May 21, 2003 ARCHIVE
 
 
 

Bear rescued from Little Current yard

by Michael Erskine
LITTLE CURRENT---It all started out innocently enough for the young
adolescent black bear, as he took a quiet nocturnal stroll through
the backstreets of Little Current, looking for tasty tidbits left out
with the junk during cleanup week. But everything suddenly took a
dangerous turn, as barking dogs and instinct took the meandering
bruin up a tree in the Eadie's sideyard on Hayward Street.
Dawn found the three to four year-old bear perched high above the
neighbourhood, stretching tired muscles and yawning in sleepy
boredom, as early morning onlookers stopped to point and gawk.
The situation was dangerous indeed. Although the young bear was
unlikely to descend from his perch to threaten young people headed
off to school in the early morning hours, local authorities had to
ensure there was no threat to public safety. A similar incident last
year proved fatal for that bear, as it sleepily charged the crowd
after being darted by Ministry of Natural Resources personnel.
Gathered crowds of onlookers can prove fatal to a bear.
Sally Smith was letting her own dogs out for their morning
consitutional, when she noticed the bear up the tree across the
street. She quicky contacted 911 and awaited the arrival of the
authorities from the safety of her home.
Police officers arrived on the scene and tried to dissuade people
from getting too close to the bear, or gathering in areas in which
they might be threatened, forcing fatal consequences for the bear.
Bears, even young ones like this 120-140 lb. specimen, are wild
animals, and they are very, very strong. With four-inch claws and
teeth to match, even though the beast may be more frightened of
people than they are of him, he still poses a definite danger to
anyone unlucky or unwise enough to be in his path to freedom.
Bob Florean, a MNR wildlife technical specialist and Area Technician
Mark Biladeau, arrived with a bear cage in tow to rescue the hapless
creature from its precarious perch.
With careful patience and meticulous procedure, Mr. Florean measured
the first of several doses of sedative with which he would shoot the
bear.
The first were designed to bring the bear lower in the tree, so
should he fall he would be less likely to hurt himself.
OPP officers and Mr. Biladeau kept the torpid youngster from
completely leaving the tree, chasing it gently back up to the lower
branches, as Mr. Florean prepared the next dosage.
"The young ones are a little tricky," he said. "They can shake off
the effects remarkably fast."
A youthful metabolism can have its drawbacks apparently, especially
when wildlife experts are trying to rescue you from your perch.
Luckily, noted Mr. Florean, the sedative the MNR uses has a wide
margin of safety for the animal.
"They can take quite a bit before it becomes fatal," he said.
The first shot was delivered by a large air rifle, as the creature
was some 30 feet up in the tree, but the subsequent doses were
delivered through an air pistol from a mere few feet.
By the time the bear made its final descent from the tree, it could
barely keep its head up.
Still, Mr. Florean motioned for the crowd to keep quiet, to let the
animal blissfully slip into slumber.
A brief tense moment occurred when a wood chipper began to munch its
way through a pile of brush a few doors down from the incident, but
Mr. Florean quickly attracted the worker's attention and got them to
hold operations until the bear was secure.
A problem can occur if the bear falls any distance to the ground.
Disoriented, the bear can awaken and charge off blindly.
The large shotguns held ready by OPP officers spoke ominous threat as
to what the results of that would have been. As it was, the operation
went smoothly, and the bear finally drifted off at the base of the
tree.
Police officers and the MNR workers then gently rolled the slumbering
teenager onto a standard backboard, and lifted him into his traveling
quarters, a trailer with a sturdy cage mounted upon it.
The bear, quite tranquilized at this point, didn't bat an eye as he was
shoved inside and the door closed.
"He will be going to a new home north of Webbwood, said Mr. Florean.
"We will take him far enough away from people, he shouldn't be a
problem again."
It did not take the young bear long to wake up from his enforced nap
time, said Mr. Florean later, but by then he was well on his way to
his new digs.
"A bear up a tree may be an exciting event," said OPP Community
Liaison Officer Al Boyd, who was on-site to help provide crowd
control. "But we really need people to stay back and out of harm's
way so we and the people from the MNR can do our jobs safely."
Otherwise, the results can be fatal for the bear.
The OPP, said Constable Boyd, wishes to remind people that at this
time of the spring, bears can become a nuiscence as they wander into
urban areas or near human habitations looking for food.
"Make sure all garbage is sealed and put in a closed container," he
cautioned. "This will reduce the chances of bears entering a
residential area."
This time, the story had a happy ending, for the bear and for the
people who watched the proceedings from a safe distance away, thanks
to the professional work of both peace officers and MNR workers.

