12 January 2022

THE M A N I T O B A N photo / Basel Abdelaziz / staff

since 1914

UMSU winter events left out in the cold

An apple tree a day

Broken house

Getting outdoors keeps the doctors away

Canada continues to fail First Nations children

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200 metres under the sea

It’s coming back to Winnipeg

Documentary explores oceanic garbage crisis

Nic Demski discusses Grey Cup victory

Vol. 108

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THE OFFICIAL UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA STUDENTS’ NEWSPAPER

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Ottawa distributing 140 million rapid tests across Canada Manitoba to continue seeing PCR shortage NEWS

Colton McKillop, staff Ottawa will be sending 140 million rapid tests to provincial and territorial governments to assist with overwhelmed PCR testing capacities nationwide.

The Manitoba government has announced those who receive a positive rapid test result should assume they are positive and isolate rather than return for a more comprehensive PCR test.

The province’s testing capacity was overwhelmed over the holidays with unprecedented demand as Omicron swept through Manitoba, leaving a backlog of 10,000 tests on Christmas Eve. Some Manitobans waited as long as 12 days to receive their PCR test results, while others had their results cancelled entirely.

To lessen the burden on PCR testing facilities, public health authorities began sending symptomatic and vaccinated people home with rapid tests.

However, Manitobans have still struggled to obtain rapid tests, with some grocery stores and pharmacies selling individual tests for $40 or more and

selling out within days.

Until recently, the Manitoba government has been reluctant to make rapid tests widely available, citing concerns about their accuracy and worrying they would give people a false sense of security to disregard public health orders.

Aleeza Gerstein, assistant professor in the University of Manitoba’s departments of microbiology and statistics, wishes the government had been more proactive and criticized the delay in distributing rapid tests.

“We could have distributed those tests a lot earlier,” she said.

“For example, I have colleagues in Nova Scotia who’ve had access to free and widely available rapid tests since, I think, the summer. Other provinces, like Alberta and Saskatchewan, were then pretty quick in December to start distributing the tests that they had.”

Since a positive rapid test result likely means the recipient has COVID-19, Gerstein does not object to the province limiting who receives PCR testing, but worries there “may be consequences that aren’t being

considered.”

“For example, if you’re a person who needs a positive test result to get sick pay, is a rapid test going to be covered for that?” she said.

“If you are one of the people who unfortunately down the road suffers from long-term complications from the COVID infection […] if you’ve only tested positive on a rapid test and that’s not recorded anywhere, are you going to be later denied health care or treatment? I think it’s fine […] as long as we’re ensuring that there’s no negative repercussions for people who don’t have access to that positive PCR test.”

However, Gerstein said she would also like to see the government emphasize that negative rapid tests are less accurate than PCR tests.

“If you test negative on a rapid test, you shouldn’t assume that you’re negative,” she said.

The Manitoba government has also announced most individuals will have to do contact tracing themselves with no assistance from the government, as the rising caseload has strained the province’s resources.

Other provinces have also struggled

graphic / Marina Djurdjevic / staff

to widely distribute rapid tests, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford apologizing after free rapid tests distributed at liquor stores “disappeared like rapid fire.”

“I think Omicron hit harder and faster than anyone was anticipating, that’s true in every jurisdiction in Canada,” said Gerstein.

However, she was not willing to let the government entirely off the hook.

“I think that in Manitoba, and just generally in the world, we tend to have fairly reactive policies rather than proactive policies, and I’m really hoping that if anything changes after this pandemic, [it’s] that as a society we can really move more towards proactive policies.” news@themanitoban.com

UMSU board reform delayed by representation concerns Exclusion of community representatives raises questions NEWS

Cam Cannon, staff Changes to UMSU governing documents which would see the reduction of voting members of the board of directors from over 50 down to 21 have been delayed following a Jan. 6 meeting in which concerns were raised regarding representation for marginalized communities in the union.

After a formal debate session, the motion and an amendment to grant representatives of marginalized communities voting rights were tabled for the board’s next meeting Jan. 20.

The motion, motion 0525, is the product of efforts to enhance the efficiency of the board, following the recommendations of a report by Susan Rogers Leadership commissioned by UMSU in November 2019 and completed in March 2020.

It was expected that the reforms would come to their conclusion Jan. 6, following nearly two years of work from UMSU’s governance committee.

These reforms included restructuring the board so it is composed of representatives from each faculty for a membership of 21 voting members.

Also included are rules around the attendance of meetings — board members would be required to attend meetings, facing possible removal from their positions for missing five meetings in a year or three meetings in a row.

Third, the reforms would formally create the Black students’ representative position the board voted on in 2020.

Community representatives such as the Black students’ representative position would be required to attend board of directors’ meetings, albeit only with speaking rights — to which all UMSU members are entitled.

Following the presentation by the governance committee, recently appointed accessibility community representative Caleigh Guillou-Cormier raised concerns on behalf of the community representatives regarding adequate representation for marginalized communities if their representatives cannot vote on issues.

She argued the assumption that students from marginalized communities will be represented adequately

through their faculty representatives is wrong, pointing to existing rules that the community representative positions can only be filled by people belonging to those communities.

enough space for members at the tables and that reducing the member of board members would make the space “more equitable” in terms of speaking rights.

“Nobody can wholeheartedly represent a community that they are not a part of,” she said.

“I do think the board we have now is broken, but if you want a representative board, that’s what we have now,” he said, going on to explain it is a question of having an efficient board.

Guillou-Cormier further argued that without voting rights being extended to community representatives, the reforms would be a step backward in terms of the union’s own values of equity, diversity and inclusion.

In response to the debate, UMSU president Brendan Scott cautioned an amendment impacting governing documents should be tabled for another meeting.

In an interview Jan. 10, Scott said with the current structure of the board, an UMSU member can technically be represented by numerous different directors depending on what various communities they belong to.

Scott raised concerns that historically there has been low engagement from the board, with struggles to meet quorum for meetings and issues arising from uninformed students standing in for directors as proxies.

Scott said the governance committee has reached a decision regarding extending the vote to community representatives but would not disclose what the decision was.

