Page 5 Chatter: April

THE JOURNAL PIONEER REPORTS
that Minigoo Fisheries on Lennox Island, P.E.I. is ready to begin processing lobster when the spring season opens on May 1. The event is an historic one in Atlantic Canada as it is the first and only lobster processing plant owned and operated by a First Nation. The Lennox Island First Nations celebrated Minigoo Fisheries Day on April 21 on Lennox Island by holding an open house and offering tours of the plant. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo, together with Lennox Chief Darlene Bernard, declared the Minigoo Fisheries officially open.

“First Nations have the potential to build strong, resilient economies and improve our people’s quality of life by exercising their treaty rights,” said Chief Atleo. “The treaty relationship has always been about respect, recognition and moving forward.” As many as 80 new jobs will be created.

THE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS IS
reporting that Canada does not have a plan to fight tuberculosis among First Nations. The paper says secrecy surrounding data and turf wars amongst government types is getting in the way of any real progress on the disease. Canada’s auditor general ought to investigate, said one NDP MP.

“It’s unconscionable that rates of tuberculosis continue to increase among First Nations in a country that otherwise boasts one of the lowest rates in the world,” said Chief Angus Toulouse, the regional chief for Ontario in the Assembly of First Nations.

“The ignominy of seemingly intractable tuberculosis in the Aboriginal peoples of Canada while rates of tuberculosis in Canadian-born, non-Aboriginal peoples continues to fall... is not to be borne by people of conscience in a developed country,” said Dr. Richard Long, University of Alberta medicine professor, director of Health Canada’s Tuberculosis Program Evaluation and Research Unit

Dr. Kimberley Barker, the AFN public health adviser said tuberculosis is curable, treatable, easy and cheap.

“This is not rocket science. It doesn’t require a wizard. It simply requires dedicated resources, ongoing monitoring and a decent program with acceptable standards.”
She said Ottawa has so little control over its regional operations that there’s little accountability on TB spending.

The Winnipeg Press investigation into the issue revealed that Manitoba had some of the highest incidences of TB in First Nations communities. Lac Brochet, it said, recorded 636 cases per 100,000 people.

The NDP’s Judy Wasylycia-Leis said the auditor general ought to look at why $47 million was spent over the last five years making no dent at all in TB rates among First Nations.

VICE-CHIEF LYLE WHITEFISH OF
the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) came out swinging for the province’s Environment Minister Nancy Heppner, calling her ministry insensitive to First Nations. His anger was fuelled by the Saskatchewan Party government’s decision to pull funding from a 16-year partnership agreement with FSIN. In the March 24 provincial budget, the protocol agreement funding of $292,000 for a bilateral task force designed to build co-operation between the FSIN and the Environment ministry “in the management of environment and renewable resources” was axed without proper consultation, said Whitefish. Worse yet, the FSIN was only informed on budget day about the cut by the deputy minister Elizabeth Quarshie. According to Whitefish, this demonstrated the government’s “insensitivity and lack of appreciation of First Nations people.”
“The message you are sending to First Nations leadership is that the ministry would prefer an adversarial approach on dealing with matters between First Nations and the provincial Crown,” wrote Whitefish in a letter that was recently made public. NDP MLA Sandra Morin raised the issue in the legislative assembly saying, “This is just the tip of the iceberg. Since this government was elected we’ve seen nothing but insensitivity, disrespect and broken promises for First Nations and Metis people of Saskatchewan.”

Heppner said the cut was part of a belt-tightening budget. It was decided that it no longer fit with her ministry’s mandate. Heppner said she has made no attempt to contact Whitefish since receiving his letter but was open to talking to him, the Ottawa Citizen reports.