Posts from — March 2008

Cathy and I got away for a couple of days this weekend. Our favorite spot is the Blue Fin Lodge in Tofte just south of the border. We usually stop in at the Trading Post in Grand Marais and then on to the hotel. We bring our own food and cook a special meal as we relax listening to the sound of the waves washing up on shore. It feels pretty luxurious even though we only rent the studio and pull the mattress off the roll away couch in the living room and put it on the floor for the night. Some of those hide a bed couches leave a lot to be desired.

We love the  outdoor hot tub and have had days when the ice has formed on our hair from the difference in temperature between the water and the outside air. Not so this time. It was quite nice. We met a few families in the hot tub and laughed afterwards about our conversations. One couple new nothing about Canada asking if Ottawa was another Canadian province while the other couple in the pool had seen three alternative music films that we had seen that weren’t at all main stream movies. Just can’t pigeon hole those Americans!!

 

Just down the road from the Blue Fin is the Temperance River. It is great hiking along the river (both ways actually). We have hiked up stream during other visits but the path was far too icy this time so we followed the river down to the lake and walked along the shore.

On our way home we saw a male and female bald eagle. I cheated a bit by inserting the male into the picture with the female. They were sitting close together but to far to get in the same picture.

 

We of course saw many deer and I thought I would include this picture of the deer by the picknic table.

I like this picture of the sea gulls outside our the window of our room.

On March 17 I went to Superior Court to observe the proceedings as 6 respected native leaders from Kitchenuhmaykiisib Inninuwug (KI) were sent to jail for 6 months each. This is my take on what is happening.

As I see it the KI band made a formal Treaty Land Entitlement claim to the Federal and Provincial governments in May of 2000. While the Band has been turned down by the Province, until the Federal Government responds, they don’t want any mining on the contested properties without their consent. They also have a fairly legitimate concern that any mining exploration could be the thin edge of the wedge that could lead to bigger things. Given the power of corporations and the track record of some provincial governments they may be correct. In my opinion, the strip mining in the Tar Sands is unforgivable.

Platinex Inc., the mining exploration company, is being painted as the bad guy and I can understand why. They have made some pretty major blunders and have tried to play corporate hard ball with the band and province.

Based on the current Mining Act and Treaty Nine, the province can grant mining rights in the lands contested by KI. Under this Act, the provincial government gave Platinex a license allowing them to drill exploratory holes. The Supreme Court while supporting both the Treaty and the Mining Act, made it a bit more challenging for the mining companies by saying that government and companies needed to consult and accommodate native communities to a reasonable extent (my words) when the mining companies impact the traditional hunting, fishing and trapping lands of these communities. They didn’t say that mining wasn’t to occur on these lands or that the Bands had control over development. They said that consultations and reasonable accommodations were in order.

Platinex got in hot water by issuing an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the stock exchange based on the explorations they were going to be doing on KI traditional hunting, fishing and trapping lands. They raised a lot of money and then found themselves in trouble when KI said they weren’t going to let them drill. This was the first mistake. The second mistake was that intitially they didn’t consult with the band the way they should have and the third was when they sued the KI band for 10 billion dollars (that’s not a typo. It is 10 billion.) This cost the band $650.000 in legal fees ($500.000 of which you and I paid). It basically bankrupted the band. Not a great way to build a relationship with the band. While it could be said that Platinex was not exactly politically wise in its dealings with KI the fact remains that it is a business that is at risk of going out of business if they aren’t allowed to do the exploratory drilling.

The Provincial Government is in a bit of a pickle as well. They sent the company in to consult with the band on its own hoping things would work themselves out, knowing full well that if they didn’t, the Province would be on the hook to deal with the fall out. They really should have been at that table given the potential for a struggle. The band feels that the Supreme Court’s ‘Duty to Consult’ ruling falls more heavily on the Province because the Province gives the approval to mining companies who work on crown lands that overlap with their hunting and trapping lands.

All of this has led to the band digging in its heels and saying that they don’t want to consult with Platinex. In fact they are now saying they won’t talk with anyone until their band members are released from jail.

As in a messy divorce the only hope for any kind of an impartial agreement lies in the courts. And so it is in this case. Over the last two and a bit years Superior Court Justice Patrick Smith has tried to set the stage for negotiations and an amicable agreement. He took Platinex to task for their insensitivity, told the Provincial government they should never have left the consultations up to Platinex and recognized KI’s right to be consulted and accommodated/ He did this while being clear that they were to negotiate a deal that would allow Platinex to drill exploratory holes.

He then gave the three parties the chance to consult and come to an agreement. They came back saying they couldn’t reach an agreement. In fact what appeared to have been happening was that the band put up so many blocks to consultation that the Province and Platinex couldn’t initiate any movement. At the same time the band is still saying that the Province is failing in its duty to consult. To me, it looks as though the KI band wants to be able to control everything that is done on all the lands of their traditional hunting, fishing and trapping, regardless of what is laid out in Treaty 9 or the Mining Act. This is at least until the Land Entitlement Claim is settled. But is it fair to Platinex given that these Claims tend to take forwever to settle? Also if the courts agree to a moratorium on these lands until the claim is settled there is no reason for the band to settle given that the moratorium gives them what they want. This put the court in the position of laying down the guidelines that would impact all parties. The court ruled that Platinex could drill 24, two inch exploratory holes with clear direction on how KI would be accommodated. The court also laid out a provision for ongoing consultations with the court if concerns arose.

