June 19 2020

Page 1

Nickel Belt News Volume 60 • Issue 25

Friday, June 19, 2020

Thompson, Manitoba

Serving the Norman Region since 1961

Snow Lake mayor says funding application for sewage plant languishing with province instead of being forwarded to federal government

The provincial government announced June 10 that it is earmarking $230 million for its share of projects funded by the federal government’s Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP), but northern and rural communities are worried that the province isn’t moving fast enough on applications they’ve already submitted. Premier Brian Pallister said in a news release that close to half of the $500 million Manitoba Restart Program would go towards ICIP-funded projects, with

another $150 million for highway resurfacing, $65 million for projects to improve highway safety, $50 million for water and sewer projects and $5 million for municipal law enforcement priorities like local jails to alleviate pressure on the Winnipeg Remand Centre. But the Winnipeg Free Press reported that Snow Lake Mayor Peter Roberts wrote to provincial ministers to complain about delays in finalizing a sewage plant application. The Free Press also reported

that Industry Canada said it hadn’t received any rural or northern stream funding applications from Manitoba, nor any in the public transit funding stream. Roberts wrote that he expected the province would submit applications by January. “Every reasonable attempt to get this issue addressed has led us to one dead end after another,” said the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Free Press. Flin Flon NDP MLA Tom Lindsey said in a June

8 press release that he fears the provincial government not moving fast enough could lead to applications like the one from Snow Lake not being approved. “It is critical that the Pallister government stop dragging their heels so that local projects, like the one in Snow Lake can be completed,” said Lindsey. “These projects do more than strengthen municipalinfrastructure, they create good jobs for northern families and drive local economies. The Pallister government has chronic-

ally underspent on infrastructure in this province for years, and now they are refusing to help northern municipalities get the federal funding they need. We need to invest in the North now and northerners shouldn’t have to wait.” Ralph Groening, president of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM), told the Free Press that the organization, which represents all municipalities in the province, helped the Manitoba government analyze 281 funding proposals in

February and that he was perplexed about why they hadn’t yet been forwarded to the federal government months later. Central Services Minister Reg Helwer told the Free Press in a written statement that his plan was to submit the applications in late spring following talks with First Nations and municipalities. “We are hoping to find flexible solutions to flow federal dollars more quickly in to the province,” said a statement attributed to Helwer.

Province, community work for restorative justice in Northern Manitoba BY NICOLE WONG, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER, WINNIPEG SUN

The provincial government and the City of Thompson are workingto address homelessness, addictions and youth crime through their community-led safety strategy in Thompson. It was announced on March 2 that the province will be supporting a public safety strategy to increase the use of restorative justice in Northern Manitoba. City of Thompson spokesperson Kacper Antoszewski said that over the last number of years, Thompson and the province have been working with social agencies and community groups to make the most of their resources. “With the Community Safety Knowledge Alliance and the $35,000 in funding, we are working together to put a robust Community Safety and Well-being Action Plan, one that identifies our strengths, our weaknesses, and our path forward

together,” he told the Winnipeg Sun. “We already had our first few consultation meetings to start the process and bring together the perspectives of over 15 agencies that work in Thompson. We have a lot of committed people who are personally invested in a healthy and thriving community.” Antoszewski said the response for the safety strategy in Thompson was truly unprecedented. “The safety strategy is still in development, but the progress is promising, and many of our participants are benefiting strongly from the support. It’s a great example of how effective a housing-first approach can be. However, we’re going to require more funding if this program is to turn into a long-term solution,” he said. The first strategic planning session with community partners, Manitoba Justice, and the Manitoba Police Commission was held on Jan. 21. Manitoba Justice

spokesperson Julie DeVoin said funding was provided for the programs because the Restorative Justice Act requires that restorative justice services be provided in Manitoba. “Restorative justice is one of the main pillars of Manitoba’s Criminal Justice Modernization Strategy, and is supported by federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for justice and public safety,” she said. “Greater options for diversion will better serve the community of Thompson by streamlining options for service delivery. For instance, individuals referred to pre-charge diversion can potentially avoid the stigma of a formal charge and receive interventions sooner.” DeVoin added that restorative justice is often culturally appropriate and responsive to the needs of Indigenous communities and Indigenous offenders who are over-represented in the criminal justice system. Antoszewski said a part of the bigger plan to

better serve Thompson is to use restorative justice programs, like Ma-MowWe-Tak’s Second Chances for Youth. “The program offers supervision, supports, and programming, as well as holding youths accountable for their actions through Youth Justice Circles informed by the Seven Sacred Teachings. Youths learn to see themselves as part of a broader community, and understand the wider consequences of their actions,” he said. “This is different than more conventional criminal justice because it deals with individual punishments to young offenders and often further removes them from their communities. Ma-Mow-WeTak’s program regularly receives referrals from the RCMP, and provides a promising alternative for our local courts,” he added. Antoszewski said the province has also launched Restorative Justice North in partnership with Manitoba Keewatinowi Okima-

kanak and the Manitoba Metis Federation to help guide youth in Northern Manitoba towards alternative streams of justice that may offer stronger opportunities for growth. “A dedicated restorative justice facility has long been a part of Thompson’s broader strategy for reconciliation and community well-being, outlined in both our economic development plans and the Thompson Aboriginal Accord, and we still hope to see the facility realized,” said Antoszewski. Another part of the strategy is the province’s Streetreach program, which received $2.1 million in last November to expand the program in Thompson. “Here, the team helps locate and return wayward youths and identify those at chronic risk of crime or exploitation. The funding also supports the community’s mobilization hub, which helps law enforcement and social agencies work to identify at-risk youth before they’re involved

in serious incidents,” said Antoszewski. Antoszewski added that COVID-19 presented a considerable risk for the homeless residents in Thompson. “They depend on each other for daily essentials, and many of them have existing health conditions,” he said. “We have worked with the province, Thompson Homeless Shelter, YWCA, and the Community Advisory Board on Homelessness to secure safe and clean beds for 25 of our most vulnerable individuals living downtown, with funding from Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy. This was an issue that was touched a lot of people in Thompson, and we can’t thank all of our partners enough for mobilizing so quickly.” 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.

200 Manitoba Hydro workers began receiving layoff notices last week Manitoba Hydro said June 5 that it had been unable to reach agreements with two unions representing some of its employees and that some of their members would be temporarily laid off within two to three weeks.

About 200 workers represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and Unifor began receiving layoff notices June 5 and will be off work for four months. “This was absolutely

not our preferred course of action,” said Manitoba Hydro CEO Jay Grewal in a news release. The Crown corporation did reach an agreement in principle with workers belonging to the Canadian Union of Pub-

lic Employees (CUPE) and the Association of Manitoba Hydro Staff and Supervisory Employees (AMHSSE) to take three unpaid days off in lieu of layoffs in their areas. Exempt corporate staff and Manitoba Hydro

Professional Engineers’ Association (MHPEA) members are also taking three unpaid days off and all will see their paycheques reduced by about 1.2 hours per pay period from June 25 until the end of the fiscal year on March 31, 2021.

Manitoba NDP Opposition leader Wab Kinew said the 200 layoffs are unnecessary and unjustifiable. Manitoba Liberal leader Dougald Lamont said there was no need for layoffs at Manitoba Hydro.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
June 19 2020 by Nickel Belt News - Issuu