October 21 2022

Nickel Belt News

Mayoral candidates stress crime, lower spending and building for the future at forum

Book a way to preserve and pass on memories of growing up in Churchill

BY IAN GRAHAM

EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

The three people vying to become the next mayor of Thompson — incumbent Colleen Smook, current city councillor Les Ellsworth and former city councillor Ron Matechuk — addressed inter ested voters from the stage of the Letkemann Theatre Oct. 19 in the first of back-to-back mayoral forums.

About a dozen people asked questions at the forum, on topics ranging from pub lic safety, economic develop ment, the proposed replace ment for the Norplex Pool and Thompson’s need for a new fire hall, as well as areas that are outside the city’s pur view, including Highway 6

and the possibility of a second bridge over the Burntwood River.

The candidates offered three distinct arguments as to why they should get people’s votes on Oct. 26. Smook ran on her record, highlighting the ability of the city during her term to obtain outside funding for various projects, including five-year road and water and sewer renewal plans, a replacement for the Norplex Pool and the recently opened sobering centre, all of which will continue into the next term. Ellsworth argued that, more than anything, Thompson needs to get a handle on crime and safety to lay the foundation for a better future, while Matechuk said

that he prizes efficiency and wise spending over anything because that is how you can convince people to move to the city and businesses to open up shop here.

Audience members asking questions included one cur rently running for council, an other just finishing up his first and only term on council and a former councillor, as well as a retiring City Hall employee and a former fire chief.

Current council candi date Addie Colbourne asked if it was true that no city money had been spent on the sobering/healing centre on Princeton Drive. Smook said a contribution from Vale was funding the longer-term housing of chronically home

less people currently taking place there but that the city had provided administrative help, though she later clarified that she was referring only to the one floor of one building currently in use, not the cost of heat and water for the three former University College of the North buildings the city took ownership of as part of the project or the foregone property tax revenue.

“That's the money that's we're not talking about to night,” said Ellsworth in his answer.

Asked why the city hasn’t released total cost estimates for a new aquatic facility as designed, Smook and Ells worth both said it’s best not to do that before putting the

MKO extends condolences to family and friends of Thompson homicide victim

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Garrison Settee extended condolences Oct. 14 to the friends and family of a woman killed in Thompson two days earlier.

BY IAN GRAHAM

in Northern Manitoba.

Chubb, 33, was pro nounced dead after RCMP officers responded to a call about an unresponsive woman just after 8 a.m. Oct.

project out to tender.

“You don't give them the public costs,” said Ellsworth, but Matechuk had an oppos ing view.

“I have asked now at five or six committee meetings to have these numbers released and it just doesn't happen,” he said. “It's public dollars, everybody should know this. Simple as that.”

On the subject of a new fire hall, raised by former fire chief John Maskerine, who described the current facility in dire terms, saying the department’s employees were “living in squalor,” Ells worth and Smook expressed support for examining the prospect, without mak ing any real commitments, while Matechuk questioned the need.

“Bottom line is what can we afford?” he said. “What are we prepared to pay for in taxes? If we can’t afford it, we'll build something too small. So we're better off not doing it at all and waiting until we can afford it.”

blind eye to what is going on including our high crime rates and the fear that residents are experiencing,” he said. “We need to work with all levels of government and stakeholders to resolve those issues.”

Matechuk promised not to raise water rates for the whole term and not to increase prop erty taxes in the first year if elected and hopefully not for the whole term.

“We are overtaxed,” he said. “It's time to start being more efficient. And when de bentures do come up, maybe you will have to fill some of that space with new borrow ing, but common sense must prevail.”

Smook said work done during this term is setting Thompson up for success down the line and that some of her regrets are about not taking a harder stance at times.

EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

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.

“I send my deepest con dolences to the family and friends of the late Geraldine Chubb,” he said. “She was a mother to three young sons, and we send our love and prayers to them and her family during this diffi cult time. We also send our sympathies to the members of Geraldine’s home com munity of Bunibonibee Cree Nation.Our women and girls are being taken from us at alarming rates and we must put a stop to the violence. We cannot continue losing any more women. They are our life givers and must be treated with respect and dignity. We cannot allow this crisis to be come a normal occurrence— the violence needs to end.”

“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.

MKO is a political advo cacy organization that repre sents two dozen First Nations

Some people say it’s kind of blunt or direct. I don’t tend

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

13 A 25-year-old man was arrested at the scene and charged with second-degree murder the following day.

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

Heidi Spence, director of MKO’s MMIWG Liaison Unit said she was saddened by the loss of another young sister, a little over a week after the unit hosted a memorial walk and event on Oct. 4, MMIWG Awareness Day in Manitoba since 2017.

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

In his closing statement, Ellsworth said that until safe ty concerns are addressed, Thompson will not be able to live up to it potential or past glories.

“I promise to not turn a

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

“Maybe sometimes behind those pandemic masks when … I was saying something very inappropriate but shut ting up behind my mask, I should have maybe said it out loud. I should have maybe stuck up for our staff and ad ministration. I should maybe have cut off some councillors that were talking.”

Election day is Oct. 26.

“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,

Another thing that spurred her on was the hard times facing Churchill way suspended operations

“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?

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.

“The violence needs to end, we need to begin heal ing our communities and by doing this we need to work together,” said Spence. “I challenge everyone to take the courage to speak out against all and any form of violence. All women, girls, and two-spirit people deserve to be loved and cared for by our community. We all have a right to feel safe, a right to security, and a right to live

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?’”

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

without worry.”

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

Murder charge laid for Oct. 12 Thompson killing

“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

The MMIWG Liaison Unit supports families and communities affected by MMIWG as well as sur vivors of violence. They

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

can be reached by calling toll-free1-800-442-0488 or 204-677-1648.

Chubb is the fifth person to die by homicide in Thompson in 2022.

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

Because of that, deMeulles finds it hard to

A 25-year-old man arrested by Thompson RCMP re sponding to an Oct. 12 homicide faces a murder charge.

“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.

Manitoba RCMP announced Oct. 18 that Garnet Spencer Budd of Thompson was charged Oct. 13 with second-de gree murder for the death of Geraldine Chubb, 33.

Chubb was found dead shortly after 8 a.m. Oct. 12 by officers responding to a report of an unresponsive woman at a Cree Road apartment.

Budd was remanded into custody after being charged and was scheduled to appear in court in Thompson on Oct. 14.

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 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.”

RCMP Major Crime Services continues to investigate Chubb’s death.

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Nickel Belt News photo by Ian Graham Addictions Foundation of Manitoba northern director Gisele deMeulles has written a book about her experiences growing up, mostly in Churchill.

Friday, October 21, 2022

Delivering News to the Nickel Belt since 1960

Thompson Citizen photo courtesy of MKO MKO, which represents Northern Manitoba First Nations, expressed condolences Oct. 14 to the family and friends of Geraldine Chubb, a 33-year-old woman who died as a result of a homicide in Thompson two days earlier.

Thompson Citizen photos by Ian Graham

Mayoral candidates Colleen Smook, Les Ellsworth and Ron Matechuk shared the Letkemann Theatre stage Oct. 19, answering questions from the public during a mayoral candidate forum.

Election 2022: Lower taxes, teamwork are Louis Fitzpatrick’s key issues

BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

First-time council candi date Louis Fitzpatrick says he’d like to see lower taxes in Thompson and more unity on city council.

Fitzpatrick’s family moved to Thompson in 1977 when he was 15 years old and, apart from a year spent in Alberta, he’s lived here ever since. He worked for Vale and Inco for 30 years, spending 15 of them as a foreman, and continues to work a couple of jobs in retirement, highlighting one of the benefits of living in the Hub of the North.

“There’s no shortage of employment if you want to work,” Fitzpatrick told the Thompson Citizen in an interview Oct. 14.

Political candidates often claim that people asked them to put their name for ward and Fitzpatrick is no exception.

“I’m sitting at home, I’m talking to the wife, I’m complaining about this and that and she says, “Well, do something.’ So I said, ‘OK, you’re right. Maybe we should try and get in there. See if we can get some harmony in there.”

Fitzpatrick doesn’t have a long list of policy goals to achieve if he does suc ceed in getting elected, but he would like to see life in Thompson become more affordable and the

Thompson Citizen photo by Ian Graham Thompson council candidate Louis Fitzpatrick says he’d like to see lower taxes, an improved business community and greater unity among the next mayor and council following the Oct. 26 election.

economy more vibrant and diversified.

“I think taxes in Thomp son are way too high and I think water rates need to be curtailed,” he said.

Lower taxes might make it more feasible for new businesses to open up and give residents a little more money to spend at them.

“We need more busi nesses in Thompson,” he said. “We need more busi nesses and we need more restaurants.”

Like anybody else who lives in Thompson, Fitzpa

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trick agrees that something needs to be done about drinking and associated problems in the downtown core, but is honest about the difficulty of making change.

“What’s the answer? I don’t know,” he says, though he believes Thomp son can’t tackle the issue of addicted people on its streets all on its own. “They’re lost actually is what they are, I guess, but we need to help them out. Throwing them in jail and running them off is not the answer.”

When he looks at the

current mayor and council, Fitzpatrick says he doesn’t see a group of people work ing toward the common goal of making the city a better place to live.

“I hope the town coun cil can work together and actually move forward on some resolutions instead of all the infighting and bickering that seems to be going on,” he says. “What I’d like to see is everybody

work together. Leave your personal opinions alone and work for the community.”

Identifying himself as a person who talks to every body, Fitzpatrick will say what he thinks but can also listen and be persuaded to change his mind, a quality he attributes to his time as a mine foreman.

“Especially in the mine, you get feedback from the guys whether you like it

or not, so you’ve got to be open and listen to others’ opinions.”

When it comes to elec tion day, he says each voter should let their inner voice guide them

“Vote you conscience. Vote what you feel is go ing to be the best choice for the city. Vote for the ones that you think are going to change, are going to help move the city forward.”

Election 2022: Two-term councillor wants to see big projects through

BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

Kathy Valentino, an in cumbent seeking re-elec tion for a third term as a city councillor, has roots dating back to early days of Thompson.

A born-and-raised Thompsonite who raised three sons of her own who all live in the city, Valen tino says her sister was the 91st baby born in the hospital here.

“We have a long family history of being in the City of Thompson,” she says.

The owner of a remote cabin on Paint Lake, Val entino appreciates the easy access to nature that residents enjoy.