The decision will be disclosed at the Jan. 20 meeting, when motion 0525 will be considered again.

“The biggest thing that Susan Rogers outlined was obviously board size [is] too big, but then also just having too much representation,” he said.

Scott also argued prior to the pandemic there physically was not

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UMSU events change plans as university stays closed NEWS

Dimitar Tomovski, staff With the sharp rise of COVID-19 cases in Manitoba and the university’s subsequent decision to postpone an in-person return for the majority of its courses, UMSU’s plans for the 2022 winter term — such as a skating rink on the quad — have been altered.

“Plain and simple, all of the plans we had are cancelled and we’re shifting some things to online,” said UMSU president Brendan Scott.

“We also wanted to do a lot of tabling in University Centre. That’s actually, to me, the big one because it really engages students who are on campus.”

UMSU will instead be taking support from the university and will be promoting virtual activities that had already been scheduled by the University of Manitoba. This includes Winter Welcome virtual events and Prep Days.

“It’s unfortunate, but it’s going to be basically identical to what winter orientation looked like last year where we just hold some info sessions

through different online platforms.”

The U of M initially planned for winter term activities to be held in person.

In a Dec. 20 email to students and staff, Michael Benarroch, president and vice-chancellor of the U of M, stated: “From now until the end of the Winter Term break on February 26, 2022, all non-essential activity will continue remotely.”

“Effective immediately, we are asking staff to work remotely and for course activity to be moved to remote delivery wherever possible,” he wrote.

Scott said UMSU will follow the university’s lead.

“We’re mostly just, I guess you could say, piggybacking off the university,” he said. “Wherever they need our support, we’re there.”

Scott also noted UMSU did not want to get in the way of the online info sessions the university plans on offering, suggesting that most students would be going to the

university-specific info sessions anyway where UMSU executives will be present.

“The executive team met and thought, ‘What’s the best way that we can disseminate our UMSU information,’ and we just thought, not stepping on the university’s toes [since] they already had things planned and they let us know the dates,” he said.

“It just seemed so much simpler […] than creating our own events.”

Scott said UMSU worked fast in early January to develop alternative plans for winter orientation.

“We got the email from the university saying that the rink would not be a possibility,” he explained.

“We knew that tabling [was] just not worth the risk. Frost Fest is easily out the window.”

Scott also noted that besides Winter Orientation, all other UMSU events that were initially planned to be held in person will be moved online.

“We have that big Healthy Sexuality campaign that goes on throughout

photo / Basel Abdelaziz / staff

Remote activities replace in-person events

February,” he said.

“It was very well planned for this in-person format, and now [it’s all moving] online. It really is only the winter orientation things that we’ve cancelled. Everything else we’re just moving online.”

Despite the turmoil, Scott said UMSU is taking “an optimistic approach.”

“We’re going to try to have a Welcome Back social on March 4,” he said.

“That’s the tentative date. Until we hear otherwise that we aren’t in person for the second half of the semester, that’s when, again, we’ll just transition all these events online.” news@themanitoban.com

Ottawa, First Nations draft $40B child welfare agreement NEWS

Colton McKillop, staff The federal government revealed details last week of two agreements-in-principle, worth $40 billion, negotiated with Indigenous organizations and class-action lawyers to compensate those affected by the underfunding of child welfare on reserves and in the Yukon.

The agreements commit to spending $20 billion compensating families harmed over the past three decades and another $20 billion over five years on reform, making this the largest settlement in Canadian history.

Mary Burton, executive director of Fearless R2W, an Indigenous family advocacy organization, said the settlement is “a good start” but not a “be-all-end-all.”

“I was very happy to hear that they are going to be putting some money into preventative services, such as housing […] and I was really pleased to hear them say that poverty is not a reason for apprehension,” Burton said. “[The majority] of the people who live on-reserve are living in poverty.”

The case began in 2007 when the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, filed a human rights complaint alleging racial discrimination in the funding formula used by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development — since dissolved and replaced in part by the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs — for First Nations child welfare.

In 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled every Indigenous child unnecessarily taken from their home should be paid $40,000, with some being entitled to more depending on their circumstances.

The government was also accused of failing to implement Jordan’s Principle, a law passed by the House of Commons in 2007. This principle is intended to guarantee that jurisdictional disputes between federal and provincial governments over funding obligations do not interfere with First Nations children’s access to essential health care.

Critics say the government’s underfunding of child welfare pushed First Nations children into foster care.

Burton alleges the child welfare system is not broken but is “working exactly the way the government wants it to work” and needs to be “overhauled.”

“Residential schools, Indian day school, ’60s Scoop, Millennial scoop, child welfare, they’re all chapters of the same book and that book is called cultural genocide” — Mary Burton, Fearless R2W executive director 4

graphic / Marina Djurdjevic / staff

Billions for compensation, reform in historical settlement

“Residential schools, Indian day school, ‘60s Scoop, Millennial scoop, child welfare, they’re all chapters of the same book and that book is called cultural genocide,” she said.

In Manitoba, over 90 per cent of children in the child-care system are Indigenous.

Compensation will be offered to First Nations children on-reserve and in the Yukon who were put into foster care from April 1, 1991 to March 31, 2022. AFN estimates that compensation could be available for over 200,000 children and youth.

The agreement must be finalized by March 31.

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Exploring a holistic approach to wellbeing Medical student advocates nature as treatment RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY Michael Campbell, staff

Angie Woodbury, a student in the Max Rady college of medicine, is part of Parks Prescriptions, or PaRx, a project prescribing time in nature as a medical treatment. PaRx started as an initiative of the BC Parks Foundation and is led by Melissa Lem, a clinical assistant professor in the University of British Columbia’s faculty of medicine.

After successfully launching in Ontario and Saskatchewan, the project has now fully launched in Manitoba.

photos / Angie Woodbury / provided

“So that means that Manitobans can go to any of their care providers who have signed up to prescribe — that’s things like nurses, physicians, occupational therapists, physiotherapists,

nurse practitioners and psychologists,” Woodbury said.

