March 10 2023

Nickel Belt News Book a way to preserve and pass on

RCMP detachment wood carving pays tribute to Indigenous special constables

director Gisele deMeulles has written a book about her experiences growing up, mostly

BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

The Thompson RCMP detachment unveiled a wood carving in its lobby that pays tribute to the contributions of Indigenous special constables at a ceremony on March 8.

Though she’s now written a book about her experiences growing up in Churchill, Addictions Foundation of Manitoba northern director Gisele deMeulles said writing wasn’t something she always thought she would do.

to write things that you have to figure out. It’s pretty clear when I get through.”

DeMeulles said she wrote her book, titled Whispers in the Wind: Stories from the North - Life in Churchill for a couple of reasons.

Created by Rick Hall, the carving stands in the corner of the RCMP detachment’s lobby, which also features a poster acknowledging the Crown’s treaties with First Nations and a mural by an Indigenous artist.

“This particular tribute is dedicated to honouring the role that special constables played within the RCMP,” said RCMP Manitoba North District

“In my youth I never felt good at writing,” she said. “But when I moved to Thompson to get into the school of social work, at that point I had to write for university and realized, ‘Holy, I’m not bad at this, right?’ I certainly developed a lot of skill in university and came out of there with a very strong skill in my writing and confidence in my writing. I write very clear and that’s it. It’s there. Some people say it’s kind of blunt or direct. I don’t tend

commander Ryan Mitchell shortly before unveiling the carving with the help of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Garrison Settee. “When the police originally came to the north in the early 1890s, they lacked the skills and knowledge necessary to survive in such a harsh climate. Indigenous languages, cultures and the way of life were completely unfamiliar to most. Special constables were indigenous people hired to help the police adapt and survive in the north. The special constables and their families played a crucial role, working alongside the police, in helping us under-

“I just sort of thought, you know what, this history, this stuff that’s in my head, it’s going to be gone if I don’t write it down,” she said. “My kids are not going to get it if I don’t do it and it’s something I’ve always wanted my mom to do. My mom’s an elder and she’s an artist, she’s got so many wonderful stories because she always tells her stories at Parks Canada in Churchill and I’ve always hounded her, ‘Please, just put it on tape, I will write it for you because your story is going to be lost,’ and she’s never done it and I thought,

‘Oh, I’m just as bad, right?’ I have all these stories and I need to capture them for my grandchildren really because they will be lost if I don’t.”

She also has a reputation as a storyteller herself.

stand indigenous cultures and traditions. Their skills and knowledge were crucial and, among other functions, often they acted as interpreters, scouts and guides.”

“I had such a varied history and I would tell people stories and they would go, ‘That’s not true, is it?’ I’d go, ‘Yeah it’s true.’ They’d go, ‘You didn’t do all that, did you? You’ve got to be really old.’ I was like, ‘No, actually I did all that before I was 27,’ and they went ‘What?’”

was not a very safe thing to do but I jumped at it. I thought that was exciting until the plane landed and they started throwing the fuel off and I realized, ‘Holy cats, I was probably sitting on a bomb.’”

Mitchell, who oversees policing services in nearly all Manitoba communities north of the 55th parallel, with the exception of Opaskwayak Cree Nation, which has a First Nations police force, 24 of which are Indigenous communities, said the RCMP has done things in the past that have damaged the force’s relationships with Indigenous Peoples but that it is working to repair those relationships.

Looking back, some of those experiences are things she might not do again.

“I did some pretty bizarre stuff like fuel hauls into the high Arctic at -35,” said deMeulles. “It didn’t dawn on me until after. That was a very dangerous thing to do. Being on a plane full of fuel

“It gives me great pleas -

Another thing that spurred her on was the hard times facing Churchill since the Hudson Bay Railway suspended operations north of Gillam last spring.

“It used to be a really thriving large community and it’s just dwindled down to such a small population now,” deMeulles says.

Though she’s not there any longer, her parents and her sister and other family members still are.

“My cousin owns the hardware store there,” she says.

ure to stand here to witness the unveiling of this very magnificent monument to commemorate the service of our Indigenous special constables for many, many years,” said Settee. “It’s an important step in reconciliation. And I think that when you take and embark on this journey, we want to walk with you. And we want to be able to be with you to take those initial steps, because I believe that we have a long way to go. But I think this is a very significant step. And for us at MKO, we’re very appreciative of all the efforts that have been made by your members and also the efforts that you’ve made person -

Because of that, deMeulles finds it hard to

swallow when people say that Churchill residents should just find somewhere easier to live.

“To say, ‘Those people choose to live there. They should just leave,’ is quite simplistic. It’s quite disrespectful. If we were in the same boat in another area I think we would scream about that so why don’t they have the option to do that?

ally, because I’ve seen the level of commitment that you bring to reconciliation. We will continue to strive until we reach what we consider to be true reconciliation. Reconciliation is not a word. It’s actions. It’s going beyond rhetoric and action, making a difference. And I think that’s what we want to do.”

For all the harsh weather and the dangers of polar bears, deMeulles said if it had been viable she would have moved back to Churchill in a heartbeat.

for with the help of Northern Manitoba language consultants including Star Beardy, who was recognized for her efforts with the gift of a blanket at the March 8 ceremony.

Other recent actions Mitchell pointed to as part of the RCMP’s reconciliation work include adding Cree syllabics to Northern Manitoba members’ name tags that are embroidered on their regular service uniforms and developing a basic Cree language for law enforcement booklet

I think right now they’re feeling like they’re pawns in a political game and that’s really sad for them because I think the people of Churchill really want to thrive. They’ve built their worlds there. How would we feel if someone came to you and said, ‘I’m sorry, you have to leave your home community and we’re going to displace you somewhere else and all your loved ones and your history is gone?’”

“I miss the shoreline, I miss the rock, I miss the polar bears even though they’re very dangerous and I really miss the Hudson Bay,” she says. “When I go back home, standing on the Hudson Bay looking out on the bay, it just gives you an incredible sense. You feel so small and you feel great.”

Now that she’s got one book under her belt, deMeulles says she may try to produce another.

“I’m living proof that residential schools didn’t completely get rid of our languages,” Beardy said. “I speak my language and I credit that to my own community. I also want to acknowledge [RCMP Manitoba North District Staff Sgt.] Shayne [Smith] for all the work he’s doing across Manitoba because I grew up being afraid of RCMP. It’s given me a new perspective and my blood doesn’t rise when I see a police car anymore.”

“I have another book in me,” she says. “It’s a darker story, more about personal growth and struggles. Maybe in the next five years it’s something I’ll focus on doing.”

Nickel Belt News photo by Ian Graham

Addictions Foundation of Manitoba northern

in Churchill.

Delivering News to the Nickel Belt since

Thompson Citizen photo by Ian Graham

Nelson House RCMP detachment Special Const. Ryan Wrightson, left, and Thompson RCMP detachment Special Const. Rob Cleveland, right, with a wooden statue carved by Rick Hall that is now displayed in the lobby of the Thompson RCMP detachment in recognition of the valuable services Indigenous special constables have provided the police force with throughout its history.

Lynn Lake gold mining project receives federal environmental approval

Canada’s environment minister approved Alamos Gold’s Lynn Lake Gold Project March 6, deciding that mitigation measures were sufficient to ensure the impact of the mining operation on the environment would not outweigh the benefits.

Alamos plans to use openpit mining methods to extract up to 8,250 tonnes of ore per day from the historical Gordon and McLellan gold mines over a 13-year period. The mines are located near the town of Lynn Lake in Manitoba’s northwest region.

“My decision to approve the Lynn Lake Gold Project was informed by a thorough federal environmental assessment based on scientific evidence and Indigenous knowledge,” said federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guillbeault in a news release.

“I am confident the strong

legally binding conditions established for the project will safeguard the environment and create a sustainable path forward."

The minister’s approval came with 177 conditions that Alamos Gold must meet, including measures to protect woodland caribou, water quality and the health and socio-economic conditions of Indigenous residents fo the area.

Site clearing activities must take place outside of the woodland caribou’s calving and calf-rearing period and avoid the destruction of their habitat. Alamos must also contribute to habitat restoration initiatives, including a collaring program by Manitoba’s Natural Resources and Northern Development department, and the company is also responsible for following up to verify the effectiveness of the project’s mitigation measures related

to woodland caribou.

Alamos said it has also been issued provincial Environment Act licences for the MacLellan and Gordon sites.

“Achieving both of these important regulatory milestones for the Lynn Lake Gold Project represents a multi-year, collaborative effort by our team and our

commitment to environmental sustainability,” said Alamos CEO John McCluskey, “Lynn Lake is a significant opportunity to drive the future growth of our business in Canada, with the potential to increase our annual production to approximately 800,000 ounces of gold per year.”

The project is expected to

result in more than 400 jobs during both its construction and operational stages.

“There’s jobs [in Lynn Lake] but there’s not enough jobs for everybody that lives there so hopefully this is something that, once it comes in, it’ll provide everybody an opportunity,” Alamos training co-ordinator Holly Martin told the Thompson Citizen at a Thompson job fair last October. Although the goal is to train local people to do many of the jobs, skilled positions like heavy equipment operators and truck drivers can be tough to fill locally, especially given a shortage of services people in larger communities take for granted. It’s been several years since Lynn Lake had a functioning childcare facility, Martin pointed out.

Alamos plans to spend $5 million on the Lynn Lake Gold Project in 2023, includ-

ing 8,000 metres of drilling, and to evaluate and advance a pipeline of prospective exploration targets within the 58,000-hectare project area.

13 Indigenous groups were consulted by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada during the environmental approval process and more than $730,000 was made available to ensure Indigenous groups had the chance to participate in various stages of the review process.

“Today's decision is good news for workers in Manitoba and thanks to an efficient and effective federal environmental assessment, it is also good news for the protection of important habitats and biodiversity,” said federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson. “The development of Canada's vast resources can, and must, be done in a manner that is science-aligned and respects our environment."

First Nation declares state of emergency in wake of tragic deaths

BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

A Northern Manitoba

First Nation where one woman was killed and another woman died of exposure after being stuck on a snowmobile trail for 12 hours has declared a state of emergency.

O-Pipon-Na-Piwin

Cree Nation Chief Shirley Ducharme made the declaration March 6 and is calling on the provincial and federal governments to assist the community of South Indian Lake, located northwest of Thompson, whose once-bustling commercial fishery has been badly impacted by waterways being diverted for electricity generation.

“We are declaring a state of emergency following a string of deaths in our community,” Dycharme said in a news release. “The root causes of our emergency come from centuries of

colonial impacts resulting in addictions, reactions to trauma and mental health issues. We are requesting to the federal and provincial governments for immediate assistance with supports to address the immediate issue.”

The community’s pair of recent tragedies began Feb. 19 when South Indian Lake RCMP officers were called to the nursing station after 47-year-old Noreen Tait was brought there with severe injuries from an assault. She was medevaced to Winnipeg where she died two days later. On March 1, a 28-year-old woman was brought to the nursing station and died. She had been travelling to a cabin about 16 kilometres from South Indian Lake when the snowmobile she and a male companion were riding on broke down. She remained with the snowmobile while the man walked back to the

community. He returned with another man nearly 12 hours later and they travelled back to the community, where she became unresponsive and later died.