“I’m familiar with our outdoors and what we have to offer and I love Thompson,” she says.

A councillor since 2014, Valentino said she’s seek ing re-election because she wants to see projects that got started this term come to fruition and also to ensure that another big project gets underway.

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These projects include the sobering/healing centre that opened last week and will replace the Thompson homeless shelter while expanding upon its offerings, as well as road and sewer renewal projects and the construc tion of a new pool to re place the Norplex, which was permanently closed down just a few months after the current council took office.

“I want to be a part of seeing them through be cause I think those are great things for our com munity,” she says. “I can say I was a part of finish ing these projects to leave a legacy behind.”

Valentino identifies safety, recreation, infra structure, partnerships with Indigenous organiz ations and communities as well as community pride as her priority areas and says many of them are intertwined.

“I think we have to en

sure our community is safe. It’s a concern for our citizens,” she says. “We need a good, concrete plan for low-cost recrea tion ideas and things to do in our city for our youth. I think the busier we can keep our youth, the less chance they have of get ting in trouble.”

She also knows from her eight years as a coun cillor that little changes can be as important as big ones. Over the last two springs, the city tackled street sweeping different ly, operating two separate shifts, and she says there’s been a lot of positive feedback.

“That was like a small win … a good change in how that process worked.”

If she gets re-elected, but even if she doesn’t, Valentino hopes that the next mayor and council will continue recent work towards co-operation and reconciliation with Indigenous partners and outlying communities.

“I think there’s a lot to learn,” she said. “And I’m committed to continuing to learn.”

Like many councils before it, the next set of elected officials in Thompson should also work to improve down town, Valentino says.

“We need to work with our partners in the down town area to revitalize it and get another new downtown revitalization plan in place,” she said.

“We need to own our own and get together at the table and create something for this time of where we are as a community.”

Though she says she’s learned how to pick her battles better the longer she’s been on council, Valentino describes her self as a “vocal female.”

“I have faced adversity so I am a good advocate. I have a passion for the city. A vote for me is a vote for your community and for leaving a good legacy behind.”

Two-term councillor Kathy Valentino says she’s seeking another term so she can see big infrastructure projects that got underway in the last couple of years through to their conclusion.

Election 2022: Second-time council candidate

Rita Werstroh says public engagement is crucial

BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

A 50-year resident of Thompson taking her second shot at getting elected to city council, Rita Werstroh says mak ing the city more enjoyable for seniors like her and increasing public engage ment in local government issues are among her pri orities if she is one of the top eight vote-getters on Oct. 26.

Werstroh, who’s lived in the same house al most since she arrived in Thompson in the early 1970s, and who worked at the post office for over a quarter-century, wants the city to be revitalized and offer current and future residents the same kind of life it provided to her and her family.

“I have so much hope for this city and I always have,” she told the Thomp son Citizen Oct. 11. “I’ve loved Thompson ever since we came here. It’s been a

Election

good life. I want to see that I can continue that for other people who want to come and relocate here. It’s beautiful country. It’s almost pristine. It’s like a little bit of paradise.”

As a senior herself, Werstroh said she hopes, if elected, to be the voice of older city residents.

“We’re getting more and more seniors and I want to see them enjoy the life here and have opportunities to take part in all kinds of ac tivities,” she says.

Thompson’s mayor and council need engaged cit izens to hold them account able, Werstroh says, and to communicate their vision of what they want the city to be.

“I would like people to come on committees and have a say in what is hap pening in our city,” she says. “I want our com mittees to be revitalized so that we can have input from the public and work on issues that are in front

us. We have a lot of issues to deal with and I just want to be part of the solution.”

Among the biggest issues are infrastructure, the cost of living and crime.

“I would like to see our infrastructure being re vitalized and water and the streets to be completed,” she said.

At the same time, she

doesn’t want to pay more to live here, even if she has no intention of leaving.

“Our taxes, I would like to see them either lower or stay the same,” Werstoh

says. “I don’t want to see rising taxes.”

Crime reduces the qual ity of life for people living in Thompson and makes it hard for the community to prosper, according to the candidate.

“The violence in our city is disheartening and it’s disturbing,” says Wer stroh. “I want to see a solu tion to our problem with violence. I would like to have safety in our city be cause if we are going to be tagged with the most violent city per capita in Canada, why would any one want to come here to live, to work?”

With election day com ing up quickly on Oct. 26, Werstroh encourages voters to read the entire ballot before making their choices.

“My name is at the very bottom of the ballot,” she says. “Look way down at the bottom and please vote for me.”

wants to reverse Thompson’s decline

developers to create more housing.

“We have three, four fam ilies living in one two-bed room apartment,” says McIvor.

In addition to better lighting, more visible and effective police, security guards and community safety officers could help more people feel safer out

on Thompson’s streets.

“We need to see training for [CSOs], better training, more training. We need the RCMP to walk the beat.”

If elected, one of Mc Ivor’s goals is to work for more recreational oppor tunities and other activities in the city, particularly for youth

“We need to get more

stuff into Thompson for people,” she said. “We need to keep them busy and we need to get our [crime se verity index] ratings down.”

McIvor says that, as a rookie councillor, she could bring a fresh perspective to the job.

“I’m new to this,” she said. “I’m on the outside looking in.”

BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

A 19-year-resident of Thompson who moved here from Cross Lake, council candidate Joyce McIvor says she’s watched the city head in the wrong direc tion since she arrived and that the pace of decline has accelerated in the past few years.

“I’ve seen Thompson spiralling down so fast in these past 19 years,” she says. “In just the recent three, four years, it’s going down so fast.”

The mother of two girls, one of whom is autistic, Mc Ivor has spent most of her working career in child and family services, the field in which she is currently

employed.

“CFS, I always say, is my calling,” she says.

McIvor remembers loving to come to Thomp son during her childhood and youth.

“It was a treat to come to Thompson,” she said. “We always wanted to come here.”

She believes it could be like that again, that Nickel Days could grow, the Winterfest could be turned into a bigger event. She would also like to see more celebrations of the various cultures that make up Thompson’s population.

“We should know each other more,” she says.

In general, more togeth erness is something that

Thompson needs, both within City Hall and out side of it, in McIvor’s view.

“We have to get along,” she said. “We need more input from the people of Thompson. We need them to help. It takes a commun ity to build a community, a village to build a village.”

Though McIvor said she didn’t want to give all of her ideas away, she is cer tain that the city needs to do everything it can to get Manitoba Hydro to repair non-functioning streetlights more quickly.

“Nothing’s being done about it,” she said. “We’ve been in the dark for how long?”

Council and the city also have to create conditions for

Thompson Citizen photo by Ian Graham

Rita Werstroh, who’s lived in Thompson for over 50 years, said she wants more activities for seniors like her and is running for city council for a second time with hopes of becoming the voice of older Thompsonites next term.

Thompson Citizen photo by Ian Graham

Joyce McIvor

to run for Thompson city council because she has seen the

Thompson RCMP investigate second residence shooting in less than a week

For the second time in a week, Thompson RCMP are investigating shots being fired into a residence.

A report of shots fired into a trailer on Grass River Drive was made around 11:30 p.m. Oct. 15 and attending officers confirmed that there were

numerous bullet holes in the residence.

No one inside was hurt by the multiple bullets that entered the building.

Thompson RCMP is seeking witnesses and asking for area residents with home video surveil lance to check their footage

around 11 to 11:30 p.m. on Saturday night. If any of the incident was caught on video, investigators want to see the video to help deter mine who was responsible for firing the shots.

Anyone with information can call Thompson RCMP at 204-677-6909 or Crime

Thompson RCMP need help to identify sexual assault suspect

Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477. Tips can also be submitted online at www.manitobacrimestop pers.com.

Two shots were fired into windows of an apartment on Thompson’s Princeton Drive around 3 a.m. Oct. 11.

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Thompson RCMP are asking for the public’s help to identify a sexual assault suspect.

The suspect, a man with a slim build who stands about 5’7” tall with short dark hair, sexually as saulted a woman outside the Burntwood Hotel on Selkirk

Avenue between 1:30 and 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 20.

He was wearing black jeans, a grey and black sweater and a black cap at the time of the assault and he can be seen on photos taken from video surveillance.

Anyone who can identify this man can call Thompson

RCMP at 204-6677-6090 or Crime Stoppers anonym ously at 1-800-222-8477. Tips can also be submitted online at www.manito bacrimestoppers.com.

A 34-year-old Winnipeg man faces multiple charges after fleeing from a traffic stop in Norway House Cree Nation on Oct. 17.

Searches of the man and his vehicle turned up 101 grams of cocaine, worth about $12,000 on the street in Norway House, along with $13,000 in cash.

The sequence of events resulting in the drug bust, which is the fourth significant seizure of cocaine in the community in the past three weeks, began when First Nation Safety Officers tried to stop a vehicle that was being driven errat ically. The driver did not stop and the vehicle eventually went into a ditch, at which point the driver ran away.

The officers pursued the suspect, enlisting the help of bystanders to locate him in the closet of a nearby home where he was arrested without incident.

Police say the suspect tried to deceive officers by pro viding multiple names but was eventually identified and found to have an outstanding arrest warrant in Winnipeg.

Sean-Leo Monchalin was remanded into custody on charges of vehicle theft, possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, being unlawfully in a dwelling, identity fraud and driving while impaired by drugs.

This arrest and the three other recent cocaine busts in Norway House have resulted in the seizure of 350 grams of cocaine, 330 rocks of crack cocaine, two loaded nine-milli metre handguns and over $38,000 in cash.

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Election 2022: Former school trustee looking at Thompson’s longer-term prosperity

BY IAN GRAHAM

EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

Council candidate San dra Oberdorfer, a former School District of Mystery Lake trustee who was born and raised in Thompson, moved away for awhile and then came back, says she’s running for city council to improve her hometown over the long term.

“We want to retire in Thompson, my husband and I, and we would like it to be a place that our kids would want to stay in and raise their families here as well,” she says.

In order for that to hap pen, not only for her family but for others who are al ready here, as well as to attract new residents, the city needs the right infra structure to offer a good quality of life, which is why Oberdorfer is determined to see Thompson open a new pool during the next term of mayor and council.

“There’s a whole slew of reasons why it’s important for us to have a pool in our community,” Oberdorfer said. “I’ve been hearing within the community that employers are also strug gling with job retention because we don’t have a pool for people to access so they’re not wanting to

PUBLIC NOTICE

come to our community.”

