Media.Knet.Ca

Pelican Falls 3rd Annual

Mixed Volleyball Tournament

3 guys 3 gals

Saturday, February 24th

$150.00 entry fee

contact Duane Ogemah 737-1283 work 582-3908 home

Everyone is invited to share their myknet story and experiences within the online discussion forum at http://meeting.knet.ca/moodle/mod/forum/view.php?f=263 ...

Please encourage other people you know who use MyKnet for their homepage to join these discussions as well so they too can share their myknet experiences within this online sharing space.

The K-Net team is working with three graduate students who are writing a paper about MyKnet. Adam Fiser (Toronto), Philipp Budka (Vienna) and Brandi Bell (Montreal) are interested in speaking with as many people as possible who have been using MyKnet over the years or who began using MyKnet and are now using some other service for their homepage.

If all goes well MyKnet will be featured in a special "Social Network" edition of the Journal of Computer Mediated Communications alongside Myspace and Youtube.

The three PhD graduate candidates would like to spend some time with you online (email, chat) or over the phone, to discuss your experience with MyKnet?  Their deadline for producing this paper is February 28th.

They are trying to address three major themes in their paper:

 1) The History of MyKnet.
 2) The Role of Youth.
 3) Cultural issues and opportunities.

They want to talk with and hear from as many of MyKnet's pioneer users and innovators and write the paper using as many original voices as they can. Maybe you could suggest some other people for them to contact as well?

Please visit their research site on the meeting space.
http://meeting.knet.ca/moodle/mod/forum/view.php?f=263.

It would be GREAT if you would be willing to share your MyKnet story and experience with others within this online discussion. You need to sign up for a Meeting Space account if you do not already have one.

This opportunity would really help them with their paper and let others know about your work on myknet!

Thanks for your help with this work!

NAN press release ...

Ontario Attacks Aboriginal and Treaty Rights in Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) Litigation

THUNDER BAY, ON, Jan. 29 - Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler and Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) spokesperson John Cutfeet are outraged by the Government of Ontario's attack on Aboriginal and treaty rights during Friday's court proceeding in the case of KI vs. Platinex.

"Ontario's legal argument dismisses constitutionally protected Aboriginal and treaty rights based on First Nation culture and spiritual connection to the land," said KI spokesperson John Cutfeet after the third court proceeding since Toronto-based mining company Platinex sued his northern First Nation community for $10 billion after they requested drilling equipment be removed from their traditional territory last Spring. "The mining act is an outdated piece of legislation, whereby the McGuinty government grants permits without consulting the First peoples where lands will be affected by the various impacts of mining. The McGuinty government claims the provincial mining act trumps all constitutionally protected rights recognized under section 35 of the Canadian constitution for all First Nations."

Government of Ontario lawyer Owen Young argued for intervener status in Thunder Bay's Ontario Superior Court Friday January 26, 2007.

"It's clear the McGuinty government has a twisted interpretation of the spirit and intent of James Bay Treaty 9, not to mention sixteen years of Supreme Court decisions that have ruled for consultation and accommodation with First Nations prior to land exploration, let alone drilling," said NAN Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler.

Despite a community declared moratorium on resource development recent Supreme Court rulings to consult and accommodate, including Mikisew (November 2005), Platinex received permission from the Government of Ontario to drill in KI territory February 2006.

KI brought a constitutional challenge to the Ontario Mining Act June 2006, claiming the Act fails to prioritize Aboriginal and Treaty rights deeming it unconstitutional.

In July an Ontario Superior Court decision halted Platinex from drilling in KI territory until the mining company and Province of Ontario fulfil obligations to consult with the First Nation community. In this decision, Justice Patrick Smith specifically referenced the impacts of mining on not only the right of First Nations to fish, hunt, and trap, but also on impacts to the cultural and spiritual connection to the land.

The next scheduled date for court proceedings is April 2, 2007 in Thunder Bay.

KI is a signatory to the 1929 adhesion of James Bay Treaty 9. The community is located approximately 600 km north of Sioux Lookout.

For further information: Jenna Young, NAN Director of Communications at (807) 625-4952; or John Cutfeet, KI Spokesperson at (807) 627-9062

The Chiefs' Steering Committee wishes to announce the upcoming Leadership Review Meeting about the work completed to date. The meeting will take place on March 20, 21, 22, 2007 at the Travelodge Airlane in Thunder Bay.

Communications Team Bulletin # 8– December 21, 2006

 Completed forty-eight (48) Treaty # 9, Treaty #5 (Ontario Portion) and Affiliated First Nations community visits.