“We are dealing with emergencies and tragedy on a daily basis here it seems,” said Ducharme. “Our people are dying and as leadership, we have to do something. Today, I am calling for help to get crisis supports to help our community.”

At a recent press conference in Thompson, Noreen Tait’s sister Arla Tait-LInklater said that tragedies in small communities like South Indian Lake affect everyone and can result in further crises as people turn to drugs and alcohol in an attempt to numb their pain. At that same press conference, Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak vicechief and Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias said mental health services in First Nations are often limited to visits by mental health therapists every two weeks, which is far from sufficient.

Ducharme said at that press conference that many of the mental health and addictions issues OPCN members deal with are the result of past traumas, like the ‘60s Scoop and the intergenerational effects of residential schools, as well as projects like the Churchill River Diversion.

Constructed in the early to mid-1970s to redirect water from the Churchill River system into the Nelson River system in order to power the Crown corporation’s hydroelectric dams that provide more than 70 per cent of Manitoba’s electricity, the Churchill River Diversion had a massive-

ly detrimental impact on the Southern Indian Lake whitefish fishery that used to be the community’s economic engine, residents say.

“You don’t know the impacts that the Churchill River Diversion has done to our community,” said Ducharme on Feb. 27.

Organizations representing First Nations are supporting OPCN, both through direct aid and by advocating for action from other levels of government.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is facilitating a process for OPCN to design, develop and implement a community action plan addressing immediate, shortterm and long-term community needs.

“AMC stands with Chief Shirley Ducharme and O-Pi-

pon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation as they declare a state of emergency over the numerous deaths in their First Nation within a short period of time,” said AMC Grand Chief Cathy Merrick.

MKO, which advocates on behalf of OPCN and more than 20 other Northern Manitoba First Nations, has deployed its mobile crisis response team to the community to assist families dealing with trauma.

“We are also going to assist our member First Nation with their call for more housing by advocating on their behalf federally and asking the province to limit the hours of their ferry to control the flow of alcohol into their community,” said MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee.

Thompson Citizen file photo

A gold mining project near Lynn Lake in Manitoba’s northwest region was approved by the federal government March

Thompson Citizen photo by Ian Graham

O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation Chief Shirley Ducharme, seen here at a Feb. 27 press conference in Thompson, has declared a state of emergency in her community, which is dealing with the tragic deaths of two of its members in a span of less than 10 days, one the victim of a homicide and another the result of exposure.

First Thompson high school hoops provincials in 11 years less than a week away

BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

In less than a week, R.D. Parker Collegiate’s gyms will be the site of high school basketball provincials for the first time since 2012 and this time it will host both the boys’ and girls’ championships.

Eight boys’ and eight girls’ teams with about 250 to 300 players collectively will arrive in Thompson March 15 in preparation for the first games of their respective tournaments the following day. Championship and consolation playoffs will take place March 17 and the finals will be played on March 18.

RDPC senior girls’ basketball coach Christine Sim, the convenor overseeing the championships, was still in university the last time Thompson hosted the high school basketball provincials and says it will be a treat for her players to close out their season and, for graduating students, their high school basket-

BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

The school district’s budget is going up 2.63 per cent for the next school year but Thompson taxpayers won’t see an education property tax increase because the increase is being covered by a provincial offset grant and other funding.

School District of Mystery Lake secretary-treasurer Kelly Knott outlined the proposed budget in a public presentation at the district office on March 1. Trustees must approve the budget at a school board meeting before it is submitted to the province, The deadline for submission of school district budgets is March 31.

In exchange for not increasing the education portion of property taxes, the district will receive a property tax offset grant of $236,000 from the provincial government. Operating funding has also increased from last year and the district receives other targeted funding for special needs students and to maintain

ball careers, in the familiar confines of their home gym.

“It's just nice to be able to have the kids able to play in the gym again,” Sim said.

“With the way that zones are now we don't get as many teams coming here to play against us so it's nice to have the other teams come up and see us for a change.”

As is usually the case when an event like this takes place in Thompson, there’s a little more planned that just basketball, Sim says. The evening before play gets underway at 10 a.m. March 16 will serve as a welcome night, with swag provided by Ridgestone Financial and Corey Murdy at Sunlife. Thursday evening will feature Winterfest activities with an Indigenous perspective after play has wrapped up for the day. Players will also have the opportunity to take in a movie at the Letkemann Theatre on Friday night.

As fun as all the festivities included in the tournament will be, the main focus

and improve student presence and engagement, as well as to deal with inflationary pressures. The last two grants, which brought $762,000 and nearly $1.6 million to SDML in the current school year, were originally announced as one-time funding but have been extended for the 202324 school year as well.

“I believe in today’s times with the inflation being able to present a budget with very small increases is a very good achievement,” said Knott.

For the first time in three years, the district will not have to use surplus funds from the previous year to cover operating expenses.

This year’s budget used $358,000 of surplus to balance the books while the year before that $239,000 in surplus funds was required.

The overall dollar value that must be covered by local property taxes is lower in the 2023-24 budget than it has been since 2020.

SDML’s budget is highly reliant on provincial funding, with local taxes mak-

is basketball and there are good things and bad things about playing at home, says Anaya Permanand, one of the Grade 12 players on the senior girls’ Trojans.

“If we were gone away, then it would be like a little bit different, but I think it'll be more emotional for all the girls that are graduating,” she said. “We’ll be finishing at home.”

Because of that, the atmosphere will be a little louder, which might require some adjustment,

“We're going to need to learn how to focus because it’s not ever loud when we play [down south], like ever at all,” says Permanand. “It’ll be exciting.”

Permanand knows she and her teammates will be in tough at the competition. Only teams who win their first games have a shot at advancing to the final. Lose a second match and you’re knocked out of the consolation bracket as well.

“It's a really advanced level of competition,” she

ing up less than 17 per cent of revenues. Every category of funding from the province with the exception of the tax incentive grant went up at least slightly this year. The district has also been funded based on adjusted 2021-22 school year enrolment of 2,950 full-time equivalent students over this school year and next year’s. If it were based on the actual enrolment, which is about 200 students lower, the district would have to find an additional $2 million or so in revenues to balance the budget.

“Our provincial funding is 82 per cent of our revenue stream so we are very much dependent on the province,” Knott said. “We’ve been very fortunate that they see our needs, recognize what needs to happen here for our success and are in support of that.”

This school year’s budget is still subject to change based on adjustments from the province, which are made once actual enrolment figures are received after the start of a new

says. “It's a lot harder.”

“It's the best of the best teams that are going to be here,” Sim says.

Spectators who want to take in the tournament can get weekend passes for $10,

school year. Though these adjustments are usually made in December, they haven’t been made for the 2022-23 school year yet. In the 2021-22 school year, actual funding was adjusted downward by about $756,000. Coping with such adjustments is part of

Thompson Citizen photo by Ian Graham

which are available in the school’s front office now or at the gym entrance once the tournament starts. Those who only want to attend for one day can get a single-day pass for $5.

Unlike many other high school basketball tournaments, including provincials, which aren’t usually available to watch except in person, this year’s will be livestreamed as well.

the reason school districts can have a surplus of up to four per cent of the current school year’s budget, because such adjustments are not made in phases but come out of the next scheduled payment of provincial funding.

a surplus of about $1.2 million at the end of next school year, equal to 2.6 per cent of the budget. It isn’t as big a cushion as it may seem, Knott, said, since monthly expenses for the district total about $4 million per month during the school year.

Grade 12 student Anaya Permanand, right, and R.D. Parker Collegiate senior girls’ basketball coach Christine Sim, left, in the Trojan Gym, which will play host to high school basketball provincials beginning March 16.

Thompson Citizen image courtesy of school District of Mystery Lake A pie chart from the School District of Mystery Lake’s 2023-24 budget presentation shows how heavily reliant the district is on provincial funding as opposed to local property taxes.

No tax increase, no use of surplus in next year’s

school district budget

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Thirteen Manitoba First Nations now have vehicles and trained staff to provide non-ambulance transportation and 12 of their members have graduated from a customized emergency medical responder training program.

The achievements are the result of two initiatives by Keewatin Tribal Council and the Four Arrows Regional Health Authority to train medical responders and obtain equipment needed to transport people, including those in wheelchairs and stretchers.

Started in 2019, the projects to provide medical transportation as well as emergency medical responder training received a combined $1 million from the federal government in the 2021-22 fiscal year.

Last month, custom-made Dodge Ram Promaster vans with rear fold access ramps and other medical equipment and supplies from Move Mobility were sent from Winnipeg to 13 Northern Manitoba First Nation health centres.

Near the end of January, 24 students from seven First Nations received advanced first aid certificates and 12 graduated

from an 11-week emergency medical responder program delivered by Criti Care Paramedic Academy. Those students then wrote the Canadian Organization of Paramedic Regulators Exam and received the EMR Certificate of Practice from the College of Paramedics Manitoba.

“Our communities now have new non-ambulance transportation vehicles and trained EMR staff prepared to treat and transport community patients in emergency situations,” said FARHA executive director Alex McDougall. "This service didn’t exist in our communities. FARHA communities are safer because of the funding provided to our EMR Training and Medical Transportation initiative.”

FARHA works to improve health outcomes for the Island Lake First Nations of Garden Hill, Wasagamack, St. Theresa Point and Red Sucker Lake.

KTC health director John Spence says the training has increased health services available to residents of KTC’s 11 member First Nations.

“Emergency management services is a key com-

ponent of a typical health care system. Now our community members have prehealth centre or pre-hospital care for people who are sick or injured. This program is another step in KTC creating the capacity and infrastructure, at the community level, that are culturally safe and appropriate.”

The graduates of the emergency medical responder training program were congratulated by Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu.

“Keewatin Tribal Council and the Four Arrows Regional Health Authority are quickly making progress since launching their Emergency Medical Responder and Medical Transportation Initiative in 2022. With new transport vehicles in service, new medical equipment and supplies, and training programs in full swing, First Nations communities served by FARHA and KTC will be able to see the improvements when accessing their health care and services."

Collectively the medical transport and emergency responder programs serve 15 First Nations and more than 30,000 people on and off reserve.

Thompson Citizen photo courtesy of Four Arrows Regional Health Authority Four Arrows Regional Health Authority executive director Alex McDougall

Manslaughter charge laid for South

Indian Lake homicide

Man arrested for trio of Thompson road rage incidents

A 45-year-old Thompson man has been arrested and charged with several offences related to incidents of road rage in the past week and in February.

The most recent incident occurred on the afternoon of March 4, when a driver stopped on Thompson Drive to allow pedestrians to cross the road. The man came up behind her at a high rate of speed in his vehicle and began yelling at the pedestrians before directing his anger at the woman who had stopped her car to let them cross. The man assaulted and threatened the other driver and also damaged her passenger side mirror.

