Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 7, 2022, Winnipeg, Manitoba ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMA4 C M Y K PAGE A4 With only some light gloves, he hopped on his sled, but only made it six kilometres before his sled was stuck again. Back with the Rangers, Barnett and Herman’s snowmobile had been freed. They were directed to leave their emergency gear behind and head north — where they got stuck right near Hyggen. The fun of adventure was gone and fear set in. “The line between life and death was infini- tesimally small,” Barnett said. Meanwhile, one of the Ranger snowmobiles was extracted from the slush. He sledded to where the cousins were and told them the oth- er sleds were still stuck. The cousins said the Ranger told them they could try to walk back to where the others were with the survival gear, or they could go to shore. Then, they said, the ranger left. The cousins tried to walk back but the slush was too deep. Hyggen hadn’t felt his feet in hours. The temperature had dropped to -35 C with the wind chill. They decided to go to shore to try to make a fire. A forest fire a few years earlier had destroyed a lot of the trees that would have provided wood. Then, in what seemed like a miracle, Barnett saw a birch tree. “If that tree wasn’t there, we’d be dead,” he said. They did inventory: one can of Coke, a package of noodles, a chocolate bar, lighters and matches. Herman had a can of Old Spice body spray with him. They used the spray and a lighter as a blowtorch to start a fire that would keep them alive. As the hours passed, the cousins collected wood, split the Coke, then used the can to heat and melt water. They shared stories to pass the time. A ranger appeared and checked on them briefly before leaving again. When his willpower was wavering, Barnett took out his phone and made videos for each member of his family. In the one to his wife he promised to come home. When he thought he couldn’t get back up, he would think about that promise and find the energy to move, he said. As morning light dawned, the cousins knew they wouldn’t be able to make it through an- other night. They decided to use all the wood they had left and build a huge blaze before they tried to walk back. Elsewhere on the lake, Ratt was leading more Rangers on a rescue mission. The giant flames signalled where the lost snowmobilers were. The cousins get emotional about the mo- ment they saw Ratt. “It meant we were going home,” Barnett said, a tear rolling down his cheek. Herman doesn’t plan to head back onto the ice any time soon. Barnett said the experi- ence inspired him to connect with his local rescue operations. He says ninanaskomon, meaning “he’s very thankful” in Cree, to the Rangers who risked their lives trying to save them. The cousins say tough choices were made and they hope the Rangers get proper train- ing and equipment to avoid potential errors in future rescues. The Rangers said they’ve responded to five ground search and rescues in northern Sas- katchewan so far this year. There is a review following every operation. — The Canadian Press MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2022NEWS I TOP NEWS Manitoba Canadian Western Bank 125 Nature Park Way Winnipeg, MB R3P 0Y6 CANADIAN WESTERN BANK and CANADIAN WESTERN TRUST COMPANY and VALIANT TRUST COMPANY RELOCATION OF DESIGNATED OFFICE FOR THE SERVICE OF ENFORCEMENT NOTICES Notice is hereby given, pursuant to the Support Orders and Support Provisions (Banks and Authorized Foreign Banks) Regulations and Support Orders and Support Provisions (Trust and Loan Companies) Regulations that the following office have been designated for service of enforcement notices: OBSESSED WITH YOUR SUCCESS™ CWBANK.COM Traditional name important gift in Indigenous cultures L AST month, the Southern Chiefs’ Organization called on the Mani-toba government to amend the Vital Statistics Act to allow Indigenous parents to use traditional names when naming their children. For decades, Indigenous parents have been told by bureaucrats that certain name spellings, accents, and length would not be approved for use on legal documents. For Indigenous names like mine this is a complicated but handleable issue. For others — particularly in Indige- nous cultures where writing systems don’t easily convert into European ones — this represents an outlawing of Indigenous cultures. Currently, Manitoba’s Vital Statistics Act only allows for a given name and surname that includes letters A-Z, English and French accents, hyphens and apostrophes. If you have an orthography (a writ- ing system with symbols that refer to a sound) that uses something else, you’re out of luck. For example, take the Xa’’islakala language, which has an macros over the ‘X’ and an accent over the ‘k’ to soften the sounds and a quotation mark to extend it. You probably know this language by