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Top News - December - 2004
Published December 13, 2004
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Students march in support of Stonechild report
Child poverty problem continues to grow
Students work to make up lost classroom timeThis is only a partial listing of the stories featured in the December 2004 issue of Saskatchewan Sage. If you are not receiving your own copy of Sage, then you have missed out on a lot.
Students march in support of Stonechild report
Peter Derbawka, Sage Writer, SaskatoonMore than 150 students from the University of Saskatchewan, First Nations University of Canada and Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies gathered together in the frosty morning hours of Nov. 19 to take part in a march for justice.
Students from the three schools walked to the Saskatoon Police Service building to show their support for Stonechild Inquiry Chief Commissioner Judge David Wright and Saskatoon Police Chief Russell Sabo.
In his report from the inquiry, released on Oct. 26, Judge Wright concluded that 17-year-old Neil Stonechild had been in the custody of Saskatoon Police Service constables Larry Hartwig and Bradley Senger on Nov. 24, 1990, five days before his frozen body was found in an industrial area on the outskirts of Saskatoon.
On Nov. 12 Sabo announced the firing of the two constables for not "diligently and promptly" disclosing information that Stonechild had been in their custody.
As the marchers gathered in front of the police station, a number of people took turns addressing the crowd, presenting a message that although the inquiry and its findings are a start, there is still much to be done regarding policing, healing and fighting racism.
Rachelle Fiddler, one of the organizers of the march, is a third year student at the University of Saskatchewan.
"We're bringing awareness to the whole issue," she said. "There have been demonstrations in support of the Saskatoon police, and we thought it was fair to give ourselves and our supporters a chance to voice themselves and show how they feel. We're supporting the people who have made the decisions, the police chief, Russell Sabo, and Judge Wright of the inquiry. We've begun to see changes.
"I was demonstrating here last year for the young girl from Melfort who was raped by three men, and they all got away with it," she said, referring to a case involving the sexual assault of a 12-year-old Cree girl. Two of the accused in the case were acquitted and one was found guilty but received a conditional sentence and no jail time. Those rulings are being appealed, with the case scheduled to be heard by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal next year.
"A year later I'm protesting almost for the opposite thing, thankful that something has happened and someone's brought awareness to these issues," Fiddler said.
Fiddler sees the divisions in the community and amongst those in positions of power and knows there is much to do.
"The head of the Saskatoon police union, Stan Goertzen, is quoted as saying we should move on. We have the mayor saying similar comments-move on. In contrast, an article in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix from a police officer said the exact opposite, that it's time Aboriginal people are not seen as disposable."
Rob Kakakaway, also a student, said the march was held to support the Stonechild family.
"Neil's been gone 14 years, and we'd like to see him rest in peace. We want to see this over just as much as anyone else. We're just wanting to know who is going to be held accountable for Neil's death. This is no witch hunt. We're not condemning the police. As long as appeals by the police go on, this issue is never going to go away. But we've been at it for 500 years and if we've learned anything, it's patience. If we have to wait another 14 years to resolve this thing, we will."
Lawrence Joseph, Vice-Chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and one of the speakers at the rally, is very proud of the students for organizing the march and hopes that future students won't have to march to raise awareness.
"The message the administrators of justice of the future, the students of this university, are giving us is to be respectful," he said. "This march is a very good sign that the entire community, not only First Nations people, are fed up with the lack of respect for Justice Wright, the commission report and the police chief's handling of this case. It's time that we pulled together and the students are sending that message to us very clearly. I've always said at least 95 per cent of the police officers are willing and able to do the work they are mandated to do, but there are those who are still taking the spotlight from those of us who are trying to bring a workable solution to these atrocities that continue to occur. They are disrespecting authority, disrespecting their own justice system."