Three days earlier, around 4 p.m. March 1, the suspect got out of his vehicle and threatened another driver who had honked at him for being illegally parked on the roadway on Thompson Drive. The man got out of his vehicle and threatened the driver who had honked, hitting their vehicle with his fists. When the victim drove away, the suspect followed him, honking his horn at him and driving erratically.

On Feb. 10, a driver on Thompson Drive honked his horn at another vehicle. The driver of that vehicle rolled down his window and threw a cup of coffee at the other vehicle. As the vehicles were moving, the suspect began punching the passenger side mirror of the victim’s vehicle.

The man who was arrested on March 5, who was not identified by police in a March 6 press release, is charged with assault, three counts each of mischief and uttering threats, and with driving carelessly under the Highway Traffic Act. He was released from custody on an undertaking with conditions.

NRHA, other Manitoba health regions head on recruitment visit to Philippines

BY ERIC WESTHAVER FLIN FLON REMINDER

The Northern Regional Health Authority has gone global in an attempt to bring health workers to the north.

A delegation from the NRHA consisting of two staff members, headed to the Philippines last month as part of a provincial health worker recruitment drive. The duo was part of a larger group covering Manitoba service delivery organizations (SDOs) that headed to the southeast Asian nation, hoping to bring qualified Filipino health professionals to the north. The group went through three Filipino cities during a week-long visit, the first of its kin

ippines eventually moving to the north full-time and staying in the region with their families. However, those workers were never directly recruited from the Philippines by the NRHA — hires from the country were often done through agencies, clinics and provincial bodies.

A 50-year-old man has been charged with manslaughter for the death of Noreen Tait, RCMP said March 7.

Phillip Soulier of O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation was arrested March 6 in connection with the Feb. 21 death. Tait, 47, was brought to the South Indian Lake nursing station Feb. 19 with severe injuries from an assault. She was medevaced to a hospital in Winnipeg where she died two days later.

Arla Tait-Linklater, Noreen’s older sister, said at a press conference in Thompson on Feb. 27 that her sister’s death was shocking and traumatic to her whole family..

“Noreen has left a huge void in our hearts,” she said. “The senseless way her life was taken is difficult to comprehend and devastating to the family.”

In the wake of another death that came just under a week after Tait’s, OPCN Chief Shirley Ducharme declared a state of emergency in the First Nation on March 6.

Soulier was remanded into custody following his arrest.

Two girls, 14, found dead outside in St. Theresa Point

Island Lake RCMP are investigating the deaths of two 14-year-old girls found outside a home March 1.

The two girls were found outside a St. Theresa Point residence around 8 a.m. March 1. They were both pronounced dead at the community’s nursing station.

RCMP say it is believed that the girls had been outside for a period of time. The temperature was about -23 degrees Celsius in St. Theresa Point overnight from Feb. 28 to March 1.

Autopsies will be conducted to determine the cause of death and Island Lake RCMP continue to investigate.

Helping Manitobans Make Ends Meet Carbon Tax Relief Fund CHEQUES ON THE WAY

“We [had] two of our staff … in the Philippines taking part in the health care recruitment mission for the province of Manitoba. All the SDO’s in Manitoba had delegates attend this recruitment mission,” reads a statement from an NRHA spokesperson.

“They were in Manila from February 21-23 and in Cebu and Iloilo February 24-25. This is the first time that the [NRHA] has participated in this type of recruitment.”

Filipino health workers have served in Northern Manitoba for at least 50 years, with many people originally from the Phil-

Housing

The NRHA sees the trip as a new strategy to combat low staffing levels, something that has plagued the region for years. Last year, the NRHA cut services in three northern communities, citing a lack of staff as the cause of the cuts. In the past, services in Flin Flon like birth and obstetric care and day surgery were also cut due to a lack of staff.

“In terms of Filipino recruitment, we welcome a multicultural workforce in the region and we know that family and friends attract other family and friends – we welcome that happening,” said the NRHA spokesperson.

ministers ask feds for help

BY CAITRIN PILKINGTON LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER, CABIN RADIO

Housing ministers from all 13 provinces and territories have called for the federal government to increase its spending on affordable housing.

In a March 2 press release, ministers said provinces and territories are on track to surpass federal investments in affordable housing by 2027, and resources are being strained by the demand.

The call was initiated by Saskatchewan Housing Minister Gene Makowsky.

“Communities across Canada continue to face elevated home prices, increased rates of homelessness, and challenges related to housing affordability, adequacy, and supply,” the statement reads. “Rising costs in the construction industry have also significantly increased the cost to build and repair homes.”

Provinces and territories say they have spent $20.1 billion on housing over the past four years. The federal government currently plans to spend more than $82 billion addressing housing affordability, but housing ministers say this figure doesn’t reflect the burden being placed on provinces

and territories.

“While the federal National Housing Strategy has been marketed as an ‘$82+ billion plan,’ this figure includes both loans and cost-matched spending by [provinces and territories], neither of which are true costs to the federal government,” the statement continues.

The ministers say regional housing departments are also responsible for ongoing costs related to operations and maintenance after housing is built.

They say Ottawa should recognize that provinces and territories are better-suited to meeting the needs of their constituents.

“With their understanding of local needs and circumstances, [provincial and territorial] governments are best positioned to identify and allocate funding to areas that will have the greatest impact,” the statement reads.

Provinces and territories say that for funding to be effective, the federal government must be adaptable and attach fewer restrictions and conditions around spending.

“[Ministers] welcome improved collaboration, greater flexibility, and increased funding, which will enable them to respond to this growing need.”

The Manitoba government is helping Manitobans ease the financial strain they are facing this winter.

As part of ongoing efforts to help Manitobans make ends meet, the Manitoba government is providing a much needed financial benefit cheque.

To see how the new Carbon Tax Relief Fund will help you and your family, visit: Manitoba.ca/helpingMB

Thompson Citizen file photo

A 50-year-old man from O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation was charged with manslaughter March 6 in connection with the Feb. 21 death of Noreen Tait.

Alberta oilsands tailings release hidden from First Nation an audacious act of “environmental racism:” Elizabeth May

BY NATASHA BULOWSKI LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER, CANADA'S NATIONAL OBSERVER

Federal politicians have joined the chorus of anger over Imperial Oil’s failure to alert a downriver First Nations community of a massive release of oilsands tailings first reported last May.

“This is an outrageous act of environmental racism,” Green Party co-leader Elizabeth May told Canada’s National Observer. Her comments came the day after Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam released a statement accusing Imperial Oil of hiding the massive spill from the nation. In two separate incidents, the wastewater spilled and seeped into the forest and wetland near the Muskeg and Firebag rivers, which flow into the Athabasca River.

Tailings are created through the mining and extraction of bitumen in Alberta’s oilsands and are a thick, sludge-like mixture containing toxic naphthenic acids, arsenic and leftover remnants of bitumen, as well as silt, clay, and water. More than 1.4 trillion litres of treated tailings are stored on the banks of the Athabasca River in northern Alberta.

Adam said his nation was unaware tailings from Imperial’s Kearl site were spilling over and leaking into the ground, despite the fact the nation has a contract with Imperial Oil requiring the company inform them of such matters. Imperial Oil had multiple chances to share the news in person, Adam said, but stayed silent until the provincial regulator issued an environmental protection order on Feb. 6.

In a written statement, Imperial vice-president of oilsands mining Jamie Long acknowledged the community’s “concerns about delays in receiving additional information” and expressed regret to Adam that the company’s “communications did not meet the expectations of the ACFN community.”

“We further committed to him that we are taking the necessary steps to improve our communications so this does not happen again in the future,” the statement reads, adding the company intended to share its findings when a cause and a plan of action were determined.

This “cavalier public relations response” is “outrageous,” said May. “Why are they apologizing for their communication style instead of for poisoning people and land and waters and wildlife?”

She went on to say that Imperial Oil “is not a responsible corporate citizen, as they like to pretend they are,” but is actually one of the “worst corporate criminals.”

NDP MP Blake Desjarlais said the situation “requires

a full public inquiry as to why these companies feel as though nine months of not warning the community that a dangerous chemical spill is taking place is something that's permissible in Canada.”

The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation sent a notice to all members warning them to avoid the Kearl site and stop eating any food collected after May 2022, according to Adams’s statement. According to a statement from Imperial Oil, its monitoring to date shows no reported impacts to wildlife and no measurable impact to local waterways.

To say that the release of tailings — one of the most poisonous, dangerous substances that can be produced from these sites — is not resulting in any ecological or environmental damage is “a very far reach,” said Desjarlais. “I even go so far as to suggest that it's misleading to Canadians on the true damages and dangers of the release of tailings. Would the executive of Imperial Oil be happy to eat a fish that his tailings ponds went into?”

Along with the seepage from four tailings ponds reported in May 2022, 5.3 million litres of water reportedly escaped from a tailings overflow drainage pond on Feb. 4, 2023, according to the Alberta Energy Regulator. Just imagine how much liquid has escaped in the nine months since the first violation, said Adam.

Bloc Québécois MP Monique Pauzé dubbed the news “an eloquent demonstration of the industry’s lax attitude towards Native communities and the environment” in an emailed statement to Canada’s National Observer.

“I think it’s fair to qualify this as contempt,” said Pauzé. “The substances released by this oilsands production are highly toxic: I am shocked, yet not surprised, by this lack of transparency and accountability.”

Conservative environment critic Gérard Deltell declined to comment on the issue.

Imperial Oil’s statement outlines some actions being taken to control the seepage, including installation of additional monitoring and pumping wells and “water collection measures.”

Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault released a statement March 3 saying he is “deeply concerned” about the reports. Guilbeault goes on to say he reached out to Adam and his provincial counterpart, Environment and Protected Areas Minister Sonya Savage, to “get to the bottom of the situation” and offered “the unwavering support of the federal government.”

Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers will be given all resources necessary to continue their independent

assessment, under the federal Fisheries Act, to determine next steps, according to Guilbeault’s statement.

“We need to see a clear remediation plan from the company and to better understand the apparent failures of communication for the notification of this spill.”

To Desjarlais, the situation echoes the mistakes and failures of past governments, in particular, the gutting of environmental protections by former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper.

Bill C-45 introduced sweeping changes to multiple laws, Desjarlais explained. It stripped the Navigable Waters Act of nearly all its protective measures, made amendments to the Fisheries Act and took away protections of Indigenous people under the Indian Act.

This was all done with omnibus Bill C-45 in 2012, which Desjarlais says is the root cause of the “ramrodding of resource projects that we're seeing today.”

Alberta Energy Regulator issued a statement saying it is the company's responsibility to report releases to affected or potentially affected parties as soon as they become aware of the release.

Desjarlais disagrees with the regulator’s stance.

“As a matter of fact, it is the Crown government's responsibility, no matter if it's the province or the federal government ... to ensure that Indigenous people ... have their lands properly assessed and protected,” he said.

Unfortunately, Canada’s federal laws don't accommodate the reality of these resource companies coming in and abusing public lands and public assets, he added. And the blame for that is not solely Harper’s to bear — the current Liberal government knows the huge amendments that took place under Bill C-45, but we’ve seen very little remedy to ensure that the protections of water in particular, under the Navigable Waters Act, were put back into place, Desjarlais said.

