Manor engages help of Extendicare corp.

to fill gap in staffing

Canada's largest long-term care company

by Jim Moodie

LITTLE CURRENT-The Manitoulin Centennial Manor has enlisted the services of Canada's largest provider of long-term care to help alleviate a staffing crunch at the facility.

Extendicare, which was founded in Ottawa in 1968 and now operates 235 long-term care facilities across North America, was to have staff on hand this week at the Little Current nursing home to work in collaboration with Jarlette Health Services, the existing management team, to address a nursing shortfall.

"We're still having a serious issue with shortages of registered staff," said Manor board chair Leslie Fields, noting that there have been a number of resignations of registered nurses (RNs) and registered practical nurses (RPNs) in recent months. "It makes it very difficult to ensure our residents are safe; we can't operate without the registered staff who can deliver medication and sign off on procedures."

During a series of discussions last week with administrative staff and representatives of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, it was decided that a larger company with more resources would be better suited to solving the Manor's manpower woes.

"Jarlette has been really supportive," stressed Ms. Fields. "But because they're a small company, they haven't had the resources to bring in staff. Now we're able to bring Extendicare into the equation."

The facility had earlier issued a request for proposals "to look at management services on longer-term contract," noted Ms. Fields. "But the staffing crisis got to the point that we had to react more quickly to provide the registered staff we need."

As a result, "we set the request for proposals aside, and initiated negotiations with Jarlette and Extendicare to work together to provide registered staff during this period of crisis," said the board chair. "Jarlette and Extendicare will be working with us to bridge this crisis period by bringing registered staff on site."

The move doesn't represent a wholesale shakeup of the administrative model that 's in place, much less a sale of the facility; it's more of an interim measure to ensure the staffing situation is remedied. "The fact that we brought in another company doesn't negate the other one," said Ms. Fields.

Still, Extendicare's role could increase in the future. "More will unfold from this," said Ms. Fields. "It's the beginning of a much longer process. But nothing is finalized yet."

In the meantime, the board is committed to "providing a long-term care home for people on Manitoulin," assured Ms. Fields. "Yes, we're in a crisis, but crises have happened before and we've got through them. Our highest priority right now is the care and wellbeing of our residents."

Youth's suicide during Wiky police call prompts inquest

by Jim Moodie

WIKWEMIKONG-An inquest into the death of a young Wikwemikong man who incurred fatal injuries last year during a police response will be held in Gore Bay later this month.

Sean Trudeau, 20, died on April 14, 2006, from wounds deemed to have been self-inflicted. Members of the Wikwemikong Tribal Police had been alerted to a situation involving a distraught youth and were attempting to defuse the crisis when the death occurred. According to sources, Mr. Trudeau was wielding a piece of broken glass.

The Coroners Act stipulates that "an inquest is mandatory when a person dies while in custody," notes a press release from the Office of the Chief Coroner. While the term 'custody' typically connotes an instance of detainment, it applies also to circumstances in which police are on the scene of a crime or crisis and in the process of making an arrest.

Given the pending inquest, Wikwemikong police chief Gary Reid declined to comment on the particulars of the incident, referring questions to Hugh McDonald, legal counsel for the tribal police force.

Mr. McDonald would not speak to the cause of death, but did clarify that "there was an attempt made to take Mr. Trudeau into custody, and the individual actively resisted during the course of the attempted arrest."

Al Boyd, community services officer for the Manitoulin OPP, noted that "anytime someone dies as a result of a police presence," a process is initiated to examine the circumstances of the tragedy. In the case of the OPP, a review is undertaken by a provincial Special Investigations Unit, but "because the tribal police don't fall under that mandate, there was an independent investigation," he said.

The Manitoulin OPP is involved in the inquest to the extent that one of the detachment's officers, Cindy Ramage, "has been appointed as constable to work with the coroner, interviewing for the jury and setting up the format and location for the inquest," said Constable Boyd.

The five-person jury has now been selected, and the inquest is scheduled for the Gore Bay Courthouse on October 30, beginning at 9 am. Dr. Peter Clark, regional supervising coroner for Northeast Ontario, will preside as inquest coroner, with Tom Fitzgerald acting as counsel to the coroner.