Reveremd Frances Deverell, a Unitarian minister in Saskatoon, marched with some of her congregation. "Our congregation is located on Idylwyld Drive, the line between the east and the west in the city," she said, "and we could be a bridge, a healing presence in the community. We have to seriously address the problems with the police. There has to be a real transformation of attitude. It's not just in Saskatoon, it's all across the country. We were having the same discussions in Toronto two years ago."
Sheila Steele operates a Web site, injusticebusters.com, which she and Richard Klassen started in 1998. Klassen recently received compensation from the provincial government for being maliciously prosecuted during the early 1990s. He and members of his family had been falsely accussed of abusing foster children intheir care.
"The signs say it all," Klassen said, referring to some of the placards being carried by marchers. "Justice Wright was right."
Steele sees both the Stonechild Inquiry and the inquiry into the Klassen case as good news.
"We have these opportunities now to get the real story out," she said, "of what's been happening to us ordinary people while the police have been going their own way."
She sees the damage that a few bad apples in the police department have done.
"We're going to have some damage to undo and we can't just say 'They've changed.' We have to see it demonstrated."
Jason Roy, who testified during the inquiry to seeing Stonechild in the back of police cruiser the night he was last seen alive, said how glad he was to see everyone out and thanked them for the support. Yvonne House, who works at the First Nations University of Canada, was passionate in her words to the gathering. "There are three generations of my family here," she said, "and I hope my grandchildren will not have to be standing in front of the police station saying 'I want justice.'"
Child poverty problem continues to grow
Cheryl Petten, Sage Writer, Ottawa
Just under 16 per cent of Canadian children-more than one million-live in poverty. Among Aboriginal children living off-reserve, that percentage jumps to 40 per cent. These staggering figures are only part of the story told by a recent report by Campaign 2000, a non-partisan organization formed in 1991 to build public awareness and support in the fight to eliminate child poverty and to remind all elected officials of their responsibility in that fight.
One Million Too Many-Implementing Solutions to Child Poverty in Canada-2004 Report Card on Child Poverty in Canada was released on Nov. 24, the 15th anniversary of the unanimous passing of an all-party resolution in the House of Commons to eliminate child poverty by the year 2000. The report states that not only is the government not making significant progress in reaching its goal, it is actually losing ground. After five straight years of declining numbers, the poverty rate among children actually increased in 2002. And, despite a commitment to deal with the problem from all parties at the federal level, the number of children in poverty is higher now than it was in 1989 when the resolution was passed.
The government doesn't get any passing grades in the Campaign 2000 report card, which indicates the situation is either remaining static or worsening for families with children.
One-third of all children in the country have been exposed to poverty for at least one year since 1996, the report states. The poverty rate among couples with children has remained unchanged, sitting at 10 per cent. On average, low income couples with children would need to earn $9,000 more a year just to reach the poverty line.
The situation is worsening for single mothers with children. More than half of all single mothers and their children live well below the poverty line and would need to earn, on average, another $8,800 a year to even reach that indicator.
The report card shows no progress in closing the gap between the rich and poor, and food bank usage is at an all-time high. It also points to child poverty rates among Aboriginal, immigrant, visible minority and disabled children at more than double the national average.
Almost half of the children living in poverty are in families where at least one of the parents works full-time, year round, but still isn't able to earn enough to rise above the poverty line.
The situation is compounded for Aboriginal people, who continue to face barriers that keep them unemployed or underemployed. According to figures plucked from the 2001 census, Aboriginal people are less likely to find employment than the general population and when they do find employment, they are likely to be paid less-two-thirds of the average wage for any given position.
Among the recommendations made in the report to improve the situation for Canada's working poor is an increase in the minimum wage to $10 an hour. Currently the minimum wage varies from province to province and territory to territory, from a high of $8.50 per hour in Nunavut, to a low of $5.90 per hour in Alberta, for an average of about $7 per hour. Revamping the Employment Insurance system to make it easier for a person to qualify when they are out of work is another recommendation, as is finding ways to eliminate barriers that prevent excluded groups-including Aboriginal people-from finding meaningful employment.
