by Jim Moodie  

MANITOULIN-Concerns expressed by the United Chiefs and Councils of Manitoulin (UCCM) regarding the cultural needs of first nations students in Island schools are being addressed by the Rainbow District School Board.  

One of the projects announced last week by the board, as part of a new Innovation Fund, is a first nations liaison which will "investigate and address recommendations from the August 27, 2004 submission by the (UCCM)," according to a press release.  

The UCCM's recommendations to the board included more cultural awareness training for teachers, bringing elders and other first nations people into the schools to make meaningful contact with the students, and the hiring of more first nations teachers.  

News that the board has allocated $20,000 for the hiring of an individual who will address these concerns by liaising between first nations communities and the schools is being welcomed by Island principals and board representatives.

 "I totally endorse this," said Robert Beaudin, the first nations trustee for the Rainbow board. "Working together is the best mode for resolving any current issues as well as future ones."  

Margaret Stringer, principal of Little Current Public School (LCPS), is also pleased. "It's great news that they're making this investment and providing a dedicated person to work with the first nations communities."

 Ms. Stringer noted that "it was LCPS that put in the request" for Innovation Fund dollars to go towards a first nations liaison, but added that the liaison worker won't only benefit LCPS. "There will be a spin-off for all the first nations communities and other Island schools, including Manitoulin Secondary."

 While the principal believes that LCPS is already on the right track in terms of sensitizing staff to first nations concerns and incorporating Anishnabek teachings and customs in the school, she sees the creation of a first nations liaison as "an opportunity to improve on what we're doing."  

The principal says the mood at LCPS is very positive and harmonious right now, and that a number of projects are already in place that bridge native and non-native cultures. She points to an Anishnabek Committee that is open to people of both cultures; ongoing cultural awareness workshops for staff, including workshops on traditional teachings and Anishnabek approaches to healing versus punishment; another pow wow (following the school's first, and very popular, pow wow held in 2003) planned for the spring; and continued implementation of Kenjgewin Teg's first nations curriculum, with upcoming units on the environment and animals as seen from a first nations perspective.

 "I think we're currently doing a good job for first nations students, but this will allow us to review what we're doing with a view to making it better," said Ms. Stringer. She hopes that the addition of a first nations liaison will create a relationship that might "act as a model for other first nations communities to follow with school boards. It could be a framework that other boards could adopt."  

Mrs. Stringer believes that the role of liaison will begin "fairly soon." A hiring process will be underway shortly, she says, and once a suitable candidate is found, "they'll get started immediately."  

Jr. 'A' standings Canada-wide rank the Wild in twelfth place

by Michael Erskine  

MANITOULIN-Manitoulin Wild fans can be forgiven for putting on a few airs as their favourite team sits firmly astride the top rung of not only the western division standings of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, but the whole NOJHL. But what will they make of the news that in the past two weeks, the Wild have climbed another two rungs nationally to stand 12th overall?  

"It's wonderful," said Charlie Cipolla, chief operating officer of the Wild. "It's great for the team and it's wonderful for the fans. This Island has just been waiting for this kind of hockey."

 Mr. Cipolla, who has extensive experience in sports team development,  said he has been brought in to 'tighten up' the Wild's financial situation, and give the team the kind of secure base it will need to face the future.

 Having a team bringing such a winning performance to the NEMI Recreation Centre arena can only make his job easier, he admits, but at the same time Mr. Cipolla said the esthetics of playing hockey in such a beautiful area is also a big plus.

The National standings are set by number of wins, ties and losses a team sustains, and the stats are updated weekly at nojhl.com.  

Miranda Amyotte recovering from surgery  

by Michael Erskine  

LITTLE CURRENT-Miranda Amyotte, the eight-year-old girl with a faulty heart valve who recently underwent open-heart surgery at Toronto's Sick Children's Hospital is now at home recuperating from her ordeal.  

Miranda will likely need to undergo another operation to stabilize an uneven heartbeat with a pacemaker some time in the future, but aside from fighting off a minor infection, she is home and expected to be returning to school in the next three weeks.

 "We really want to thank all of the people who gave us their support," said Miranda's mother, Cheryl Amyotte. "It made all the difference."

 The Manitoulin community poured out its support for the young girl and her mother, and from even beyond the Island's shores, with individual calls and donations coming from Expositor readers from across the continent.

 With the successful completion of the heart valve operation, Miranda is on the road to being able to lead a more normal life, but there remains one more step before she is completely out of the woods.  

"Miranda will need another operation," said Ms. Amyotte. "But the doctors want her to be stronger before they try to put the pacemaker in."  

But for now, mother and daughter are just trying to get the routine of their lives back in order. Miranda is looking forward to being able to return to school and see all of her friends again.  

Small municipalities demand gas tax  

by Jane Hubbard  

MANITOULIN-Ontario's commitment to invest two cents a litre of the provincial gas tax to municipalities with public transit is  not good news  for Island municipalities who may have been expecting a share of the gas tax moneys.  

Ontario Transportation Minister Harinder Takhar announced that by October 2005, 78 transit systems in 105 Ontario municipalities will receive a total of $156 million in gas tax revenue, with projected investments of over $680 million over the next three years.   

These funds had been touted as an attempt by the provincial government to assist with the upkeep and improvement of transportation systems, a responsibility that had been downloaded from the province to the municipalities by the Harris government.  

Reeve Richard Stephens of Central Manitoulin said, "I am no more pleased than, I am sure, my other municipal colleagues are. We had hoped that the  representations made by the AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario) and FONOM (The Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities) might have changed the thinking, but it seems to have fallen on deaf ears."  

According to Reeve Austin Hunt of the Municipality of Billings, this announcement comes as no surprise. "As far as I know none of this current money will come to any municipality on Manitoulin. There is a small glimmer of hope, though, that the federal gas tax revenue might still be allocated on a broader scale."  

The federal money that Reeve Hunt is referring to was promised by Prime Minister Paul Martin in June. He pledged to deliver five cents a litre of federal gasoline tax money to municipalities in an investment that would be worth about $2.5 billion a year. 

 While the federal money will be welcome when it arrives, the funding formula is still under debate. Payouts are not expected until 2005 and even then there are restrictions on how the money can be spent.  

 "Very little of the provincial money will be coming to Northern Ontario communities this time around," said Reeve Hunt. "We are still hopeful that some of the federal gas tax revenues will be coming our way."