When 71-year-old Alice Rigney heard the news that Imperial Oil failed to tell the nation about the tailings releases, she was “really hurt” and “pissed off.”

“We believed there was a trust between us,” Rigney, an elder from the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, told Canada’s National Observer in an interview.

“And then this happens for nine months before they're finally found out… What does it tell you?”

She said it hurts that Imperial Oil and industry more broadly make millions and billions of dollars destroying her peoples’ land.

“I think to them a spill is, you know, really nothing.”

It’s not nothing to Rigney and other Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation members who rely on the

lands and waters to hunt, fish and gather sustenance. Her community has every right to be upset, especially because they’ve had to make sacrifices and more or less go along with industry by way of contribution agreements in order to sustain themselves on the land, she said.

“And yet, we are still being lied to.”

“This is my environment… This land was not given to us to destroy, this

land was given to us by the Creator so that we could keep it for our grandchildren and for those yet to come … not plumb it the way industry is doing,” said Rigney.

She recounts going fishing with her family on the Athabasca River in 1982 after a large oil spill from Suncor and watching her brother cook the fish over the campfire and seeing black fat dripping off their meal. When they tried the

fish, it tasted like oil.

“I just wonder about those people at Imperial, how do they feel … when they go to bed at night and think, ‘Oh, my. We did this to the environment and to the people downriver.’ Do they even think about it?” mused Rigney.

“It's on their watch,” she said.

Rigney hopes someday their grandchildren will ask them: “Why did you do this to the environment?”

I got my home insulated for free. You can too.”

– KARL

Thompson Citizen photo courtesy of Elizabeth May/Twitter Green Party MP Elizabeth May meets with Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Garrison Settee in Winnipeg March 3.

Four men from Winnipeg charged with drug trafficking in Cross Lake

A woman from Pimicikamak Cree Nation and four men from Winnipeg were arrested by Cross Lake RCMP officers executing a search warrant on Feb. 28.

Police searched a residence around 4 p.m. that day, discovering approximately 200 grams of cocaine, pills, a black BB handgun and various drug-dealing paraphernalia such as scales, packing supplies and a grinder. Cash was also seized.

Melissa Megan Muskego, 37, of Pimicikamak Cree Nation is charged with possessing drugs for the purpose of trafficking, possessing property obtained by crime and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

23-year-old Kiebron Misgna Issak of Winnipeg faces the same charges.

Filmon Hagos Woldemariam, 21, 32-yearold Yonas Bokretsion Kidane and 33-yearold Eseyas Rezene, all from Winnipeg, face

the same charges as Muskego and Issak. Woldemariam is also charged with failing to comply with a condition of an an undertaking to not possess or consume any drugs. Kidane is also charged with disobeying a lawful order and Rezene is also charged with failing to comply with a probation order.

“What we are seeing here is four individuals who have absolutely no ties or affiliation with the community coming here and selling drugs,” said Cross Lake RCMP detachment commander Jon Greer. “We remain completely committed to combatting the drug trade as it has been shown time and time again that those who produce and traffic illicit drugs destroy lives, homes, and communities. The RCMP continues to work with Pimicikamak Cree Nation to ensure that doesn’t happen here.”

The five people arrested remained in custody as of March 2.

CITY OF THOMPSON UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE PLANNING ACT

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

On the date and at the time and location shown below, a PUBLIC HEARING will be held to receive representations from any person(s) who wish to make them in respect to the following matter:

CITY OF THOMPSON BY-LAW NO. 2033-2023

Being an amendment to the City of Thompson Zoning By-law 1891-2012, as amended.

HEARING LOCATION

City of Thompson Council Chambers 226 Mystery Lake Road, Thompson, MB

DATE & TIME

Monday, March 27, 2023 at 7:00 pm

GENERAL INTENET

To re-zone land within the City of Thompson from “Public Institution Zone” to “Public Institution University Zone.”

AREA AFFECTED

305 Thompson Dr. N Lot B Plan 5692 in Pt. NE 4-78-3 WPM

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT

Lyle Safronetz Director Development & Technical Services City of Thompson Ph: (204) 677-7922, Email: lsafronetz@thompson.ca

A copy of the above proposed By-law may be inspected at the location noted above during normal office hours, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

CITY OF THOMPSON BUILDING PERMITS & INSPECTIONS

NOTICE OF IMPROVEMENT

The City of Thompson is pleased to offer residents, builders and business owners in our community an online system to apply for and track your building permits.

So if you are in the works of planning your new project whether it is an addition, alteration, conversion, repair, improvement to your principal building or accessory building (commercial or residential) we have made it simple and easy to apply.

The Cloudpermit building permit system allows you to apply for and to see the status of your applications anywhere, at any time. You can start an application and finish it later,

and receive email updates on the status of your permit application. You can even request building inspections with results sent immediately to your email!

To get started, create your Cloudpermit account by visiting https://ca.cloudpermit.com/login.

Any questions or assistance with the system please go to https://www.thompson.ca/p/permits or give us a call or email:

Danny Haywood Building Inspector 204-677-7953

CITY OF THOMPSON CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

TRADESMAN I–MECHANIC

FIREFIGHTER / PARAMEDICS

RECEIVABLES CLERK

COMMUNITY SAFETY OFFICERS

JUNIOR CLERK – R.C.M.P.

UTILITY CLERK

FOR MORE INFO VISIT: thompson.ca/p/job-opportunities

RCMP photo

Cocaine, pills, cash and a BB gun were seized by Cross Lake RCMP while executing a search warrant at a Pimicikamak Cree Nation home on Feb. 28.

NRHA announces next CEO

The Northern Regional Health Authority announced the successor to current CEO Helga Bryant March 3.

Raj Sewda will take over as the health authority CEO effective April 1, according to a news release.

A registered nurse with leadership and management experience in Ontario, Sewda was the chief operating officer, chief nursing executive and executive vice-president of clinical services at Toronto’s Runnymede Health Centre. He has also been a professor in the health management program at Ontario’s Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology and most recently worked as a clinical partner at Sienna Senior Living, providing support to long-term care communities across Ontario and British Columbia.

“We believe Mr. Sewda has the right combination of experience, education and management skills to provide great benefit to the region as we move forward,” said NRHA board chair Cal Huntley. “Our national search yielded a number of high-quality candidates and we are pleased Raj has accepted the challenge of leading the region into the future. We look forward to welcoming Raj and his wife, Sumi, to Flin Flon as they settle into the region.”

Bryant announced last June 23 that she would be resigning from her position as health region CEO effective March 30 of this year.

Bryant was named CEO of the NRHA in June 2012, shortly after the new health authority was

created by amalgamating the Burntwood Regional Health Authority, which was responsible for health care services in Thompson and elsewhere in the north, and the NOR-MAN Regional Health Authority, which was based in and provided services in the

western portion of Northern Manitoba, including Flin Flon and The Pas.

“On behalf of all our citizens, the board again thanks retiring CEO Helga Bryant for her years of faithful, dedicated and valued service to the people of Northern Manitoba,” said Huntley.

Bryant will not be idle for long. University College of the North announced Aug. 18 that Bryant would take over as its dean of health from current dean Vicki Zeran starting in May 2023.

Thompson Citizen photo courtesy of Runnymede Health Centre Raj Sewda was named as the Northern Regional Health Authority CEO March 3. Sewda takes over from outgoing CEO Helga Bryant on April 1.

Former addict Dale Turcotte spreads awareness of the harm of drugs

BY MIRANDA LEYBOURNE LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER, BRANDON SUN

Warning: this story contains content regarding murder, suicide, violence, rape, child abuse and drug abuse that some readers may find distressing.

Regret lies heavy on the shoulders of Dale Turcotte.

It’s not something that’s immediately apparent when you first meet the genial, friendly 42-year-old, who, despite his six-foot stature, speaks with a quiet thoughtfulness. It’s not until you hear his story that you realize that the weight of the things he has done – and the things others have done to him – is a burden that he carries with him every day.

In order to keep others from repeating the same mistakes he has made, Turcotte held a talk at the health centre in Rolling River First Nation on Feb. 16.

Born to a Métis mother from Manitoba and an Italian Canadian father in Scarborough, Ont., Turcotte’s first few years were tumultuous. His father was involved in the procurement of sex work, and every time his mother tried to take Turcotte and his siblings away to seek a better life, he would introduce her to a new substance that she quickly became dependent upon.

“She wanted to get away. And when my dad found out that she was going to move back to Manitoba, he introduced her to crack. She was addicted to crack for about a year, and then she beat it,” Turcotte said. “And then she was planning to go back again and my dad found out again, and he introduced her to heroin.”

Some of Turcotte’s earliest memories involve having a social worker visit his home to counsel his mother, he said.

“My mother would cry, and then that lady would leave.”

One day, some workers with the Ontario Children’s Aid Society showed up to Turcotte’s family home and told him and his siblings to grab their favourite toy for a trip to the movie theatre. Instead, they were brought to a large office building where they were introduced into the foster care system.

“They kind of came and picked us like we were puppies or something,” Turcotte said. “We bounced, I think, to four different foster homes in two weeks.”

Although his mother was doing everything she could to beat her drug addiction, she kept relapsing, which Turcotte said was down to a lack of resources.

“She would do what she could. She wanted to get us back,” he said.

Eventually, Turcotte’s maternal grandfather ended up getting custody of him and his older sister, sending them to live with their

mother’s brother in Split Lake. A different aunt and uncle, who lived in Thompson, adopted his younger sister.

“The day after they signed the adoption papers, my mom killed herself,” Turcotte said.

His last memory of his mother is a painful one for Turcotte. When he recalls the visit, they had together, and the words he exchanged with her, he can’t help but blink away tears.

“I asked my mom why we couldn’t go home with her, and she didn’t know how to explain it, so I said, ‘F**k you. You don’t love us no more,’” Turcotte said. “And unfortunately, that’s the last thing I ever said to her.”

Moving with his grandfather to Split Lake from Toronto was a huge culture shock, in addition to the trauma of losing his mother, Turcotte said.

“I remember for the first three nights I couldn’t sleep because it wasn’t loud enough … when we lived in Toronto, there was sirens, there was yelling every night.”

Turcotte lived in Split Lake for five years with an uncle, and said it was a good experience. He learned how to hunt and trap, and he even picked up a bit of Cree language.

Eventually, when his uncle’s family grew too large, Turcotte moved to Thompson to live with a different uncle. After a while there, he moved to Winnipeg, where he lived in a foster home. He credits his foster father that he lived with at the time, Scott Gray, for trying to steer him in the right direction.

“For the first time ever, he actually forced us to deal with our past issues and stuff, which I thank him for now,” Turcotte said.

“I hated him for that back then, but I’m thankful for it now.”

Turcotte’s time at the foster home was short-lived, however. He stayed there for two years before he found himself in trouble with the law. Shortly after

that, he joined a gang. He knew there was no loyalty in that life, and things quickly became more and more violent. When Turcotte was 18, he met a man who was convicted three times for molesting his own daughters. Remembering the way his father used to rape his sister, and how he allowed his friends to do the same, Turcotte snapped.

