Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 19, 2012, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A3 2011 1717 WAVERLEY 1- 877- 432- 8670 mymidtownford. com EMPLOYEE PRICE 60/ 84 Month Purchase Financing @ 6.99% APR with 10% Down 43 MPG RATING! ALL NEW! 1.6 EcoBoost, 6 spd. auto, full power, cargo pkg, power liftgate. 2 013 ESCAPE SE 4WD Price & payment plus freight, fees & taxes OAC. U9G301 $ 27 , 656 or $ 174 / bi- weekly ( 204) 774- 6322 www. reliablemobility. com ( 800) 361- 7788 666 St. James St. Corner of Ness NEW FOR THE PRICE OF USED! 4 WHEEL WALKERS / POWER CHAIRS / HOMECARE BEDS ELECTRIC LIFT RECLINERS / WHEEL CHAIRS / SCOOTERS See store for details TOP NEWS WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 2012 winnipegfreepress. com A 3 OTTAWA - The Manitoba Metis Federation is looking to take over operations of the Riel House National Historic Site. MMF president David Chartrand told the Free Press Monday the MMF is working with the federal government to craft a plan. " We sent a message we'd like to take over Riel House," he said. " Whatever the shortfall is, we will help." About a month ago, Parks Canada officials informed the St. Boniface Historical Society its $ 56,000 annual contract to run programs at Riel House was not going to be renewed in 2013. The society has run the museum on behalf of Parks Canada since 1980. Initially, it was feared the cuts meant Riel House was no longer going to be open to the public. However, Environment Minister Peter Kent stated emphatically in the House of Commons the museum was not closing. " The house will remain open," he said on June 12. The funding for the St. Boniface Historical Society is being cut and next year the museum will operate with self- guided tours rather than costumed interpreters. It's not clear what funding Parks Canada will provide to run Riel House or who, if anyone, will get the contract. Chartrand said he isn't sure whether costumed interpreters are needed anymore. " Is it necessary to have interpreters sitting around waiting for someone to show up or do we rethink how we do this?" he said. " We need to put together a good business plan and we're asking the government to give us the chance to take it over." St. Boniface MP Shelly Glover said she met June 15 with several interested groups, including the St. Boniface Historical Society, the MMF and the St. Vital Historical Society. She said she is confident a plan will come together but doesn't know when the consultations, being led by Parks Canada, will conclude. Riel House will be open as usual with costumed interpreters this summer. Glover said she'd like to see a plan that would encourage visitors to take in all of the Riel historical offerings in Winnipeg, including his grave site at the St. Boniface Cathedral, artifacts at the St. Boniface Museum and the St. Vital Historical Society and Museum, and potentially, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights when it opens. Riel House is one of 27 national historic sites nationwide where funding is being reduced and only self- guided tours will be available. York Factory and the St. Andrew's Rectory in Manitoba will also face cuts. Visits to Riel House have fallen below 5,000 a year since Parks Canada instated an entrance fee three years ago. Manitoba NDP MP Niki Ashton said she is glad groups such as the MMF are willing to step up but said it shouldn't let the government off the hook. " The fact is Louis Riel is a father of Confederation and the federal government should be picking up the tab," she said. " I don't think this would happen if we were talking about Mackenzie King or John A. MacDonald." Two of the 27 sites on the list being cut back to self- guided tours only are Laurier House in Ottawa, which commemorates Liberal prime ministers Wilfred Laurier and William Lyon Mackenzie King, and the Sir Wilfred Laurier National Historic Site near Montreal. But the Bellevue House National Historic Site, the Kingston, Ont., home of Canada's first prime minister, Conservative Sir John A. MacDonald, is not on the list and will remain funded for costumed interpreters. mia. rabson@ freepress. mb. ca M�tis group eyes Riel House Federation offers to help in funding By Mia Rabson W INNIPEG refugee Cyrilo Simpunga is in a race against time to get a decent prosthetic after his leg was hacked off with a machete in Congo eight years ago. Starting June 30 - the day before Canada Day - the federal government will no longer pay for refugees' mobility aids such as prosthetics, prescription drugs or eye and dental care. On Monday, more than 300 healthcare workers, friends and advocates joined refugees such as Simpunga at The Forks to protest cuts to Canada's Interim Federal Health Program. Simpunga arrived in Canada April 18 with a bad prosthetic leg he can barely walk on and a festering stomach ulcer that's going to take a few weeks to cure with drugs that cost $ 