Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 31, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A4 A 4 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 2015 MANITOBA winnipegfreepress. com Manitoba is opening birth records related to adoptions If you are an adult adoptee or a birth parent, learn more about accessing birth record information OR protecting your information Please visit manitoba. ca/ adoptionrecords Contact your local CFS agency Or call 1- 855- 837- 5542 ( toll free in Canada and the US) The Health Report Every Sunday from 11a. m. to noon with hosts Chuck LaFl�che & Greg Mackling Promotion Partner: Presented by: TheHealthReport. ca Tune in February 1 st , 2015, when we learn more about a pioneering procedure to repair heart valves, with Dr. Minh Vo and Dr. Alan Menkis. Proposed Municipal Pesticide Program Public Notice is hereby given that Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. intends to conduct the following Pesticide Control Program during 2015: . To control all vegetation on rail track @ 963 Lindsay Street. The projected dates of application will be from May 1 to October 1, 2015. The herbicides to be used include: o Vantage XRT o Diurex 80 WDG o Payload o Telar The Public may send written submissions or objections within 15 days of the publication of the notice to the department below. Manitoba Conservation Pesticide/ Fertilizer Section Suite 160, 123 Main Street Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 1A5 BEST BUY - CORRECTION NOTICE NEWSPAPER RETRACTION FOR THE BEST BUY JANUARY 30 CORPORATE FLYER In the January 30 flyer, page 6, several Blu- ray titles were advertised with incorrect prices. The correct prices are as follows: Dracula Untold ( Blu- ray Combo) $ 24.99 ( Web Code: M2215014), John Wick ( Blu- ray) $ 22.99 ( Web Code: M2215699), The Best of Me ( Blu- ray) $ 22.99 ( Web Code: M2215695), Fury ( Blu- ray) $ 26.99 ( Web Code: M2215482), Ouija ( Blu- ray Combo) $ 24.99 ( Web Code: M2215229), The Book of Life ( Blu- ray Combo) $ 24.99 ( Web Code: M2215170) and The Book of Life ( 3D Blu- ray Combo) $ 29.99 ( Web Code: M2215449). We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused our valued customers. I F the federal government refuses to live up to its obligations to provide running water and adequate housing for First Nations people, the province should consider filling the void, Theresa Oswald says. Oswald, one of three candidates vying for the leadership of the Manitoba NDP, was reacting Friday to a news report that portrayed Manitoba as one of the worst places for First Nations people to live in Canada. The report said while 25 per cent of the children in Canadian First Nations communities lived in poverty, the rate was 62 per cent in Manitoba. It also spoke of up to 18 people sharing a three- bedroom bungalow in one northern community. " These statistics are extremely alarming, but not a surprise to me having spent seven years as health minister and having worked really hard to lessen that gap between aboriginal and non- aboriginal people when it comes to health status," Oswald said following a campaign announcement. In the past, Manitoba has crossed jurisdictional boundaries to provide kidney dialysis treatment in northern aboriginal communities and build roads linking First Nations. This spring, it is set to take over funding of band constables who assist the RCMP. On Friday, Oswald took things a step further. While she said it would be her " absolute preference" the feds " live up to their responsibilities" in ensuring communities had running water and adequate housing, she said the province should consider taking matters into its own hands if it has to. " I reject that assertion that there is not much we can do ( due to jurisdictional issues), because I fear that's the attitude that has been taken for decades," the Seine River MLA said. " And there will come a time when somebody is going to have to have the courage and the wherewithal to just say that we have to get it done - whether that's a government- to- government relationship between First Nations and the province or the fiduciary relationship between First Nations and the Government of Canada." Premier Greg Selinger and Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister Eric Robinson seemed less inclined to go down that road. " We already do lots of partnerships with First Nations in Manitoba, and we will continue to do that, but we also want the federal government to live up to its responsibility and be part of the solution and not just let the provinces pick up the tab," Selinger said in Ottawa, while attending a first ministers meeting. Robinson said the province shouldn't let the federal government off the hook on its treaty obligations. " But if