The report also calls for creation of an effective child benefit system, with an increase in the benefits available per child, and an end to the practice of denying federal child benefits to families receiving social assistance.
It also speaks to the need for a strong, universal system of early learning and child care, something the federal and provincial government's have committed to do through their Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care announced last year, with a $2.2 billion commitment over five years. Such a system would provide children with learning opportunities early in life and parents with child care so they can work or attend training to increase their employment options.
Access to affordable housing is another piece of the puzzle. According to the report, 20 per cent of families with children live in housing that isn't affordable. Among low income families that number jumps to 68 per cent. To be considered affordable the cost of keeping a roof over your head must take up 30 per cent or less of your total income.
"A renewed cross-Canada housing strategy with a substantially increased funding envelope and federal leadership is desperately needed," the report states. "Provincial governments must not only help to increase the supply of affordable housing, they must also raise housing allowances for social assistance recipients to reflect rental costs in communities."
The Campaign 2000 report also recommends the federal government improve access to post-secondary education by freezing or lowering tuition and increasing student aid funding. Development of an urban Aboriginal strategy, created by federal and provincial governments in consultation with Aboriginal communities to provide financial support for community-based, off-reserve Aboriginal services is recommended, as is creation of an agenda of inclusion of children with disabilities, to be developed in consultation with Aboriginal leaders.
There is no quick fix to the problem of child poverty in Canada, but according to Peter Dinsdale, ensuring children get a good education is an important part of the solution. Dinsdale is executive director of the National Association of Friendship Centres, one of the partners in Campaign 2000.
Dinsdale calls the low levels of education attainment among Aboriginal people an epidemic, and questions the government's lack of commitment to do something about it.
"There's virtually no action on a national basis to help our kids finish high school and to give them a meaningful start to address child poverty in a generational way. And that's the kind of stuff that has to occur," he said.
"With our kids, I mean, they aren't even graduating from high school. So where are they going to be 10 years from now? And they're going to start to have kids. And what kinds of conditions are those kids going to be living in? I believe the greatest thing we can do is make sure our kids finish high school. And that will give them such a heads up."
Students work to make up lost classroom time
Stephen LaRose, Sage Writer, Piapot First Nation
While classes have resumed at Payepot school, it will be a long time before school life returns to normal.
Two groups of protestors left the school on Nov. 10, ending a month-long sit-in that disrupted classes and divided the community.
One group, which originally started the protest, demanded an end to the school's modified learning curriculum, while another group, who took over another area of the same building in early November, demanded an end to the original demonstration and the re-starting of classes.
When the demonstrations ended, teachers and other school officials began to plan for an altered school year, said Trevor Sutter, communications manager for Indian Affairs and Northern Canada's (INAC) Saskatchewan region. Scheduled school closings during Christmas, Easter and other holidays will be shortened so students can complete the school year, he said.
Before the demonstrations, about 180 students attended Payepot school. A bus that can accommodate up to15 students leaves the reserve each day to take students to a school in Regina, said Sutter. "That bus is not running to capacity."
The dispute began over criticisms of the school's modified learning program, which groups students according to their learning capabilities after an assessment. The teaching method targets the learning to the students' capabilities.
The curriculum and teaching methods have been endorsed by Saskatchewan Learning and are being used at other schools, both on and off reserve.
Those opposed to the modified learning program say their children aren't receiving a good education because they are being unfairly placed in lower educational streams.
Meanwhile, a battle continues on the legal front. An application has been made by INAC to extend an injunction against the original protesters to prevent them from staging another demonstration at the school, but a Regina Court of Queen's Bench judge won't rule on the application until early in the new year.
While police were called to the school during the sit-ins to keep the peace, there's been no word if any charges have been laid in the incident. During the sit-ins the school was reportedly vandalized and confidential files were removed from file folders in locked offices.