From generation to generation

Jason Kerr
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From generation to generation

Every few years, Lela Arnold leaves her home in Green Lake and travels south past Prince Albert for Back to Batoche.

Her family, like hundreds of others from British Columbia to Ontario, makes the trip to celebrate and learn about Métis history and culture. It’s a trip she’s made with her children and grandchildren, and hopefully it’s a trip they’ll make with their kids too.

“I think so,” Arnold says when asked if Back to Batoche will still be around in 50 years. “I hope I’m right. I won’t be around myself, but I would like to see it (continue) for 50 years.”

As a member of the organizing committee, and a member of the Métis herself, Arnold has a direct hand in making sure that happens. Fun is the name of the game this weekend, but she works hard to make sure a bit of education is mixed in too.

Arnold learned a lot about the history of her people while studying for her Indigenous Social Work degree. She made sure to teach her own children that history, but says not everyone has those opportunities.

That’s where events like Back to Batoche play an important role.

“It’s just like doing your genealogy,” she says. “You meet people that you’ve never met before and find out that they’re related. You find out more about yourself, about your heritage.”

It’s not just about teaching children or first time festival attendees either. Even Arnold finds herself learning something new every year, like her improving understanding of the Cree language.

For the rest of this story, please see the July 24 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.

River cleanup enters final stages

Jason Kerr
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River cleanup enters final stages

Officials with the Ministry of Environment and Water Security Agency say oil spill cleanup efforts in the North Saskatchewan River are progressing as planned and should be completed sometime in August.

On Thursday, assistant deputy minister Wes Kotyk of the Ministry of Environment told reporters the cleanup work being done by Husky Energy was “effective,” and that there were unlikely to be any future health risks stemming from the 2016 oil spill.

Cleanup crews have surveyed 90 km of shoreline in addition to the 627 km surveyed during the initial cleanup phase, roughly 6.5 km of which have “minor impacts.”

Most of the remaining cleanup involves removing contaminated soil and vegetation from the shoreline or bottom of the river.

Kotyk said they would continue to monitor the North Saskatchewan, but all signs appeared to be good.

“Results are favourable (and) show that there are no risks based on the results of the samples that are coming back.”

Communities affected by the 2016 spill have been collecting drinking water samples on a monthly basis throughout the winter. That’s changed to every second week after the spring thaw. Surface water quality monitoring programs also began this past June.

According to the Water Security Agency (WSA), no petroleum hydrocarbons have been detected in surface or drinking water since February 2017.

Trace amounts have been detected in river bottom sediments.

Overall, WSA environmental and Municipal Management Services Division executive director Sam Ferris the results have been positive.

“Unless there’s another significant event, or a hotspot turns up, or something to that effect with contaminated sediments, I don’t think there’s too much to worry about in terms of drinking water quality for those communities, which is good news.”

Ferris said their primary concern was that the spring ice that would pick up petroleum sediments at the bottom of the river. He added that while there is some indication this is happening, there are also petroleum sediments coming in from upstream of the original spill site.

Water treatment plants appear drawing water from the river appear to be doing their job, he explained, but that doesn’t mean monitoring efforts will stop at the end of August. Any decision on that will likely be made before winter.

“Our monitoring will continue until the end of the open water season,” Ferris said. “After that, we’ll see what the plan brings.”

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

City approves trustee by-election date

Jason Kerr
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City approves trustee by-election date

Prince Albert residents will head back to the polls this fall after city council approved the by-election dates to fill a vacant Saskatchewan Public School Division trustee position.

The vote is scheduled to take place on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. Polling locations will be set up at Westview Public School, Princess Margaret Public School, John Diefenbaker Public School and Arthur Pechey Public School.

Advanced polling will be held at the John M. Cuelenaere Public Library on Thursday, Oct. 19 and on Saturday, Oct. 21.

Polls will not be opened in nursing homes or hospitals, but mail-in ballot voting will be offered.

The by-election is being held to replace trustee George McHenry, who passed away in June 2017.

Bring Prince Albert to the world

Jason Kerr
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Bring Prince Albert to the world

For two local 4-H members, representing Saskatchewan in front of the world began with the basics.

