The Magnificent Nahanni

In the south-west part of the North West Territories is the magnificent Nahanni River. The River is protected as part of the Nahanni National Park, but much of the adjacent Nahanni ecosystem is not protected. The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is in the middle of a major campaign to extend the Park to include much more of the Nahanni watershed in order to provide better protection for this national treasure.

Tonight, Harvey Locke (with CPAWS) and Dr. Derek Ford were at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. The photos of the Nahanni were breathtaking. And Dr. Ford's guided tour through the Nahanni karstlands (fascinating limestone formations with caves, sinkholes and underground rivers), was a real education into the geography of the area, and one of the reasons why the National Park needs to be enlarged.

Naomi and I also had a chance to talk with Dr. Ford (see photo) about the karst formations in the hoped for Lowlands National Park in Manitoba. Dr. Ford has checked out the site of this park, and is pushing to have Little Limestone Lake included in the park. This lake is a marl lake - a lake containing calcite which changes color from a brilliant turquoise to a robin's egg blue depending on the temperature. Little Limestone Lake is the finest marl lake in the world. It needs to be included in the park.

If you want to learn more about the effort to preserve more of the Nahanni ecosystem, visit the CPAWS web site at http://www.cpaws.org

The Game - getting things done in politics

In politics, it is important to get to know people at all levels of government. If you want to get things done, these contacts are essential. Today, Jean Paterson had a chance to discuss child care issues with Ken Dryden, the federal Minister of Social Development. Famous hockey goalie, author of The Game and now a federal cabinet minister, Ken Dryden has been working hard to improve child care across Canada.

Later in the day, Jean was knocking on doors, talking about education, child care, traffic congestion and many other issues. She was also on the street greeting people as shown in the photo above.

The Wish Collection

Saturday December 3rd, 1:00 to 4:00pm Jenny Tasker at the Woodlands Gallery will be celebrating the opening of the Wish Collection. This is a collection featuring small works and affordable treasures by several gallery artists. It will be an opportunity to find unique gifts and see original artwork by some of Canada's most engaging artists. Jenny is putting the works up on her web site so you can get a preview of the exciting art. Go and visit at http://www.woodlandsgallery.com

The photo shows Jenny Tasker at the Woodlands Gallery which is located at 535 Academy Road.

Pierre Arpin and the Winnipeg Art Gallery

Last evening, at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, was an evening of music and art. The new director of the gallery, Pierre Arpin, is enthusiastic and full of ideas for increasing the interest in the Gallery. The current show, Into the Collection, has dived into the Winnipeg Art Gallery's fine collections to bring forth some real gems. There are some marvellous Inuit sculptures. Two by Abraham Anghik Ruben stand out. One, Lost Souls, highlights a scene from Kittigazuit in the western Canadian arctic. There are also some fascinating early Manitoba paintings by a variety of artists who lived in Manitoba, or passed through Manitoba in their travels. Come and see for yourself.

The Lake Winnipeg dykes

For the last several weeks emails and calls have been coming in furiously with concerns about the Lake Winnipeg dykes. What I am hearing is that what was needed was an approach which would have provided better erosion control, coupled with a much more "site-specific" approach that recognized the differences from one area to the next of the lake. The approach taken by Water Stewardship appears to have been designed similar to what is needed along the Red River to protect from flooding. On Lake Winnipeg, I am told by those who have been there for decades, with the wave action being such an important contributor, the need is significantly different.

I will provide you a few comments from emails and letters I have received:
1) "Water Stewardship have spent 8 million dollars on an essentially useless exercise and will undoubtedly be trying to spend plenty more to give some of the people only what they were asking for in the first place."
2) "The earthen dyke that was constructed in September of 2005 did not last for a month. The clay and mud that has washed into the yard will not wash away and disappear on its own. The dikes appear to hold well - as long as they don't get wet."
3) "Now we are left with tons, literally, of filthy debris that has proven itself to be of no help during a minimal rain storm, that is an eyesore, that reduced the amount of usable property, that may actually be destructive to the existing wall."
4) The project was more "political than practical"
5) "I have yet to find a cottage owner who has had a dyke installed that is happy."
6) "Water Stewardship Minister Steve Ashton is saying things about the dyke/sandbag project that are not supported by the available facts. What he fails to say is that the dykes are not connected. They are dissolving with each rainfall and... I for one recognize these efforts in the Lake Winnipeg area for what they are - incompetent, inconsistent and wasteful."

Now, I need to add several points. I have talked to cottage owners or home owners who are pleased the dyke was installed, so the above points of view are not universal. I have the impression that in certain areas the dykes may have been of some help. But, clearly, there have been some real problems in the way the Gary Doer government approached this situation and built the dykes. I would welcome your comments. You can reach me at jgerrard@leg.gov.mb.ca

Those who are interested can also see my earlier blog notes on these dykes on Sept 25 and Sept 28. I also have the impression that one of the reasons many cottage owners and home owners are upset is that the dyke building involved quite a bit of destruction of personal property - decks, gardens, trees, hedges - some of which (like caragana hedges) was specifically planted because the deep roots of this shrub help to stabilize the banks and control erosion.

The Magic of People

At noon yesterday, the Canadian Cancer Society celebrated The Magic of People with its Award Luncheon. Among the recipients was Barb Tascona (photo with me above) who received the Daffodil Award for providing the leadership to have smoking banned on school property at West Kildonan Collegiate in May 2004.

