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Canada Votes 2008

Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing candidates campaign-ready

by Jim Moodie

MANITOULIN-Circle October 14 on your calendars.

To the surprise of very few, Prime Minister Stephen Harper asked Governor General Michaelle Jean to dissolve his minority government on Sunday, with the result that Canadians will now go to the polls one day after Thanksgiving-and a full year ahead of the schedule supposedly set by a fixed-election law.

Locally, four candidates have already been firmly declared, two of whom should be quite familiar to voters, while the remaining pair, although far from complete unknowns, are relative newcomers to the "art of the possible," as politics has sometimes been described.

Of course it's also been called "war without bloodshed." So get ready for some lofty goals being floated in the next few weeks, along with a few left hooks.

Incumbent Brent St. Denis will be seeking a sixth consecutive term as Liberal representative for Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing, while Carol Hughes of the NDP hopes to build on gains made in the previous two elections (she lost by 3,225 votes in 2004, then narrowed that margin to 1,408 votes in 2006) to unseat the sitting member.

The Greens, who picked Sandfield resident Sarah Hutchinson as their candidate in 2006, will this time pin their hopes on Lorraine Rekmans of the Serpent River First Nation, while the Conservatives, represented last time around by Ian West, have nominated Dianne Musgrove of the Whitefish River First Nation to tote the Tory blue.

In 2006, the riding featured two additional candidates-Will Morin ran for the First Peoples National Party, while Donald Milton Palmateer stood as an independent-but as of press time, the slate remained at the aforementioned four.

Mr. Morin is running again for the APNP, but this time in the Sudbury riding where he makes his home. He told the Expositor that his party is still seeking a candidate to run in Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing. According to Elections Canada rules, the nomination process remains open for two weeks after the election is called.

Questions for each of the candidates will be posed by the Expositor over the next five weeks, with their answers duly published in these pages, and each has additionally pledged to appear at an all-candidates night that has been organized by this newspaper for September 24 at Manitoulin Secondary School starting at 7 pm.

Brent St. Denis, Liberal

In a way, Mr. St. Denis requires no introduction, as the veteran MP has served Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing for 15 years and he is familiar to most Islanders from his frequent appearances at constituency clinics, funding announcements, funerals, miscellaneous meetings, ribbon cuttings, and of course, the Haweater parade.

But for anyone new to the riding or in need of a refresher, it warrants pointing out that Mr. St. Denis hails originally from Spanish and cut his political teeth as senior assistant to former MP Maurice Foster, whom he succeeded as a sitting member for the Grits in 1993. He was re-elected in 1997, 2000, 2004 and 2006.

Over this stretch, Mr. St. Denis has held a variety of portfolios. He's chaired standing committees on Natural Resources and Government Operations, to name a few, and served as parliamentary secretary to the ministers of Natural Resources and Transport. In 2004, he was named chair of the standing committee on Industry, Natural Resources, Science and Technology. More recently, he has acted as vice-chair of the standing committee on Veterans Affairs, and his private member's bill to establish a National Peacekeepers' Day was passed in the house this past June, with the inaugural Peacekeeper's Day being observed in August.

Prior to his life in politics, Mr. St. Denis toiled as a teacher at Cambrian College, managed a small business, and served as administrator for the Town of Massey.

Carol Hughes, NDP

Seen of late at the Wiky powwow, not to mention clinking ice-cream cones with NDP leader Jack Layton at a Little Current dairy bar in late August, Ms. Hughes is no stranger to Manitoulin. Her role as Northeast rep for the Canadian Labour Congress necessitates travel across our sprawling riding, but she's also been known to pop down to the Island for other reasons, like the occasional local-food smorgasbord.

Ms. Hughes called Elliot Lake home for 26 years before moving to Sudbury to work for the labour congress, and was formerly employed with Probation and Parole Services at Elliot Lake and Youth Justice Services in Sudbury. A longtime community volunteer and activist, Ms. Hughes has served on school councils and organized both health-care forums and days of mourning.

A veteran of two previous campaigns with the NDP, Ms. Hughes initially thought she wouldn't have the flexibility to attempt a third shot at the Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing seat due to family circumstances, but reconsidered in May of last year and is now looking forward to the challenge.

