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Dear Editor:

An official inside the federal government once told me that the suicide cirsis in the First Nations communities of Nishnawbe Aski Nation was "the greatest failure of public policy in our lifetime." It was an apt description. During the past 10 years, our communities have been plunged into the worst crisis in our history, with hundreds of young people dead through suicide and no prospect of an end to the tragedy in sight.

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Dear Editor:

Saskatchewan's Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act is an affront to international conventions on human rights and freedoms and the Canadian Charter of Rights.

Violations include the "right to move to and take up residence in any province" and the "right to unreasonable search and seizure." The Act is an embarrassment to Saskatchewan people and should be repealed.

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Dear Editor:

While out of power, Conservatives hailing from both founding parties worked apart, and then together, ultimately to fashion a single party and a set of policies designed to bring back to Canadians an ethical and accountable government. We said we'd do things better. We'd clean up the mess. We'd treat Canadians with the respect they deserve.

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Dear Editor:

I am absolutely appalled by the recent article written by Ric Dolphin in the Feb. 13 edition of the Western Standard magazine regarding Dr. Colleen Klein. The magazine article quotes an unnamed Conservative source as saying that when her husband retires as Alberta premier, she'll be "just another Indian."

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Dear Editor:

I understand people that say that one group does not speak on their behalf. But who defines who is Metis and who is not? Metis National Council (MSC)? Well, I don't think that includes every Metis in Canada. For myself, I could be represented by the Assembly of First Nations or the Congress of Aboriginal People. I think every Aboriginal should voice their own concerns and forget about politics and work together. We are creating walls between each group!

-FV

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The people who value freedom of thought and expression were wrestling with some tough questions this month. Does freedom of speech mean we can say anything to anyone any time we want? Is there a boundary where freedom of speech ends and the promotion of hatred begins, and if there is what should be done if someone crosses the line?

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"We are like trees, planted together. We grow strong and tall, and our roots twist around each other, so we can withstand any storm. When we work together, when we respect each other and develop trust, we can move mountains."

Nisga'a Lisims President Nelson Leeson spoke those words to the thousands of First Nations people who had gathered for the weekend festivities in Prince Rupert on Feb. 17 and 18.

At the end of his speech, Leeson smiled and raised his hands, bringing the huge crowd of 2,500 people to its feet with one word:

"Hobiyee!"

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A graduation ceremony for 11 students got underway at the Native Education Centre on Jan. 25, with a traditional welcome and comments from community representatives, including MLAs Lorne Mayencourt and Richard Lee.

A 12-week program designed in partnership with the Aboriginal Community Career Employment Services Society (ACCESS), the Native Education Centre and British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), prepared the students with academic support, life management training, theory and the hands-on instruction they need to build careers in the piping trade.

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The new Prince Rupert container port will provide an economic boom for northern B.C. Area First Nations want to share in that prosperity, not threaten it, as some fear.

Those are the words of Lax Kw'Alaams chief band councillor, Gary Reece as he responded to criticism that claimed a recent court injunction by local First Nations was a dangerous money-grab that recklessly endangered the revival of the area's economy.

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Robert 'Willy' Pickton appeared in British Columbia's New Westminster Supreme Court on Jan. 30 and pled not guilty to the first-degree murders of 27 women linked to Vancouver's Downtown Eastside sex trade.

Sixty-eight women have disappeared from that section of Vancouver since 1991, many of them of Aboriginal descent. Investigators found DNA from 31 women on Pickton's property in Port Coquitlam, where he operated a pig-butchering business prior to being arrested four years ago.