04042024 April 4, 2024

ElliotLakewinsKraftHockeyville2024

Kraft Heinz, in partnership with the National Hockey League (NHL®) and the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA), is pleased to announce thatElliotLake,Ontariohaswonthesought-after designationofKraftHockeyville2024.

Elliot Lake will receive $250,000 for arena upgrades, the opportunity to host an NHL® pre-season game, and $10,000 worth of youthhockeyequipmentfromtheNHLPAGoals &Dreamsfund.Theremainingthreecommunity finalistswillbeawarded$25,000eachforarena upgrades, along with $10,000 worth of youth hockey equipment from the NHLPA Goals & Dreamsfund.

Canadians came together to cast their votesforElliotLake,recognizingthecommunity foritsdedicationtocreatingahavenforthenext generation of hockey players and fans. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman made the official announcement on Sportsnet’s Hockey Night in Canadabroadcastearliertonight.

Centennial Arena following significant structural issues with their roof. This has not only impacted the city financially, but has affected the mental healthandwell-beingof the children in the community. Winning Kraft Hockeyville 2024 would provide the support needed to reopen Centennial Arena, offering their citythehomearenathey deserve and continuing to foster hockey’s hopeful spirit in Elliot Lake.

Long Term Forecast

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Elliot Lake is a resilient community where hockey has been a constant source of inspiration. Despite many challenges, particularlyaftertheclosureofminesintheearly1990s, their community has redefined itself and the population continues to grow. However, recent hardshipshaveimpacted their recreational and competitive hockey leagues, including their junior hockey team, forcing them to relocate due to the closure of the

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“We would like to congratulate Elliot Lake,Ontarioandallof this year’s finalists for their amazing commitment to their communities and making this year’s program a huge success yet again,” said Simon Laroche, President, Kraft Heinz Canada. “As a lifelong hockey fan, it has always been cleartomethatKraftHockeyvillehasatradition of championing Canada’s game. This year, the passionwasclearwiththousandsofnominations, servingasareminderthatwhenweunitetomake hockey more accessible and inclusive, anything isachievable.”

This year’s winner announcement officiallymarkstheendofthe18thannualKraft Hockeyville program. With millions of votes cast,it’sclearthatthesportofhockeycontinues tothrivebothlocallyandnationally ElliotLake–and the many other nominated communities across the country – have made a clear commitment in advocating towards the future of Canada’s game and continuing the passion for manygenerationstocome.

WeatherSummaryforOntario

March2024:Continuedwarmexceptcoolerinthenorthwest.

Temperatures

After record winter warmth, above average mean daily temperatures continued to dominate March provincewide. From the map below, we see that the mean temperature calculatedforthismonthwashigherthannormal inthesouthandthenortheastbutcoolerforparts ofthenorthwestandmostoftheFarNorth.

Themonthbeganwithaverywarmweek, the strongest in the month for most of the south but it was cooler in the northwest. Portions of southwestern Ontario saw the mercury rise well above 20oC (Windsor Riverside 230oC and Point Pelee 22.4oC on the 4th). Similarly, the second week was also warmer than normal provincewide. Locations in the GTA and the southwest again recorded daily maximum temperatures near 20oC toward the end A widespread transition to cooler than normal conditions then followed and by the end of the third week, some of the coolest temperatures were recorded for this month Daily mean temperatures fell by around 15oC in many regions and a few locations set record low daily maximumtemperaturessuchasnearGeraldton(12.2oConthe20th).Duringthefinalpartofthe month, mean temperatures fluctuated near normalwithoneortwoverywarmdaysineastern andnortheasternOntario.

Precipitation

Most of the province received near normal precipitation for the month. Central portionsofthenorth,however,sawabovenormal amounts by over 200% (light blue on the map below).This provided some relief to antecedent drier than normal conditions. Parts of eastern OntarioandaswellasnearWindsorandNiagara sawvaluesslightlybelowaverage.

he first week was the driest for most regions.Significantprecipitationoccurredinthe southandnortheastduringthesecondweekfrom two major systems. Parts of southern Ontario received nearly half of their monthly average precipitation in one day (34 mm near Bracebridgeonthe9th,36mminSt.Thomason

the10th).Inthefinalweek,anexpansivewinter storm brought abundant precipitation to most of the province including rain for the southwest (e.g.PortStanley,25mmonthe25-26thincl.).

