Eden Valley Reserve wants own
court system
By Pamela Roth
Staff Reporter
The discovery of 37-year-old Raymond Dixon’s murdered body along
the Highwood River near the Eden Valley Reserve on Aug. 6 has left the
small community west of Longview questioning their own safety.
“It scars people when something like that happens,” said Even
Valley Reserve Councillor Keith Lefthand. “I don’t think there
is any violence that has come with it, but I think the families will always
be scarred with it forever. It affects the whole community and ‘are
we safe?’ is the first question that’s out there.”
The murder comes at a time when members of the reserve have been trying
to find solutions in order to put an end to the escalating violence and
return to a peaceful coexistence.
In the past, community leaders have met with representatives from the
Alberta Solicitor General’s office to discuss solutions and put
programs in place in the community to help deal with some of the problems.
According to Annette Bidniak, spokesman for the Alberta Solicitor General’s
office, the programs that have been placed in the community so far are
greatly valued by the reserve.
“From their perspective, a lot of good things have happened and
the community has become stronger because of some of the difficulties
they have had,” said Bidniak. “You’ll never solve all
the problems, but you will try to get to the root of them.”
Even though the government is trying to improve safety on the reserve,
Lefthand said the laws have never fit their cultural needs.
As a result, Lefthand said the reserve wants to set up its own court system
in the future – something he claims has already happened on reserves
in northern Alberta and have been successful.
“Our culture is a big part on how the system is of living on an
Indian reserve. It’s totally different than living in a town,”
said Lefthand, who claims the reserve was a better place to live 30 to
40 years ago. “We have a lot of support with our elders. In the
past, their words is how most of us lived and in the past 20 years, a
lot of things have changed. Our people think different than what the law
is today.”
The process of solving some of the problems on the reserve may take years.
But given the fact that the man currently charged with the second-degree
murder, 38-year-old Ross Everett Pooreagle, isn’t a member of the
Stony tribe, which makes up approximately 600 of the 900 people living
on the reserve, other cultural issues emerge.
Some residents would like to see residential bylaws put in place on the
reserve in order to protect their own tribe, but Lefthand said that’s
something that wouldn’t be possible.
“It’s a matter of respecting the members of the Stony Tribe.
Every different tribe has their own culture,” said Lefthand. “We
are trying to work towards a safer community and improve the lives of
our people. I think we are facing a big challenge and who knows how long
it’s going to take. I think it’s safe to say other tribes
across Canada are dealing with the same problems. It’s how the government
designed our living, so you have to make the best of it and go with it.”
The current programs in place on the reserve will be reviewed by council
on Sept. 8 when regular meetings resume.
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In this issue...
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Carving out some history -
Artists complete
impressive display at Station
• See Entertainment
Caught in a Webb -
Jonathon Webb joins Okotoks Junior A Oilers
• See Sports
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Centennial celebration
Jennifer Grover, 6, and Jordan Grover,
8, from Okotoks show their Alberta spirit with their grandmother Melba
Fabick from Hanna at the clock tower unveiling and Alberta Centennial
celebrations in downtown Okotoks Thursday, Sept. 1. photo by Laurel
Nadon
Education - Francophone teachers extinguish strike
threats
By Pamela Roth
Staff Reporter
 In
a 96 per cent vote, the Greater Southern Public Francophone teachers
have officially scrapped the idea of a strike by accepting a mediator’s
recommendation for a new collective agreement for the next three years.
The news is something that is ear-pleasing for the principal of Okotoks’
new francophone school, Louise Halvorsen, after the school board did
everything in its power to satisfy the bargaining, in her opinion.
The Greater Southern Public Francophone Education Region has 12 students
enrolled in its one classroom at Big Rock School.
“We went with a francophone north centre bargaining agreement,
which is great,” said Halvorsen. “They had a good agreement,
so we thought if we have the same as they do, then the next time we
have to bargain (2007), we will have a good base and be able to add
more to it.”
The teachers voted 96 per cent in favor of strike action in May unless
trustees seriously considered the bottom-line proposal that teachers
had tabled earlier that month.
According to bargaining agent Sharon Vogrinetz, the teachers have
been without a collective agreement since August 2003 and began the
bargaining process in January 2004.
One of the main concerns, Vogrinetz said, was that it would reduce
benefits of the Greater Southern Public Francophone teachers formerly
employed by the Calgary School District by 60 per cent.
In addition, it would have also left those teachers with the second-lowest
salary scale in 2003 and 2004, and the third-lowest salary scale in
2004 and 2005.
The strike notice on Aug. 19 followed two days of intense negotiations
earlier in August, in which Vogrinetz said trustees continued to insist
that teachers accept conditions of employment inferior to those enjoyed
by teachers throughout the rest of the province.
But after teacher and trustee representatives met with the government-appointed
mediator on Aug. 25, the mediator agreed to write recommended terms
of settlement for a new collective agreement, in which both parties
agreed to put to their members for a vote.
“While his recommendation is not what we had hoped, it is better
than the alternative — continuing labour unrest in Greater Southern
Public Francophone schools,” said Lyne Bacon, chair of the teacher’s
negotiating subcommittee. “Once this dispute is behind us, we
will be able to move forward and continue to provide our students
with a first-class education.”
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