Island home to three national honourees

A remarkable cross-section of Aboriginal award winners

by Jim Moodie

TORONTO-An Island angle was easy to find for this year's Aboriginal Achievement Awards, with three of the 14 recipients having ties to our area.

On Friday, M'Chigeeng filmmaker Shirley Cheechoo, Birch Island-bred lawyer David Nahwegahbow, and Manitoulin Islanders coach Reggie Leach travelled to Toronto for the awards gala, held at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts.

Ms. Cheechoo was honoured in the Arts category for her work in theatre, film and fine art, while Mr. Nahwegahbow, a founding member of Canada's Indigenous Bar Association, was bestowed an award for Law and Justice. Mr. Leach, the former Philadelphia Flyer who moved to Manitoulin this year to coach the Islanders, earned a Sports award.

"It was really overwhelming," said Ms. Cheechoo of the ceremony. "Just the whole idea of your community celebrating your achievements. They gave us a medal at the dinner and then presented trophies during the gala."

Mr. Nahwegahbow described the experience as "sensory overload," noting that "there was so much happening." And while he ordinarily isn't keen on being the centre of attention, he admitted that it was "nice to hear people applauding, and overall I felt really overjoyed about having such support from the First Nation community."

Mr. Leach, who holds a place in the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame, said that this honour was particularly meaningful. "It's something I'm very proud to have," he said. "It's nice when you're picked by your peers, and this is not only for what I do in hockey but also away from the ice. It's probably better than winning the Stanley Cup."

While all three of the local recipients have excelled in their respective fields and attained impressive personal goals, their awards also reflect their selfless work in mentoring others.

Ms. Cheechoo, for instance, has cultivated talent through her Spokensong film company and fledgling film school that she's developing on Manitoulin.

Mr. Nahwegahbow, now practising law at the Rama First Nation, prides himself on motivating younger Native lawyers and providing opportunities for them to article in his firm.

Mr. Leach has inspired youngsters through hockey schools and encouraged them to follow a drug-free path in his educational presentations.

None was expected to make a speech during the awards gala. As Ms. Cheechoo explained, "they just wanted us to feel honoured without having any pressures."

But the M'Chigeeng artist was glad for the opportunity to say a few words the previous evening, when she was treated to a separate reception from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. "It was really nice to be able to say thank you to all the people who have helped me on my journey," she noted. Her older brother, in particular, has been a "a real role model, ever since I was a child," she said, noting that both attended residential school, and "if it hadn't been for watching him fall down and get back up, I wouldn't be able to do it myself."

Several supporters from the recipients' home communities were on hand for the event. The chief of the Cree Nation, for instance, from which Ms. Cheechoo hails, had made the trip in order to share the experience with her, as had M'Chigeeng Chief Isadore Bebamash. Similarly, Chief Shining Turtle of the Whitefish River First Nation was present to support Mr. Nahwegahbow. "He gave me a presentation afterwards at a function in a smaller venue," noted the lawyer.

Norval Morrisseau was posthumously bestowed a Lifetime Achievement Award, although no family member accepted it on his behalf due to friction over his estate.

The awards, featuring performances of Aboriginal singers and dancers, were televised, but won't be broadcast until March 22. Both Global and APTN will be airing the event.

The lake goes down and...

US Army Engineers predict rise in L. Huron because of big snowfall

by Jim Moodie

LAKE HURON-Finally a bit of good news on the water levels front: the wallop of white stuff that hit various corners of the Great Lakes in recent weeks should bring a much-needed infusion of wet stuff come spring.

Levels are expected to rise this summer as a result of the snowy deluge, the Detroit Free Press reported on the weekend. And while snowbound residents of southern cities have been complaining about the inconvenience, for boaters and lakeside businesses, this is a welcome turn of events indeed.

Last fall, projections were exceedingly dire regarding lake levels. Lake Superior hit record lows in August and September, and as this year began, both Huron and Michigan were hovering near all-time lows. New record lows were anticipated by spring.