194 a week. Without the drugs, he'd end up in intensive care, costing about $ 2,000 a day, said Karin Gordon, settlement co- ordinator at Hospitality House, which sponsored Simpunga. With a proper prosthetic leg, he doesn't need his crutch and can run up stairs two at a time, she said. Before Monday's rally, she took him for a fitting at Deer Lodge Centre, where specialists fast- tracked his case so he could get the new leg before the June 30 deadline. " When I got it, I threw away my crutch and I felt like running," Simpunga said in his native language of Kirundi through a translator. He hasn't been able to run since that day in Congo eight years ago, when he was taking care of cows and marauders with machetes attacked his village. He didn't have time to run and hide, he recalled. " They cut off my leg. Another boy helped me. After that, they killed him. The next day, somebody put me on a bike to see a doctor. " They pulled the skin over the ( stump) and made it look clean." A year later, he got an old, ill- fitting prosthetic that required him to walk with a crutch. " It's not very good," he said. " I can't do very much. I can't walk for 30 minutes without feeling pain," he said resting on a bench at The Forks near Citizenship and Immigration Canada offices. His new $ 10,000 leg makes Simpunga mobile so he can be productive, he said. In two weeks, it will be ready and he's eager to put it to good use and get to work. He's studying English and looking for employment. " At present, I will do anything." His dream is to get a job as a driver one day. " That's the only thing I know." Simpunga learned to drive after losing his leg and ended up in a refugee camp in Kenya. Without the ulcer medication and the new leg, his future in Canada looked grim. Kay Seng, a refugee from Myanmar who landed with a host of undiagnosed health problems, said she'd probably be dead without the supplemental healthcare coverage. When she arrived in Winnipeg in 2006, the Karen tribe member did nothing but sleep for a month, she said. She was diagnosed with tuberculosis, hepatitis C and diabetes she's been able to get under control with the help of a dietitian, one of the services being cut June 30. Without the attention, " I would've died I think," Seng said. " But I am still here six years later," said the 62- year- old Karen community leader. " They are the survivors," said Dr. Michael Dillon, who's been caring for refugees in Winnipeg for nearly 20 years. Not taking care of people when they first arrive from war- torn, oppressive and starving countries will end up costing Canada down the road, said Dillon. He's written to Immigration Minister Jason Kenney asking him to reconsider the cuts to save money his department announced April 25. " They're based on ideas of false economy," said Dillon. Newcomers with chronic conditions and dental problems left untreated have major, expensive health problems down the road. Without eye exams and vision care, it will be more difficult for some refugees to see to learn English, get jobs and start paying taxes, he said. When asked for a comment, a spokesman for Kenney's department instead pointed to the April 25 news release explaining the funding cut. Human rights advocate and businessman Ali Saeed recalls going directly from the Winnipeg airport to the hospital when the Ethiopian torture survivor arrived decades ago. He weighed 112 pounds and required painkillers and supplements to restore his health. If someone hadn't paid for them, Saeed said he'd never have been able to celebrate Canada Day. " I would've died." He hopes Canada never loses its compassion. " Being a refugee is not a choice." carol. sanders@ freepress. mb. ca Ending June 30 THE Interim Federal Health Program provides temporary health- care coverage to eligible protected persons, refugee claimants and others who do not qualify for provincial or territorial health insurance. It provided basic health- care and supplemental coverage, including prenatal care, pharmaceutical care, dentistry, vision care and mobility aids. On June 30, the supplemental health care ends. The federal government expects to save an average $ 20 million a year over the next five years with the cuts. In the 2010- 2011 fiscal year, the program cost $ 84.6 million. In 2011, Manitoba welcomed close to 1,800 refugees. - source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada; Immigration Matters in Canada Coalition MDs slam refugee cuts Ottawa's cost- saving health move dismissed as ' false economy' By Carol Sanders TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES Riel House: interpreters needed? Cyrilo Simpunga Kay Seng Ali Saeed Dr. Michael Dillon WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Health- care workers and supporters chant at a demonstration at The Forks Monday to protest the planned cuts to refugee health services. A_ 03_ Jun- 19- 12_ FP_ 01. indd A3 6/ 18/ 12 11: 18: 11 PM ;