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Stakeholders
review waterfront development
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by Michael Erskine
LITTLE CURRENT---It's back to the drawing
board for the town's waterfront study proposal as it has been
declared "outside of the framework of current Northern Ontario
Heritage Fund Corporation flagship programming" and as such
the application, as submitted to Northern Development and Mines
will go back to the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the
Islands council for further discussion. A press release from
the town outlined comments made by staff of the Ministry of
Northern Development and Mines (MNDM) at an informal meeting
held January 17 between the Ministry and the Town of Northeastern
Manitoulin and the Islands (NEMI), the Community Development
Corporation, and the Little Current Business Improvement Area.
A representative from FedNor was also present. The purpose of
the informal meeting was to discuss the town's application for
funding that has been made to the Northern Ontario Heritage
Fund Corporation (NOHFC) for a financial contribution toward
the study of the Little Current waterfront. During the meeting
several suggestions were made regarding how the application
could be strengthened, which, in turn would improve its chances
of approval. The stakeholders present recognized the value of
this discussion, and agreed that further direction would need
to be sought from the Town's elected representatives. Mayor
Ken Ferguson undertook to take the matter back to Council as
soon as possible in order to evaluate the available options.
"We have an abundance of local enthusiasm for this proposal,
coming from all corners of our community," said Mayor Ferguson.
"Together ,we will be able to fine-tune our submission in a
manner that will find success and benefit our entire Town. We
are all grateful to the Northern Development and Mines staff
for their guidance." "The last thing anyone wants at this point
is another study which will end up gathering dust on a shelf
in a back room somewhere," said Peggy Young, one of the MNDM
officials. "If this application is to succeed, it will have
to be demonstrated that the resulting plan will have a strong
possibility of being carried out." A private meeting between
CDC executive members, town councillors Ron Lewis, Kathleen
Bowerman, the town clerk and Mayor Ferguson took place after
the meeting with the Ministry officials. Mayor Ferguson said
he was unaware the press had been barred from the second meeting
and that he and clerk Ned Martin left "very shortly" after the
main meeting was completed. Mr. Martin said the discussions
conducted while he was present centred on what action the CDC
should pursue from that point onward. CDC President Gary Green
said he would not comment until he had received direction from
town council on the matter. A second information meeting was
held between the Little Current BIA, members of the CDC, Ms.
Young and NEMI councillors Bill Koehler, Marcel Gauthier, Al
MacNevin and Carl Ziegler at the Anchor Inn in Little Current
on Monday, January 21. CDC president Gary Green stressed he
was present strictly in an "information gathering" role and
that he would not comment on the waterfront study until he had
received direction from NEMI town council. The BIA meeting was
held "to open the lines of communication" according to a press
release from the BIA. "The point of the meeting was to investigate
methods/ways to move forward on the waterfront project." The
press release cited the need for concerns of local citizens
and business people to be heard and the hope of the meeting
organizers was that the process would ensure that all concerns
will be addressed and dealt with. The NEMI councillors present
said they felt the meeting had provided them with new information
and insight into the process. "The BIA recognizes that economic
development is necessary for the downtown to grow," said BIA
President Craig Timmermans. "As such, Peggy Young from MNDM
was able to provide valuable information for moving the project
ahead. John Hodder was retained as a consultant to gather business
opinionsand to provide valuable information on accessing government
contributions. A large part of attaining government funds will
result from partnerships between the private sector, municipal
government and assorted levels." Mr. Timmermans said he felt
the meeting was productive, providing information, keeping the
lines of communication open between all parties and confirming
that there will be public consultations. Mr. Hodder, a former
NOHFC board member, outlined the process and requirements for
a successful application and the possibilities currently available
for a project which does fall into the current flagship programs.
He projected that the first phases of a waterfront development
could access in excess of $5 million to revitalize the downtown
waterfront. A projection which Ms. Young said was not out of
line, provided all of the criteria were met and Federal funds
and private partnerships were leveraged. "But it must be done
in such a manner as to address the concerns of everyone involved,"
said Mr. Hodder. "It can't work otherwise."