Snowfall

Continuing the trend for this past cold season,snowfallamountswerebelownormalfor mostofthesouth.PortionsofeasternOntariosaw less than 50% of their mean monthly amount (Ottawa Intl. A., ~14%). Significant lake snow events downwind of Lake Huron and Georgian Baybeganonthe10thand18thwiththeintrusion of colder air (brief on the 10th). A late month major storm brought abundant snow to much of northern Ontario contributing to higher-thannormal monthly amounts. By the end of the month,thedepthofsnowonthegroundwasnear or below average except around parts of the northwest

SignificantEvents

March 20: Snow squalls cause treacherous travelconditionsinsouthernOntario

Alate-seasonsnowsquallimpactedmuch ofsouthernOntario.Snowbandsstemmingfrom Lake Huron and Georgian Bay extended across areas generally from the London area and northeastward towards Peterborough. Icy road conditions due to partial melting resulted in dozens of collisions throughout southern and central Ontario. Notably, during the morning commute in Toronto there was a 17-vehicle incident, with several people transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Several similar incidents were reported throughoutthearea,allwithnon-life-threatening injuries. Areas near Lake Huron received the mostsnowfallfromtheselake-effectsnowbands, with the highest reported amount of 30 cm near Listowel.

March 22: Snowy start to spring spurs significanttravelscares

Alowpressuresystemmovingfromwest to east, just to the south of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, brought snow to a large stretch of the Highway 401 corridor For some areas in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) this was the most significantsnowfallofthesnowseason.Snowfall amountsweregenerallyinthe5to10cmrange, with a few pockets of over 15 cm. Numerous collisionsandroadclosureswerearesultofthis snow, with many multi-vehicle collisions reported across southwestern Ontario One incidentonAirportRoad10inCaledonresulted inonefatality.

March 25-27: Northern Ontario endures multi-dayspringsnowstorm

Alow pressure system impacted a large swath of northern and far-northern Ontario. A corridor stretching from the Minnesota border near Atitokan, northeastwards towards Nagagami saw the highest snowfall amounts, rangingbetween35and55cmoverthecourseof two days Areas farther west saw general snowfall amounts of up to 15 cm. Portions of northeasternOntarioexperiencedamixofwinter weather,beginningassnow,beforetransitioning to freezing rain, and finally to rain. Difficult travelconditionsresultedfromthismajorwinter storm, with many road incidents and closures alongportionsoftheTransCanadaHighway.

IceConditionsintheGreatLakes

The Great Lakes continued the trend of belownormalicecoveragethroughthemonthof March.Infact,nearlyeveryweekofMarchseta newrecordlowforweeklyicecover,onlythelast weekofthemonthdidnotsetanewrecordlow. Due to this, the 2023-24 ice season is now currentlyontracktobethelowesticeseasonon recordsincerecordsbeganin1972-73.TheGreat Lakes started the month at 4% ice covered and ended at 0.7% where normally it would have started at 32% and fall to 16% by month’s end. Persistentabovenormalairtemperaturesoverthe Great Lakes through the first half of the month aidedinmeltingmostoftheremainingthinlake ice.Belownormaltemperaturesdidenterthearea inthethirdweekofMarch;however,bythistime, water temperatures were too warm to allow ice growth in the southern lakes. Some new ice did growinLakeSuperiorandtheNorthChannelbut wasverylimited.

OutlookforApril

No clear temperature trend is emerging from long range guidance, with some guidance hinting at a general above-normal trend, while others trending towards mildly below-normal. Theexceptionbeingareasdirectlyadjacenttothe Great Lakes, which seem to be consistently showing above normal tendencies for temperatures.Similarly,thereisnocleartrendfor precipitation,withmostguidanceshowingequal chances of above- and below-normal conditions possible.