we're asked to partner ( with Ottawa), obviously we're there," he said. Robinson said while it is " disgusting" to read reports of nearly 20 people being forced to share an average- sized home, it's not news to him. " Canada has to realize that a country so rich, so full of opportunities, and First Nations are still relegated to having to live in these conditions, is disgraceful at best," he said. In addition to poor housing stock, the sad condition of First Nations schools must also be addressed, Robinson said. Most are in dire need of repair or replacement, he said. Robinson said Ottawa tends to go " into denial mode" when a newspaper report or the federal auditor general or a United Nations body points out the great economic disparities between First Nations people and other Canadians. Instead, everyone - including the aboriginal leadership - should " quit posturing" and get down to work to fix the problems on First Nations, he said. NDP leadership candidate Steve Ashton also weighed in on the issue Friday, saying both levels of government must do more to address disparities in First Nations. " I will make sure that this is a key issue for us on the national scale," Ashton vowed, should he become premier. He noted the province has expanded post- secondary education through the University College of the North and formed partnerships with First Nations to build hydro dams. - with a file by Mia Rabson larry. kusch@ freepress. mb. ca bruce. owen@ freepress. mb. ca SHELLEY Peebles had a modest wish list - a backyard and deck for a barbecue and a finished basement so her teenage son could have his own space and she could have her own bathroom. For years, as a single mom and lifelong renter, cobbling together a down payment on a house seemed impossible. " I cried," she said of the December night when her offer on a Transcona split- level was accepted. " I've always wanted to own my own home. It's been a dream." Peebles and her son are the last of 14 indigenous families helped by a small and unique homeownership program now fizzling for lack of funding. The Manitoba Real Estate Association and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs originally hoped to help 40 families into home ownership, but piecemeal provincial funding has run out, even though there are 100 eligible people on the waiting list. The MREA and the AMC say their appeals for a new round of cash have fallen on deaf ears, partly because the Selinger government favours affordable rental programs over home- ownership ones. Family Services and Housing Minister Kerri Irvin- Ross was not available for comment Friday. Instead, in a written statement, the province said it has given the MREA a total of $ 641,618 for the program since 2008. " Manitoba Housing is now shifting focus to other projects," said a provincial spokeswoman. That includes Habitat for Humanity, which uses volunteer labour to build new homes and has received $ 6.8 million in provincial funding for 150 houses since 2001. Provincial cash per Habitat home is about half the top amount in the MREA's program. The MREA says a maximum of $ 87,000 over 10 years is needed per home, which includes the 15 per cent down payment and a mortgage subsidy available to some would- be homeowners. Harry DeLeeuw, past president of the Manitoba Real Estate Association, said that cash is much more effective than rent subsidies for properties the province must also maintain. And he said home ownership builds family equity, social stability and in turn frees up rental units. He said none of the 14 families helped so far has missed a mortgage payment, and he's optimistic the province will change its mind. It took six years and three applications to the Tipi Mitawa home- ownership program before Peebles was accepted. Even then, she had to go through budgeting and home- maintenance classes before she could begin the hunt for a new house, knowing the 15 per cent down payment was covered. With a decent job as a banking officer at a Winnipeg casino, Peebles didn't need the subsidy. But with a 16- year- old, it would have taken her years to save up even a five per cent down payment. She got the keys to her Transcona home Friday. maryagnes. welch@ freepress. mb. ca RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Shelley Peebles and her son, Dylan, 16, are thrilled as they move into their own home Friday. Owning a home a thrill for family Aid gives them the keys By Mary Agnes Welch Pick up Ottawa's dropped ball: Oswald Province may have to step in on aboriginal commitments, leadership candidate says By Larry Kusch and Bruce Owen JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Sewage flows through a backyard in Wasagamack First Nation. A_ 04_ Jan- 31- 15_ FP_ 01. indd A4 1/ 30/ 15 10: 39: 06 PM ;