Grant McLeod, co-counsel to Mr. Fitzgerald, said he was not at liberty to discuss the details of the tragedy or comment on how the death may have occurred, noting, "those are issues that will be put before the jury to decide."

He did note, however, that "no criminal charges were laid" in regard to the incident, nor is the inquest jury empowered to pass any judgment as to culpability. "The intention of the inquest is to answer the questions: who died, how they died, when the death occurred, where, and by what means."

But while the inquest will not assign blame, it can make recommendations "directed to the avoidance of deaths in similar circumstances, or in respect to any other matter arising from the inquest," he said.

Thanksgiving Feasting on Manitoulin fare

embodies fall harvest spirit

by Jim Moodie

MANITOULIN-Gourds adorned the tables. Posters promoting healthy food lined the walls. And from the kitchen came the enticing odours of the sumptuous spread to come.

The twist to this particular fall feast, held at the M'Chigeeng complex last Saturday, was that every morsel on the menu was produced by Manitoulin growers. Billed as the first annual Harvest Bounty Dinner and Dance, the meal featured contributions from a dozen local farmers and food mavens, with ingredients ranging from bread and honey to beef and veggies, not to mention a few nasturtium petals.

The latter weren't employed for table decoration but as a colourful and tasty topping to the salad of fresh greens and tomatoes that formed the first course of the banquet. Garnishing each salad plate was a wedge of smoked trout, compliments of Coldwater Fisheries.

While waiting for the next course, diners snacked on wholesome bread provided by Maja Mielonen (and baked from locally grown wheat), or sipped wine from the Niagara region (the one exception to the Manitoulin-only rule). Soon the soup-a savoury blend of green and yellow beans, dill and garlic-hit the table, followed by a hearty main course of roast beef, roast veggies and pesto spaghetti squash.

The coup de grace was the dessert, a creamy mousse of pumpkin puree served in a cup of chocolate and topped with chocolate shavings and pralines. The menu was designed by Rose Diebolt and Tammy Albers and prepared, under their expert supervision, by a team of volunteer cooks.

Apart from being about the tastiest, and most nutritious, meal to have been sampled anywhere on the Island this year, the dinner-which not only raised awareness of local food, but also funds for the Manitoulin Help Centre-was a refreshing reminder of the real roots of Thanksgiving.

It's sometimes easy to forget, in an era of Butterball turkeys, football games and trimmings from who knows where, that the fall ritual is about celebrating the local harvest and pooling together the bounty of the growing season in a spirit of camaraderie and gratitude.

This was a rough year for many growers, with precipitation reaching perilously low levels, yet as the cornucopia-enough to feed nearly 200, including volunteer servers and cooks-rolled out this weekend suggests, the relatively meagre spoils were still amazingly bountiful.

As Heather Thoma of the Manitoulin Community Food Network (which sponsored the event) explained to those present, "this is a way of celebrating the treasure of local food on Manitoulin."

She noted that "it's not Thanksgiving yet, but with the season for farmers and growers having been so dry and challenging, we're thankful for every morsel we were able to collect."

Diners paid $25 each for the unusual opportunity to savour foods entirely raised and prepared on Manitoulin, and at that price, they certainly got their money's worth, especially since wine was included. Yet it wasn't about getting a deal-it was about getting a good meal, while also supporting the Help Centre (which operates a food bank, as well as a clothing depot), socializing with fellow Islanders, and expressing appreciation for those local folks who toil the soil, rear the animals, keep the bees, and knead the dough.

Such people also need the monetary version of dough, of course, and appreciate the patronage of Islanders, whether that means frequenting the farmers' markets, signing up for a community garden share, or seeking out the producers where they live and farm (or bake, or boil sap, or harvest honey) for some truly fresh-and conscientiously created-food products.

"These are our neighbours," noted Food Network member Vincente Belenson, while taking a brief breather from bussing tables during the Harvest Bounty feast. "They're suffering, and I think we should do whatever we can do to support local growers."