Communities that were visited but were unable to provide an information session:

Moose Factory, Moose Cree, Mocreebec

Communities that were unable to visit are as follows:

Koocheching, Kashechewan

Leadership Review Meeting

March 20, 21, 22, 2007

Travelodge Airlane – Thunder Bay

Communities in Action Fund (CIAF) program
 
Now in its fourth year, CIAF grants have been awarded to many community organizations and partnerships throughout the Province. Programs funded in the past included everything from dancing, skateboarding, trail use, tai chi, a range of popular sports including after-school sport programs for children and youth to mentoring programs. CIAF, a key initiative of the government's ACTIVE2010 Strategy and Ontario's Action Plan for Healthy Eating and Active Living has supported programs that remove barriers to participation for people of all ages and backgrounds - children and youth, low-income families, aboriginal people, older adults, women and girls, visible/ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.

For information on CIAF program guidelines as well as Active 2010, please visit the Ministry of Health Promotion's website at http://www.mhp.gov.on.ca/english/sportandrec/fund.asp.

There is a limited budget for CIAF funding and no guarantee that all applications will receive funding. Priority will be given to projects that meet CIAF and ACTIVE2010 priorities and result in getting inactive people active to improve health and fitness.

For your information, the last day for receipt of applications is March 2, 2007.

After 12 years of meetings, Manitoba Chiefs voted this week to abandon existing self-government process as a waste of time with very little being achieved during that time. The chiefs determined that working with the bureaucratics is not going to achieve the government-to-government relationship required for real self-governance to work. See story below ...

From http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/Top%20Stories/283541.html

Chiefs end talks with Ottawa
By Leighton Klassen - The Daily Graphic - Friday January 26, 2007

First Nations in this province have decided to end negotiations to dismantle the Manitoba division of Department of Indian Affairs.

Talks on the subject have been going on for 12 years, but a year-long review by Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs concluded nothing of substance has been achieved.

“Over the years, negotiations became more at the bureaucratic level and not at the First Nations level, so we felt the thing to do was to discontinue,” AMC Grand Chief Ron Evans said yesterday.

The decision was made on Wednesday during the second day of the three-day AMC meeting held at Long Plain First Nation.

The 65 chiefs who were present voted unanimously in favour of the move.

The move was also endorsed by the grand chiefs that represent the northern and southern aboriginal groups of Manitoba.

There has been no progress since an agreement was signed in December of 1994 by the assembly and then-premier Jean Chretien’s government to negotiate the dismantling of Indian Affairs in Manitoba, Evans said.

The idea was its responsibilities would be turned over to aboriginal governments in the province, effectively repealing Indian Act as it applied to Manitoba bands.

These bands would then have the authority and responsibility to administer and deliver programs handled by Indian Affairs and other federal departments such as housing, education, capital projects, band administration and justice.

Evans said the 1994 agreement was a key component to overcoming many of the issues aboriginals face.

“The whole purpose was to turn things around,” he said. “We’re the poorest of the poor, have the highest suicide rates, poorest education .... We need to do this by ourselves and there should be an agreement to take us there.”

Long Plain Chief Dennis Meeches said Ottawa still doesn’t understand First Nations can survive under their own governance. In the future, he wants his people to function in a society where they’re considered a nation, free from the control of Indian Affairs.

“There’s nothing wrong with being a nation within a nation,” Meeches said. “I love this country and I represent it, but I have to stay true to my culture.”

Evans said talks will not resume until the federal government takes the negotiations out of the hands of bureaucrats and initiates a government-to-government process with aboriginal chiefs.

The assembly plans to send a letter to Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice explaining its action, he said, adding he hopes Prentice will be willing to restart negotiations in a meaningful way.

Prentice wasn’t available for comment, but his office offered a brief comment on the announcement.

“It’s disappointing anytime negotiations are called off, however, we still believe negotiations are the only way we can achieve anything,” spokeswoman Deidra McCracken said yesterday. “We’re looking to reopen discussions.”

During a speech at the national conference in Calgary of Engineers Without Borders, Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean, challenged Canadians to address the third world conditions that exist in Canada in aboriginal communities. See the two news stories about the GG's visit to Alberta ...

From http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald

Gov. Gen. calls for action on native poverty

Kerry Williamson kwilliamson@theherald.canwest.com, CanWest News Service - Friday, January 26, 2007

CALGARY - Her eyes opened by her first state visit to developing countries in Africa as well as her travels in Canada, Governor General Michaelle Jean is urging Canadians to focus on their own developing world in the form of desperately poor aboriginal communities.