"I realized how important it was for me to do it again," she said. "And I'm looking forward to knocking on doors, which I've been doing since I was declared the candidate a year ago in May. We'll be out there talking about the issues that matter most to people, not corporations."

Dianne Musgrove, Conservative

Given the official nod as the Tory candidate for Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing on Saturday, Ms. Musgrove is an Anishinabe-kwe (Ojibwe woman) who lives in Birch Island with husband (and campaign manager) Ted, and works as a registered practical nurse at the Centennial Manor in Little Current. She's also a poet, with some of her verse posted at www.poetry.com.

Describing herself as a "centrist candidate," Ms. Musgrove pledges to seek a balanced approach to all issues. "The government should be there to serve the people, not vice versa," she opined, arguing that the Harper government has done just that over the last two years, while simultaneously correcting a host of problems that she contends are the legacy of 13 years of previous Liberal rule.

Ms. Musgrove's campaign "will be focussed on honesty, accountability, and encouraging everyone to come out to vote, especially the youth and those who have never voted before," according to a statement from the candidate.

She is not solely representing First Nation concerns but also the concerns of non-Natives in the working class, she emphasized, citing issues such as "jobs, care of our Elders, the wellbeing and education of children, health care, justice and the environment."

Lorraine Rekmans, Green

Picked by the Greens in a somewhat unusual re-nomination process last year, Ms. Rekmans was born in Elliot Lake and is of Ojibwe-French descent, with roots (and band membership) in the Serpent River First Nation. A former executive director of the National Aboriginal Forestry Association and a trained journalist, she has experience in both the forestry sector and print media.

Wearing the latter cap, Ms. Rekmans published an Aboriginal newspaper based in the North and also worked as a reporter for the Elliot Lake Standard. But it's in the realm of resource extraction-be it forestry or mining-that she has proven herself a particular authority, helping to shape domestic policy as well as attending international sessions concerned with uranium and forest products.

According to her bio posted at the Green Party website, Ms. Rekmans "has extensive experience in forestry and mining and advocates for sustainable use of renewable resources." Among other feathers in her cap, she can point to her involvement in the creation of the first Aboriginal-owned forestry marketing co-operative in Canada.

She is also the co-editor of a book about the experiences of Serpent River band members with regard to the uranium boom in Elliot Lake, titled This Is My Homeland. A mother of two adult sons, Ms. Rekmans lives with longtime hubby Gerry Rekmans.

Island artists and arts groups cry foul at cuts to funds

by Margo Little

MANITOULIN-People preoccupied with the Summer Olympics or the impending fall federal election may be forgiven for missing some behind-the-scenes activity in Ottawa. Recently the Stephen Harper government quietly eliminated several federal arts and culture programs. At present the long-term impact of these cutbacks on Manitoulin's artists, filmmakers, musicians and theatre groups is unclear.

What's all the fuss? Is it a tempest in a teapot? Only time will tell if the federal belt tightening will put the squeeze on arts groups on Manitoulin and the rest of northern Ontario.

But there may be cause for concern, according to several sources. The Quebec media are reporting that the Tories plan further cuts totalling $48.5 million by 2010. Some observers are waiting for the other shoe to drop. In early August the Conservative government announced it would no longer fund a federal program that subsidizes international promotional tours of Canadian artists. The so called PromArt program was killed by the department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. With the help of the $4.7 million program, Canadian artists, filmmakers and musicians promoted Canadian culture overseas. PromArt was conceived as a way to build Canada's image abroad as a diverse, innovative and creative nation.

In addition, the department of Canadian Heritage has axed a program entitled Trade Routes that was originally set up to increase exports for Canadian television, film and sound recording. The overall objective of the $9 million strategy was to develop international markets for Canadian cultural goods.

The Tory government has also decided not to invest in the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada program established to archive important film, television and musical recordings. Slashes to that project amount to $300,000. Funding was further withdrawn from the Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund ($1.5 million) and the National Training Program in the Film and Video Sector ($2.5 million.) These cuts were followed by elimination of support for the Stabilization Projects and Capacity Building of the Canadian Arts and Heritage Sustainability program ($3.4 million) and Canadian New Media Research ($14.5 million.)