Chapleau Moments

by MichaelJ. Morris

When Joseph Egide Martel and his wife Yvonne moved to Chapleau with their family in 1951 it marked the beginning of a long family relationship with Chapleau, Jim Prince wrote in theChapleauExpressaftertheywerehonouredat acivicreceptionin1998.

In another report on the reception, perhapsDanLemieux,speakingonbehalfofthe ChapleauSkiClub,summeditupbestonbehalf of all those who were touched by the Martel family Dansaid:"Wheneverwewereinneed,we justhadtogototheJ.E.Martelcompanyoffice, andwenevercameawayemptyhanded."

Richard Bignucolo, representing the ChapleauAirportCommissionthankedthemfor their contributions to the airport. Yvon Martel, along with Gene Bernier, were particularly instrumental in getting an airport at Chapleau. Yvon,inanaircraftpilotedbyStanDeluce,made thefirstlandingatitin1970.

MartelfamilymadesignificantcontributionstoChapleau sincearrivingin1951toestablishlumbermill

Earle Freeborn, then the reeve of Chapleau, said that "Since 1951, you have provided employment for our community," adding that they had supported sports and many communityprojects.

The eight children of Mr. and Mrs. Martel, Lise, Solange, Suzanne, Oriette, Yvon, Aldee, Denis and Jean, all contributed to the community

Theyweregreatsupportersofhockeyand SuzanneTurcottenotedthatDenishadcoacheda Midget team to a Northern Ontario Hockey Association championship. Aldee was a great supporter of Junior "B" hockey and was part of the1953-1954famousChapleauBantamteam.

At the civic reception, Mme Yvonne Martel and the four Martel brothers who had taken over operation of J.E. Martel and Sons LumberLtd.afterMr Martel,itsfounderdiedin 1972,werepresentedwithtokensofappreciation by the Township of Chapleau, flowers to the

ladies and certificates of appreciation to the brothers.

The reception honouring them was held after they had sold their operations in 1997 to DomtarLumberLtd.

Theyevenhadafastballteamatonetime, andLarry,Aldee'sson,sharedananecdoteabout makinggamesonaFridaynight.Inthesummer monthswhileattendinguniversity,Larryworked forthecompany,andworkedstoppedatnoonon Friday. His girl friend, now his wife would be coming for the weekend, but Larry also had to playball.

So, he would drive to Sault Ste. Marie, pickuphisgirlfriend,andmakeittothegameon time, and be a quick-change artist to be in uniformatgametime.

Writing in Chapleau Trails, edited, and publishedbyDr W.R.Pellow,DougGreignotes that J.E. Martel and Sons Lumber Limited was one of the first independently owned and operated manufacturing firms to situate in the Chapleauarea.

Joseph Egide Martel moved to the area from Lasarre in 1951 to salvage the standing timberthatburnedinFireNumberSixatRacine Lake.

Asupply of green timber limits with an allowablecutof7,500unitsfromthegovernment ofOntarioafterthesalvageoperationresultedin apermanentoperationatRacineLakeuntil1959 whenaportablesawmillwasdismantledandby 1960anewmillonemileswestofChapleauwas up and running with a production capacity of sevenmillionboardfeetannually

When Mr Martel died in 1972, the business was divided into an equal partnership among his four sons - Yvon, Aldee, Denis and Jean.

Doug Greig wrote: "The new ownership Cont’donP.5

TopYvon and Margot,Aldee and Lorna and bottomJeanandCarmelle,Denisand

The Martel "Kids" from Larry Martel collection

TeeChambers,ButchPellow,AldeeMartelin SudburyArena1954

TheMartel"Boys"LarryMartelcollection

Linda

d’Ottawa

by/par Carol Hughes Federal member of Parliament Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing

Last year, some may remember some majorbreakingstoriesinTheGlobeandMailand the Manitoulin Expositor about contract negotiationandotherseriousissuessurrounding the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program (FNIPP). Essentially, three First Nations police services,theUCCMAnishnaabePoliceService, TreatyThreePoliceServiceandtheAnishinabek Police Service, had stopped receiving funding because of their refusal to accept an imposed “take-it-or-leave-it”contractthatdidn'tmeetthe needsorconcernsaddressedbythecommunities they served. Eventually, the Federal Court ordered Public Safety Canada to reinstate funding to those Indigenous police services for 12months.Itwascertainlynotaperfectoutcome, but the court made it clear that the federal government had an obligation to allow those police services to negotiate in good faith for funding, and that the communities served by those police services would suffer “irreparable harm if mandatory injunctive relief” was “not granted."