It didn’t start with weather, crops or farming techniques. Instead, it started with something as simple as pointing to a map.

“A lot of times people are like, ‘where’s Prince Albert?’” said Josh Tkatchuk, one of 28 Saskatchewan delegates who made the trip to Ottawa for the 2017 Global 4-H Network Summit. “They don’t know where it is, and a lot of people don’t even know where Saskatchewan is, to be honest.”

Both Tkatchuk and Emily Letendre represented the Prince Albert area as part of the provincial delegation to the weeklong event, which attracted more than 450 4-H youth from 35 different countries.

This list of attendees included 4-H clubs from Kosovo and Jamaica, who are less than a year old, to some from Canada who are celebrating 100 years.

Tkatchuk said it made for a unique atmosphere, and one he was proud to be a part of.

“We had a high level dinner … and the Minister of Science and Technology attended. They had a delegate from each country bring in their home country’s flag, and it was a proud moment to see our flag.”

For the rest of this story, please see the July 22 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.

Dog days of summer

Jason Kerr
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Dog days of summer

Joseph Knutson was excited to hear his RCMP police dog name submission had been selected in a Canada-wide contest.

However, things were about to get even better.

On Thursday, Knutson had a chance to meet three local RCMP dog handlers and their canine partners.

It was a unique experience he won’t soon forget.

“It made me happy,” Knutson said afterwards. “I was really excited when I found out they were coming.”

Knutson’s suggestion, Kato, was one of eight names selected from thousands of entries that poured in from across the country. It’s the second time in three years that a Saskatchewan resident has had their entry selected.

The name means “all-knowing,” which Knutson thought was appropriate for a police dog.

For the rest of this story, please see the July 21 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.

Finding inspiration in family

Jason Kerr
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Finding inspiration in family

Julie Darchuk has some great memories of her father, but ironically, it’s his pain that helped inspire her to get to where she is today.

Throughout most of her childhood, Darchuk remembers her dad, Ben, constantly facing chronic back problems that limited his ability to work, have fun and, in some cases, even walk.

“We would have to support him,” Darchuk remembers. “He would have flare ups throughout the year where he’d be laying on the ground, unable to walk. We would help him to any appointments that he had because he tried a ton of different modalities.”

Helping her dad day-in and day-out had a powerful affect on Darchuk. The older she got, the more she wanted to get involved in the healthcare system and help alleviate the pain felt by people like him.

By 2012, she was well on her way to Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in Ontario, with the blessing of her family.

Unfortunately, that’s when tragedy struck again. In May 2012, Ben was traveling north of Prince Albert on Highway 2 when he was struck and killed by a drunk driver.

His death shattered the family, and left Darchuk with a difficult decision: stay in Prince Albert with her family, or head to Ontario.

“It was really hard for me to decide what to do,” she says. “Everyone thought that I was going to stay home with my family, but I just couldn’t do it. I know my dad would have been very disappointed if I didn’t go on further and finish my education … so I used that as my fire inside of me, to go to school and finish for him.”

Although it wasn’t an easy decision, it’s one that paid off in the long run. After graduating in August 2016, Darchuk returned to Saskatchewan to begin her practice. She currently works out of Saskatoon, but on June 29 she was back at her old stomping grounds, giving the alumni speech at the Carlton graduation.

“My message was to keep moving forward,” Darchuk says. “No one achieved anything that was super easy. There’s going to be ups and downs. Just try to keep your head up and keep moving forward.”

She even dipped into her own academic past, and encouraged students to not be afraid to seek help with their studies.

As for life as a chiropractor, Darchuk says it’s incredibly rewarding. She’s discovered the world is full of people who need a helping hand, just like her dad.

“To be able to help someone move forward or achieve a better quality of life and function better is what really brings me back into the office every day,” she says. “I love being there.”

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

Note: The version of this article that appeared in the July 13 edition of the Daily Herald contained several factual errors. This is an updated and corrected version made available by request. The Daily Herald apologizes for the mistakes.

New lights about pedestrians, not vehicles, says Ward 8 councillor

Jason Kerr
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New lights about pedestrians, not vehicles, says Ward 8 councillor

Prince Albert city councillors have voted to add another set of traffic lights to the city’s West Hill area after concerns about pedestrian safety.