Registered providers can generate a prescription code that can be used on the PaRx website to help patients keep track of their hours in nature. PaRx is currently developing a mobile phone application that patients can use to log their time and activities in nature.

The PaRx website touts the healing factors associated with time spent in nature as backed by several decades of research and hundreds of studies.

“We see health benefits in all sorts of different spheres,” Woodbury said.

“In cardiac health, in stress and anxiety, in pain, energy and mood, things like that. We know that spending two hours […] in nature reduces your levels of the stress hormone cortisol.”

The website compiles several studies that claim two hours in nature per week, in sessions at least 20 minutes long, may improve mental wellbeing among cancer patients and even activate cancer-fighting cells.

Moreover, PaRx says spending time in nature can increase memory, creativity and work satisfaction.

“Everything on our website is linked to research articles, every fact or statement that we make is backed by evidence” — Angie Woodbury, medical student 6

Woodbury completed a bachelor of science degree at the University of Manitoba with a specialization in environmental and integrative physiology before being admitted to medical school. Environmental physiology is the process of understanding how individual organisms function in relation to their environment.

Woodbury’s interest in a holistic approach to medicine led to the PaRx adoption in Manitoba.

Woodbury is part of a student advocacy group called the health and environment adaptive response task force, or H.E.A.R.T., part of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students. The group advocates for the integration of planetary health into medical school curricula and was instrumental in implanting the program in Manitoba. The group argues for a holistic approach to recognizing and creating wellness that includes recognizing the effects of climate change.

Woodbury was responsible for connecting PaRx with local health organizations in Manitoba and seeking their endorsement of the program. Woodbury worked with Doctors Manitoba to develop a workshop to train prescribers in using the online platform. In her role, Woodbury also reached out to local nature organizations to ensure access and support for patients.

Woodbury says PaRx’s evidence-based approach ensures organizations can trust the program enough to lend

their support.

“It’s easy enough for people to make claims about things,” Woodbury said.

“We’re really cautious about what we say. Everything on our website is linked to research articles, every fact or statement that we make is backed by evidence.”

Nature prescribing is situated within a broader “social prescribing” movement to prescribe lifestyle changes rather than just medication in the field of medicine. For example, Alberta has an exercise prescription program called Prescription to Get Active. Other jurisdictions support social prescriptions, including participation in community activities.

Woodbury embraces taking a holistic approach to medicine.

“A lot of people are under the assumption [that] […] you’re healthy if you take your medications and exercise, or go to the doctor,” Woodbury said.

“But [roughly] 80 per cent of your health has to do more with social determinants of health, the built environment that you live in — your level of income, whether you’re able to afford medications or healthy foods.

“Social prescribing is trying to address those other things that impact your health.” research@themanitoban.com

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U of M explores alternatives to natural gas One solution would see burning of landfill methane RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY The University of Manitoba has announced plans to reduce its reliance on natural gas in an effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Kale Kostick, projects coordinator for the U of M Office of Sustainability, said long-term plans are being explored for alternatives to natural gas to heat buildings.

Currently, the university has a district energy heating system, which uses natural gas to heat and cool buildings on campus. In this system, the Fort Garry campus’s Central Energy Plant provides steam by burning natural gas to generate steam. A series of pipes then carry the steam to all buildings, where it is released to heat the rooms.

photo / Basel Abdelaziz / staff

Emma Rempel, staff

Natural gas is a clean-burning fossil fuel. When burned, it releases only carbon dioxide and water vapour, unlike coal or oil, which release high amounts of harmful byproducts that contribute to air pollution. While burning natural gas may be cleaner than burning fuel oil, it remains the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the university, since carbon dioxide and water vapour contribute to the GHG effect, trapping heat in the atmosphere.

The university’s most recent GHG footprint was a total of 57,000 tonnes of emissions in 2019, according to their baseline data. Roughly two-thirds of those emissions, or 37,000 tonnes, were from building operations, mainly the use of natural gas to heat buildings. Energy efficiency measures such as pumps for heat redistribution and heat recovery ventilators in certain buildings have reduced emissions since the 1990s, but more must be done to meet proposed targets. The phasing out of natural gas plays a large role in the university’s sustainability strategies over the next 30 years.

“The goal is to hopefully wean ourselves off of that natural gas usage”

“The goal is to hopefully wean ourselves off of that natural gas usage,” said Kostick.

Some potential options to replace natural gas have been proposed, including anaerobic digestion.

Anaerobic digestion refers to the process by which microorganisms break down organic substances in an environment without oxygen.

The end result of the breakdown is the generation of methane, carbon dioxide, water vapour and other gases which can be used as an energy source. Various organic materials can be used, including biosolids from sewage treatment and food waste from landfills.

The more likely and viable option at this time is that of switching to landfill gas combustion from the Brady Road Resource Management Facility, previously the Brady Road Landfill. This plan would rely on the Brady facility’s methane gas collection system. The gas would be captured and sent to the

— Kale Kostick, Office of Sustainability university campus to be combusted in place of conventional natural gas, instead of being burnt on-site.

electricity for heating.

Implementing either option would come at an increased cost compared to the current system. However, the price of natural gas has been on the rise and is forecasted to increase in the years to come. This has altered the calculus behind decisions to switch to landfill gas, as it may make more financial sense in the long term.

In 2020, the U of M joined over 1,000 global universities in signing the Universities and Colleges’ Race to Zero campaign letter, pledging to attain net zero GHG emissions by the year 2050. The campaign was established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to encourage governments, people and industries to create plans for climate resilience.

These options, while producing markedly fewer carbon emissions than burning coal or oil, still fall below the standard of a completely electrified system. Currently, Manitoba Hydro does not have the capacity to support a switch from natural gas to

The U of M reached out to consultants and has been working with them over the past year to create a climate action plan to reduce GHG emissions by 50 per cent in 2030 and 100 per cent in 2050. Natural gas plays a large part in these plans, but the larger aim is

to ingrain sustainability into policies and processes for the future.

