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The one year moratorium on child welfare agreements between the federal, provincial and band governments has been a complete waste of time, say organizers of a child welfare conference.

The moratorium on tri-partite and bi-partite agreements between bands and governments went into effect last year when the government announced that a task force would investigate the procedure in an effort to assist both bands and government formulate better agreements.

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Alberta's Bow Valley College is helping to satisfy the appetite for employees of the province's industrial sector with programs that will help Aboriginal people find work in the trades.

Nina Goodman is the co-ordinator for the Aboriginal Pre-Trades Program, as well as the Aboriginal Adventure Tourism Integrated Program at Bow Valley, both of which are recent additions to the Aboriginal upgrading and pre-employment program that has been running at the college for 13 years.

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An upcoming education conference will offer teachers unique and effective approaches with which to illustrate math and science principles to Aboriginal students in the classroom.

The workshops will be featured at DreamCatching: Professional Development Opportunities in Montreal from Feb. 19 to 22, hosted by the Native Access to Engineering program (NAEP) at Concordia University.

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It's fitting that Commander John Herrington, the first Native American in space, is a member of the board of directors of the American Indian Science & Engineering Society (AISES). When Herrington speaks to Native American children and youth, he tells them that if they give their best effort, anything is possible. And that's the message AISES has been working to get out since 1977.

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A shortage of trained and qualified workers in the tourism industry in British Columbia could translate into a wealth of job opportunities for Aboriginal youth.

A number of factors, including high employee turnover, and a shift in demographics that translates into an aging workforce heading towards retirement and a drop in the number of young people available from which to draw new workers, are creating a problem for the industry.

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"I'm the most fortunate guy in the world," said Winnipeg businessman Arnold Asham, his bemused tone hinting that even he isn't quite sure how his life turned out so satisfying and successful. "I get paid for doing something that I'd do for free."

Asham is talking about curling. It is a sport that has been the 52-year-old Metis man's passion for most of his life. It has taken him to countries all around the world. It is the sport his namesake company is built upon. Asham Curling Supplies dominates the market for curling apparel and accessories.

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It's no news to any of us that healthy eating is a part of healthy living, but it isn't always easy to make the right choices in the foods we eat. But soon those choices will be a little easier to make, thanks to changes in the way foods must be labeled.

Under new requirements announced by Health Canada in early January, nutrition labeling will become easier to read and understand, and will appear on more foods than in the past.

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Buffalo, N. Y. will be the host city for the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) in 2005.

Harold Joseph, NAIG council president, said the site was chosen through a process of elimination between Santa Fe, N. M., Salt Lake City, Utah, and Kamloops, B.C. Although these games were scheduled to take place in the U.S., the council decided to let Kamloops take part in the bidding process just in case the cities in the U.S. did not qualify by meeting the criteria.

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Though he is in his final season of junior eligibility and has not been drafted by a National Hockey League club, Ryan Johnson is hoping to continue playing hockey for several years to come.

The 20-year-old centre is currently toiling for the Merritt Centennials, members of the British Columbia Junior A Hockey League.

Johnson, a 6-foot-1, 195-pounder, is known for his toughness. But he's also a solid two-way player. He centres the Centennials' second line and also sees action on the team's powerplay and penalty killing units.

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For the first time ever, a sporting event in the Canada Games will he hosted by a First Nation on its own territory.

The Eel River Bar First Nation will host the fencing events for the games, which start Feb. 22 and continue until March 8.

Mi'kmaq people are excitedly preparing for the event because they will have a major role to play, not only in hosting the athletic event but in contributing to the cultural side of the games.