 

Local Chiefs aghast at behavior of Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs

by Neil Zacharjewicz
OTTAWA - They had heard the rumors, but when Sucker Creek Chief Pat
Madahbee and Whitefish River Chief Franklin Paibomsai actually took
the opportunity to sit in on the Standing Committee on Aboriginal
Affairs Hearings in Ottawa, they were absolutely shocked by what they
saw.
"It is unbelievable what they are doing there," Chief Madahbee said.
There were Members of Parliament (MPs) assigned to sit on the
committee reading newspapers, sleeping, doing their taxes and
carrying on social conversations as amendments to the First Nations
Governance Act were being read out, clause by clause. To make matters
worse, the Canadian Parliamentary Access Channel cameras were shut
off the entire time the proceedings were taking place.
Chief Paibomsai pointed out the issue of the cameras being turned off
was raised by Winnipeg MP Pat Martin, but those in attendance were
told the permission of the audience had to be received before the
cameras could be turned on. Since the audience was dominated by
Liberals, Chief Paibomsai noted, such a suggestion would never have
passed.
"This government is talking about transparency and accountability
(for the First Nations), and they've got the cameras turned off,"
Chief Madahbee stated.
He pointed out the Conservative party did not even send an MP to take
part in the hearings.
The Liberal MPs, who did not even appear to be paying attention, were
voting 'No' to every proposed amendment. Chief Madahbee noted it
became very apparent how much attention they were paying when one
Liberal MP accidentally voted 'No' to an amendment the Liberal party
was requiring its members to vote 'Yes' on. His colleagues reminded
him of this, but it was too late as his vote had already been cast.
"These people are working on something that governs all aspects of
the lives of the First Nations people, and they are not even paying
attention," Chief Madahbee said.
It was approximately the 89th hour of debate when the two chiefs
arrived for the hearings, as the pair had been in Ottawa on band and
tribal council business, and had taken the opportunity to sit in on
the hearings. The pair had also met with Algoma - Manitoulin MP Brent
St. Denis during the course of their visit.
Chief Madahbee said while Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Bob
Nault has been advocating for codes and guidelines for First Nations,
this is something First Nations did themselves 15 to 20 years ago. At
one point, an amendment came forth to create regional offices to
assist First Nations in implementing the First Nations Governance
Act, should it become law.
"It's a very common sense approach, but the Liberals all voted it
down," Chief Madahbee indicated.
He said sitting in on the hearings was so frustrating, he felt like
getting up and screaming at the MPs to pay attention. He said he
tried to respect the protocol of being there, but the total lack of
professionalism was too much.
"Incredulous is the only way I can describe that farce," he said. "It
was unreal to watch."
Chief Madahbee indicated the committee did not even discuss the
presentations put forward by First Nations leadership across the
country.
Chief Paibomsai said he was shocked the MPs were "carrying on their
own business during time that was being paid for by the Canadian
public. They wonder why the Canadian public get so upset."
He said the least the MPs could have done was to go through the
proper democratic process, but during the course of the hearings none
of the Liberal members asked any questions. They just voted 'No.'
"It's disheartening when you know that this is the fate of Aboriginal
people," Chief Paibomsai stated.
What was even more disheartening was that Nickel Belt MP Ray Bonin,
chair of the standing committee, had met with First Nations chiefs to
discuss the First Nations Governance Act, and they raised concerns
about certain issues, but those concerns appear to have been ignored.
"Ray Bonin has complete contempt for the people that are there (at the hearings),"
he said.
Chief Madahbee noted the Liberals were using closure to limit debate
to 10 minutes, because they hold a majority. In fairness, he said,
the committee is saying that they are not making the decisions, as
that falls to the government. However, he said the reason the chiefs
are so upset is because there is no way for the First Nations to have
meaningful dialogue with the government on the Act.
"The whole process they are going through is a sham," Chief Paibomsai said.
The chiefs did commend the efforts of Mr. (Pat) Martin and Yvan
Loubier, an MP with the Bloc Quebecois, who sit on the committee and
have been raising concerns with regard to the legislation. But he
said it is frustrating that some constructive ideas are being put
forward and they are not even being heard.
Chief Paibomsai said he was heartened by the fact that Liberal
leadership candidate Paul Martin has publicly stated that he will
re-open dialogue on the First Nations Governance Act should he be
elected leader of the party.
"It gives us a little bit of hope," he said.
Still, as Chief Madahbee noted, many of Paul Martin's supporters sit
on the committee, but they are being forced to tow the party line in
the hopes the legislation will be passed before the leadership
election. This means these MPs are being forced to vote in favour of
the legislation despite the fact they know it will only be revisited
later.
"All it does is eat up the taxpayers time," Chief Paibomsai said.
Regardless of the election of leadership, Chief Madahbee said the
First Nations will continue to fight the First Nations Governance Act.
"Bob Nault is playing desperation politics by trying to portray
chiefs as corrupt," Chief Madahbee said. He accused Mr. Nault of
trying to make the Assembly of First Nations look as bad as possible
in an effort to have people sympathetic to the First Nations
Governance Act process elected to the Assembly.
 