Kostick is confident about the direction the university is taking. Only time will tell if the U of M holds true to its pledges, but meanwhile, the first steps toward a carbon-neutral campus have already been taken.

“The university has embraced sustainability as a very holistic feature,” said Kostick.

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Finish the year remotely, or offer the option to do so The university’s planned midterm return an unnecessary disruption

EDITORIAL Late in the fall 2021 term, the University of Manitoba confirmed that it would be resuming in-person instruction for most of its courses in the winter term. For some students,

about hard dates from a university administration that cannot seem to figure out where exactly it places the health of its students and faculty in its priorities. The sudden confirmation — then postponement — of the in-person return also

a potentially looming resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the province have been showing since early October, along with increasing concern around a new mutation of the virus that experts have colloquially named the Omicron variant. Despite this, in a move that displayed a stunning disregard for the wellbeing of students, the U of M went forward with con-

Finding accommodations is a stressful experience in and of itself, regardless of the timetables students have to prepare. Now students are being forced to contend with all the inconveniences that a pandemic brings as well as whiplash decisions

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Such a decision remains a realistic option for the university. Having transitioned to remote learning late in the winter 2020 semester, the U of M, like many Canadian institutions, kept students out of the classroom through the 2020-21 academic year and into winter 2022. At this point the administration is not just deciding to return partway through a school year, but partway through a semester.

With the winter term uncertainly set to see just under two months of in-person instruction, it would be less disruptive for the university to push the in-person return to fall 2022.

However, having planned and announced the return, it’s unlikely the U of M will outright cancel the winter term return. Still, the university is in a position to go ahead with their return while keeping students as safe as possible by offering all students and faculty the option to finish the term remotely. To the university’s credit, it is giving certain staff the opportunity to work remotely the entire term, but there is little reason why the administration should not give as many people as possible that same option.

Such a late decision would not be perfect, but it would be better than nothing.

this came as a welcome surprise, heralding a return to a campus they hadn’t lived and learned in for a year and a half, or had never had a chance to experience altogether.

For others, particularly those who do not have permanent homes in or near Winnipeg and suddenly had to find and afford new housing during a pandemic, the move was unnecessarily disruptive.

The situation was even more frustrating considering the university announced, a little under a month later, that the resumption had been postponed due to a spike in COVID-19 cases. The administration’s lack of foresight screams of incompetency.

year remotely. Alternatively, once a postponement was deemed necessary, the U of M could have simply cancelled a return to classes altogether out of caution.

Whether or not classrooms indeed open for a general return come Feb. 28, the U of M should consider additional options for keeping students and faculty safe and, moving forward, should aim to be better prepared for setbacks like the one our province and country have experienced in recent months. adds a significant burden to students’ financial situations. Now, many students likely only require housing arrangements for the end of the winter term — should students not have already found housing, finding a lease that accommodates only a couple of months will be a nightmare in its own right.

It didn’t have to be this way. Signs of

firming plans to fully reopen the campus for the winter term.

This is not to say that the university should have foreseen the severity of the fourth wave of infections in Manitoba when the provincial government itself was so woefully underprepared. Rather, the university could have taken the safer, smarter path by committing to finishing the

graphic / Marina Djurdjevic / staff words / Ty Brass/ staff

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Lack of leadership is to blame for Omicron surge Lack of tests and early easing of restrictions led to another ‘COVID holiday’ COMMENT

Ivan Nuñez-Gamez, volunteer staff

During mid-November 2021, Canadians were off to a semi-normal holiday season. The federal government eased travel restrictions, provincial governments reduced their caution levels and public health measures and vaccination rates steadily increased. A glimpse of hope filled the air for a short period of time before the Omicron variant was detected in late November.

In no time, Canada was reporting record-breaking case numbers. But despite government officials being fully aware of the Omicron variant’s potential, restrictions and access to testing supplies remained piecemeal.

My parents have always told me “forewarned is forearmed.” Though the complexities of government action go beyond the simplicity of a common phrase, it seems inexplicable that despite the World Health Organization’s warnings, government measures did not live up to the occasion. Governments have grown too confident in their pandemic response which has forced citizens to pay the price.

Rather than easing the burden of the pandemic on citizens, the delayed response has created significant uncertainty. Although the federal government announced it would increase rapid testing availability, Canadians continue to express their concern.

For example, Ontario residents claim

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graphic / Dallin Chicoine/ staff

People eagerly come together during the holiday season to celebrate. However, as COVID-19 cases surged across the world, many were forced to change their New Year’s plans yet again. Amid the rising COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant, Canadians were not the exception. While the federal government recommended citizens avoid foreign travel without establishing travel bans, provincial g o v e r n m e n t s established various restrictions to reduce the transmissibility of the virus in their jurisdictions. Lack of preparation has defined most governments’ responses to the new variant.

D e s p i t e dealing with the pandemic for over two years, government officials continue to underestimate COVID-19 by prematurely e a s i n g restrictions and reducing testing supplies.

that despite being promised 55 million rapid tests, they simply can’t access such tests and often must rely on expensive private testing sites. The desperate lack of testing produces uncertainty and subsequently propels the transmissibility of COVID-19. But Ontarians are not the only ones being severely affected by Omicron. The Manitoban health-care system is being hit with a tsunami of Omicron cases before the province fully recovered from the Delta variant. Instead of rapidly implementing restrictions to avoid crowded holiday celebrations, Premier Heather Stefanson announced capacity limits two days after Christmas Day. As if collective ineptitude in tackling growing case numbers was not enough, some premiers have unveiled their plans to fully reopen in-person learning for K-12 students despite record-breaking case numbers.

For instance, even though Alberta extended the return date for in-person learning, Alberta Health Services “no longer has the capacity to inform parents and students of COVID-19 infections,” meaning cases at schools will no longer be followed by an

investigation.

More likely than not, this will put students at risk.

The lack of governmental consensus is leading citizens down a dangerous path. Kids undoubtedly belong in classrooms, but they deserve to be in a safe environment where they will learn and grow instead of dealing with the trauma of contracting COVID-19.