Whileitwasalwaysclearthatthiswasnot an issue merely for those three police services, last week's Auditor General's report paints a frustrating picture of the Federal government refusing to meet its commitments to Indigenous policing across Canada. The FNIPP is a costsharing initiative between the federal and provincial and territorial governments It is designed to improve the safety of Indigenous communities and should be treated similarly to otherpoliceservices.PublicSafetyCanadaisthe federal department overseeing the program. Auditor General Karen Hogan's report states Public Safety Canada “as the lead in managing and overseeing the program, did not work in partnership with Indigenous communities to provideequitableaccesstopolicingservicesthat weretailoredtotheirneeds.”Thisisanessential part of the program, and what the UCCM Anishnaabe Police Service, Treaty Three Police ServiceandtheAnishinabekPoliceServicewere trying to negotiate when they had to take their casetoFederalcourt.

In terms of the specific issues with the FNIPP,Hogan'sauditnotesthat“…$13million of program funds related to the 2022–23 fiscal yearwentunspent”andthat“asofOctober2023, Public Safety Canada was at risk of not disbursing over $45 million of funds for the

FederalGovernmentFailingFirstNationsPolicing

2023–24fiscalyear.”TheFINPPissupposedto provide First Nations communities with a dedicated RCMP officer, but Hogan's report foundthat“only38%ofthesecommunitieswere served by RCMP detachments that noted that their officers could spend 100% of their time dedicated to the community as required.”These issues,astheauditcontinuestoexplain,ispartly theresultofinsufficientdatacollectionofthepart of both Public Safety Canada and the RCMP, which is not a new issue. As the audit explains “Public Safety Canada's poor performance measurementisagapwealsoidentifiedin2014.”

Issues with the handling of the FNIPP are not new and faced similar issues under the previous government. However, the current government did inject a $500 million investment in the FNIPP in 2021 “to stabilize and expand the program” according to the audit, “but limited expansionwasachieved.”

The FNIPP is a good program. A necessaryprogram.Butitneedstobefixed,andit needstobetreatedasanessentialserviceonpar with any other type of policing. First Nations peoples deserve dedicated police services that understand their culture When the UCCM Anishnaabe Police Service, Treaty Three Police ServiceandtheAnishinabekPoliceServicewere trying to negotiate with the federal government for funding, they were denied core funding that any other non-indigenous police service would havecontinuedtoreceivewhileatthenegotiating table, and this was simply because they were askingforthingslikededicatedcrimeunits.

As we continue to work towards reconciliation,weneedtoensurethatIndigenous peoples can live in safe communities, without havingthecolonialsystemcontinuetoholdthem back.

Legouvernementfédéralmanqueàsondevoir enverslesservicesdepolicedesPremièresNations

L'année dernière, certains se souviendront peut-être d'articles de fond parus dans le Globe and Mail et le Manitoulin Expositorausujetdelanégociationdecontratset d'autres questions sérieuses touchant le Programme de police des Premières Nations et desInuits(PPPNI).Concrètement,troisservices de police des Premières Nations (UCCM Anishnaabe, Treaty Three et Anishinabek) avaient cessé de recevoir des fonds parce qu'ils refusaient d'accepter un contrat à prendre ou à laisser, qui ne répondait pas aux besoins ou aux préoccupations des communautés qu'ils desservaient La Cour fédérale a finalement ordonnéàSécuritépubliqueCanadaderétablirle financement de ces services de police autochtones pendant 12 mois. Le résultat n'est certes pas parfait, mais la Cour a clairement indiqué que le gouvernement fédéral avait l'obligationdepermettreàcesservicesdepolice denégocierdebonnefoileurfinancementetque les communautés desservies par ces services de police subiraient « un préjudice irréparable si l'injonctionobligatoire»n'étaitpas«accordée».