Oberdorfer also wants Thompson to be an in clusive city that works to improve the lives of all its residents, which is why she believes initiatives like the recently opened sobering/ healing centre on Princet on Drive and the planned healing lodge for youth involved with the criminal justice system are vital.

“The new healing centre

or sobering centre, as some people are referring to it, there are future plans of expanding that facility to include transitional hous ing and things like that,” she says. “I definitely want to be at the table to make sure that those expansion plans are supported and that we’re able to proceed as a community in the right direction.”

The youth healing lodge

can help Thompson in its battle against crime and some of its root causes, the candidate feels.

“I think we need to start looking at how, as a city, can we start to havre some more intervention methods within our community,” says Oberdorfer. “What can we do to stop these issues from starting earlier on with our younger population, instead of waiting until it becomes a huge issue?”

Being an inclusive com munity also means working closely with Indigenous or ganizations and First Na tions, not only in symbolic ways, but before and while decisions are made.

“They really need to en hance those partnerships

and make sure that they’re meaningful partnerships, and that Indigenous organ izations and Indigenous people are at the table while those decisions are hap pening, not looping them in after the fact to get their opinion or input on differ ent things that are going on within our city. I’m hoping that I can be one of those leaders in our community that can really bring back an understanding of why it’s important to prioritize those relationships.”

Describing herself as a community develop ment-minded person, Ober dorfer says being on council would be an extension of other work she has done, professionally and as a vol

unteer, to make Thompson a better place.

“I’ve always been a part of trying to change Thomp son for the better to improve our future as a city and a region,” she says.

She also believes that she could offer a different perspective than many of the people who have run for and been on past councils, a significant proportion of whom are retired or nearing retirement age.

“We have historically not had a lot of younger people,” Oberdorfer says.

“I think it brings a different perspective and we think about things in a different way in terms of what the future of our city looks like.”

Election 2022: Ron Matechuk has sights set on mayor’s seat again

BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

Aghaming (741)Crane

Board of Revision

Former city councillor, frequent mayoral candi date and vocal critic of the current mayor and council Ron Matechuk said at an Oct. 19 mayoral candidate forum that reasoning, de bate and good sense are the cornerstones of effect ive local government.

A resident of Thomp son for nearly 52 years, Matechuk worked for Matechuk Trucking for 49 years as a truck driver, heavy equipment operator, mechanic and president.

“I am presently semi-re tired which means I do all of that without a pay cheque,” he said.

(727)Brochet (734)

Berens

(744)Dauphin

(748)Cross

(707)Barrows (782) Bissett (746)

(754)Easterville (736)Camperville (783) Dallas/Red Rose (747)Mallard (728) Gods Lake Narrows (704)Cormorant (784) Fisher Bay (750)Meadow Portage (729)Herb Lake Landing (738)Dawson Bay (785) Harwill (752) Rock Ridge (730)Ilford (739) Duck Bay (786) Island Lake (755)Salt Point (731)Nelson House (706)Moose Lake (787) Little Grand Rapids (760)Spence Lake (732)Norway House (710)National Mills (788) Loon Straits (761)Waterhen (733)Pikwitonei (712)Pelican Rapids (789) Manigotagan (762)INR (701) Sherridon (713)Red Deer Lake (792) Matheson Island (763) South Indian Lake (714)INR (703) Pine Dock (765) Thicket Portage (715) Princess Harbour (766) Wabowden (716) Seymourville (708) INR (700) INR (702)

Application for Revision: 42(1) a person in whose name property has been assessed, a mortgagee in possession of property under section 114(1) of The Real Property Act, an occupier of premises who is required under the terms of a lease to pay the taxes on the property, or the assessor may make application for the revision of an assessment roll with respect to the following matters:

a) liability to taxation; b) amount of an assessed value; c) classification of property; or d) a refusal by an assessor to amend the assessment roll under subsection 13(2).

Application Requirements: 43(1) An application for revision must: a) be made in writing; b) set out the roll number and legal description of the assessable property for which a revision is sought; c) set out which of the matters referred to in subsection 42(1) are at issue, and the grounds for each of those matters; and d) be filed by (i) delivering it or causing it to be delivered to the office indicated in the public notice given under subsection 41(2), or (ii) serving it upon the secretary, at least 15 days before the scheduled sitting date of the board as indicated in the public notice.

Indigenous Reconciliation and Northern Relations Property Taxation Box 37, 59 Elizabeth Drive, Thompson, Manitoba, Canada R8N 1X4 T 204-677-6621 TOLL FREE 1-888-677-6621 F 204-677-6753 IRNRtaxes@gov.mb.ca.

A member of one of five generations of his family currently living in Thomp son, all of whom were born in Northern Mani toba, Matechuk says he’s seen Thompson in good times and bad and that his historical perspective will serve him well if he’s elected mayor, as will his one term on council from 2014 to 2018.

“There won’t be a learn ing curve other than I am left out of the loop on a lot of things which are done in camera that I'm not privy to due to not being on council,” he said at the forum.

Believing that Thomp son property owners are too highly taxed, Matechuk said he could promise a couple of things to taxpayers if they elect him as the city’s next mayor.

“If I'm elected mayor, you will not see an in crease in your water bill for the four-year term I am in there,” he told the crowd. “And the first year that I am in there you will not have seen an increase in your taxes.”

Matechuk says he is not

Former city councillor Ron Matechuk, who has been a mayor al candidate several times, told the audience at a mayoral candidate forum on Oct. 19 that Thompson needs lower property taxes and a higher grant in lieu of taxes from Vale.

against particular projects but is in favour of trans parency and believes it’s unwise to make deci sions without complete information.

“A lot of people think I'm against this new aqua tic facility and I'm not totally against it,” he says.

“I don't have the informa tion to determine which way to go with this. The only thing that I can do is look at the real numbers once I have them and then make that decision in one way or the other. I don't know which way that is right now. Without num bers. It's the shell game once again.”

One way that Thomp son could reduce the tax burden on its property owners would be by get ting more money in lieu of property taxes from Vale, he says.

“The number I would

start with is $10.88 mil lion,” said the candidate.

“That is what $1 million in 1956 [the minimum the company must pay accord ing to the agreement with the provincial government that led to the founding of Thompson] is worth today. That should have been the starting point. We ended up with a third of that. That's unacceptable.”

Government-led eco nomic development in itiatives are less effective at generating economic ac tivity, Matechuk believes, than policies that make in vesting in Thompson prof itable and living in the city more affordable, such as lower property taxes.

“Make Thompson be the place that you want to do business, where you where you want to be, and great things happen. Look what happened over the last 60 years.”

Thompson Citizen photo courtesy of Sandra Oberdorfer Council candidate Sandra Oberdorfer wants Thompson to be an inclusive city in which meaningful Indigenous part nerships are part of the decision-making process.

Thompson Citizen photo by Ian Graham

Premier’s northern tour mostly about listening to regional concerns

BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

Premier Heather Stefan son breezed through North ern Manitoba Oct. 13-14, stopping in Churchill, Thompson and Flin Flon as part of a two-day tour.

In Thompson, Stefanson and Economic Develop ment Minister Cliff Cul len toured Ford’s extreme cold weather testing site as well as the GLACIER jet engine testing facility be fore meeting with the may or, councillors, police and firefighters at City Hall. Afterwards, their itinerary took them for a meeting with Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation Chief Angela Le vasseur before they hopped over to Flin Flon to tour the University College of the North nurse training fa cility and meet with mem bers of the Northern Mani toba Mining Academy.

The tour began in Churchill, where Stefanson and Cullen went looking for polar bears on Frontiers North Adventures’ electric Tundra Buggy, accompan ied by diplomats from Bra zil, Germany and Iceland, and a Travel Manitoba representative.

The premier also helped Lazy Bear Expeditions owner Wally Daudrich, a former federal Conserva tive candidate in Northern Manitoba, christen a new $6-million, 23-metre boat with windows along the waterline for viewing be luga whales on the surface and underwater.

Stefanson also met with representatives of Arctic Gateway Group, the com pany that owns the Port of Churchill and the Hud son Bay Railway, which will receive $73 million in provincial funding for track repairs and upgrades, as announced this summer.

Following her meeting at Thompson City Hall, Stefanson spoke with media about her trip.

Safety and economic development were among the topics brought up at the Thompson meeting, Stefanson said, with police and firefighters highlight ing the effect that labour shortages are having on their services.

“These are challen ging issues, not just here in Thompson, not just in

Manitoba, but across the country,” she said.

No commitments were made about helping the city out with those prob lems, but the premier said she would make use of what she learned.

“We listen, we take that back, we try and work collaboratively towards solutions.”

Stefanson also said it was interesting to learn more about the winter weather testing industry, which is well-suited for Manitoba, given its cold climate.

“Those are those very, very unique opportunities, I think, in terms of eco nomic development,” she said. “Creating this diverse economy here in Northern Manitoba, it’s going to be very, very, very beneficial for the citizens here.”

On the subject of things that the provincial govern ment could do for Thomp son and the north, the pre mier said she’s aware of particular issues and that getting to know more about them is precisely why she and her ministers are trying to get to various commun ities, both in the north and throughout the province.

“We don’t know until we get out to communities,” she said.

Stefanson declined to give a specific answer about whether there were any plans to bring foot care back to Thompson, defer ring that response to Health Minister Audrey Gordon “I know that she is look ing into it,” said the pre mier. “We will be dealing with it.”

The issue of Highway 6 safety concerns and its lack of public bathrooms for travellers were also deflected to the relevant minister, with a little blame reserved for the previous NDP government, which was voted out of power in 2016.

”The minister of infra structure is very much aware of this and he’s working diligently with the department to tackle this issue,” Stefanson said. “Safety on our highways is a a number one issue. We inherited an infrastructure deficit from the previous government that we’re tackling. That doesn’t hap

Further municipal election coverage

This is the last print edition of the Thompson Citizen before election day on Oct. 26. For more election-related news between now and then, in cluding coverage of the urban Indigenous mayoral candidate question-and-answer forum at the MaMow-We-Tak Friendship Centre on Oct. 20, visit www.thompsoncitizen.net. That is also where you will find interviews with the three council candi dates who have not yet responded to the Citizen’s request for an interview if they do so before Oct. 26.

pen overnight.”

The premier also made comments about the poten tial for economic develop ment in Manitoba’s north.