On Monday, councillors voted 5-3 in favour of installing new lights at Sixth Avenue West and 28th Street West. The intersection sits near Arthur Pechey Public School, and is several blocks away from Ecole St. Anne and the West Hill Community Club.

Ward 8 Coun. Ted Zurakowski was the biggest supporter of the motion. He said the decision was recommended in the city’s Transportation Master Plan, and recommended council follow that suggestion.

“There’s some value in following those guidelines, and the guidelines were to put up a set of lights at Sixth and 28th,” he said.

According to a traffic volume study commissioned by the city in 2016, the intersection in question receives roughly 10,000 vehicles daily along 28th street, and roughly 5,000 along Sixth Avenue, making it the second busiest intersection in Prince Albert without a set of lights. That’s still well below the busiest city intersections, which can see more than 40,000 vehicles in a day.

However, Zurakowski said it’s foot traffic he’s concerned about, not cars.

“If you’ve driven that roadway, sure, it’s two, three, four, maybe five vehicles deep, but it’s not for your convenience as a driver,” he explained. “It’s for the kids attending Arthur Pechey, St. Anne school and the West Hill Community Club, which is a high traffic volume area for kids.”

While the motion to install the lights passed unanimously, some councillors aren’t happy about where the lights will be coming from. Another motion to remove the lights at the Central Avenue and 11th Street intersection passed by a 5-3 margin. Those lights will be reinstalled at Sixth Avenue and 28th Street.

Ward 2 Coun. Terra Lennox-Zepp was among those who voted against the motion. She said there is little desire from residents in her ward to remove any lights from Central Avenue.

“We already have them, we’ve installed them, we’ve put the money into installing them and it seems foolish to remove them,” she said.

Lennox-Zepp added that she wanted the city to use traffic lights already in storage for the Sixth Avenue and 28th Street intersection. When asked if how many lights the city had in storage, the city’s public works director said he wasn’t sure, and would have to double check.

According to a report submitted by city administrators, Prince Albert has double the average number of traffic lights as other communities of this size. There are currently more than 60 sets of lights in the city, while the average sits at 33.

Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne said the city’s priority is to remove traffic lights, not add them, meaning more lights will likely be taken down in the future.

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

Ticket parade raises questions at council

Jason Kerr
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Ticket parade raises questions at council

When Niki Bouchard left her house on Saturday she was surprised to discover bylaw officers had left a parking ticket on her windshield.

She wasn’t the only one either.

Bouchard and numerous other residents living on the 700 and 800 block of 18th Street West were all ticketed on Saturday for parking on the boulevard. There was only one problem. Bouchard says there isn’t one.

“There’s no differentiation,” she explained. “It’s a gravel street and there are no sidewalks, there’s no paving, there’s no curves, there’s no differentiation. We came out, and our whole street had tickets from bylaw.”

Bouchard first purchased her property last fall. She has no garage and no driveway, so she’s forced to park on the street. She tries to park as close to her fence as possible, partly so it’s near enough to her house lights so she can keep an eye on it, and partly to protect it from the wear and tear of parking next to a gravel road.

“It’s a new car and it has taken some rock chips, so I think it makes sense to park it as far off as I can,” she said.

As much as that ticket caught her off guard, she was even more surprised when another bylaw officer turned up the next day to ticket her again.

Bouchard said the bylaw officer wanted her to move her car further onto the street, and told her he’d have to ticket her if she didn’t.

“I said, ‘well, I’m afraid you’ll have to do your job, but surely this can’t be the proper way to do things. I said, ‘you’re asking me to move my car further onto the gravel. You’re asking me to put my possessions in more harms way.’”

By this point, Bouchard had already raised the issue with her city councillor, and on Monday it was brought to a vote.

In a motion from Ward 2 Coun. Terra Lennox-Zepp, Prince Albert city council voted to rescind all parking tickets issued for the 700 and 800 block dating back to July 15. City councillors also instructed bylaw officers to refrain from ticketing residents for a period of one month, which would allow those affected to purchase permits from the city.

Bouchard said she was pleased with how quickly the issue was resolved, but not everyone on council was happy with the process.