According to Heritage Canada minister Josee Verner, the government wants to replace these programs with ones that are "more efficient and with a stronger impact for our culture abroad." And Anne Howland, spokesperson for Foreign Affairs minister David Emerson, suggested that some of the groups funded were not the best choices to be representing Canadians internationally. "Some of the groups we felt had little to do with our foreign policy, or how Canadians would want us to be perceived abroad," she said.

The federal moves were termed "ill-advised" by Ontario Culture Minister Aileen Carroll and Quebec Culture Minister Christine St. Pierre. In a widely circulated letter, they called upon the Harper government to reverse the decisions and to make substantial investments in Canada's cultural industries.

"By cutting these federal programs, without any notice or consultation, the federal government has put the future of organizations and initiatives across the country at serious risk," they said. They claimed that Ontario and Quebec would be disproportionately hurt by the cuts, as the cultural sector contributes close to $30 billion to their GDP and employs 616,000 people. The ministers defended the arts as a good investment with spin-off benefits to tourism and local economies.

On Manitoulin, the news is trickling down to the grassroots. For Sophie Edwards, director of 4elements Living Arts in Little Current, the depth of the federal funding cuts is certainly a concern. "Arts are often the first programs cut, yet we don't fully appreciate the impact of these cuts in our communities, our cultures and the economy" she said. "We don't see the importance of the arts in education, in community development, in economic development as part of the 'hard' economy, yet the arts are part of virtually every sector."

She pointed out that Manitoulin Island has one of the highest per capita artist populations in Canada and that the culture of artistic creation and programming is very important to residents and visitors to the area. "Many of the artists and organizations here, including myself and 4elements, have been supported by public funding and wouldn't be able to provide the programming that we do without it," she noted.

At the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation (OCF) in M'Chigeeng, the changing government priorities have already been felt. Earlier cuts in March 2008 have been detrimental to OCF programs, executive director Alan Corbiere has confirmed. Last spring the department of Canadian Heritage cancelled a service that carried art and artifacts to public museums and galleries across the country. Since 1976 the non-profit transportation service moved items such as van-sized sculptures, tree-sized totem poles and fragile paintings on loan from one museum to another. In addition, the department cut the Museums Assistance Program by 25 per cent.

According to Mr. Corbiere, the cutbacks will affect the OCF's ability to host new and travelling exhibits. Currently, the institution is hosting an exhibition of paintings borrowed from the Department of Indian Affairs, the Indian and Inuit Art Collection. "Through their generosity, we were able to transport these paintings here because they split the costs with us," he explained. "The reason they shared costs is because they acknowledged that the shipping service by the department of Canadian Heritage had been cut. I believe that we would not have been able to host this exhibit without that assistance."

Although the OCF and other organizations can apply for funds to research, create, develop and host special exhibits, it is unusual for any group to receive 100 percent funding of their proposal, he suggested. There is often a funding shortfall that a museum or gallery has to cover.

"The program that was cut actually assisted us in meeting that shortfall," he added. "But now that it is gone, it will definitely make it harder to transport art and artifacts."

In his view, the program should be reinstated, since the Department of Canadian Heritage has a mandate to make Canadian heritage accessible to all Canadians. "The transportation service was a means to showcase Canadian heritage in virtually any place in Canada, at least to the main arteries such as Toronto and Vancouver where more regional and community based organizations can then assist in the transportation expenses," he said.

Since the OCF lacks a significant acquisition budget, Mr. Corbiere believes it is important for the organization to borrow art and artifacts from other institutions such as the Royal Ontario Museum and the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Many historical Anishinaabe artifacts such as medals, war clubs and original paintings are housed in urban museums or private collections.

"There are collections that we would like to access and borrow from," he said. "But the cutbacks send a ripple effect, causing us to look for more funds for transportation costs from other sources. We have to create new exhibits and host visiting ones so that people will come to the OCF. The cutbacks certainly debilitate our abilities to bring in that variety of art and museum exhibits and thus hinders our ability to execute our mandate of promoting Anishinaabe culture and heritage."

Former OCF curator Michael Cywink echoes many of these sentiments. Recently he had an opportunity to travel to Cuba and to share cultural teachings with an international audience, and more Canada/Cuba exchanges are planned in the near future.