“There’s just so much

hope and opportunity in our northern communities, in Churchill and Thomp son and all of our northern communities,” she said. “We’re very committed

Share your views

to the region. We want to make sure that you get the resources that you need here. I think I’ve had a proven track record in a short period of time of get

ting things done and that’s what we’re going to focus on in the future is getting things done for Thomp son, for all of Northern Manitoba.”

Building a Plan with Manitoba Seniors

Engage

Seniors

Thompson Citizen

The Manitoba government is developing a Manitoba Seniors Strategy and is looking for input from the general public, seniors, family members and caregivers, and people working with, or providing services to seniors.

Visit EngageMB today, provide your input, and help Manitoba become the ideal place to age in Canada.

Thompson Citizen photo by Ian Graham

Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson speaks to the media after a meeting with city officials and others at Thompson City Hall Oct. 14.

Freaky roadshow

Thompson got a severed head start on the spooky season mindset with the Halloween parade on Thompson and Princeton drives on Oct. 16, which turned out to be the coldest morning of the fall so far, though the frigid tem perature may not have been the only thing sending chills up spectators’ spines.

OBITUARY

TOMMY WALTER KOSTIUK

Feb 22, 1950 – Aug 18, 2022

Tom Kostiuk was born in North Battleford Saskatchewan on February 22, 1950 to Mary and Dymtro Kostiuk, who were there to greet him when he passed away peacefully the morning of August 18, 2022. Tom’s adventures took him many places but in the fall of 2021 Dad returned home to his roots of Mayfair, Saskatchewan; where he lived out his final months surrounded by the fields, farms and families he knew and loved.

Those waiting to greet Tom along with his parents were his Sister Diane, Brother David, Brother-in-law Hughie, Son-in-law Brad and Phyllis the mother of his 4 girls.

Left to remember Tom are his daughters; Tammy (Randy), Alicia (Anthony), Tracy (Peter), Amanda (Trapper). His Grandchildren Matthew, Justin, Bradey, Ashton, Tyler, Kaitlyn, Emily, Franky and their significant others and his 7 great grandchildren. And Tom’s Brothers on the black top that he rode many a mile with. You truly were his brothers and the time on those road trips were some of his happiest times and his favorite stories to tell.

Dad did not want us to mourn, but instead to celebrate his life, remember his adventures, and believe that he is free to ride again.

When I come to the end of the road, and the sun has set for me, I want no rites in a gloom-filled room, why cry for a soul set free? Miss me a little, but not too long, and not with your head bowed low. Remember the adventures we once shared, and take me now when you go. We can’t believe you’ve been gone 2 months ~miss you Dad.

FIND YOUR HEART IN MANITOBA

Fall in love with these trip ideas

As the seasons change and the temperatures drop, Manitoba shines with experiences for outdoor enthusiasts. Whether you prefer getting lost in a corn maze, taking a hike with your family or going on adrenaline-pumping adventures with friends, Manitoba offers a range of fall activities for all adventure types.

FIND A CORN MAZE TO EXPLORE

When

finding your way through

with

and

There are

in St. Adolphe, family-owned King Korn

near Notre

de Lourdes or Dear Meadow Farms northeast of

in the RM of

TAKE A HIKE IN RIDING MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

Covering three different

and

Mountain

of

boreal and

to

to

Find

to

and

Wasagaming, the

along Clear

at Elkhorn Resort just outside the

Drive through Lake Audy to see

in their

SOAR OVER THE PEMBINA VALLEY

Add a

to

of

to

Zipline

offers

above the

with an

west of Pembina Valley

that have

soaring 200

that make

↑ St. Adolphe

Girls first, boys second at RDPC varsity volleyball tournament

ON OCTOBER 26TH ELECT

FOR MAYOR Colleen Smook

OUR NEXT FOUR YEARS AND BEYOND... MAYOR & COUNCIL

Continue Committee Of The Whole which reduces individual committee meetings and provides direct input to Mayor & Council

Bring back RDPC student inclusion to our council

Committee of the Whole

Finance Public Works Community Safety Communications Recreation Dept. Development Review

Provide more training for Mayor & Counci to better understand their role in leadership of our city

COMMUNITY SAFETY & WELL BEING STRATEGY

Continue supporting growth of Healing Centre, opening October 2022. This replaces under resourced downtown homeless shelter, addresses needs of people impacted by mental health & addiction, and concerns of downtown business owners Maintain partnerships that have also received funding to move forward in future phases

R.D. Parker Collegiate’s varsity volleyball teams finished first and second at a home tournament Oct. 14-15.

The girls’ team defeated Creighton 25-22, 25-20 in the final to take the title af ter winning two round-robin match-ups, splitting another and losing against Creigh ton. The Trojans qualified for the championship game by knocking off the Mar

garet Barbour Collegiate Institute Spartans from The Pas 25-23, 21-25, 15-12 in the semifinals.

RDPC’s boys also made it to the finals, winning two of three round-robin matches and then beating the Grand Rapids Wolverines 25-12, 25-19 in the semifinals. The boys champions were the Joseph H. Kerr Tigers from Snow Lake, who dropped only one set in the round

robin and came back from a 25-12 first set loss to the Trojans in the final to beat them 25-13, 15-13 in the next two.

The Trojans’ junior teams were also in action over the weekend at a tournament in The Pas. The boys team lost in the finals while the girls did not make the playoffs.

RDPC will host a junior volleyball tournament Nov. 4-5.

Great strides have been made working with the RCMP in weekly meetings with Mayor & City Manager, as well as providing monthly updates to Council

Continue to use the statistics RCMP provide to push for Provincial & Federal support that has started & needs to ramp up

• Commitment to a new Aquatic Facility

• Streetreach has proven effective in providing resources for the Youth

• Pressuring the Province & Feds for upgrades to our Health Care in the North

• Recognition of our Seniors & Elders’ Needs

CITY OPERATIONS

• Mayor & Council is responsible for creating policy regarding snow removal, street maintenance, lawn care, recreation, etc. Working together, the newly formed Committee of the Whole has been reviewing policies to improve these services to our city

Vale provided $125.000 for asset management software which will streamline our data

• Administration and staff have been auditing buildings & equipment to increase efficiency

• GPS tracking system has allowed maintenance issues to be caught in early stages & will continue to give us information for better utilization of the city’s fleet

Proceed with improvements on payment options such as debit at Waste Disposal Grounds, TRCC, & modernizing systems

Continued support of our administration as they work through the postpandemic related challenges to provide optimum staffing & service for our community

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Continued support to new & upgrading businesses with our tax assistance levy by-law

Ongoing upgrades to our policies regarding land sales & developmentcase by case basis

Asset management upgrades include identification of potential land for sale & will guide future development

dialog with Province to expand our tax base. Many properties outside city limits use city services but don’t contribute

push for retailers, restaurants, businesses to set up in Thompson “Hub of the North” for 55K+ to include surrounding communities that travel to Thompson for shopping & medical, not 13K as per census

Thompson Citizen photo by Ian Graham R.D. Parker Collegiate’s varsity boys volleyball team faces the Grand Rapids Wolverines in the round-robin during a home tournament Oct. 14. The boys lost in the tournament final while the Trojans girls were crowned champions.

Extra $200K helps StreetReach, The Link expand help for youth at risk of sexual exploitation

BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

Manitoba Families Min ister Rochelle Squires was in Thompson Oct. 17 to announce an additional $200,000 in funding for youth programming in the city through The Link and StreetReach North.

The money is on top of the $900,000 in core funding that StreetReach North receives to support its mission of building relationships with at-risk youth and helping them avoid sexual exploitation.

“This grant represents another initiative in our whole-of-government approach to prevent and intervene in the sexual ex ploitation of children and youth,” said Squires.

Kerri Irvin-Ross, a for mer NDP cabinet minister, is CEO of The Link, which operates a four-bed emer gency shelter in Thompson where youth can stay for up to 72 hours as well as foster and healing homes and a variety of recreation

al and cultural programs.

Getting more money on top of the base fund ing helps The Link and StreetReach North provide additional opportunities for youth, Irvin-Ross said.

“With a portion of that money … we were able to take a group of young people to the land and to camp with them and that wasn’t an experience that some of them have had for a very long time,” she said. “And we know the importance of land-based learning, and the healing power and the medicine that comes from the land.”

StreetReach North helped 117 children and youth at high risk of sexual exploitation return home without police involve ment between April and September of this year.

Billy Jo Thompson, StreetReach North man ager, says since the pro gram was relaunched in 2020, the number of missing persons re ports filed with Thomp

son RCMP as a result of children and youth being AWOL from fos ter and group homes has decreased. The lifting of pandemic restrictions has also made it possible for the team to expand the ways in which it builds relationships with at-risk youth.

“We’re able to do more creative things, we go to the lake for fishing or camping,” she said. “Things have improved that way, just being able to engage and spend time with the kids.”

The most important measuring stick for Street Reach North’s success, however, is youth that they work with getting in con tact with team members when they aren’t home at the time they are supposed to be.

“Kids often reach out to let them know where they are at curfew and to be able to go in and locate them,” Thompson said.

Noting that COVID-19

stay-at-home restrictions had a negative effect on youth being sexually ex ploited and on intimate partner violence, Squires said she has a bill before the Manitoba legislature that will help youth and

children at risk of exploit ation have an easier time getting no contact orders. It will also enlist the help of people in industries such as accommodations and transportation to inter vene and stop exploitation

as it happens or even be fore it does.

“I’m really hopeful that this bill will pass be cause we really need to do everything that we can to stop youth from being ex ploited,” the minister said.

Uptown Emporium, imagiNorthern gets $250k grant to expand, promote northern art

BY ERIC WESTHAVER

FLIN FLON REMINDER

A project started by the Flin Flon Arts Council has received a major dose of funding from a national arts program.

The council announced Oct. 14 that the imagi Northern and Uptown Emporium project had been awarded a grant of $250,000 from the Stra tegic Innovation Fund from the Canada Council of the Arts. The money will go toward helping expand the Uptown Em porium umbrella and its online tools and presence.

Starting in 2020, the

Uptown Emporium start ed with the Flin Flon Arts Council looking for a way to build an online store where area artists and crafters to sell their work, beginning with an online-only version of the arts council's annual Christmas craft sale. That expanded over time to a full-blown business, com plete with a storefront on Main Street, photography and audio projects, a web store and small shipping enterprise, and expan sion to other northern communities.

The new money will al low for further expansion

of the group.

