Inuit Women are leaders in their families and communities, and should represent us in government.

Status of Women will be hosting leadership workshops for Inuit women in each of the Nunatsiavut communities.

Women are invited to learn how you can support women running for political office, and how you can be a local leader.

Maggie Burton, a St. John’s City Councillor, and Caitlin Urquhart, a lawyer, will be facilitating workshops in each Nunatsiavut community.

Workshops are being held in Rigolet Community Hall on May 23rd, Makkovik Arena meeting room on May 24th, Postville Community centre on May 25th, Hopedale Assembly building boardroom on May 27th, and in Nain at the NG Administration building boardroom on May 28th.

Rigolet and Makkovik sessions will be from 9 am to 12 pm, and the participants are encouraged to return after lunch from 1 to 3 pm for small group or one-on-one work.

Postville, Hopedale and Nain will be from 1:15 to 4:15 pm, and participants are encouraged to stay from 4:15 to 6:15 pm for small group or one-on-one work.

To find out more, or to sign up/register, please email Tracy Ann Evans-Rice at tracy.evans-rice@nunatsiavut.com, or call 1-855-923-2368.

The Provincial Government outlined the details of the new child, youth and family act yesterday, which recognizes Indigenous children and their culture, and has a greater emphasis in keeping youth in their families.

When the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development began looking at the current act, it found it needed so many amendments that it required an entirely new act.

The Children, Youth, and Families Act is replacing the Children and Youth Care and Protection Act.

It is focused first and foremost in keeping children and youth with their families.

The act offers more services to maintain, support and keep families together when in the best interest of the child – with removing the child from their family as being the last resort.

For Indigenous children and youth, the new act defines and acknowledges the uniqueness of Indigenous culture of NL, and requires a cultural connection plan for youth under care, and special consideration to maintain their culture.

It also allows Indigenous communities to care for children through an agreement between the department and community.

The current act sets an age restriction for youth seeking support.

If they are not in care on their 16th birthday, the child would only get support until the age of 19.

That’s no longer the case, with all children in care now able to receive supports until the age of 21.

Children in custody used to be able to leave custody when they were 16, but the age has been increased to 18, which is also the new age to which the department must maintain mandatory reporting of the child.

The new act also allows the department to licence agencies to actively recruit, assess and train foster homes to keep youths not only in their towns, but also in their communities.

The act will come into affect 12 months from Royal Assent (final approval of the act) in order to give the department time to develop policies and clinical practices and regulations to train staff.

The Nunatsiavut Government has officially sworn in the newly elected Ordinary Members this morning in Hopedale at the Nunatsiavut Assembly Building.

Here is the newly appointed Nunatsiavut Executive Council sworn in today:

First Minister: Kate Mitchell

Minister of Lands and Natural Resources: Tony Andersen

Minister of Culture, Recreation and Tourism: James Lyall

Minister of Education and Economic Development: Rachel Saunders

Minister of Finance, Human Resources and Information Technology: Tyler Edmunds

Minister of Health and Social Development: Gerald Asivak

Speaker: Edward Blake-Rudkowski

OK Radio would like to congratulate the members of the new Nunatsiavut Executive Council.

Tom Osborne, NL Minister of Finance, announced the House of Assembly’s passing of Budget 2018 yesterday.

According to a government NL press release, Budget 2018 positions Newfoundland and Labrador to return to a surplus in 2022-23.

Highlights of Budget 2018 – Building for Our Future include:

• A minimum five per cent reduction in the tax on automobile insurance over four years, from 15 per cent to 10 per cent;
• A $619.7 million investment in infrastructure, which is a part of a $2.5 billion five-year plan that will create 5,300 person years of employment annually;
• $160.8 million to improve provincial roads;
• Significant improvements to mental health and addictions services, including the replacement of the Waterford Hospital;
• Actioning recommendations of the Premier’s Task Force on Improving Educational Outcomes;
• $61.6 million for early childhood development, which will improve accessibility of child care for low and middle income families;
• More than half a billion dollars for the province’s post-secondary education system;
• Increasing the threshold for the provincial payroll tax from $1.2 million to $1.3 million;
• $121 million to support low income seniors, individuals, families and persons with disabilities; and over $75 million to support communities.

