Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 30, 2013, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE B1 CITY & BUSINESS CITY EDITOR: SHANE MINKIN 204- 697- 7292 city. desk@ freepress. mb. ca I winnipegfreepress. com TUESDAY, JULY 30, 2013 B 1 T HERE'S something sinister going on at Fraser's Grove Park. On Saturday, Jason Booth was with his two- year- old son at the park near the corner of Kildonan Drive and Rossmere Crescent when he noticed a tree that had been intentionally cut on both sides. The large ash, just three metres from the swing set his son was playing on, could have fallen over at any minute. At first, Booth figured the city was planning to cut down the tree - until he took a closer look. The cuts were at a 45- degree angle and about two metres from the ground. The cuts were even and looked to be done with a chainsaw. Speaking with the Free Press , Booth described the discovery as something beyond a simple act of vandalism. " I'm not a lumberjack or anything, but it looked like it was cut specifically to fall on the swing set. I got a chill from that," said the East Kildonan resident. " This goes beyond vandalism, this is a calculated way to hurt people." In fact, some area residents say they woke up to the nasty, buzzing sound of a chainsaw - coming from the direction of the park - around 3 a. m. on Saturday. " My neighbour went to look out the window, but it was too dark to see anyone," said Rob Parisien, who lives near the park. He shuddered at the thought of what might have happened if the tree had toppled over. " It's scary because there are city workers who work in the park every day," he said. After his discovery, Booth warned two families near the swing set, and two 11- year- old girls playing close by, to stay clear of the dangerous tree. Booth also called Winnipeg police, who taped off the area. Contacted Sunday, police said no suspects have been identified in the incident. The tree was removed by the City of Winnipeg's forestry division on Saturday night, and staff also cleaned up the area Monday afternoon. " Vandalism is vandalism, but an act which could have potentially crippled or killed a child this weekend has to be taken very seriously, especially when this appears to be the latest act in an escalating series of crimes," said Booth. Within the past year, the park's public washroom had been torched, causing the city to implement overnight surveillance. And last summer, boltcutters were used to cut down almost every swing within the park. " It's a perfect place for vandalism because the park is so dark," said Parisien, who uses the park on a daily basis. " I think more lighting would make a huge difference." A few years ago, Parisien wrote a letter to North Kildonan city councillor Jeff Browaty addressing his concern about the park's lack of lighting. Browaty isn't convinced that's the right way to go, but he shares residents' concerns. " Park experts don't recommend lights, because it draws people to the park at night," he said. " It's a quiet neighbourhood and it's unusual the park is being targeted so heavily. " We're going to have to look into our options, which may include extra lighting." elizabeth. fraser@ freepress. mb. ca '... An act which could have potentially crippled or killed a child this weekend has to be taken very seriously' - East Kildonan resident Jason Booth ' This goes beyond vandalism' I DID ask the question. Problem was, the question didn't dig deep enough into the story that lay beneath, like a labyrinth of crude oil pipelines. In fact, precisely like a labyrinth of crude oil pipelines. Which is why, last week, after my column lauding University of Winnipeg president Lloyd Axworthy for co- founding the Eco- Kids Summer Camp for inner- city children, the Free Press received a letter from a group of U of W students who noticed something was missing. The rest of the story. The letter began: " Gordon Sinclair's article, ( Inner- city kids hungry to succeed , July 20), praises Lloyd Axworthy, Kevin Chief and the Eco- Kids program at the University of Winnipeg for providing indigenous and inner- city youth with environmentally conscious educational programming. Conspicuously absent from the article is any mention of the program's main sponsor: Enbridge, the Calgarybased corporation that operates the longest crude oil and liquids pipeline network on the planet. " Enbridge has a disastrous environmental record, racking up over 800 spills between 1999 and 2010. These spills have resulted in nearly 20 million litres of crude oil being released into the environment, and include the 2010 spill on the Kalamazoo River, the largest and most costly inland oil spill in U. S. history, which, three