"With representation from Flin Flon, Church ill, Thompson, The Pas and several other com munities, the imagiN orthern network is driving a unified arts agenda in Northern Manitoba. With the Uptown Emporium as a working model, the long-term strategy will see physical depots es tablished in a number of northern communities," reads the announcement of the funding.

The imagiNorthern group began as an offshoot of the Uptown Empor ium project, with several

regional representatives — the group calls them "northern champions" — working to build the group and to assist northern art ists. The group now con sists of members of four regional groups — the Flin Flon Arts Council, the Churchill Creative Collective, the Thompson Mall of the Arts and The Pas Arts Council.

"The Flin Flon Arts Council is honoured to be the recipient of the Canada Council For The Arts Strategic Initiative Fund, as this opportunity will allow both initiatives to take the next steps in

this exciting journey: building infrastructure to support artists and mak ers in Manitoba’s north, strengthening our dynam ic communities by intro ducing economic growth and creating markets for distinct and inspiring goods," reads the funding announcement.

Other regional arts lead ers praised the funding, saying the group's expan sion was a positive move to promote northern art.

"‘The Flin Flon Arts Council is grateful for this opportunity to scale up our efforts to actively support more artisans and

makers across the north," said Flin Flon Arts Coun cil past president Linda Eryou.

‘The strategy is another positive step toward rec onciliation in the north. As a Metis woman, I ap preciate the effort and the plan and how it includes the Indigenous people," said Cheryl Antonio with The Pas Arts Council.

The Canada Council for the Arts is a federal Crown corporation oper ating under the auspices of the Ministry of Canadian Heritage which funds arts and culture programs across Canada.

Thompson Citizen photos by Ian Graham

Families Minister Rochelle Squires speaks in Thompson Oct. 17 about additional funding to help prevent the sexual exploitation of children and youth.

The Link CEO Kerri Irvin-Ross said Oct. 17 that an additional $200,000 helped StreetReach North expand recreational and cultural programming for youth in Thompson, such as a camping trip.

StreetReach North manager Billy Jo Thompson says she gauges how well team members are connecting with at-risk youth by things such as how often youth reach out to let them know where they are at curfew and to ask for rides home.

Pierre Poilievre preaches small government, appoints big shadow cabinet

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

Conservative Leader

Pierre Poilievre’s hefty 71-member shadow cab inet includes both former leadership rivals and loyal followers, along with sev eral new roles, including shadow minister of red tape reduction.

Leslyn Lewis and Scott Aitchison, both candidates in this year’s leadership race, are on the list. The former will oversee infra structure and communities, while Aitchison will take on housing, diversity and inclusion.

This is a typical strat egy to ensure supporters of past leadership hope fuls don’t undermine the current leader, said Alex Marland, professor and head of the department of political science at Memor ial University.

It’s a lot harder for people to mobilize when they are included in the team, Marland told Can ada’s National Observer

Another example of this

tactic in action is Quebec MP Joël Godin, who en dorsed Jean Charest as party leader. In August, La Presse reported Godin would think about his fu ture with the Conservative Party of Canada if Poilievre won the leadership. He was appointed shadow minister for official languages.

Six B.C. MPs — Brad Vis, Todd Doherty, Tracy Gray, Bob Zimmer, Tako van Popta and Mark Strahl — are also named as shad ow ministers. North Oka nagan-Shuswap MP Mel Arnold is associate shad ow minister for fisheries, oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.

Of the 71 names released by the party on Wednes day, 20 are “associate” shadow ministers. They play a supporting role to the main shadow minister, fill in when they are away and handle tasks delegated to them.

Quebec MP Gérard Deltell was assigned the environment and climate change file. The MP for Louis-Saint-Laurent is one of at least 15 MPs ap

pointed to the shadow cab inet who did not endorse Poilievre in the leadership race. Deltell chose to throw his weight behind Charest.

Poilievre has not put out any substantial climate or environmental policy but did reference “fighting cli mate change with technol ogy and not with taxes,” in his victory speech on Sept. 10. In contrast, Charest put out a climate plan in April that outlined measures like axing the consumer carbon price, implementing a price on carbon at the industrial level, producing more li quefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen and priori tizing carbon capture and nuclear technology. Deltell declined to comment on his new appointment.

The innovation, science and industry file also went to another vocal Charest supporter: Nova Scotia MP Rick Perkins.

The natural resources file belongs to Alberta MP Shannon Stubbs. The list indicates that Stubbs’s as sociate shadow minister, Saskatchewan MP Corey Tochor, has a focus on nu

clear energy.

Poilievre is a vocal ad vocate of small govern ment, but his shadow cab inet dwarfs that of former party leader Erin O’Toole, who appointed 45 shadow ministers and one associate minister. The federal gov ernment has 38 ministers to Poilievre's 51 shadow ministers.

“This [is a] way of send ing the message that there's a lot of Conservatives here, you know, ‘We're a really strong group, and we all have things to say,’” said Donald Desserud, profes sor of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island, in an inter view with Canada’s Na tional Observer

He likened it to former Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mul roney’s decision to appoint a 40-minister cabinet — the largest in history at that time — to match the severely depleted Liberal caucus.

“It was a way of re minding the Liberals how few MPs they had … a daily reminder that they

had been reduced down to [these] 40 seats, which at that point, was the smallest number they've ever had,” said Desserud. Poilievre’s large shadow cabinet sends the opposite message, he said.

Desserud questioned whether such a large team can be effective and pre sumes House leader An drew Scheer and party whip Kerry-Lynne Find lay will have their work cut out for them ensuring MPs are on top of their files and prepared.

“They can’t all speak in question period,” Des serud said, adding that if Canadians are only hear ing from these MPs once a month or so, it diminishes their public profile.

Among the new shadow cabinet positions is a role focused on “red tape reduc tion,” filled by Ontario MP Scot Davidson. Davidson’s office did not clarify what his role involves by the deadline.

This position could apply to all files because “every single department has an issue with red tape,”

said Desserud.

Poilievre commonly in vokes “red tape” rhetoric when it comes to busi ness, agriculture, housing and cost-of-living, among other topics.

The creation of this new role sends a message to the electorate that Poilievre is serious about cutting red tape, said Desserud.

“He thinks that is … a winning campaign plat form; he probably has a point. People are tired of regulations.”

Desserud pointed to the headache some P.E.I. residents are experiencing while trying to access dis aster relief funds through the Red Cross to cope with the aftermath of hurricane Fiona and the clawback of the Canada Emergency Re sponse Benefit as examples of this fatigue.

Poilievre also created new roles for pan-Can adian trade and competi tion, supply chain issues and small business re covery and growth, all of which emphasize his unrelenting messaging on “Justinflation.”

Family, police looking for information after 25-year-old woman’s body found in Creighton, Sask.

BY ERIC WESTHAVER

FLIN FLON REMINDER

Family of 25-year-old Tristin Jobb say she was a smart, capable young woman. Jobb’s body was found at Phantom Lake Golf Course last week - and those same family members are demanding answers.

Jobb was found unrespon sive at the golf course Oct. 6 and RCMP were called to the area around 10:30 a.m.

Jobb was reported dead when emergency medical services arrived on scene, according to a Saskatch ewan RCMP news release issued Oct. 13 - a full week after her death.

Police are investigating what happened to Jobb, looking for information about her whereabouts in the days and hours leading up to her death. Jobb was seen at the golf course Oct. 5, but investigators are still trying to piece together what happened.

“An autopsy has been ordered and completed by the Saskatchewan Coroners Service (SCC) to investigate the cause of her death. The investigation is still ongoing as police await the results of the toxicology and examine evidence gathered from the scene to determine the cir cumstances of her death. As this is an SCC investigation, we have no further informa tion to provide at this time,” reads the RCMP report.

“Investigators are releas ing the deceased’s name as they are asking the public to report any sightings or inter

actions with Tristin Jobb on October 5.”

Anyone with informa tion about Jobb’s death can contact Creighton RCMP at (306) 688-8888 or contact Crime Stoppers anonym ously at 1-800-222-TIPS (1-800-222-8477).

Val Charlette, Jobb’s mother, was first informed of the death on her way back from working in Pukatawagan, about to fly back home to The Pas.

“I was at the airport and I just happened to check my messages. I saw all these messages from my daughter to call her, a lot of missed Facebook calls and video chats. I was thinking, ‘I wonder what’s going on, what she needs, because it’s kind of normal when she doesn’t get a hold of me, she’ll just send one message after the other,’” she said.

“I FaceTimed her and I asked her, ‘What’s going on, my girl? I’m ready to board my plane’ - and she was crying. She told me that the RCMP came and told her that they found Tristin at the golf course in Creighton... she told me again what hap pened and I was in a state of disbelief. I was in shock. I couldn’t believe what my daughter was telling me.”

Charlette arrived in Flin Flon later that day and was told Tristin was found de ceased. Charlette insisted on being able to personally identify whether or not the person police found was her daughter and was initially met with resistance by au

thorities, then with delays as a coroner arrived at Flin Flon General Hospital.

“A police officer kept me about 30 feet away from the entrance into the room where she was and the po lice officer was talking to me and asked me questions - like if she was suicidal or if she was drinking or things like that,” Charlette said.

Once a coroner had ar rived, Charlette was able to see the body and iden tified Tristin. She said her daughter’s head and neck were bruised and scraped up, mentioning that veins were protruding from her neck.

“I didn’t want it to be her - but it was her,” she said.

“It looked like she was beaten up.”

Both family members and police have identified Jobb - the original Saskatch ewan RCMP news release misspelt Jobb’s name as “Tristan”, incorrectly stat ed her age was 24 years old and said she was a Flin Flon resident. Charlette told The Reminder that Jobb was not living in the community and, at the time of her death, was living with her and with family in The Pas.

Charlette said Tristin was a kind and gentle soul.

“She was an amazing, amazing girl. She had her struggles but she was one of the kindest people, a very loving cousin - her cousin’s children call her ‘Auntie’ - she just loved the two little girls so much. All the messages that I’ve been

receiving from her friends are saying that she was one of the most compassionate people,” she said.

Jobb had been through a lot in the previous year. She had been living in the Nipawin area before she was severely assaulted by someone who came into her home, Charlette said, lead ing to her moving to The Pas. She was preparing to move to Sturgeon Landing to live with her father and was thinking of possibly moving to Creighton in the future. Jobb also suffered from arthritis, something that wasn’t diagnosed until the past year.

