September 2 2022 by Thompson Citizen

Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation’s first female chief says that before she was elected by the First Na tion’s members Aug. 24-25, she had her doubts about whether there were enough people who believed that a woman could be the best choice for her to earn a victory.“There are still some people who have attitudes that women are not the best choice to lead,” said Angela Levasseur in a phone inter view with the Thompson Citizen Aug. 29. Just as clearly, there are many people who do not subscribe to that idea. “That myth was de bunked by the people of Nisichawayasihk Cree Na tion because they did vote me in as their first female chief,” she Levasseursaid.received 496 votes, beating out Felix Walker, a former NCN councillor who has also worked in many admin istrative roles for the first Nation, by 65 votes. Former NCN chief Jerry Primrose received 358 votes and Wil liam Elvis Thomas, who has run for chief a number of times, got Outgoing325.chief Mar cel Moody was not up for re-election, but was a candidate for council and got the most votes in that race, making him Levas seur’s deputy chief for the upcoming term. Incum bent councillors Jeremiah Spence, Cheryl Moore and Ron D. Spence were also re-elected. They are joined on the next council by Kim Linklater and Shirley Linklater. Shirley Linklater has served on council be fore while Kim Linklater is a first-time councillor. More than 1,600 NCN cit izens voted in the election, including 1,149 on Nelson House, 252 in Thompson, 36 in Leaf Rapids and 190 in Winnipeg. There were also six mail-in ballots. The chief-elect, who will be sworn in along with the incoming council on Sept. 6, says it was a long night watching from the upper level of the community’s arena while votes were be ing counted down below. “It was a pretty close race,” she said, noting that it was nearly 5 a.m. before she left, finally feeling reasonably certain that she would be the winner. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up or just assume that I would win because, at one point, we were waiting for polls to come in from Win nipeg and Thompson. That could have made things go eitherLevasseurway.” has long had an interest in politics and wanting to serve her people, though she didn’t anticipate that it would be as an elect ed“Myofficial.ultimate goal was to become one of the lawyers for the nation,” says the recent graduate f Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, frompowerfulforpathOthersMinnesota.sawadifferentforher.“Iwasasked[torunchief]bycommunityelders,andthemajorityoftheelderswerefemale,”Levasseursays.“Iwasraisedtohonourmyeldersandtorespectthemandtolistentothem.AndtheywereprettyadamantthatIwasgoingtorunforchief.TheywereprettyfirmandprettyinsistentthatIrun,soIagreed.”PoliticsisinLevasseur’sblood.Hergreat-grandfatherAngusBonnerwasanNCNchiefandsheherselfranforpositionswiththeUniversityofManitobaStudentsUnionwhenshewasenrolledthereandwasalsovice-presidentoftheNativeAmericanLawStudentsAssociationwhileattendinglawschool.Evenmoreimportantly,hermotherservedformanyyearsasthepresidentoftheAboriginalWomenofManitobainthe1980sand1990andLevasseurremembersattendingconferencesoftheNativeWomen’sAssociationofCanadaandmeetingsoftheAboriginalWomenofManitobawithher.“Igottohearsomewomenspeakalltypesofnationsanditwasreallyinspiringtome,”shesays.“Itwasadifferentsortofeducation,togettohearverypowerfulwomenspeak,grassrootstypesofleader.”

“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,

BY IAN GRAHAM

Fax: Nickel Belt News

Serving the Norman Region since 1961

Volume 58 Number 11 Friday, March 16, 2018 Thompson, Manitoba

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. “I miss the shoreline, I miss the rock, I miss the polar bears even though they’re very dangerous and I really miss the Hudson Bay,” she says. “When I go back home, standing on the Hudson Bay looking out on the bay, it just gives you an incredible sense. You feel so small and you feel great.” Now that she’s got one book under her belt, deMeulles says she may try to produce another. “I 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.”

Volume 62 • Issue 33

Now the soon-to-be NCN chief, who has three daugh ters and a granddaughter, is in the position to serve as that type of role model for upcoming generations. “I received a message from one woman who was congratulating me and she told me that as an Indigen ous female she stands taller now because of this accom plishment, because I was elected as chief,” Levas seur says. “History in the making is a phrase that I keep hearing over and over again, but it is truly a histor ic moment. We are breaking through barriers that have historically kept women out of the Havingleadership.”afemale chief many be a first for NCN in recent times, but over the longer term, it is actually a return to tradition. “Prior to European con tact and prior to coloniza the Cree nation was matriarchal and matrilin eal,” Levasseur points put. “We’re coming to a point in history where wrongs are being righted and the matriarchal society is restored.”Onceshe takes over the chief’s role, there are a number of priorities Le vasseur wants to address, including self-sufficiency and housing.

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“I’m very excited to work with my colleagues,” she said.

NCN’s first female chief originally planned to serve her people as a lawyer

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“I would like to see our people be empowered,” she said. “I want to move away from dependency on Indigenous Services Can ada, dependency on social assistance, dependency on the government in any way, shape or form.” To do that, the chiefelect, who spent 21 years working as a teacher, says there needs to be a focus on education.“Iwantour people to be come educated, to get train ing. I want them to achieve all of their career goals and go to college, go to univer sity, go to trade school.” Levasseur believes NCN can leverage some of the training its members are already receiving to help it tackle the housing issue. “We are creating a lot of carpenters in NCN who have the skills to build quality housing and what we need to do as a nation is to make the investment in materials that are not go ing to have houses falling apart,” she Residentssaid.ofthe homes have a role to play as well. “I want to see our leader ship encourage people to take responsibility for their home, to take more responsibility for the re pairs and maintenance of their home,” she says. “I also want people to know how to do basic home main tenance, to be able to do re pairs. Housing and poverty are the very factors that keep First Nations people in the position where they are constantly struggling and finding themselves to be dependent on the govern ment and I want to reverse theAlthoughtrend.” much has changed for her this sum mer, from graduating law school to being elected as NCN’s next chief, Le vasseur says she’s taking everything in stride and having faith that the Creator will help guide her along the right path.

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.

‘Oh, I’m just as bad, right?’ I have all these stories and I need to capture them for my grandchildren really because they will be lost if I don’t.”Shealso has a reputation as a storyteller herself. “I had such a varied history and I would tell people stories and they would go, ‘That’s not true, is it?’ I’d go, ‘Yeah it’s true.’ They’d go, ‘You didn’t do all that, did you? You’ve got to be really old.’ I was like, ‘No, actually I did all that before I was 27,’ and they went ‘What?’” Looking back, some of those experiences are things she might not do again. “I did some pretty bizarre stuff like fuel hauls into the high Arctic at -35,” said deMeulles. “It didn’t dawn on me until after. That was a very dangerous thing to do. Being on a plane full of fuel was not a very safe thing to do but I jumped at it. I thought that was exciting until the plane landed and they started throwing the fuel off and I realized, ‘Holy cats, I was probably sitting on a Anotherbomb.’” thing that spurred her on was the hard times facing Churchill since the Hudson Bay Railway suspended operations north of Gillam last spring. “It used to be a really thriving large community and it’s just dwindled down to such a small population now,” deMeulles says. Though she’s not there any longer, her parents and her sister and other family members still are. “My cousin owns the hardware store there,” she says.Because of that, deMeulles ﬁnds it hard to swallow when people say that Churchill residents should just ﬁnd somewhere easier to live. “To say, ‘Those people choose to live there. They should just leave,’ is quite simplistic. It’s quite disrespectful. If we were in the same boat in another area I think we would scream about that so why don’t they have the option to do that? 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?’”

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.“In my youth I never felt good at writing,” she said. “But when I moved to Thompson to get into the school of social work, at that point I had to write for university and realized, ‘Holy, I’m not bad at this, right?’ I certainly developed a lot of skill in university and came out of there with a very strong skill in my writing and conﬁdence in my writing. I write very clear and that’s it. It’s there. Some people say it’s kind of blunt or direct. I don’t tend to write things that you have to ﬁgure out. It’s pretty clear when I get DeMeullesthrough.”saidshe wrote her book, titled Whispers in the Wind: Stories from the North - Life in Churchill for a couple of reasons.

Friday, September 2, 2022 to the Nickel Belt since 1960 BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

We look forward to serving you. Book online at speedyglass.ca or try our free app on your iPhone -A Kelsey Bay Thompson, MB R N S Ph:

Thompson Citizen photo courtesy of Angela Levasseur Angela Levasseur, who recently graduated from Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, was elected as Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation’s first female chief by a 65-vote margin Aug. 24-25.

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

EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

This summer’s sudden closure of inpatient beds at the Lynn Lake Hospital has disrupted the lives of eight or nine families in the town who had friends and family there. One of the patients transferred to Flin Flon General Hospital at the end of July died within a few weeks of being transferred. Another, Alice Salter, who has Alzheimer’s, got separated from her hus band of 61 years, Fred, who’s been apart from her before but only because of work.Alice has been hospit alized for about a yearand-a-half, Fred told the Thompson Citizen Aug. 24, and during that time he visited her every day unless he was out of town. He hasn’t been able to see her since she was moved, though he has plans to go to Flin Flon next week, driving eight hours just to see his Beingwife.apart from Alice is like missing a part of himself, Fred says. “How would you feel if your right arm was chopped off today?” he asks.And although he’s still capable of making the daylong drive to Flin Flon, Fred wonders about what people who can’t drive or don’t have a car will do, as well as the effects of the weather, which is not going to be getting better as the weeks march for ward from the height of summer through fall and into“Rightwinter.now, the road is pretty good,” he said, but a stretch of rainy days can turn the unpaved sections between Lynn Lake and Thompson into muddy, potholedResidentshazards.ofLynn Lake for more than 34 years, Alice and Fred, who is retired, had plans to live out the rest of their lives in their adopted hometown. “People are super-friend ly and that’s where our friends are,” he says, ex plaining that decision. “To go anywhere else, we have to make all new friends and we don’t know how many years we have left.” But that choice might have been different if they had known the sort of medical care they might need wouldn’t be available without leaving town. “It’s a costly, costly ex perience, both financially and socially,” says Fred, who only learned that Alice would be moved a few days before the trans fer took place and says the change can’t be easy for her either, suddenly be ing in different surround ings with different people around her.

“My daughter phoned me at six o’clock in the morning a couple of days before she was moved. I was in Winnipeg.” Fred would like to hear more from the province about their plans to rect ify the situation Lynn Lake residents are facing. “The government has not made any big an nouncements saying that they’re going to put more money into health care,” he said. “The finger’s got to be pointing at the gov ernment right now. This is the second time they re duced nurses in a relatively short period of time.”

Thompson Citizen file photo Residents of Lynn Lake with friends and family who were inpatients at the community’s hospital have had their lives disrupted since those patients were moved to Flin Flon as a result of ongoing staffing shortages.

The family benefit will cost about $63 million in total and cover about 282,000 children in the province. The seniors benefit will cost about $16Chequesmillion. will be mailed out starting in late Septem ber. Eligible recipients who have moved from the address they were living at when they filed their 2021 tax returns will be able to update their addresses through a govern ment web portal. The cheques are advance payment of a refundable tax credit and will not be taxed or impact eligibility for other tax credits, the province said.

Some families with children, low-income seniors getting cheques from the province in September

Premier Heather Stefan son announced Aug. 31 that families with children and a household income of less than $175,000 in 2021 will receive $250 for their first child and $200 for each additional child, while seniors with household in comes of less than $40,000 who claimed the education property tax credit on their 2021 income tax return will get $300 each. “We know that many Manitobans are hurting right now and having a hard time making ends meet,” said Stefanson. “Not only are we recovering from the pan demic, but we are also facing the burden of the new federal carbon tax along with soaring utility bills and rising prices on everything from gasoline to groceries. Manitobans need help right now and we’re taking action.”

Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson

BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

Page 2 • News www.thompsoncitizen.net Friday, September 2, 2022

Manitoba NDP leader Wab Kinew responded to the an nouncement by saying that the Progressive Conservative government is offering only one-time relief for ongoing affordability concerns. “Families have been deal ing with a cost of living crisis all summer. Now, just like Brian Pallister, Premier Stefanson is trying to buy Manitobans’ support—with Manitobans’ own money,” he said in an emailed statement. “That’s after raising Hydro rates by hundreds of dollars. At the same time, families can’t get the surgeries they need and are waiting long er than ever at emergency rooms. Manitobans are look ing for long-term help with the rising cost of living that will help them through the fall and Monthlywinter.”Employment and Income Assistance rates will also rise starting in Novem ber. General assistance clients without dependent children will receive $50 more per adult each month while EIA disability recipients will get an additional $25 per house hold each month. The total cost of these increases will be about $6.6 million. A $1.775 million Food Security Fund is also being established as a temporary grant for community organ izations across the province who provide food to Mani tobans in need. The fund will open for applications for two weeks starting Sept. 7. Stefanson said other initia tives to help people afford ne cessities of life were also in cluded in this year’s budget, such as MPI rebate cheques to vehicle owners, the intro duction of a new residential renters tax credit, the phas ing out of education property taxes and expansion of the child-care subsidy program. “This phase of the Family Affordability Package is our way of standing with Manitobans by providing immediate benefits and help for those who need it most,” said the premier. “But there is more help on the way as we work to provide benefits to Manitobans, not just with one cheque, but with ongoing benefits.”

The Manitoba govern ment is giving 145,000 fam ilies with children and about 52,000 seniors $79 million in September to help them cope with the rising cost of living.

Inpatient bed closure in Lynn Lake separates couple who’ve been married for 61 years

Anthony McInnis, City Manager August 26, 2022

THOMPSONOFCITY

CITY OF THOMPSON 226 Mystery Lake Road Thompson, MB R8N 1S6 Phone: 204-677-7910 communications@thompson.ca (204) 677-7911 (204) 677-6911 COMMUNITY SAFETY OFFICERS (204) 677-7916 HOSPITAL (204) 677-2381 RoadLakeMystery226 1S6R8NMBThompson, 204-677-7910Phone: communications@thompson.ca 677-7911(204) R.C.M.P.................................................. 677-6911(204) 677-7916(204) 677-2381(204)

Pursuant to Section 41 of the Municipal Assessment Act, NOTICE is hereby given that the 2023 Assessment Rolls for.the.City.of.Thompson.will.be.open. for.inspection. starting on September 6, 2022 at City Hall, 226 Mystery Lake Road, Thompson, Manitoba during normal office will.sit.The.public.is.also.advised.that.the.Board.of.Revision.hours.Monday.to.Friday.8:30.a.m..to.4:30.p.m.to.hear.applications.for.revision.on: DATE: October 6, 2022 TIME: 5:00 pm .City.Hall.2nd.Floor,PLACE:.Council.Chambers, 226 Mystery Lake Road Thompson, Manitoba A.person in whose name property has been assessed,.a. mortgagee in possession of property under subsection 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 .b)..a).Be.in.writing;An.application.subsection.13.(2).anvalue;respectapplication.for.the.revision.of.an.assessment.roll.with.toa)liabilitytotaxation;b)amountofassessedc)classificationofproperty;ord)refusalbyassessortoamendtheassessmentrollunderfor.revision.must:Set.out.the.roll.number.and.legal.description.oftheassessablepropertyforwhich.a.revisionis.sought;c)Setoutwhichofthemattersreferredtoinsubsection42(1)areatissue,andthegroundsfor.each.of.those.matters;d)Befiledbydeliveringitorcausingittobedelivered.to.the.office.above.or.by.serving.it.uponthesecretary,atleast15daysbeforethe.scheduled.sitting.date.of.the.board.(BySeptember.20,.2022).

CITY OF THOMPSON AUTOMATED COLLECTION • 1 Westwood • 2 Burntwood • 3 Riverside/Deerwood • 4 Eastwood • 5 Juniper/Southwood/BTC The

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Thompson Citizen file image Thompson city council approved a contribution agreement with the federal and provincial governments for $11 million toward a new aquatic centre at their Aug. 22 meeting. automated carts must be placed along your curb no later than 8 am on the day of scheduled pickup AT LEAST one metre apart from other cart/objects. No Parking on residential streets between the hours of 8 am and 4:30 pm during Garbage/Recycle days for that area. Example: if it is Westwood’s Garbage/Recycle day there is to be no parking on the residential streets in the Westwood Area. This is to aid in the safety for both the residents of Thompson as well as City crews. Vehicles found parked on the streets will be ticketed.

BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET Thompson city council unanimously approved a resolution at their Aug. 22 meeting to enter into a con tribution agreement with the federal and provincial governments regarding infrastructure funding for a new aquatic centre. Approving the agreement gives the city access to $11 million — $5 million from the provincial government and $6 millions from the feds — for construction of a new pool to replace the Norplex Pool, which was effectively condemned by the city in February 2019 as a result of safety concerns. The agreement requires the city to contribute at least $4 million toward a new pool, though the ac tual cost of the pool is ex pected to be well above the $15 million covered in the three-way agreement, as much as $24 million or per haps even more, based on the current design specifi cations. The final cost cost estimate won’t be known until the project is put out for tender, said city man ager Anthony McInnis. “The true price comes when it goes to tender, when you’ll see what the market is willing to build,” heThesaid.plan is to construct the new aquatic centre, which will have a one sixlane pool and another with a beach entry shallow end and splash pad, as well as a sauna and a small space for meetings and gatherings, in what is currently the field to the east of the Thomp son Regional Community centre.Coun. Duncan Wong asked if there was any financial risk to the city in signing the agreement if next term’s mayor and council decide not to go forward with the project but McInnis said the city would just have to return any of the funding it had already received if that were the case. With the Norplex Pool now having been shut down for three-and-a-half years, Coun. Braden Mc Murdo said people want a replacement as soon as possible.“Everybody who’s spoken to me says get that pool built,” he said. Given that the 2022 con struction season is already mostly over, it appears that construction of a new pool, which is expected to take about 18 months to com plete, may not begin until next year. “We need to definitely get this money locked in so that it is definitely available to us down the line,” said Mayor Colleen Smook. Though it has taken longer than council may have anticipated to line up the bulk of the funding — Vale Manitoba Operations has also committed $2 million to the project — Coun. Jeff Fountain said he hopes a cost estimate based on the engineering design, which the city says is “99 per cent complete” will be available prior to the municipal election. “I feel like this election will be the best opportunity to have that discussion and people can campaign on it at that time,” said Fountain, noting that this might be his last chance to comment publicly on the proposed new aquatic centre as he is not planning to seek re-election. “I wish you all luck as you continue to fight on Thompson’s behalf for an aquatic centre.”

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Friday, September 2, 2022 www.thompsoncitizen.net News • Page 3

Contribution agreement to access $11 million for new aquatic centre approved by council

Editor School board opts for status quo, which way will city council go?

LynnPublisherTaylor Ryan ProductionLyndsManagerIanEditorGraham KyleReporterDarbyson AshleyAdvertisingRust-McIvorAmyProductionCaldwell

To the Editor: Tuberculosis (TB) is a highly contagious disease, caused by bacteria. Each year, TB claims the lives of 1.7 million people worldwide. TB is not only a problem in Third World countries, but also here in Canada, with a higher prevalence in the north. Due to the lack of vaccination, disease prevention is most important. Additionally, some TB bacteria have changed over the years, giving rise to forms of multi-drug resistant TB, which means treatment is lengthy, complicated and accompanied by severe sideDideffects.youknow that one in four people in this world have TB? March 24 is World TB day, raising awareness and providing an opportunity to mobilize funds towards TB elimination. I am glad to see Canada as a top donor to the global fund to fight tuberculosis. I hope that this commitment continues in the future so that we can meet our goal to stop TB. B oth of Thompson’s local elected bodies have considered proposals to reduce the number of representatives comprising them and one of them made a choice March 13 not to shrink its numbers, as school board trustees voted 6-1 against a resolution by trustee Ryan Land (the only vote in support) to reduce the number of trustees from seven to five.One night earlier, slightly more than a half-dozen Thompsonites showed up to voice their opinion on a proposed bylaw that would see council shrink from eight councillors to six, not including the mayor. Only one of that handful of people with an opinion – former councillor Luke Robinson, who served one term on council from 2010 to 2014 before being defeated by Mayor Dennis Fenske in the race to become head of council last time that Thompsonites went to the polls about three-and-half years ago – was in favour of reducing the numbers, with the other seven opposed. Although council hasn’t yet voted on second reading of that bylaw, the next stage towards it becoming official, there’s at least a better than even chance that it will be approved. As watchers of council will have noticed, the proposals that make it to the council floor have a tendency to be approved by at least two-thirds of its members and, given that many of the people opposed to the plan are the regular critics of council who attend meetings and ask their elected officials questions week after week, their opinions may not be enough to dissuade the majority from forging ahead, especially since the number of people who care about this one way or another doesn’t even reach doubleWhetherdigits.or not the number of councillors or school board trustees should be reduced is not the sort of question for which there is a right or wrong answer. On the pro side of keeping the current numbers, the option that all but one of the school board members opted for, is the argument that it spreads the workload around and allows for greater diversity of viewpoints, though Ryan Land was mostly correct in saying that, in terms of class and ethnicity, the trustees aren’t really a microcosm of the School District of Mystery Lake’s population as a whole. If you’ve been to many school board meetings (and apart from members of the media, well, you haven’t), you would know that they don’t often feature nearly as much debate or division as city council meetings, at least not over the past couple of years. But they’ve made their decision and it appears there will be seven school board trustees at least untilOne2022.ofthe arguments for reducing members, whether they belong to the school board or council, is that it will save money. The amount is not large overall – about $20,000 in councillors’ salaries per year plus approximately half that amount, on average, for annual travel and expenses. For the city, which has a budget of around $30 million, that represents probably less than a drop in the proverbial bucket, though it is about a fifth of the overall cost of the mayor and council.Critics of the proposed reduction say that it will prevent “new blood” from being elected and, theoretically, reduce the diversity of opinions, but that would only be true if the citizens of Thompson elected more are?manyitIfvocallessthinkmajorityis–oftenenceofpressionshouldmanyopinionsoutandisofrightparticularthemselvesmarriedcandidatesindependent-thinkingtrulywhoaren’ttoaligningwithanyside,becausenow,thenumberopinionsoncouncilgenerallytwo–foragainst.Maybethelowturn-ofpeoplewithonhowcouncillorstherebeisn’tanex-ofapathybutpragmatism.Experi-hasshownquitethatthiscouncilandothersbeforeit–goingtodowhattheofitsmembersisright,regard-ofwhatthemosttaxpayersthink.thatisthecase,doesreallymatterhowofthemthere

www.thompsoncitizen.net Page 4

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Council makes moves on long-term projects late in their term

Letter

The Thompson Citizen will not be responsible for manu scripts, photographs, negatives and other related material that may be submitted for possible publication.

Thompson Citizen 141 Commercial Place, Box 887 Thompson, MB R8N 1T1 Phone 204-677-4534 Fax generalmanager@thompsoncitizen.net204-677-3681

Page 4 • Opinion www.thompsoncitizen.net Friday, September 2, 2022

Keep fi against tuberculosis

Page 4

Opinion

YOUR

representa-Thomp-localbodiespro-thethemmadenotnumbers,trust-againsttrusteeonlyre-ofseventoearlier,thanaThompson-voicepro-wouldfromtotheofpeoplefor- mer councillor Luke Robinson, who served one term on council from 2010 to 2014 before being defeated by Mayor Dennis Fenske in the race to become head of council last time that Thompsonites went to the polls about three-and-half years ago – was in favour of reducing the numbers, with the other seven opposed. Although council hasn’t yet voted on second reading of that bylaw, the next stage towards it becoming official, there’s at least a better than even chance that it will be approved. As watchers of council will have noticed, the proposals that make it to the council floor have a tendency to be approved by at least two-thirds of its members and, given that many of the people opposed to the plan are the regular critics of council who attend meetings and ask their elected officials questions week after week, their opinions may not be enough to dissuade the majority from forging ahead, especially since the number of people who care about this one way or another doesn’t even reach doubleWhetherdigits.or not the number of councillors or school board trustees should be reduced is not the sort of question for which there is a right or wrong answer. On the pro side of keeping the current numbers, the option that all but one of the school board members opted for, is the argument that it spreads the workload around and allows for greater diversity of viewpoints, though Ryan Land was mostly correct in saying that, in terms of class and ethnicity, the trustees aren’t really a microcosm of the School District of Mystery Lake’s population as a whole. If you’ve been to many school board meetings (and apart from members of the media, well, you haven’t), you would know that they don’t often feature nearly as much debate or division as city council meetings, at least not over the past couple of years. But they’ve made their decision and it appears there will be seven school board trustees at least untilOne2022.ofthe arguments for reducing members, whether they belong to the school board or council, is that it will save money. The amount is not large overall – about $20,000 in councillors’ salaries per year plus approximately half that amount, on average, for annual travel and expenses. For the city, which has a budget of around $30 million, that represents probably less than a drop in the proverbial bucket, though it is about a fifth of the overall cost of the mayor and council.Critics of the proposed reduction say that it will prevent “new blood” from being elected and, theoretically, reduce the diversity of opinions, but that would only be true if

CITIZEN NEWS TEAM

Letter to the Editor

Opinion

2018 www.thompsoncitizen.net

LynnPublisherTaylor Ryan ProductionLyndsManagerIanEditorGraham KyleReporterDarbyson AshleyAdvertisingRust-McIvorAmyProductionCaldwell

Opinion

I had been north of Winnipeg for 47 years when my friend Rodney persuaded me to take a mind break in his hometown. A day’s journey later, I think the attraction is as strong as gravity. I’m hooked.

Thompson Citizen 141 Commercial Place, Box 887 Thompson, Manitoba R8N 1T1 Phone: 677-4534 • Fax 677-3681

Ryan ProductionLyndsManagerIanEditorGraham KyleReporterDarbyson AshleyAdvertisingRust-McIvorAmyProductionCaldwell

OPINION

Keep fi against tuberculosis

EDITORIAL

Your Thompson Citizen News Team

Keeptuberculosisfighting is a highly contagious disease, Each year, TB claims the lives people worldwide. TB is not only a World countries, but also here in higher prevalence in the north. vaccination, disease prevention Additionally, some TB bacteria the years, giving rise to forms resistant TB, which means treatment complicated and accompanied by severe one in four people in this world is World TB day, raising awarean opportunity to mobilize funds elimination. I am glad to see Canada as global fund to fight tuberculosis. commitment continues in the future our goal to stop TB. Karolin KlementCalgary

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to the Editor Editorial

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THOMPSON

e-mail: generalmanager@thompsoncitizen.net

T hompson city council moved two projects forward by passing a pair of resolutions at their Aug. 22 meeting, though those votes will not bear fruit until the next term. With municipal elections in Manitoba coming up on Oct. 26, there is little time for the current mayor and current councillors to achieve any goals they haven’t already. When they first took office a little lees than four years ago (not counting Coun, Andre Proulx, who was elected in a 2019 byelection after tying with Chiew Chong for the eighth-most votes in the 2018 general election), councillors probably didn’t im agine that one of the defining features of their term would be making Thompson into a pool-less city and then trying to get it back on the path to having a pool once again. They didn’t know there was go ing to be a pandemic, either, but that’s the nature of governing. You have to play the hand you’re dealt, not the one you expected you might be when you were on the cam paign trail. By the time there is finally a new pool in Thompson, assuming the next mayor and councillors don’t de cide to completely change direction and turn down $11 million from higher levels of government, it will be 2024 at the ear liest, more than five years since the old one was shut down for safety reasons in February 2019. An entire kindergarten class will have grown up in a city where there was nowhere to learn to swim, a rite of passage in many people’s childhoods and a very useful sur vival skill in a region where lakes and rivers are plentiful. Passing a resolution to approve a contribution agree ment with the provin cial and federal gov ernments on Aug. 22 didn’t reveal any new information. The city and everybody else knew that there was $11 million waiting to be claimed, but it does move the city closer to being able to tender the project and find out exactly how much it’s going to cost. (Hint: it will be significantly more than the $13 million the city has from the infrastructure program and Vale Manitoba Operations right now, and still significantly more than what it will have once it puts in the minimum of $4 mil lion that it is required to by the terms of the infrastructure grant.) Unfortunately, Mayor Colleen Smook’s pray ers that the first stages of construction would begin by this August, a hope she expressed back when the funding was announced in the spring, have not been answered.Similarly long has been the process of creating something useful at 128 Hem lock Crescent, which has sat vacant and un used for well over a decade. Some of the current council mem bers were early in their political careers when they first voted on a variance to allow less than the required amount of parking at that location in 2016, when Manitoba Hous ing wanted to develop low-income housing on the property. Un fortunately, after the Progressive Conserv atives were elected as Manitoba’s govern ment that spring, the project was shelved. Now it is Ma-MowWe-Tak Friendship Centre as the lead proponent, and that’s a good thing, as they are a local organization with more of a stake in ensuring the resi dential development is a success than Mani toba Housing. Hope fully, any members of council who are still around six years from now won’t have to vote on the same pro posal again. Thomp son needs affordable housing now, just like it needed it back in 2016. In fact, it prob ably needs it more, since the years that passed between then and now then saw one of the Princeton Towers buildings shut down and boarded up for safety reasons. It’s likely that Thompson will have a new pool before that building reopens to tenants.

Angus CampbellThompsonSr.

School board opts for status quo, which way will city council go?

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Your Thompson Citizen News Team

Editorial

Wednesday, March 21, 2018 www.thompsoncitizen.net 4

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

B oth of Thompson’s local elected bodies have considered proposals to reduce the number of representatives comprising them and one of them made a choice March 13 not to shrink its numbers, as school board trustees voted 6-1 against a resolution by trustee Ryan Land (the only vote in support) to reduce the number of trustees from seven to five.One night earlier, slightly more than a half-dozen Thompsonites showed up to voice their opinion on a proposed bylaw that would see council shrink from eight councillors to six, not including the mayor. Only one of that handful of people with an opinion – former councillor Luke Robinson, who served one term on council from 2010 to 2014 before being defeated by Mayor Dennis Fenske in the race to become head of council last time that Thompsonites went to the polls about three-and-half years ago – was in favour of reducing the numbers, with the other seven opposed. Although council hasn’t yet voted on second reading of that bylaw, the next stage towards it becoming official, there’s at least a better than even chance that it will be approved. As watchers of council will have noticed, the proposals that make it to the council floor have a tendency to be approved by at least two-thirds of its members and, given that many of the people opposed to the plan are the regular critics of council who attend meetings and ask their elected officials questions week after week, their opinions may not be enough to dissuade the majority from forging ahead, especially since the number of people who care about this one way or another doesn’t even reach doubleWhetherdigits.or not the number of councillors or school board trustees should be reduced is not the sort of question for which there is a right or wrong answer. On the pro side of keeping the current numbers, the option that all but one of the school board members opted for, is the argument that it spreads the workload around and allows for greater diversity of viewpoints, though Ryan Land was mostly correct in saying that, in terms of class and ethnicity, the trustees aren’t really a microcosm of the School District of Mystery Lake’s population as a whole. If you’ve been to many school board meetings (and apart from members of the media, well, you haven’t), you would know that they don’t often feature nearly as much debate or division as city council meetings, at least not over the past couple of years. But they’ve made their decision and it appears there will be seven school board trustees at least untilOne2022.ofthe arguments for reducing members, whether they belong to the school board or council, is that it will save money. The amount is not large overall – about $20,000 in councillors’ salaries per year plus approximately half that amount, on average, for annual travel and expenses. For the city, which has a budget of around $30 million, that represents probably less than a drop in the proverbial bucket, though it is about a fifth of the overall cost of the mayor and council.Critics of the proposed reduction say that it will prevent “new blood” from being elected and, theoretically, reduce the diversity of opinions, but that would only be true if the citizens of Thompson elected more are?manyitIfvocallessthinkmajorityis–oftenenceofpressionshouldmanyopinionsoutandisofrightparticularthemselvesmarriedcandidatesindependent-thinkingtrulywhoaren’ttoaligningwithanyside,becausenow,thenumberopinionsoncouncilgenerallytwo–foragainst.Maybethelowturn-ofpeoplewithonhowcouncillorstherebeisn’tanex-ofapathybutpragmatism.Experi-hasshownquitethatthiscouncilandothersbeforeit–goingtodowhattheofitsmembersisright,regard-ofwhatthemosttaxpayersthink.thatisthecase,doesreallymatterhowofthemthere

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Published weekly by The Prairie Newspaper Group LP, a division of GVIC Communications Corp. of 141 Commercial Place, Thompson, Manitoba, R8N 1T1. The Thompson Citizen is owned and operated by The Prairie Newspaper Group LP, a division of GVIC Communications Corp. Advertising rates are available upon request and are subject to change without notice. Conditions of editorial and advertisement content: The Thompson Citizen attempts to be accurate in editorial and advertising content; however no guarantee is given or implied. The Thompson Citizen reserves the right to revise or reject any or all editorial and advertising content as the newspaper’s principals see t. The Thompson Citizen will not be responsible for more than one incorrect insertion of an advertisement, and is not responsible for errors or omissions in advertisements except for the space occupied by such errors. The Thompson Citizen will not be responsible for manuscripts, photographs, negatives and other related material that may be submitted for possible publication. All of the Thompson Citizen’s content is protected by Canadian Copyright laws. Reviews and similar mention of material in this newspaper is granted on the provision that the Thompson Citizen receives credit. Otherwise, any reproduction without the permission of the publisher is Advertisersprohibited. purchase space and circulation only. Rights to any advertisements produced by the Thompson Citizen, including artwork, typography, photos, etc., remain the property of this newspaper. Advertisements or parts thereof may not be reproduced or assigned without the consent of the publisher.

