Sweetgrass and CFWE - News March 31, 2016

Saddle Lake First Nation woman named first Indigenous CAO for Nanaimo

March 31, 2016.  Tracy Samra, from Saddle Lake First Nation, was appointed early in March as Nanaimo's new chief administrative officer. Samra was selected from 50 applicants from across Canada and the United States. She will serve as both Nanaimo's first female and first Aboriginal CAO. Samra has a master of laws from the University of Ottawa, a bachelor of laws from the University of Victoria and holds executive training experience from the Canada School of Public Service. She was called to the bar in 1996. In 2005 she gained admission to the Alberta Law Society before her home community of Saddle Lake Cree Nation, during an all-First Nation ceremony held on First Nation land. It was the first such event in Alberta’s history. Samra has 20 years of experience working with federal, provincial and First Nations governments in the areas of governance, policy development and service delivery.

Indigenous representatives gather to discuss public safety, policing

March 30, 2016. Muriel Stanley Venne, chair of the Alberta Aboriginal Commission on Human Rights and Justice, was among those to speak Wednesday at the Assembly of First Nations’ Indigenous Public Safety and Policing Forum held in Regina. "Every single act of discrimination against Indigenous people has been government legislated," said Stanley Venne. "Therefore the human rights of Indigenous people have been violated constantly since contact and since the colonists came into our country." The forum, which was also attended by Alberta Regional Chief Craig Mackinaw, was organized to begin a dialogue on working towards improved public safety and policing for Indigenous communities and people. Also in attendance were representatives from Inuit Tapirrit Kanatami, Metis National Council, Native Women's Association of Canada, National Association of Friendship Centres, the RCMP, Office of the Correctional Investigator, First Nation Chiefs of Police, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, the Indigenous Bar Association, and Correctional Services Canada.

Study to examine full impacts of hydraulic fracturing

March 30, 2016. Daniel Alessi, assistant professor in the University of Alberta’s Earth and Atmospheric Sciences department and Encana chair in water resources, and his collaborators have received more than $2 million in research funding to fuel their search to inform best practices for hydraulic fracturing in Alberta. The research program aims to improve the water cycle in unconventional energy recovery. “New strategies to reduce freshwater use, including treatment options, are needed from both an environmental impact and cost perspective,” said Alessi. The primary goal of the research is to further the understanding of the full spectrum of potential impacts associated with fracturing. Additional benefits of the five-year study will be to reduce freshwater use in hydraulic fracturing and share best practices with industry through scientific publications and public forums. The research project will receive close to $1 million in a collaborative research and development grant through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and over $1 million from industry partner Encana.

Permanent dialysis unit to open in Lac La Biche in two years

March 30, 2016. The Alberta government has announced that a permanent six-station dialysis unit will be constructed at the healthcare centre in Lac La Biche. The new unit will be equipped to expand dialysis treatment from 10 in the dialysis bus to 12 at the healthcare centre. The province has allocated up to $3 million for the dialysis unit. Design will begin in the spring and the project is expected to be accepting patients in early 2018.The dialysis bus, which has served the area since 2010, will be decommissioned once the permanent dialysis unit is operational. “I am extremely pleased that Alberta Health Services is bringing a much-needed, essential medical service to Lac La Biche County, which will also serve our surrounding First Nation communities and Metis settlements,” said Omer Moghrabi, Lac La Biche County mayor, in a provincial government statement.

Access to midwifery to increase

March 30, 2016. Health Minister Sarah Hoffman said she and Associate Minister Brandy Payne will be meeting with advocacy groups and the Alberta Association of Midwives to discuss expansion of access to midwifery services. In September 2015, the province increased funding for midwifery by $1.8 million, enough to support an additional 400 courses of care, bringing the total number of publicly-supported births by midwives to approximately 2,774. Nicole Matheson, president of Alberta Association of Midwives, said she is “encouraged … that (the) government values and is committed to growing midwifery.”