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Town
considers new municipal building
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by Cheryl Waugh
NORTHEASTERN MANITOULIN and the ISLANDS (NEMI)
--- The town of NEMI is looking at building a municipal administration
complex on the Information Centre property. At its last meeting
(Tuesday, January 15), council passed a motion to invite requests
for proposals to design a municipal administration building.
The location of the Information Centre property was recommended
to council by the ad hoc building committee, chaired by councilor
Jim Stringer. Councilor Stringer noted that the property was
chosen as the best possible spot for a municipal complex because
of its location and cost. The land is owned by the municipality
so there would be no land acquisition costs, while both water
and sewer service is already at the edge of the property, he
explained. "It is also well located in town and quite an attractive
location, with a view of the (North Channel)." At this time,
the proposed building would be roughly 5000 square feet (gross),
accommodating staff offices, a boardroom, Mayor's Office, and
council chambers. Early cost estimates price the building of
a municipal complex at about $115 to $145 per square foot (using
5000 square feet as an estimate that's between $575,000 and
$725,000). Mayor Ken Ferguson said the town will look at getting
provincial funding for developing the new complex. "We would
like to see local ratepayers costs kept to a minimum." He called
the location (at Highway 6 by the swing bridge) a 'beautiful
spot' and the 'gateway to Manitoulin'. He added that there are
no plans to interfere with the Information Centre site, instead
council is looking at building a freestanding, separate building
to the west of the Information Centre, beyond the dump house
station and the paved area. "It is a fair size that property
and there are no plans to change the Information Booth," he
said. The town currently rents space at the Island Business
Centre, on Highway 6, however, the office does not meet the
needs of the town in terms of space for staff or council. Mayor
Ferguson uses the board room as his office, while Algoma-Manitoulin
MP Brent St. Denis, and MPP Mike Brown also use the room for
appointments with their constituents when they are in the area.
Meanwhile, council meets at the old Howland Municipal Building
in Sheguiandah. "The present location doesn't quite hold everyone,"
said Mayor Ferguson. "Ideally, a municipal complex should have
council chambers, staff offices, and a mayor's office. There
is a board room at our present location but it is not big enough
for council to meet in. We need a bit more space, and the public
has said they don't want us renting space out, but would like
to see us build," he said. He added that the process of building
a municipal complex is more than likely to go beyond this council's
mandate. "It is not going to happen immediately, but council
has a commitment to be forward with creating a new office complex
for the town." The town does have some options until a complex
is built, including extending their lease at their present location
For now, council is planning to account for the cost of design
proposals in its 2002 budget, although Councilor Stringer said
no date has been established as to when the request for design
proposals will go out.
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Traditional
medicine supporters rally round Ecuadoran spiritualists
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by Michael Erskine
WIKWEMIKONG---Faced with mounting legal costs
and the potential loss of an entire way of life, supporters
of traditional healing practices have formed an organization
for the defence and support of the two Ecuadoran medicine men
and their translator who were charged in the circumstances surrounding
the death of respected Wikwemikong elder Jean Maiangowi during
a traditional healing ceremony last October. A letter entitled
"The Desecration of Natural Medicines" has been circulating
through the community of Wikwemikong and other First Nations
over the last few weeks, requesting financial support and solidarity
in the face of what the letter describes as "an attack on our
Medicine people and the Medicines of Aboriginal People". The
group of concerned citizens formed an organization called "Anishnaabek
in Support of Indigenous Medicines International," during a
meeting this past Monday night in Manitowaning. "I think a lot
of people in the community who do support them have been a little
hesitant," said one of the steering committee organizers Jeanette
Corbiere-Lavell. "They do not want to be put in a difficult
position." "In the face of no outright support coming from the
chief and council (of Wikwemikong Unceded Reserve) they have
realized they need to come together and try to do something
themselves," said Ms. Corbiere-Lavell. "The support in the community
has always been there, but it has always been a very loose and
informal organization with no defined leader." The two mandates
of the new organization are "to promote the use of indigenous
natural medicines internationally and to protect indigenous
medicine and practitioners throughout the world." The concern
of many people within and outside of the community of Wikwemikong
over the treatment of the Ecuadoran Medicine men and their translator
stems in part from a belief in the sincerity of their spirituality
and a sense of indignation over their treatment while invited
guests of the community explained Ms. Corbiere-Lavell. "The
council invited these people into our community to share their
medicine with us. They came to us in a spirit of sharing," said
Ms. Corbiere-Lavell. "Now they are held here, with no way of
making a living, no benefits or support. Even if only in a spirit
of human rights or compassion, we can't just abandon these people."