Churchill can warm a visitor on the coldest night of the year.

the citizens of Thompson elected more are?manyitIfvocallessthinkmajorityis–oftenenceofpressionshouldmanyopinionsoutandisofrightparticularthemselvesmarriedcandidatesindependent-thinkingtrulywhoaren’ttoaligningwithanyside,becausenow,thenumberopinionsoncouncilgenerallytwo–foragainst.Maybethelowturn-ofpeoplewithonhowcouncillorstherebeisn’tanex-ofapathybutpragmatism.Experi-hasshownquitethatthiscouncilandothersbeforeit–goingtodowhattheofitsmembersisright,regard-ofwhatthemosttaxpayersthink.thatisthecase,doesreallymatterhowofthemthere

All of the Thompson Citizen’s content is protected by Can adian Copyright laws. Reviews and similar mention of material in this newspaper is granted on the provision that the Thompson Citizen receives credit. Otherwise, any reproduction without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. Advertisers purchase space and circulation only. Rights to any advertisements produced by the Thompson Citizen, including artwork, typography, photos, etc., remain the property of this newspaper. Advertisements or parts thereof may not be reproduced or assigned without the consent of the publisher.

To the Editor: It’s isolated, has a climate fit for polar bears, Arctic foxes and seals— but the vi brant, friendly community is our relatively unknown gem here in Northern Manitoba. If the northern winter has worn you thin, jump on Via Rail and roll on down the ribbon of steel to Western Canada’s only access to the Arctic Ocean. The best part of the trip is at the end of the line (the Churchill end, that is) where a small but vibrant community warms you up on the coldest night of the year.

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EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET A proposed affordable housing development along Cree Road faced limited parking as a bar rier, just as it did six years ago, but this time some of the people involved in the decision and the project were singing a different developmentunithopingFriendshiptune.Ma-Mow-We-TakeCentreistobuilda12-affordablehousingontheoldThompsonDayCarepropertyat128HemlockCrescent,whichhassatvacantfornearly20years.Inordertodosobasedonitscurrentplans,itrequiredazoningvariationtoreducethefrontyardsetbackfrom15feetto3’2”andtoreducetheminimumnumberofparkingstallsfrom16toseven,thoughoriginallythesitedesignhadonlythreeparkingspots.Duringapublichearinganddebateofaresolutionatcouncil’sAug.22meeting,theyardsetbackdidn’tseemtobeanissue

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to anyone, while the park ing issue was, though pro ject supporters contended it was a red herring. Six years ago, coun cil approved a proposed Manitoba Housing de velopment on the same property with only six adjacent parking stalls and an overflow park ing agreement with the Lutheran-United Church across the street. Though Coun. Duncan Wong, opposed in prac tice though not in prin ciple, and Coun. Kathy Valentino, completely in support, were on the same sides as they were in 2016, Mayor Colleen Smook had a different view this time around than six years ago as a Smookcouncillor.votedagainst the variation in 2016 but sup ported it this time, along with every member of council who was present apart from Wong.

hours

Penny Byer, who was a councillor the last time there was a proposed de velopment at the site and voted against it, supports it now in her role with the Thompson Seniors Com munity Resource Council. Ron Matechuk, who was on council in 2016, spoke during the public hearing on the proposed variation, in opposition, consistent with his position six years ago.“It’s not a good idea,” he said, noting that he is a resident of the area and familiar with the property. His voice of opposition was the lone one heard during the hearing, with written or spoken support from companies including Vale and A&B Builders, along with organizations like the Northern Mani toba Sector Council, Men Are Part of the Solution and the YWCA, the latter two noting that they have very few tenants with ve hicles in their boyerutiveFriendshipMa-Mow-We-Takhousing.CentreexecdirectorDeeChasaid95percentof

Canonese cuisine is an asset.

“We’ve got to work harder and get more affordable housing in Thompson,” she said.

Thompson Citizen photo courtesy of Google Street View 128 Hemlock Crescent in a Google Street View image from 13 years ago. The property looks essentially the same as it does now, since it has remained vacant and unused in the interim, despite being approved as the site for an affordable housing development in 2016. Council recently approved a variation order to enable a new housing development at the site to proceed despite limited parking and a smaller-than-regulation front yard setback.

HELP WANTED TOWNHOUSE FOR RENT OR SALE: 1,200 sq. ft. 2-storey. 3 bedrooms. Electric furnace. Laundry room. Washer & dryer. Fenced small yard. Clean house. Backs onto bush line. Available October 1, 2022. Employer & Landlord references required showing stable records. Will only reply to eligible candidates. $1,300/monthly plus utilities. Lease rate negotiable. Rent-to-own or purchase options. Email: ravennorth@ yahoo.com. 29-tfnb

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saysHemlocktheFriendshipHickes.executiveproject,”abeparkingisdevelopmentmulti-million-dollartoproceedalreadyinplaceandthatspotsshouldnotapriority.“Theparking,Ithink,isnon-issueinthishousingagreedYWCAdirectorKimMa-Mow-We-TakCentreownsadjacentlotat122Crescentandonlyoneofthe10parkingsportsatthatsiteisregularlyusedandthatanagreementwillbeputinplacetoallowresidentsoftheaffordablehousingcomplextousetheothernine.MembersofthepublictookWongtotaskforhavingsuggestedduringaJuly25meetingthattheprojectwasbettersuitedforEastwood.Wongsaidthatwasduetoavailablepropertyandspace,notethnicbackground,notingthathehimselfhadbeensubjectedtoracialabuseandslurswhenheimmigratedtoCanada. approves Crescent housing development despite limited parking

cooks to prepare & cook menu items, control inventory, and maintain clean workspace. Min

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The role of air corridors has been increasing for global trade because more cargo jets are being put into service. Airships are a better alterna tive. Very little freight needs to fly at 800 kilometres per hour, and jet airplanes have the most carbon emission per tonne-kilometre of any mode of transport. Electric airships could cross the Atlantic or the Pacific in sufficient time to meet freight demands. Cargo airships could also establish new international trade corridors. For example, airships could deliver fresher fruits and vegetables from the Caribbean and South Amer ica. And, on the return trips, they can deliver Canadian agricultural exports back to these tropical populations. Safety Transport 2030’s fifth theme, safety, is always the number one concern for any transportation company.

theneeded,Sometractor-trailerthatairshipsZero-carbon-emissionsarebeingdesignedcouldcarrytwoorthreeloadsoffreight.groundinfrastructureisbutthefootprintinNorthwouldbeminimal.

BY BARRY PRENTICE Canada is a massive coun try, with its population mostly concentrated in a thin band near the 49th parallel. This is its strength as well as its weakness. Canada has enor mous reserves of natural re sources, and it is a homeland to Indigenous and northern communities that have de veloped unique cultures and traditions absent the hom ogenizing forces of southern cities. But the sparsity, vast ness and extreme weather make much of the country difficult and expensive to access. This has impeded the competitiveness of its resource sector and made the provision of basic public services, from health care and education to clean water and healthy food, a luxury rather than a right in the more re moteThereregions.are292

flying across the Atlantic Ocean when Mackenzie King made this statement, but vari ous technical problems meant they never took off commer cially. Eventually they were displaced with fixed-wing aircraft. Eighty-six years later, a new generation of cargo air ships could fill an important gap in Canada’s national strat egy for transportation. But de spite the absence of any other ideas to improve transport accessibility for the North, the government of Canada has ignored cargo airships as a possibility. No policy is not a policy, and climate change is making the status quo un tenable. Temporary winter roads are more dangerous, while melting permafrost threatens what little existing infrastructure has been built. Can airships offer a solution? This paper will examine the viability of cargo air ships to address the northern transportation puzzle. With lower greenhouse gas emis sions, attractive economics, year-round applicability, and much smaller footprint on the land than a connecting gravel road, airships are a solution to northern communities and mines’ cargo needs whose time has come.

An air ticket from Winnipeg to Churchill, Manitoba costs more than a flight to France. Combi-passenger/freight air ships could carry passengers with freight. This could pro vide air travel service at less than half the cost of current airlines.Thelarge capacity of air ships is also an advantage for moving people who have medical conditions. Space exists to position cots where patients could rest and be treated, while on their way to specialized care. Trade Corridors to Global Markets Canadians appreciate trans portation’s role in trade and prosperity more than most nations. The distances are vast, and shippers depend on a few key transportation routes to connect to global markets. The need to improve and enhance Canadian trade corridors is an important theme in Transport 2030. In no other part of Canada does the absence of established trade corridors limit econom ic development as much as in theTradeNorth.corridors are often described in terms of roads, railways, pipelines and ports, but air-based trade corridors can be just as important. Known mineral deposits dot the Canadian Shield and the Arctic that could be opened up using airships to gain ac cess. Mining developments would bring prosperity to the local inhabitants of North, and mineral exports would contribute directly to Can ada’s balance of payments.

transportationCanada’spolicy

Continued on Page 10

Page 6 • Opinion www.thompsoncitizen.net Friday, September 2, 2022

commun ities in Canada assessed as remote, meaning they are only accessible by air for most of the year, with alterna tive forms of transportation either non-existent, impos sible or impractical. Trans portation accessibility has been a chronic problem for northern Canada. As Prime Minister William Lyon Mack enzie King observed in 1936, “if some countries have too much history, we have too much underairAirshipsgeography.”–lighter-than-aircraftthatcannavigatetheirownpower–were

Contrary to popular myth, airships are inherently safe.

Snow blindness: Airships in Canada’s northern transportation policy

On November 3, 2016, then Minister of Transport Marc Garneau presented Transportation 2030, his strategic plan for the future of transportation in Canada. The Transport 2030 vision sets out five themes, each of which will be explored in turn. Waterways, Coasts and the North Economically, Canada is like two countries. About 30 per cent of the landmass has low-cost access by all modes of transport and a highly de veloped economy. The other 70 per cent is an underserved frontier. Poverty begins where the all-weather roads end. Re mote communities that de pend on seasonal ice roads for inland transport have over 50 per cent unemployment, as do isolated communities on the coast that depend on annual seaEnhancinglifts. northern trans portation infrastructure is a stated goal of Transport 2030. The challenges are costs and climate change. On average, gravel road construction costs $3 million per kilometre in the Canadian Shield and the North. Just to convert On tario’s 3,000 kilometres of ice roads to gravel would cost over $9 billion. The number of ports required in the Arctic is similarly unaffordable. Lack of reasonably priced, year-round cargo transport leads to poor living con ditions. The pandemic has shone light on its conse quences. Food insecurity, overcrowded housing and underlying health problems (e.g., diabetes, mould ali ments, tuberculosis) made Indigenous populations ex tremely vulnerable during the pandemic. These unaccept able conditions all stem from a lack of reliable, affordable freight delivery throughout theTheyear.economic disparities in remote communities are growing wider. Even with the $130 million food transport subsidy that the federal gov ernment provides each year, food prices in the North are still sky-high. Cargo airships could provide year-round service and cut freight costs in half. They would enable housing construction to con tinue throughout the year and make nutritious food afford able. In a matter of years, cargo airships could reduce or even eliminate the need for any food transportation subsidy.

Airships are a green technol ogy. They will create new supply chains and stimulate employment and investment in the aerospace sector. The Traveller This Transport 2030 theme focuses on air passengers who want greater choice, better service and lower costs. No where in Canada is the need for better air service more pressing than in the North.

The reasons behind the de lay in building cargo airships are economic and regulatory. An economic barrier is the size of the MVP (minimum viable product). Airships, like ships of the ocean, experience significant economies of size. The bigger they are, the low er their unit cost. However, the minimum size at which they become economic is still quite large. Relatively small inflatable airships (blimps) are used for advertising and sightseeing. But even at 80 metres in length, they can only lift about two tons, which is insufficient to carry freight profitably. Rigid airships, like the Zeppelins, are more appro priate for cargo but the MVP is enormous. The Zeppelins were over two football fields in length, and as high as a 12-storey building. Before anyone could consider build ing such an airship, they need a hangar with a huge door for its construction. A few airship hangars capable of handling such a large craft in the US remain from the pre-war era, but none were ever con structed in Canada. Unlike the MVP for an electric car or a wind-turbine, cargo airship prototypes cannot be cheap ly made, and subsequently scaled up for commercial use. The second barrier to the rebirth of the airship indus try is the perceived helium shortage and the hydrogen gas paranoia. Helium is de rived as a by-product of nat ural gas extraction where its concentration is sufficient to justify a refinery. Over time, a number of critical uses have developed, like the manufac ture of computer chips and operating MRIs. The cost of helium has risen steadily, and airships are viewed as a low er-value use. From an airship investment perspective, the finite supply of helium and its price raise question marks. Hydrogen is the obvious lifting gas for airships. It has eight percent more lift, an endless supply and costs a fraction of the price for he lium. Hydrogen was widely used outside the U.S. prior to the Second World War. How ever, investors are likely to be scared off by the absolute prohibition of the use of hy drogen gas that is embedded in the Canadian and U.S. air regulations.Thehistory of ban on hydrogen for use as “lifting gas” in airships precedes the Hindenburg accident by 14 years. Although this accident is commonly confused as the reason, the U.S. government banned the use of hydrogen gas in military airships in 1923. The ban was a polit ical decision based on nei ther scientific, nor engineer ing research, but came after a successful lobbying effort by helium interests. After the war, the ban on hydrogen was extended into the US Federal Aviation Ad ministration (FAA) regula tions. As the world’s leading air authority, the FAA rules were “rubber stamped” into the air regulations of many other jurisdictions. This is how Canada came to have a ban on the use of hydrogen as a “lifting gas” in airships, while never having had a sin gle airship built here. In the past century, know ledge of hydrogen and how to handle it safely has greatly ex panded. Hydrogen gas is used widely as an industrial input, and to power fuel cells in buses, cars, trains, fork-lifts, and soon in airplanes. The ban on hydrogen’s use in airships is an anomaly. Until the ban is removed, Canadian investors will be nervous about backing hydrogen airships. However, this is changing. The Euro pean Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has proposed new regulations for airships that will permit any gas to be used, as long as the developer can prove its airship is safe. Once the Europeans and Asians go in this direction, Canada and the U.S. are likely to follow. The third and perhaps most important barrier to the air ship industry is the failure of government policy and en gagement. The role of gov ernment is crucial because transportation is a shared private-public responsibil ity. The government sets the rules and supplies the longlived, fixed assets, like roads, harbours and airports. In all history, no new transporta tion system has ever been suc cessfully introduced that did not have strong government

Green and TransportationInnovative Climate change is de manding action on adaptation strategies for the North. Since 2000, the ice roads have lost half their season and the risks of accidents are increasing. Existing roads and landing strips are vulnerable because the permafrost zones are be coming more active. Impas sible sections of sinking and buckling infrastructure are now a feature of northern transportation.Electricairships powered by hydrogen fuel cells fit the second theme of Transport 2030.

Threeproblemsoutstanding

Yes, airships accidents oc curred during the 1930s, but even more lives were lost in airplane crashes, and they continue to happen. Aviation technology has come a long way in the last nine decades. Airworthiness regulations guarantee that only safe air craft are permitted to fly. The same advances in aerospace engineering and materials can make airships as safe as any other aircraft today. Snow blindness Modern airships check all the boxes of the Transport 2030 policy themes. Airship technology can provide the basis for a strategic plan that offers a safe, green, innovative and integrated transportation system that serves the whole nation. Why do airships in the north seem to be such a good idea in theory, but have so much trouble getting off the ground in practice? Let’s take a closer look at airship technology to see whether, or not, it has an inherent flaw that causes politicians and government officials to ignore this solution to northern trans portation. Subsequently, the political sphere is explored to seek a way forward. Everything old is new again Windmills, electric cars and dirigibles were all com mercially available in the 1920s and 1930s, but they did not survive the 1940s. All three of these technologies disappeared for the same rea son: cheap fossil fuels. Coalfired electrical plants replaced wind power. Gasoline auto mobiles displaced electric cars. Kerosene-turbine pow ered jet airplanes out compet ed the dirigibles. Of course, these carbon-based technolo gies also offered advantages. Electricity from the grid was more reliable than windmills. Gasoline cars offered much better range than electric cars. Jet airplanes were so fast and efficient that not only did they end the passenger airship era, they also terminated ocean liners and transcontinental railways.Electric cars and wind turbines are back with a ven geance. Better batteries and hydrogen fuel cells have ex tended the range of electric vehicles. Several countries are even mandating an end to the internal combustion engine. Wind turbines are less expensive and much less polluting than coal-burning power plants. Economies of size and new designs have made wind turbines the fastest growing source of electric al production. Two of these green technologies are back: why not acrossmanneedaairships?electrically-poweredTheviabilityofairshipsasmodeoftransportdoesnottobeproven.TheGerZeppelinswereabletotheAtlanticOceanonscheduledbasis,cruisingat 145 kilometres (80 miles) per hour. They offered a useful lift of 70 tonnes, configured as luxury accommodation for 72 passengers. Early airships were certainly labour inten sive with 40 flight crew and 10-12 stewards and cooks. With modern materials and control systems the same size airship could provide 100 tonnes of useful lift and oper ate with a crew of three. Look ing ahead, most cargo airships will likely operate as drones (i.e.,Modernremotely-piloted).airshipswill be safe. The main source of air ship accidents in the 1930s was structural failure. Strain gauges did not exist, which meant that engineers were left to try estimating stress con centrations with nothing more than a slide rule. Today, with computer simulations and ad vanced materials, no technical barriers inhibit the production of robust and reliable airships. What has also changed is the market. Airships are unlikely to challenge jet air planes for passenger traffic despite the jet’s huge car bon emissions. Speed mat ters for passengers. Where the airships can shine is in freight transport. Two days to cross the Atlantic Ocean and five days to cross the Pacific Ocean is more than fast enough for any freight shipments by airship. An electrically propelled cargo airship, using hydrogen as fuel, could cut the cost of air transport by more than half. In fact, a cargo airship could earn carbon credits to offset jet passenger airliner emissions.

