FORT FRANCES—Billed as an opportunity to bring communities, leaders, stakeholders, and organizations together to share ideas, resources, and knowledge to improve employment services, “The Gathering” saw more than 100 delegates turn out Monday for the day-long conference at the Couchiching Bingo Hall.
And Northern Community Development Services, which organized the event, is calling it a first step in reducing the levels of poverty while providing hope for future generations by building a bridge that will ensure the transfer of skills, education, and empowerment of aboriginal youth.
NCDS executive director Jenny Greenhalgh said Tuesday the objectives of “The Gathering” were to get attendees to agree on primary barriers to aboriginal employment and priorize them, and then agree to co-operatively address the barriers identified in a specific manner and within a specific time frame.
The first objective was accomplished Monday afternoon once attendees broke out into focus groups, and got to work identifying barriers such as education, transportation, lack of life skills, lack of opportunity, and discrimination.
All the information on the identified barriers will be compiled in a report, which will be ready prior to Dec. 21.
“The very interesting part was the next objective for us was to find whether they would be prepared to take the next step,” Greenhalgh said. “We’ll produce a report, but we need to take more steps, strategize around these barriers.
“And so we asked for a community or organization to come forward and say they’d be the lead, with the assistance of NCDS, to form a roundtable. And we’re so happy that Rainy River First Nations stepped up to the plate and said ‘Yes, we’ll do this.’
“In fact, Chief Dean Wilson already called me this morning [Tuesday] and said, ‘I think it’s great. Let’s do this—we’ll set it up for sometime in January probably.’
“Our objectives were actually met,” Greenhalgh added.
While “The Gathering” was a major undertaking for NCDS, Greenhalgh chalked up at least some of its success to timing.
“Everybody’s talked about this kind of thing for a long time, and the time was right. It’s one of those kismet things, serendipitous, whatever you want to call it,” she remarked.
“We had communities phoning us saying ‘We want to participate. We want to be there.’ We originally started off planning this for maybe 60 people. But it grew. The interest was there.”
Guest speakers at “The Gathering” included facilitator Paul Pirie, Grand Chief of Treaty #3 Arnold Gardner, Couchiching FN Chief Chuck McPherson, Métis Nation of Ontario chair Gary Lipinski, Sunset Country Métis president Clint Calder, Greenhalgh, NCDS placement officer Steve Latimer, and Calvin Morrisseau, social policy analyst for Grand Council of Treaty #3.
And while they may represent different backgrounds, all of the speakers made it clear that something has to be done to address aboriginal unemployment.
Pirie, a former police officer of 32 years, said he’s repeatedly witnessed the devastating results of poverty over the years. He recalled the United Nations chastised Canada a few years ago regarding the ”unbelievable extent” of child poverty here, with 1.5 million children under 16 living in poverty, and 52 percent of those children being aboriginal.
And just last week, the U.N. again rebuked Canada for still having not done anything about it.
“I personally believe that this change can occur from within,” said Pirie. “Better employment, and informed, meaningful, skilled, and professional occupations will lead to an improved economy and living conditions for our people.
“It may not be eliminated, but poverty and the related issues of despair and hopelessness will be mitigated,” he stressed.
“We’re here today to take that first step. This is, indeed, a momentous occasion and I do believe we will succeed.”
“I think what we’re doing today is greatly needed,” said Treaty #3 Grand Chief Gardner, adding he felt the answers to the problems of aboriginal poverty and unemployment must come from the people.
“I believe the answers are within ourselves here today,” he said, noting the outcome of “The Gathering” could set the model for boosting aboriginal youth employment.
Grand Chief Gardner noted it is very difficult to provide opportunities and jobs relying on the economy within an individual First Nation, adding half of the population of his community of Eagle Lake lives off reserve.
One possibility is training through the Canadian military. Grand Chief Gardner said he recently spoke to a First Nation war veteran, who said the military wants to start recruiting native men and women.
“It’s not about going to war,” he stressed. “There’s a lot of careers that be opened up from joining the army, navy, air force, and marines.”