The group of traditional medicine supporters are hampered in
their efforts, in part by the very structure of their underlying
beliefs. "We have made a firm decision, stressing that we are
not going to debate with the detractors," said Ms. Corbiere-Lavell.
"In all of our teachings, all of our lodges we stress the positive,
and we believe we should remain positive." A formal fund-raising
mechanism is now in place, including a bank account at the Bank
of Montreal in Manitowaning. "Right now Ida (Embry) is carrying
the burden by herself," said Ms. Corbiere-Lavell. "She is still
in need of support right now." The letter circulating in the
community lists the address for funding support as "Traditional
Medicine Defense Fund, Box 206, Manitowaning, Ontario, P0P 1K0.
Ms. Corbiere-Lavell confirmed that the fund-raising was legitimately
connected to the legal support of the Medicine men and their
translator and the box number will continue to be used for the
fundraising efforts, but that the formal title of the account
is now the Uyunkar Defence and Support Fund. The formal mechanism
for donations was felt to be necessary to forestall any suggestion
of impropriety in the process. "We need to have everything clear
and above board," said Ms. Corbiere-Lavell. The Hispanic Latin
American Association of Sudbury has agreed to set up a public
fundraising event for the defence fund, said the group's President
Mauricio Montecinos. "It is our first formal networking contact."
The defense organization has two treasurers, as the account
requires two signatories to release funds. Local biologist Judith
Jones and Ida Embry are the treasurers for the organization.
Gerry Kaboni will serve as vice-president, Suzanne Knapp is
the group's secretary and Mary Eshkibok-Trudeau is the conference
representative. Support for the Ecuadoran healers has quickly
taken on an international scope. A lengthy editorial in the
January 9 edition of the influential US Aboriginal publication
'Indian Country Today' discussed the case and the circumstances
surrounding it in detail. The editorial called on the Canadian
judicial system to consider the mitigating circumstances in
the case, saying "it is important that the legal systems of
Canada, the U.S. and other countries learn more and understand
more about Native medicinal usages, the systems that underlie
much of modern medicine, and take this other reality into account
when judging such complex cases." Ms. Corbiere-Lavell cited
communications she has had with native elder groups across the
country who are rallying to defend traditional medicine practices
and provide support for the Ecuadoran medicine men and their
translator. Juan Uyunkar, 48, is a Shuar elder from the South
American country of Ecuador. Mr. Uyunkar has been charged with
Criminal Negligence Causing Death, Administering a Noxious Substance,
Importing into Canada a Controlled Substance, Trafficking in
a Controlled Substance and Possession of a Controlled Substance.
Edgar Uyunkar, 21, the medicine man's son and helper has been
charged with the same offenses. Maria Alice Ventura, their translator,
has been charged with Criminal Negligence Causing Death, Administering
a Noxious Substance and Trafficking in a Controlled Substance.
The accused were invited to the community of Wikwemikong by
the local Health Centre and at least some ceremonies were conducted
under the auspices of the Centre. "We will be supporting healers
from around the world to network together to study natural medicine
from each other," said Mr. Montecinos, "an international natural
medicine exchange." "We would also like to find answers in the
international community as to whether Aboriginal Health Centres
do or do not have liability insurance to protect indigenous
medicine practitioners," he said. "It is my experience up to
today that this is not the case." The ramifications of this
case, should it continue to trial, will undoubtedly have deep
implications for indigenous healing traditions and traditional
medicine practices, a fact which is swiftly becoming apparent
to First Nations and traditional medicine supporters across
both American continents.
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