“I ended up thinking of my dad and my dad’s friends … and ended up beating [the man] to death,” Turcotte said sombrely. “Emotions took over.”

Turcotte was charged with second-degree murder and pled guilty to manslaughter. He served six years in prison, and when he had a year remaining, his former foster father and mother invited Turcotte to stay with them upon his release.

Although he was trying to turn his life around after prison, Turcotte ended up back in Winnipeg where he connected with friends he had been incarcerated with and selling drugs with them.

Eventually, his lifestyle caught up with him, and Turcotte found himself in jail for a second stint of six years for dealing drugs.

“All the guys that rode with me and spent my money and did my drugs –none of them wrote to me. None of them came to visit me,” Turcotte said.

In prison, Turcotte would listen to his fellow felons discuss the glory days of when they were free, on the streets and selling drugs, and came to a realization.

“I never met an old, successful drug dealer. They’re either dead or in jail,” he said.

Despite trying his best to not slip back into his old habits, it wasn’t long after Turcotte was released that he started selling drugs again. One day, someone gave him some meth in return for him fixing her car. Turcotte, who had never tried the drug before, ended up smoking it after researching how to one night when he was struggling

with writing a screenplay and couldn’t get a hold of any of his friends.

“After that, I just couldn’t stop,” he said. “My girlfriend at the time was a welder for nine years. I introduced her to it, and within nine months, she’d quit her job, she’d spent her pension and sold her car.”

Turcotte and his girlfriend ended up getting kicked out of their home, and times were tough. During that time, he began to think that everything that had happened to him was some sort of negative karmic reward for all the pain he had caused to others in his life so far.

“Once I realized how bad addiction was and how fast you lose everything … I never sold drugs again,” he said.

Although he was no longer selling drugs, Turcotte’s life was still full of people who were affected by addiction. He saw people suffering from meth-induced psychosis. One of his friends ended up killing herself while in such a state.

“Things were getting more violent. Friends were getting murdered. At least twice a week, someone was under arrest for murder, or got murdered. It was just getting crazy,” Turcotte said.

When one of his friends from prison died, Turcotte used it as an excuse to use drugs. He had been asked by his friend’s family to speak at his funeral, but he chose to get high instead.

“I would like to say that I got high because it hurt so much, but … at the time, I used that as an excuse to get high,” Turcotte said.

He also missed his daughter’s high school graduation, and wasn’t able to give her the $500 he had promised her due to drugs.

“I screwed up her big, shining moment,” Turcotte said.

Even though Turcotte could see the harm that he was doing to himself and others, he wasn’t yet able to break free from addiction. After suffering with severe

dosing on drugs.

“I was going to go and buy fentanyl,” he said. “I was sick of the lifestyle, couldn’t get over it, couldn’t quit.”

A message from his exwife, which came after two years of no contact, however, made Turcotte reconsider. His foster parents, who he suspected had been distancing themselves from him as a way of preparing for an overdose death they saw as inevitable, also were in touch with him after twoand-a-half years. Inspired by the knowledge that he was still loved and cared for, Turcotte said he was honest with the addictions team about how bad his drug problems really were.

frostbite, which happened when he rescued an intoxicated person from passing out in a snowbank, he ended up with wounds on his legs that, to this day, have never healed.

One day, when Turcotte was changing his bandages and crying from the pain it caused him, a friend offered him a different sort of drug – a dangerous mix of fentanyl and heroin. He ended up using it every time he had to change his bandages.

“Then I got addicted to it. And I thought to myself, nothing was ever worse than meth, but this fentanyl stuff is,” Turcotte said. “It’s such a crazy, crazy powerful drug, it’s just the worst thing that’s ever happened to mankind.”

Turcotte remembers a friend of his that was murdered in a drug house in Winnipeg. After having visited with him earlier in the day, he returned to see him again and saw him dead in a corner of the room.

“I remember when I was walking up the stairs, I saw a star blanket … his family was very traditional, so I got that star blanket and I covered him with it and I went and told somebody else,” he said.

Shortly after, Turcotte was questioned by the police regarding his friend’s death, but was released.

“For 24 hours, they let me sweat. I was thinking I was going away for a murder that I didn’t commit, and I was sitting there trying to reason with myself, that this was going to be payback for all the thins I got away with,” he said. “Finally, after 24 hours, [the police] told me they knew he was dead when I got there, but they just wanted to know if I knew anything.”

After that, Turcotte took a hard look at his life. His legs were causing him so much pain that he could barely walk. He checked himself into a hospital where he worked with an addiction team, but was in so much pain that he began to make plans to end his life by over-

“They worked as hard as they could with me,” he said. “I just thought, let’s give this one more chance.”

Despite relapsing three times, Turcotte worked harder than ever before at getting clean. Through an immense amount of effort, Turcotte managed to stop using all drugs, and has been clean for a year. The cravings never really go away, but he’s found something more important than drugs to devote his life to – his family.

“Every time I get a craving, or wake up from a dream like that, I remember what I have, what I’ve built and how hard it was to get over it,” he said.

In addition to the love of his family, Turcotte says keeping hope alive was an integral part of his rehabilitation.

“Part of being … clean is you have to build a life that’s worth staying away from drugs for,” he said. “That’s what I’ve found.”

Now, Turcotte is focused on his role as a father and soon-to-be husband to his ex-wife, who he proposed marriage to again on Feb. 18. He’s also passionate about sharing his story, as painful as it is, with young people, hoping to keep them far away from the substances that caused him and others so much pain.

“The drug lifestyle they see in movies and music and stuff – they don’t see the other side of it. They don’t see what’s at stake,” he said.

Turcotte will be speaking with students and sharing a much more watered-down version of his life story with them in the coming weeks, and is hoping he will get the chance to talk to more people, and prevent more suffering, in the near future. Anyone interested in booking him to speak can contact him at rojopanelli@ gmail.com.

Regret lies heavy on the shoulders of Dale Turcotte. But, bolstered by a hope he’s found in his family and community, that regret is now tempered with a purpose; a calling to help keep others away from a life that nearly claimed his own.

Thompson Citizen photo by Miranda Leybourne, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Brandon Sun Dale Turcotte, who was born in Ontario and now lives in Rolling River First Nation, has served two sentences in prison. Now, he’s on a mission to educate others about the dangers of getting involved in drugs.

Community groups merge to better ‘hold Manitoba Hydro accountable’

BY DAVE BAXTER LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER, WINNIPEG SUN

Two grassroots organizations have joined forces and say they will now work to keep Manitoba Hydro accountable to the public, the environment, and communities directly affected by the actions of the Crown corporation.

The Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition and the Wa Ni Ska Tan Alliance of Hydro-Impacted Communities said they have formed the Manitoba Hydro Accountability Board (HAB), an organization they say will work to “hold Manitoba Hydro accountable to the public.”

Both MEJC and the Wa Ni Ska Tan Alliance say they have concerns about the way Hydro currently

operates in Manitoba, and believe because of their own goals and mandates as organizations, that the newly appointed board should have a say in decisions made by Hydro.

“Sitting on the HAB are Elders and knowledge keepers, hydro-impacted community members, scientists, lawyers, activists, students, and youth,” HAB said in its media release.

“This team provides a unified community voice offering support and advice to ensure a responsible, sustainable and accountable MB Hydro.”

MEJC currently operates as a community-led alliance of volunteers living in Manitoba “committed to climate action and climate justice.”

The organization also

says they are also committed to “confronting and addressing the harms that colonization has caused and is still causing,” to Indigenous people and communities in this province, and to “supporting the demands of the Land Back movement.”

And for more than seven years, the Wa Ni Ska Tan Alliance of Hydro-Impacted Communities has been working in Manitoba to document and evaluate the impacts of Hydro on First Nation communities, land, water, and livelihoods, with the goal of increasing awareness of the impacts of hydroelectric projects and “fostering social and environmental change.”

Both organizations say they united to form HAB because of a number of concerns regarding Hydro,

including what they say is a “lack of accountability” to the public, and to those affected communities.

“The current MB Hydro board does not provide sufficient oversight or accountability to the Crown corporation,” said Lisa Bellemare, who has been appointed as chair of the board of HAB.

“Their members are appointed by provincial politicians behind closed doors, and their own decision-making process is not transparent or publicly accountable.

“MB Hydro has free rein to build questionable projects using public funds.”

The group also said that Hydro could be doing more to combat climate change and to be more accountable to Indigenous communities that are affected by Hydro’s

actions and decisions.

“The HAB debunks MB Hydro’s misrepresentation as a green utility operating for the consumer,” Bellemare said.

In an email, Manitoba Hydro spokesperson Bruce Owen rejected any notion that Hydro has not been accountable to the public.

“To suggest Manitoba Hydro is not accountable to those we serve is simply untrue,” Owen said.

In the email, Owen listed recent and upcoming events which he said prove Hydro is working to communicate with Manitobans.

“As it happens, our annual public meeting is March 14. The meeting will include a question-and-answer session with members of our executive team,” Owen said. “We’re also

in the early stages of our 2023-24 & 2024-25 General Rate Application at the Public Utilities Board. Public hearing dates are scheduled to begin May 15.

“Lastly, Manitoba Hydro President and CEO Jay Grewal appeared before the Standing Committee on Crown Corporations on Jan. 12.”

HAB said that although MEJC and Wa Ni Ska Tan helped create HAB, the board and its members will operate as an independent entity and “welcome further networking and partnership opportunities.”

— Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

Technical Officer

Regular/Full-Time

Consumer Protection and Government Services, The Pas, MB

Advertisement Number: 40529

Closing Date: March 24, 2023

Salary Range: $67,263 - $81,037 (plus remoteness allowance, if applicable).

The Manitoba government recognizes the importance of building an exemplary public service reflective of the citizens it serves, where diverse abilities, backgrounds, cultures, identities, languages and perspectives drives a high standard of service and innovation. The Manitoba government supports equitable employment practices and promotes representation of designated groups (women, Indigenous people, persons with disabilities, visible minorities).

This is a preference competition. All applicants are encouraged to apply, however first consideration for this competition will be given to women, Indigenous people, persons with disabilities, and visible minorities. Applicants are requested to self-declare at the time of application.

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For the full listing of qualifications and conditions of employment, please visit http://www.manitoba.ca/govjobs/.

Candidates with lesser qualifications may be considered as an underfill.

Duties:

Under the direction of the District Property Manager (DPM), the district technical engineering officer provides technical support to the DPM, Facility Managers, Project Manager and key support staff within the district including capital works planning, preparing technical solutions and daily operational technical challenges of owned and leased properties. With the direction and approval of the DPM, the District Technical Officer coordinates, plans and implements the District’s capital program.

Apply to:

Advertisement No. 40529

Service Centre 3

Human Resource Services

600-155 Carlton Street

Winnipeg, MB, R3C 3H8

Phone: 204-945-8819

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Applicants may request reasonable accommodation related to the materials or activities used throughout the selection process.

When applying to this position, please indicate the advertisement number and position title in the subject line and/or body of your email. Your cover letter, resumé and/or application must clearly indicate how you meet the qualifications.