Other receipients included:
Jeannette Vouriot received the Citation of Merit for her role on the Cancer Society Board of Directors in developing policy manuals and inspiring others.
Norm Oman received the Medal of Courage for his leadership in creating the World Class Prostate Centre in Manitoba
Shaw TV received the Media Award for its role in helping promote activities to reduce cancer
Great West Life Assurance Company received the Corporate Award for its involvement in the Canadian Cancer Society in Manitoba's Dragon Boat Races and Gala Ball.
Dr. Jack Armstrong received the Special Volunteer Award for his leadership in helping to improve health care in Manitoba's First Nation communities.
Dustin Dyck and Steinbach's Youth Relay for Life Team received the Youth Leadership Award for their efforts to help the Canadian Cancer Society (Manitoba) in Fundraising Efforts.
Dr. Mike Harlos received a twelve month Canadian Fellowship of Pediatric Palliative Care for his efforts to develop a curriculum in pediatric palliative care for health professionals.
Carol and Jim Martin received the Gold Award for 22 years volunteering with the Canadian Cancer Society in Manitoba.
The All Party Task Force on Environmental Tobacco Smoke recieved the Silver Alliance Award for their work which led to the legislation to provide smoke free public places and workplaces in Manitoba. The members of this legislative task force included Stan Struthers, Denis Rocan, Scott Smith, John Loewen, Jim Rondeau, Greg Dewar and myself.

A Public Inquiry into what happened at the Crocus Fund is needed

Day after day in the legislature, my colleague, Kevin Lamoureux, stands up to read a petition calling for a public inquiry into what went wrong at the Crocus Investment Fund. In the provincial Liberal Party, we have taken the position for some time now that this public inquiry is needed.

On August 15 of this year in an Op-Ed piece for the Winnipeg Free Press I laid out our reasons: "The arguments against a Crocus inquiry follow the reasoning of a cover-up: if the truth is revealed it will make things worse, so we should sweep things under the rug....Cover-ups ensure that lessons are not learned but avoided. As a society we need our institutions to be open and truthful. We need to see what went wrong so that we can ensure it doesn't happen again. That's why Gary Doer must call a public inquiry into Crocus. ... Investors and Manitobans deserve the whole truth."

When I have talked with people recently in the Fort Whyte constituency where we have the by-election going on, I hear continued support and demand for a public inquiry. People want answers. 33,000 Manitobans invested in the Crocus Investment Fund in good faith, and they deserve answers. If Gary Doer has nothing to hide, he should welcome a public inquiry into Crocus. Why is he hesitating to call the public inquiry which we need and which is in the public interest?

The Protected Areas Audit

Once a year, Manitoba Wildlands completes an audit of the protected areas in Manitoba.

To many, this year's results are a surprise. In June of 2000 there were 5.58 million hectares of protected lands in Manitoba. As of November 4, 2005, more than five years later, the number of protected hectares had fallen to 5.33 million. What happened?

First, let me define protected areas. These include a wide variety of habitats which range from large National Parks to small areas which have been set aside because of unique or historic features. By Manitoba government policy, a protected area is "closed by legal means to logging, mining, hydroelectric development, or any other activity that significantly and adversely affects habitat."

It is hard to say just what happened. Is it bad NDP management under Gary Doer? Is it lack of focus by the Gary Doer NDP when dealing with protected areas? Is it just that the Gary Doer NDP don't really care about protected areas? Whatever it is, it is sad.

In 1999, the Gary Doer and the NDP promised in their election campaign to "complete the network of protected areas within the earliest possible time frame." Well, this is one promise they did not keep.

In 1999, during the election campaign, the Gary Doer NDP also promised to work with the federal government to create new National Parks (this was clearly a reference to the Lowland's National Park). But there has been no progress under Gary Doer and the NDP. Sad for all of us.

The Protected Areas Audit has been done very carefully. The documentation is extensive. You can see it for yourself by visiting http://manitobawildlands.org If you are interested you can also find the NDP election promises in this area by visiting the documents found under The Protected Areas Initiative - look on the government page.

NDP Conservation Minister Stan Struthers has said about the protected areas grade:
"you get a C- one year, and then an F the next year, there is something wrong here.."

Yes, Stan, there is something wrong here! Your NDP government is not doing the job it should be doing. Your NDP government got an F this year because your performance was bad.

Mental health and safety in the community

All the evidence to date suggests that the stabbing in Assiniboine Park, last Thursday, is more evidence that improved diagnosis and treatment of mental health conditions plays an important part in helping to make our community safer.

For some reason this message has not yet got through to the NDP government. As I pointed out nine days ago, (see blog for November 4), the attention to the mental health system by the NDP has been less than adequate.

Having people wait for hip and knee operations is bad. There is tremendous unnecessary pain and discomfort, and people often can not work when they want to.

But when people with severe mental illnesses do not get immediate diagnosis and treatment, not only is the life of the individual in danger, but the life of others may also be put in danger as we saw with the incident in Assiniboine Park.

A safe communities strategy must include major improvement in dealing with mental health issues. Adding more policemen is unlikely to have prevented the incident in Assiniboine Park. But quick diagnosis and treatment of Anuj Sharma's mental illness would likely have prevented the problem and the double tragedy affecting the lives of both Lucien Debreuil and Anuj Sharma.