Part of the reason for the high number of vacancies is the RCMP Depot in Saskatchewan where new recruits are trained being closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in there being fewer new graduates at present to fill available jobs.Goertzen says he has been told there likely won’t be enough new officers over the next few years to replace those who will be retiring. “The result is that staffing levels in Manitoba are likely to become even more challenging in the near future,” he wrote. “This will be an untenable situation.” Having too few officers is frus trating for Manitobans, particularly those in rural areas and the north, as well as Indigenous commun ities, where understaffed detach ments don’t have the resources to respond quickly or at all to prop erty crime reports. “In rural and Northern Mani toba, violent crime is a particular issue, but probably what I hear most out of rural Manitoba — which is different, maybe than the city of Winnipeg — is more about property crime,” Goertzen told CJOB. “There aren’t responses to property crimes … People aren’t getting that sort of followup.”

Manitoba’s justice minister is appealing to the federal govern ment for more police in the prov ince and tougher bail standards for those who use knives to commit crimes.Minister Kelvin Goertzen re cently wrote a letter to federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino highlighting the high number of vacant RCMP positions in Manitoba, which the RCMP says was about six per cent last April 1, though the number fluctuates on a daily basis as transfers and re assignments take place. Nationally, the vacancy rate is 4.3 per cent, the RCMP says.

'We are looking for people to join us,” he said, noting that the RCMP isn’t immune to the factors contributing to labour shortages throughout the economy. “We’re competing for the same people and many other industries are as well.” Goertzen also wants the federal government to take knife violence more seriously.

A recent study on living wage levels in three Mani toba cities says that the provincial government’s planned increases to the minimum wage will still leave those earning it with less money than they need for a bare-bones budget.

Manitoba RCMP detachments have too many vacancies, says provincial justice minister

mayor told CJOB that having enough officers and new recruits isn’t a problem here, but she’d like there to be more ex perienced officers in her city.

Thompson worker needs to make about $16 per hour to cover basic living expenses, report says

“We know that in many acts of violence, knives are the primary weapon,” Goertzen said. “Given the prevalence of violent crimes committed with knives, both in Manitoba and Canada, this is an important change in the interest of public safety.”

He issued a statement Aug. 25 to say that he had written to federal Justice Minister David Lametti asking for Criminal Code chan ges that would apply tougher bail standards on people accused of committing crimes involving knives. Currently, when a person is charged with committing an of fence using a firearm, it is more difficult for them to make bail.

“Our issue is, it’s all young re cruits — our commanding officer positions are very lacking, and they’re stretched very thin in that area,” said Colleen Smook. The RCMP told CTV that it manages vacancies to minimize the impact on the communities the force serves and often redeploys personnel from one area to another to ensure there are enough police in a given location. Asst. Commissioner Rob Hill, who became the commanding of ficer of the Manitoba RCMP this summer, told the Thompson Citizen in an early August interview that the force needs more officers.

Friday, September 2, 2022 www.thompsoncitizen.net News • Page 7

Manitoba Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen recently wrote to the fed eral public safety minister asking for a plan to address the high num ber of RCMP officer vacancies in Manitoba, which sat at about six per cent in April of this year.

The Manitoba office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released its living wage update on Aug. 25. It estimates that families with two working parents and two children would need to earn an aver age of $18.34 per hour in Winnipeg, $16.25 an hour in Thompson and $15.66 an hour in Brandon to maintain a modest standard of living. In Thompson, the liv ing wage would work out to a household income of just over $59,000 for a two-earner wage,Manitoba’sfamily.minimumcurrently$11.95perhour,issettogoupto$13.50onOct.1,$14.15nextApril1and$15inOctober2023.“TherecentannouncementbytheManitobagovernmenttoincreasetheminimumwagefrom$11.95to$15overthenexttwoyearsdemonstratesthegovernmentunderstandsthatthecurrentminimumwageplacesworkingfamilies in an impossible financial situation,” said Niall Har ney, the Errol Black Chair in Labour Issues and sen ior researcher at CCPA. “Although these increases will provide a significant boost to working families, many will still struggle to meet their basic needs until Manitoba’s minimum wage approaches relative parity with the living wage.” Costs included in the living wage calculation in clude transportation, hous ing, clothing and food, among others, but not things like income to pay off loans or save up to buy a house or for retirement. It does include a contingency fund of two weeks’ salary in savings. Living wage calcu lations assume that couples or single parents each work 35 hours per week and re ceive minimal paid vaca tion and sick time from their employers.Thereport says the living wage level for two-parent, two-children households in Thompson went up 14 per cent since 2020, when it was calculated to be $14.27. It estimates that transportation costs have gone up eight per cent in the past two years, and parents’ education costs (two university courses for one parent per year) have risen seven per cent. Food and housing are both cal culated to have risen five per cent, while the biggest jump is in other expenses, which have risen 23 per cent. This category includes things like cell phones and internet services, which are practically necessities in to day’sAccordingworld. to Statistics Canada’s 2021 census, there are 1,250 families con sisting of a couple, married or unmarried, with one or more children in Thompson, and the median after-tax in come for such families was $118,000, meaning half of them earn more than that and the other half earn less. By the time the Manitoba minimum wage has risen to $15 per hour in just over a year from now, it will still be less than the current living wage for single-parent, onechild families in Thompson, which the CCPA calculated as $15.77 per hour, up six per cent from $14.93 per hour in 2020. That works out to an annual income of about $28,700.Therewere 620 one-par ent family households in Thompson in 2021, accord ing to Statistics Canada, and their median after-tax in come was $60,000. When the minimum wage goes up to $13.50 per hour in just over a month, a per son working 35 hours per week at that wage would make about $24,500 per year. By the time it reach es $15 per hour in October 2023, a person working 35 hours per week at minimum wage would earn $27,300 per year.

Another issue resulting from understaffing is officer burnout, which creates a vicious cycle of further understaffing, said a rep resentative of the union that rep resents RCMP member. Bobby Baker, the Prairie region director of the National Police Fed eration, told CTV News that the recruiting situation is a crisis and is fuelling officer burnout. “There’s a lot of overtime, and I’d say it’s unwanted overtime in most cases, and our officers are definitely getting burned out,” BakerThompson’ssaid.

Graphic courtesy of Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Manitoba.

A Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Manitoba living wage infographic shows the expenses a two-parent, two-child family in Thompson can expect to pay in 2022.

•

Cruise Night proved popular over its first summer

Thompson Citizen photos by Carla Antichow Doug Sime, Cruise Night organizer, with his 1966 Ford Mustang.

Dave Colibaba’s 1967 Acadian Canso.Torrance Becker’s 1963 Mercury M100 pickup truck.

All-in-one Residential and Commercial Property! 984 sf, 1.5-bathroom2-bedroom,bungalow c/w 3,528 sf Industrial Garage.

• 307 1st Avenue, Pine River, MB

BY CARLA ANTICHOW

DIANE OctBIGNELL-YOUNGGLADYS10,1951–Aug15, 2022

We are very saddened to announce the passing of Diane Gladys GladysBignell-Young.passed away at the age of 70 years. She departed peacefully at Brandon General Hospital, with her son & her husband by her side. Gladys spent many dedicated years at Clarke’s Pharmacy, supporting the staff. She always showed much empathy & kindness to the Clarke’s family & customers.

The “car guy” culture is alive and well in Thomp son and that was evident at the Aug. 23 Cruise Night, when approximately 25 “cruisers” gathered in the Giant Tiger parking lot. Organizer Doug Sime said that this is the first year for the event as it wasn’t able to happen the last two years due to COVID-19 and that throughout this summer it’s really taken off. When asked why he wanted to start Cruise Night, Sime explained, “There is a lot of interest from people in town, lots of (car) enthusiasts.”Simesaid that each week he sees different ve hicles showing up so there is always something new to check out. Owners of everything from classic and sports cars, motor cycles and hisColibabaished-upamong1966ontheirshowfour-wheel-drivefancied-uptrucksupandpark,puttingprizedpossessionsdisplay.Sime’sownFordMustangwasthelineupofpolwheels.ClassiccarownerDavewastherewithfullyrestored1967

Acadian Canso. The Can so, Colibaba explained, is one of the rarer cars as only 370 of them were ever“Myproduced.older brother bought it in 1975, I was just a kid and always wanted it growing up,” said Colibaba. He was eventually able to pur chase the Canso and five years ago got it restored by a friend in Victoria, B.C. Colibaba now uses the car as a “cruiser” but says he is careful about which streets he drives it on due to potholes. One of the other unique vehicles on display was Torrance Becker’s 1963 Mercury M100 pickup truck. Becker, who was obviously too young to ever remember the M100s on the road, was a wealth of knowledge on these truck models, which were produced from 1946-1968 and eventually replaced by the F series of Ford pickups. Becker spotted the truck in a farmer’s field in southern Mani toba and took a chance on randomly approaching the farmer who owned it. “I just went up and asked him,” Becker said. “I figured, ‘Well, you’re either gonna get shot at or not,’ so I asked and he said yeah, he’d sell it.” Becker and his father have put a “few hundred” labour hours into fixing the truck, which prior to him buying it, hadn’t been road ready since 1984. Becker’s M100 was made with unibody construction, meaning the body of cab and box are one piece and not separ ate from each other. “Op tions” on this nostalgic rig include a cigarette lighter, passenger side visor and the heater. Becker’s truck is his main set of wheels and he is able to drive it all year Cruiseround.Night wrapped up Aug. 30 with a special end-of-season edition that included prizes and giveaways.

Page 8 • News www.thompsoncitizen.net Friday, September 2, 2022

MARC CLEMENT Sales Associate 204-572-7114 709 Main St S, Dauphin, MB www.remax-parklandrealty.ca204-622-7770

Gladys & her husband Clayton did many outdoor activities together such as fishing, hiking, boating & traveling. To Clayton, Gladys was the perfect person in that she meant everything to him. She was a beautiful person & he will truly miss his best friend. Gladys is survived by her son Rajesh Gandhi (Monty); grandson Kalem; her husband & best friend, Clayton Young; siblings Craig Bignell (Helen), Bernice Fenner, Kane Bignell, Allan Nevistiuk (Christine), Ward Nevistiuk & special “sister”, Margaret Cook.

OBITUARY

The Canadian Mental Health Association, a nation-wide, non-profit organization, promotes the mental health of all and supports the resilience and recovery of people experiencing mental illness. CMHA accomplishes this mission through advocacy, education, research, and service.

Harvest Manitoba’s CEO told the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak annual general assembly Aug. 23 that the organization is applying for federal transportation subsidies to help it support food security in the province’s northern and Indigenous communities.

CMHA Thompson Inc. is governed locally by an independent Board of Directors comprised of volunteers from the community. Our mission is to improve the mental health of people in the Northern Region through educational programs, vocational and recreational programs, supported housing services, work programs and self-help programs.

After you RSVP, you will receive a confirmation email and the location of the AGM.

BY DAVE BAXTER LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE RE PORTER, WINNIPEG SUN

Manitoba RCMP commanding officer Asst. Commissioner Rob Hill, seen here speaking to the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak annual general assembly Aug. 24, told Indigenous leaders he is committed to building and strengthening relationships in this province between northern and remote Indigenous communities and the police officers who serve those communities.

The Manitoba RCMP’s newly appointed command ing officer told Indigenous leaders last week that he is fully committed to building and strengthening relation ships in this province be tween northern and remote Indigenous communities, and the police officers and forces who serve those communities.“Weneed to open up lines of communication on what we can do to im prove our relationships, to ensure that people call the police when they need help, instead of being afraid of us,” RCMP D Division Commanding Officer Rob Hill said Aug. 24 while speaking at the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak annual general assembly. Hill was named the D Division’s commanding officer on July 27, and he said that since taking on the role he has understood how important it is for RCMP officers and detachments to keep working on finding ways to build trust and build relationships in Northern Manitoba, and specifically with Indigenous people and communities.Hesaidone of the main ways the RCMP in the north are doing that is by increasingly asking In digenous leaders and elders what they want to see out of the police forces that serve them.“Ultimately everyone here has the same com mon goal, keeping your communities safe and se cure for all residents, but we cannot do this alone,” Hill“Whensaid. it comes to estab lishing our policing prior ities, consultation is key. We don’t police in a bubble, and there are no one-sizefits-all solutions. “We cannot make deci sions that affect you with outHillyou.”said he is now put ting a strong emphasis on ensuring that all officers and new officers have a strong understanding of the backgrounds, cultures, and experiences that make up Indigenous communities. “The needs of the com munities are as diverse as the people that live there. Manitobans come from very different backgrounds, and very different lived ex periences,” he said. “I know we can make improvements to better orientate new offi cers regarding the cultural makeup of this province. “I truly believe that it is critical for all of our offi cers, including myself, to never stop learning about the cultures and histories of the people we serve and protect.”Hilladded he is now en couraging RCMP officers in Northern Manitoba and in all corners of the province to take part in traditional Indigenous events and cere monies when they can, as a way to build their “cultural IQ.”“We are encouraging of ficers to attend powwows, grand entries, sweat lodges, pipe ceremonies, feasts and other ceremonies whenever the RCMP is invited to par ticipate,” he said. According to Hill, RCMP officers have been spending more time and using more resources recently to travel to Northern Manitoba com munities, as he said one of the best ways to build re lationships is for RCMP to meet face to face with Indigenous leaders, elders and community members as much as “Travellingpossible.to each community has given the RCMP the opportunity to listen, to learn, and to set priorities based on feed back from elders and chiefs and council, and elders are now teaching officers about traditional Indigenous val ues that are unique to their communities,” Hill said. He said he also wants of ficers to hear stories from elders, even if those stories are sometimes difficult to hear.“We have had respected elders that have spoken candidly about their past experiences with police, and unfortunately many of the stories shared were negative,” Hill said. “At times this is difficult to hear, but we acknow ledge that it is necessary in order to heal and move forward.“Wemust be open to listening.”

Federal funding a ‘game-changer’ for northern food security, says Harvest Manitoba

CMHA Thompson adopted the Thompson Homeless Shelter in 2008. Since then, we have offered numerous programs to help the clients in many different areas of their lives. The Thompson Homeless Shelter works closely with CMHA to provide programs, support and services to help empower clients. We have Homeless Outreach Mentors who provide case management services to the shelter clients and outreach services to people in the community. This includes person-centered program development and helping people find and obtain housing that is safe, secure and affordable.

www.thompsoncitizen.net

Manitoba’s new RCMP commander vows to repair relationships with Indigenous communities

Annual General Meeting Tuesday, September 13 5:00 – 7:00 pm

Please RSVP by emailing: Manon at outreachsupport@cmhathompson.ca by September 9, 2022

Friday, September 2, 2022 www.thompsoncitizen.net News • Page 9

BY DAVE BAXTER LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER, WINNIPEG SUN A Manitoba charity working to bring food to remote Indigenous com munities says it will soon have an opportunity to get its hands on more federal funding that will allow it to get more food and sup port to communities that are in need, but often diffi cult to get to because they are so “Thisisolated.reallyis going to be a game changer,” Har vest Manitoba CEO Vince Barletta said Aug. 23, while speaking to north ern Indigenous leaders at the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak annual gener al Barlettaassembly.said that over the past few years, Harvest Manitoba has been put ting more effort into find ing ways to deliver food to remote and northern communities, but he also knows how difficult bring ing deliveries to many of those communities can be, because of how far north many they are and because some are only accessible by air or by ice roads. “We have worked with First Nations and north ern communities all over the province and in the north, and that has really opened our eyes more and more to the logistical and financial challenges and the infrastructure challen ges of getting food, and particularly fresh food and produce, to remote north ern communities,” Barletta said.Barletta said he believes Harvest Manitoba and other food bank charities looking to bring food and food security to the north will now have greater opportunities to do that work thanks to changes to a federal program that could see those charities access federal transporta tion subsidies to bring food to northern communities. Northern Affairs Min ister Dan Vandal recently announced enhancements and $143.4 million in funding over two years to the Nutrition North Can ada program, a federal program that helps eli gible northern and isolated communities in addressing local food security issues. “This investment also extends the retail subsidy to local food producers in eligible communities for eligible items that are sold or donated within the com munity, and to food banks and charitable organiza tions serving eligible com munities,” Vandal said. Barletta said those chan ges mean that “for the first time food banks and char ities like Harvest Manitoba will now be able to avail themselves of a transpor tation subsidy, and that’s a huge game-changer for us because the cost of freight is currently a huge ob stacle to the work that we do to get food into remote First“AsNations.acharity, we rely on our donors and we rely on the food they give us and the money they give us, so if we are able to stretch that dollar further by now having access to that Nu trition North transporta tion subsidy then that will be a game-changer for us.” Barletta said that Har vest Manitoba is currently in the process of applying for federal transportation subsidies through the program.Vandal said the funding and changes to the pro gram were made because “Indigenous and northern communities know how best to address local food security, and our govern ment is continuing to work in partnership based on their“Thepriorities.”program enhance ments will help support communities in new ways, including direct support for community-led food activities, local food pro duction, and food banks and charities serving eli gible communities,” Van dal said. — Dave Baxter is a Lo cal Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Lo cal Journalism Initiative is funded by the government of Canada.