Please be advised that job competitions may be grieved and appealed. Should a selection grievance be filed, information from the competition file will be provided to the grievor’s representative or the grievor, if unrepresented. Personal information irrelevant to the grievance and other information protected under legislation will be redacted.

We thank all who apply and advise that only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.

Find out about other current job opportunities — click on the Jobs button at manitoba.ca.

People. Purpose. Progress.

District Occupational Safety and Risk Coordinator

Regular/Full-Time Consumer Protection and Government Services, The Pas, MB

Advertisement Number: 40556

Closing Date: March 31, 2023

Salary Range: $57,401.00 - $68,787.00 per year

The Manitoba government recognizes the importance of building an exemplary civil service that is inclusive and reflective of the population it serves. We encourage applicants to voluntarily self-declare in the cover letter, resumé or application if they are from any of the following employment equity groups: women, Indigenous people, visible minorities, and persons with disabilities.

Employment Equity is a factor in selection for this competition. Consideration will be given to women, indigenous people and person with disabilities.

Introduction:

The Pas community is one of the oldest and most striking settlements in northern Manitoba. Boasting one of the three true blue lakes in existence outdoor adventure abounds set to the raw natural beauty that attracts visitors from around the world. The Gateway to the Northa bountiful, proud, and progressive community now firmly based upon a solid and diversified industrial foundation of agriculture, transportation, and tourism. The Manitoba government has a comprehensive benefits package which includes extended health, health spending, dental, vision, long term disability, supportive employment program, maternity and parental leave, and a defined pension plan (Some pension plans allow for portability between the Civil Service Superannuation Board and employers).

Duties:

The District Occupational Safety and Risk Coordinator is responsible for coordinating the core workplace safety and emergency response planning elements of District 4. They work closely with Safety/Training Facilitators, Safety Committees and Program Managers. The position provides training, completes workplace inspections and provides technical guidance to District 4 on all aspects of safety. The Coordinator is responsible for developing operational hazard assessment templates and procedures, facilitating and conducting hazard assessments and assisting with the development and incorporation of safe work practices and procedures into the department’s operational activities, services and procedures. For a complete list of conditions of employment and qualifications please visit our website at: www.manitoba.ca/govjobs. Applications must describe how the applicant meets the requirements of the position to be considered further.

Apply to:

Advertisement No. 40556 Service Centre 3, Human Resource Services

600-155 Carlton Street, Winnipeg, MB, R3C 3H8

Phone: 204-945-8819 / Fax: 204-948-3382 Email: govjobs@gov.mb.ca

Applicants may request reasonable accommodation related to the materials or activities used throughout the selection process.

When applying to this position, please indicate the advertisement number and position title in the subject line and/or body of your email. Your cover letter, resumé and/or application must clearly indicate how you meet the qualifications.

Please be advised that job competitions may be grieved and appealed. Should a selection grievance be filed, information from the competition file will be provided to the grievor’s representative or the grievor, if unrepresented. Personal information irrelevant to the grievance and other information protected under legislation will be redacted. We thank all who apply and advise that only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.

Find out about other current job opportunities — click on the Jobs button at manitoba.ca. manitoba.ca/govjobs

Split Lake assault victim dies of injuries

The 45-year-old victim of a Feb. 24 assault in Tataskweyak Cree Nation died of his injuries on Feb. 28, RCMP said March 3. As a result, Darwin Beardy, 42, who was charged with aggravated assault after an altercation with the 45-year-old, was

re-arrested March 2 and charged with manslaughter. Beardy was remanded into custody until a court appearance scheduled for March 17 in Thompson.

Thompson Rural RCMP were notified of the assault on the morning of Feb. 25. They travelled to

Split Lake and learned that an altercation between the two men had taken place at a housing complex around 5:30 a.m. the previous day.

After the assault, the victim returned to his room, where he was found on the morning of Feb. 25 in need of medical assist -

CAREER OPPORTUNITY

• Competitive Salaries • Relocation Assistance

• Continuing Education • Remoteness Allowance • Excellent Benefits

>

Vice President, Community & Long-Term Care

Full-Time (1.0 FTE) Position Available

Flin Flon, The Pas, or Thompson, Manitoba

ance. He was taken to the nursing station and then medevaced to Winnipeg with life-threatening injuries.

Thompson Rural RCMP, RCMP Major Crime Service and RCMP Forensic Identification services continue to investigate.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Service Technician III (Gas Fitter)

Class 1 or 3 Truck Drivers

Stittco Energy, a division of Superior Propane is now hiring both positions in Thompson, Manitoba.

Gas Fitter- A or B Ticket

Class 1 or 3 Truck Drivers

Positions include:

Competitive Wages

Pension

Full Benefits

Please submit your resume to: 31 Gay Street Thompson Manitoba

CREE NATION CHILD & FAMILY CARING AGENCY

Child & Family Service Worker (2 positions)–Permanent Position

OFFICE: Regional Office – Unit B

Opaskwayak, Manitoba

Cree Nation Child & Family Caring Agency (CNCFCA) is responsible for administering and providing for the delivery of Child and Family Services. CNCFCA is dedicated to providing comprehensive CFS Services that are community-based and incorporate both protection and prevention services.

Our agency will strive to maintain family unity.

POSITION SUMMARY:

Under the supervision of the Unit Supervisor(s), the Child & Family Service Worker is responsible for providing and administering CFS Services in accordance with the Child & Family Services Act.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

§ Responsible for gathering information and assessing family functioning problems

§ Develop and implement intervention plans within program guidelines for families within program guidelines and provide referrals, support, guidance and problem solving

§ Provides for the placement, case management and ongoing support for children in care

§ Responsible for all file documentation and ensuring services are applied

§ Case Monitoring, Risk Assessment & Follow up

QUALIFICATIONS

§ Work experience in Child and Family Services with demonstrated knowledge of child development, family centered service, early intervention, family support and community-based services

§ Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) or related undergraduate degree in Human Services (preferred)

§ Ability to converse fluently in Cree (preferred)

§ Excellent assessment, intervention and writing skills

§ Knowledge of the Child and Family Services Act and provincial standards

§ Ability to use a variety of computer applications including CFSIS and FACTS

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

§ Must pass a criminal records check, child abuse and prior check

§ Cannot be active on a protection case

§ Maintain absolute confidentiality

§ Varied amounts of travel required

§ Must have a valid Manitoba driver’s license

§ Must be able to provide own vehicle for work

§ Other duties related to the position may be assigned

Deadline: March 20, 2023 @ 4:00 pm

Submit cover letter & resume along with three (3) references marked

“personal & confidential” to:

Human Resource Manager

Cree Nation Child & Family Caring Agency Box 10130, Opaskwayak, MB. R0B 2J0 Fax: 204-623-3847 Email: hr@creenation.ca

We thank all who apply and advise that only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.

“Please visit our website at www.https://creenation.ca”

Our office ensures that best practices in COVID-19 are observed. Under Cree Nation Child & Family Caring Agency’s COVID-19 vaccinations policy, all applicants are required to be fully vaccinated.

Fax: 204-778-7530

Email: scott.scaddan@stittco.com

Online: https://superiorpropane.avature.net/careers

CREE NATION CHILD & FAMILY CARING AGENCY

Family Enhancement Worker –Permanent Position Thompson Sub Office Thompson & Lynn Lake, MB

Cree Nation Child & Family Caring Agency (CNCFCA) is responsible for administering and providing for the delivery of Child and Family Services. CNCFCA is dedicated to providing comprehensive CFS Services that are community-based and incorporate both protection and prevention services.

Our agency will strive to maintain family unity.

POSITION SUMMARY:

Under the supervision of the Unit Supervisor(s), the Family Enhancement Worker is responsible for providing and administering CFS Services in accordance with the Child & Family Services Act.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

§ Responsible for gathering information and assessing child and family functioning problems;

§ Responsible for the development of case plans for children and families within program guidelines and provide referrals, support, guidance and problem solving;

§ Responsible for all file documentation, referrals, ensuring services are applied;

§ Case Monitoring, Risk Assessment & Follow up;

§ Provides case management and support for children in care and families.

QUALIFICATIONS

§ Work experience in Child and Family Services with demonstrated knowledge of child development, family centered service, early intervention, family support and community-based services;

§ Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) or related undergraduate degree in Human Services (preferred);

§ Ability to converse fluently in Cree (preferred);

§ Excellent assessment, intervention and writing skills;

§ Knowledge of the Child and Family Services Act and provincial standards;

§ Ability to use a variety of computer applications including CFSIS and FACTS.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

§ Must pass a criminal records check, child abuse and prior check;

§ Cannot be active on a protection case;

§ Maintain absolute confidentiality;

§ Varied amounts of travel required;

§ Travel is required to work in Lynn Lake office one week per month;

§ Must have a valid Manitoba driver’s license;

§ Must be able to provide own vehicle for work;

§ Other duties related to the position may be assigned.

Deadline: March 21, 2023 @ 4:00 pm

Submit cover letter & resume along with three (3) references marked “personal & confidential” to: Human Resource Manager Cree Nation Child & Family Caring Agency Box 10130, Opaskwayak, MB. R0B 2J0 Fax: 204-623-3847 Email: hr@creenation.ca

We thank all who apply and advise that only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.

“Please visit our website at https://creenation.ca” Our office ensures that best practices in COVID-19 are observed. Under Cree Nation Child & Family Caring Agency’s COVID-19 vaccinations policy, all applicants are required to be fully vaccinated.

Responsible for the development, coordination, implementation, evaluation and operation of Long-Term Care, Home Care, Mental Health/Addictions, Public Health, and Clinical Programs (Infection Prevention & Control, Occupational Health, Medical Device Processing, Wound/Ostomy Care. Works closely with the Executive Leadership Council to promote evidence-informed professional practice, to enhance the quality of care provided by the NHR and to help transform the work experience for employees.

This position requires service and extensive travel to outlying communities within the region and the province.

Qualifications:

• Baccalaureate an d/or Gr aduate de gree in a health-related discipline (nursing preferred)

• Eligible to pr actice an d maintain me mbership/licensure with th e professional organization/College of Manitoba as applicable

• Valid M anitoba Class V driver’s license, access to a vehicle, and w illingness to travel the region and province year round

• Minimum of five (5) years’ se nior leade rship/managerial ex perience working in health service organizations

• Two (2) years’ comprehensive experience related to the position

• Working kn owledge of re gulated health professionals, st andards, codes of ethics, and principles of an inter-professional, collaborative practice model of care

• Knowledge and familiarity with no rthern health issues, culture, and particularly the Indigenous population served

• Knowledge of current issues and trends in health system delivery and transformation in the province of Manitoba

Northern RHA strives to have a diverse workforce in an inclusive and accessible workplace, which provides opportunity for reasonable accommodation.

Indigenous applicants are encouraged to self-declare when submitting applications & resumes.