Poor governmental leadership — that seems obsessed with satisfying the masses against public health officials’ advice — is what has caused provinces to be so unprepared for this surge of COVID-19 cases. Premiers have been so focused on maintaining their popularity that they have lost sight of the collateral damage they are causing. Canadians need tests.

They need health measures that reflect the current state of their jurisdictions.

They need a safe environment where they can learn. And most of all, they need true and prepared leadership.

comment@themanitoban.com

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Canada’s settlement does not reconcile lost childhoods In light of the large settlement, Canadians cannot forget responsibility COMMENT

Lucas Edmond, staff

As the deal stands, the federal government will dedicate $40 billion to Indigenous communities to help reconcile the damage caused by its systemic neglect and discrimination.

If approved, the settlement will be the largest in Canadian history. Of the $40 billion, $20 billion will be dedicated to compensating First Nations children and their families for the trauma they endured and the other $20 billion will be used to reform the First Nations child welfare system.

Although an important step toward reconciliation, Cindy Blackstock — the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society — said she will not stop fighting for First Nations children until she sees tangible changes to the system. “These are simply words on paper. It is not time to look away, and it is not time for any of us to exhale,” she said in a press conference.

Blackstock has been an integral player in bringing these systemic injustices to light. In 2007, it was her and the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) that filed a summary of complaints asserting that Indian and Northern Affairs Canada — later renamed the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) — was violating the Human Rights Act. The complaints outlined that the department provided discriminatory levels of child welfare for on-reserve children in contrast to the welfare provided by provincial governments for people residing off-reserve.

Due to the Indian Act, reserves are governed by band councils in conjunction with federal departments. This legislation means the Canadian government is directly responsible for investing in reserves — these investments include child welfare. However, the federal government has no child welfare legislation. As a result, Canada made arrangements in 1989 with provincial governments to provide funding for provinces in order to deliver child welfare for on-reserve Indigenous populations.

In 1991, the federal government applied the Directive 20-1 funding

formula to stimulate on-reserve welfare funding through provincial services. However, the formula made inaccurate assumptions about how many people would need these services which resulted in inadequate and limited fixed funding. Because the compensation framework reimbursed the provinces for children in foster care flexibly at their direct costs, First Nations Child and Family Services had incentive to separate children from their homes and put them into provincial foster care systems. The lack of direct welfare funding for First Nations families mixed with these incentives contributed to the drastic overrepresentation of First Nations children in foster care. Roughly 52 per cent of children in foster care are Indigenous despite making up less than eight per cent of Canada’s child population.

Over the past 14 years, the federal government has made an overt attempt to stall and bury the AFN and Caring Society’s complaints. Between 2008 and 2013, under then-prime minister Stephen Harper, Canada continuously motioned to have the case dismissed.

The Harper government willingly

Over the past 14 years, the federal government has made an overt attempt to stall and bury the AFN and Caring Society’s complaints obstructed the case by having Blackstock harassed, thrown out of consultations and spied on. Further, the Harper government intentionally withheld more than 100,000 incriminating documents and emails from the CHRT.

responsible to make reparations for its abhorrent human rights abuses.

However, for the following five years, Trudeau and the Liberal party spent more than $12 million appealing the CHRT’s decision, further delaying crucial reform.

As a result of continuous impediments to the case, the court hearings survived long enough to witness administrative change. In 2015, running on a platform that looked promising for Indigenous affairs, Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party of Canada won the federal election. By 2016, the CHRT concluded its review and found that on-reserve child welfare funding was up to 38 per cent lower than funding provided for off-reserve children. The CHRT noted the government was

Following the CHRT’s landmark decision in 2016, a panel member noted that for years federal officials, provincial governments and the AANDC neglected blatant discrimination within the system. Instead, the speaker continued, the department simply added “support pillars to a house that has a weak foundation in an attempt to straighten and support the house. At some point, the foundation needs to be fixed or, ultimately, the house will fall down.”

graphic / Dallin Chicoine/ staff

The Canadian government and various First Nations leaders outlined a non-binding agreement to settle a 14year legal battle over the “racist underfunding of child welfare services on reserves.”

The Canadian government decided to settle the agreement with First Nations leaders outside of a legally binding court room in an effort to resolve the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal’s (CHRT) 2016 ruling. The deal must be ratified by March 31, 2022 to be considered binding.

The house did fall, and it fell with First Nations children inside of it. These children were victims of the federal government’s abuse. For 14 years, the individuals elected to ensure the safety of these children actively fought them in court. And for 14 years, children were pumped out of a broken house that stole their identities, family support and virtually left them for dead once they aged out of the system. For 14 years, the government chose to ignore racism and erasure.

Although the $40 billion could potentially prevent future abuses, no amount of money can reconcile stolen childhoods. The government is responsible for these abuses and, like Blackstock noted, Canadians cannot surrender this critical fact in light of this large settlement. It is far from time to exhale in relief. Rather, it is imperative that the federal government does not capture the settlement’s narrative and skew it as a fortune of the Liberal party’s goodwill.

Now, more than ever, Canadians must pressure the government for reform and remember its role in the destruction of the lives of over 163,000 First Nations children.

comment@themanitoban.com

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One man’s quest for clean oceans ARTS & CULTURE Grace Paizen, staff

The equivalent of one truckload of garbage is dumped into the ocean every minute. Currently, plastic can be found in 80 per cent of seabirds and it is estimated by the year 2050 plastic will be found in 99 per cent of them.

With statistics this staggering, the award-winning documentary Hell or Clean Water is a much-needed alarm bell for the future of the planet’s health.

The documentary follows Newfoundland and Labrador diver and former fisherman Shawn Bath on his journey to secure support and funding to clean the Newfoundland coastline.

Director Cody Westman documents Bath’s journey as creator of the Clean Harbours Initiative (CHI), whose purpose is to bring awareness to pollution in the oceans and to clean the ocean floor.

The film starts with a John F. Kennedy quote: “One person can make a difference and everyone should try.” While Bath is definitively the one diver of the CHI who began cleaning the ocean floor on his own volition after realizing he couldn’t leave the task to someone else, Westman showcases the team effort between Bath and CHI volunteers, including Bath’s girlfriend Staunene Whelan.

