The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Something special is cooking at the Creighton Community Hall Ð and in more ways than one. For the past three weeks, participants in a Saskatchewan Tourism Education Council food preparation and server course have turned the Hall into a fine dining locale. Dozens of encouraging invitees have attended fancy lunches made and served by the students. Each side benefits, as students gain experience with a live dining audience while guests enjoy a delicious (and dirt cheap) meal. Another win-win occurred last month when a group of out-of-town students attended a day of informational sessions at Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting. The high schoolers heard about the well-paying opportunities for skilled labour at the company. HBMS, in turn, began a relationship with teens who may one day fill vacancies on its mining roster. Both the food course and HBMS visit are positive developments. They are made even more meaningful by the fact the participating aboriginal students came mostly, if not entirely, from reservations, where unemployment and poverty run rampant. And both are hopefully the start of a strengthening partnership between First Nations and Flin Flon, Creighton, and Denare Beach. Aboriginals account for a huge segment of our regional population. Northern Saskatchewan is between 60 and 70 per cent native, while the figure in Northern Manitoba is about two-thirds. Those stats are likely on the low side given the inherent difficulties in tabulating on-reserve residents. The percentage isn't that high specifically in our area, but native numbers here are significant. With a birth rate more than double the national average, the aboriginal population will continue to soar. Unless more is done, the dire situation in which so many natives live will only deteriorate, with long-term repercussions to be felt beyond the aboriginal community. This is a time of amazing opportunity for Flin Flon and area. HBMS is booming, with massive exploration underway. An array of college and university courses have been brought to our doorstep. A number of new entrepreneurs are finding success. The future is bright. Now is the perfect chance for increased partnerships with our neighbouring First Nations to allow some of their citizens to be part of this exciting era. Many would view this as an unwelcome alliance. It is true that some Ð and the word must be stressed Ð aboriginals bring with them the problems that are a deplorable reality on reserves. It goes without saying that our community doesn't want people, regardless of race, who are going to cause trouble. But the countless aboriginals who have the drive to succeed, who yearn for a better life and proud future, deserve that opportunity. Local Angle runs Fridays.
