NAN chief says pill problems must be addressed

With as much as 70 per cent of working age people in some Nishnawbe Aski Nation communities addicted to prescription drugs, Grand Chief Stan Beardy said they are taking ownership of the problem.
 
“The chiefs are saying ‘yes, it is a problem,” Beardy said Thursday, which was the last day of the NAN Special Chiefs Meeting at the Travelodge Airlane Hotel.

Calling it an epidemic, Beardy said prescription drug abuse is an issue in all of his communities.


“We need to take responsibility and begin to see what we can do and determine what resources are available to us and develop action plans at the community level,” he said.


Unable to go into further detail on the issue, Beardy said the other hot-button topics at the three-day conference were the Far North Act – Bill 191 – and the Mining Act.

Bill 191 proposes that 250,000 square kilometres in Ontario’s Far North be protected from any future development. With much of that land in NAN territory, Beardy said to have it protected by provincial legislation is an infringement on their inherent rights.

“We are for land use planning, but we are opposed to half of our territory designated as protected forever and ever,” he said. “That’s what we have concerns with – outside parties imposing their will on our people. We want to be the people to decide where protection needs to take place, where development needs to take place and when it takes place because we are the people on the land. That’s our home.”

Deputy chief Les Louttit said the Far North Act would mean NAN members wouldn’t be allowed to use their traditional lands for their traditional pursuits or any development until the community planning process was completed, meaning the Minister of Natural Resources would have the final say in any land use plan.

“We’re just continuing on strategies on how we continue that opposition in public and among our First Nations,” he said, adding that while they’re open to any actions the
First Nations feel is appropriate, they haven’t ruled out legal action.

Beardy added the Far North Act would negatively impact all Ontarians, not just NAN.

“We want to continue to work with outside interests to create wealth for all of us but at the same time we want to make sure we benefit in terms of jobs, training and business opportunities,” he said.

Where the Mining Act is concerned Beardy said with all the activity and exploration in the far north right now, they would like to participate in building the framework for the legislation and the activity on the ground.

“Whatever happens, whatever wealth comes from our lands, we’re supposed to share,” he said, adding they’re not looking for a handout but they want to be active participants.

To find out what his people want economically and develop a strategy to get there, NAN is holding an economic summit in February.

“Because of all the impending developments that are coming into the territory, we need to engage our people to develop a direction that counts as the grassroots level as opposed to us saying here’s how it should be done,” said Louttit. “If this comes from the grassroots, from our people, we’ll have a solid foundation and framework from which we can develop a land-wide economic development strategy.”