Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 11, 2005, Winnipeg, Manitoba B2 City / District w Winnipeg f ree p pressm Jondaya pril 11, 2005 3965 Portage ave. At the perimeter 837 4000 or 1 800 267 5843 wow. Orionchek holds. Com for three years in a Row our customers have told general motors that we have the Best customer satisfaction in both the sales and service. This is an award Only Given to the top dealers in All of Canada. Dont accept empty claims try the dealer that delivers year after year we guarantee you re Complete satisfaction. Winner Gmys triple Crown award 2005 Mali bus starting at $ 249 / to. Free Sunroof and sport package 2005 epic is starting at $ 268 / to. Free Sunroof 2005 impalas starting at $ 291 / to. Free Sunroof 2005 Malibu Max starting at $ 298 / to. Free Sunroof and did free Sunroof 2005 Monte Carlo is starting at $ 351 / to. 2005 Cavalier starting at $ 237 / to. 48 Mth Mac smart lease $ 2222 Down or equivalent Trade in. Dealer retains All factory incentives o. A. C. Free Sunroof Hydra continued from Page b 1 ism not aware of documents such As you describe he said. Neither Sale nor family services minister Christine Melnick would comment on the documents. But provincial spokesman Charlie Mcdougall said the government reviewed the april 2000 allegations that revealed Hydra House was operating against policy by not obtaining written permission from its funding agencies before using unspent respite Money to cover other costs. The province assured the sex Hydra House employee who made the allegations that Steps would be taken to strengthen existing policy and rectify the problem. The provinces response to the allegations came in a letter dated aug. 21, 2000, written by Bev Ann Murray on behalf of family services acting director of service delivery and compliance Joy Fontaine and copied to Sale. In it Murray said the province undertook a review of Hydra House As a result of the allegations including checking documents provided by Hydra House interviewing the president and other Hydra officials reviewing respite records and Billing practices and interviewing five Hydra House Foster parents. A comprehensive audit of the Agency yes books was not done. Murray said some of the problems identified were attributed to staff changeover at Hydra House at the time. When the province reviewed the situation Murray wrote the Agency was More stable and Many issues had resolved themselves. But Murray said the province would establish a working group involving All Foster programs in the province to ensure funding and operating policies Are standardized. She also noted Hydra House was instructed to Complete comprehensive policies and procedures to be shared with Foster parents. Mcdougall said the working group was never established. Instead changes were made within the family services department to ensure funding requirements were set out in the provinces Foster care manual he said. Mcdougall said Hydra House did provide the province with updated policy and procedure manuals for its Foster care program. The province did another review of Hydra House following Smalls allegations in november 2000. But investigators looking into financial mismanagement at that time did not audit the Agency yes books and accepted executives explanations of How Public funds were used. Singleton referred to that review As cursory. At the time Sale dismissed Smalls allegations As Little More than a dispute Between a former employee and his Boss. But Taillieu said the new documents prove the province knew other staffers had come Forward with similar complaints before Small brought his concerns to the government. Leah. Janzen free press. My. Ca by Paul Egan auditor general Jon Singleton says he will consider requests from Las to investigate Manitoba hydrous payments to a Northern Manitoba first nation in connection with the planned construction of a Hydro electric dam. Csc news reported last week that Hydro has approved payments of More than $ 14 million to cover consulting travel and other expenses incurred by the tapas Keyak Cree first nation which would be affected by the $ 3.5 billion Kee Yask dam project but has yet to sign off on it. Both Manitoba Liberal Leader Jon Gerrard and tory la Bonnie Mitchelson her part yes Hydro critic called on Singleton to investigate the payments. This appears to be an inordinate amount of Money for a Crown corporation to spend before an agreement is even reached Gerrard said in a letter to Singleton. I am very concerned that More than half of that $ 14 million has been spent on consultants fees. Mitchelson said there is a whole pile of resources going into the Community and ism not sure where its going. As for Many of the residents i dont think they ave seen a Penny she said. Hydro Hopes to Complete the dam project which will flood about 46 Square Kilometres of land in 2012. Tapas Keyak first nation was formerly known As split Lake. Paul. Egan free press. My. Ca Las seek investigation of Hydro payments to first nation Vimy Ridge continued from Page b 1 Eileen Gard certainly knows what the Battle of Vimy Ridge Means her Uncle James Gard died in the Battle. Born in 1888 in Rose Ash Devonshire James Gard was one of 12 children four emigrated to Canada in 1911, including Eileen Gardys father John Jack Gard. They started out in Stonewall and worked North. They got up to Fisher Branch and worked their Way Back to Winnipeg Gard said. He was never married Eileen Gard said yesterday. He went overseas in 1916. They went on the olympic. They were in the trenches living on dry biscuits she said. James Gard is buried in the churchyard where he was born. The government still looks after his grave. Eileen Gard said that her father was severely wounded at the Battle of the Somme but survived and lived to the age of 103. Yesterday she attended the ceremony along with Jayson Gard who is a great Nephew of James Gard Valerie Gagnon great great Niece and Jay songs Newborn twins Jack and Luke. Guarnieri told the ceremony that Only five Canadian veterans of the first world War Are known to still be alive. With each passing year we come closer to the Day when we will not have a single first world War Veteran with us Guarnieri said. We continue to be in Awe of the scale of the Challenge the scale of the Victory and the scale of the sacrifice that Vimy represents. Nick. Martin free press. My. Ca Ryan Pfeiffer / Winnipeg free press local veterans stand at attention during the ceremony marking the 88th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Ryan Pfeiffer / Winnipeg free press Whitehorse Plains scout member Tashia Pool presents Veteran de Taylor with a thank you Crest. By David Kuxhaus a Norway House band councillor is taking the chief and Council to court accusing them of having secret meetings withholding financial documents and cutting his salary from $ 60,000 to $ 5,000 a year. The allegations Are contained in an application for judicial review filed by coun. Marcel Balfour. Balfour was elected in March 2002 and since then has been an outspoken critic of chief Ron Evans. In his application Balfour says the chief and councillors have on at least 10 occasions missed three consecutive regularly scheduled meetings of the Council and band. The review application says that violates the bands election rules. It asks a Federal court judge to Issue a declaration that the band and Council have vacated their office which could pave the Way for an Early election. The next scheduled election in Norway House is set for March 2006 no Date has been set for the court hearing. Balfour who has a Law degree from the University of Ottawa declined to comment on the court Challenge. Norman Boudreau the lawyer for the chief and Council says bal fours charges Are ridiculous. There is absolutely no Merit to this application. Boudreau said it was agreed upon by Council that some meetings be held because there was no specific business to discuss. Bal fours application outlines a number of other charges. It claims a so called quorum of Council often meets in secret to conduct band business. Balfour also says he has been denied Access to financial documents. His review application says he was not allowed to participate in the negotiation and signing of the 2002 06 $ 97 million funding agreement Between the band and Ottawa. He says he has also been denied Access to financial information regarding construction of the $ 36 million school in Norway House. Balfour says his salary has been slashed from $ 60,000 to $ 5,000 and the chief and Council tried to evict him from his apartment which is owned by the band. But Boudreau said bal fours salary was reduced because he no longer was in charge of any portfolios. Kuxhaus. David free press. My. Ca band councillor takes colleagues to court ;