For a complete list of qualifications to learn more and to apply; please visit our website by March 15, 2023

https://northernhealthregion.com/careers

Email: recruitwest@nrha.ca

Call or email us today! Local 204-620-2033 or Toll Free 1-866-758-7871

Northern RHA has a Representative Workforce Strategy, we encourage all applicants to self-declare. Criminal Record, Child Abuse, & Adult Abuse Registry Checks are required. We thank all candidates for applying. Only those selected for interview will be contacted. www.northernhealthregion.ca

PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AWASIS AGENCY OF

NORTHERN MANITOBA

UNIT: THOMPSON SERVICE DELIVERY OFFICE (TSDO)

LOCATION: THOMPSON, MB

Position: Intake Investigator

One (1) Full-Time Permanent Position

A key member of the Child & Family Services (CFS) Unit, the Intake Investigator ensures that the appropriate range of services and programs to children and families are delivered in accordance with the philosophy, practices and policies as set forth by Awasis Agency First Nations and the Child and Family Services Act of Manitoba. The incumbent performs the work from a prevention and trauma-focused lens, acting on referrals, and completing thorough assessments to ensure the safety of children. The position requires critical thinking, problem-solving and analytical skills. The work is performed in an environment requiring collaboration with others, and confidentiality.

Qualifications:

• BSW, or in progress of attaining a BSW in combination with relevant experience.

• 1+ years’ experience within the child welfare field.

• Knowledge of CFS legislation, standards, and regulations.

• Experience with using the CFSIS database, including IM an asset.

• A valid drivers’ license and access to a reliable vehicle.

• Knowledge of, or work experience in northern Manitoba communities preferred.

• Demonstrated understanding and respect for Indigenous culture.

• Ability to speak Cree or Dene an asset.

Working Conditions:

• Fast-paced child welfare environment with a focus on prevention and trauma informed interventions.

• Occasional overnight and remote travel will be required.

• Some overtime required.

• Access to very sensitive information for which confidentiality is required.

• Provide satisfactory Criminal Record, Child Abuse Registry and Prior Contact checks prior to starting the position, and throughout employment as required.

Salary: Awasis Agency offers a competitive salary and employee benefit package. Salary will commensurate with education and experience.

Closing Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Awasis Agency provides service to Indigenous children and families, therefore preference will be given to Indigenous applicants. Applicants are encouraged to self-identify. Individuals interested in this challenging opportunity please reference Competition Number 2023-021 on your resume/cover letter and include it in the subject line of your email, in confidence to:

Human Resources Department

Awasis Agency of Northern Manitoba

Competition #2023-021 701 Thompson Drive, Thompson, MB R8N 2A2

Fax: 204-778-8428 Email: hr@awasisagency.ca

We thank all applicants who apply, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Applicants may request reasonable accommodation related to the materials or activities used throughout the selection process

**Note: Awasis Agency Vaccination policy mandate: fully vaccinated plus booster

the position requirements

• Resume

• Copy of credentials (licenses, training, education)

• Three references (colleague, supervisor or manager) and contact information

• Criminal record check & child abuse registry checks (or indication that they have been applied for)

Got a job to advertise?

• CPR and First Aide Certification;

• Excellent computer skills

• Knowledge of Cree language and culture;

• A highly-motivated individual who is innovative and has a proven ability to work with a very high degree of accuracy and attention to detail;

• Excellent time management and facilitation skills;

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PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

AWASIS AGENCY OF NORTHERN MANITOBA

UNIT: THOMPSON SERVICE DELIVERY OFFICE (TSDO) LOCATION: THOMPSON, MB

Position: Child & Family Services Worker

One (1) Full-Time Permanent Position

Reporting to a Unit Supervisor, the Child & Family Services Worker (CFS) is responsible to implement the policies, procedures and specific direction of Awasis Agency of Northern Manitoba when working with families and children in child protection. Duties include managing a case load, conducting interviews and assessments, compiling case particulars for Court, investigating/follow up on allegations of child protection issues, maintaining regular visits, providing accurate and timely documentation, developing long/ short term case plans, developing/facilitating workshops, community education and networking with collateral resources/services.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Social Work Degree (BSW) with experience in child welfare preferred, or a combination of experience and training.

• Commitment to community-based service delivery.

• Working knowledge of CFS legislation, standards and issues.

• Knowledge of Child & Family Services Information System (CFSIS) an asset.

• Assessment, interviewing, and counselling skills.

• Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills.

• A strong work ethic and reliable.

• Proven ability to prioritize workloads and meet deadlines.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook.

• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently, as well as part of a child protection unit team.

• Sensitivity to, and an understanding of First Nations culture and values.

• Ability to speak Cree and/or Dene an asset.

Working Conditions:

• Fast-paced environment.

• Confidentiality environment with access to sensitive information.

• Overnight and remote travel approximately 20% of the time.

• Provide satisfactory Criminal Record, Child Abuse Registry and Prior Contact checks prior to starting the position, and throughout employment as required.

• Maintain a valid driver’s license and have access to a reliable vehicle.

Salary: Awasis Agency offers a competitive salary and employee benefit package. Salary will commensurate with education and experience.

Closing Date: Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Awasis Agency provides service to Indigenous children and families, therefore preference will be given to Indigenous applicants.

Applicants are encouraged to self-identify. Individuals interested in this challenging opportunity please reference Competition Number 2023-019 on your resume/cover letter and include it in the subject line of your email, in confidence to:

Human Resources Department Awasis Agency of Northern Manitoba

Competition #2023-019

701 Thompson Drive, Thompson, MB R8N 2A2

Fax: 204-778-8428 Email: hr@awasisagency.ca

We thank all applicants who apply, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Applicants may request reasonable accommodation related to the materials or activities used throughout the selection process

**Note: Awasis Agency Vaccination policy mandate: fully vaccinated plus booster

• Personal contact information (phone & email)

Your application will not proceed to interview without the above information. To obtain a complete job description, for additional information or to apply for this position please contact or submit your application to:

Email or drop off only

Cree Nation Tribal Health Centre 107 Edwards Avenue, The Pas Noreen Singh, Finance Manager, nsingh@tribalhealth. ca or Wilma Cook, TNO/Team Lead, wcook@tribalhealth.ca

South Indian Lake RCMP are investigating the death of a 28-year-old woman who appears to have died from exposure to the elements.

for 12 hours after the snowmobile she was riding on got stuck.

Please mark all correspondence “CONFIDENTIAL”

Please note that only those selected for an interview will be contacted

The woman was brought to the community’s nursing station around 3:30 a.m. March 1. She had recently returned to the community after having been out on a trail approximately 16 kilometres from the community

Police learned that the woman and a 31-year-old man were travelling to a cabin on the afternoon of Feb. 28 when they got stuck. She stayed with the snowmobile while the man walked for several hours back to South Indian Lake. When he arrived there, he went to a residence for as-

PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

AWASIS AGENCY OF NORTHERN MANITOBA

SHAMATTAWA (UNIT OR THOMPSON)

SHAMATTAWA OR THOMPSON, MB

Position: Child & Family Services Worker (Possible Regional)

One (1) Full-Time Permanent Position

***Preference to Local Applicants***

Reporting to a Regional Unit Supervisor, the Child & Family Services Worker (CFS) is responsible to implement the policies, procedures and specific direction of Awasis Agency of Northern Manitoba when working with families and children in child protection. Duties include managing a case load, conducting interviews and assessments, compiling case particulars for Court, investigating/follow up on allegations of child protection issues, maintaining regular visits, providing accurate and timely documentation, developing long/ short term case plans, developing/facilitating workshops, community education and networking with collateral resources/services.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Social Work Degree (BSW) with experience in child welfare preferred, or a combination of experience and training.

• Commitment to community-based service delivery.

• Working knowledge of CFS legislation, standards and issues.

• Knowledge of Child & Family Services Information System (CFSIS) an asset.

• Assessment, interviewing, and counselling skills.

• Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills.

• A strong work ethic and reliable.

• Proven ability to prioritize workloads and meet deadlines.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook.

• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently, as well as part of a child protection unit team.

• Sensitivity to, and an understanding of First Nations culture and values.

• Ability to speak Cree and/or Dene an asset.

Working Conditions:

• Fast-paced environment.

• Confidentiality environment with access to sensitive information.

• Overnight and remote travel approximately 30% of the time.

• Provide satisfactory Criminal Record, Child Abuse Registry and Prior Contact checks prior to starting the position, and throughout employment as required.

• Maintain a valid driver’s license and have access to a reliable vehicle.

Salary: Awasis Agency offers a competitive salary and employee benefit package. Salary will commensurate with education and experience.

Closing Date: Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Awasis Agency provides service to Indigenous children and families, therefore preference will be given to Indigenous applicants. Applicants are encouraged to self-identify. Individuals interested in this challenging opportunity please reference Competition Number 2023-020 on your resume/cover letter and include it in the subject line of your email, in confidence to: Human Resources Department Awasis Agency of Northern Manitoba Competition #2023-020

701 Thompson Drive, Thompson, MB R8N 2A2

Fax: 204-778-8428 Email: hr@awasisagency.ca

We thank all applicants who apply, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Applicants may request reasonable accommodation related to the materials or activities used throughout the selection process

**Note: Awasis Agency Vaccination policy mandate: fully vaccinated plus booster

• Effective verbal and listening communications skills;

• Strong leadership, critical thinking, decision making and problem solving skills.

• Valid Driver’s License, with ability to travel weekly.

• The position is subject to satisfactory criminal and other checks, and is subject to terms and conditions in a proposed written agreement.

Please forward a resume with 3 references along with cover letter, in confidence, to:

South Indian Lake woman dies from exposure after snowmobile she was on gets stuck

Email or drop off only

sistance. He and another man set out on a snowmobile around 1 a.m. to retrieve the woman.

Noreen Singh, Finance Manager, nsingh@tribalhealth.ca OR Wilma Cook, TNO/Team Lead, wcook@tribalhealth.ca

The trio got back to the community around 3 a. m. and went to a residence where they noticed that the woman had become unresponsive. They called for assistance and she was transported to the nursing station.

Deadline to Apply: Open until filled.

Only successful applications will be contacted for further interview.

An autopsy will be conducted and RCMP continue to investigate.

The death came just over a week after 47-year-old Noreen Tait of South Indian Lake died in a Winnipeg hospital on Feb. 21 after having been assaulted two days earlier. It also occurred on the same day that two 14-year-old girls were found dead outside a residence in St. Theresa Point where they had been for some length of time on a night when temperatures dropped to around -23 degrees Celsius.

PROFESSIONAL

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

AWASIS AGENCY OF NORTHERN MANITOBA

UNIT/OFFICE: WINNIPEG SERVICE DELIVERY OFFICE (WSDO) WINNIPEG, MB

Position: Foster Care Worker One (1) Full-Time Permanent Position

The Foster Care Worker will perform a full range of foster care activities for Awasis Agency of Northern Manitoba; this includes recruitment, home assessments, orientation, training, foster home licensing, places of safety and support services to foster homes and foster parents. The Foster Care Worker provides temporary and longterm placements for children as directed by the Child and Family Services Act and the Program Standards. The Foster Care Worker will also ensure that services are being delivered in accordance with the policies, procedures and specific directives of Awasis Agency.