Then came the snowstorms, one after another, much to the surprise of those who were bracing for an ongoing drought and even higher docks come spring. "We didn't expect this dramatic turnaround," said Scott Thieme, chief hydrologist of the Detroit office of the Army Corps of Engineers, in an interview with the Free Press. "It's a much better picture than it was six months ago. We're just amazed at the weather we've had."

Scientists now say that the recent heavy storms, which have pulled in moisture from as far away as the Gulf of Mexico, should go a long way towards slaking the basin's thirst.

The type of snow that recently hammered Great Lakes communities is heavy, dense and full of water, according to meteorologists, and owes to a La Nina weather pattern originating in the Pacific. It's not the usual lake-effect precipitation that recycles moisture within the system, sucking up water from the lakes and dropping it back down as snow. It's, in a nutshell, bonus stuff.

This imported H20 also bodes well for parched streams, rivers and inland lakes, many of which are also experiencing extremely low levels.

If prognostications pan out, the upper Great Lakes could be six to 12 inches higher this summer than they were last summer, according to the Free Press.

Manitoulin hasn't experienced the massive dumps of snow experienced elsewhere across the watershed, but parts of the Michigan shore-and Michigan is connected to us-are reporting their snowiest Februarys ever.

Water is already rising on Huron-Michigan compared to a month ago, Environment Canada notes in its monthly Level News bulletin. While the level of Superior "fell a bit more than average during February," levels on Lakes Michigan-Huron "experienced a small, but welcome, increase," rising by three centimetres. Historically, the lakes decline by an average of one centimetre over the course of this month.

Still, the lakes have a lot of climbing left to do before a typical level is attained. As Environment Canada points out, "the level of Lakes Michigan-Huron remained 53 centimetres below average at the beginning of March and 13 centimetres lower than it was one year ago."

Seniors questioned on required services

...at series of meetings organized by health network

by Lindsay Kelly

NORTHEAST TOWN-Transportation to medical appointments, social outings to visit friends and family, day programs to encourage social interaction and help with menial tasks: if Manitoulin seniors were planning programs to help seniors stay in their homes longer, these are the priorities they would set out.

They were options suggested by Manitoulin seniors attending an information-gathering session hosted by the North East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) on March 6. The come-and-go event was an opportunity for seniors to let the LHIN-the provincial government-appointed group that plans, integrates and funds health services in the northeast region-know what it can do to help seniors remain in their homes for as long as safety and their health allows.

Over the next four years, as part of its Aging-at-Home Strategy the North East LHIN will invest roughly $34 million in programs and services to meet the needs of seniors continuing to live in their own homes. But in creating those services, the government wants to hear from seniors themselves to ascertain where the need exists most.

"The ministry is very interested in helping seniors find the means and support to stay in their homes longer," explained Peter Deane of Deane Consulting, the health services planning firm collecting information on behalf of the ministry.

The ministry has identified four areas that are key to supporting seniors staying in their homes, including the resourcefulness of seniors, the love and support of family, volunteer groups and government assistance. The programs the government will develop will generally have some or all of these elements, Mr. Deane noted.

Some programs introduced locally in the past were successful and yet were discontinued. One example is a day program in Mindemoya, during which, for $10 a day, seniors could drop in, visit with friends, play card games or just enjoy some time out of the house, noted one participant whose father took advantage of the program.

Transportation is a big issue, because most seniors, once they lose their licence or give up their car, are reliant on others to get from place to place.

"We need transportation for seniors who never drove or, due to their health, can't drive," said one participant. "For example, for someone who's a diabetic, it's very costly to go to Espanola or Sudbury for one blood test."

Handi-buses, 'dial-a-ride' programs, supported taxi services or volunteer driver programs are all suggestions that could make a huge difference for seniors who otherwise would be unable to get around. If appointments could be coordinated to so that a busload of people could travel together, it would make a more affordable and efficient system, she added.

Seniors also told the consultants about the difficulties seniors face with loneliness.

"Even if they have the personal support (people providing meals, helping with bathing, health care and transportation), one person said today that they have all that provided for them, but they're very, very alone," Mr. Deane noted. "They're very, very lonely now that their spouse is gone."