S'ilatoujoursétéclairqueceproblèmene concernait pas uniquement ces trois services de police, le rapport de la vérificatrice générale publié la semaine dernière dresse un tableau décevantdelasituation,legouvernementfédéral refusant de respecter ses engagements à l'égard de la police autochtone dans l'ensemble du Canada.LePSPPNIestuneinitiativedepartage des coûts entre le gouvernement fédéral et les gouvernementsprovinciauxetterritoriaux.Ilest conçu pour améliorer la sécurité des communautésautochtonesetdevraitêtretraitéde

la même manière que les autres services de police.SécuritépubliqueCanadaestleministère fédéral chargé de superviser le programme. Le rapportdelavérificatricegénéraleKarenHogan indique que Services Autochtones Canada « en tantqueministèreresponsabledelagestionetde lasurveillanceduProgramme,n'apastravailléen partenariataveclescollectivitésautochtonesafin de fournir l'accès à des services de police équitablesetadaptésàleursbesoins».Ils'agitlà d'unélémentessentielduprogramme,etc'estce que les services de police de l'UCCM Anishnaabe, de Treaty Three et d'Anishinabek tentaient de négocier lorsqu'ils ont dû porter l'affairedevantlaCourfédérale. En ce qui concerne les problèmes spécifiques au PSPPNI, le rapport de Hogan indique que « […] 13 millions de dollars des fondsduProgrammeliésàl'exercice2022-2023 n'avaient pas été dépensés » et que « en date d'octobre 2023, Sécurité publique Canada risquait de ne pas débourser des fonds totalisant plus de 45 millions de dollars pour l'exercice 2023-2024 ». Le PSPPNI est censé fournir aux communautésdesPremièresNationsunagentde laGRCdédié,maislerapportdeHoganarévélé que le service de « seulement 38 % de ces collectivitésétaitassurépardesdétachementsde la GRC qui indiquaient que leurs policières et policiers pouvaient consacrer 100 % de leur tempsàlacollectivité.»Cesproblèmes,comme l'explique encore le rapport, sont en partie le résultatd'unecollectededonnéesinsuffisantede lapartdeSécuritépubliqueCanadaetdelaGRC, ce qui n'est pas un problème nouveau. Comme Cont’donP.7

ChapleauMoments

Cont’dfromP.3 developed the proper quality, customer care and progressive employee relation philosophies that today'smajorcorporationsarejustnowstartingto realizeaskeystolongtermsuccess."

Overtheyears,thecompanyevolvedintoa modern progressive one responsible for the sustainablemanagementoftheirforestlicense,and employment in manufacturing jobs in the Martel woodlands,sawmill,andmarketingoperations.

Doug noted that the company survived economic downturns by continuing to provide quality products, customer service, fair treatment of employees and continued investment in the company.

Among many awards over the years, one that stands out is one from the Ontario Lumber Manufacturers Association Yvon Martel was presented with the first ever Honorary Life MemberAwardforhisworkwiththeassociation.

Doug Greig again: "The quiet success of J.E. Martel and Sons Lumber Limited has been rollingalongforover46years(attimeDougwas writing) The company is a solid pillar of the community of Chapleau and province of Ontario The Martel company could always be reliedontohelpwithanycommunityproject " A personal note of thanks to Aldee for beingthepersonyouare,andtoLarryMarteland Doug Greig who were so helpful with research assistance Congratulations to Larry on his recent promotionandbestwishestoalltheMartelfamily ontheoccasionoftheirfamilyreunion.Myemail ismj.morris@live.ca

OntarioPreparesforUpcomingWildlandFireSeason

Additionalstaffandequipmentreadytomanageforestfires

Ontario's wildland fire season officially beganApril1andthisyeartheOntariogovernmentis adding new firefighting positions to ensure the peopleandresourcesareinplacetoprotectcommunities The province is also offering a payment incentiveforfirerangersandcriticalsupportstaffthis season and has purchased new equipment to help manageforestfires.

