Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Serving the Hub of the North since 1960
Volume 58 • Issue 10
Let the Games begin: 2018 Manitoba Winter Games get off to a blazing start BY KYLE DARBYSON KYLE@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
THOMPSON IS BREASTFEEDING FRIENDLY NEWS - PAGE 2
WHAT'S AILING HEALTHCARE NEWS - PAGE 3
NORTH WINS FIRST HOCKEY GAME SPORTS - PAGE 7
YOUTH LEARN ABOUT TRADES NEWS - PAGE 8
After more than a year of build-up and hype, the 2018 Manitoba Winter Games fi nally kicked off in the Hub of the North on Sunday with a lavish opening ceremony, which took place inside the Thompson Regional Community Centre (TRCC). Outside of the droves of spectators who packed into the C.A. Nesbitt Arena, these festivities were designed to welcome some of the roughly 1,400 athletes and coaches who travelled from all over Manitoba to compete in the largest multi-sport event in the province. While decidedly smaller in scale, this event involved a lot of same pomp and circumstance that has become synonymous with the beginning of the Olympic Games. This included a fl ag raising ceremony, the lighting of a cauldron outside the TRCC and performances from Diamond Dance Academy and local hip-hop group Poetry in Motion. Throughout the evening, a group of dignitaries also took to the stage to provide official greetings and to let these young athletes know what to expect through the next six days of competition. “The Olympics just ended. Well, these are our Olympics,” said Churchill–Keewatinook Aski MP Niki Ashton. “So this is an opportunity for us to
Thompson Citizen photo by Kyle Darbyson Thompson figure skater Megan Szabo lights the cauldron outside of the Thompson Regional Community Centre March 4 to officially kick off the 2018 Manitoba Winter Games. celebrate the hard work you’ve done, the incredible support from your parents, from your coaches and from your communities.” Most of these dignitaries went out of their way to thank the people who made this week-long event possible, including big sponsors like Manitoba Hydro and the over 800 registered volunteers who will be largely responsible running things throughout the rest of the week.
After all, low participation is the reason why Virden dropped out of hosting the games in late 2016, which left Thompson organizers the arduous task of recruiting an army of volunteers within a signifi cantly reduced timeframe. “The unsung heroes in this whole thing are the people who are wearing the blue shirts,” said Sandra Ross-Hitch, co-chair of the Games’ host society. “We can’t say enough
about them.” As someone who helped get the ball rolling on this whole affair back in January 2017, Mayor Dennis Fenske provided these athletes with some words of wisdom before the competition officially began on Monday. “I would ask that each and every athlete take the time to enjoy this moment, take the time to enjoy the competition, take the time to enjoy the friendships and take the time to create
memories that will last a lifetime.” This year’s Manitoba Winter Games will showcase a variety of athletic competitions, include archery, badminton, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, swimming, gymnastics, hockey, ringette, speed skating, wrestling and table tennis. To view the 2018 Manitoba Winter Games schedule in its entirety, please visit Sport Manitoba’s website.
National inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls holding hearings in Thompson March 20-21 The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls will hold two days of community hearings in Thompson March 20-21 as part of its truthgathering process. The hearings will be the second held in Manitoba and will be attended by commissioner Michèle Audette, the daughter of a Quebecois father and an Innu mother who has served as president of the Quebec Native Women’s Association, associate deputy minister for the status of women in Quebec’s provincial government and president
of the Native Women’s Association of Canada. Across the country, 1,350 families and survivors have registered to participate in the truth-gathering process and so far the inquiry has gathered more than 700 testimonies about Indigenous women and girls and lesbian, gay, bisexual trans, queer and two-spirited (LGBTQ2S) from people who have lost a loved one and/or are survivors of violence. Eighty-six of those testimonies have come from the 160 families and survivors in Manitoba who have registered to share their experiences.
The inquiry’s goal is to examine and report on systemic causes of violence against Indigenous women, girls and LGBTQ2S people in Canada, including institutional practices and policies such as police investigation practices and responses. For more information about the inquiry, including how to participate by providing testimony, visit the inquiry website at www.mmiwgffada.ca or call toll free at 1-844348-4119. Families and survivors can also register by fax, mail or email.
Michèle Audette