"I feel that it is very important that the government of Canada continue to support funding that helps subsidize international promotional tours for Canadian artists," he said. "Canada is supposed to be recognized as a great country with great ideals, a neutral country that maintains a healthy relationship in the arts. Pulling funding does not help us as artists to speak highly of a country which does not support our artistic communications internationally."

Canada is pulling the carpet out from under the feet of its artistic ambassadors, in his view. He points out that he was  treated with great respect and understanding during his recent mural project in Cuba.

"As an artist of First Nations ancestry, it is very important to be visual, to share with the international world the importance of artistic communication," he said. "How is the world to know what is going on in the arts? The world is looking at Canada and Canada is turning a blind eye. Beliefs are visually executed through the arts. The arts are a form of expressing inner feelings and experiences so that those who have a love for the arts can continue to enjoy freedom of expression."

According to artist and professor Bonnie Devine of the Ontario Academy of Art and Design in Toronto, the recent cutbacks are indeed sending shockwaves through the arts community. She notes that the now defunct PromArts program provided modest grants to both individual artists and arts organizations to travel with their work to international exhibitions and screenings.

"I was struck by the small sums granted to individuals," she said. "In many cases the grant amounts seem barely adequate to cover air fare. Yet how important to the artists and our country's presence within the international cultural milieu to have these individuals present their work abroad in person."

The cancelled TradeRoutes program had been viewed as an important catalyst for opening up opportunities for crafts people and artisans to establish markets and exhibition opportunities in the US and further afield.

"In the present contracting economic conditions, one would hope that the federal government would be acting promptly and diligently to encourage economic development and sustainability on a grassroots level. Incredibly, it seems the opposite is true," she said.

Since media reports contain contradictory predictions about the future of federal arts funding, many projects are in limbo.

"Aboriginal artists, craftspeople and artisans, both emerging and established, rely on the opportunities for building markets, developing international partnerships and exhibiting their work abroad which these programs support," she said. "Moreover, Aboriginal institutions both established and fledgling, who are seeking to build capacity, develop infrastructure and extend their reach, are finding themselves without the necessary money to carry out their mandates or their programming."

In her view, the wave of cuts has dampened the confidence and hope inspired by the government of Canada's recent apology for the residential school debacle. "While not directly or solely targeted by the cuts, many Aboriginal artists, cultural workers and institutions, by virtue of their relatively small number and relatively greater economic vulnerability will experience the recent round of cuts as one more cunning and demoralizing broken promise. Yet, the truth is, we as a people know how to survive. And we know how to persevere under adversity. So-persevere and survive we will!"

Joahnna Berti, outreach coordinator for Debajehmujig Theatre, also shares many of these same concerns.

"Of greatest significance from Debaj's perspective is the cut to the Stabilization and Capacity Building," she said. "These programs, if properly applied in our own northern region, would enable a diverse and vibrant northern arts sector to continue to grow on its own terms and based on its own environmental, geographic, historical and cultural aesthetic. Once a critical mass of infrastructure is achieved, then self-sustaining growth will continue to vitalize northern cities and towns, diversify local economies beyond the natural resource sector and provide a viable economic future for a significant segment of the northern population."

The arts sector remains a very important element in Canada's business, trade and tourism industries, according to Ms. Berti. StatsCan figures reveal that with $6.8 billion in funding from all levels of government, the arts sector contributes $26 billion to the Canadian economy and employs 740,000 workers. "That is more than the agricultural, forestry, fishing, gas, utilities, oil and mining sectors, all of which also receive various types of government subsidies," she stressed.

In addition, she believes it is important to remind the government that the arts contribute to the social and spiritual empowerment of Canadian communities and individuals. "Art renews and revitalizes cities and towns; builds identity and pride; educates and trains; promotes health and well-being; generates the passion necessary for rational thinking and contributes to the evolution of ideas," she said.

She also cites federal government studies that attest to the fact that people involved in the arts are likely to participate in civil society and community activities in a variety of ways. For many people, the arts is their first entry point into volunteerism, politics or community work.

"Since artists are among the lowest income earners in Canada, the cuts furthermore take resources away from those who are among the most in need," she concludes.

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2,106 words

Get motivated and get registered!

MSS Relay for Life event is September 19

M'CHIGEENG-There is still time to register a team or sign up for the Survivor Lap in this year's Relay for Life.