Such support doesn't have to be entirely financial. The Loonsong Garden outside Little Current, for instance, has developed a model by which share members commit to spending a certain amount of time each season helping out in the garden. And for those die-hards who have dependably shown up most Tuesday evenings and Wednesday mornings over the course of the growing season to plant, hoe, weed and harvest the spoils, the ritual is one that continually rewards-not only do they get some exercise and a chance to hang out with fellow garden members, but, most importantly, they gain a deeper appreciation of the source of their food and those who stake their livelihoods on growing it.

Local producers who contributed to the grown-on-Manitoulin feast included the Gypsy Family Farm, Bobbette's Organic Bees and Birds, the Burt Farm, Coldwater Fisheries, Flanagan's Farm, Garden's Gate Restuaurant, Loonsong Garden, Maja's Bounty, Our Garden, and Twigs and Things.

"It was a wonderful meal," said Eva Black, one of the 184 diners who turned out for the culinary extravaganza. "And so nice to know that it was all home-grown."

For more information on the Manitoulin Community Food Network, contact Heather at 368-0460 or Kevin Droski at 282-3820. The organization's mission is to "support and develop the community awareness, production, and consumption of healthy, locally produced food."

Early deadline

As usual this year, the Expositor staff will be enjoying the Thanksgiving Monday holiday with their families.

Next week's (October 10) paper will be produced this Friday, rather than on Monday, and deadlines have been moved ahead accordingly.

Please have your display ad requests to the office by Thursday. Classified deadlines are Friday at noon.

Rural correspondents and columnists are asked to send their news for receipt on Thursday.

In keeping with tradition, the Expositor office will be closed on Monday.

The staff of the Expositor office wish all of our friends a happy Thanksgiving weekend among friends and family.

EDITORIAL

Democratic choice a Thanksgiving blessing

With Thanksgiving weekend upon us, it's hard not to reflect on things for which we should be thankful.

Naturally, we should be in this frame of mind all year 'round, but in this, as in most things, we need some encouragement.

We can be thankful that we live in a society that gives us the opportunity to choose among a variety of political philosophies, as we'll be doing when we visit our respective polling places next Wednesday, October 10 for Ontario's General Election.

At this same time, we can be thankful that we have the opportunity to accept or reject-because the choice is ours-a quite radically different system of selecting the mix of people who will represent us in the Ontario Legislature at Queen's Park via the referendum process that is also part of next Wednesday's election.

Many of us will spend some part of the Thanksgiving weekend holiday debating the merits of the mixed member proportional option with friends and family.

And aren't we fortunate in being offered this intellectual exercise.

The parts of the world that are in the news these days-Burma (also known as Myanmar), Afghanistan, North Korea, Iraq among them, either don't enjoy the diplomatic process that we take as a right, or are struggling to keep a tiny flicker of the democratic election process alive, hoping it will grow.

Many of us are complaining about the referendum aspect of this election: some of us didn't feel it was necessary, while others are having difficulty in coming to terms with the concept of a mixed member proportional system, whereby some members would be sent to the legislature from pre-selected "lists" put forward by every party with a stake in a given election.

Rather than complain, we should simply understand the options as best as we can and then vote yea or nea to any such change based on the best information available to us.

The fact that we've been able to have civilized discussions about the pros and cons of a new system is the real bonus here.

And that alone is something for which we must be thankful.

The staff at The Expositor office would like to offer all of our readers our hope and wish for a happy Thanksgiving weekend among family and friends.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Tory stance on land occupations threatens human rights reputation

Political will needed to find mutually acceptable solutions

To the Expositor:

Ontario Progressive Conservative leader John Tory is taking a strong but potentially disruptive stance aimed directly at First Nation people. In his attempt to denounce the way Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has handled the Caledonia issue, Mr. Tory has come up with a flawed strategy that should be subject to the same scrutiny and criticism as the Liberals' approach.

Should Mr. Tory be successful in his platform to institute harsher penalties for those who participate in "illegal land occupations," he and those who support his platform would be taking part in a social exercise that would significantly tarnish Canada's international human rights record, if this record has not already been affected.

Mr. Tory seems to forget that his platform or strategy comes at a time when Canada has decided not to be a signatory to the United Nations Declaration of Aboriginal Rights. This, in and of itself, is contentious, and can be seen as divisive, to say the least. Unfortunately, Mr. Tory's meeting with Caledonia residents, to the exclusion of Six Nation representatives, is a blatant example of Mr. Tory's misguided orientation. For Aboriginal people, this is called the status quo in terms of Aboriginal/Non-Aboriginal relations in Canada.  