Speaking in Calgary on Thursday evening, the governor general said Canadians need to ''admit once and for all'' that urgent work needs to be done ''in our own backyard'' and not just in impoverished Third World countries.

'We must not forget that there is a developing world right here in Canada, there are developing communities right here in Canada, that we can no longer ignore,' said Jean, speaking at the Engineers Without Borders national conference.

'Let us admit once and for all that the developing world is closer than we think. There is urgent work that needs to be done in our own backyard.'

Jean - who visited Algeria, Mali, Ghana, South Africa and Morocco late last year - said she was struck by how similar social problems in those countries are to problems on First Nation reserves in this country.

She pointed to aboriginal communities which struggle to provide people with clean drinking water, have high rates of violence against women, have 'desperate' needs for adequate housing and health infrastructure, and a pressing need to improve education.

The Haitian-born former journalist also referred to the marginalization of young people on First Nation reserves.

'I saw situations and needs there that are identical to the situations and needs in Canada,' she said.

A report to the federal government last year deemed 21 reserves in Canada as high-risk health hazards because of their lack of safe drinking water. A further study, released by the International Housing Coalition and sponsored by the Canadian Real Estate Association last June, found that Aboriginal housing on reserve is seriously deficient.

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From http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/news/shownews.jsp?content=n012717A

Canadians must all help fight 'poverty and exclusion,' says governor general - JAMES STEVENSON - January 27, 2007

CALGARY (CP) - Canadians have a collective responsibility to combat the problems of "poverty and exclusion" and not simply rely on government help, the Governor General said Saturday.

Wrapping up a three-day tour of southern Alberta with a graduating class of Aboriginal teachers, Michaelle Jean said all Canadians must help the less fortunate in society.

"The more we are indifferent, the more we will fail some of our fellow citizens and we can't set an example to the world - and the world is looking at us as a country," Jean said Saturday in Calgary.

"I think that sometimes we actually could do more, but if we are indifferent, this will not happen."

Promoting and praising action on native and social issues was a key theme during the Governor General's second official visit to Alberta.

She spent nearly three hours Saturday afternoon listening to the stories of 11 teachers from the Siksika Nation, one hour east of Calgary, who had graduated from a University of Calgary program last year.

Unique to Canada, the Master of Teaching program combines aboriginal language, culture and teaching with mainstream educational practices.

"It's always wonderful to celebrate a good success story," Jean said afterwards.

"It's one thing to be aware of difficulties, of situations that are very troubling, but it is also so important to acknowledge the solutions brought to the problems by the people themselves."

Jean's message reverberates in Alberta where years of soaring oil and gas prices have brought both unprecedented wealth and soaring social problems including homelessness and spousal abuse.

But Jean said social problems that come from poverty and exclusion were not unique to Alberta, and Canadians had a shared responsibility to fix them.

Within hours of arriving in Calgary last Thursday, Jean told a packed room of young engineers gearing up to help promote development around the world that Canadians can no longer ignore the impoverished conditions in their own aboriginal communities.

"Let us admit, once and for all, that the developing world is closer than we think," she said.

The next day, she visited a family shelter on the Stoney-Nakoda First Nation west of Calgary, noting that Alberta had the worst record of violence against women in the entire country.

But again, rather than pointing fingers, Jean said she needed to celebrate the success of the "courageous" women living in the shelter within their own small community.

"They're really making sure that something is happening against that terrible situation of violence against women," she said.

Jean told teachers and leaders of the Siksika Nation on Saturday that she would use her position to "advise, inform and warn" the federal government of their situation.

Siksika Chief Adrian Stimson said Jean's visit was a very historical moment, noting there is a great need for visits like the one the Governor General made to the successful graduates.

"I think it's a very great thing that's happened here today."

Racism, ignorance and hate literature being defended by House of Commons lawyers as a politician privilege (see story below).

From CanWest News Service ...

Former MP loses bid to be immune from human rights law
Janice Tibbetts, CanWest News Service - January 24, 2007

OTTAWA - A former Saskatchewan MP, who is accused of racism against aboriginals for a ''householder'' brochure he sent to his constituents, is not exempt from a human rights investigation, says a federal judge.

Jim Pankiw, who was a member of the former Reform and Canadian Alliance parties before he was ousted for his controversial views, unsuccessfully tried to convince a judge that politicians should be able to express their views without being hauled before the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Federal Court Judge Francois Lemieux concluded the concept of parliamentary privilege, which has traditionally been used to protect politicians from lawsuits for comments made in the House of Commons, does not extend to handouts distributed by MPs.

