Treaty Three Launches a Lawsuit against the Feds

A group of 28 native communities across northwestern Ontario are suing the federal government for denying their children a right to equal education.

Grand Chief Diane Kelly, who represents Treaty 3 native bands, says aboriginals were promised a school on every reserve when they signed a treaty over 130 years ago.

But she says Ottawa hasn't upheld its part of the bargain.

The lawsuit was filed in Ontario court and is asking for 100 million dollars in damages.

RIDE

The holidays are almost upon us and that means the police will be ramping up their RIDE spot checks.

The O-P-P say impaired driving is a problem year-round, but it gets worse during the holiday party season.

The O-P-P says it will conduct its annual Festive RIDE campaign starting this Friday and ending January 1st.

During last year's Festive RIDE campaign , the O-P-P laid 308 impaired driving charges and issued 903
license suspensions

New Year's Eve in Kenora

The Kenora Rotary Club is giving local residents a New Year's Eve bonus once again this year.

The Thistle Rink and the pool at the Rec. Center will be open to the public on December 31st from
4:00 until 8:00.

The Rotary Club has agreed to pick up the cost of the facility rentals and cover the additional
staffing costs for the New Year's eve statutory holiday.

Legal Aid in Kenora

The province spends more money on legal aid in the north than in southern Ontario.

That's the finding of a new study conducted by the Law Society of Upper Canada.

It found that the province pays just over 31 dollars per capita in the Kenora District for legal aid, compared to less than 7 dollars in Ottawa.

The study also shows that a higher percentage of lawyers in Kenora do legal aid work than elsewhere in the province.

The report was commissioned to look into the legal needs of Ontarians.

Kenora City Council Salaries

Some members of city council are having a hard time stomaching a 30 percent pay raise.

Council voted 5-1 in favour of the increase this week.

Councillor Sharon Smith was the only one to vote against the motion and says she would prefer to see the issue deferred until the 2012 budget deliberations.

Smith had suggested the audit committee review councillor salaries, but no-one was willing to second her motion.

Drug Awareness Week

A reminder to check the expiry dates on the drugs in your medicine cabinet.

This is Drug Awareness Week and the Northwestern Health Unit is carrying out it's annual Medicine Cabinet Clean-out.

Spokesperson Judy Underwood says its a good practice to go through your medicine cabinet to look for outdate medication.

Underwood says any pharmacy will help dispose of your old, outdate medicine.

Chiefs and Band Councillors Salaries

The Federal Government is bringing in legislation to make hundreds of First Nations across Canada release the salaries of their Chiefs and band councillors.


The Winnipeg Free Press said in a report out of Ottawa that Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan will speak to the details of the bill at a news conference today in Saskatoon.

The legislation brings back to life a bill from a Saskatchewan Tory backbencher that died when the election was called last March.

Kelly Block's bill required First Nations to include details of chief and councillors salaries and reimbursements for expenses in annual audited financial statements.