“She’s very outgoinghad a lot of friends and was a great sister. She loved her sister so much. We know they’d have their sisterly fights and stuff. Some times she’d be angry at me for things, but she was a beautiful, beautiful girl. I know she didn’t believe in herself, I guess, but she was so smart,” said Charlette.

“She was my firstborn, so I was reading to her right away, teaching her how to read and write. In kindergarten, they’d have the Grade 5s come into the classroom to read with a buddy and the Grade 5s wouldn’t know the word, so she would tell them what the words were. She was so smart.”

Following Jobb’s death, Charlette and her family held a sacred fire near where her body was found - lit on Oct. 6, the fire lasted for four

days. Her family stayed at the scene and held vigil, cre ating a small remembrance area at the rest shelter where she was found.

No arrests or suspects have been named in Jobb’s death and no charges have been filed as of Oct. 14. Autopsy results have not shown any physical trauma that could have led to Jobb’s death. Results from toxicol ogy tests have not come in.

Charlette said she needs answers for what happened to her daughter and hopes someone will come forward with information.

“I just want to know... how did she get there? That’s what I want to know. How did she get out to where she was found?” she asked.

“I am waiting for the toxicology results - I guess we’re all waiting for that. How did she get whatever into her system? If she did die from something, who gave it to her? What was it? Why didn’t anybody help her? Anybody could have. Usually when someone’s wandering around in an area like that, they call the police - did a call go in that the police responded to? That’s what I want answered.”

Charlette said she and her family had received an out pouring of support from the community, friends, family and the Mobile Crisis Re sponse Team from Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), who have been assisting Charlette and her family in the aftermath.

Charlette said her First Na tions tradition is one of the things allowing her to grieve the loss of her daughter.

“I think the reality is set ting in that she’s not coming home,” she said.

“My culture is what’s keeping me sane right now - my culture and my family and my friends and the MKO team that’s here working with me, because I could be off somewhere else in my head, but I’m here. I’m here in this moment, because of my culture and because I sat at that sacred fire for four days, grieving.”

Charlette said First Na tions belief around death is providing solace for her and her family, adding that she hopes the investigation into what happened to Tristin would give some semblance of closure.

“I have a belief that when a person leaves this world, there’s nothing we can do to stop it from happening. That’s what I help my cli ents with when I’m talking to them. I said, ‘There was nothing you can do. It was that person’s time to leave - there’s nothing we can do to stop it. We have no con trol over how they leave. They’re going to leave at that time,’” she said.

“If it’s not a person’s time, we call it a miracle. If they show up at the hospital with a bunch of knife wounds or gunshots? It wasn’t their time to leave yet. That’s what’s holding me togeth er. I just don’t know how she left.”

First Nations schools could add air purifiers in buses

BY MAGGIE MACINTOSH LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER, WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

First Nations school buses may soon be equipped with air purifiers, as education leaders consider ways to improve ventilation across the K-12 system amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Manitoba First Na tions Education Resource Centre is looking into pur chasing portable filtration systems for on-reserve yel low buses.

“We want to make sure that we’re addressing health and safety, right from the time (children) get into the school system and out,” said Charles Cochrane, executive director of the centre, which oversees the Manitoba First Nations School System.

Cochrane said parents and staff members continue to feel anxious about viral transmission both inside and outside classrooms.

Manitoba stopped enfor cing virtually all pandemic protocols, from education worker vaccine mandates to indoor classroom masking requirements, by March 15.

School buses must meet heating performance lev els, but there are no specif ic provincial guidelines for ventilation.

About 40 buses make up

the fleet used to transport pupils to and from class in the 11 communities in which the Indigenous school board oversees daily instruction.

Although the First Na tions (Bloodvein, Broken head, Dakota Plains, Dakota Tipi, Fox Lake, Keeseekoowenin, Lake Manitoba, Lake St. Martin, Pinaymootang, Roseau Riv er, and York Factory) own their respective buses, the operators are school system employees.

During a driver training session last week, a repre sentative from Delos Can ada — the local branch of an international company that develops, research es and certifies products that “enhance health and well-being in the spaces where we live, work, learn and play” — spoke about ventilation.

Cochrane invited the research company’s presi dent to discuss the Aura Air portable air purifier, a prod uct Delos Canada recently started recommending for school buses, at the event in Winnipeg.

The school board previ ously purchased air puri fiers for classrooms and other K-12 common areas through the distributor.

Public awareness around

poor air quality and its negative impacts has surged since March 2020.

Education leaders have implemented safety meas ures in school buildings, but the president of Delos Can ada said they may have for gotten about the air quality on morning and afternoon student commutes.

At the same time, Bran don Crombeen said ramped up cleaning on buses can expose students and staff to product off-gassing.

Buses typically rely on doors opening and closing, as well as windows being left open, to enhance venti lation — a challenge during Canadian winters, Crom been said, adding some ve hicles have air conditioning units with filtration built into them.

“There is not a solution that can completely take away (COVID-19 transmis sion) risk,” he said. “But… putting in place solutions that have the ability to re move those particles, not have them be stagnant in the environment, as well as circulating through an environment, is obvious ly a key step in protecting against it.”

Crombeen said the device in question has a threestage filtration system, including: a pre-filter that

captures large particles; a carbon mechanical filter that traps smaller particles and absorbs gaseous pol lutants; and a UV-C LED light that can inactivate mould, bacteria and air borne pathogens.

Alongside social dis tancing and masking, air purification is a valuable tool that should be part of a broader strategy to cre ate “the healthiest indoor space,” he said.

Divisions are responsible for purchasing buses; how ever, a provincial spokes person said Manitoba Edu

cation would work with administrators “to assess the appropriateness for installation,” if there was interest in setting-up air filtration devices.

“All school buses must have operable windows and emergency exit roof hatchets that, depend ent on weather and road conditions, can provide ventilation to assist with control interior comfort,” the spokesperson said in an email.

A single portable Aura Air device comes at a price tag of approximately $800.

Delos Canada recommends three devices be installed in a 71-passenger bus.

Cochrane estimates it would cost roughly $4,000, installation included, to outfit a conventional bus. As far as he is concerned, the safety benefits appear to outweigh the expense.

“Bus drivers are (sus ceptible) to catching COVID, just like anybody. They’re the front-liners. Who sees the kids first? Not the teachers, not the school. It’s actually the bus driv ers — first and last, on any school day,” he said.

District Clerk

Regular/Full-time; Term/Full-time

Manitoba Labour, Consumer Protection and Government Services, The Pas, MB

Advertisement Number: 39901

Closing Date: December 31, 2022

Salary Range: $43,557 - $49,968 (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).

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

Candidates who do not meet all essential criteria may be considered on an underfill basis at a commensurate rate of pay.

An eligibility list may be created for similar positions and will remain in effect until exhausted.

Introduction

The Manitoba government is seeking highly motivated District Clerks to work within the Asset Management Division of Central Services. The positions offer a comprehensive benefits package which includes remote allowance, extended health, health spending, dental, vision, long term disability, supportive employment program, maternity and parental leave, and a defined pension plan. Applicants interested in the position are encouraged to visit http://www.townofthepas.ca/ to explore more about The Pas before applying.

For a complete list of conditions of employment and qualifications please visit our website at: https://jobsearch.gov.mb.ca

Applications must describe how the applicant meets the requirements of the position to be considered further.

Duties:

Reporting to the District Finance & Administration Officer, the incumbent provides accounting functions, clerical and administration support to the District. The existing roles and responsibilities in SAP account system are Accounts Payable, Requisitioning, Timekeeping, Program Accounting, Financial Reporting and Receiving in an accurate, timely manner meeting all of the Department’s Standards and Policies.

Apply to: Advertisement No. 39901 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

People. Purpose. Progress.

Any personal information provided including employment equity declarations will be used for employment and/or statistical purposes and is protected by The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Alternate

upon request

NCN Thompson Bus adds Lynn Lake-Thompson route

NCN Thompson Bus began running shuttles for passengers and freight two times a week between Thompson and Lynn Lake in late September.

The bus leaves the Thomp son depot at 9 a.m. on Tues days and Thursday and the return leg from Lynn Lake is scheduled so that passen gers travelling south from Lynn Lake, Black Sturgeon Falls, Leaf Rapids and Nel son House can arrive in time to catch the night bus from Thompson to Winnipeg.

NCN Thompson Bus says it accepts travel and med ical warrant from residents of the communities the new route serves and that tickets can be booked via its web site at www.thompsonbus. com or by calling the bus depot.

“Since the inception of our company we have been get ting a lot of queries for pas senger runs between Thomp son, Nelson House, Leaf Rapids and Lynn Lake,” said NCN Thompson Bus chief operating officer Sid Varma. “The run has been planned in

a way by which passengers can make trips all the way to Winnipeg and back.”

Lynn Lake hasn’t had regularly scheduled bus ser vice to and from Thompson since Greyhound axed that route in 2012.

Lynn Lake Mayor Jim Shortt said the restoration of bus service was good news for the northwestern Manitoba community in a Facebook post.

“Let’s show our support and get our services to 7 days a week,” he wrote. “For now 2 days a week is a start.”

The new route adds to NCN Thompson Bus’s cur rent services, which include buses every night between Thompson and Winnipeg ands two buses per day during the week servicing Split Lake to Thompson. The company also hopes to soon revive its Thompson to Cross Lake route, which was shut down as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

NCN Thompson Bus says it has made more than 3,400 trips and hosted over

CREE NATION CHILD & FAMILY CARING AGENCY Child & Family Service Worker –Term Position Mosakahiken Cree Nation (Moose Lake)

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 child and family functioning problems

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

for all file documentation, referrals, ensuring services are

and support for children in

78,000 passengers since it began operations in Septem ber 2018, following Grey hound Canada’s decision to shut down most of its routes in the country.

“NCN Thompson Bus and team would like to thank its

clients, vendors and various charter groups for all the trust and support so far,” said Varma. “NCN Thomp son Bus will keep on work ing to provide safe, reliable and cost-effective intercity highway transportation.”

