Keewatin-Yathé

April 8, 2009

I’ve worked as a doctor in a few communities in Northern Saskatchewan. Two of my favourites are Ile a-la-Crosse and Buffalo River Dene Nation, also known as Dillon. Last week I went back to those communities for campaign stops and visits with friends.

The road to Dillon, like many of the roads that connect reserves to the rest of the province, is long and unpaved. It wasn’t too bad, considering the recent melt, but it highlighted for me the lack of infrastructure investment in First Nations communities. This is exacerbated by lack of coordination between the provincial and federal governments. This is a serious problem, as jurisdictional squabbles often interfere with delivery of necessary services. The most famous case is that which led to the establishment of Jordan’s Principle.

A more local example example of this jurisdictional problem is the case of the clinic in Dillon where for years the people of St George’s Hill and Michel Village, two communities located just off reserve land, were not allowed to get health services at the Buffalo River Health Centre. Because they were provincially covered, they had to drive 90 km to the clinic in Ile a-la-Crosse, where they would see the same doctors that work in Buffalo River. Better coordination between provincial and federal governments is key to the advancement of First Nations people in Saskatchewan.

At the Dillon clinic I met with staff and community members. We watched a recent video about the Making the Links project. We then had a chat about the campaign, discussing relevant issues like the jurisdictional problem raised above. A number of the staff then took out memberships and took books to sell them to their neighbours.

That evening I went to the Ile a-la-Crosse Friendship Centre for a meet-and-greet. The discussion was lively and centred largely around the uranium industry. This was a big issue in Dillon as well. At least for those present there was little appetite for a nuclear reactor or for waste storage in Saskatchewan. There are many people from Northern communities who have benefited from work in the mines, but there are also many who are concerned about associated environmental and health issues. It’s a controversial and complex issue.

One thing that is not controversial, however, is that the North has been too often neglected in our province. Seen as a backwater, far from the prevailing discourse of Regina and Saskatoon, the economic and social needs of Northern Saskatchewan have been overlooked. We ignore the North at our peril. The strengths of the communities and the economic opportunities are many. The cultural history and natural beauty are rich and varied. The challenges are also many. A fast-growing, young population has not seen the education and employment opportunities they need. Drugs, violence and suicide are epidemic.

We in the rest of the province need to move quickly to work alongside people from Northern Saskatchewan to address social problems and create opportunities for young people. We need to work well with the federal government where possible, and act on our own when necessary. If we don’t, we will face a costly and persistent crisis. If we do, our young, growing population, rooted in tradition and tapped into the future, will be the envy of the nation.