Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 25, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba a6 Winnipeg free press Friday August 25, 2006 Manitoba readers support Winkler schools feedback by Nick Martin r eader response has been overwhelming in support of Garden Valley school Divi Sion a conducting Christian exercises in Winkler classrooms during school hours. The free press received close to 60 emails by late yesterday afternoon and by about a six to one margin readers were supporting the Divi Sion a religious exercises during school hours. Typical was Patrice Poirier who wrote i think that if All the parents agree that this is what they would like their children to participate in then it is a non Issue. They have had this practice for the last 100 years. Remember that the Canadian charter of rights and freedoms guarantees ? Freedom of conscience and Reli Gion not Freedom from on the other hand there was one Winkler Mother who requested anonymity i Don to believe religious exercises should be in the schools. My kids Are forced to do it. There a such a thing As bullying and peer groups and you have to go along with everyone. People Are afraid to say the Manitoba human rights com Mission has told Garden Valley . That references in its Mission and belief statements to a partnership with the Church and to following Christian principles and the holding of Christian religious exercises in classrooms during school hours Vio late the human rights code. Here a what you had to say once again the human rights commission wields its mean spirited undemocratic anti Christian free Dom from religion stick by prayer police ? a overzealous truly Bureau cratic politically Correct puppet and agent of the provincial government. Its time to take Back our schools defend our Christian and democratic beliefs in which this great country Constitution and institutions were ? Margaret Jablonski Why not give students 60 seconds of silence for personal reflection after o Canada when i was in High school in the Hanover school division that s How some teachers handled the Issue ? with Grace and tact in my opinion. The Christian students can still Pray and everyone else can Pray meditate or just sit there and daydream about the boy in the desk in front of ? Lindsay Hildebrandt the Manitoba human rights com Mission should not control what Chil Dren Are learning if 100 per cent of the parents Are supporting the school Mission statement and in class ? Jennifer Blair religious exercises Are also part of All school assemblies held once a month in the High school. Students Are required to attend and anyone in the hallway is told to get into the ? Anonymous Winkler teacher the human rights commission is so concerned about protecting the rights of a few that it appears oblivious to the rights of the ? Gilbert Cloutier no they should not be forced to change. Our country has been built on Strong Christian values. Christian values emphasize Charity tolerance and peace. Values which we seem to have ? Gerard Therrien the Garden Valley school division should be left in the remarkable state of Harmony in which it apparently exists at present the human rights commission is threatening to take away the right of religious association and expression by attacking a homogeneous and United Community s ability to express its religious ? Heather Skublics Lampman asking the children who Aren t going to participate to leave the class room puts them in an uncomfortable situation. Battling through the social school life is hard enough without adding More obstacles than there already ? Katherine Ashe atheism is not a religion. It is a philosophy but it s not a ? Ian c. Thomson we support Garden Valley school division in its desire to present Christian principles in its schools. We should not discriminate or violate their rights in having religious ? Keith and Ruby Macdonald if your kids do not attend there or you do not even live in this Community stay out of it it is none of your ? Darryl harder could the Law be improved most certainly. But right now it is workable and complies with the direction put Forth previously by the human rights commission. Therefore what is the problem ? Rod Giesbrecht we need More Bible Reading and prayer in our schools not less. Our children desperately need to know the god of the ? Janet Friesen it s about time a school division took a have never understood Why they took prayer out of our ? Abe and Norene Funk what needs to be changed is the humanist viewpoint and people that presently pervade and make up the human rights ? Richard staub i would not want my children to be stigmatized As the kids that made them change things or that kid that made us move our prayers outside. Children and families have the right to keep their religious beliefs private. These schools can teach Good values without referring to them As Christian values since most of the values eschewed by christianity Are in fact also values of Many other ? Tara Sawchuk let children Pray in schools. All schools should have allotted time in schools to have a time for religious exercises. This attitude of atheist non believers claiming human rights have gone too ? Seymour Blackadar i think All schools should have a religious exercise for their ? Albert Casar 80-year-old finds new Job As mayor Ted Wilson is a Toronto boy who moved to North Ern Manitoba in 1960 for a teaching Job and has been there Ever since. In May Long retired from a teaching career Wil son entered politics ? becoming mayor of the Northern Community of Island Lake at the age of 80. I a not sure if i a the oldest mayor but there Arent that Many older Wilson said during a break at the 36th annual general meeting of the Northern association of Community councils acc. Wilson said he fell in love with Manitoba a North when he first moved Here and did to want to live anywhere else. Wilson said the North has its challenges which the mayors and councillors of the 50 communities that make up the acc Are meeting to discuss this week at a downtown hotel. The challenges include adequate housing High food costs inadequate health care unemployment and development Ris ing crime and a Lack of Community services. We have High unemployment ? As much As 90 per cent in some communities ? and even for those people with Good paying jobs the Banks wont give them a House mortgage in one of our communities said Reg Meade mayor of Wabowden and president of the acc. Our priorities Are to get adequate housing for our residents Safe drinking water and the annual general meeting began tuesday night and concluded yesterday afternoon. The 50 communities that make up the acc have a combined population of about 7,200 people most of them aboriginal. Island Lake consists of seven islands with 85 residents living on three of the islands. All but two of the acc communities Are unincorporated bodies. Unlike communities in the South the Northern Community councils have limited authority to pass bylaws collect taxes or even set their own tax rates. Meade said everything the Community councils do must be vetted and approved by the provincial governments depart ment of aboriginal and Northern affairs. Meade said the communities rely on the province to provide much of their infrastructure and ser vice needs. Wilson said he a using the Opportunity of attend ing his first acc am to make contacts and to hear the concerns of other communities. Wus Khatim dam foe wins vote for chief on Reserve by Trevor Greyeyes a member of Cree nation who vocally opposed the wus Khatim dam Deal ratified by the Community two months ago has been elected chief. Jimmy Moore with 586 votes will be sworn in As new chief sept. 10 after winning the election wednesday with a 111-vote margin Over incumbent Jerry Primrose with 475 votes. On june 16, More than 70 per cent of eligible members of non voted on the wus Khatim Deal with 63 per cent of those in favor of the agreement with Hydro to build a 200-megawatt dam. Primrose and coun. Elvis Thomas ? who also ran unsuccessfully for chief coming in third ? were the principal negotiators on the Deal. The agreements been signed. And that la be the new chiefs turmoil if he wants to Challenge it Primrose said. There Are Legal ways of doing Primrose was first elected non chief in 1994 and won four successive elections. Moore was unavailable for comment. Joe Mercredi an non band member who voted for the new chief said he a hopeful Moore will be Able to reopen negotiations with Hydro. He a concerned that whatever Money Rolls in from the wus Khatim Deal will go directly to paying off the Loans the Community takes out to buy into the project. It May look Good on paper that we own part of the dam but that a it said Mercredi. However Mercredi acknowledged it May be very difficult at this Point to reopen negotiations on the Deal with Manitoba Hydro. Bob Brennan Manitoba Hydro president and ceo said As far As they re concerned they have a Deal with non and look Forward to working with the new chief and Council in the future. We know most of the Council was re elected and Moore is a former Hydro employee who a a Good Guy said Brennan. Construction of the Road necessary to begin the $1.2-million project is underway. Construction of the wus Khatim generation project is expected to take six years. Projections Are that 600 workers will be needed at the height of the project with non supplying Many of the workers ;