years later, has yet to be fully cleaned up. It is unacceptable that the University of Winnipeg has ties with Enbridge at all, never mind the irony that the program they fund gives children the opportunity to measure their own ecological footprint. Surely, the University of Winnipeg can find a more appropriate source of funding." The letter was signed by Mathieu Paille, Robert McGregor and Rachel Dunsmore. Actually, Enbridge doesn't sponsor the Eco- Kids Summer Camp, which was the focus of the column. I asked who the sponsors were before writing the column and Enbridge wasn't mentioned. But, as the letter suggested, Enbridge is a primary sponsor for the Eco- Kids On Campus, a related program run during the academic year that offers Grade 6 students from the inner city a chance to study science and the environment and hopefully aspire to post- secondary education. All very impressive. Except for Enbridge's oily involvement. So what kind of money is Enbridge paying the U of W it can't possibly replace from another source? The energy giant donates $ 25,000 annually to Eco- Kids On Campus program. That $ 25,000 for the U of W is a financial pittance for a corporation involved in that massive oil spill three years ago on the Kalamazoo River that, by one estimate, could cost nearly $ 1 billion to clean up. So why does the U of W administration persist with its Enbridge partnership, even after being confronted in the past by the leaders of the students' union? An emailed answer from the university's communications department pointed out that Enbridge's School Plus Program, from which the Eco- Kids program was created, was initiated with the blessing of the Assembly of First Nations. That was in 2009, mind you, just as Phil Fontaine was leaving office as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations and Enbridge was sponsoring his farewell gala in Calgary. The email from the U of W went on to offer another answer from a question I hadn't even asked yet: " Programming content is not directed by the initiative's supporters." Perhaps not, but I doubt Enbridge would continue its funding if the Eco- Kids wanted a course on the tarsands and how it has resulted in Canada becoming a dirty word among many environmentalists around the world. In any event, without a direct answer to my question, I was left wondering why the U of W can't say no to such a small amount of money from such a big environmentally controversial corporation. Until, that is, I was directed to an article in The Uniter from nearly 18 months ago, wherein Jennifer Rattray, a former CBC journalist who is now the U of W's associate vice- president of indigenous, government and community affairs, was quoted as saying without Enbridge's donation, the Eco- Kids program wouldn't exist. Having dispensed that bunk, she got down to what serves as her best answer for why the university has sold its integrity for money from dirty oil. " Bottom line, it helps those kids. Anything I can do to help those kids, I will do." There you have it. The fundamental life lesson the U of W is really teaching all you Eco- Kids out there. The end justifies the means. gordon. sinclair@ freepress. mb. ca Dad discovers tree cut to fall on swing set in city park By Elizabeth Fraser GORDON SINCLAIR JR. At U of W, the end justifies the means Generous with First Nations The U of W is far from alone in its acceptance of funds from oil and gas pipeline corporation Enbridge that are aimed at First Nations people. Here of some of the company's most recent involvement: . Enbridge School Plus Program, established in 2009 in partnership with the Assembly of First Nations, " to support enrichment programs and extra- curricular activities" in First Nations schools. . A $ 1- million " investment" in the Aboriginal Leadership and Management Programs at the Banff Centre. . A partnership with the Historica- Dominion Institute in the Canadian Aboriginal Writing and Arts Challenge. . Funding totalling $ 330,000 over the last three years to the Mother Earth's Children Charter School Society, Alberta's only First Nations charter school. . Funding for a Take- a- Kid Trapping Program in the Northwest Territories. - source: Enbridge website Oil cash fuels eco program JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Jason Booth sits next to what remains of a tree in Fraser's Grove Park that he noticed had been cut in such a way that it might fall on a popular swing set. JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES The main sponsor of the Eco- Kids Summer Camp for inner- city children is Enbridge, the Calgary oil company with a questionable environmental record. B_ 01_ Jul- 30- 13_ FP_ 01. indd B1 7/ 29/ 13 10: 34: 49 PM ;