NL Budget 2018 can be viewed at gov.nl.ca/budget2018/

The Nunatsiavut Government is recommending that Beneficiaries of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement refrain from harvesting migratory birds in the Labrador Inuit Settlement Area after May 31, 2018.

Based on previous discussions with experienced hunters in Labrador Inuit communities, the Nunatsiavut Government is recommending that the spring harvest be kept to a minimum.

Hunters should exercise good conservation practices and not exceed four (4) Canada geese and eight (8) freshwater ducks and divers per household.

Please keep in mind that this is the mating season, and migratory birds should be harvested accordingly.

Harvesting of Harlequin Duck (Lords and Ladies) is prohibited.

Conservation Officers will be monitoring the harvest of migratory birds.

If you require additional information, please contact your local Nunatsiavut Government Conservation Officer.

Them Days Inc. has currently been trying to identify some old collections of photographs, and places where they were taken.

Aimee Chaulk is the editor of the magazine.

She says they have a lot of work to do with their projects.

The projects they have on the go are the photo ID, a special calendar for the month of September, and preparing for the Annual General Meeting.

She says the AGM is scheduled for Wednesday, May 23 rd at Kinsmen Centre at 7 pm.

Chaulk adds they have some summer students working as well.

To hear Chaulk give you more details on the projects they’re working on, click HERE.

Online Registration started on Monday, May 14 and Tuesday, May 15 for Kindergarten 2019.

Children have to be 5 years of age by December 31, 2019.

These children will take part in the Jens Haven Primary School Kinderstart Program during the 2018-2019 school year.

The deadline to register your child is 8:30 pm tonight.

Please contact the Jens Haven Primary School at 709-922-1270 if you have any questions.

The two day cares in Nain and Hopedale are doing well.

Jenny Lyall is the Regional Childcare Coordinator for the Department of Health and Social Development (DHSD).

She says she came to Nain last week to meet with the staff at the Language Nest.

Lyall says they looked at the programming and what they need for supplies to continue with the Language Nest.

To hear more from Lyall on day cares in Nain and Hopedale, click HERE.

Inuit Women are leaders in their families and communities, and should represent us in government.

Status of Women will be hosting leadership workshops for Inuit women in each of the Nunatsiavut communities.

Women are invited to learn how you can support women running for political office, and how you can be local leader.

Maggie Burton, a St. John’s City Councillor, and Caitlin Urquhart, a lawyer, will be facilitating workshops in each Nunatsiavut Community.

Workshops are being held in Rigolet Community Hall on May 23rd, Makkovik Arena meeting room on May 24th, Postville Community centre on May 25th, Hopedale Assembly building boardroom on May 27th, and in Nain at the NG Administration building boardroom on May 28th.

Rigolet and Makkovik sessions will be from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, and participants are encouraged to return after lunch from 1 to 3 pm for small group or one-on-one work.

Postville, Hopedale and Nain will be from 1:15 to 4:15 pm, and participants are encouraged to stay from 4:15 to 6:15 pm for small group or one-on-one work.

To find out more, or to sign up/register, please email Tracy Ann Evans-Rice at tracy.evans-rice@nunatsiavut.com, or call 1-855-923-2368.

To mark National Road Safety Week, which is being held this year from May 15 to 21, 2018, the Canada Safety Council wants to emphasize the importance of not being impaired behind the wheel.

According to Statistics Canada, 72,039 impaired driving incidents were reported by police in 2015.

The rate of these incidents (201 incidents per 100,000 population) is at its lowest since data on this subject began to be collected in 1986.

However, almost 3,000 of those incidents were drug-related, a figure which is double the amount from 2009, when drug-impaired data first started being collected.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the two most commonly detected substances in drivers who die in traffic crashes in Canada are alcohol and cannabis, respectively.

It is also important to note that alcohol and cannabis can have an increasing effect, meaning that a driver who has consumed both alcohol and cannabis will be significantly more impaired than someone who has consumed one or the other.

Here are some tips to remember:

If you’re not sure if you’re impaired, don’t get behind the wheel.

There is never a good time or reason to drive while impaired.

There are many alternatives to driving impaired.

Plan ahead; ensure you have a designated driver, call a taxi if you can, or stay where you are and sleep off the impairment.