''There can be no doubt freedom of expression is the lifeblood or a democratic Constitution such as Canada's,'' wrote Lemieux. ''Having said this, there is always a balance to be achieved because there are limits to free political speech.''

Pankiw took the commission to court after it decided a human rights tribunal could examine nine complaints against him for distributing pamphlets appealing for a halt to ''Indian crime.'' He also condemned ''race-based hiring quotas for Indians'' and a Criminal Code provision that urges judges to use leniency when sentencing aboriginals.

Pankiw, now a Saskatoon chiropractor, said the court decision is a blow to free speech.

''It means that the Canadian Human Rights Commission can censure members of Parliament for speaking their mind about public policy, which means we no longer live in a free country,'' said Pankiw, the former MP for Saskatoon-Humboldt. ''If you can't get elected in and espouse your views, then we don't have free speech, do we? It makes a mockery of our Constitution.''

Pankiw was elected as a Reform Party member in the 1997 and its successor, the Canadian Alliance, in 2000. He joined other dissidents who defected to protest Stockwell Day's leadership, but when Stephen Harper assumed the helm, he did not invite Pankiw back on the grounds he was too confrontational.

The House of Commons, which supported Pankiw in the court challenge, filed an appeal on Friday in the Federal Court of Appeal.

''The question is whether it is appropriate in a democracy for a government agency to be judging the content of what members of Parliament say to their constituents,'' said Steven Chaplin, a lawyer for the House of Commons. ''In our view, the political process should deal with it, that's what elections are all about.''

He noted Pankiw was not re-elected as an independent candidate in the federal elections of 2004 and 2006, when he lost to the Conservatives.

Chaplin said the House of Commons draws the line at the free speech that amounts to criminal hate.

Ailsa Watkinson, one of Pankiw's former constituents who filed a human rights complaint, doesn't buy the argument that politicians should be able to speak their minds and then let the voters decide.

''To have in that position somebody disseminate information and to speak in a way that is promoting hatred, that perpetuates discrimination against a certain group of people, is an abuse of power and privilege,'' said Watkinson, a professor at University of Regina.

Parliamentary privilege has traditionally immunized politicians from lawsuits for comments in the House of Commons. It has also protected them from being called to testify while the House is in session.

There have been numerous attempts over the years to expand the scope of parliamentary privilege.

Lemieux, in his ruling, drew heavily on a 2005 decision in the Supreme Court of Canada which retained a narrow scope for parliamentary privilege in the case of Satnam Vaid and the former Speaker of the House of Commons, Gib Parent.

The House of Commons tried to claim privilege when Vaid tried to take his former boss to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, alleging that he was the victim of a racist firing.

CanWest News Service

Judges and national organizations continue to talk and meet about the residential school settlement as the survivors wait. Now the lawyers are taking over the settlement and further delaying the distribution of few thousand dollars for each survivor while they fight over the millions they are expecting. (see stories below). SHAME, SHAME, SHAME on the government, on the lawyers and on the organizations for making this happen!

Meanwhile, in a few short months Canada announces a $10.5 million settlement for a newcomer to Canada for being wrongfully sent to a detention centre. Residential school survivors, many of whom spent years in these forced school environments, suffering various unacceptable experiences are still waiting for even a little personal justice from Canada.

AFN press release ....

Residential School Survivors are One Step Closer to Compensation Following Judges Meeting in Calgary

OTTAWA, Jan. 26 - The final court approval for the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) is one step closer to reality after judges from across Canada met in Calgary yesterday.

"I am pleased to report that yesterday's meeting between the judges, who approved the settlement in principle last month, resolved a number of issues that will allow the administrative process to proceed as quickly as possible," said Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine. "As you know, the AFN was central to discussions with Canada that formed the responses to the judges concerns on the independent administration and related issues."

The judges also agreed to an unprecedented sitting of all the courts, in the very near future, in order to issue the final settlement approval.

"This certainly indicates that our judicial system realizes the urgency in approving this settlement as quickly as possible," noted the National Chief. "I am very pleased that our Elders have already benefited from the Advance Payment Program. To date, 13,400 have received their $8,000 cheques. This means a total of $74.8 Million dollars have been paid out to the elderly. I look forward to all survivors receiving their compensation due them in the very near future.

"AFN's continued involvement in this process will ensure that the IRSSA remains on track to get payments out to survivors as soon as possible," added the National Chief.

In the coming months, a Community Outreach Mobile Plan (COMP) will travel to as many communities as possible to conduct face-to-face information sessions with survivors.

The Assembly of First Nations is the national organization representing First Nations citizens in Canada.