Even though someone may come in to provide meals and help around the house, seniors would enjoy having someone come in to talk, have tea and spend time with them, Mr. Deane noted. In areas where organized programs are in place, there was a marked increase in the positive response from seniors and cases of depression decreased, when seniors had company, he added.

But having someone there to help with even the most menial tasks can make the difference between a senior staying in his or her home and moving into a nursing home, Mr. Deane continued. He spoke of a woman whose fire alarm was beeping for three weeks because the battery needed to be changed, but she couldn't reach the alarm. If someone was available to help her with similar tasks, it would make her life much easier, he noted.

In some cases, good programs exist on Manitoulin, but they need to be expanded, one participant suggested.

"The nursing home here in town (Centennial Manor) helps seniors in the nursing home, but it needs to be expanded to the town," he said. "They need to provide meals and allow people to visit their friends in the home that they never get to see."

Other difficulties arise when one spouse-the one who has been responsible for finances and other household necessities-dies, leaving the other at a loss for how to fulfill basic household maintenance.

In Elliot Lake, the consultants learned of a woman who lost her husband and suddenly felt helpless and afraid because she didn't know how to deal with the finances. In similar cases, the woman's lack of knowledge is a result of the prevailing notion at the time that the men oversaw finances and major decisions, while the women did housework and raised the children.

"It's not because they didn't want to learn, but it's because they weren't allowed," agreed one senior.

Mr. Deane said he was aware of a 'buddy system' type of program in California that allowed people who have lost a spouse to get together to learn about issues such as doing their taxes, while having a chance to socialize with others in similar situations, and it has proved very successful.

Seniors also cited a need for respite for caregivers, subsidized on-call nursing help and the need to keep spouses together in the same nursing home as additional concerns.

Mr. Deane said he was pleased with the feedback Islanders provided, although he noted that they were not alone in their concerns.

"You can't imagine the number of times folks have reiterated the same things you folks have brought up," Mr. Deane told participants at the evening's conclusion. "We will do our very best to articulate these things on your behalf and present them to the minister."

By the time the consultants have completed the sessions, they will have visited 12 communities in the northeast region and to date, they have spoke with more than 200 seniors in the process.

Services and programs developed through this consultation process are expected to be implemented in 2008-2009.

The ministry is interested in hearing from all seniors in the area, but if you were unable to attend last week's session, you may still send your opinions to: North East Health Integration Network, 555 Oak Street East, 3rd floor, North Bay, Ont., P1B 8E3. Suggestions can also sent by email at agora@consultant.network.ca.

Relief fund should help Assiginack's water costs

ASSIGINACK-Both the Assiginack and Gore Bay councils are confident the Ontario Small Town and Rural Development (OSTAR) program shortfall for the construction of the Manitowaning, Sunsite and Gore Bay water treatment facilities will soon be covered by a federal leg-up.

On February 15, the federal government announced it would be providing up to an additional $50 million to assist municipalities that faced economic challenges due to the implementation of their existing federally funded drinking water projects.

Through the Ontario Potable Water Program (OPWP), the federal government is helping municipalities with the costs incurred as a result of the Ontario Drinking Water Systems Regulation. These potable water projects were funded under the Canada-Ontario Infrastructure Program (COIP).

One of the OPWP eligibilities for support is if the municipality's project has been re-nominated by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) for consideration of additional federal government support.

During the annual Rural Ontario Municipalities Association/Ontario Good Roads Association joint conference, Assiginack Reeve Leslie Fields, councillor Bud Rohn and clerk-treasurer Alton Hobbs met with OMAFRA Minister Leona Dombrowsky and left the meeting confident the shortfall would once and for all be covered.

Reeve Fields said she has heard the extra $50 million announced should cover all of the municipalities-including Gore Bay-who find themselves in a similar bind.

Assiginack will be sending its OPWP application to OMAFRA within the next couple of weeks.