Hydro one conducts $2.5 million in upgrades in Manitoulin District
by Michael Erskine
MANITOULIN---The electricity delivery system in the District of
Manitoulin is getting $2.5 million worth of attention from Hydro One
this season.
"We are conducting these improvements on Manitoulin Island and
Killarney to increase Supply reliability," said Al Manchee, senior
public affairs advisor at Hydro One. "We feel it is important that
people know what it is we are doing to meet the needs of our
customers in the area."
For Manitoulin, the improvements will include patrols and inspections
of the feeder at the Little Current and Wolsey Lake distribution
stations (DS) to spot problems before they occur.
A fuse co-ordination at the Wolsey Lake DS will permit more efficient
operation of voltage regulators and reclosures.
"We will be replacing a total of eight structures and nine cross-arms
on the 115,000 volt line between the Manitoulin and Espanola
transformer stations," said Mr. Manchee. "This radial circuit
supplies electricity to all of Manitoulin Island."
There will be planned power interruptions affecting the whole Island
next fall to facilitate this work, he said. But the schedule for
those shutdowns has not yet been finalized.
Hydro One will also be replacing 47 wood pole structures throughout
Manitoulin Island that were identified as needing to be replaced
during the 2002 pole test program, as well as the replacement of
glass insulators between the Manitoulin and Little Current
distribution stations.
Conductors will be replaced on the F1 feeder out of the Manitowaning
DS on the Wikwemikong First Nation, and there will be a test program
conducted on approximately 2,250 wooden poles on feeders out of the
Manitowaning DS.
The summer's program will also see repairs conducted on nine
transmission and distribution switches on Manitoulin and there will
be over 145 kilometers of forestry brushing work conducted on the
feeder out of Gore Bay DS.
Killarney will see nine poles replaced near the Birch Island DS,
which were also identified in the 2002 pole study. The work on these
poles is expected to be complete by the end of May.
New capacitors and transformer replacements will help address power
issues in the village of Killarney, including power fluctuations
during peak energy use.
To help identify future issues, power-use recording devices will be
installed in Killarney at both the town and the distribution station.
The three-phase circuit in the Village of Killarney will be rebuilt
from June to August. This will comprise of rebuilding some 26 poles
and the upgrading of equipment to address secondary voltage issues.
There will be a conversion of the three sections of overhead power
lines to submarine lines on islands between Birch Island and
Killarney between August and September 2003.
"An in-depth assessment of the main line feeding Killarney from Birch
Island has been completed, resulting in a comprehensive plan to
rebuild the entire line by 2006," said Mr. Manchee. "A vast majority
of the overhead sections will be placed underwater, thereby reducing
the number of outages due to trees, wind and equipment failures from
animals and lightening."
Mr. Manchee was reporting Hydro One's plans for the area as part of
the commitment made by the company to local consumers during meetings
held last summer after a run of power outages had raised concerns
among local business and municipal leaders.