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Vol. 70, Issue 73
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BARRY COULTER PHOTO
Frances Boulton, who turned 100 in January, of Joseph Creek Village, was presented with the RCMP’s Second Person Award Thursday, April 14. In attendance were her children (left to right, around Mrs. Boulton’s chair) Susan Belzac, who came to Cranbrook from Ottawa for the occasion, Peter Boulton and Greg Boulton. Endre Lillejord, owner of Golden Life Management is on the far left, beside him is Cranbrook mayor Lee Pratt. On the far right is Heather Smith, representing MLA Bill Bennett, and beside her is Cranbrook RCMP Staff Sergeant Hector Lee. Also pictured are Mounties Cpl. Rod Hrehirchuk (Cranbrook), Cpl. Shayne Parker (Cranbrook), Cpl. Phil Sullivan (Cranbrook), Cpl. Spence Margison (Cranbrook), Cst. Kathy Forgeron (Cranbrook), Cst. Mike Greco (Cranbrook), Cst. Adrianna St. George (Cranbrook), Cst. Gordon Skulnec (Kimberley), Cst. Scott Payne (Kimberley). Mrs. Boulton was Joseph Creek Village’s first resident. See story, Page 3
Calling all Local Metis celebrate Kootenay Supreme Court ruling fiddlers TRE VOR CR AWLEY
Inaugural Creston camp offering instruction for all ages, levels BARRY COULTER
Fiddle players of the Kootenays, a weekend just for you is approaching. The inaugural Creston Weekend Fiddle Camp is being held in Creston on May 13, 14 and 15. The event is being organized by Velle Weitman of Velvet Strings and Creston Fiddlers. Sue Trombley of Cranbrook, the camp’s assistant director, says four top fiddle instructors are lined up to impart knowledge, technique and repertoire. They include Velle Weitman herself, Karen Dignan of Sandpoint, Idaho; Mark Sullivan from Vancouver; and Austin Castle from Swift Current, Sask. All four are professional touring fiddler players, recording artists and instructors.
See FIDDLE, Page 3
A unanimous ruling from the Supreme Court of Canada has determined that the federal government must recognize Metis and non-status Indians as Aboriginal groups on par with ‘Indians’ as defined in the constitution. It’s a landmark decision after a 17-year legal dispute, which sought to establish that Metis and non-status Indians should be included with status Indians and the Inuit as a federal government responsibility. Marlin Ratch, the president of the Rocky Mountain Metis Association, welcomed the ruling. “What the ruling is about, is it’s a confirmation that we’ve held forever that the government’s duty to the Metis people, as well as to the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, should be the
same as the other Aboriginal peoples of Canada,” Ratch said. “The Metis have always been passed off to other jurisdictions or they haven’t been listed in the Indian Act, therefore you can’t access any of these services… “So it’s always been a bit of a sore contention because the Metis people themselves suffer from some of the same social ills and problems that the other Aboriginal peoples of Canada do and we don’t have any recourse or resource to take care of them.” Officially, the legal battle has wound through various levels of court since 1999 when a lawsuit was filed by the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples and Harry Daniels. However, the ruling confirms a view that the Metis have long held, according to Ratch.
See METIS, Page 5
Top Indie songwriter back in action, on tour
Jason Collett, playing the KCT with Zeus, talks with the Townsman about songwriting and his ambivalence to the music industry BARRY COULTER
One of Canada’s top songwriters is back on the road, and will take the stage in Cranbrook at the end of this month. Jason Collett, one of the prominent voices out of Toronto’s burgeoning Indie rock scene, will play the Live Lobby Lounge at the Key City Theatre in Cranbrook, April 29, along with Zeus, a Toronto band who have collaborated with Collett throughout his rock and roll career. Collett is also known as a member of Broken Social Scene, a renowned Canadian musical collective, currently on hiatus. Collett himself has
been on a hiatus of several years from recording and touring, but he’s glad to be back. “It’s been four years maybe,” Collett told the Townsman, prior to setting out for a whirlwind Western Canadian tour. “But I am looking forward to going out, particularly because Zeus is the band. I have a real affinity for those fellas — we go back a ways and they’re such great players. And I’ve done a few ‘tours of duty’ across the country and back over the years. I am familiar with and fond of Canada.”
See JASON, Page 5