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

The Northern Manitoba-based CBC drama SkyMed, the cast of which includes Morgan Holmstrom as flight nurse Crystal Highway, also had a couple of cameo appearances by a Cree dictionary and a workbook produced by the University of Regina Press.

As our current Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, observes “The way to build a strong future is by both protecting the environment and creating good jobs.” Electrically powered cargo airships meet this criterion. They should be included in the Transport 2030 policy vi sion for the future of trans portation in Canada. Barry Prentice is a profes sor of supply chain manage ment at the I.H. Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba, and former dir ector of the Transport Insti tute (1996-2005). In 1999, National Transportation Week named him Manitoba Transportation Person of the Year. He was instru mental in founding a new Department of Supply Chain Management (SCM) at the I. H. Asper School of Busi ness in 2003 that now offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in this field. In 2009, Dr. Prentice was made an honorary life member of the Canadian Transporta tion Research Forum. Since 2015, he is a fellow in trans portation at the Northern Policy Institute. This commentary was originally published by the Macdonald Laurier Institute on Aug. 24.

Snow blindness: Airships in Canada’s northern transportation policy

Continued from Page 6 support and encourage ment. One cannot imagine the transcontinental railways being built across Canada if the government had been non-committal. Great Lakes shipping would have never grown without government construction of the Welland Canal and the St. Lawrence locks.The government does not have to initiate or solely fund a new transportation system’s development, but it cannot remain silent and hope that it emerges spontaneously. Ig noring and shunning a new transportation technology is equivalent to condemning it. The treatment of the airship technology in Canada ex plains the lack of business confidence in this country’s airship development. No mojo When did Canadian gov ernments lose their mojo? It is hard to identify any signifi cant national projects since the Diefenbaker era. After pioneering CANDU react ors, microwave communi cations, Telesat, building the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Dempster highway, few sig nature projects have been led by federal governments in Canada.Mariana Mazzucato at University College London has been researching the role of government in innovation and economic development. She builds the case for gov ernments to lead break through technologies, and points out that many of the innovations, from robotics to vaccines, were led by public institutions. Politicians have their role in thinksinwouldJeffdecadesHadprivateWheredevelopmenttechnologicalbackwards.governmentleads,moneyfollows.NASAnotinvestedinofresearch,neitherBezos,norElonMusk,haveinvestedapennyspacetravel.Putsimply,Mazzucatothatgovernmentswereledastrayinthe1970sbyclaimsthat“governmentsshouldn’ttrytopickwinners.”InthecaseoftheNorth,thismeansthatgovernmentshouldwaitpatientlyandremotecommunitiesshouldacceptprohibitivelyexpensiveoptions,untilsomeoneintheprivatesectortakesalltherisktodevelopanairshipthatcansolveourproblems.Withthiskindofleadership,WesternCanadianswouldbespeakingwithanAmericantwang,becauseSirJohnA.MacDonald’sgovernmentwouldhavewaitedforprivateUS railways to connect the Prai ries to the world economy. Politicians may be afraid to take chances on driving new technologies because of the criticism failures may bring. After Premier Brian Peckford’s efforts to establish greenhouse cucumber pro duction in Newfoundland failed in 1989, he was hound ed from office. Mazzucato notes that more failures than successes are a reality when something new is tried, but the results can still be very positive. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is an ex ample of great breakthrough successes. They pioneered the Internet, GPS and Siri, just to name a few. They also had lots of failures, but only a few successes are needed to compensate for many failures. DARPA maintains that if more than 10 per cent of their projects are a success, they are being too conservative. Unlocking northern resource development

Indigenous language resources from University of Regina Press show up in CBC summer drama

“As I began to get more and more responses from my small posts in Cree, I had the idea of a large, ongoing pro ject, wherein I would post at least 10 words a day on a concentrated theme for one hundred days straight,” wrote author Neal McLeod in his book’s introduction. McLeod, who grew up on the James Smith reserve in Saskatchewan, decided to introduce Cree words to “describe the world in which we live today.” With that in mind, “Terms were developed for things such as Internet use and com puters, demonstrating the great flexibility and adapt ability of the language. It is hoped these gathered terms will offer something to the new, large, emerging gen eration of Cree speakers, in whose minds and bodies the future of the language now rests,” wrote McLeod. The book, says Shirley, is a “fun way, particularly for young people, to see …(Cree) is not a dead lan guage. It’s still very much a usedDr.language.”ArokWolvengrey, a professor in Indigenous lan guages at the First Nations University of Canada in Re gina, is editor of 100 Days of Cree. He also contributed the guide to Cree pronunciation at the end of the book. He began editing books for the Canadian Plains Re search Centre, which became the University of Regina Press. Next year marks 10 years for URP, which con tinues to build on and broad en the mandate of publishing books in the Indigenous lan guages of Saskatchewan es tablished by its predecessor. “We’ve covered geograph ically almost the breadth of the country and we hope to just keep expanding that,” saidWolvengreyWolvengrey.edits the First Nation Language Readers series for URP, which was started by the Canadian Plains Research Centre. Each book includes Indigenous syllabics, Standard Roman Orthography, and English. Wolvengrey explains that SRO is made up of sym bols of the Latin or Roman alphabet, but not necessarily applied in the same way that most readers will be used to fromTheEnglish.First Nation Lan guage Readers series are small works aimed pri marily at beginner readers. Now, Wolvengrey is editing longer works for a new ser ies entitled Our Own Words, which is geared more toward intermediary and advanced readers. The series was launched with an editing collaboration between Wol vengrey and his wife Jean L. Okimasis on I Come from a Long Time Back by Piapot First Nation elder Mary Lou ise“AsRockthunder.withtheshorter stor ies, I just hope it inspires more Indigenous writers and storytellers to consider the possibility of making sure their material gets out there, that they find publishers out there and the University of Regina Press is certainly one option and I think a good one. We continue that trend and really see far more pub lications in Indigenous lan guages as we go forward,” saidAsWolvengrey.fortheuseof the two Cree books from the URP on SkyMed, said Wolvengrey, “I was happy to see it was our books … I know how hard people work who work on language revitalization, and it’s nice to see that work highlighted in some way and recognized in some way.” This year starts the UNESCO International Dec ade of Indigenous Languages to highlight the importance of preserving and revitaliz ing Indigenous languages, particularly to uphold the right of Indigenous peoples to liberty of expression, edu cation and participation in public life in their mother tongue.“The new vision, really form the University of Re gina Press, is to highlight each and every language across the country. That will take a long time, but it’s a wonderful vision and hopefully we’ll just be able to plug away at that and ex pand the (language book) series as we go along,” said Wolvengrey.

BY SHARI NARINE LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER, WINDSPEAKER.COM This summer there were some excited people at the University of Regina Press when a new CBC-TV drama hit the airwaves. “I just happened to be watching the episode of SkyMed when (the nurse) pulled it out in the airplane,” said Melissa Shirley, market ing and publicity manager withAfterURP.pausing her tele vision screen, Shirley con firmed that “it” was a Cree dictionary published by URP. A little later in the episode, the nurse looked at a second book, this time a Cree work book, also published by URP. SkyMed is set in remote Northern Manitoba and fol lows the lives of pilots and nurses who work for an air ambulanceAccordingservice.toanarticle in thetvjunkies.com, SkyMed creator Julie Puckrin wanted to create a show that included strong Indigenous characters. She staffed her writing room with people who could speak to the lived experiences of her“Watchingcharacters. the show, I thought how it was cool they were able to integrate the Cree language into it without making it a thing,” said Shirley. “It was just that those characters speak Cree and they would just flip back and forth with the subtitles. “I thought it was really re spectful and really well done and then how they made a plot point about it, just in the one nurse who didn’t speak Cree, (who) realized it was something they should learn.”Inquiring of colleagues later, Shirley was told that someone from the SkyMed production team had reached out to URP about a year-anda-half ago for Cree language materials. SkyMed is not unique in its use of an Indigenous lan guage. Shirley points out that the Predator movie prequel Prey, which also came out in 2022, has an option to watch with Comanche audio. She says the use of In digenous languages in this way is becoming a “growing movement.”URPislaunching a new series of books this October under the title Speaking Cree in the Home. It’s aimed at “revitalizing and teaching” everyday Cree words used around the house to young children.Shirley notes that the writ ers are Cree speakers. For Andrea Custer, Cree is her primary language, while Belinda Daniels uses Cree as her secondary language. Shirley also points to one of URP’s perennially popu lar books 100 Days of Cree, which got its start through a series of Facebook postings.

Page 10 • News www.thompsoncitizen.net Friday, September 2, 2022

Thompson Citizen photo courtesy of CBC

One obvious benefit to cargo airships is their ability to support mining operations in otherwise inaccessible locations. While northern Canada has incomparable geological potential, the lack of infrastructure and long permitting processes make it prohibitively expensive for project proponents. Airships can address the high costs in volved in transporting ore to market; instead of having to construct roads or railroads, ore can be transported by air ship to processing facilities year-round. This saves time, money and avoids environ mental complications from roads and railroads that might impact, for example, caribou migration routes. Airships are also redeployable, fur ther enhancing their econom ic attractiveness. They could provide a key to unleashing northern Canada’s critical mineral potential.

The North is the third solitude Although more than 70 per cent of Canada’s landmass lies north of existing roads, the majority of Canadians have never visited or have plans to visit this region. They may care about the gaps in socio-economic outcomes experienced by people living in remote communities, but they have no visceral em pathy or experience. This is understandable because is it so expensive and difficult to travel north of the existing roadThenetwork.same disconnect exists in the Ottawa bubble. It might be cynical to describe the bureaucracy as uncaring and disinterested, but unless they are directly responsible for the North, scant time is spent thinking about north ern issues. Transport Canada has an office tower full of staff who are paid well to develop transport solutions. In the 20 years since the topic of airships has been brought to their attention, not a sin gle study, report or policy statement has been made regarding an airship policy for the North. Worse still, the bureaucrats in Ottawa have come up with no ideas of their own. Of course, the bureaucrats point to the politicians who are not giving them direction to research airship technol ogy. The political reason is obvious. All the votes are in the cities. In the power cen tres of this country, the North starts at Barrie, Ontario! The Arctic is represented by only three seats in the Canadian Parliament.Whyaren’t northerners demanding airships? Many are starting to become aware of the opportunity, but there is no clear path for the idea to reach them. Only through occasional media stories or conferences does the concept get any promotion.

God’s Lake First Nation in northeastern Manitoba is getting $6 million from the federal government for con struction of an indoor hockey rink and multipurpose space. The money was announced Aug. 31, along with four other recreation infrastructure projects in Manitoba, by the federal and provincial governments.“Recreational infra structure are at the heart of small towns and communities across Canada,” said North ern Affairs Minister Dan Van dal in a news release. “It’s where people learn to skate, host hockey tournaments, come together to stay active, and create lifelong memories with family and friends.” The new energy-efficient arena is also being funded by $2 million from the First Nation.“Itiswith great pleasure to bring this much-needed posi tive news to our community about critical infrastructure that will support our com munity,” said God’s Lake First Nation Chief Hubert Watt. “The arena-multiplex project will be a vital part of our community’s social, culture and recreation infra structure, encouraging par ticipation from our youth, elders and all community members to be active, con nect and grow. Today we celebrate the people of God’s Lake First Nation and our collective commitment to ensure this community has access to the services and networks needed to share experiences and continue to build a vibrant community.” Funding for the arena is conditional on the comple tion of all Clements.Ritchot,streamsrecreationandcommunitiesProgram’sinfederal-provincialceivingconnectintheallrecreationservewer.ServicesProtectionprovincialernmentinarenatheandstructuretomentconstructionrequirementsenvironmentalnecessaryfortoproceed.“TheManitobagovernunderstandstheneedinvestincriticalinfraimprovementsispleasedtoprioritizeGod’sLakeFirstNationandmultiplexprojectpartnershipwiththegovofCanada,”saidLabour,ConsumerandGovernmentMinisterRegHel“Thisnewfacilitywillasagatheringspaceforandcelebrations,ofwhichwillbevitaltocultureofthiscommunitybringingpeopletogethertoandgrow.”TheotherfourprojectsrefundingthroughtheInvestingCanadaInfrastructureruralandnortherninfrastructurecommunity,cultureandinfrastructureareinHeadingley,RosedaleandSt.

God’s Lake First Nation receiving federal funding for new arena

Thompson Citizen photo by Ian Graham Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal during a visit to Thompson in early August. Vandal announced Aug. 31 that God’s Lake First Nation is getting $6 million in federal funding for construction of a new indoor hockey rink and multipurpose space.

Infographic by Natasha Bulowski/ Local Journalism Initiative Reporter/Canada’s National Observer Canada’s four largest oil companies (Cenovus, Suncor, Imperial Oil and CNRL) reported more than $12 billion in combined net earnings last quarter, nearly three times more than the same quarter in 2021.

BY NATASHA BULOWSKI LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER, CANADA'S NATIONAL OBSERVER Sky-high net earnings for Canada’s four biggest oil companies have renewed calls for a windfall tax that Ottawa shows no sign of adopting.“Thegas lobby is clear ly very powerful and holds a lot of sway in Canada,” Environmental Defence’s programs director Keith Brooks told Canada’s Na tional Observer, adding the industry is impeding effect ive climate action and creat ing deep inequality among Canadians.Cenovus, Suncor, Im perial Oil and CNRL — the country’s four largest oil companies — raked in more than $12 billion in net earnings last quarter, nearly three times more than the same quarter in 2021. “This is record high in flation … a lot of it driven by high energy prices, and we clearly now see who is benefiting from this,” said Brooks, referring to the second-quarter profits. “Government should strongly consider whether it wants to weigh in on this and help redistribute those benefits to people who need them the most,” said Brooks.When asked about the possibility of a windfall tax on oil and gas profits, Finance Canada responded with a statement outlining previously announced measures like a luxury tax on vehicles, the Canada Re covery Dividend and a cor porate income tax increase. Cenovus, Suncor, CNRL and Imperial Oil are mem bers of the oil and gas in dustry group Pathways Al liance, which aims for the oilsands to reduce green house gas emissions by 22 megatonnes by 2030. This pledge pales in comparison to the oil and gas sector tar get set by Ottawa, which wants emissions to drop 80 megatonnes compared to 2019 Despitelevels.recording im pressive earnings, Pathways Alliance says it cannot meet the federal government’s goal, which “unfairly tar gets the Canadian oil and gas sector,” group president Kendall Dilling told Can ada’s National Observer in an emailed statement. Dilling also cites con cerns the federal climate plan could “discourage investment in Canada and could result in increased production and greenhouse gas emissions from other countries.”Fossilfuels are the main driver of climate change, and Pathways Alliance members represent 95 per cent of Canada’s oilsands production. The oil and gas sector is responsible for 26 per cent of Canada’s emis sions, the fastest-growing source in the country. For a long time, com panies have said they can reduce emissions from pro ducing oil without cutting back on how much oil they produce. They tout the idea of net-zero oil — which is impossible when you count the greenhouse gas emis sions that come once the oil is Lastburned.month, federal En vironment Minister Steven Guilbeault told CBC there’s a “possibility” the industry could be given more time to reduce emissions. Even after the federal government handed the industry a $2.6-billion investment tax credit for contentious carbon cap ture utilization and stor age technology, “oil com panies turned around and said, ‘That’s not enough,’” Brooks said. “So, can they not reduce emissions, or is it that it's too expensive, or which one of these things isn't true?” Brooks asked. “Because they certainly have the money now. If they wanted to invest in emissions reduc tion, this is a great oppor tunity to do that. But we don't see any evidence that that is, in fact, their plan.” If the oil and gas industry wanted to act, companies could save their profits to invest in emission reduc tion technologies or address their liabilities — like or phan wells, said Brooks. Instead, he explained, com panies pour earnings into share buybacks and share holder bonuses rather than addressing their environ mental responsibilities.

