8/2/2019 JJ Portfolio Report FEB 2012

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Prepared by: Councillor Joan Jack02.02.12

Page 1 of 2

COUNCILLOR

PORTFOLIO REPORT

Health, Social & CFS

FEBRUARY 2012   Aaniin to my fellow members! I’m loving working for you and I’m doing my best. Lots of people are tellingme I’m doing a good job and I wanted to say I deeply appreciate your support and guidance. You can callme at 382-2813 or the best is to email me at  jjack@berensriver.ca. If you don’t use the computer, just go tothe Health Centre in Berens and ask any of the staff to email me for you! I’m sure they will be glad to helpyou. Or, ask someone in your family. I’m sure there is someone you know who uses the computer and it’sreally the quickest way to get a hold of me. I check my email every day at least once and will answer you as

quickly as I possibly can.

FEBRUARY 1 – 3 These three days I was in the office at the Health Centre and did office

work and worked with our Health Director on this years finances and next year’s budgeting for Health. I’m also working with our Health Director Jackie Everett and Helen Boulanger, AboriginalHead Start (AHS) Manager and her staff to move our AHS Program to the old Nursing Station

building and there is a lot of paperwork and meetings involved in organizing that move. And,when I’m in the office there are always many staffing issues where I work with our HealthDirector. 

FEBRUARY 6 – 10 This week I went south on the Winter Road to attend the Assembly of 

Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) Meeting and left Berens with my vehicle full of members who needed aride to Winnipeg for medical purposes.

The AMC operates with “Chiefs Committees or Task Forces” and there is one for Health. I’veasked the Chief to put me on the AMC Chiefs Health Task Force and he has supported myrequest and that is in process. Being on this task force will mean that I am able to contribute atthe provincial level and to make sure that Berens River is represented because we have the onlyfully transferred Health Centre in Manitoba! What that means is that we are responsible for 

everything at our Health Centre instead of the federal government. Jackie, our Health Director,will support my work on this Task Force as she knows the issues in and out and she willparticipate in the technicians working group so that we work as a team.

I also took three Elders from Winnipeg to the AMC meeting because my vehicle was full leavinghome. I used my own travel money to bring them with me. The Elders said they really enjoyedthe meeting.

Councillor George Green attended on behalf of the Chief and our First Nation as the officialrepresentative and he spoke well and strongly for us.

The agenda items were mainly Health and I listened to the Chiefs discuss the issues and askedCouncillor Green to tell the Manitoba Health Minister that we wanted a hospital in Berens River 

because we discussed this at Council table. For now, I am collecting all the information and I willbe reporting more fully once I am involved in the AMC Chiefs Health Task Force. I would alsolike to hear from you directly about your health concerns so that Jackie and I can bring themforward to the provincial level. Please feel free to drop in and talk with Jackie or myself about anyof your health concerns and you can always email me at  jjack@berensriver.ca 

FEBRUARY 13 – 17 This week I was in the office on the 13th, attended court all day

on the 14th, had our monthly Portfolio Staff Meeting on the 15

th, was in the office on the 16

ththen

drove to Winnipeg for a Council Meeting on the 17th.

8/2/2019 JJ Portfolio Report FEB 2012

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Prepared by: Councillor Joan Jack02.02.12

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I went to court on the 14th

to support our community as we make up the entire court docket. I satthere all day and some of the staff from Health and Social were there as well. It’s so unbelievableto me that most of our people were, in my opinion, in court because of trouble caused throughsubstance abuse (alcohol/drugs/solvents). By the end of the day, I felt sure that if substanceshadn’t been involved, not one of the people I saw would have been charged and in court.

I’ve asked the Chief if I could take the lead in starting a Justice Committee here at home becausewe talked about it on Council and we need to step up together to make positive change for our 

future generations and for ourselves today. I know the other Councillors support positive changetoo and I’m sure they will be involved; someone just needs to take the lead and I am willing sincethey are all busy in their areas and also since so much of the “justice” issues are related to health(substance abuse and the related violence is a mental health issue). Watch for the posting andplease put your name forward to volunteer as a Justice Committee member! I am also creating alist of those reported to me by other members as substance sellers and will be providing that listto the RCMP because many of you have called me and saying that you want this chaos to stop.If someone names you and you’re not selling, then you have nothing to worry about!

The Portfolio Staff Meeting on the 15th

went so well again, but we ran out of time! I talk too much!LOL So, next month (March 15), we are going to start right at 9 am sharp! All Health, Social andCFS staff are welcome!

 At the Council Meeting we continued to review our financial situation and the Finance Staff areworking hard with Pam and Lorne to get everything up to date and we will be having an AuditMeeting soon. For me, I am still learning about our overall financial picture in Health, Social andCFS and am getting there as quickly as I can! It’s a lot to learn!

This was also the weekend of the SE Games and I went and cheered my hardest for threeBerens River teams! I only made it to four games for three of our teams, but when I was there, Iwas heard supporting our amazing hockey players!

FEBRUARY 20 – 24 I went to Vancouver at the invitation of the Assembly of FirstNations (AFN0 National Chief to speak at the AFN National Justice Forum on Day Schools. The AFN paid for my expenses. There were three day schools here in Berens; the Mission, Acrossand the United Church. For more information go to www.joanjack.ca I know some people don’t

think I should keep doing this work, but it is important that we get justice for all of the people whowere robbed of their culture in these day schools all over Canada including Berens River and I’mnot going to stop. I also collected a lot of information about Justice at this meeting that will beuseful to us here at home. 

FEBRUARY 27 – 29 Elder Henry McKay is a volunteer member of the CancerCare

Manitoba First Nations, Inuit and Métis Community Partnership Committee and he came toBerens River with a staff person from CancerCare to meet with Health because that organizationoffers services to those dealing with cancer. I will be working with Elder McKay on this issuebecause we have people from our community going through cancer and also who have survivedcancer – we will be in touch with you. 

On the 28th, I spoke at a Human Resource Conference in Winnipeg on “Human Rights in Indian

Country” and that evening I took 8 of our students attending SE College to a movie and I used myown money. Then, on the 29

thI went into Stony Mountain Penitentiary for a meeting about

working with our people when they are released from prison and will bring this to the JusticeCommittee when it is set up.

In closing, soon I am going to start having Health, Social & CFS community information and discussionmeetings in the evenings and I hope you all come out and attend and share what’s in your heart and on your minds. Finally, I appreciate the moose meet from Derek and Norman. I cut it up with my niece Laura andwas able to pass on our culture as well as eat the good food God gave us from our own land!