DOPS ordered to rehire convicted cop

The Dakota Ojibway Police Service (DOPS) has been ordered by a provincial arbitrator to rehire a constable convicted of assault on his wife.
DOPS Chief Frank McKay says he wasn't happy about the decision but and had no choice but to reinstate Constable Trevor Pashe.
The 30-year-old constable was sentenced last year to two years probation after pleading guilty to common assault of his wife. During his trial Pashe blamed job stress and drinking on the attack on his now ex-wife, who was also a police officer, during the fall of 2002.
Following his dismissal by DOPS, Pashe filed a grievance against the police service, and was supported by the Manitoba First Nations Police Association.
The arbitrator in the grievance proceeding, ruled that Pashe should be reinstated, as he was unlikely to offend again.
But McKay says the reinstatement sends the wrong message to the public that domestic abuse is permissible.
He noted that DOPS officers spend much of their patrol time alone and that domestic calls account for a major portion of their calls.
McKay also noted that the officer's return undermines morale for the other DOPS officers, and comes at a time when a University of Manitoba study concluded that aboriginal women are assaulted by their spouses at a rate six times higher than any other segment of society.

Whitebird, Swan slam reports on salaries

Grand Chiefs Dennis Whitebird and Margaret Swan were quick to dismiss reports that native leaders make exorbitant salaries in comparison to the Prime Minister of Canada.
"I question the timing and release of the report. It appears that the federal Minister of Indian Affairs is losing public support from first nations citizens regarding his First Nations Governance Act and he is simply trying to validate his ministerial initiative with this recent report that focuses only on 17 out of 633 leaders nation-wide
The report noted that one chief in eastern Canada received a salary of over $300,000 tax-free last year. And at least 17 elected first nations officials across the country were paid $100,000 or more, according to an Ottawa INAC source.
However AMC Grand Chief Dennis Whitebird dismissed the reports as sensational saying that the same report noted that the average salary for 3,800 native leaders was $28,300.

Crown job action delaying justice say inmates

The recent job action commenced by the Manitoba Association of Crown Attorneys to highlight the crisis in the province's justice system is having a severe impact on Aboriginal, being held incustody according to inmates awaiting to appear in court for non-payments of fines.
"Many of us are here because of non-criminal offenses, failure to pay fines and the like and yet the delay in our hearings is increasing because of the action by Crown attorneys," said one inmate who called The Drum from the Winnipeg Remand Center last week.
"My lawyer says he's been trying to reach the Crown attorney handling my case and hasn't been able to."
"The mainstream media has been talking about how the backlog in cases is making bail easier and putting the public at risk by placing violent offenders back on the streets. Well, I'm not charged with any criminal act and I've been waiting for three weeks now so it seems they're releasing the wrong people." said the inmate, who called himself George.

NDP buries report?

Provincial opposition critics say the NDP government has purposefully buried a damning report on the Winnipeg Child and Family Services Agency (WCFS)
Progressive Conservative MLA and Family and Women's issues critic Myrna Drieger says the NDP contracted a research firm to interview WCFS staff in order identify factors leading to the high turnover of frontline caseworkers and support staff.
Drieger says she received a copy of the findings and was horrified by the revelations made by WCFS staff.
One of the largest complaints according to staff interviewed was that the devolution of services to Aboriginal Child and Welfare Agencies was being done solely for political reasons and not for child and family welfare priorities.

Metis Vets fight for benefits

Metis veterans and their families intend to launch an international campaign in an effort to force the federal government to pay veterans benefits they say they were entitled to but never paid.
The National Metis Veterans Association (NMVA) says Ottawa's treatment of the vets has been "racist" and "disgraceful."
Association president Bruce Flamont says his group will be taking their case to Europe and present their arguments to the government's of Italy, the Netherlands, France, Great Britain and Belgium, and to raise funds for an expected legal battle with the Canadian government.
"These people went and sacrificed for Canada. When they returned they were treated as bad, maybe even worse, than those they had been fighting against."
Less than eight per cent of Metis veterans received any benefits, according to NMVA statistics and less than one per cent received any land under the Veterans Land Act.
Flamont estimates there are approximately 600 Metis veterans still living today.

Junior Rangers meet to discuss future of forest industry

First Nations youth from 11 communities in Manitoba held their second annual Junior Rangers Symposium in Winnipeg last week.
Organized and funded by the First Nation Limited Partnership (FNLP) the Junior rangers act to introduce the youth to future opportunities in the forest industry particularly the joint forestry project between Tembec and the 11 FNLP communities-Dauphin Rover, Lake St. Martin. Peguis, Fisher River, Jackhead, Brokenhead, Sagkeeng, Little Black River, Hollow Water, Bloodvein and Berens River.
The goal of the youth group is intended to provide them with career goals in scientific fields involving not only the forest industry but also environmental sciences as well, according to George Kemp, president of FNLP.

Youth encouraged to consider careers in emergency services

The MMF, AMC and the Office of the Fire Commissioner have signed an agreement to help attract more aboriginal youth to careers in emergency services.
The three organizations will set up a working group to find new ways of reaching youth to increase their skills training and labour force participation on emergency services
The Manitoba Emergency Services College has reserved 10 seats for qualified aboriginal candidates in 2004 and reserved 32 seats for 2004-2005.
The Office of the Fire Commissioner operates the college, which provides emergency response support and search and rescue operations province wide, in addition to high level fire and rescue training.
The MESC is only one of three such colleges in the nation, and has been operating for nearly two decades.

Metis residential school survivors get $2 Million

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation recently announced they have provided 2 million for programs designed to assist Metis residential school survivors. Manitoba Metis Federation President, David Chartrand said the funding is an important step in helping the survivors, their families, and their communities.
The money will support a number of programs that offer life skills training and peer counselling. Part of the funding will also be used implement a program developed by the Metis Women of Manitoba.

A Solution for Saskatchewan drop-out rates

Although recent 2001 Census stats noted that post-secondary rates have risen among Aboriginals in the past five years, the high school drop-out rate in Saskatchewan is still seen as problematic. Now the Saskatchewan education system and the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations have teamed up to fight the province's high drop-out rate.
Recent findings concluded that three out of four Aboriginal students don't complete Grade 12, making the drop out rate three times higher than that of non-Aboriginal students.
An agreement created between the two groups calls for increased Aboriginal content taught in schools, as well as the hiring of more Aboriginal teachers. An FSIN source said the agreement would also solve the shortage of Aboriginal teachers.

Adoptee Website launched

Aboriginal adoptees are no longer alone. A local organization, Stolen Generations, has launched a Web site for Aboriginal adoptees to share their experiences, reclaim their cultural identity, and create a strong support network.
The site also offers adoptees to input their poetry, and artwork to reflect the diverse experiences felt by Aboriginals that were taken out of their homes.
The Web site can be found at: www.stolengenerations.ca