Hosted by Manitoulin Secondary School (MSS), the relay will take place on Friday, September 19, with the opening ceremonies commencing at 7 pm. The event will kick off with a Survivor's Lap, which will celebrate those who have battled cancer and survived and those who are still fighting the disease.

Organizer Leslie Marshall notes that a survivor's reception will be held just before the Relay, and encourages anyone interested in participating to contact the school.

"The survivor's reception is for those who have fought and won the battle, or are presently fighting," she says. "Any survivors who haven't signed up yet can call us and let us know they'd like to participate."

Those interested are asked to contact Chantal Desbiens at the school at 377-5321.

Registration is also still open for those groups who haven't yet entered a team. Organizers would like to have everyone registered by this Friday, in time to distribute the Relay for Life T-shirts; however, registration will still be accepted after this week.

For those who can't participate but would like to show their support for the event, luminaries are available for purchase for $5 at businesses around the Island; Little Current Public School and C.C. McLean Public School in Gore Bay will also be selling the candles. The luminaries, which can be purchased in memory of loved ones who have lost their lives to cancer or in honour of someone who has survived the illness, will be placed around the relay track and set alight during a lighting ceremony after dusk.

Organizers are also seeking entertainers to perform during the 24-hour event. "If there are any singers or bands, or any type of entertainment, who would like to donate some time and entertain the participants who are walking the track-we would love to have them," Ms. Marshall says.

As with any major event, volunteers are also needed to help run the relay, so those who can donate some time to help with parking, registration and other tasks are also encouraged to contact the school.

In the past, the fundraising initiative has raised $45,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society, which is a huge accomplishment for a small community. Students and organizers have been putting in a lot of hours to get the relay ready for next weekend, Ms. Marshall says, and they hope to see community members from across the Island gather in M'Chigeeng for the moving event. "The more people that are here, the more fun it is," she says.

For more information about this year's Relay for Life, to make a donation, or to sign up to participate or volunteer, contact the school at 377-5321.

Endangered species specialist

appointed by MNR_for district

by Jim Moodie

MANITOULIN-A new emphasis on species at risk has resulted in an unusual addition to the provincial complement of natural resources staffers, who had themselves begun to seem like something of an endangered species following years of ministry downsizing.

This spring, Deb Jacobs was assigned to the Sudbury district of the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) to act as their new biodiversity/species-at-risk biologist. "It's one of a number of similar positions established across Ontario," she explained.

Her role, like that of counterparts in other districts, will be to provide local expertise on threatened species, as well as coordinate recovery strategies for waning wildlife, as has been mandated through the province's new Endangered Species Act.

Ratified in May of last year, the act replaces outworn legislation that dates to 1971. According to the MNR, it provides for broader protection for species at risk, greater support for volunteer stewardship efforts, and a stronger commitment to the rehabilitation of areas where precious flora and fauna exist.

The act has drawn criticism from landowner groups but garnered support from all of the province's major political parties and a hearty endorsement from environmental organizations, who see new hope for over 200 endangered plants and animals.

Manitoulin has a significant number of plants, as well as an occasional bird or reptile, that are deemed to be worthy of protection under the act, said Ms. Jacobs. "Because you're an extension of the Niagara Escarpment surrounded by Canadian Shield, it's a unique island, with a climate moderated by the lake. So it makes for unique habitats like alvars and shoreline dunes which, when you look at the province, are relatively rare," she said.

Such habitats, in turn, yield unusual, and often vulnerable, species. Among those identified as at risk-a broad category that is broken down into categories of extinct, extirpated, endangered, threatened, and of special concern-are dwarf lake iris, Manitoulin gold, least bitterns, Blanding's turtles, Houghton's goldenrod, Hill's thistles and pitcher's thistles.

The latter, which grow in sandy shoreline environments and are designated as endangered, were the focus of a study undertaken this summer as part of a status report update commissioned by the federal Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). The MNR was involved to the extent that a helicopter was provided to fly researchers to some of the more isolated havens for the plant, such as the Duck Islands and Cockburn Island, and one conservation officer was among the thistle-assessing team, but the ministry wasn't in charge of the project, nor are they immediately privy to the findings.

"It was funded by the federal government, and it's Parks Canada that will get the report," explained Natural Resources Minister Donna Cansfield. "The MNR is just providing support. But from our position, we're thrilled to help anyone with assessing and surveying a species that is at risk. We're working to reverse the decline of that species."

