Nickel Belt News
Volume 58 Number 11
Friday, March 16, 2018
Thompson, Manitoba
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Wednesday, November 25, 2020
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Serving the Hub of the North since 1960
Volume 60 • Issue 48
Mayor reviews first half of term and appoints committee chairs for the upcoming year
Book a way to preserve and pass on memories of growing up in Churchill
BY IAN GRAHAM
EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
Mayor Colleen Smook reviewed some of the ups and downs of the first half of her term during council’s organizational meeting Nov. 18, when committee chairs and members for the upcoming year were selected. The highlights mentioned by the mayor included maintaining property tax increases over the first two years of the term at around two per cent and having more than 2,000 responses to the recent community safety strategy survey, which she said indicates that residents of Thompson believe there can be brighter days ahead. “People that don’t care about a place don’t fill out and answer a survey,” she said, pointing out that the re-establishment of StreetReach North to deal with missing youth and the provincial government funding a sobering centre are also positive developments. She also said that there would be news regarding the proposed sobering centre before the end of the year. On the downside, the mayor noted that the past few years have seen the city forced to take over operation of the water treatment plant,
downloaded onto it by Vale, which has also laid off many workers and unilaterally reduced the amount it pays in lieu of taxes since the beginning of 2018. “We take it in stride and we continue the work,” she said. The mayor also briefly mentioned a 2018 video that recently surfaced showing one of the city’s community safety officers punching an Indigenous woman in the RCMP detachment after she hit him with her belt while being detained for intoxication. “[Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak] Grand Chief [Garrison] Settee, myself, our staff and MKO staff have sat down and working together to deal with this in a timely manner,” she said. Smook extended an olive brach to perennial council outsider Coun. Duncan Wong by naming him the deputy mayor for the upcoming year. Wong wasn’t appointed to chair any committees at the 2019 organizational meeting, but now he is automatically the chair of the legislative and finance committee. “I have fellow councillors that are always willing to step up to the plate,” said
Thompson Citizen photo by Ian Graham Mayor Colleen Smook delivers her opening remarks at the Nov. 18 organizational meeting of council, when committee chairs and members for the upcoming year were appointed and elected. Smook, admitting that she has questioned whether she has really achieved her goal of being inclusive. “There’s no hesitation, but what about the councillors that don’t always step up? Why is that? I think that is one of my jobs is to find out so that we are all pulling our weight.” Other councillors Smook appointed as committee chairs included Coun. Brian Lundmark (human
resources], Coun. Kathy Valentino (public works and infrastructure]) and Coun. Andre Proulx (development review). Coun. Braden McMurdo, winner of an October byelection to replace the late Judy Kolada, was selected to head the recreation and community services committee. “This is going to a busy and a big committee and I am giving it to a new councillor today who will need lots of
support from us all,” said the mayor. Councillors Earl Colbourne, Jeff Fountain and Les Ellsworth were not chosen to chair any committees, but Fountain was picked by his colleagues as a member of the development review committee. Ellsworth, who was deputy mayor and head of two committees for the past year, as well as a member of a third committee,
twice declined nominations from his fellow councillors. Colbourne wasn’t nominated as a member for any of the committees. Other committee members selected by fellow councillors included Lundmark and Valentino for the legislative and finance committee, McMurdo for the human resources committee, and Valentino for the recreation and community services committee. Proulx, Fountain and Valentino were selected to serve on the board of revision, with Fountain acting as chair. The number of committees was recently reduced by council from eight to five. The former legislative and intergovernmental affairs and finance and administration committees were amalgamated into the legislative and finance committee, while the public safety committee was merged into the recreation and community services committee and the communications committee discontinued. Council began the process of developing a budget for the next fiscal year starting Nov. 19, Smook said. “We will need input for this year’s budget,” said the mayor. “It is going to be another hard budget.”
