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UpFront
Quantify Numbers that matter
Indigenous federal political representation
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3% The number of Indigenous MPs in Canada expressed as a percentage.
Source: Food Insecurity Policy Research
New Zealand has parliamentary seats reserved for Indigenous people
For more than 100 years New Zealand has enshrined guaranteed seats for the Maori, the Indigenous people of the territory, in its parliament.
New Zealand established treaty rights between Maori and the Crown in 1840. The legislation was originally known as the Native Representation Act; four parliamentary seats were assigned for Maori in 1867 — the year Canada became a nation.
Now, a set of “Aboriginal electoral districts” provides for specific representation of Maori people which ensures for a high degree of Indigenous
representation. Every area of the country is covered by both a general and a Maori electorate.
While the Maori people represent little more than 15 per cent of the total population, about 21 per cent of New Zealand’s parliamentarians are Maori.
UPFRONT
Pinnguaq delivers education programs to remote Canadian communities
While still quite active in Nunavut, Lindsay’s Pinnguaq (the company name is Inuktitut for play) has grown to provide STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) experiences in learning and development in rural, remote and Indigenous communities across Canada. For example, from January through March 2021, Pinnguaq delivered programs in 38 different communities across six provinces and territories.
The non-profit was founded in 2012 in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, with a focus on bringing technological experiences to Nunavummiut (residents of Nunavut).
“Pinnguaq centres all its activities around a life-cycle approach to service,” says Ryan Oliver, CEO and founder of Pinnguaq. “This approach encompasses education, resources, mentorship, employment, production and advocacy. At the very core of this model is community.”
Locally Pinnguaq has worked with King Albert school, the Kawartha Lakes library system, the Boys and Girls Club, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Curve Lake First Nation, the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation and the Kawartha Gallery to name just a few. While closed at this time due to COVID, Pinnguaq has operated a Makerspace at its Adelaide Street North location since September 2019 and has been offering free virtual online programming since the start of the pandemic.
Pinnguaq is also one of 14 national organizations to deliver the Digital Skills for Youth program funded by the Canadian government. From Apr. 1, 2020, to Mar. 31, 2021, Pinnguaq provided $1.96 million to train and help pay wages for more than 100 interns at 56 businesses, including eight locally.
Business UPFRONT
Grasshopper Lawn Care is cleaning up — one property at a time
Jeremy Decloux’s Grasshopper Lawn Care is a known quantity in Durham Region when it comes to lawn care, tree trimming and pretty much all other aspects of property maintenance. But now Decloux is calling Lindsay home, planting roots here in Kawartha Lakes and hoping to grow his small business locally.
With 18 years’ experience, Decloux says his family business aims to treat customers in a personal way. “When you become a client of ours, it’s like we become partners,” he says.
Decloux says his favourite part of the business is to meet new people and his satisfaction comes from assisting others in “making their property look more beautiful for their enjoyment.”
“I love to help people — it’s what I do,” Decloux says.
Decloux says he’s looking forward to becoming a “contributing resident of Lindsay, and a part of this community.”
He is working to build his Grasshopper brand across Kawartha Lakes over the spring and summer. Services include all aspects of lawn and garden care such as pruning, tree and stump removal, planting, garden design and more. Decloux is also available during the long winter months for snow removal.
Visit thegrasshopperlawncare.ca or call 705-320-8224.
Grasshopper Lawn Care owner Jeremy Decloux. Photo: Roderick Benns
Real estate buyers and sellers see plenty with OneLook
OneLook Productions, a real estate marketing company, is seeing a surge in interest, says co-founder Darryl Griffioen.
Based in Prince Edward County but serving Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, Peterborough and Durham Region, among other areas, the company offers professional photography, 3D tours and floor plans, and “cinematic listing videos” — short movies about a property.
“We are also fully licensed for drone operations, which in rural areas really helps tell the full story of a listing,” Griffioen says.
Griffioen grew up just outside of Lindsay, where his parents still live, and attended Heritage Christian School and St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School. He also fondly remembers his six years working in a variety of positions at the Olympia Restaurant. OneLook co-founder Ryan Snyder was raised in nearby Orono.
The three-year-old company is seeing a surge in demand along with the local housing market.
“We are finding that more and more people are looking to get out of the city and move to smaller, rural communities. People are craving more outdoor space and are finding they can get more bang for their buck if they look further out of the city,” says Griffioen.
With the goal of focusing their business on rural areas, Griffioen says it was an easy decision to launch into the Kawartha Lakes market where OneLook’s Jason Nicoll, a local resident, serves clients. To learn more visit getonelook. com or call 1-800-565-9309.
