Nickel Belt News Volume 60 • Issue 24
Friday, June 12, 2020
Thompson, Manitoba
Serving the Norman Region since 1961
Students to help researchers track climate change and wildlife impacts in the north
BY MICHAEL OLEKSYN, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER, PRINCE ALBERT DAILY HERALD
As part of a University of Saskatchewan research project, small teams of high school students from Saskatchewan and Manitoba will spend their summers in bug jackets, venturing into the wilderness to measure permafrost and track caribou around Churchill. Originally delayed due to COVID-19, the threeyear project is funded by a $129,000 grant to USask agriculture researcher Ryan Brook from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council’s (NSERC) PromoScience Program, which supports projects that promote an understanding of science and engineering among young Canadians. Beginning in 2021 Brook will lead small teams of high school students, Indigenous undergraduate students, high school teachers and staff from Parks Canada in a collaborative long-term study of the impacts of climate change in the Arctic. “The program will engage youth in science, targeting under-represented Indigenous youth and girls in Saskatchewan and Manitoba,” Brook said. “It’s the experience of a lifetime. Students will be the sole human inhabitants
of a national park. Visiting this place can literally change a student’s life.” Every August, a student-teacher-researcher team will helicopter in to conduct field work in Manitoba’s remote Wapusk National Park on the western bank of Hudson Bay. Students will measure vegetation cover, collect plant and soil samples and record the thickness of permafrost at several locations in the park adding to extensive climate data collection started by Brook in 1998. Every winter a smaller team will measure lichen and snow conditions of caribou habitats to better understand the qualities that make a location attractive to the animals. “Caribou are a keystone species,” he explained “They’re a core part of the culture of many Indigenous communities and an indicator of a healthy ecosystem. If they are doing well, then the whole ecosystem is probably doing OK.” During both winter and summer trips, the students will help build a photo database by using long telephoto lenses to capture pictures of caribou at a distance, and will collect images from automatic trail cameras that snap photos year-round. “The really exciting part of the whole project is that
Nickel Belt News photo courtesy of University of Saskatchewan the research is student-led. They take the lead on data collection, analysis, and also learning to be good leaders,” Brook said. “I’m really there as a science advisor and polar bear guard.” In the lead-up to the field trips, students will learn essential skills in data collection and wilderness survival, including dealing with hypothermia, identifying plants, and staying safe around
polar bears. After each trip, the research team will present their findings to the community in Churchill, and upon their return home, the students will present about their experiences to their high school classmates. A small group of students will also get the chance to present at an international conference each year. “Feedback that we have received over and
over again from northern communities is that they want the students from the North to understand both science and traditional ecological knowledge,” he explained “This program recognizes the critical value of engaging the communities.” The research program builds on USask’s international student-led Arctic monitoring and research program and on a USask senior undergraduate field
course which has engaged 400 students directly and hundreds of students indirectly over the last 14 years in hands-on research in the Hudson Bay Lowlands. The research is also made possible in large part thanks to in-kind support by USask and logistical support from the Canadian Polar Continental Shelf program, Parks Canada and the Government of Manitoba.
Human Rights Tribunal ruling allows First Nations to hold feds accountable for discrimination in CFS BY NICOLE WONG, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER, WINNIPEG SUN
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) delivered the latest ruling last month regarding First Nations children who were subjected to Canada’s discriminatory policies. The ruling on May 28 clarified information on essential service, service gaps and unreasonable delay towards compensation ordered concerning Jordan’s Principle and First Nations child and family services. The tribunal also provided definitions to several issues, including that a
service does not need to be “requested” to be considered “essential” and that the definitions must be grounded in substantive equality. Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) Grand Chief Jerry Daniels said the ruling strengthens the intent and impact of previous human rights rulings. “This ruling enables First Nations to continue holding the federal government accountable for systemic discrimination that has been allowed to continue,” he said June 5. “The current government has spent millions of dollars to avoid having to provide equitable and
essential services to First Nation children and still, they are willing to tell us they are working in the spirit of reconciliation.” Daniels said the ruling is one structure to make sure the federal government cannot avoid providing compensation to the most vulnerable children in the country. “First Nation children have the highest rate of poverty in Canada. The compensation will assist parents and families to ensure that our children not only survive but thrive in their own homes and communities,” he said. “Furthermore, this compensation is an acknow-
ledgement of our First Nation children that their challenging life circumstances were not just unfortunate outcomes, but the result of structural and institutionalized racism directed at them because they were born as First Nation citizens.” Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc. (MKO) Grand Chief Garrison Settee said the latest ruling by the CHRT is another positive step forward in bringing justice to all First Nations children and families who were subject to Canada’s discriminatory practices. “Compensating the affected children and fam-
ilies fairly is an important step in moving towards reconciliation,” he said in a press release. “MKO also supports the strong recommendation of the tribunal that Canada compensates the estate and family of Jordan River Anderson (the late First Nation child from Norway House whose legacy inspired Jordan’s Principle) as a powerful symbol of reconciliation.” Settee said as grand chief of MKO, he will continue to work with the northern chiefs to restore their inherent jurisdiction over child welfare matters. A Manitoba Families spokesperson said the
province is committed to putting the needs of children first so that services are not delayed for children with disabilities. “Provincial staff will continue to work with families, First Nations partners and the federal government to do so. We are reviewing the most recent CHRT ruling to determine how it may apply to Manitoba,” the spokesperson said. Nicole Wong covers northern and Indigenous issues for the Winnipeg Sun under the Local Journalism Initiative, a federally funded program that supports the creation of original civic journalism.