The opening sequence of the documentary sets up the film well. In the breakneck speed of two minutes, the “plastic nightmare” currently plaguing the world’s oceans is sufficiently summed up. To boil down this polyethylene horror story to its core, Bath remarks that he took 1,200 tires out of the harbours in one year and thousands of pounds of trash.

Of course, a significant problem with the dumping of everything from car batteries to asbestos pipes in the ocean is that these toxic materials break down and are consumed by sea creatures which are, in turn, consumed by humans.

The most frightening part of the documentary is the focus on ghost nets — fishing nets left behind by fishermen. These nets are not only trapping, harming and killing wildlife — with one of the saddest moments of the film occurring by finding a drowned orca tangled in these nets — but are breaking down and entering the food supply chain via microparticles.

The purpose of Bath’s initiative is to prove one person can make a difference. But as Bath and Whelan put their own money into the CHI, the film places a spotlight on the stress of obtaining funding from the provincial and federal governments.

The documentary does a fantastic job

image / Cody Westman / provided

Award-winning documentary an environmental wake-up call

elaborating on prejudices or distrust between Newfoundlanders and the federal government and other organizations. In this way, there is even a history lesson to be had between the unlikely partnership of Bath and Sheryl Fink of the International Fund for Animal Welfare to secure funds for Bath to continue the CHI’s efforts.

to simply secure funding for the CHI. The film, then, acts as a sort of microcosm of current pandemic struggles of government bungles and negligence.

A particularly politically frustrating moment of the film comes in the form of the Government of Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans $8.3 million initiative to clean up ghost nets and the allocation of funding to local fishermen rather than the CHI, despite the fact that Bath said the government had used the CHI as an example of where the funding would be allocated.

The garbage is “endless,” as Bath says, but if more individuals believe they can make a difference in the world, the garbage in more than just our oceans can be cleaned up.

As educative as it is aesthetically shot, Hell or Clean Water is a much-needed documentary in our current climate crisis.

Hell or Clean Water will be available to watch on CBC and CBC Gem on Jan. 16.

Westman’s documentary follows Bath through this aggravating trial that only escalates as the film continues

arts@themanitoban.com

’Toban cornertable ARTS & CULTURE Zoë LeBrun, staff

Winnipegger Laurie Fischer has released his second selfpublished poetry collection, Musings on a Life Well Lived.

Fischer’s first release was a book called Poetry of the Pandemic, which he began during the quarantine of March 2020 as something to occupy his time. As the collection came together, Fischer decided to share his poems in the hopes it would help others to know they weren’t alone in the troubles brought on by the pandemic.

Since the release of his first collection, Fischer’s continued writing practice is now another way he hopes to give back to others while processing his own experiences simultaneously.

He hopes that Musings on a Life Well Lived will “inspire, encourage, uplift and motivate” his readers.

Featuring over 100 new poems, Musings on a Life Well Lived is

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composed of 10 different sections which address various topics and take a more positive look at the everyday through the lenses of the past, present and future. Some of the themes included across each section are nature, history, childhood memories, pets and the battle with cancer.

The collection’s contents prove true to its title — almost every facet of life is explored within Fischer’s poems and they are imbued with a feeling of familiarity and relatability.

Fischer’s thoughts could be our own in many regards, and the landscapes he describes recall ones that many who have lived in Winnipeg and the surrounding areas are accustomed to seeing on a regular basis.

Fischer’s poems do not hide behind elaborate words, abstract imagery or complex metres — instead, they are open for the reader to understand and interpret quickly and easily, making it a more accessible and enjoyable

poetry collection for all who read it.

Three poems from Musings on a Life Well Lived stand out in particular.

“An Easy Decision” speaks to the universal experience waking up to a rainy day and choosing to remain in bed and sleep in rather than waking up. Fischer paints this picture clearly, describing the stormy grey sky outside, the distinct lack of birds and the comfort and warmth of the bed he decides to stay in.

“Footprints” is another highlight from Fischer’s new collection, in which he discusses how we impact the lives of others. He encourages us to “make footprints throughout your life / You will never see” and to help others.

Last but not least, “What Day is it?” takes a positive outlook on the isolating lockdowns that we all experienced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the end of this poem, Fischer imparts upon us some wisdom that we all must try to keep close to ourselves in these continuing troubled times:

image / Pamela Roz PR / provided

Review: Laurie Fischer — ‘Musings on a Life Well Lived’

“Now more than ever / It is time / To set aside our frustration, / To release our anger, / To forget our regrets, / To simply relax and enjoy / The time of our lives.”

arts@themanitoban.com

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Jan. 12, 2022

Prolific local historian on Winnipeg’s musical past ARTS & CULTURE Alex Braun, staff

Winnipegger John Einarson has had an illustrious career documenting the careers of rock and folk legends like Neil Young, the Flying Burrito Brothers and Buffy SainteMarie. Beyond chronicling these legends, his work has maintained a focus on Winnipeg’s unique music scene — one that he was a part of in the ’60s and ’70s, performing with giants like Randy Bachman and Frank Zappa’s band the Mothers of Invention.

Einarson’s book Shakin’ All Over: The Winnipeg Sixties Rock Scene saw some success in detailing the scene that produced breakout stars like the Guess Who and Neil Young.

“People kept asking me when I would write a sequel to Shakin’ All Over, but I didn’t just want to focus on rock music alone,” said Einarson. “I had written a series of 85 feature articles for the Winnipeg Free Press on local music history across a wider spectrum of genres.

“This gave me the inspiration to put together a book that cast a wider net including Indigenous, francophone, country music, folk and roots music, dance bands and jazz, classical and opera, blues and of course rock music but going back into the 1950s as well as beyond the 1960s to today.”

The result was Heart Of Gold: A History of Winnipeg Music, a wide chronicle of the city’s surprisingly

successful music industry.

“Like comedian Rodney Dangerfield, Winnipeg just can’t get any respect,” Einarson said. “We’re Canada’s boondocks. No one ever could have imagined the talent that we have produced.”