Friday, September 2, 2022 www.thompsoncitizen.net News • Page 11

Canada’s largest oil and gas companies’ sky-high net earnings renew calls for windfall tax

BY DAVE BAXTER LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE RE PORTER, WINNIPEG

Page 12 • News www.thompsoncitizen.net Friday, September 2, 2022

Public safety, crime prevention top priority for rural communities: AMM

As of Aug. 31, only two candidates each for mayor and council and none for school board, much like in 2018 and 2010.

SUN While a few high-pro file and disturbing vio lent crimes have grabbed headlines in Winnipeg recently, the president of the Association of Mani toba Municipalities says he wants people to remember that crime and public safety are much more than just a big city issue. And he said more and more he is hearing that communities across the entire province are feeling the effects of crime and that people often don’t feel safe in their own homes. “The majority of our members, almost unani mously, are concerned about crime and an increase in crime and personal prop erty crime,” AMM president Kameron Blight said Aug. 17, after AMM released the findings of a members survey focused on issues of public safety and crime prevention in Manitoba’s municipalities.Accordingto the survey, 84 per cent of respondents said that property crime and drug crime are “likely to occur” within their mu nicipal boundaries, while 92 per cent of respondents expressed concern about illicit drug use in their municipality.Aswell,92 per cent of respondents noted that they are concerned about a “lack of police presence” through out their communities, and how that affects people’s safety and their overall sense of Blight,security.whoisthe head of the organization that advo cates for all of Manitoba’s 137 incorporated municipal ities and who also serves as the reeve of the Rural Muni cipality of Portage la Prairie, said AMM embarked on the study after hearing for more than two years from muni cipal politicians and admin istrators that many believed crime was on the rise, and that police presence in some smaller communities was on the“Sodecline.weformalized this a little with this study, and really what it did was justify and reaffirm everything that we have heard while trav elling across the province,” Blight“Publicsaid.safety and crime prevention are top priorities forRecentmunicipalities.”incidents of vio lent crime in Winnipeg, including more than one disturbing stabbing incident at The Forks this summer, have put the issue of crime and safety in Winnipeg in the spotlight, but Blight said these types of crimes are happening right across the province in places big andHesmall.added the anxiety that rural residents often feel about the possibility of crimes being perpetrated against them can be com pounded because some rural areas and small commun ities lack the kind of police presence found in larger centres.“Alot of our members need increased visibility and increased police pres ence, and we know and are often told that a majority of detachments are not run ning with a full complement of staff members for vari ous reasons,” Blight said. “When you look at the smaller rural communities the response times for the RCMP can be quite delayed because of where the de tachments are located, and because of limited resour ces that are available, so when you’re out in the rural communities, there is not a lot of other eyes out there and that’s a problem. “No one should ever feel they aren’t safe in their own home.”According to Blight, he also hears directly from municipalities and from law enforcement officials that “repeat offenders” are often causing a lot of the crime in some communities and in some smaller com munities, and that police are often spending too much time dealing with those re peat“Yes,offenders.alotof members are dealing with repeat of fenders who are often re leased and re-offend and we hear that all the time, so we need to look at ways to re habilitate people once they get out of custody, while also looking at law enforce ment measures to prevent people from re-offending.” The AMM said they will now present the survey’s findings and initial recom mendations to the provin cial and federal govern ments, “while continuing to encourage all orders of gov ernment to work together to ensure greater supports are provided to municipalities in order to properly address local public safety.” — Dave Baxter is a Lo cal Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Lo cal Journalism Initiative is funded by the government of Canada.

Thompson Citizen photo courtesy of Association of Manitoba Municipalities Association of Manitoba Municipalities president Kameron Blight said in August that the results of a new AMM survey show that the majority of AMM members are concerned about issues of crime and public safety in their communities.

As usual, few candidates with just under two months until municipal election

BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

If you’ve been to an event in Thompson, well, ever, you probably know that only some hockey games and council and school board meetings can be guaranteed to get underway at precisely the advertised start ingNominationtime. deadlines are firmly adhered to, but candi dates often wait until the last minute before submitting their papers, so the fact that there are only currently four offi cial candidates for the Oct. 26 municipal election in Thomp son is probably not cause for concern.Asof Aug. 31, just under three weeks ahead of the Sept. 20 deadline to register to run for mayor, council or school board, there are two candidates for mayor — in cumbent Colleen Smook and current first-term councillor Les Ellsworth — and two for council — Chiew Chong and AddieAccordingColbourne.tosenior election official Norma Howitt, one other person has picked up papers to register as a mayoral candidate and not yet returned them, while four others have received papers to run for council but have yet to register. Currently there are no can didates for school board trust ee, though three people have picked up registration papers from Howitt.

To put it in perspective, at about the same time four years ago, there were only four regis tered candidates, though there ended up being 35 in all for 16 available positions — seven on the school board and nine on council, including the mayor. In 2010, there was only one candidate registered with just under two weeks until the nomination deadline but there were 30 by the time that cutoff dateOnlyarrived.about a half-dozen people showed up to an infor mation session for potential candidates on Aug. 30, a low er turnout then there was four yearsWhileago.it seems likely, based on the past two municipal elec tions, that Thompson will have more than enough candidates to choose from for council and school board, what happens if it doesn’t?Ifthereare fewer candidates than available positions in the council and school board elec tions, all registered candidates will automatically win a seat. Vacancies can be filled either by the acclaimed members appointing people who meet candidate eligibility require ments or through a byelection. To run for either mayor, councillor or trustee, candi dates must be Canadian cit izens, 18 years or older as of election day and voters in the municipality in which they are running, which means they must have lived or owned property in Thompson since April 26 for this year’s elec tion. Municipality and school district employees may run for office if they take a leave of absence from their jobs. Mem bers of the Manitoba legisla ture, the House of Commons or the Senate are not eligible to run, nor are judges or justices of the peace. Those previous ly convicted of an election offence or who failed to pay a fine after being convicted of other Municipal Act of fences are also not eligible as candidates.

Lake Michelle O’Bonsawin’s Supreme Court appointment a step in the right direction, but still only a step MLA Report: People with addictions and mental health struggles need more support Eric Redhead Eric.Redhead@yourmanitoba.ca MLA Report Thompson RCMP Drug Tip Line 204-677-6995

On Aug. 19, O’Bonsaw in was appointed to the Su preme Court of Canada by Prime Minister Justin Tru deau. She will become the first Indigenous woman to sit on the country’s highest court.Education has always been key for members of the Odanak First Nation, a small community between Montréal and Québec City, says Chief Richard O’Bomsawin.OnAg.19,as he learned his cousin was nominated to the Supreme Court, the chief was bursting with pride.“To have one of our mem bers reach that high goal is just amazing,” he says. Before the appointment, O’Bonsawin spent five years with Ontario’s Su preme Court of Justice. O’Bonsawin is also coming off the heels of her defence of her PhD thesis in law, which she completed earlier this year at the University of TheOttawa.thesis was on the ap plication of the Gladue prin ciples, which outline how judges consider the unique experiences of Indigenous Peoples and how they are affected by colonization and intergenerational trauma. “She’s definitely the person for the job,” Chief O’Bomsawin says. Growing up off-reserve in Hammer, Ont., near Sud bury, O’Bonsawin identifies as a bilingual Franco-On tarian, according to a biog raphy released by the Prime Minister’s Office. In a required question naire posted by the De partment of Justice, O’Bon sawin wrote about being discriminated against and bullied for being a young Indigenous girl who lived off-reserve, different from the larger francophone community.O’Bonsawin’s world as an Indigenous person changed at the University of Ottawa. Her last name wasn’t laughed at, but rec ognized, and she became in volved in Indigenous cases after joining the Indigenous Law Students Association, she“Iwrites.haveseen how the In digenous perspective can be different from that of the rest of Canada’s population, while recognizing that all our unique perspectives are at the heart of our country,” O’Bonsawin writes. The perspective is es sential for proponents of Indigenous representation on the bench, including former lawyer and chair of the Truth and Reconcilia

In the matter of the Estate of ARTHUR BRENT ARMSTRONG, late of the City of Thompson, in the Province of Manitoba, Deceased: All claims against the above Estate, duly verified by Statutory Dec laration, must be filed with the Undersigned at 303-960 Portage Avenue; Winnipeg, Manitoba R3G 0R4, on or before October 9, 2022. Dated at the City of Winnipeg, in the Province of Manitoba, this 25th day of August, 2022. Wolseley Law LLP Solicitors for the Executor Attn.: KYLA KAVANAGH

O’Bonsawin held firm. “No, this is what I’m go ing to do. Watch me,” she said in a video posted to the University of Ottawa, O’Bonsawin’s alma mater.

PUBLIC NOTICE – 2023 BOARD OF REVISION Pursuant to Section 41 of the Municipal Assessment Act, NOTICE is hereby given that the 2023 Assessment Rolls for the Town of Snow Lake is open for inspection starting at the Municipal Office, 113 Elm Street during normal office hours 8:00 am–4:30 pm. The public is also advised that the Board of Revision will sit to hear applications for revision on October 4, 2022 at 7:00 pm in the Town Office, Snow Lake. A person in whose name property has been assessed, a mortgagee in possession of property under subsection 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 a. liability to taxation; b. amount of assessed value; c. classification of property; or d. a refusal by an assessor to amend the assessment roll under subsection 13(2). An application for revision must be a. 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. filed by delivering it or causing it to be delivered to the office indicated above or by serving it upon the secretary, at least 15 days before the scheduled sitting date of the board by September 19, 2022 Dated at the Town of Snow Lake, this Wednesday, 31st day of August 2022. CAO Snow

CITY OF THOMPSON SCHOOL DISTRICT OF MYSTERY LAKE NOTICE OF NOMINATIONS

tion Commission Murray Sinclair and Indigenous Bar Association president Drew Lafond. "It's very difficult to have confidence in the ability of the court to pronounce on those issues when you don't have any individuals at the court who spent their lives working in Indigenous laws, customs or traditions," Lafond told the Canadian Press. "Hopefully with Mi chelle's appointment, we can begin to change that." O’Bonsawin is poised to join the bench on Sept. 1, filling the vacancy left by Justice Michael Moldaver. Still, there is some hesi tancy among critics over how much the appointment can change the broader view, particularly around constitutional change. Her appointment will bring a different outlook, maybe not to change things, but to expand the minds on the Supreme Court bench, Chief O’Bomsawin says. It’s a thought echoed by Russ Diabo, a First Nations policyO’Bonsawin’sanalyst. appoint ment is a step, but not a broad historical moment, Diabo says. The court is still an institution of the Canadian state, which has significant implications for broadappeal.alCanadabeforeservices.regardingrideeralofdownjurisdiction.governmentinghasovernizewhoserelations.Crown-IndigenousDiabopointstoBillC-92,purposeistorecogIndigenousjurisdictionchildwelfare.Québecchallengedthebill,citoverreachbythefederalinprovincialTheQuébeccourtstrucksections21and22(3)thebill,whichgavefedlawthepowertooverprovincialstatuteschildandfamilyBillC-92willnowheadtheSupremeCourtoffollowingafedergovernmentandQuébecThedecisionwillhaveimplicationsforSection35oftheConstitution,whichrecognizesand affirms the treaty rights of Indigenous Peoples. “I think [the Supreme Court] will want her in that decision because that’s a major decision around the inherent right for self-gov ernance,” Diabo says. — with files from Marie Danielle-Smith

Alexander Fisher

Friday, September 2, 2022 www.thompsoncitizen.net Careers • Page 13

BY MATTEO CIMELLARO LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER, CANADA'S NATIONAL OBSERVER At age nine, Michelle O’Bonsawin told her par ents she was going to be a lawyer, and they were surprised. There had never been a lawyer in the family. She hung onto that ambi tion and in high school, told her guidance counsellor the same thing. He suggested she pick a different career, and told her becoming a lawyer was unlikely for a woman from a small French town in north Ontario.

Dated at the City of Thompson, in the Province of Manitoba, this 26th day of August, A.D. 2022. ALL CHANGES TO THE VOTERS LIST MUST BE COMPLETED ON OR BEFORE SEPTEMBER 20, 2022. Senior Election Official (S.E.O) Norma Howitt The City of Thompson and School District of Mystery Lake 226 Mystery Lake Road, Thompson, MB R8N 1S6 Phone: (204) 679-4848

It is my honour to write this article as the Member of the Legislative Assem bly for Thompson. To those who don’t know me or don’t know much about me, I’m Eric Redhead. I was born in Thompson, worked in healthcare and served on council and then as the chief of Shamattawa for two terms before running in a provincial byelection fol lowing the untimely passing of Danielle Adams. Danielle had only just been elected in 2019. Her passing is a tragedy. I certainly never expected that I might be an elected provincial official. After much discussion with friends and family I decid ed to seek the NDP nom ination and run to be your representative.Thankyoufor your trust. I was elected earlier this summer and sworn in as your representative on June 24. Thank you to everyone who helped work on my campaign. Thank you to Wab Kinew, leader of the NDP, who provided great support and guidance. Wab came to Thompson several times leading up to and dur ing the election. It is great to see a leader who cares about the north. Thank you to Blair Hudson, Kalen Leib and many, many volunteers. I especially thank the people of Thompson who have trusted me to represent them. I am so grateful to all of you. Whether you voted for me or not, I will do my best to represent you and your concerns. I want to do right by our community. One thing I have already heard a lot about is health care. Health care facilities throughout the constituency are closing because there is just not enough health care staff. Thompson is suffering really high vacancy rates. Paramedics have had to staff the Thompson emer gency room because of staffing shortages. We’ve also seen that far too many people have to travel south to get health care services that should and could be provided much closer to home.Before I got into politics, I worked as an aide in sup port of psychiatric care to help people struggling with mental health and ad dictions challenges. I feel strongly that much more needs to be done to support people. The last few years have been very difficult on people’s mental health, and the addictions crisis has had a major impact everywhere in Manitoba. I will do my best to bring this concern and your priorities to the Manitoba legislature. Thank you again, and if you have any questions or concerns you can contact my constituency office at toba.ca.Eric.Redhead@yourmani

APPLICATION TO VOTE BY SEALED ENVELOPE (BY MAIL) An elector who is unable to go in person to the polling place or advance poll for an election, may apply in writing to the Senior Election Official no later than three (3) days before Election Day, to vote by mail. Qualified electors who wish to vote by mail are encouraged to apply to the Senior Election Official at their earlies convenience.

& Board of Revision Secretary Town of

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Notice is hereby given that from September 14, 2022, to September 20, 2022, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., at City Hall, 226 Mystery Lake Road, nominations will be received for the offices of: MAYOR 1 Position for the years November 2022 to November 2026 COUNCILLORS 8 Positions for the years November 2022 to November 2026 SCHOOL TRUSTEES 7 Positions for the years November 2022 to November 2026 The nomination deadline is September 20, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. Nominations cannot be accepted after this day. All nominations shall be made in writing and shall be signed by at least twenty-five (25) voters, or NOT less than 1% of the voters (whichever is the lesser) of the authority or ward (as the case may be), but in all cases by at least two voters. Each nomination shall also be accompanies by the candidate’s declaration of qualification. Nominations may be filed in person or by an official agent, at the above location, on the date and hours specified. To obtain a nomination paper, and/or candidate’s declaration of qualification, contact the S.E.O. at the telephone number listed below. Nomination papers not accompanied by the required documents and not properly filed shall be rejected.

Only applicants considered for the position will be contacted.

• Excellent time management and facilitation skills;

Thompson Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation

• Prepare correspondence, reports, and information related to these duties as required.

JOB OPPORTUNITY–FULL TIME POSITION

• Knowledge of Jordan’s Principle Child First Initiative; • Child development background or equivalent • Experience working in First Nation Communities; • CPR and First Aide Certification; • Excellent computer skills

Reporting to the Home Care Manager, the Home Care Nurse is responsible for promoting, protecting & preserving the health of Marcel Colomb community members through services directed to home care clients.

• Effective verbal and listening communications skills; • Strong leadership, critical thinking, decision making and problem solving skills.

• Prepare, key in, edit and proofread correspondence, reports, invoices, presentations, forms and other related material using computerized systems.

The Keewatin Tribal Council Health Department is seeking a highly motivated individual with management skills for a fulltime position role of Administrative Clerk within the Student Services and Technical Services department.

• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills.

• Building and maintaining stakeholder and client relations.

• A cover letter that clearly indicates how you meet the position requirements

Page 14 • Careers www.thompsoncitizen.net Friday, September 2, 2022

The successful candidate will have a high school diploma and:

Got a job Careers

• Daily access to a vehicle • Criminal record & child abuse registry checks • 2 years of related nursing experience • Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook • Immunization record up to date

Louisiana PacificSwan LabourersGeneralValley

ADMINISTRATIVEASSISTANT

• 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;

• Proficient in office related software and effective communication skills.

• Resume • Copy of credentials (licenses, training, education)

• Post and balance receipts for payment.

Requirements: • Some post-secondary accounting education and experience are a definite asset.

• Ethical behavior when dealing with sensitive financial, company and personal information.

• Post secondary education in office administration or any related education and work experience in a related field would be considered an asset.

• Must have excellent communication/typing skills, experience with Microsoft Office and basic bookkeeping preferable.