Both Ward 4 Coun. Don Cody and Ward 8 Coun. Ted Zurakowski expressed concern that council didn’t have enough information to make the decision. The issue was not originally on Monday’s agenda, and was only added after councillors voted in favour of hearing it.

Cody said he was sympathetic to the Bouchard’s plight, but couldn’t vote for the motion because of how it was brought forward, which he said establishes a bad precedent.

Zurakowski noted that bylaw officers were likely ticketing the area in response to a complaint, and suggested council wait for more information before moving forward.

“I’d certainly like to hear from them (bylaw) before members from the elected council move to cancel tickets,” he told council. “There’s lots of time to cancel them, when or if the time comes.”

Coun. Lennox-Zepp, the original mover, said the matter was an important one that needed to be dealt with in a timely matter.

According to Bylaw No. 1 of 2013, section 43, nothing can “encroach upon a sidewalk or boulevard” without receiving a permit from the city.

Bouchard said she was unaware that such permits were available, and went to purchase one as soon as she finished the interview.

However, the issue is far from settled. Others, like Ward 3 Coun. Evert Botha, noted that other residents in the city were possibly facing similar problems because there are no sidewalks or boulevards.

He wants to see the city take a more proactive approach and better communicate to residents that parking on boulevards is illegal, although permits can be purchased.

Ward. 1 Coun. Charlene Miller also raised concerns, asking why bylaw officers were focusing on one particular area of Prince Albert.

“I thank the bylaw officers for actually doing their job, but do the job through the whole entire city, not just one specific (area),” she said.

Representatives from the Prince Albert’s bylaw unit were unavailable for comment by press time, however, Prince Albert’s bylaw manager did send out an email prior to Monday’s meeting telling officers to stop handing out tickets in the area until further notice.

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

A look through Keyhole Castle

Jason Kerr
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A look through Keyhole Castle

Thanks to a recent partnership, visitors and residents will have a chance to get an up close and personal look at one of Prince Albert’s most impressive landmarks.

Keyhole Castle, which was built for former Prince Albert Mayor Samuel McLeod in 1913, is opening its doors to tours, in partnership with the Prince Albert Historical Society.

The house, which still maintains much of its original woodwork, was designated as a national historic site in 1975, and the current owners wanted to share it with the community.

“We often get inquires for tours, and we’re very busy with our lives,” said Jonathan Smith, who owns the property along with his wife, Denise. “I was trying to figure out how we can make this a possibility for the community, without it being too disruptive to our personal lives.”

After posting news of the new tours on Facebook, the Smiths were overwhelmed with responses. Smith said it cool to see interest in the house, which he described as “special for Prince Albert,” and for its original owner, Samuel McLeod.

For the rest of this story, see the July 14 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.

Caron decries Liberal “lip service” during stop in Prince Albert

Jason Kerr
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Caron decries Liberal “lip service” during stop in Prince Albert

NDP leadership candidate Guy Caron says the federal government is talking a good game, but failing to follow through on its promises when it comes to Aboriginal issues.

Caron was in Prince Albert on Monday for a quick meeting with party supporters before Tuesday’s leadership debate in Saskatoon. The current MP for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, said the ruling Liberals have paid “lip service” to things like housing and living conditions in First Nations communities, and lack the political will to make the appropriate changes.

“They keep saying that this relationship (with Aboriginal people) is the most important one we have, but they don’t show it with actions,” Caron said. “It’s only words.”

Housing, clean water and implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) calls to action are at the top of his to-do list. Although the Liberals have moved forward in some areas, like supporting an NDP motion in October 2016 that called for an immediate increase in welfare services for First Nations children, Caron said the overall process has been slow.

That sentiment has some support from aboriginal leaders, like Assembly of First Nations Chief Perry Bellegarde. In June, Bellegarde released a statement lauding the “great response from all levels of government” to the TRC, but also noted that “change is not happening fast enough.”

Caron said an NDP government would make the federal government’s relationship with Aboriginal people a priority. That would involve things like increasing the amount of consultation with aboriginal leaders prior to developing major infrastructure projects, like the Kinder Morgan pipeline.

For the rest of this story, please see the July 12 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.

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