Though he concedes that there is no simple singular answer to the “Why Winnipeg?” question, he credits some of that success to the “multicultural population, the presence of robust Indigenous and francophone cultures and a wide spectrum of live music offerings in a variety of genres,” as well as our position as outsiders to the mainstream entertainment industry.

Einarson looked to uncover some of these different cultural scenes throughout the years, putting special focus on the Indigenous and francophone artists.

“A few years back I wrote a big Winnipeg Free Press story about the discrimination and racism that Indigenous — First Nations and Métis — musicians and singers faced for decades on the Winnipeg music scene,” he said. “It was quite a revelation for many non-Indigenous readers but an all-too-true reality for Indigenous people.”

“I also collaborated with much-celebrated Indigenous singer-songwriter Errol ‘C-Weed’ Ranville on his life story Run As One: My Story, which also opened my eyes to the realities

image / John Einarson / provided

In conversation with author John Einarson

for Indigenous musicians and singers […] the opening chapter of the book focuses on the development of Indigenous music in and around Winnipeg from the 1940s onward up to today.”

artists like William Prince, Begonia and Sweet Alibi, who are still carrying the torch for our strong musical heritage — and his vast musical knowledge is well-covered in his wide, ambitious book.

As for the francophone music scene, Einarson explores its emergence through the ’60s and ’70s through a unique non-profit organization called Le 100 Nons.

“Winnipeg is often perceived as a meat ’n’ potatoes rock music city, yet when you look beyond that, there are so many artists and performers creating great music across a broad musical palette. I believe the future of Winnipeg music remains healthy despite a changing landscape.”

“It only existed in St. Boniface and spread to rural francophone communities because it was original music all in French,” he said. “Here I was playing community clubs and pubs on the west side of the Red River, meanwhile on the east side there was this unique music scene happening that no one outside of that community knew about.”

Einarson’s enthusiasm for Winnipeg music is still palpable — he shouts out

Heart Of Gold: A History of Winnipeg Music is available now through historyofmusic.ca.

Though the first print has sold out, a second run is forthcoming.

arts@themanitoban.com

Bisons hope to rebound in second half of season Davis looks to lead the herd, catch U of R in standings SPORTS

Isaiah Wagner, staff In the first half of the season, the U of M Bisons men’s hockey team did not perform like a championship-contending team.

First-year forward Brett Davis says the team’s 3-9 record is not something they are content with.

“As a group, we are not very happy with the start of our season,” Davis said.

“It is important that we go out there and play better collectively. We have let a lot of goals in the back of our net this season and we need to limit that.”

The team currently sits seventh place in Canada West and are six points behind the University of Regina Cougars.

With the U of R sitting so close in

the standings, the Bisons have the opportunity to make up ground and hopefully make the playoffs come spring.

“Regina is a great team and we have lost both regular-season games [against] them this year,” Davis said.

“It is always nice to go out and beat a rival, but it is even better when it helps us in the final standings.”

The Bisons face off against the Cougars in early February. Davis and the rest of his team are very excited about this matchup.

Davis has had a great start to his Bisons hockey career. In his first season, he has racked up nine goals and six assists in just 11 games.

He played his junior career in the Western Hockey League before being drafted in the National Hockey League by the Dallas Stars. He then went on to play five games in the American Hockey League for the Manitoba Moose before signing with the Bisons.

The team laces the skates back up for the first time in the new year on Jan. 14 as they face the MacEwan Griffins in back-to-back home games.

“I think I am looking forward to the Regina series the most,” Davis said.

This will be the herd’s first game back in over a month. The squad needs to be ready to perform in order to be successful in their remaining games.

“We are very close to Regina in the standings and a few wins against them could catch us up very quick.”

“It is always tough to go out and play after a long time away from the ice,” Davis said.

“The first thing that we need to do as a team is to get our feet moving. The boots will start off slow, but if we get those going, everything will get [into] shape quick.”

The team will have home-ice advantage as six out of the final eight games for the Bisons are at home.

photo / Matthew Merkel / staff sports@themanitoban.com

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graphic / Dallin Chicoine / staff

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Nic Demski leads Blue Bombers to Grey Cup Former Bison discusses 2021 season, Most Valuable Canadian Award SPORTS

Matthew Merkel, staff On Dec. 12, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers captured its second consecutive Grey Cup championship, defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-25 in overtime. Former Bison football player Nic Demski scored a crucial touchdown in the fourth quarter, helping the Blue Bomber slotback win his first ever Grey Cup’s Most Valuable Canadian award. The Winnipeg native sat down to discuss his recent achievements as well as his journey to the Grey Cup. Q: OK, first question, how does it feel to go back-to-back in the Grey Cup? A: It’s definitely a feeling that, you know, that words can’t even describe.

You know, obviously to win the first one in 2019 after such a long drought was an incredible feeling, but then to come back with almost the same group of guys and go into Hamilton’s house and win the Grey Cup […] it was almost like a fairy tale type of story.

I’m just happy to be a part of it, happy to be with such a great group of guys, and everybody just committed to getting that back-to-back.

Q: Which championship [victory was your favourite,] 2019 or this year?

A: Obviously 2019, I mean that was the first Grey Cup, so I probably have to say that is my favourite, but at the end of the day […] the type of story that we created, you know, even with such a good regular season that we had this past year and then to go into Hamilton’s house and win the Grey Cup like that, I mean […] it’s tough to top that one, but 2019 was my first Grey Cup so I’ll go with that one as my favourite.

Q: The 2020 season was obviously [cancelled] due to the pandemic, how did you and your teammates spend the year preparing for this season?

A: Obviously […] no football, everybody has families, everybody has bills to pay. At the end of the day we all realize that life still goes on but at the back of our heads and everything like that […] we’re contacting each other,

and some of us I’m sure were still having our minds in the football-type attitude. One thing that I did to keep my mindset always at flow is I coached Recruit Ready in the offseason. So, [...] coaching was a way that I could still be around competition and still keep my mindset in the football world, so that was a little technique that I used this past offseason.