CREE NATION CHILD & FAMILY CARING AGENCY

Intake Worker

– Term Position Mosakahiken Cree Nation Moose Lake, 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 MCN Supervisor and as required under the Child and Family Services Act, the Intake Worker assesses requests for service with reference to risk of children, functioning of families and service needs of families, provides crisis intervention, initiates child protection investigations, apprehends children at risk and places them in appropriate and/or available placements, initiates referrals to other community collaterals as required, and completes written reports, file recordings, forms and correspondence.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

§ Receive & Assess Requests For Service

§ On-Site Risk Assessment

§ Determine & Implement Service

§ Documentation, Practice & Relationship Building

QUALIFICATIONS

§

QUALIFICATIONS

of

Work (BSW)

OF EMPLOYMENT

CREE NATION CHILD & FAMILY CARING AGENCY

Payroll Technician

- Permanent Position LOCATION: Finance Office OFFICE: The Pas, 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:

Reporting to the Director of Finance & Operations, the Accounting Clerk (Payroll) will provide financial support to CNCFCA by:

Maintaining in the strictest confidence, all employee records

Preparing payroll on a bi-weekly basis for all staff

Issuing all cheques pertaining to employees and payroll

of spoiled or returned cheques

Reconciliation, preparation of journal entries and adjusting entries

Issuance of T4s and ROEs

Assisting in the audit process

Provide coverage for other accounting clerks as required

Working with the Human Resources Coordinator to administer pension and benefits

Maintaining employee attendance and Leave Scheduler

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Payroll Compliance Professional or equivalent education and experience

Member of Canadian Payroll Association (preferred)

EXPERIENCE

Minimum one year responsible for full payroll cycle

Excellent oral and written communication skills

Proven ability to interpret and work within a policy framework

Knowledge of applicable legislation and standards (Federal, Provincial and child welfare)

Ability to converse fluently in Cree (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.

Varied amounts of travel required within this position.

Must have a valid Manitoba driver’s license.

Must be able to provide own vehicle for work.

Deadline: November 2, 2022 @ 4:00 PM

SUBMIT COVER LETTER & RESUME ALONG WITH THREE (3) REFERENCES MARKED “PERSONAL & CONFIDENTIAL” TO: Human Resources 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.

&

Manager

Caring Agency

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.

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

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

§ Excellent assessment, intervention and writing skills

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

§ Understanding of child development and child abuse theory and practice

§ Knowledge of available resources within the community

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

§ Ability to converse fluently in Cree (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;

§ Varied amounts of travel required within this position;

§ 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: November 2, 2022 @ 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.

Seeking Junior Information Technologist–IS1

Location: Nelson House

We are currently seeking an IT Technician to join our team. IT Technician will contribute to the overall success of each department in the organization by performing various IT functions to support each department. IT Technician will need to have strong interpersonal skills with the ability to problem-solve.

• Overseeing all operating systems and equipment

• Maintenance and the purchasing of new equipment and operating systems

• Overseeing all help desk inquiries, network issues, email syncing, internet issues, printer/scanner issues within the organization.

• Dealing with services providers for each of our sites

• Establishing and setting up workstations for new employees

• Diagnostic and system upgrades, including OS software upgrades and installs

• Assistance in implementation of new program software for success of the program

• Securities and permissions of workstations

• Work in conjunction with program coordinators to strategize new development

• Perform other duties as assigned by the manager

HOW TO BECOME AN IT TECHNICIAN?

• NCN FCWC recognizes and appreciates aboriginal culture, open-minded and willing to learn cultural customs such as language, NCN practices, etc., would be an asset.

• Ability to maintain and establish healthy and purposeful relationships with the other social service departments

• All applicants must provide a current criminal record check, child abuse check, and prior contact check.

• Post Secondary education in Computers IT or a mix of education and experience will be considered.

SALARY: $54,473 TO $55,962 STARTING ANNUALLY. Submit all Applications to: Anna Nadine Spence Director of Human Resources anspence@ncnwellness.ca Family & Community Wellness Centre Nelson House, MB R0B 1A0 Phone: 204-484-2341 Fax: 204-484-2351

Thompson Citizen photo courtesy of Town of Lynn Lake NCN Thompson Bus chief operating officer Sid Varma and Lynn Lake Mayor Jim Shortt, along with others, celebrate the launch of twice-a-week shuttle service between Thompson and Lynn Lake, which began in late September.

KEEWATIN TRIBAL COUNCIL

HOME & COMMUNITY CARE NURSES (LPN & RN)

FULL TIME & CASUAL POSITION

KTC requires nurse positions for Home & Community Care (LPN or RN). The Home Care nurse will work under the direction of the Tribal Home and Community Care Coordinator. The successful candidate(s) will be involved in direct service delivery in the KTC communities, therefore travel to the KTC communities is mandatory. This opportunity is available to those nurses who are interested in gaining additional knowledge and experience in working with First Nation communities in the north.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Must be a RN/LPN with current practice registration in Manitoba.

•

Knowledge and experience in Home and Community care in accordance with the position applying for.

• Knowledge of scope of practice issues, Case Management principles, Chronic Disease Management (Diabetes) and First Nation community wellness programs.

• Previous nursing experience with First Nations.

• A demonstrated understanding of the health and social issues experienced by First Nation’s community members.

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

• Knowledge of First Nation culture and language will be considered and asset.

• Must have a valid driver license and CPR certificate.

• Must be willing to travel extensively.

A written application with detailed resume, including two references to:

Attention: Lisa Beardy, Office Manager Keewatin Tribal Council Inc. 23 Nickel Road Thompson, Manitoba R8N 0Y4 Fax No.: 204-677-0256 Email: lbeardy@ktc.ca

Successful applicants will be required to provide proof of Covid-19 vaccination or provide proof of exemption from the Covid-19 vaccination approved by the Government of Manitoba.

Applications will be accepted until 4:00p.m., Friday October 28, 2022. We would like to thank those that apply for the position, but only those being considered for an interview will be contacted.

One missing boater found dead, search continues for a second

One person is dead and police are assisting civil ian searchers to look for another after a pair of boat ers were reported missing Oct. 15.

A 61-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman from Lynn Lake were reported overdue on Oct. 15 around

10 p.m., The pair were known to have gone fishing on Cockeram Lake, about 10 kilometres east of Lynn Lake.

A search by civilians along with Lynn Lake RCMP, Leaf Rapids RCMP and Canadian Rangers based in Lynn Lake began

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•Visitsallbusinessmembersonceayear

•Musthaveexperienceinbookkeeping&MS365app

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DEADLINEtoapply:October29,2022

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at daybreak Sunday mor ning. Aerial patrols were also conducted. The search ers found the boat the two people had been on sub merged in the lake, but the occupants were not with it.

On the evening of Oct. 16, civilian searchers found the 30-year-old woman’s

body. The RCMP under water recovery team headed to Lynn Lake to assist with the search for the missing male.

Locating the missing man is the primary focus of the investigation, but how the boat sank will also be examined.

DELIVERY PERSON / OFFICE FURNITURE INSTALLER

Position: Our Company is currently looking for an energetic and organized individual to work at our retail store in Thompson. This permanent position will primarily be responsible for customer deliveries, unloading/loading delivery truck and installation of office furniture.

Qualifications: Must have the ability to meet deadlines and be a team player. Lifting/moving light to heavy boxes is required along with a valid driver’s license (class 5).

Actual wage will be dependent on the qualifications and work experience of the successful candidate.

Applicants should submit a resume and references on or before November 4, 2022:

Attn: Human Resources Wilson’s Business Solutions Box 3005 Dryden, Ontario, P8N 2Z6

Alternatively, fax to (807) 223-3315 or email inquiry@wilson.ca

We thank all candidates for applying, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Final selection may occur prior to application deadline.

Office Supplies • Furniture • Copier and Computer Sales/Service: Dryden • Kenora • Fort Frances • Sioux Lookout Red Lake • Thunder Bay • Thompson • Flin Flon

CREE NATION CHILD & FAMILY CARING AGENCY Human Resource Generalist–Permanent Position

LOCATION: Regional Office OFFICE: The Pas, 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.

Career Opportunity – Chief Administrative Officer (CAO)

Applications are being accepted by the Town of Leaf Rapids for the position of Chief Administrative Officer.

Leaf Rapids – a wilderness at your doorstep. It is paradise for campers, canoeists and fishing enthusiasts. Summers are filled with 20-hour days, sandy beaches, crystal-clear lakes, home to pike, walleye and trout. Winter brings a landscape abundant with wildlife. Leaf Rapids is located 970 km North of Winnipeg near the majestic Churchill River.

Reporting to the appointed Administrator, the CAO is responsible for the overall management of the Town of Leaf Rapids including administration, financial and human resources.

Financial management responsibilities will include preparing and monitoring the financial plan along with the Administrator; as well as administering the entire taxation process, including the collection of overdue accounts and the tax sale process.

Ideally, the successful candidate will have graduated from or enrolled in the Certificate in Manitoba Municipal Administration (CMMA), or post-secondary education in a relevant field such as public administration, human resources, business administration, commerce, etc.

Requirements:

Minimum of three years’ experience in the municipal field at the management level

• Demonstrated ability to work with a high level of accuracy, tact and diplomacy and maintain effective working relationships with the general public, staff, other organizations and government agencies

• Excellent oral and written communication skills

• Strong accounting skills with the ability to understand and use financial information

• Effective analytical and research skills to prepare reports, documents, by-laws and correspondence

•

Able to use various computer software programs efficiently, including MS Excel, PowerPoint and Word; experience with MuniSoft is a definite asset

• Able to foster a positive, collaborative and respectful work environment.

• Supervisory skills including mentoring, coaching and discipline

• Must be bondable

The successful candidate will be required to complete a criminal record check.

Salary negotiable depending upon qualifications and experience. Posting open until filled.

Interested candidates should submit their cover letter and resume with three work-related references and salary expectations in confidence to:

Twyla Ludwig, Administrator Town of Leaf Rapids tludwig@xplornet.com (204) 937-4364

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

Our agency will strive to maintain family unity.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Human Resource Generalist assists in facilitating and providing a full range of HR services to CNCFCA and all employees in various locations. Provides support regarding all Human Resources matters to all CNCFCA.

RESPONSIBLITIES:

§ Employee Attendance

Training and Development

Benefits Administration

Compensation

Recruitment and Selection

Employee Communication EDUCATION & TRAINING

§ Human Resources Management Diploma or related equivalent education (preferred)

§ Minimum three years human resources management experience is required

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.

§ Varied amounts of travel required

§ Must have a valid Manitoba’s driver’s license

§ Must be able to provide own vehicle for work

§ Other duties related to the position may be assigned

Deadline: October 28, 2022 @ 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.