“Throughout the fire season, Ontario's firefightingstaffworktirelessly–underverydifficult conditions – to keep people, communities and property safe,” said Graydon Smith, Minister of NaturalResourcesandForestry.“Thestartofthefire season is an important time to recognize how important these fire crews are and the brave work theyperformtokeepthepublicsafe.”

In recognition of the critical services wildland firefighters and pilots perform amid challenging and often dangerous conditions, an attraction and retention incentive payment of up to $5,000 is being provided to employees in front-line fire,aviationandcriticalsupportpositionstosupport the2024fireseason.

The government is also taking action to support the wildland fire program with the creation of more than 100 permanent positions to meet the

demandsofescalatedandincreasinglycomplexfire seasons These positions will contribute to building leadership and experience within our wildland fire programby adding new year-round positions that will support career path opportunities for fire rangersandotherstaff.

“The government is strengthening emergency preparedness and response by ensuring communitiesacrosstheprovincehavetheresources and equipment they need to prepare for natural disastersandemergencies,”saidCarolineMulroney, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Emergency Management. “We are working closely with municipalities, First Nations communities and partners to ensure the people of Ontario are safe, practiced and prepared for the upcomingwildlandfireseason”

Last year's wildland fire season was one of the most challenging Ontario has faced and we are supportingthesebravewildlandfirefightingstaffby expanding eligibility for standby pay and reimbursing eligible expenses for training and special safety equipment.Thegovernmenthasalsoinvested$20.5 milliontobeusedoverthreeyearstoenhanceaerial technologies and help increase understanding of evolvingfirescienceandbehaviour.

OntarioRaisingMinimumWagetoSupportWorkers

Ontario will continue to work with our partners, Indigenous communities, emergency organizations and agencies to provide support and sharepersonnel,equipmentandaircraftasneededto managefires

Approximately 50 per cent of all wildland firesarecausedbyhumans.

Morethan700wildlandfireswerereported in Ontario last year, with over 440,000 hectares of forestsburned–nearlytriplethe10-yearaverageof totalhectaresburnedonthelandscape

· Ontario is internationally recognized as a leaderinwildlandfiremanagementanditsresources tofightwildlandfiresinclude:

Hundredsofstaffwhoarehighlytrainedand skilledinsupportingandfightingwildlandfires

A fleet of specialized aircraft used to suppress wildland fires and transport staff across the province

Fourteen fire management headquarters, three attack bases and 11 forward attack bases, two regional fire centres, one provincial fire centre (which houses the ministry emergency operations centre), two regional logistics centres and one provincial logistics centre, seven hangars and one flighttrainingcentre.

Increaseto$17.20anhourfollowspassageofgovernment'sfourthWorkingforWorkersAct

TheOntariogovernmentisincreasingthe minimumwagefrom$16.55perhourto$17.20, effective October 1, 2024. This 3.9 per cent annualizedwageincreaseisbasedontheOntario ConsumerPriceIndex(CPI)andbringsOntario's minimumwagetothesecondhighestinCanada.

“Under the leadership of Premier Ford, our government is helping nearly one million workers earn more money for themselves and their families,” said David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.“Weareprovidingbusinesseswith certainty and predictability by announcing this annual wage increase six months in advance, whilealso helpingfamiliesoffset the risingcost ofliving,sothatOntariocontinuestobethebest

placetolive,workandraiseafamily.”

A worker making the general minimum wageandworking40hoursperweekwillseean annualpayincreaseofupto$1,355.Therewere 935,600workersearningatorbelow$17.20per hourin2023.

This minimum wage increase builds on thegovernment'sWorkingforWorkersFourAct, 2024, which provides ground-breaking protections for millions of workers in Ontario, including strengthening wage protections for restaurant, hospitality and service workers by clarifying that employers can never deduct an employee'swagesintheeventofadineanddash, supporting injured workers and banning requirements for Canadian work experience in

jobpostings–afirstinCanada.

Under the Employment Standards Act, Ontario's minimum wage increases annually based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of inflation that represents changes in prices experienced by Ontario consumers. The CPI rose by 3.9 per cent, resultinginanincreaseintheminimumwageof 65centsanhour,to$17.20.

