July 27, 2017 The Valley Voice 1 Volume 26, Number 15 July 27, 2017 Delivered to every home between Edgewood, Kaslo & South Slocan. Published bi-weekly. Your independently owned regional community newspaper serving the Arrow Lakes, Slocan & North Kootenay Lake Valleys. Local MLAs bring Kootenay voices to cabinet by Katrine Campbell and Jan issues with aboriginal children in care. the state of emergency to ensure a conducting a comprehensive review of water, including living up to our climate McMurray “We want to ensure we provide better coordinated response to the wildfires, the Crown corporation. commitments. Local MLAs Katrine Conroy supports to keep aboriginal kids at home. and committed to providing ongoing • Immediately refer the Site C The new cabinet is made up of (Kootenay West) and Michelle Mungall Reducing the number of aboriginal direct financial support to evacuees. The dam construction project to the BC 20 ministers and two ministers of (Nelson-Creston) have both been named children entering the care system is current one-time $600-per-household Utilities Commission on the question of state. In addition, six MLAs have been to cabinet by new NDP Premier John a priority. And we’ll make sure the funding will be renewed every 14 days economic viability and consequences to named as parliamentary secretaries. Horgan. Conroy is the new Minister aboriginal agencies providing services on an ongoing basis until evacuees British Columbians in the context of the Horgan’s cabinet is the first in BC of Children and Family Development to children in the care system get the return home. current supply and demand conditions history to achieve gender parity, with 10 and the Minister responsible for best support they can get.” The Valley Voice contacted prevailing in the BC market. women named to cabinet and one named Columbia Basin Trust, Columbia Power Conroy says they’ll increase Mungall’s office, but was unable to • Establish a BC Mining Jobs Task minister of state. Corporation and the Columbia River funding for agreements with young interview her in time for this issue. Force to create and sustain good jobs in There is also diversity in age and Treaty. Mungall is Minister of Energy, adults who are aging out of care. “When However, in Horgan’s mandate letter to this important industry. background, with four ministers and two Mines and Petroleum Resources. my kids turned 19, we didn’t cut them Mungall, he says he expects her to make • Develop an improved and parliamentary secretaries aged 40 and Children and Family Development off and tell them they were on their own, substantive progress on the following properly resourced approvals process under, 10 ministers and parliamentary is a good fit for MLA Conroy. She is an so why would we do that for children in priorities: to assess mining applications, and secretaries who identify as a visible Early Childhood Educator and worked care? They are our responsibility, so we • Create a roadmap for the increase industry safety by establishing minority, and the first First Nations as Executive Director for Kootenay need to make sure that they get the best future of BC energy that will drive an independent oversight unit. woman appointed to cabinet. Family Place in Castlegar for 20 years. supports possible. We can’t just kick innovation, expand energy-efficiency • Ensure British Columbians benefit “Ministerial portfolios reflect the “So I understand a lot about some them out of care because they reach a and conservation programs, generate from liquefied natural gas projects by government’s focus on making life better aspects of the ministry, and not so certain age. We’ve seen the results of new energy responsibly and sustainably, requiring proposals to meet the following for people,” said the announcement, much about others. It will be a learning that all too often. and create lasting good jobs across the four conditions: proposals must include “including a stand-alone Ministry curve, but an exciting one!” she said in “I will work with the Ministry province. express guarantees of jobs and training of Mental Health and Addictions, a a telephone interview. of Advanced Education, Skills and • Reinvigorate the Innovative Clean opportunities for British Columbians; Minister of State for Child Care, and a One of the goals of the ministry Training to expand the tuition fee Energy fund to boost investments in proposals must provide a fair return for Minister for Social Development and will be to implement $10/day childcare. waiver program for kids formerly in care groundbreaking new energy technologies our resource; proposals must respect Poverty Reduction. The government is “That would be the goal, but it will take because when kids get support to go on and climate change solutions. and make partners of First Nations; and also putting a special focus on jobs and a process to get there. The Minister of to post secondary, they’ll get the training • Freeze BC Hydro rates while proposals must protect