Certainly, Canada's unwillingness to sign the declaration has infuriated many Aboriginal people. Mr. Tory's platform will not only infuriate many more, but it will fan the flames of mistrust and dissention, not to mention spark protests among Aboriginal communities across Canada.

Mr. Tory does not seem to remember what happened in the summer of 1990 during what was called "the summer of discontent," otherwise known as the Oka Crisis, or in more recent times, the 1995 shooting of Dudley George by provincial police at Ipperwash. What Mr. Tory does not realize is that Aboriginal people, nationwide, along with many non-Aboriginal supporters, are carefully watching how the Caledonia issue will be resolved. Unfortunately, Mr. Tory is promoting a "being part of the problem" approach, rather than a "being part of a solution" philosophy. What he does not seem to realize or understand is that there are two realities that exist in Canada-a Euro-western reality, and a First Nation reality that predates the arrival of the newcomers.

However, it is in this context in which John Tory is making his assertions. Ultimately, Mr. Tory's current platform could be seen as detrimental to his very own leadership and, indeed, disruptive to the rest of Canadians, not to mention contribute to the further eroding of Canada's international human rights reputation.

In effect, Mr. Tory's platform would further polarize Aboriginal people and the Canadian polity/people. If successful, Mr. Tory and his supporters may very well provoke another wide-scale protest similar to the one this past summer, when Assembly of First Nations (AFN) leader Phil Fontaine supported a National Day of Action in First Nation communities across Canada.

In the end, it will take political will to find political solutions that can be mutually agreed upon between Canada and Aboriginal people. Aboriginal people cannot and will not go away-the roots of First Nations run deep into the heart of Canadian soil. Indeed, history speaks for itself and today's political leaders must ensure peaceful resolutions to historical and contemporary grievances of First Nation people.

Patrick Corbiere

Grass Roots Clan Council

Birch Island

Hockey exec seems to have lost touch with kids' needs

Bantam panthers should have been handed a release

To the Editor:

I have read your article on the Panther major bantam hockey team ("Panther bantams feeling orphaned by hockey club," September 26), and I am disgusted, as I expect others are as well. I feel an obligation to respond as a past coach of travel hockey (12 years) in Sarnia.

Realizing the need and obligation to make every attempt in forming a team is the normal practice in any district. Doing this affords all children within the district a chance to play travel hockey-that is if there are enough players to ice a team. I further understand that this attempt was made but unfortunately the manpower was insufficient and subsequently there will be no Panther bantam team.

What I do not understand, is once this was determined, the request for players to receive a release was denied.

First and foremost, the game of hockey at this age is a vital part of a child's life and more so in the Great White North (God's Country). I was fortunate enough to live on Manitoulin Island from Grade 3 until Grade 10 some 10 years. Hockey was the main event of the winter season and almost the only family event available during the winter months. I began playing hockey on Manitoulin Island, and at age 43, I still enjoy the game and play in an Oldtimers League.

After reading this article I am left in disbelief. It is quite apparent that the Panthers executive, along with the NOHA, have lost touch with children's needs and dreams. This appears to be nothing more than a power struggle. The actions taken by the Panther executives and the NOHA should be questioned and they should be held accountable.

The game is for the children. Once the Panthers made the decision not to ice a bantam team, all players should have been handed a release. This should have occurred automatically and without any parent/player request.

The fact that this didn't happen definitely shows an abuse of position and obviously a disregard for all children wishing to play the game.

To force a child who has talent and the ability to play the game at a travel level into a house league level is not taking the children's needs into account. This cannot be and should not be tolerated.

Children of this calibre and age are looking for chances of scholarships or possibly junior hockey. To force them into a house league level can put an end to the opportunities of scholarships or junior hockey and is not fair to those players in house league. For Mr. Corrigan to attempt everything possible (actually jumping through hoops) to get his child and the others a release definitely shows his responsibility as a parent to his child.