Q: This year’s squad featured many faces from the 2019 team. You guys had the best record, and you guys cleaned up at the CFL awards.

Can you just describe how special this group has been [the past few years]?

A: I don’t know if you saw, but I got pretty emotional when we won the Grey Cup, and then also when I got announced as Most Outstanding Canadian […] The reason why I got emotional wasn’t about winning the Grey Cup, it was more about just knowing that we had such a special group, and […] it’s going to be really hard for all of us to come back next year […] so, I mean, probably not a thought I should have been thinking at that moment, but that’s kind of where it came from […] you know, that this group is just special and we all have a lot of respect for each other and treat each other like family.

That’s why we’re so good on the field, because we’re so close off the field.

Q: You [were named] Most Valuable Canadian [at the Grey Cup]. I think the touchdown [you scored late] in the game was really impactful [to] you winning that award. You’re down 22-10 in the fourth, what is going through your head? Do you think you’re still in it? Were you confident that you guys would come back? What are you thinking?

A: I’ve always got to give a hats off to our defence because our defence shuts teams down in the fourth quarter. With the opportunities that our defence was giving us and […] our special teams game was clicking that game as well […] in my head there’s always a chance to win this game […] We’re down at halftime, we’re all looking around at each other and there’s no panic in anybody’s face.

Everybody knew what we had to go

“Manitoba [Bisons] did a good job using my skillset and just kind of letting me be me and play with athleticism”

“It was just such a surreal moment and feeling, and it just feels great to be able to do this for the hometown” out there and do. So, I mean, third quarter was a little rough […] but in the fourth quarter when we when we had our wind to the back and the type of defence that we had, I definitely felt like we had opportunities to come back and win.

Q: There’s a [video] of you and Andrew Harris celebrating the 2019 Grey Cup win together.

What is it like to be two Winnipeg guys showing up for the city and bringing it home?

A: Yeah, that’s kind of another feeling that’s so hard to even explain […] but that was one of the first conversations that Andrew and I had when I signed to Winnipeg, which was how much it would mean to the city, and […] let’s give it everything that we got. When we won it in 2019 […] as you said, there’s a picture of us celebrating and skipping around. When we did it this past year just to go back-to-back, I mean him and I didn’t even know what to say to each other. It was just such a surreal moment and feeling, and it just feels great to be able to do this for the hometown.

Q: During your Grade 12 year at Oak Park [high school you guys won the Winnipeg High School Football League championship]. Oak Park is still one of the best places for high school football players to go.

What is it like to see that school continue to produce elite football players like yourself?

A: You know, I go back to Oak Park here and there and help even coach their team and just go back and kind of show my face around the school.

I had three siblings, two siblings in that school now, one of them just graduated, so I still have close connections to Oak Park. To see them still grinding it out over there and having their JV and varsity programs playing good football […] just says a lot about the program and where I come from as well. I know they have a lot of good talent coming up through there […] and I know that they have a good varsity team as well, so it will be exciting to see what they can do this year.

Q: [Statistically] you are one of the all-time best offensive Bisons football players in the program’s history. How did your time in university help you have success on the pro stage?

well for just kind of using my skillset in different ways. The versatility […] playing running back, receiver, kick returning, that definitely gave me a lot of confidence to do either one of those at the next level. Manitoba [Bisons] did a good job using my skillset and just kind of letting me be me and play with athleticism. That’s probably the biggest thing that I could take away. It definitely gave me confidence to be a versatile player at the next level.

Q: Off the field you have begun your professional career. If [you could,] just touch on that and what you’ve got going on.

A: I do a lot of coaching, but I’m also doing financial advising as well. That was one thing that I kind of picked up during the pandemic. When the season was shut down, I decided to go ahead and get certified doing financial advising, so I’m working with Canada Life doing that on the side. So, in the offseason I grinded that and during season, you know, I come back to play some football.

Q: Having already accomplished so much in your career, what do you see as being the next challenge for yourself?

A: I don’t know man, honestly.

Obviously going back and getting a third [Grey Cup] would be ideal […] but really, it’s [about] just being consistent out there. Being more of a consistent player, being somebody that this team could depend on to make big plays for them and just help my team go out there and win another Grey Cup.

“That’s why we’re so good on the field, because we’re so close off the field” sports@themanitoban.com

A: I give kudos to the U of M Bisons as

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From our archives 100 years ago

Diversions

J. G. Francis. 1892. A books of cheerful cats. New York: The Century Co.

Got graphics? Create ccartoons? email graphics@themanitoban.com for info!

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SUDOKU

TR8TS 558

4 6 8 8 7 5 7 5 6 6 7 9 1 3 4 2 2 3 1Previous solution 2 3

5 1 5 4 1 3 4 5 Medium 8 4 81 57 6 8 4 87 75 56 5 47 9 1 6 7

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6

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5 7 6 9 8 3 4 2 3 1 6 Easy 4 5

3 1 7 5 4 2 4 3 1 3 2 2 1 6 5 4 8 7 6 7 5 8 9 6 9 8 2 3 1 4 5

No. 558

Very Hard

6 8

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by Syndicated Puzzleshere in the next issue. see how ‘straights’ are formed.

© 2021 Syndicated Puzzles

4 8

Previous solution - Easy

© 2021 Syndicated Puzzles

7

Medium

Like Sudoku, no single number can repeat in any row or column. But... rows and columns are divided by black squares into compartments. These need to be filled in with numbers that complete a ‘straight’. A straight is a set of numbers with no gaps but can be in any order, eg [4,2,3,5]. Clues in black cells remove that number as an option in that row and column, and are not part of any straight. Glance at the solution to The solutions will be published here in the next issue. see how ‘straights’ are formed.

To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9 such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely.

For many strategies, hints and tips, visit www.sudokuwiki.org If you like Str8ts check out our books, iPhone/iPad Apps and much more on our store.

More than one unique solution may be possible. Puzzle by M. Doering.

16

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much more on our store.

© 2021 Syndicated Puzzles

No. 558

xkcd.com

© 2021 Syndicated Puzzles

STR8TS