The thistle, though it might sound like a lowly-and prickly-kind of weed, is actually quite significant, according to Ms. Jacobs. Globally so. "It's considered a Great Lake endemic, which means this is the only place in the world where it occurs," she noted. "In terms of protecting biodiversity, we have a responsibility not just for ourselves but to the rest of the world to ensure we're not making it extinct."

The plant also plays an important role in maintaining the type of dune systems-themselves globally significant-in which it tends to take root. "It's one of the few species, along with certain grasses, that will stabilize the dunes," said Ms. Jacobs. "It's one of the first colonizers of loose sand, and will hold it together enough that other species can come in."

The biologist assisted with some of the pitcher's thistle monitoring that occurred this summer, but couldn't say whether the plant is flourishing or declining, as such a determination will have to await the completion of the study. "We'll get that information once the status report is written," she said.

She does know, though, that the plant is vulnerable to human pressures such as "ATVs and large-scale cottage development," which can easily disturb the fragile heaps of sand in which it finds a home.

The same, she said, is true of the plants that find a toehold in alvars, as these flat-rock formations host precious pockets of soil that have a hard enough time withstanding the ravages of nature, such as deluges of rain and scorching droughts. "The soil is very thin and nutrient poor in this extreme environment, so one of the worst things you can do is compact it with an ATV," she said.

Ms. Jacobs is aware that some landowners on Manitoulin are wary of-if not firmly opposed to-the Endangered Species Act, fearing the protections afforded to certain plants will curtail the extent to which they can utilize their property, but she believes these concerns are largely overstated.

"I'm not going to say there's no chance that a property owner will be affected, but just by definition these plants are rare, so they don't occur on everyone's property," she noted.

Most, too, occur in isolated spots that aren't generally inhabited or suitable for a human use such as farming or forestry, she added. "We're talking about dunes, alvars and wetlands-those are the big three."

In the case of pitcher's thistles, it's almost beside the point to discuss an infringement on a landowner's rights, she further pointed out, since nearly all exist within the 66-foot shoreline allowance that is already public land and a no-no to build upon or appreciably disturb.

As for the notion, advanced among some residents, that MNR personnel are, or will be, striding onto people's property to identify endangered plants and impose restrictions, both Ms. Jacobs and the Natural Resources minister herself were adamant that this is not the case.

"I can't go onto private property," said Minister Cansfield. "This is why we put into place a stewardship program in order to work with landowners."

As part of the new endangered species legislation, a fund of $5 million has been established to assist municipalities, non-governmental organizations and individual landowners to undertake recovery work, noted Ms. Jacobs, and incentives-such as the conservation-land tax program that existed under the previous incarnation of the act-are also being developed to make the protection of endangered and threatened species worth a landowner's while.

At present, "only the species listed under the old act are covered," admitted Ms. Jacobs. "But since the number of species has expanded with the new act, we're working on new incentive programs like tax relief."

The goal of the legislation, she stressed, is to "achieve a good balance" between species protection and people's ability to make a living and continue traditional uses of the land. As the regulations for habitat protection are phased in over the next five years, "we'll be looking at social aspects, too," said Ms. Jacobs. "We don't want to shut down the economy."

In general, the biologist feels landowners have little to fear. "In most cases, if a landowner is undertaking an activity like haying or cutting firewood, as they've done since time immemorial, and the species is still there, it demonstrates that what they're doing is fine."

As for the "perception that we're going to show up and kick a farmer off his property and confiscate his tractor, that's so not what protecting species at risk is about," she said. "In terms of myself, I will only go onto public-access property, and private property only if I have explicit permission from a landowner to do so. What we do want to do is to encourage a landowner to undertake good stewardship."

Protecting valuable species can also bring its own economic reward, as the presence of unique plants and animal life add to an area's cachet. "Prior to coming to Sudbury I'd never been to Manitoulin," noted Ms. Jacobs, "but one of my close friends and colleagues would come two times a year precisely because of the beauty and the unique nature you have-and that's tourist dollars flowing into the economy."