Initially KI said they weren’t against mining but that they wanted to be a partner and consulted before anything happened. It should also again be noted that according to Treaty 9 and Mining Act, KI cannot legally stop the exploration or mining. When KI refused to allow Platinex to proceed as directed by the court they found themselves in contempt of court and Chief Morris and 5 band members were sent to jail.

What makes all this more interesting and tough is that whatever happens in this case has an impact on all the other Treaties.

Until the KI band, the Federal Government and the Province sit down and resolve the bigger issues, the KI band is legally bound by the current Treaty and the Mining Act and will probably continue to be punished for not adhering to them. I worry that this civil disobedience will lead to more incarcerations and even violence. If KI doesn’t agree with the Treaty their elders signed, then perhaps they should push to have the treaty renegotiated.

Civil disobedience is a great way to draw attention to your problems and it is working. However, when push comes to shove the resolution lies in having meaningful discussions.

Cathy and I decided to take the dog for a walk around the paths at Mission Marsh last Sunday. If nothing else it is fun to see all the deer along the road to the park. This fine day we decided to explore a little well travelled path off the beaten trail and ended up on the lake shore and eventually walked from the marsh all the way to the Coal Generating Station on the lake. There was very little snow with patches of ice that we could have skated on. The famous Nick loved it. Looked like a pup out for his first run. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer day.

Not everyone is as happy about this winter as we were on fine day as witnessed by this snow sign on a front lawn. I think a few people in that area have just about had it with the snow and ever repeting  snow storms. Don’t worry folks, it will soon be over.

 

It’s Friday, March 7 and we have just returned from listening to The Wild Turkeys from Sault Ste. Marie. What a fun performance! Country come Bluegrass with a real down home sense of humour and a squeaky clean appearance, these boys sure could sing harmonies.
Three Jaaskelainen brothers supported by two Alexander brothers make up the band.
Sheldon Jaaskelainen is the lead and sings, plays guitar, fiddle and harp. While he is the up front man one can’t help but get caught up in the energy and enthusiasm of the group. Playing many of their own songs, along with some of their own versions of traditional songs, makes for a wonderful evening.
If you missed them in Thunder Bay you are in luck. You can catch them this summer at the ‘Live From the Rock’ Folk Festival in Red Rock.
Just as a sidebar, the ‘Live From the Rock’, Folk Festival is the greatest little festival around. Try and fit it into your summer plans.    

Don’t miss it!

If I give my opinion right off like this does that mean you won’t read on. Doesn’t matter. This is a great play. The book “Tuesdays with Morrie”, written by Mitch Albom, is said to be the most successful memoir ever written. Many of you may have read it or at least heard of it. Albom also wrote “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” which has sold over 8 million copies world wide. ( I wonder if they are doing a play about that book?) While the script is totally engaging (I never once dozed) the acting was just plain wonderful. Antony Holland, who plays Morrie, and who is, in real life, 88 years old is living proof that the mind doesn’t have to deteriorate with age. If at 88 he can remember his lines and flawlessly deliver them, there is hope for us all! And what a performance. It is as though the script was written for him. The script was written by Jeffrey Hatcher along with Mitch Albom.

Warren Kimmel, who plays Mitch, is a perfect match to Holland. The relationship between the two is very real and believable.

The story is about a young student (Mitch) and the relationship he has, at first with his Sociology Professor, (Morrie) and then later with his mentor and friend (Morrie) in his final stages of life. At University they met on Tuesdays and when they get together 16 years later they agree to restart their Tuesday get togethers.

I congratulate Mario Crudo and Magnus for bringing to Thunder Bay this excellent production.

Don’t miss it!

One’s worse nightmare is to lose your purse. Yet, over the course of a life time, odds are that it will happen. Cathy was at the Twin Dragons restaurant picking up Chinese food (we do this once every couple of months or so) and had left her purse on the counter while waiting for the food to be cooked. She had her back to the counter and was chatting with friends when two fellows came in to use the phone to call a cab. When Cathy turned to pay the bill it became apparent the two had made off with her purse.

After calls to the police, the cab company and a thorough search of the neighbourhood, all to no avail, she came home.

We still hope that the purse will show up. Luckily she had taken her credit card out to pay for the food and our son Michael had the car keys. The loss of all the personal things one carries in a purse is one thing but the feeling of not being able to trust and somehow having one’s private space violated hurts as well. 

On a positive note I spent the afternoon working with Aids Thunder Bay. It is one of those organizations that operates under the radar of most of the community. Michael Sobota the ED asked if I would facilitate an afternoon of informal team building.

I was very impressed with the organization and the wide variety of services they provide. Michael got the organization started some 23 years ago and it has been serving the HIV/Aids population in Thunder Bay ever since. What impressed me most was the compassion and committment of the staff. They work in a climate that doesn’t make it easy to gain community recognition or accolades yet have remarkable support from the community. Two years ago they moved into new offices designed around their services, making services more accessible to their clients. They have three doctors who spend time meeting clients and are about to hire a full time nurse to work with people with Hepatitis C. As I mentioned, organizations such as Aids Thunder Bay don’t get a lot of public attention (and in some ways I suspect that’s for the best) however it was good for me to be reminded that there are caring organizations providing such needed services.