Ontario'snewminimumwagewillbethe second highest provincial rate, after British Columbiaat$17.40perhour.

About35percentofworkersatorbelow thecurrentgeneralminimumwageof$17.20per hour are in retail trade and 24 per cent are in accommodationandfoodservices.

Lastweekssolutions

MOMENTS IN TIME

OnApril15,1945,BritishtroopsliberatedtheGermanBergenBelsenconcentrationcamp,wheretheydiscoveredthousands ofdeadandrottingcorpses,andmanymorethousandsofsick and starving prisoners confined to severely overcrowded and dirty compounds. The prisoners were suffering from acute typhus,typhoidandtuberculosisduetoalackofrunningwater More than 30,000 others had died in the previous months, manyfromtyphus,butevenmorefromstarvation.

Highway 17 North P.O. Box 1033

Wawa, ON. P0S 1K0

Business 705-856-2775

Fax 705-856-4862

tgendron@northernlightsford.ca

sales@northernlightsford.ca

W: www.algomalawyers.ca

E: info@algomalawyers.ca

Sault Ste. Marie Office

T: (705) 253-3800

T: (705) 942-0142

Wawa Office

T: (705) 856-4970

Legouvernementfédéralmanqueàsondevoir enverslesservicesdepolicedesPremièresNations

Cont’dfromP.4 l'expliquelerapport,«Leslacunesdesmesuresdu rendement du Programme effectuées par Sécurité publique Canada avaient également été relevées par notre audit de 2014 ». Les problèmes liés au traitementduPSPPNInesontpasnouveauxetont fait l'objet de problèmes similaires sous le gouvernement précédent Cependant, le gouvernementactuelainjectéuninvestissementde 500millionsdedollarsdanslePSPPNIen2021« pourstabiliserleProgrammeetenélargirlaportée »selonl'audit,«maisl'élargissementdelaportéea étélimité.»

Le PSPPNI est un bon programme. Un programme nécessaire. Mais il doit être corrigé et traitécommeunserviceessentielaumêmetitreque toutautretypedeservicedepolice.Lespeuplesdes Premières nations méritent des services de police spécialisés qui comprennent leur culture Lorsque leservicedepoliceUCCMAnishnaabe,leservice de police Treaty Three et le service de police Anishinabek ont tenté de négocier avec le

gouvernementfédéralpourobtenirdesfonds,ilsse sont vus refuser un financement de base que tout autre service de police non autochtone aurait continuéàrecevoirpendantqu'ilsétaientàlatable des négociations, et ce, simplement parce qu'ils demandaient des choses comme des unités spécialiséesdanslaluttecontrelacriminalité

Alorsquenouscontinuonsàtravailleràla réconciliation, nous devons veiller à ce que les peuples autochtones puissent vivre dans des communautés sûres, sans que le système colonial necontinueàlesentraver.

wellasinformationabouttheirrightsandoptions Ifyouneedtospeakwith the Outreach Worker when she is in your community, you can call the Centre at any time to set up an appointment You do not need to be a residentoftheCentreinordertouseourservices Ifyouneedsomeoneto talktoorifyoujustneedsomeonetolisten,callourTollFreeCrisislineat1800-461-2242oryoucandropinattheCentre Wearehereforyou 1-705-363-7804

PETER J. BERLINGIERI CHRISTOPHER P COCCIMIGLIO

MIKE C.ALLEMANO - RETIRED

Readers may remember my column last week on the Ford government's attempts to put a newcoatofpaintonaleakyshipwhenitcomesto education by trying to extend the number of days that retired teachers can work in a year A similar situationisbrewinginanothereducationsector,that is,atthepost-secondarylevel.

The struggles in post-secondary education recently made headlines because of the Federal government'sreformofthecriteriaforinternational studentsenteringCanadatostudy.PremierFordand hisministerswouldhaveyoubelievethatitwasthis action alone that caused a crisis in the sector overnight.However,thatstoryisfarfromthetruth. According to the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), universities in Ontario receive less funding

PremierFordpreferstopointfingersovergettingtowork

domesticstudentthanuniversitiesanywhereelsein Canada.TobefairtothePremier,thishasbeenthe case for decades, and multiple provincial governmentsaretoblame.

