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Maintaining rooming houses needs to be a priority
A community forum was held in May to draft an action plan for addressing the disappearance and decline of rooming houses in Winnipeg. A report released by the Manitoba Research Alliance finds that rooming houses are an important type of housing. A focused approach involving outreach with tenants and improving the complex regulatory and policy framework is needed to maintain them. The cost of inaction on rooming houses will be an increase in tenant displacement, homelessness and an increased reliance on the shelter system and emergency services. The Institute of Urban Studies, University of Winnipeg, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – Manitoba, Manitoba Research Alliance, Spence Neighbourhood Association, West Broadway Community Organization, Resource Assistance for Youth, and the Neighbourhood Change Research Partnership brought together more than 80 rooming house tenants, landlords, community members, government representatives, researchers, service agencies and students for the discussion.
Sinclair inquest concludes
Almost six years after Brian Sinclair died in a hospital emergency waiting room, the inquiry into the circumstances surrounding that incident wrapped up in mid-June. However, there has been criticism and frustration that the inquiry did not delve deeply enough into why it was assumed that Sinclair, an Aboriginal man who was also a double-amputee, was believed to have been either a homeless man seeking shelter or a drunk “sleeping it off.” An internal review found 17 staff members saw Sinclair, but no one assumed he was waiting for care. Two Aboriginal groups and lawyers representing the family boycotted part of the inquest because Judge Tim Preston rejected calls to examine whether systemic racism played a role in Sinclair’s death. By the time Sinclair was discovered lifeless by other patients, rigor mortis had set in. The cause of death was a treatable bladder infection.
Working groups result from regional roundtable
Manitoba provincial and municipal government members recently hosted representatives of all three levels of government from Nunavut in Churchill for the Hudson Bay Neighbours Regional Roundtable meeting. “Working together to realize new opportunities to grow the region’s economy will create good jobs and better services for northerners,” said Manitoba Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister Eric Robinson in a press release. The delegates created working groups to investigate energy options and a potential winter road from Churchill. They will report to the regional roundtable at its next meeting in Baker Lake in mid-September, which will coincide with the annual Kivalliq mayors meeting. The regional roundtable is an initiative involving Churchill, Gillam, Fox Lake Cree Nation and Sayisi Dene First Nation in Manitoba and the seven Kivalliq region communities of Nunavut. The forum provides an opportunity for members to talk, share best practices and promote developments that can create new jobs and opportunities to benefit the north.
Aboriginal Music Program marks 10 years
Manitoba Music is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its most acclaimed initiative, the Aboriginal Music Program. Two free lunch hour concerns at Air Canada Park in Winnipeg will be held on June 25 with Métis fiddler Darren Lavallee and then on July 17 with Aboriginal rock band The Mosquitoz. Since AMP launched in 2004, groundbreaking projects and services have been delivered to help First Nation, Métis, and Inuit people develop sustainable careers in Manitoba’s music industry. It is the first and only program dedicated to Aboriginal musicians and industry in North America. Made possible through the support of the federal government, the province, FACTOR, and Manitoba Film & Music, the program is a driving force behind a vibrant Aboriginal music community in Manitoba. Over the years, AMP has presented market development showcases of Aboriginal talent in Manitoba and in key national and international industry markets. “The Aboriginal Music Program has been integral in my growth and understanding of the music industry,” said Don Amero, who has earned awards, including a JUNO, and who now sits on Manitoba Music’s board of directors.
Winnipeg school places second in national entrepreneurship contest
Stars Tutoring, from the Children of the Earth High School, in Winnipeg, earned silver in the Business Development Bank of Canada’s fourteenth edition of BDC E-Spirit, a national business plan competition, open to Aboriginal students in grades 10 to 12. Stars Tutoring helps students succeed with personalized tutoring services for clients aged five to 12. Qualified instructors facilitate learning and help increase academic performance by using a variety of tutoring techniques tailored to each student’s learning style. Tutoring services cover a wide range of subjects. The silver standing won the school $2,000. “Throughout the 16-weeks of the BDC E-Spirit competition, the participants had an opportunity to explore every facet of the business planning process and discover first-hand what it takes to launch a new venture,” said Robert Lajoie, national director, Aboriginal Banking Unit, in a news release. “We hope this experience has led students to consider entrepreneurship as a viable career choice and that they will continue to stay actively involved in their communities.”
First Nations artist recognized with Winnipeg council award
Leonard Sumner, an Anishinabe MC/songwriter and videographer from Little Saskatchewan First Nation, was among six people to be recently recognized with an award from the Winnipeg Arts Council. Sumner took home the $2,500 RBC On the Rise Award, which recognizes an emerging professional artist in any discipline. His latest album, Rez Poetry, came out in 2013.
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