In Ms. Jacobs' view, Manitoulin has an uncommon treasure of flora and fauna that is worth cherishing. And protecting. "Anyone can buy a slab of pavement," she mused. "Visitors, and I suspect many of the people who live there too, want something that is ecologically unique."

EDITORIAL

Framing of major issues will determine election result

On October 14, Canadians will vote in a federal general election and the question now is which party(ies) will set the agenda in the voters' minds during the next month.

If the Conservatives succeed in this respect, the major issue will be the Canadian economy.

If the Liberals (and the Green Party and, to some extent, the New Democratic Party) are able to set the tone and tenor, the major issue before Canadians will be climate change and the environment.

Each of the Tories and the Liberals will campaign that their particular agenda is the most important to Canadians just now, and that they are best suited to lead a government focussed on a) the changing economy or b) climate change and change individual Canadians must make to help reverse a looming global catastrophe.

If we choose "the economy" and the related topics of job loss/creation/retention, that means we'll likely be voting Conservative.

If we feel that environmental concerns are front-of-mind then the Liberals, or possibly the Green Party or the NDP, will get our vote.

Party strategists in every political camp will be working overtime to position their particular brand-and to convince us that their political vision is the most important one for Canadians, at least in the short run.

Clearly, both the nation's economy and environmental issues are each important to all of us.

But in this particular election, as we sort out Mr. Dion's plan for a Green Shift, all parties must give us a plan for dealing with global warming concerns in our particular corner of the world.

If this isn't an election where environmental concerns are of prime importance, it will likely be the last one in the foreseeable future where this isn't the case.

Letter to the Editor

September 11 still stings seven years later

Family continues to cherish loved one lost in tragedy

To the Expositor:

It's the seventh year-already! This last year has gone so fast. When September 11, 2001 happened, I was in New York City, going out my apartment door when the phone rang. It was a friend from Sudbury, who said, "Bonnie, glad to hear your voice. Turn on the TV." I called my office. Don't come in. The city is in lockdown. I looked out my window on 37th Street to a clear September day, not a cloud in the sky, and huddled in front of my TV. Terrified. My darling cousin Jon was on the 104th floor. We waited for two days, hoping he would lope into a room with his sunny smile, but he perished with thousands of others. Along with other families, ours went into deep depression. The light and love of our family life, only 33, and full of fun, laughter and love, was Jon. Gone.

It's the same weather this week, and we New Yorkers still weave these memories into the fabric of our everyday lives. You, my friends on Manitoulin, felt for us and with us, giving aid where you could. We knew that. We know that. This summer, we've concentrated on the Olympics, our presidential campaign. Jon's widow is marrying again in November.

Jon's mom, my champion of courage, still articulates our feelings of loss:  "Sure, I'm having anxiety; there's so much happening this week. I want to withdraw from it, and don't want friends and family to feel they have to come to our son's grave. My husband and I have not seen our support group in a year. We're not going into New York City for the Memorial. I can't make small talk. We've grown and gone in different directions. Our son would want us to get on with our lives. We'll never forget him. I won't watch television. It's too much. It's not that we've pulled away. My son is always with me, but it's truly time to move on. Some can't move on, they're stuck. This year I'll bring daisies not roses to his grave. Daisies are bright and fresh, celebrating the new."

There will be a memorial at Ground Zero. We cherish our bright, beautiful Jon, and we still laugh at his antics and his wisdom with fondness. Our new flowers are daisies. Who'll notice if there are tears on them.

Bonnie Kogos

Manhattan and Manitoulin

War information is filtered by self-interested politicians

Mr. Bush should go back to school

To the Expositor:

Regarding the comments of R.R. White of London, Ontario about the five-year escapade in Iraq ("Our children are dying in Afghanistan," letters, August 6), I would suggest to Mr. White that he should get information from someone who served three years in Palestine with the British army, from 1945-1948. What the American and Canadian public get is what the politicians want them to see and hear. The Iraq conflict was another "undeclared" war, like Vietnam and Korea. It does not matter who is fighting. The Jews in Palestine killed my buddies in the name of self-rule. They were backed up by the elements in the United States who, to this day, back up everything the Israelis do, without trying to fix the problem. The US is trying to play the role of world peacekeeper. All I can say is that Mr. Bush and his cohorts better go back to school and stop taking orders from people who are only interested in their own interests.

Don Patrick

Sheguiandah