EDITORIAL

Diplomatic hiccup focuses attention on trade pact

While the apparently off-hand comment to reporters by a member of the prime minister's staff about how US presidential hopeful (and current front-runner) Barack Obama really feels about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is regrettable, it does focus on both sides of our long, undefended border what NAFTA means to us.

In the US, in particular the Rust Belt of the Midwest, it means jobs. In Canada, in particular Ontario's auto sector, it means jobs.

More than likely, both Mr. Obama and his Democratic presidential opponent Hillary Clinton are mostly thinking about Mexico when they say that either the NAFTA accord must be rewritten (in favour of the US), or our democratic neighbours to the south will simply opt out of the whole free-trade business.

The fact that a prime ministerial aide leaked a communication between Mr. Obama's team and a member of the Canadian diplomatic community in the US is unfortunate. It would have been natural enough for a member of Mr. Obama's team to pass along a "don't worry too much--we have nothing against Canada" kind of comment that would have been destined for Prime Minister Harper's ears. People say all sorts of things during elections (or just to get nominated, in their case) and Prime Minister Harper was to be reassured that Mr. Obama wasn't Canada-bashing.

That's all and good. But the fact remains that both Mr. Obama and Ms. Clinton have been making virtually the same noises about NAFTA, and should one of them go on to run successfully against Senator John McCain (who has the Republican nomination neatly wrapped up already), he or she will have to act on his or her words to the voters of the US Midwest about America's future in NAFTA.

Whether this action will be in kind or merely in degree is something we won't know until we get there.

But if nothing else, this diplomatic hiccup, now well-reported in the US, has clearly focussed the fact for US voters that both Democratic candidates for the presidency of the United States say they have it in for the Free Trade Agreement.

In the US Midwest, it will not be lost on voters by then that Ontario produces more cars and trucks than any state in the US with the exception of Michigan.

And with new car plants come car-part manufacturers, like Magna International, so we have a great deal at stake in terms of jobs and our own economy.

It's easy to imagine Mr. Obama and Ms. Clinton keeping an eye on the maquiladora, the Mexican zones close to the US border dedicated to the cheap manufacturing of US (and some Canadian) products. Both the US and our country have lost plants (and jobs) to the maquiladora of Mexico.

That is no doubt what Mr. Obama had on his mind. And the symbolism of the country-wide fence that many US politicians, in particular right-leaning Republicans, would build along the US-Mexico border is as much about keeping jobs on the US side of the fence, away from the maquiladora, as it is about keeping Mexicans out of the US.

At the end of the day, Canadians should be glad to hear that Mr. Obama wishes no harm to Canada. Hopefully Ms. Clinton feels the same way.

There will be demands on whoever gets to sit behind the big desk in the Oval Office to reopen and rework NAFTA, and it will be difficult to only deal with the part of the agreement that features Mexico.

Very likely, Canada's auto sector will be fine. Unless one of the presidential candidates puts forward a successful proposal for universal health care, and quickly, it will remain much cheaper to produce automobiles and trucks in this country because the health-care costs are largely borne by the state here and not by the employer as in the US.

And reopening NAFTA can't do much about that.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Parent disappointed that kids did not make LNHL cut

Alleges officials barred inclusion because of skill level

To the Expositor:

It's that time again for the gathering of all First Nations hockey players and fans. Consider yourself lucky if you get chosen or are good enough to play for a team. This is not the case for two of my boys who are peewee players and really looked forward to playing in the Little NHL being held in Sault Ste Marie. They are not AAA players, but love to play and have the spirit to play.

Once again politics has interfered with the decision-making of committee members/coaches/managers for those players who want to play but are not given the chance to play.

I was informed back in January that the Sheguiandah First Nation players needed release letters from AOK because of territorial rights. Nobody has rights over my kids. AOK-including the Little NHL committee/coach and manager-didn't want them because they were not good players. Many attempts were made by our recreation coordinator to have the release letters signed by the so-called committee, which consists of two people making all the decisions. Also a letter from our chief to the AOK chief was sent requesting release letters. I find this to be very unprofessional from either party for the lack of any kind of response.

