CFWE Radio News - July 9-2015

Saskatchewan Wildfire Evacuees update

More than 7000 people from northern Saskatchewan have been displaced due to the wildfire situation.

They are currently staying in shelters, hotels, and with friends and family.

The shelters are located in Prince Albert, Regina, Saskatoon, and Cold Lake
• Basic needs are provided
• 3 meals are provided per day plus snacks. Meals are also staggered throughout the day
• Activities are planned throughout the day in order to help pass the time.

All shelters have security and the lock-up time is eleven in the evening.

51 different communities are affected

The number of people registered in the shelters this morning is as follows:

• Cold Lake - 649
- the Saskatchewan Red Cross is running the Cold Lake shelter with volunteers from Alberta. The number of beds in Cold Lake is around 800.

• Prince Albert (combined) - 211
• Regina (combined) - 596
• Saskatoon (combined) - 543

On a happy note the roughly 200 evacuated residents of Red Earth, Saskatchewan are allowed to return home today.
If you or anyone you know is in need of support please do not hesitate to contact the Red Cross at 1-888-953-3463

In Perry Bellegarde’s first meeting as the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations he made it clear to Aboriginal voters that the time is right for a shift in political power.

His statement arises from the recent release of the Truth and Reconciliation report which threw into the spotlight the “cultural genocide” that was the residential school legacy.

And I quote Bellegarde, “Reconciliation means nothing less than keeping the promises the government of Canada first made to our people to share and live together.”

Reconciliation involves all Canadians and Bellegarde believes that Canadians want their leaders to do the right thing.

He is also calling on the government to respect traditional territories and honour its legal duty to accommodate First Nations people.

Bellegarde went on to state that includes recognition of First Nations' right to say yes or no to development on their territories.

The Assembly of First Nations national chief has been calling for all federal parties to address Indigenous issues in their election platforms.

In back to back speeches the opposition leaders Thomas Mulcair and Justin Trudeau both laid out their visions for improving the relationship between the federal government and aboriginal peoples.

Mulcair said an NDP government would usher in "a new era" of nation-to-nation relations with indigenous communities, while Trudeau said a Liberal government would work with Aboriginal people to build a "renewed relationship."

TD Donation update

TD Canada has made a 100-thousand donation in support of Aboriginal education with more than 13-hundred students to benefit.

In an ongoing partnership between One Laptop Per Child Canada, TD Bank Group and Frontier College, educational tablets have been provided for more than 9-hundred Aboriginal youth in northern Alberta, Ontario and New Brunswick.

An additional 4-hundred and 50 youth will benefit from edtech donations to elementary school in Nunavut.

One Laptop Per Child Canada tablets are designed with children and communities in mind, with pre-installed educational apps for skill development in areas such as financial literacy, health, math, science and Aboriginal languages. The languages that are on the XO tablets are:

- Ojibway
- Innuktitut
- Cree
- Squamish
- Stó:lō

This summer, 8 communities that will be joining as part of the Frontier College Aboriginal Literacy Camps are:

- Beaver Lake First Nation
- Fort Severn First Nation
- Whitedog First Nation
- King Fisher Lake First Nation
- Kashechwan First Nation
- Elsipogtog First Nation
- Eel River Bar First Nation
- Tobique First Nation

Three other communities will be selected in the summer months in collaboration wit Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami in Nunavut.

A children's store in Saskatoon, called Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo, is bringing some exciting guests to children forced from their homes due to the wildfires in northern Saskatchewan.

Cameco, with help from other local companies including West Wind Aviation, is taking a travelling kids carnival and supplies for families to several locations this week.

Yesterday Queen Elsa, Princess Ana, and Belle from Beauty and the Beast visited displaced evacuees in Cold Lake.

Today, the princesses and carnival are heading to the Prince Albert and North Battleford shelters. They will be in Regina during the morning and early afternoon tomorrow, followed by Saskatoon later on in the day.

RCMP Grande Prairie are continuing to warn the public of telephone scams that have been occurring in the area and across Canada.

The Canada Revenue Agency is noting an increase in telephone scams where the caller claims to be from the CRA but is not, and is asking Canadians to be aware that these calls are fraudulent and could result in identity and financial theft.

Some recent telephone scams involve threatening taxpayers or using aggressive and forceful language to scare them into paying fictitious debt to the CRA. Victims receive a phone call from a person claiming to work for the CRA and saying that taxes are owed. The caller requests immediate payment by credit card or convinces the victims to purchase a prepaid credit card and to call back immediately with the information. The taxpayer is often threatened with court charges, jail or deportation.

If you get such a call, hang up and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

These types of communication are not from the CRA. When the CRA calls you, it has established procedures in place to make sure your personal information is protected. If you want to confirm the authenticity of a CRA telephone number, call the CRA by using the numbers on its Telephone numbers page. The number for business-related calls is 1-800-959-5525. The number for calls about individual concerns is 1-800-959-8281.
 

A blue-green algae bloom has been identified in areas of Pigeon Lake. Residents living near the shores of this lake, as well as visitors to this lake, are advised to take the following precautions:

-Avoid all contact with blue-green algae blooms.  If contact occurs, wash with tap water as soon as possible.

-Do not swim or wade (or allow your pets to swim or wade) in any areas where blue-green algae is visible.

-Do not feed whole fish or fish trimmings from this lake to your pets.

-Consider limiting human consumption of whole fish and fish trimmings from this lake, as it is known that fish may store toxins in their liver. People can safely consume fish fillets from this lake.

People who come in contact with visible blue-green algae, or who ingest water containing blue-green algae, may experience skin irritation, rash, sore throat, sore red eyes, swollen lips, fever, nausea and vomiting and/or diarrhea. Symptoms usually appear within one to three hours and resolve in one to two days.
Symptoms in children are often more pronounced; however, all humans are at risk of these symptoms.

Areas of Pigeon Lake in which the blue-green algae bloom is NOT visible can still be used for recreational purposes, even while this blue-green algae advisory is in place.

If you suspect a problem related to blue-green algae, or if you require further information on health concerns and blue-green algae, please call Health Link at 811. Additional information is also available online, at www.albertahealthservices.ca/bga.asp.