• Maintain, balance, or help create worksheets.

• Conference and event planning:

• May schedule and confirm business appointments and meetings of Program Managers.

• Assist staff in the preparation and maintenance of Technical Services project progress claims to Government.

“The book hasn't survived because of its story–it's sur vived because of its protag onist’s incredible name,” Green“Whensaid.a Canadian pros pector named Tom Creigh ton came across a large and deep vein of copper, he de cided to name his mine the Flin Flon mine because he just read The Sunless City The town that grew up around that mine came to be called Flin Flon as well. Flin Flon is going through a hard time–the biggest mine in the town is closing this year, but it continues on, and as long as it does, the best of J.E.P Muddock’s work will also survive. I find that kind of lovely.”

• Training provided, flexible work environment, wages based on experience.

Cree Nation Tribal Health Center Inc. is seeking applications for a full-time term position of Case Manager (Registered Nurse, Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Social Work), funded under the Jordan’s Principle- Child First Initiative Project for Marcel Colomb First Nation

The Administrative Clerk should have the following qualifications:

• Record and prepare minutes of meetings.

• Excellent planning, organizing, interpersonal and communication skills.

Applications Must Include:

J.E. Preston Muddock’s 1905 dimestore novel The Sunless City was a topic of discussion for a recent video by author John Green, posted on the Vlogbrothers Youtube account shared by John and his brother, fellow author Hank Green. Green is known for a body of work that includes eight full-length books, including the 2012 novel The Fault in Our Stars, which was adapt ed to the big screen in 2014.

• Completion of an accounting and/or finance courses.

KEEWATINcontacted.TRIBALCOUNCIL

Louisiana-Pacific, Employer of Choice, a leader in the forest products industry known for the development of innovative, affordable, environmentally friendly building products and for excellence in Safety and Quality is currently seeking Labourers at our Swan Valley SmartSide®, Swan Valley, Minitonas operation.

• Must have at least 3 years clerical and administrative experience. • Requires experience in coordinating activities.

Thompson’s Biggest Little Secret!

The TNRC thanks all those applies but will be contacting only individuals that they wish to interview. 31, 2018 www.thompsoncitizen.net

• Set up and maintain manual and computerized information filing systems.

The Home Care Nurse provides holistic care & practices nursing as defined by the Registered Nurses Act & in compliance with the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba Standards of Practice & Canadian Nurses Association Code of Ethics; cares for & directs the overall care of clients; is responsible for advocating, providing information, educating & supporting clients to ensure that the highest possible standard of service is provided; follows Marcel Colomb policies & procedures; works in a multidisciplinary team & may be called upon to assist with other duties within the scope of the department.

Dental Assistant Under the direct supervision of the Patient Care Manager or designate, assists multi-disciplinary team personnel in performing a variety of patient care activities and related non-professional services necessary in caring for the personal needs and comfort of the patient. This is an integrated position that includes coordination and scheduling of dental procedures for the Operating Room (OR). This will require expertise in developing and maintaining excellent working relationships with a broad range of individuals and organizations. The OR Dental Assistant will function within the provisions of the Vision, Mission, Values, policies and procedures of the Northern Health Region (NHR) and will incorporate NHR core competencies into working practice (Customer/ Client Focused, Initiative & Pro-activity, Diversity Awareness, Teamwork, and Collaboration, Development of Self and Others, and Adaptability).

Closing Date: January 5, 2018 at 4pm. No late submissions will be accepted.

• Create, organize and maintain a comprehensive filing management system for Technical Services projects.

• Accounting Data Entry for the Technical Department’s Project Management Infrastructure Projects.

• Preparing bank deposits, able to organize, prioritize and complete reports by deadline dates.

Salary: The Thompson Regional Airport offers a competitive salary and employee benefit package. Starting salary will be based on education and experience of the applicant.

• Maintaining TNRC’s social media.

PURPOSE Under the general direction of Keewatin Tribal Council (KTC) Director of Student Services and Director of Technical Services perform a variety of administrative, clerical and accounting data entry duties in support of the Education & Training services and Technical Advisory Services.

JOB OPPORTUNITY – External Posting Marcel Colomb First Nation JP-CFI Case Manager (Full-Time Term Position)

• Conducting day to day office personal duties including answering phone calls and addressing queries from the public.

• Gathering information for TNRC’s services and programs.

The purpose of the newly funded Jordan’s Principle Child First Project is to implement a comprehensive and integrated approach of coordinated services to help Marcel Colomb First Nation Health to provide support and respond to children with complex and special needs and their families, in partnership with other health and social professionals and agencies. These services should significantly contribute to quality of life ensuring that children and their families are enabled to experience a life that is as full and as normal as possible.

• Responding appropriately to customer accounting requests.

• Knowledge of Proposals and preparing proposals.

Interested applicants are to provide a resume and cover letter to the following: Oswald Sawh - Executive Director Thompson Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation Email: sawhsupportservices@mymts.net Mailing Address: Unit B - 117 Commercial Place, Thompson MB R8N 1B5

• Balance deposit activities.

We would like to thank those who have applied. Only those selected for an interview will be

The Case Manager position provides a comprehensive community health service in conjunction with its health care team. The Case Manager will provide supervision & peer support to the Child Development Workers, Assistant to the Case Manager and Respite Workers, in each SCTC community to provide a model of service delivery for children with complex needs and their families. Provide elements in which services have a particular responsibility to take the lead in securing effective development, delivery and review of services.

ASSISTANT PROPERTY MANAGER

• Completion of a two-year college or other program for Business Administration

• Courteous, professional manner, strong customer service skills.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS

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

The incumbent must fulfill the requirements of the Criminal Records/Vulnerable Person, Child Abuse Registry check and Adult Abuse Registry check, and adhere to all Northern Health Region policies and procedures.

Home Care Nurse- External Posting

• Monitor and action customer accounts on delayed payments.

Closing date: February 16, 2018 We appreciate the interest of all applicants, however only those individuals selected for interviews will be contacted.

JOB DUTIES: Perform some or all of the following duties:

The successful candidates will join a dynamic team in providing support to the facility located in the beautiful Swan River Valley as it embarks on a new and exciting journey of producing siding for a growing Louisiana-Pacifimarket.coffers a competitive wage and benefit package in accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement. LouisianaPacific is an equal opportunity employer. We thank all applicants, however, only those selected for interviews will be contacted. Candidates will be subject to successful completion of comprehensive background screening and health checks. Please forward your cover letter and resume to: Lorraine Schneider Human Resource Generalist I Louisiana-Pacific Canada Ltd. P.O. Box 189, Minitonas, MB R0L 1G0 Phone: (204) 525-2479 Ext. 2104 Fax: (866) 678-5969 e-mail : lorraine.schneider@lpcorp.com

• Research, organize and help compile comparison requests.

• Completion of secondary school.

Start date: ASAP Email resume to Carolyn Turpie: ormanager@friulirentals.comorfaxto:204-677-3195dropoffat31OakSt.Office.

Friuli Suite Rentals & Bianchini Warehousing

Glacier Media Group is growing. Check our job board regularly for the latest www.glaciermedia.ca/careersopenings:

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

YouTube screenshot Author and online personality John Green holds up a copy of the book that gave Flin Flon its name–The Sunless City by J.E. Preston Muddock. Green, a multiple time New York Times bestselling author, posted a video about the book to his social media pages than has since garnered over 100,000 views.

Bestselling author John Green finds inspiration in survival of Flin Flon, namesake novel

• Compile data, statistics and other information and conduct research as requested using computerized systems.

• RN or BN preference for someone with a nursing background in rehab care and must be in good standing with CRNM; or Bachelor of Education or Bachelor of Social Work

• Maintaining the TNRC’s filing system.

> CAREER OPPORTUNITY

Please forward a resume with 3 references along with cover letter, in confidence, to: Please drop off resumes at Thompson Ford Sales 15 Station Road Attn: Kayla Lafreniere

• Travel arrangements for staff.

Qualifications: The successful candidate must possess the following qualifications;•Goodwritten and verbal communication skills • Physically fit to perform all duties • Ability to multitask and problem solve • Ability to operate equipment as required • Computer literacy will be considered an asset • Valid driver’s license • Shiftwork

The duty of the Administrative Assistant under the supervision of the TNRC’s Executive Director includes:

Marcel Colomb First Nation Health Authority is seeking a qualified individual to fulfill the role of Home Care Nurse.

• Communicating with stakeholders and partners.

• Experience and knowledge of the City of Thompson and surrounding area.

• Personal contact information (phone & email)

Recognize the deficits with service systems and the need to protect children through early intervention, sharing of information, effective co-ordination of services and appropriate training.

This position will provide accounting support to the CFO, as well as administrative support to the TRAA management team.

Closing Date: September 9, 2022 Resume and cover letter can be sent in confidence to: Thompson Regional Airport Authority PO Box 112 Thompson MB R8N 1M9 Phone: (204) 677-0720 Email: service@fly-yth.ca We thank all applicants who apply; however, only selected candidates will be contacted for an interview.

• Share and maintain front desk reception duties with other administrative secretaries on a rotational basis as required.

TECHNICAL ADVISORY SERVICES / EDUCATION & ADMINISTRATIVETRAININGCLERK

• We are looking for someone who is dedicated and ambitious to develop management skills for long term future considerations.

Several of Green’s books have debuted at the top of the New York Times best seller list and Green has ap peared on Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World list. Online, the Greens have massive followings on so cial media sites, including Youtube–where almost 3.5 million people are sub scribed to the Vlogbrothers account–and Twitter, where Green has 4.6 million fol lowers. The video featuring Flin Flon's namesake was shared on both. The video, as of press time, had been seen over 100,000 times on Youtube. A film based on one of Green’s novels, his 2017 book Turtles All The Way Down, is in the works–it is through production on that film that Green was intro duced to Flin Flon and Mud dock’s work. In the video, Green said he had been alerted to the existence of the book by Tracey Poirier, a second assistant director on the film. Poirier is originally from Flin Flon and spoke about the book that provid ed her hometown with its name, eventually mailing Green a copy. When Green ended up with COVID-19 earlier this month and was stuck at home, the book ar rived, almost as if on cue, to provide the author with some bizarre bygone read ing“Asmaterial.the grandson of somebody from Skullbone, Tennessee, I have long been fascinated by unusual place names and Tracy explained to me that Flin Flon got its name from a novel, The Sunless City, published in 1905,” said Green in the video.“Now, I have a longstand ing rule that if a friend gives me a strange, out-of-print book, I read it, because you never know when you're going to discover one last literary treasure and I told Tracy about this. Then, just as COVID-19 was settling upon my house, what should arrive in my mailbox but The Sunless City.” In the video, Green dis cusses the plot points of the book itself, which sees the character whose name lends itself to the town, Jo siah Flintabbatey Flonatin, take on a journey into the centre of the earth to find a society almost complete ly opposite of that on the planet’s surface. Most of Green’s analysis focuses on the survival of the book, one of around 50 written by Muddock, against all odds. The book itself, Green argues, would have likely been lost to time, like other works of its age. Instead, the story has lived on through its protagonist's name and its link to Tom Creighton, who along with guide David Collins found the ore body that gave rise to the city we call home.

• Program and service research for external program providers.

• Attendance at Employment & Training Student Services staff / Technical Advisory Services meetings

Position Summary:

• Knowledge of Cree language and culture;

• Must possess the ability to work efficiently in an independent environment.

• Class 5 Drivers License is a mandatory requirement.

Job Summary

Duties include:

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

• Determine and establish departmental office procedures for a continual improvement.

• Computer literacy and strong typing skills, experience with accounting software and MS office.

WORK WITH US & GROW A CAREER

Position Requirements:

• Three references (colleague, supervisor or manager) and contact information • Criminal record check & child abuse registry checks (or indication that they have been applied for)

• Respect for the customs, traditions and practices of the local member First Nation communities.

• Experience in social media would be considered an asset.

HELP WANTED Accounting/AdministrativeSupportClerk

• Filing and maintaining records. Update, verify and maintain customer information, ensuring records are complete and current.

• Supervisory and case management experience;

• Registered Nurse or Licensed Practical • CRNM or CLPN – Active Registration • Valid Manitoba Class 5 Driver’s License

• Possess initiative and judgement.

• Prepare and submit customer invoices.

BY ERIC WESTHAVER FLIN FLON REMINDER Flin Flon and the book that gave the town its name have garnered the attention of one of America’s bestknown authors.

• Other accounting/administrative duties as needed.

• Assist in the maintenance and reconciliation of projects on a regular basis.

Northern RHA has a Representative Workforce Strategy, we encourage all applicants to selfdeclare. 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.nrha.ca

• Be open to new ideas and changes that may improve efficiency in day to day operations.

• Full time, permanent, 35 + hours per week, must be bondable, able to pass criminal background check, have driver’s licence and access to own transportation.

• Ability to travel. A written application with detailed resume; including at least two (2) references with written permission to contact the references of your latest immediate supervisors should be submitted to: Lisa Beardy, Office Manager 23 Nickel Road, Thompson, MB R8N 0Y4 Email: lbeardy@ktc.ca Fax Deadline204-677-0256Wednesday, September 7, 2022 @4:00 pm 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.

The Thompson Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation (TNRC) is hiring for an Administrative Assistant that will assist in the dayto-day operations of the TNRC. The mandate of the TNRC is to facilitate community development in the City of Thompson based on its areas of focus that currently includes community safety, beautification, housing, and youth and cultural programming.

Wednesday, January

• Ability to fill in for the manager when required/willingness to carry company cell phone in case of emergency.

Qualiﬁcations:

• Willingness to comply with all company and federal financial/ airport regulations.

• Attention to detail, ability to work independently and within a team environment applying confidentiality in all matters.

Your application will not proceed to interview without the above information. To obtain a complete job description, for additional information or to apply for this position please contact or submit your application to: Email or drop off only Cree Nation Tribal Health Centre

Qualifications: Grade 12 education or equivalent Successful completion of a recognized Dental Assistant Program required Current active practicing registration with Manitoba Dental Association Excellent knowledge of Windows based programs (Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and Internet) Minimum three (3) years’ experience as a Dental Assistant required Previous experience working with Pediatric cases preferred Ability to speak Cree an asset For complete list of qualifications please visit our website www.nrha.ca Please submit resume by February 2, 2018 to: Lori Rasmussen, Recruitment Officer 867 Thompson Drive South Thompson, MB R8N 1Z4 Fax: (204) 778-1477 Email: recruiteast@nrha.ca

If you miss a phone call from someone, the best way to return it is by calling them back, rather than sending a

• On-Site Gym Facility • Work culture dedicated to safety, diversity & inclusion and career growth

• Online training and career development opportunities Difference Makes All the Difference

With over 60 years of experience as a top nickel producer in Manitoba, the Thompson Mine and Concentrator has a strong future in northern Manitoba. Located in the heart of the northern boreal region, the Thompson Nickel Belt is still considered one of the world’s most promising resources. 8, 2022 11, 2022 visit Citizen Eric ClaudeAntonyshynHykawy Warehouse Greg Fennell Sean Parsons Human Resources/Safety Health and Environment Sheila Thompson Kim BradHayesVolanski Mines Engineering Cecile Kelly Terry SteveLamontagnePeterson Mill Glenn Hofer Steve Long Reﬁnery John RobJeffRogerPatStuartDennisMcNevinNychukLothianLamontagneKatchmarHanlonRicketts Utilities Steve WayneNakonechnySchroeder Smelter Brad RonaldWilliamSeanGerryKentDavidWrightMitchellKorzenowskiPilloudGallagherBirchWhite T3 Mine Keith RichardJamesHykawyMacInyreBlake Chris Lagace Travis Bloomer Corey ScottKennethCamilleWilloughbyMeuseKoladaMacMillan IT Systems Angela Haase T1 Mine John Dygos Allan Goudy Ian WarrenMckenzieHeath General Engineering Kevin Murphy Bert MarvinWentzellMcNevin Shops Transportationsand Adrian DonChrisEddyTerenceDegrootMilliganDusecinaGrievesLandego and Development Dan Dnistransky – 26 years of service – 25 years of service

Friday, September 2, 2022

for future Vale recruitment opportunities. Congratulations to the Quarter Century Inductees Birchtree Mine Peter ThomasGrantRaymondMarksRyanRichterBalfour SupportDivisional Toni Paulic Lab Brian Brass Warehouse Brian Wilson Mill Jeff Haney Reﬁnery Bill SheldonDavidDeanStanCoxWongRichterRandellYurkiw Smelter Steve Nelson Darcy Hayduk Darryl Gerus T3 Mine Kevin RalphTravisRichardStadnekSancheReidBrown Jamie RussellRobJamesBraendleListerVancoughnettDick Shops Transportationsand Tyler Teneycke T1 Mine Keith RobertKevinKennethBeltonDreoliniDanrothVanDrunen Human Resources/Safety Health and Environment Perry Oxford Birchtree Mine Michel Caron Dan DavidGaryCraigChadTerryJensDecorbyHenkelWhiteRedmanHanlonUnrauFilipe SupportDivisional

Supervisor, Exploration Technical-Thompson 1050618September

Smelter Steve Nelson Darcy Hayduk Darryl Gerus T3 Mine Kevin RalphTravisRichardStadnekSancheReidBrown

Our Thompson Manitoba Operations is now hiring for the following positions: Job Title Posting ID Closes Mill Labourer 1051166September

• Leave for all of life’s reasons (vacation, flex, sick, top up for maternity/parental)

Vale is an equal opportunity employer seeking to increase diversity across our operations and improve equal opportunity at Vale and in the mining industry.