another name: Haisla. This practice across Canada has resulted in Indigenous names being amended, bastardized, and wrongfully used — something that harkens back to residential schools, when children would be re-named and punished if they ever used traditional ones. Re-naming people or converting traditional names into English or French versions was also something government agents did when creating membership lists for First Nations. The control over one’s name is the basis for identity. If someone else defines you, how do you begin to define yourself? In Indigenous cultures, a traditional name is one of the most important gifts in a young person’s life. Given by an elder or knowledge keep- er in our community, the pronounce- ment of a person’s name is one of the most important ceremonies we have. This is because a name isn’t something that is chosen, it’s something that is unveiled. In Anishinaabe culture it is said that everyone has a sacred name — some- thing creation has chosen to define you by. This is a name that’s intended to shape your life; your identity, your direction, your purpose. When an elder is asked for a name, they are being asked to “find” it. This means spending time in the universe, asking for its meaning through prayer, meditation, or simply walking, watch- ing, and listening. When that name is found, a feast is held where that name is unveiled not just to who is being named but that per- son’s entire family. There, the story of how that name was found is told to ev- eryone in attendance, including people assigned the role of helping remember it and thus, the name’s meaning. The name is then announced in four directions, alongside a song and some food, inviting all beings to now use it. That newly-named person then spends a lifetime trying to learn from that name, reflect upon how it came to them and let it guide their actions. It is said that when that name is spo- ken, a person’s face becomes clearly visible to all who see them. My name, Niigaanwewidam, means “first sound” or “leading sound.” Its story, given by an elder named Onaubinisay, comes from a dream he had about the beginning of time, when light first arrived on Earth. In this sto- ry, there was a sound that announced this light as it came over the horizon. This is called “Niigaanwewidam,” a name I have spent a lifetime trying to encapsulate. While growing up, and most often by Indigenous peoples, I was told that using our traditional names was disre- spectful and someone could “steal” it and harm me. This is true. It used to be that our names were replaced at treaty time and residential schools. Now they’re deemed illegal by bureaucrats in pro- vincial departments. So, if some still want to keep their names to themselves that’s fine. There are plenty of reasons not to use our names in mainstream society. I remember, for example, being teased by bullies trying to hurt me. I’ve heard more than one person, after trying to say it, cast it off and say “or whatever your name is.” I’ve been told I’m unappreciative when I ask people to correct the spell- ing when it appears wrong in print or on TV. The problem is, if I don’t use my name, creation doesn’t get to see my face clearly. No one should accept being cast to the shadows. I also don’t believe in the arbitrary, Euro-centric, and racist illusion that English and French are the only lan- guages that matter in Canada. I refuse to believe in a nonsensical principle that some names hold value and others do not. My name demands I do otherwise. In a statement, a spokesperson for Manitoba’s government said the province is “working on” amending the Vital Statistics Act to include Indige- nous names and syllabics. Let’s send these decision makers some light to help them make a deci- sion. Their email is: vitalstats@gov. mb.ca. niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca NIIGAAN SINCLAIR OPINION LAKE ● FROM A1 THOMAS BARNETT PHOTO Julian Herman dries out his gear as Ron Hyggen prepares to saw wood after they got stuck for the first time on Triveet Lake in northern Saskatchewan in February. Company overseeing settlement admits to privacy breaches OTTAWA — The company overseeing the federal govern- ment’s $900-million settlement deal with military members who experienced sexual misconduct in uniform has admit- ted to more privacy breaches. Epiq Class Action Services Canada confirmed the addi- tional errors last week after a second veteran came forward to The Canadian Press to report having received an email containing the personal details of a different claimant late last year. France Menard said she decided to speak up after read- ing a Canadian Press report last month about Epiq having inadvertently sent fellow veteran Amy Green the names, email addresses and claim numbers of dozens of other cl Epiq at that time said it had mistakenly disclosed “limited information” about fewer