For further information: please contact: Bryan Hendry, A/Director of Communications, (613) 241-6789, ext. 229, cell: (613) 293-6106, bhendry@afn.ca;. Nancy Pine, Communications Advisor to the National Chief, (613) 241-6789, ext. 243, cell: (613) 298-6382, npine@afn.ca.

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From http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2007/01/26/residential-deal.html

Appeal means residential school deal on hold: Ottawa
Friday, January 26, 2007 - CBC News

A multibillion-dollar settlement for aboriginal students who attended residential schools is now stalled, a lawyer with the federal government says.

Earlier this month, the attorney general's office filed an appeal against the deal approved by nine judges across Canada. That appeal was against the $15 million to $40 million in legal fees approved for Regina lawyer Tony Merchant, whose firm represents thousands of former students.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine had hoped that the dispute over fees could be separated from the rest of the deal and the long-awaited payouts could proceed.

The situation became more complicated on Friday when Merchant filed his own appeal in Regina that replied to the attorney general's appeal and added other objections to it.

The effect, according to federal government lawyer Catherine Coughlan, is to delay implementation of the compensation package.

Under the law, the settlement is "stayed" during an appeal period, she said.
 
"It means that further steps in the matter cannot be taken unless a party applies to the court to lift the stay," she said.

However, in the cross-appeal he filed Friday, Merchant argued that it was Ottawa's appeal that triggered the stay and he wouldn't have appealed if Ottawa hadn't done so first.

The deal includes $1.9 billion for the roughly 80,000 aboriginal people who attended the schools in the 20th century. There's also more money for students who were abused physically or sexually in the schools, which were typically run by churches under the supervision of the federal government.

Money has also been set aside for memorial projects and various healing and reconciliation programs.

In total, it's estimated the deal could add up to between $4 billion and $5 billion, according to documents filed in a Regina court.

A new report by the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) highlights the challenges Aboriginal people face when trying to access learning opportunities taken for granted by other Canadians.

Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) press release ...

State of Learning in Canada: No Time for Complacency Report - Learning Measures Lagging for Aboriginal People

Report calls for approach to learning that reflects community values

VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 26 - While more Aboriginal youth are finishing school and entering post-secondary education than ever before, Aboriginal languages are endangered and the effects of persistent poverty are hindering progress among Aboriginal youth.

State of Learning in Canada: No Time for Complacency, the first in a series of annual reports to be published by the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL), is a comprehensive overview of key aspects of learning in Canada.

Using a wide range of research into learning among Aboriginal people, the report reveals that:

• Aboriginal children are less likely than their parents or Elders to speak an ancestral language
• Of Canada's 50 or so Aboriginal languages, half are considered at risk of extinction and only Inuktitut, Cree, and Ojibway are considered 'safe'
• While some immersion or bilingual programming in Aboriginal communities exists, there is no comprehensive research on the number of programs or their impact
• Nine in 10 Aboriginal children lack access to early childhood programming designed for them
• Aboriginal youth remain two-and-a-half times more likely than non-Aboriginal Canadians to drop out of high school.

"Although progress is being made, serious gaps remain with respect to learning among Aboriginal people compared to non-Aboriginal Canadians" said Paul Cappon, CEO of the Council. "Substantial action needs to be taken to repair what exists on the Aboriginal learning landscape and enhance it to better meet the needs of Aboriginal people of all ages."

The report makes a number of recommendations on approaches to learning that reflect the particular needs of Aboriginal people. In addition, CCL's Aboriginal Learning Knowledge Centre is developing new strategies to address the challenges.

In March, CCL is sponsoring a forum to bring together leaders, learners, practitioners and policy makers to look at the current state of Aboriginal learning in Canada and share best practices with the goal of improving learning outcomes across the country.

"Aboriginal communities have traditional, holistic views on how people learn in their societies. We need to work to integrate their perspectives with Western perspectives and models," said Cappon.

In addition to Aboriginal learning, the report also contains chapters on early childhood learning, learning in school, adult learning, and a special feature profiling the challenges low literacy levels pose to Canadian society.

The full report is available at www.ccl-cca.ca/solr.

About the Canadian Council on Learning

The Canadian Council on Learning is an independent, not-for-profit corporation funded through an agreement with Human Resources and Social Development Canada. Its mandate is to promote and support evidence-based decisions about learning throughout all stages of life, from early childhood through to the senior years.

NOTE: Additional State of Learning in Canada news releases are available on the report in general and on health literacy.

For further information: please contact: Bob LeDrew, Senior Media Relations Specialist, Canadian Council on Learning, (613) 782-2959, bledrew@ccl-cca.ca