“For long periods of time, I’ve spoke with politicians at the provincial and federal level about the inability of Couchiching people to get jobs in major industry in the Fort Frances area,” said Chief McPherson.
“As chief, my voice has gone unheard. We have one resident of Couchiching working in the major industry of Fort Frances here and that’s intolerable, that’s a disgrace.
“This problem has been multi-generational, so for us to identify those barriers and bring them down would be something very beneficial to us, the people of Couchiching and the residents of the other First Nation communities throughout the district,” he remarked.
“[This is] a first step in identifying the barriers that need to be brought down to ensure the youth of the future have employment. We can no longer rely on the pulp and paper industry as the sole employer in the area,” added Chief McPherson.
“It’s detrimental to rely on one industry, and we have to work collectively to ensure we’re able to provide our children with a bright future.”
For his part, Lipinski said the Métis and aboriginal peoples have to work together on the issue of youth employment.
Lipinski noted 42 percent of the Métis population in Ontario is under 25.
“We have a very young population and certainly one that Canada should be looking forward to when looking for its workforce in the future,” he remarked. “There’s a lot at stake here.”
However, as of 2001, 32 percent of registered Métis had not got their high school diploma, compared to 15 percent of the general population of Ontario.
On the other hand, 26 percent of Métis that go to college get their diploma while eight percent get their university degree.
Lipinski said there are some training efforts going on locally, like Shooniiyaa Biidoong Self-Employment Program and the MNO training initiative, although funding for the latter is set to expire in 2009.
The federal government must be pressured to keep it going, he said.
“Things are going to have to change within our communities. We have to look at ways of helping ourselves,” Lipinski stressed. “And certainly economic development plays an important role.
“We have to create opportunities to bring economic development into our communities and into our regions, and we need to ensure that when that happens, there is a place for our citizens whether they’re Métis citizens or First Nation citizens.
“If there’s an industry coming in, we should be there working with that industry to say that we have a workforce already here. You don’t need to import people in, we have workforce here,” he stressed.
“If they need training or education upgrades to get them into those jobs, then let’s do it. Industry needs to make a place for our people.”
Lipinski also said Métis and First Nations have to work with both levels of government to ensure there’s access to resources and benefit sharing so that those communities have essential tools and funds to get into economic development opportunities.
“We live here. We know what we want to do. Our people know what we want to do” he said. “But unfortunately, the tools aren’t there to allow them to do that.”
Calder, meanwhile, shared his personal story, relating he had difficulties in high school, and understands the link between poverty, lack of education, substance abuse, and suicide that plagues local communities.
“Basically a high school dropout,” according to Calder, he ended up getting a hand from several government programs and ended up going to college and then law school to become the lawyer he is today.
He added that financial support, as well as counseling and the knowledge of what training programs exist, are necessary to help youths get the education to succeed.
“Why is it when I travel throughout the district attempting to find placements for aboriginal youth, why are they only in entry-levels jobs?” asked Latimer, adding aboriginal peoples must be given the opportunity to get into the skilled trades.
He stressed there has to be changes to apprenticeship certification regulations that work for the north.
And Morrisseau, who spoke from heart-breaking personal experience, reiterated that poverty amongst aboriginal peoples continues to be a problem, likening some reserves to Third World countries existing within one of the richest countries on Earth.
“I ask myself, ‘Have I done enough to end [child poverty]’ and the answer is ‘No,’” he remarked.
Morrisseau added senior levels of government, having made too many broken promises over the years, can’t be relied on to end poverty.
“We need a local solution that meets local needs,” he argued, adding that Treaty #3 will be conducting a study on aboriginal poverty in coming months.
The event also featured a traditional feast. Elder Gilbert Smith gave the opening and closing prayers.
“Our youth, and even some of the adults, are having difficulty putting food on the table,” Smith said Monday morning. “We need to find new ways today. This is why we’re together.”
“The Gathering” was covered by television networks CTV and CBC Northwest. A feature story also will appear on APTN.
(Fort Frances Times)
Fort Frances Times
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