our air, land and opportunity in BC’s tech sector.” State for Childcare will be working they need to have amazing careers in life with advocates and stakeholders on and be successful people.” implementing a system of affordable, Conroy says she knows there’s a lot quality, accessible, accountable of work to do, but she is really looking childcare, so I’ll be working with her forward to it. “Difficult things happen on that,” said Conroy. when dealing with kids and youth, so Other key goals are to improve I’m realistic but I want to make sure that JOYCE ART CREDIT: PHOTO child protection services, supports for we’re there for the kids and the families, aboriginal children and youth, and to make sure supports in place before supports for young adults aging out we get to the situation where kids are of care. in our care.” “We definitely want to improve Conroy says she’s also excited child protection services,” Conroy about her role as Minister responsible said. “It’s important they grow up in for CBT, CPC and the CRT, “being safe and nurturing environments. As from the region and part of the process a mother and grandmother myself, I since 2005.” She said she’d carry on know all kids need good opportunities, the legacy of those forward-thinking so we will invest in child protection. We politicians who participated in the made a commitment in our platform to establishment of the CBT and “continue hire more social workers and staff, and to work for the benefit of the people of implement incentives to attract social the basin.” workers to rural and underserved areas Horgan also named Conroy to of the province.” a cabinet task force on the wildfire Conroy said the ministry would situation, which was the first order be implementing recommendations of business at the government’s first from Grand Chief Ed John’s report on cabinet meeting July 18. They extended Reggae rockers Ital kept the Unity crowd dancing well beyond the band’s allotted time. Unity Music Festival was July 14-16 at the Slocan City beach. Visitor Information – Pages 14 & 15 2 NEWS The Valley Voice July 27, 2017 Local dancer Carmen Moreira wins awards for contributions to arts submitted Carmen graduated from Mount Allison refugees or other newcomers to Canada programs, or job opportunities (it is awareness presenter/coordinators) visit South Slocan’s Carmen Moreira University in 2008 and, in 2011, from and schools with special needs students. recruiting for two interactive dance sqxdance.org. has won both the BC Social Innovation London Contemporary Dance School. SQx’s home base is the RDCK’s Award Youth Award and Shaw’s Canada Shortly after graduation, Carmen Area I, but it is the most booked 150 Award for her work with SQx, a founded SQx with a mission of using school tours program in Canada. Since charitable dance organization. contemporary dance to promote kinship, incorporation, SQx’s work has been “It is a great honour, and I am collaboration and teamwork. SQx’s most presented internationally, in Spain, humbled and incredibly grateful to be popular program, Interactive Dance Norway, Greece, Portugal, Italy, Iceland, recognized amongst so many talented Awareness, was delivered to 70,000 Poland, and New York. Its work has been and selfless Canadians – all of whom people in BC in 2015. In 2016, this supported by the three BC government are dedicating their lives to serving their same programming was expanded to ministries, the federal government, communities.” not only include BC but also Yukon, Creative Scotland, Arts Council England, Carmen is executive director of SQx the Northwest Territories, Alberta and BC Arts Council, Columbia Basin Trust, Dance Company, a registered Canadian Saskatchewan. Canada Council, Boeing, Canadian Tire, charity. Her special contribution to art SQx is unlike most art and culture or and Telus. and culture across the Columbia Basin dance organizations which typically use Carmen has been invited and beyond has been both provincially genre in a specific artistic legacy. Instead, to TransCultural Exchange’s and nationally recognized with these two its mission is to use dance to make the 2018 International Conference on awards in 2017. world a better place. Opportunities in the Arts, Exploring New From South Slocan, Carmen It reaches out to audiences that are Horizons. She will be presenting SQx’s attended Brent Kennedy and Mount often difficult to reach geographically. work on embracing diversity through Sentinel. She began her dance training Its target populations include minority art and culture and social innovation as with Carole Bonin at the McKay language groups, minority ethnic groups part of the panel discussion, ‘Artists as School of Dance in Trail. Carmen then and religions, indigenous groups (on Agents of Change.’ furthered her studies at the School of and off reserve), rural areas, inner cities To learn more about SQx, its SQx’s most popular program, Interactive Dance Awareness, was delivered to 70,000 people in BC in 2015.