OntarioisalsotheonlyprovinceinCanada thatcapsthenumberofdomesticstudentsfundedat eachuniversity Ontario'sfundingmodelspecifiesa cut-offforthenumberofdomesticstudentsthatthe provincial government will support. In effect, this means that there is no incentive for universities to trytotakeonmorestudents,furthershrinkingtheir budgets.

Why, then, is the Premier pointing the fingeratthefederallevel,sayingthatthiscrisisison them when it is clearly a legacy problem that was inherited from previous governments? The most logicalansweristhatthisconservativegovernment doesn't want to fix the problem. Whether the Premierfeelsitistoodifficult,tooexpensive,ornot worthhisgovernment'stimeisuptointerpretation. However, Ontario will suffer severe consequences ifweallowourpublicuniversitiestocrumble.

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Current demographic trends indicate that demand for university spaces will only rise over the next decade. Without a change to the funding formula, Ontario'syoungpeoplewillnotbe able to attain their post-secondary education in their home province, let alone their own community. Thinkabouthowthatwillaffectus in the North. Our region has some tremendous post-secondary institutionsthatofferyoungpeople a chance to get the education and skills they need for their future in ourcommunities.

As Ontario's population continues to grow, fewer students willbeabletogetthateducationin theNorth.Theywillhavetomove south to larger urban centres and potentiallyoutofprovinceoroutof the country There is a potential hereforamassivebraindraininthe North and even across all of Ontario, where many of our best andbrightestmayendupattending university elsewhere out of necessity and then choose to stay there permanently.This will mean less made-in-Ontario innovation and research and fewer highly educated individuals in our workforce.

Underfunding has also led post-secondaryinstitutionstoseek short-termcost-savingmeasuresto compensate for the shortfall in funding. One such measure is the

increasing reliance on contract faculty instead of full-timetenuredfaculty Infact,OCUFAestimates thatoverhalfoffacultyarenowworkingonshortterm contracts, and the number of courses they teachhasdoubledsince2000.

In essence, this means that more and more staff teaching at universities are there for a short time, which means they do not have the longevity and security to provide high-quality instructional experiences for students. It also makes a career in post-secondary education less attractive to newcomers,knowingthattheywillmostlikelynot findastablefull-timejobfortheforeseeablefuture.

Thesolutiontothismanufacturedcrisisisto bringOntarioinlinewithotherprovincessothatwe are no longer in last place in per-student funding. Thiswouldmeananannualincreaseof11.7%over fiveyearstothefundingmodelandacommitment toacomprehensivestrategytoensurethatstability isreturnedtothesector

SeeinghowfarOntariohasfallenbehindin this sector is daunting. I can understand why the Premier would prefer to bury his head in the sand. But looking at post-secondary funding as a mere costisthewrongframeofmind.Thereareexcellent reasonstoseethemoneythatgoestouniversitiesas aninvestment.

TheConferenceBoardofCanadaestimates thatinvestmentinuniversityeducationboostsgross domestic product by about $96 billion every year, and the research that Ontario's universities drive adds another $30 billion. To provide some perspectiveonwhatthereturnoninvestmentmeans to Ontarians, consider that for every $1 invested returns$1.36inpositiveeconomicactivityandlet's not turn our noses up on the basic premise that a highly educated populous is healthier, more engaged,andmoreresilienttouncertaintimes.

Thereisnogettingaroundthefactthatpostsecondaryeducationremainsvitaltooursociety If we do not offer a high-quality educational experience here in Ontario, our youth will look elsewhere for opportunities, and we will be poorer forit.

PointingthefingerattheFedsisbecoming thePremier'sfavoured“GetOutofJailFree”card. However, it's not a genuine replacement for the work of making smart investments in Ontarian's futures.

Asalways,Iinviteyoutocontactmyoffice about these issues or any other provincial matters. You can reach my constituency office by email at mmantha-co@ola.org or call Toll-free 1-800-8311899.