than 100 of the 20,000 people who have applied for compensation as part of the class-action settlement to one other claimant. “Obviously she’s not the only one,” Menard said in an interview from her home in Fredericton, N.B. “People now are wondering: Is my information out there?” The Department of National Defence and lawyer Jona- than Ptak, who represents some of the veterans and active service members involved in the three lawsuits settled by the government, said Epiq has since confirmed three differ- ent privacy breaches. Those include two breaches reported by the company on Feb. 8, when The Canadian Press first asked about the infor- mation sent to Green, and another on Feb. 24, when Epiq was asked about the email sent to Menard, which she received in November. “We are aware of the two incidents of inadvertent disclo- sures that affected 91 class members which were reported about earlier in February and have just been made aware of an additional inadvertent disclosure involving one class member,” Ptak said in an email. Epiq did not confirm the number of actual or suspected breaches to The Canadian Press. But the company, which the Federal Court appointed to administer the November 2019 settlement deal, said it has launched an “extensive” in- vestigation and taken steps to prevent future issues. “Epiq takes any issues associated with data security very seriously,” said Angela Hoidas, vice-president of marketing and communications, in a statement. “Even as our investigation remains ongoing, we are com- municating directly with our clients, notifying claimants we confirm have been affected, and have implemented addi- tional enhancements to existing processes.” The information sent to Menard and Green consists of the names of individual claimants as well as their claim num- bers, which can be used to submit documents through a se- cure link on the class-action website. LEE BERTHIAUME Debris cleanup a wake-up call: group TOFINO, B.C. — A volunteer organization that has been cleaning up debris from a cargo ship that lost 109 containers off the B.C. coast last fall says the incident should be a wake-up call to the need for more urgent action. Alys Hoyland of the Surfrider Foundation’s Pacific Rim chapter in Tofino said urinal mats, coolers and other cargo that was swept off the MV Zim Kingston in October continue to wash up on the western shore of Vancouver Island. Debris has been found as far away as north- eastern Haida Gwaii, hundreds of kilometres from the spill site, and Hoyland said she is con- cerned that the longer it takes to clean up, the more material will degrade and spread along the coast. Beach cleaners still find hockey equipment from a container that went overboard in the 1990s, she said, and the organization expects similar long-lasting consequences from this incident. “This is going to be a slow-moving disaster for the coastline for many years to come,” Hoyland said. The containers were lost from the Zim Kingston during a storm near the entrance to the Juan de Fuca Strait around the same time a fire broke out on the vessel on Oct. 22. Four containers carrying fridges and run- ning shoes washed ashore on northern Van- couver Island in November but 105 containers have still not been recovered, the Canadian Coast Guard said in a statement. It confirmed reports of debris on Haida Gwaii and said the vessel owner is doing beach surveys. A sonar scan of the area where the contain- ers went overboard and environmental risk as- sessment have not been done, but planning is underway, the coast guard said. “The vessel owner has hired a contractor to do the scan but they need to wait for an appro- priate weather window to complete the work,” it said. In Canada, polluters are required by law to pay for cleanup and the coast guard said the owner of the vessel was part of a team leading the response. The coast guard forwards any public reports of debris to the vessel owner and ensures appropriate cleanup occurs. The owner has hired a salvage contractor to retrieve containers and debris that washes ashore, and will check areas where debris has accumulated every few months, the coast guard said. The ship’s manager, Danaos Shipping, said in an email that cleanup work by a contracted specialist is ongoing. “The owner of the Zim Kingston continues to work with the Canadian authorities to sur- vey beaches where debris came ashore after the incident, respond to reports of new debris from the incident, scan the area where the containers went overboard and assess en- vironmental issues,” the statement said. The ship has returned to normal operations, it added. The coast guard said debris of the same type is likely to pile up in specific areas and items that are found should be reported to its pollution reporting line. — The Canadian Press AMY SMART — The Canadian Press A_04_Mar-07-22_FP_01.indd 4 2022-03-06 9:42 PM ;