CREE NATION CHILD & FAMILY CARING AGENCY

Training Coordinator – Full Time Permanent Position

OFFICE: Regional Office

LOCATION: The Pas, 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 Human Resource Manager, the Training Coordinator will be responsible for designing, organizing, scheduling, and directing a wide range of training activities for the organization.

The Training Coordinator will collaborate with the Unit Supervisors and Coordinators to identify training needs for all employees. The overall goal of the Training Coordinator is to provide and have confident and highly trained front line workers.

Work (BSW)

(preferred)

related undergraduate degree

have a minimum of five years child welfare working directly

Manitoba

in the

providing and leading training or

and

including being comfortable presenting to large

skills is a definite asset: Microsoft (Teams, Powerpoint, Word,

Box 10130, Opaskwayak,

R0B 2J0 Fax: 204-623-3847 Email: hr@creenation.ca

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.

www.nrha.ca

WORK WITH US & GROW A CAREER

Glacier

www.glaciermedia.ca/careers

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KEEWATIN TRIBAL COUNCIL

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

DENTAL HYGIENIST – FULL TIME POSITION

Under the direction of the Director of Health, the Dental Hygienist will be responsible to implement and deliver the “Children’s Oral Health Initiative (COHI)” program, which focuses on children from ages 0 – 7 years of age. COHI is a community based initiative to prevent tooth decay and improve oral health among the 11 KTC First Nations children.

The overall goals of the COHI are: To reduce and delay dental decay among First Nation children; to reduce the need for children to undergo extensive dental treatment involving general anesthetic; to work with community partners such as Aboriginal Head Start and Maternal Child Health programs and schools to bring proven early interventions to First Nations communities, and to improve families’ understanding of their role in promoting oral health as part of a healthy lifestyle.

DUTIES (SUMMARY):

•

Ensure the collection of appropriately completed permission/ consent forms

•

Provide dental screenings and surveys to determine the oral health status and preventive treatment needs of each child

• Provide pit and fissure sealants for children

• Apply as required, fluoride varnish to children

• Painless procedures used in cavities to limit further decay

• Refer children who require urgent care

• Provide one-on-one oral hygiene instruction

• Oral health education and promotion activities

• Collect, complete and submit data in a timely fashion (ie. Dental Screening forms and Dental Services Daily Records)

• Maintain appropriate records (ie. COHI lists, referral lists, etc.)

Train and provide indirect supervision of the Dental Worker Aide

Develop, implement, coordinate, evaluate and maintain preventive and health promotion programs

Travel within our Tribal area is essential.

Others as deemed necessary

QUALIFICATIONS:

Knowledgeable of First Nations cultural practices, traditions, and customs would be an asset.

Experience working in a First Nation community would be an asset.

Must have excellent oral and written skills.

Must be computer literate and have experience working with computer programs such as Microsoft Office, Word, Excel, Access Database, and Microsoft PowerPoint.

Knowledge of Federal/Provincial Health Care Systems.

• Must be a Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH), College of Dental Hygienists of Manitoba

• Must be listed on the Registered Dental Hygienists–College of Dental Hygienists of Manitoba

• Must have a valid Manitoba Driver’s License at all times.

• Criminal Record check and Child Abuse Registry Check to be submitted.

Salary ranges between: $70,000.00 - $85,000.00 annually

A written application with a detailed resume, including at least two references with written permission to contact the references and your latest immediate supervisor, should be submitted to: Lisa Beardy, Office Manager Keewatin Tribal Council Inc. 23 Nickel Road Thompson, Manitoba, R8N 0Y4 Fax: (204) 677- 0256 Email: lbeardy@ktc.ca

Successful applicants will be required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination by providing a Government of Manitoba issued QR code and photo identification or providing proof of an exemption from the COVID-19 vaccination approved by the Government of Manitoba

Applications will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. Friday, October 28, 2022. We wish to thank those that apply for this position but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

• 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)

• Personal contact information (phone & email)

•

• Excellent computer skills

CPR and First Aide Certification;

• 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;

• Effective verbal and listening communications skills;

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

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:

KEEWATIN TRIBAL COUNCIL

Email or drop off only

JOB VACANCY

NATIONAL NATIVE ALCOHOL & DRUG ABUSE PROGRAM (NNADAP) ADVISOR FULL TIME POSITION

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 Please mark all correspondence “CONFIDENTIAL”

Under the supervision and general direction of the Keewatin Tribal Council Director of Health and in collaboration with the Keewatin Tribal Council Mental Health Team, the NNADAP Advisor will assist KTC member communities by providing advisory services in the field of alcoholism and/or addictions.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

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

1. Provide health services to the Keewatin Tribal Council member bands on matters concerning alcohol and drug abuse by:

• assessing and cataloguing community needs and services;

• identifying resources which would interact and enhance program objectives;

• ensuring that member band project objectives and agreements are adequately addressed; and

• supporting the KTC First Nations communities to reduce the incidence of alcohol and other substances

• Intervention activities provide assessments, referrals to treatment centres. (Assist KTC Community NNADAP Coordinator)

• After-care and follow up services provide support to clients returning home to their clients from treatment centres. (Assist KTC Community NNADAP Coordinator)

2. Identify and facilitate training and upgrading seminars and workshops for the member band projects by:

• assessing level of training and experiences of project staff;

• reviewing past and recent struggles that project staff have found to be difficult and as a result identifying training needs;

• documenting number of training programs available at the provincial and national levels; and

• developing community-based training and workshops where human and financial resources allow it.

3. Provide alcohol and drug preventative and counselling sessions where required by:

• being available to facilitate counselling sessions where required

• relieving and/or assisting community projects in meeting program objectives;

• facilitating counselling and referral services at the Keewatin Tribal Council Inc; and

• ensuring that research and information on alcohol and drug abuse, counselling, training associations and etc. are current

4. Active member of a KTC Crisis Response team

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Completion of post-secondary school training in a social services field and specialized training in area of chemical dependency.

• Experience in activities related to alcohol and addictions and in the development of community-based prevention and support programs.

• Good interpersonal, communication and organizational skills.

• The ability to work as a member of a team or independently.

• Knowledge of and experience in Case Management.

• Knowledge of prevention resource, FN Community resources and Treatment options.

• Previous experience in the NNADAP program an asset.

• Knowledge of the Cree/Dene cultural teachings

• Basic ccomputer skills essential.

• Must be willing to travel.

• A valid driver’s license would be an asset.

• Ability to speak Cree or Dene would be an asset.

A written application with detailed resume, including at least two references, with written permission to contact the references should be submitted to:

Lisa Beardy–Office Manager

Keewatin Tribal Council Inc.

23 Nickel Road

Email: Lbeardy@ktc.ca Fax No.: 204-677-0256

Successful applicants will be required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination by providing a Government of Manitoba issued QR code and photo identification or providing proof of an exemption from the COVID-19 vaccination approved by the Government of Manitoba.

Applications will be accepted until 4:00pm Friday, October 28, 2022.

We would like to thank those that apply for the position, but only those being considered for an interview will be contacted.

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

CAREER OPPORTUNITY

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

Scheduler

Part-Time (0.6 FTE) Position Available

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

Flin Flon, The Pas, or Thompson, Manitoba

Email or drop off only

The Scheduler works closely with Managers to ensure day-to-day staffing requirements within the facility are met.

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

Performs all other scheduling functions, which include generating/posting schedules, identifying needs through the needs process, and processing any necessary reports, all while ensuring compliance with all collective/ employment agreements.

Deadline to Apply: Open until filled.

Qualifications:

• Grade 12 education or equivalent

Only successful applications will be contacted for further interview.

• Completion of post-secondary education in office administration through a business school or college (other combinations of education and experience may be considered)

• Two (2) years’ experience in human resources and/or staff scheduling functions

• Thorough knowledge of Windows based programs (Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook) and Internet

• Previous payroll experience an asset

• Previous experience in QHR Scheduling an asset

• Experience operating within the confines of union collective agree ment

• Comprehensive knowledge of office methods and procedures and of fice equipment

Northern RHA strives to have a diverse workforce in an inclusive and acces sible workplace, which provides opportunity for reasonable accommoda tion.

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 October 26, 2022: 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

KEEWATIN TRIBAL COUNCIL

FULL TIME EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY TRAUMA INFORMED CULTURAL SUPPORT WORKER (TICSW)

Keewatin Tribal Council Health Department is currently seeking a Trauma Informed Cultural Support Worker to provide direct support services to Indian Residential Schools Survivors, (IRSS) IDSS, 60’s Scoop Survivors, MMIW&G Survivors, families, and those impacted inter-generationally by Residential Schools in Canada.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Liaise/network with the 11 Northern KTC affiliated communities and other stakeholders in raising awareness about the Indian Residential Schools, Truth and Reconciliation and Commemoration events;

• Conduct information sessions, presentations and workshop on the History of Residential Schools,

• Develop wellness plans with the clientele provide for these needs and refer as necessary to the appropriate resources as well as existing community services and supports;

• Prepare monthly activity reports and participate in developing a yearly IRS workplan

• Provide crisis response supports as requested by the 11 KTC communities

• Facilitate trauma informed and grief recovery workshops

• Provide land based hands on cultural and traditional healing/ activities

Qualifications:

• Trauma Informed or equivalent education and experience;

• Knowledge & sensitivity of each community’s cultural practices;

• Knowledge of all Settlement Agreements which include Indian Residential Schools, Day Schools 60’s Scoop, MMIWG

• Knowledge of the IRS, IDS, 60’s Scoop, MMIW&G Survivors and intergenerational impacts;

• Must have computer skills; Microsoft Office, Word, PP, Excel

• Must have Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Ability to speak Cree or Dene would be an asset

• Must have strong organizational skills, time management, ability to work independently, self-motivated and be a strong team player;

• Be knowledgeable of the 11 Keewatin Tribal Council (KTC) geographical communities and be respectful of their customs and traditions

•

Possess valid driver’s licence, own or have access to vehicle;

• Willingness and ability to travel extensively;

• Willingness and ability to work after hours and/or weekends when required.

Position will be subject to a Child Abuse Registry Check & Criminal record Check

Closing Date: Monday October 31, 2022 at 4:00PM

Late applications will not be accepted

Please Forward Resumes to the Attention of: Lisa Beardy, Office Manager 23 Nickel Road Thompson, Manitoba R8N OY4

Email: lbeardy@ktc.ca Fax: 204 677-0256

Successful applicants will be required to provide proof of Covid-19 vaccination or provide proof of exemption from the Covid-19 vaccination approved by the Government of Manitoba.

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