The regulations state that upon refusal of a release, players/parents must proceed to the next level, then the next, and so on. This is the rule, and if followed by the players, they may, by mid-season-which is much too late-get their requested release.

Rules and regulations are put in effect to protect abuse on both sides but when there is no chance of a team being filled, the ruthless and destructive behaviour of the executive and NOHA must be addressed.

Neglectfully and willfully denying these players a release, intentionally delaying or outright refusing them the release, and completely destroying their chance of playing travel hockey elsewhere, is an abuse of authority. If the Panther executive and the NOHA wish not to play fairly, why should the parents/players?

If I were one of the 10 families that are being affected, I would pursue a legal action against the Panther Major Bantam executives and the NOHA.

The executive should be disgraced and at the least submit their resignations forthwith.

Hockey in the North has been second to none. Hockey is for kids.

Barry Bentley

Sarnia

First-past-the-post is the sensible option in referendum

Current system has served us well since Confederation

To the Expositor:

It is in the nature of humanity to constantly seek a better way, and that desire can be tallied on the lamentably short list of our species' positive attributes. But humanity's dissatisfaction with the status quo can (and too often does) lead to poorly considered leaps of faith-adopting a change that later proves disastrous and fraught with

unintended consequences.

I have studied electoral systems in university, and have long since decided for myself that the flawed, "unfair" and biased system of first-past-the-post (our current system) is better than all of the alternatives-much like democracy itself.

There are trade-offs with every system-pros and cons that can have resonance with reasonably minded people. But, looking at the shortlist of democracies that use that system-the United States, Britain and Canada-it would be hard to imagine a more stable and stalwart club to which a democracy could aspire to belong.

Perhaps our voting numbers are too small, but higher voter turnout in itself is not necessarily a good thing. Ask yourself, do you really want to be a passenger in a vehicle being driven by someone who isn't paying attention?

I would suggest that the only sensible course of action for anyone who does not understand the referendum question when they go to vote is to vote against it-just don't get in the car until you know where it is going to take you.

The current system has served us reasonably well since this country (and Ontario) was established-a few more years in which to consider the question is not an unreasonable choice to make.

Michael Erskine

Little Current

I'm your neighbour

Lyle Dewar

Home Hardware Building Centre,

Providence Bay

He's an accomplished musician, volunteers for numerous committees and is Providence Bay's resident historian, but by day, Lyle Dewar is a delivery driver at Providence Bay Home Hardware Building Centre.

If you've built a house or done renovations anywhere in the vicinity, chances are Lyle has arrived at your door with a truckload of building materials and a smile on his face. The friendly deliveryman has been employed at the building centre "on and off for a number of years," he says. "Whenever they needed help-a long time."

His employment there began while he was still a teen, before heading off to Guelph to earn his diploma in agriculture. On his return, he took over the family farm, and continues to farm today.

But he always found work at the building centre to supplement his income, and his employment has seen him through two employers-Toots and Murray McDermid retired in the spring, and the new owners are Barb and Mike McKechnie-and Lyle can't say enough nice things about either of his employers.

"They are such nice people," he says of the McDermids. "Imagine having a second chance to work for another nice couple, too? They (the McKechnies) are really all about service and helping people-they are super, super, super."

Lyle's job often requires him to travel to the store's sister business, the Home Hardware store in Espanola, to pick up supplies to meet the needs of their customers, because "if we don't have it, we're going to get it, because people need it right away," he says. "It's hard work, but I love it-I love going to work."

When he's not working, Mr. Dewar is busy in the community, playing in the country band The Dewar Brothers, enjoying a game of shinny with a local group of hockey enthusiasts, or sitting on myriad committees and boards that benefit the community-the hospital, co-op and fire department boards among them. He and his wife, Sharon, have also taken a number of foster children into their home.

When he's not spending time helping the people of his community, Lyle is spending time enjoying the people he prizes most: his family, which includes children, grandchildren and his beloved wife, Sharon.

He's met many of the people he works with today through the building centre, and says people are his favourite part of the job.

"When you live in a place that long, you get to know people," Lyle muses of his birthplace. "I think it's a wonderful place to live."

Patronizing local businesses like Providence Bay Home Hardware Building Centre creates lasting employment for people like Lyle Dewar.