Qualifications:

• BSW Degree preferred with experience in child welfare or combination of education and experience in a related field with the completion of 2 years in the BSW program may be considered

• Strong commitment to community-based service delivery

• Working knowledge of CFS legislation, standards and issues

• Knowledge of Child & Family Services Information System (CFSIS)

• Assessment, interviewing, and counselling skills

• Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills

• Strong work ethic and reliable

• Proven ability to prioritize workloads and meet deadlines

• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook

• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently as well as a team setting

• Sensitivity to and an understanding of First Nations culture and values

• Ability to speak and/or understand the Cree language would be considered an asset

Working Conditions:

• Fast-paced environment

• Confidentiality environment with access to sensitive information

• Overnight and remote travel approximately 10% of the time

• Satisfactory Criminal Record, Child Abuse Registry and Prior Contact checks prior to beginning work and throughout employment as requested.

• Maintain a valid driver’s license and have access to a vehicle

Salary: Awasis Agency offers a competitive salary and employee benefit package. Salary will commensurate with education and experience

Closing Date: Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Awasis Agency provides service to Indigenous children and families, therefore preference will be given to Indigenous applicants. Applicants are encouraged to self-identify. Individuals interested in this challenging opportunity please reference Competition Number 2023-024 on your resume/cover letter and in the subject line of your email in confidence to:

Human Resources Department Awasis Agency of Northern Manitoba

Competition #2023-024

315 McGee Street, Winnipeg, MB R3G 1M7

Fax: 204-790-4455 Email: hr@awasisagency.ca

We thank all applicants who apply, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Applicants may request reasonable accommodation related to the materials or activities used throughout the selection process

**Note: Awasis Agency Vaccination policy mandate: fully vaccinated plus booster

Woman hit man with vehicle on winter road near St. Theresa Point, RCMP say

A St. Theresa Point First Nation woman is charged with criminal negligence and dangerous driving in the death of a 43-yearold man who was hit by a vehicle and pinned underneath it.

Island Lake RCMP and First Nation Safety Officers were called to a vehicle-pedestrian collision on the winter road near St. Theresa Point just before midnight March 1. They found the man pinned under the vehicle but were able to lift it up and pull him out. He was taken to the nursing station for treatment but died of his injuries.

Officers learned that the man had been in the vehicle with a 39-year-old woman when they stopped and he got out. Police believe the woman then hit the man with the vehicle, which is how he got pinned underneath it.

Lynette Mcdougall is charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and was remanded into custody.

Police continue investigating.

PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT

OPPORTUNITY

AWASIS AGENCY OF NORTHERN MANITOBA OFFICE: WINNIPEG FAMILY ENHANCEMENT CENTRE LOCATION: 1240 MAIN STREET WINNIPEG, MB

Position: Family Enhancement Worker One (1) Full-Time Permanent Position

Reporting to a Family Enhancement Supervisor, the Family Enhancement Worker will provide children and families with support services to keep them from entering the child and family services protection system by providing preventative service opportunities and resources, facilitating awareness and education, advocacy and counselling. The overall aim is to engage parents, extended family, and community partners in identifying problems and participating in services and supports that address family needs. The Family Enhancement Worker will utilize a continuum of resources, develop case plans, coordinate the resources and supports needed and arrange linkages/connections to other community resources such as day programs, respite services and other culturally appropriate resources. The Family Enhancement Worker will possess and utilize the interpersonal skills to work with children, families, staff, and collaterals.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Social Work Degree (BSW) with experience in child welfare preferred, or a combination of experience and training

• Commitment to community-based service delivery

• Working knowledge of CFS legislation, standards and issues

• Knowledge of Child & Family Services Information System (CFSIS) an asset

• Assessment, interviewing, and counselling skills

• Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills

• Demonstrated crisis intervention and conflict resolution skills

• A strong work ethic and reliable

• Proven ability to prioritize workloads and meet deadlines

• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook

• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently, as well as part of a prevention unit team

• Sensitivity to, and an understanding of First Nations culture and values

• Ability to speak and/or understand the Cree language would be an asset

Working Conditions:

• Fast-paced environment

• Confidentiality environment with access to sensitive information

• Overnight and remote travel approximately 10% of the time

• Maintain a satisfactory Prior Contact check, Child Abuse Registry Check, Criminal Record Check and Driver’s Abstract prior to starting the position and throughout employment as required.

• Maintain a valid driver’s license and have access to a vehicle

Salary: Awasis Agency offers a competitive salary and employee benefit package. Salary will commensurate with education and experience

Closing Date: Monday, March 13, 2023

Awasis Agency provides service to Indigenous children and families, therefore preference will be given to Indigenous applicants. Applicants are encouraged to self-identify. Individuals interested in this challenging opportunity please reference Competition Number 2023-022 on your resume/cover letter and include it in the subject line of your email, in confidence to:

Human Resources Department

Awasis Agency of Northern Manitoba

Competition #2023-022

315 McGee Street, Winnipeg, MB R3G 1M7

Fax: 204-790-4455 Email: hr@awasisagency.ca

We thank all applicants who apply, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Applicants may request reasonable accommodation related to the materials or activities used throughout the selection process

**Note: Awasis Agency Vaccination policy mandate: fully vaccinated plus booster

PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AWASIS AGENCY OF NORTHERN MANITOBA

OFFICE: WINNIPEG FAMILY ENHANCEMENT CENTRE

LOCATION: 1240 MAIN STREET WINNIPEG, MB

Position: Family Enhancement Worker

One (1) Full-Time Permanent Position

Reporting to a Family Enhancement Supervisor, the Family Enhancement Worker will provide children and families with support services to keep them from entering the child and family services protection system by providing preventative service opportunities and resources, facilitating awareness and education, advocacy and counselling. The overall aim is to engage parents, extended family, and community partners in identifying problems and participating in services and supports that address family needs. The Family Enhancement Worker will utilize a continuum of resources, develop case plans, coordinate the resources and supports needed and arrange linkages/connections to other community resources such as day programs, respite services and other culturally appropriate resources. The Family Enhancement Worker will possess and utilize the interpersonal skills to work with children, families, staff, and collaterals.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Social Work Degree (BSW) with experience in child welfare preferred, or a combination of experience and training

• Commitment to community-based service delivery

• Working knowledge of CFS legislation, standards and issues

• Knowledge of Child & Family Services Information System (CFSIS) an asset

• Assessment, interviewing, and counselling skills

• Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills

• Demonstrated crisis intervention and conflict resolution skills

• A strong work ethic and reliable

• Proven ability to prioritize workloads and meet deadlines

• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook

• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently, as well as part of a prevention unit team

• Sensitivity to, and an understanding of First Nations culture and values

• Ability to speak and/or understand the Cree language would be an asset

Working Conditions:

• Fast-paced environment

• Confidentiality environment with access to sensitive information

• Overnight and remote travel approximately 10% of the time

• Maintain a satisfactory Prior Contact check, Child Abuse Registry Check, Criminal Record Check and Driver’s Abstract prior to starting the position and throughout employment as required.

• Maintain a valid driver’s license and have access to a vehicle

Salary: Awasis Agency offers a competitive salary and employee benefit package. Salary will commensurate with education and experience

Closing Date: Monday, March 17, 2023

Awasis Agency provides service to Indigenous children and families, therefore preference will be given to Indigenous applicants. Applicants are encouraged to self-identify. Individuals interested in this challenging opportunity please reference Competition Number 2023-023 on your resume/cover letter and include it in the subject line of your email, in confidence to:

Human Resources Department

Awasis Agency of Northern Manitoba

Competition #2023-023

315 McGee Street, Winnipeg, MB R3G 1M7

Fax: 204-790-4455 Email: hr@awasisagency.ca

We thank all applicants who apply, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Applicants may request reasonable accommodation related to the materials or activities used throughout the selection process

**Note: Awasis Agency Vaccination policy mandate: fully vaccinated plus booster

SERVICE ADVISOR

Are you looking for a career and not just a job?

We have an opening for a service advisor committed to customer service excellence.

Candidate must be able to build customer relations and listen and understand their problems, concerns and service needed, prepare work orders, be organized, possess the ability to multitask, work unsupervised and work in a team environment. Previous automotive experience is an asset, extensive training will be offered to the appropriate candidate

We offer competitive wages and benefits package. Resumes only please.

Fax resumes to Kayla at 204-778-6700 or email kayla@thompsonford.ca

CREE NATION CHILD & FAMILY CARING AGENCY

Administrative Assistant/ Case Aide–Permanent Pukatawagan Sub Office

Mathias Colomb Cree Nation

Cree Nation Child & Family Caring Agency (CNCFCA) is responsible for administering and providing for the delivery of Child and Family Services. CNCFCA is dedicated to providing comprehensive CFS Services that are community-based and incorporate both protection and prevention services.

Our agency will strive to maintain family unity.

POSITION SUMMARY:

Under the supervision of the Service Manager, the Administrative Assistant/Case Aide provides administrative support and assists Child & Family Service Workers with a variety of tasks within a child welfare service unit. The Administrative Assistant/Case Aide maintains strict confidentiality in performing all duties.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

§ Types, edits, formats and transcribes reports, forms, correspondence, files, recordings, minutes, case planning notes and other material as assigned by the Unit Supervisor. Composes routine correspondence and maintains templates.

§ Receives, screens, assesses, transfers telephone calls and takes messages.

§ Maintains daily attendance records, monitors, records, and relays information regarding staff whereabouts.

§ Assists with photocopying, faxing and other administrative duties as assigned.

§ Manages incoming and outgoing mail.

§ Provides information about administrative procedures for all unit staff.

§ Coordinates meetings and meeting spaces.

§ Enters information on CFSIS

§ Monitors and operates office equipment

§ Provides support to other administrative staff as needed.

§ Maintain confidentiality in accordance with the agency policy and procedures.

§ Direct case management support

§ Indirect case management support

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

§ Post Secondary Diploma or equivalent

§ Ability to converse fluently in Cree (preferred)

KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE

§ Ability to use a variety of computer applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and database systems

§ Ability to deal effectively with a variety of visitors and circumstances

§ Knowledge of customer service (preferred)

§ Good organizational skills and working knowledge of office and administrative procedures and related equipment (preferred)

§ Excellent oral and effective communication skills (preferred)

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

§ Must pass a criminal records check, child abuse registry check and prior contact check.

§ Cannot be active on a protection case.

§ Must maintain absolute confidentiality in accordance with agency requirements.

§ May be assigned to provide coverage or support for other office locations from time to time and as required.

§ Other duties related to the position may be assigned.

Deadline: March 14, 2023 @ 4:00 pm

Submit cover letter & resume along with three (3) references marked “personal & confidential” to:

Human Resource Manager

Cree Nation Child & Family Caring Agency Box 10130, Opaskwayak, MB. R0B 2J0 Fax: 204-623-3847 Email: hr@creenation.ca

We thank all who apply and advise that only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.

“Please visit our website at https://creenation.ca”

Our office ensures that best practices in COVID-19 are observed. Under Cree Nation Child & Family Caring Agency’s COVID-19 vaccinations policy, all applicants are required to be fully vaccinated.