OUR TEAM Technical Services personnel are differentiated by the systems and level of technical solutions they must provide to maintain safe, predictable, and reliable operations for the Business. The team comprises of experienced resources whom work in collaboration with both internal and external stake holders to lead enhancements in both our processes and controls in the Concentrator operational areas.

• Strong computer skills, (Microsoft Office Applications, Data analysis and Mass Balancing software etc.).

• Strong technical report writing skills.

Dan Dnistransky

APPLY Apply by: Friday, September 23, 2022

Development Dan Dnistransky 1990 – 26 years of service 1991 – 25 years of service Who We Are

• The language of work is English

Learning

As one of the world’s largest producers of high-quality, low carbon nickel and an important producer of copper and responsibly sourced cobalt, we produce the metals that are critical to building a cleaner and greener future. We are focused on developing our people and our workforce to build a truly inclusive and diverse workforce, where differences matter. At Vale, we believe Diversity and Inclusion are key to transforming our company into one that is inclusive, innovative and sustainable in the long-term.

Learning and Development

• Ensure safe use of chemicals, tools, equipment and provide training and technical support to junior metallurgists, technologists, analysts, and plant operators.

Thompson

• Attractive pension and benefits (company paid core coverage, flex health and dental coverage, flex accounts, disability plans and optional insurances)

About EDUCATIONYou & EXPERIENCE:

Recruiter Contact Information: Stephanie Keough at Stephanie.Keough@vale.com

Congratulations to

In accordance with the Accessibility for Manitobans Act, accommodation is available throughout our recruitment process for applicants with disabilities.

1991 – 25 years of service

• Provide accurate data & analysis to a variety of customers i.e.: Management, Accounting, Environment, etc. • Monitor metallurgical processes, equipment and product quality subsequently providing metallurgical support and troubleshooting of process upsets.

• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to influence and work with others to achieve defined targets.

www.thompsoncitizen.net Careers • Page 15 Available in accessible formats upon request. We are seeking a Diesel Trades Trainee to be part of our Transmission Stations Operations & Maintenance team in Thompson, Manitoba. As a Diesel Trades Trainee, you will be responsible for the installation, commissioning, servicing and the repair of diesel generators and associated equipment used to generate electrical energy for critical services throughout the Province of Manitoba. You will have a Grade 12 education or equivalent, currently registered apprentice, or completion of an accredited program in Heavy Duty Equipment or Truck and Transport Mechanic through a participating institution as identified by Apprenticeship Manitoba. Deadline: September 22, 2022 Apply online at hydro.mb.ca/careersGENERATING1‑800‑565‑5200 BRIGHT FUTURES DIESEL TRADES TRAINEE Quarter Century Inductees Birchtree Mine Peter ThomasGrantRaymondMarksRyanRichterBalfour SupportDivisional Toni Paulic Lab Brian Brass Warehouse Brian Wilson Mill Jeff Haney Birchtree Mine Michel Caron Dan DavidGaryCraigChadTerryJensDecorbyHenkelWhiteRedmanHanlonUnrauFilipe SupportDivisional Eric ClaudeAntonyshynHykawy Warehouse Greg Fennell Sean Parsons Human Resources/Safety Health and Environment Sheila Thompson Kim BradHayesVolanski Mines Engineering Cecile Kelly Terry SteveLamontagnePeterson Mill Glenn Hofer Steve Long Refinery John RobJeffRogerPatStuartDennisMcNevinNychukLothianLamontagneKatchmarHanlonRicketts Utilities Steve WayneNakonechnySchroeder Smelter Brad RonaldWilliamSeanGerryKentDavidWrightMitchellKorzenowskiPilloudGallagherBirchWhite T3 Mine Keith RichardJamesHykawyMacInyreBlake Chris Lagace Travis Bloomer Corey ScottKennethCamilleWilloughbyMeuseKoladaMacMillan IT Systems Angela Haase T1 Mine John Dygos Allan Goudy Ian WarrenMckenzieHeath General Engineering Kevin Murphy Bert MarvinWentzellMcNevin Shops Transportationsand Adrian DonChrisEddyTerenceDegrootMilliganDusecinaGrievesLandego Learning and Development Dan Dnistransky 1990 – 26 years of service 1991 – 25 years of service Quarter Century Inductees Birchtree Mine Peter ThomasGrantRaymondMarksRyanRichterBalfour SupportDivisional Toni Paulic Lab Brian Brass Warehouse Brian Wilson Mill Jeff Haney Refinery Bill SheldonDavidDeanStanCoxWongRichterRandellYurkiw Smelter Steve Nelson Darcy Hayduk Darryl Gerus T3 Mine Kevin RalphTravisRichardStadnekSancheReidBrown Jamie RussellRobJamesBraendleListerVancoughnettDick Shops Transportationsand Tyler Teneycke T1 Mine Keith RobertKevinKennethBeltonDreoliniDanrothVanDrunen Human Resources/Safety Health and Environment Perry Oxford Birchtree Mine Michel Caron Dan DavidGaryCraigChadTerryJensDecorbyHenkelWhiteRedmanHanlonUnrauFilipe SupportDivisional Eric ClaudeAntonyshynHykawy Warehouse Greg Fennell Sean Parsons Human Resources/Safety Health and Environment Sheila Thompson Kim BradHayesVolanski Mines Engineering Cecile Kelly Terry SteveLamontagnePeterson Mill Glenn Hofer Steve Long Refinery John RobJeffRogerPatStuartDennisMcNevinNychukLothianLamontagneKatchmarHanlonRicketts Utilities Steve WayneNakonechnySchroeder Smelter Brad RonaldWilliamSeanGerryKentDavidWrightMitchellKorzenowskiPilloudGallagherBirchWhite T3 Mine Keith RichardJamesHykawyMacInyreBlake Chris Lagace Travis Bloomer Corey ScottKennethCamilleWilloughbyMeuseKoladaMacMillan IT Systems Angela Haase T1 Mine John Dygos Allan Goudy Ian WarrenMckenzieHeath General Engineering Kevin Murphy Bert MarvinWentzellMcNevin Shops Transportationsand Adrian DonChrisEddyTerenceDegrootMilliganDusecinaGrievesLandego

• Strong analytical skills, i.e. compilation, analysis, and interpretation of data.

Etiquette: Returning phone calls Citizen photo by RapidEye/Getty Images

1990 – 26 years of service

Vale is a global leader in the production of iron ore and one of the largest producers of nickel. Active in Canada for over 100 years, Vale employs nearly 6,000 people across our corporate office in Toronto and sites in Manitoba, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador. Applying the latest technologies to sustainably produce nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum group metals, gold and silver is at the heart of what we do. With our global headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and approximately 125,000 employees in over 30 countries, Vale is constantly growing and changing. We invite you to be part of our evolution. With over 60 years of experience as a top nickel producer in Manitoba, the Thompson Mine and Concentrator has a strong future in northern Manitoba. Located in the heart of the northern boreal region, the Thompson Nickel Belt is still considered one of the world’s most promising resources.

Job SeniorTitle: Metallurgist

• Participate, monitor and provide input into the MB division production and financial plan.

• Employee Family Assistance Program

1991

• Knowledge of PHA & MOC systems.

Mill Glenn Hofer Steve Long Reﬁnery John RobJeffRogerPatStuartDennisMcNevinNychukLothianLamontagneKatchmarHanlonRicketts Utilities Steve WayneNakonechnySchroeder Smelter Brad RonaldWilliamSeanGerryKentDavidWrightMitchellKorzenowskiPilloudGallagherBirchWhite T3 Mine Keith RichardJamesHykawyMacInyreBlake

the Quarter Century Inductees

• Strong understanding of Metallurgical Processing operations is an asset.

At Vale, we are committed to ensuring an inclusive work environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. Vale encourages everyone to express their ideas and opinions and values the plurality of individual profiles. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or any other personal consideration that makes us different.

THE OPPORTUNITY We are currently seeking a Senior Metallurgist to join our Concentrator Technical Services team in Thompson, Manitoba. This is a permanent position. The Senior Metallurgist will ensure operations receive the necessary technical support materials to monitor, control and improve process variables. Achieve personal outputs and commitments established between the Supervising Metallurgist under the Role Profile that include but are not limited to:

• Actively seek new process technologies for the Concentrator and Act as project sponsor for assigned capital and non-capital projects.

Birchtree Mine Peter ThomasGrantRaymondMarksRyanRichterBalfour SupportDivisional Toni Paulic Lab Brian Brass Warehouse Brian Wilson Mill Jeff Haney Reﬁnery Bill SheldonDavidDeanStanCoxWongRichterRandellYurkiw

Sean Parsons Human Resources/Safety Health and Environment Sheila Thompson Kim BradHayesVolanski Mines Engineering Cecile Kelly Terry SteveLamontagnePeterson

Who We Are Welcome to Vale in Canada. As a leader in the mining industry, our responsibility is to positively impact our people, communities and the environment. We value our workforce and offer continuous training and career development opportunities for our people.

Human Resources/Safety Health and Environment Perry Oxford Birchtree Mine Michel Caron Dan DavidGaryCraigChadTerryJensDecorbyHenkelWhiteRedmanHanlonUnrauFilipe SupportDivisional Eric ClaudeAntonyshynHykawy Warehouse Greg Fennell

Learning and

• Grow your career in a large and global company, and mining industry leader

Ready to lead with your engineering skills?

our Vale Career Page to apply: www.vale.com/canada/EN/people/Pages/default.aspx Read the Thompson

• Chemical, metallurgical or process engineering degree (P. Eng.) with 5 years of industrial experience

• Establish & provide plant scale investigations of process changes and improvements, recommending practical solutions.

text message.

WORK LOCATION Vale Canada Limited, 1 Vale Road, Thompson, MB R8N 1P3

• Ensure operations procedures receive the necessary technical support materials to monitor and control process variables that comply with legislation and divisional policies & procedures.

1990

Chris Lagace Travis Bloomer Corey ScottKennethCamilleWilloughbyMeuseKoladaMacMillan IT Systems Angela Haase T1 Mine John Dygos Allan Goudy Ian WarrenMckenzieHeath General Engineering Kevin Murphy Bert MarvinWentzellMcNevin Shops Transportationsand Adrian DonChrisEddyTerenceDegrootMilliganDusecinaGrievesLandego

• Honors in science with 5 years of industrial experience Skills:

• Ability to develop and carry out test programs and other technical investigations.

• Ability to coordinate a diverse group of individuals, both internal and external to the company.

• Create an environment where open communication allows for ideas, solutions and continuous improvement of our workplace

Please

BY THOMPSON SENIORS COMMUNITY RESOURCE COUNCIL Etiquette is defined as the customary code of polite be haviour in society or among members of a particular pro fession or group. Synonyms can include “good manners” and “social niceties.” In this series of articles, we have been taking a look at several etiquette rules that were once taught at home, in schools, and in youth groups. Today, we look at returning phone calls. If someone phones you and leaves a message be cause you are not available to take the call, what do you do? If you ignore it, that is obviously rude. But did you know that answering it with a text is also rude? Whether or not you like to talk on the phone, remember that if someone has taken the time and effort to phone you, it is only polite to call them back with an actual phone call. Not only is it the polite thing to do, but it is also easier to hear context and to share complicated or sensitive information. Please give this little article your consideration. Thank you.

WHAT WE OFFER YOU • Competitive salary with a wage range from $87,000 to $106,000

Jamie RussellRobJamesBraendleListerVancoughnettDick Shops Transportationsand Tyler Teneycke T1 Mine Keith RobertKevinKennethBeltonDreoliniDanrothVanDrunen

Page 16 • Resource Guide www.thompsoncitizen.net Friday, September 2, 2022 NORTH CENTRE MALL 2nd Floor North Centre Mall - 677-4415 N.C. Crossroad Lanes 10 Pin & 5 Pin Bowling • Glow Bowling Sports Bar • Strikers Lounge Homemade Pizza • VLTs • Video Games Computerized Scoring • Birthday Parties Twoonie Tuesdays • Closed Sundays + HolidaysThompson, MB R8N 0N3 Phone 677-3642 Fax: 778-6557 HAIR STUDIO - TANNING SALON MANICURES & PEDICURES THOMPSON CITIZEN RESOURCE GUIDE Tax preparation services Accurate & Experiencedaffordabletaxpreparers ■ Year-round service ■ Audit assistance Call or visit us: We prepare all types of tax returns www.hrblock.ca 125CommercialPlace ThompsonMB Phone6770277Fax6770276 Plaza 778-6622 Kreuger youneeds. The 778-5145 MAYER DEARMAN & PELLIZZARO COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE IN THE PRACTICE OF LAW Law Offices of (204) 677-2393 WILLS • FAMILY LAW • REAL ESTATE • CRIMINAL DEFENCE 101-83 Churchill Drive MDPLAW.CA MDP inyears.the 0C6 RESOURCE GUIDE Thompson,Cres.MBR8N1M7 93 Churchill Dr. Thompson, MB 204-677-5204 &FURNITUREPRINCEAPPLIANCES Big FashionCity Including wolf, polar bear and wildlife related souvenirs. FIND US... N55 43’38.61 W97 52’18.45. Or first left as you enter, or last right as you leave �ompson - 216 Hayes Rd. Pete & Ray are just two old farts with big hearts who will gladly look after you. OPEN DAILY 8 am - 9 pm. Ph/Fx 204 778 6819 Including wolf, polar bear and wildlife related souvenirs. FIND US... N55 43’38.61 W97 52’18.45. Or first left as you enter, or last right as you leave �ompson - 216 Hayes Rd. Pete & Ray are just two old farts with big hearts who will gladly look after you. OPEN DAILY 8 am - 9 pm. Ph/Fx 204 778 6819 Hi-Tech Automotive 36 Nelson Rd, Thompson, MB 204-677-5936 Top to bottom, trust the experts! ü Creaks ü Squeaks ü Clunks ü Bangs WE FIX THOSE! Complete Automotive Repairs Get your business card into the hands of THOUSANDS of people at once! To advertise in the Resource Guide call Thompson Citizen (204) 677-4534 or email ads@thompsoncitizen.net Burntwood Plaza 33 Selkirk Ave. Ph: 677-4574 • Fax: 778-6622 Brian & Sherrie Kreuger 2 Locations to assist you with all of your Insurance needs. City Centre Mall - The Insurance Store Ph: 677-9991 • Fax: 778-5145 Insurance Service Ltd.

Visitors to Paint Lake and other provincial parks don’t require vehicle permits over the Labour day long weekend, beginning Sept. 2.

Provincial park permits not required Sept. 2-5

The provincial government announced $1.1 in Provincial Parks Endowment Fund spending on Aug. 26.

Some northern upgrades included among provincial park endowment projects

Several provincial parks in the north will benefit from endowment fund spending on enhancement projects. $1.1 million is being spend on 64 projects prov incewide in 2022-23.

“Through the Provincial Parks Endowment Fund, our government is ensuring that funds are available in perpe tuity for important projects to help preserve public parks for future generations,” said Parks Minister Jeff Wharton in an Aug. 26 news release. Accessibility improve ments, which can include washrooms, building access and picnic tables, are being made at Paint Lake, Pisew Falls, Wekusko Lake and ClearwaterClearwaterLake.isalso getting boat launch upgrades and trail improvements such as signs, non-modern wash rooms and bridge/board walkOtherrepairs.northern parks get ting boat launch upgrades are Bakers Narrows and Grass River. Bakers Nar rows will also see beach improvements such as pic nic shelters and washrooms, as will Wekusko Falls. Pisew Falls will also be the site of improvements such as picnic tables, fire pits and signs.The Provincial Parks Endowment Fund was launched in 2021 with an initial investment of $20 million and is expected to generate approximate ly $1 million per year for park improvement projects. Private and philanthrop ic donations to the fund are encouraged through a matching formula that sees the province provide one dollar for every two from other sources. Manitobans are being invited to enjoy provin cial parks for free over the Labour Day weekend. The provincial govern ment said Aug. 30 that vehicle permits will not be required for those visiting provincial parks from Sept. 2 to Sept. 5, though regular fees still apply for camping. “The diversity of land scapes and waterways throughout Manitoba’s provincial parks provide a broad range of recreational and relaxing activities to suit any taste,” said En vironment, Climate and Parks Minister Jeff Whar ton. “This long weekend may mark the start of the transition from summer to fall, but there’s still time to participate in your favourite warm-weather activities and with free provincial park ac cess this weekend, there’s no reason not to.”

Thompson Citizen file photo