I wonder, whatever happened to the spirit and intent of the tournament? "It's not if you win or lose, but how much you tried, and how fairly you played."

Good luck to all the teams that are participating this year. I hope to see you next year, either as a fan or a hockey player's mom.

Jackie Bowerman/Shawanda

Sheguiandah First Nation

Grocery store expansion a welcome change to Manitoulin

Family to be commended for faith in community

To the Expositor:

Having been a frequent visitor to Manitoulin Island, I can well appreciate the welcome nature of the news of a pending expansion of the Island Foodland complex in Mindemoya ("Island Foodland complex set to expand," March 5). Who knows, perhaps the expansion of the LCBO agency store will even allow for an expanded selection of some of the many fine Ontario craft ales and beers that seem to slide so effortlessly over the palate after a perfect Manitoulin day on the water in my canoe or cycling on the safe highways and byways or hiking the mighty Cup and Saucer; but I digress. 

Lindsay Kelly writes in the article that, "Everything will be arranged to fit into the floor plan provided by Sobeys, the southern Ontario chain of grocery stores that is Foodland's supplier." I would like to point out for the benefit of your readers that Sobeys is anything but a "southern Ontario" grocery chain. Sobeys is the major subsidiary of the Empire Company Limited, a publicly traded company that originated and is still headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia. With approximately $13.2 billion in annual revenue and $5.1 billion in assets, Empire employs approximately 37,000 people directly and through its subsidiaries. Sobeys is a leading national grocery retailer and food distributor and the company owns or franchises more than 1,300 stores in all 10 provinces under retail banners that include Sobeys, IGA extra, IGA, Foodland and Price Chopper.

Just like the iconic Sobey family of Nova Scotia, the founders of Sobeys, Island Foodland owner Mike Bondi is to be commended for his courage, his faith in the Manitoulin community and for his commitment to his customers. Congratulations Mike.

Michael J. Andrews

Straffordville

Tyler Jewell

Jewell's Collision Centre

Gore_Bay

I'm your neighbour

For the last six years, Tyler Jewell has been honing his autobody skills at Jewell's Collision Centre in Gore Bay, learning the ins and outs of the autobody industry. But as much as he enjoys his vocation, working at the Gore Bay garage is more than just a job.

Mr. Jewell's father, Keith, owns the business, and the work has truly become a family affair. Watching his father work on cars while growing up influenced the younger Mr. Jewell to choose automotive work for his own career, and when the time came for him to start working, his dad's garage was a natural fit.

"It's something I've always wanted to do," Mr. Jewell says.

The shop does great work restoring vehicles to their original condition-as the many Islanders who visit the shop after hitting a deer can attest-and while they make it look easy, there is a complex, multi-step process to fixing up the vehicles.

Mr. Jewell is involved in all aspects of bodywork at the shop, including "metal finishing, prepping for painting-everything down to washing the cars," he explains.

A half-dozen years in the industry has given Mr. Jewell a solid foundation to work with, but he plans to expand his knowledge when he returns to school in the fall to take autobody training.

"It's higher pay," he says, explaining his decision. "And it helps get you certified to work at the body shop."

Family continues to play an important role in Mr. Jewell's life, and when he's not at work, he enjoys spending time with his two young boys, both of whom are enrolled in hockey and are at an age where the game is all about having fun.

Automotive work also features prominently in the young father's spare time, and he confesses that working on four-wheelers, snowmachines and other vehicles is a major hobby of his.

But as much as he enjoys fixing up vehicles, smashing them up again is just about as fun. "Working with my father also influenced me to join the demolition derby every year," Mr. Jewell explains.

Whether his young sons will continue the Jewell dynasty and also go into the automotive industry is a decision far in the future, but in the meantime, Mr. Jewell plans to remain at his father's shop, doing a job he loves.

"My favourite part of the job is using my hands-it's more interesting than sitting at a desk," he says. "I always wanted to be using my hands in this kind of environment."

Patronizing Manitoulin businesses like Jewell's Collision Centre in Gore Bay creates lasting employment for people like Tyler Jewell.