school experience being put on by the Ojibwe Cultural
Foundation (OCF) starting this weekend. "We are kind of focused
on the Spanish school," explained Alan Corbiere, coordinator
for the OCF's residential school project entitled 'Remembrance,
Reflection and Rejuvenation.' The symposium marks the next step
in the Foundation's residential school project, which has thus
far included an exhibit of works depicting and reflecting upon
the residential school experience, and a number of workshops
dealing with the effects of residential schools. The Garnier
Residential School in Spanish, which was for boys, and the St.
Joseph's school, which was for girls, ran from 1946 to 1956.
They were Roman Catholic Schools, which were run by the Jesuits
of Upper Canada. Several of the students who attended these
schools, Mr. Corbiere noted, returned to their home communities,
and went on to become leaders and teachers. "What we want to
do is recognize the efforts of these people," Mr. Corbiere explained.
The first part of the symposium is scheduled to take place at
OCF on Saturday, February 9, beginning at 3 pm. The first session
will focus on residential school survivors who have gone on
to become educators. "A lot of these people are responsible
for the cultural revival," Mr. Corbiere indicated. The scheduled
speakers are Dr. Cecil King and Melvina Corbiere. Dr. Cecil
King is originally from Wikwemikong, and attended the Garnier
Residential School. In fact, in 1953 he was the valedictorian
of the high school. Dr. King was responsible for setting up
the Native Teacher Eduction program at Queen's University, and
is presently the dean of the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College,
Saskatoon campus. Dr. King is scheduled to speak on what he
remembers from his experiences at the school, and how it shaped
him. He will also speak on how what he experienced led him to
try and influence native education, and where native education
should go from here. "Cecil has a lot of experience at the post-secondary
level," Mr. Corbiere suggested. Mrs. Corbiere brings greater
perspective from the First Nation school level. "She is a long
time educator here in M'Chigeeng," Mr. Corbiere explained. "She
is one of the people who ended up maintaining their language."
Mrs. Corbiere has served as a teacher, principal, and director
of the M'Chigeeng Board of Education. She has also been involved
in the production of native language materials. Mrs. Corbiere
will talk about the language, and her efforts to teach it in
First Nation schools. She will also talk about attitudes surrounding
the language. "We wanted to start with education because (the
residential school experience) was about education," Mr. Corbiere
noted. The second session will be held on Saturday, February
16, and the focus will be on politics. The speakers are all
former chiefs, and they will share their experiences and how
attending a residential school affected their leaderhip skills.
Scheduled speakers include Harvey Trudeau, of Sagamok, Peter
Johnston, of Serpent River, and Joe Hare, of M'Chigeeng, who
also served for a time as Grand Chief of the Union of Ontario
Indians. The third session, scheduled for Saturday, February
23, will focus on respected elders and spiritual leaders. The
scheduled speakers include Martin Assinewe of Sagamok, who has
served on the elder committees for the Assembly of First Nations
and the Union of Ontario Indians, and Violet McGregor of Birch
Island, a respected elder with OCF and around the pow wow circuit.
A third speaker is anticipated, but has yet to confirm their
attendance. The speakers will share their residential school
experience, and how it shaped them, leading them to become resected
elders. Mr. Corbiere said once the symposium is complete, there
are some ideas of what may be done with the information. He
noted one proposal is for a coffee table book wih pictures,
and proceeds from the book could go toward a bursary for descendents
of the residential schools. However, he noted this is merely
a proposal at this time. Paul Nadjiwan, the Executive Director
of OCF, said he is pleased a number of First Nation communities
will be represented during the symposium. "I think it is important
for our people to express all the facets related to their experience
at residential schools as to how it impacted their lives and
accomplishments," he said. He suggested the symposium serves
as a good way to explain attitudes to young people in the communities,
and shows positive movement towards reconciling the effects
of the residential schools. "Much of this discussion will allow
the community to move forward."
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