Justice minister says province will review community safety officer training and how they are overseen Manitoba Justice Minister to a further investigation I found [the security video through a court applicaCliff Cullen told the CBC into a January 2018 incident of a CSO punching Garson] tion, the City of Thompson, the provincial government when 19-year-old Genesta disturbing, obviously regret- which has employed CSOs Nickel Belt News photo by Ian Graham is looking Foundation at changingofthe Garson was punched by a deMeulles table on so fronts," sinceher 2016, said in a growing news up, mostly in Churchill. Addictions Manitoba northern director Gisele hasmany written a book about experiences Police Services Act to in- Thompson CSO after being Cullen told the CBC. “So release that it was unaware BY IANcommunity GRAHAM safety to For all the harsh weather write things have ‘Oh, I’m just as bad, a very until safe seven thing swallow when people say clude detained underthat theyou Intoxiwe obviously here atright?’ Mani- was of thenot incident EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET haveJustice all these stories and to figure out. It’s pretty clear do but atwere it. I that Churchill residents and the dangers of polar officers (CSOs) under the to cated Persons Detention Act Itoba take this very months laterI jumped when they Though she’s now written when I get through.” Iseriously. need to We've capture them for thought exciting should just find somewhere bears, deMeulles said if it jurisdiction of the Independ(IPDA). been doing informedthat of itwas by someone a book about her experienDeMeulles said she wrote my grandchildren really until the plane landed and easier to live. had been viable she would ent Investigation Unit (IIU), The IPDA allows police our own background work from the provincial justice ces growing Churchill, Whispers in because they will be lost if they started throwing the “To say, ‘Those people have moved back to Churchwhich looks up intoinserious al- her andbook, othertitled designated offito see how things unfolded department. Addictions of the from the Isince don’t.” fuel off and was I realized, ‘Holy choose to live there. They ill in a heartbeat. legations of Foundation misconduct incers,Wind: such Stories as Thompson’s Garson removing the incident." Manitoba director in Churchill for She a reputation was probably sitting should just leave,’ is quite “I miss the shoreline, I volving on-northern and off-duty po- North CSOs,-toLife detain people they Afteralso thehas video was made cats, someI clothing, as required Gisele deMeulles writ- a coupleare of reasons. a storyteller a bomb.’” lice officers in thesaid province. believe intoxicated and as public earlier herself. this month on before being placed in a simplistic. It’s quite disre- miss the rock, I miss the ingHe wasn’t she keep “I just thought, suchpublished a varied hisAnother thing that spectful. If we were in the polar bears even though said something the province themsort in a of holding cell in “Ianhad article by holding cell, when she threw always shetype would what, his- tory and I would people spurred was with the same boat in another area they’re very dangerous and will alsothought review the of you until know they are soberthis without the CBC, whichtell obtained her belt ather or hitona CSO do. Justice this arresting stuff that’s in my stories think we wouldMinister screamCliffI Cullen really miss the Hudson and theyRCMP would dego, hard training CSOs receive but tory, formally them. the Thompson it, thetimes videofacing shows.Churchill He then IManitoba “In my youth I never head, it’sother goingManitobans, to be gone ‘That’s not security true, is it?’ I’d go, since the Hudsonon Bay Railstopped short of committing “Like tachment footage Continued Page 8 about that so why don’t they Bay,” she says. “When I go 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
if I don’t write it down,” she ‘Yeah it’s true.’ They’d go, way suspended operations said. “My kids are not go- ‘You didn’t do all that, did north of Gillam last spring. ing to get it if I don’t do it you? You’ve got to be really “It used to be a really and it’s something I’ve al- old.’ I was like, ‘No, actually thriving large community ways wanted my mom to I did all that before I was and it’s just dwindled down do. My mom’s an elder and 27,’ and they went ‘What?’” to such a small population Contact she’s an artist,Nelson she’s got so at 204-307-0281 Looking back, some of now,” deMeulles says. many wonderful stories be- those experiences are things Though she’s not there pruderspropertyservices@gmail.com cause she always tells her she might not do again. any longer, her parents and stories at Parks Canada in “I did some pretty bizarre her sister and other family to discuss your property needs! Churchill and I’ve always stuff like fuel hauls into the members still are. hounded her, ‘Please, just high Arctic at -35,” said “My cousin owns the put it on tape, I will write it deMeulles. “It didn’t dawn hardware store there,” she for you because your story on me until after. That was a says. is going to be lost,’ and she’s very dangerous thing to do. Because of that, never done it and I thought, Being on a plane full of fuel deMeulles finds it hard to
Yer snow gotta go!
have the option to do that? 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?’”
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 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.”