Castlegar LIRN Event
February 28th 2009
Presented by the Partners of
Learning Initiatives for Rural
and Northern BC (LIRN BC) in
partnership with the Smum
Iem Society and Kootenay
Boundary Community
Services Co-operative:
An Initiative of the BC Healthy Living Alliance: BC Lung Association ● BC Pediatric Society
BC Recreation and Parks Association ● Canadian Cancer Society, BC and Yukon Division ●
Canadian Diabetes Association ● Dietitians of Canada, BC Region ●Heart and Stroke
Foundation of BC and Yukon ● Public Health Association of BC ● Union of BC Municipalities
Canadian Rural Partnership
SERVICE CANADA
CANADA
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Executive Summary
This event was organized in partnership with Smum Iem Society, Kootenay Boundary
Community Services Co-operative and the Canadian Rural Partnership (one of the LIRN partners)
to provide a networking session for Aboriginal peoples in the Kootenay region and the
organizations that provide services to Aboriginals. The meeting also generated discussion on
priorities for the Aboriginal community. The meeting brought together over 40 participants from
Castlegar and surrounding communities. There were displays from the Aboriginal Health
Network, New Horizons for Seniors program, Nakusp Museum, Kootenay Kids, Kootenay
Boundary Community Services Co-operative, Freedom Quest, L.V. Rogers First Nations youth
worker, and Interior Health.
The day was facilitated by Marylyn James of Selkirk College, who gave thanks to New Horizons
for Seniors and the Co-operative for providing funding for the venue and catering. The day
opened with a First Nations prayer, songs, and drumming.
Presentations
Colleen Halloran presented on the New Horizons for Seniors program which supports senior led
community development programming. Colleen provided some local examples and encouraged
the attendees to apply for the funding.
Suzie Meyers spoke about aboriginal child care and the need to support children through the early
developmental stages including speech and language training. The organization maintains a
regional database of resources for arts, cooking, and story telling.
Eileen Pearkes gave a presentation on the plants and animals that made up the diet of the Sinixt –
Interior Salish. This included pictures and information on the gathering locations, seasonality, and
preparation of the food.
Nicola Harwood of the Oxygen Art Centre presented on their project to develop alters and shrines
for local organizations.
Diane ?? from Success by Six and Talking Little Feet outlined their program that holds aboriginal
family gatherings once a month to identify and meet children’s art, music, and learning needs.
Jeffery ?? presented information on the Eco Existence Forum which will explore solutions for
issues like youth homelessness and other social issues.
Lucie Poisson, Health Program Advisor/Patient Navigator outlined the medical services available
to aboriginal peoples through Interior Health.
Andrew Jarrett outlined the services and structure of the Kootenay Boundary Community
Services Co-operative. The coop is open to social service organizations that have been in
operation for 18 months or more. They facilitate a regional aboriginal service providers group and
are working on a protocol for service.
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The Nakusp Museum provided an overview of their organization and holdings.
Group Work
During the lunch break, participants were provided with “sticky dots” to vote on priorities for support for
aboriginals in the area. The following is a summary:
Early Childhood Education
 National Children’s Program – 10
 More aboriginal ECE service providers – 12
 More money for special needs – 9
 ECE Professionals need to be more valued – 5
Health Services
 More protocol around confidentiality – 3
 More access to services – 6
 More community connections to elders to avoid isolation – 16
Youth
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More prevention programming – 3
Drug and alcohol counseling – 7
Drug and alcohol treatment programs – 7
Family programming – 4
FAS supports – 4
Better Youtth-Elders connections – 10
Girls groups – 2
Community Programs
 Travelling kitchens – 4
 Establishing Friendship centres – 12
 A data-bank of resources – 10
 A protocol for accountability and integrity – 10
Social Services
 Cultural training – 9
 Hire more aboriginal staff – 9
 Build organizational capacity – 4
 Integrate culture into services provided – 4
 Sort out roles and responsibilities - 2
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About the Partners
About Community Futures Boundary
It is the mission of Community Futures Boundary to act as a catalyst in assisting in the expansion of the
economic base through small business development support, training and participation in the community
economic development process. The Community Futures office in the Boundary region submitted the
application for this LIRN event. The office staff including: Wendy McCullough, Sandy Elzinga, and
Jennifer Wetmore were instrumental in helping to organize the learning day.
About LIRN BC
LIRN BC is a collaborative approach to building on the capacities of rural, remote and northern British
Columbian communities. The LIRN BC process encourages government (municipal, provincial and
federal), First Nations, non-government organizations (community-based, regional and provincial) and
businesses to work together to plan, deliver and evaluate a locally relevant learning initiative. LIRN BC is
made possible through a partnership of federal and provincial governments, as well as non-government
organizations that recognize the strengths and challenges of rural, remote and Northern BC communities.
The LIRN BC partners also understand the importance of local opportunities to learn about and work on
current issues, as well as assess, envision, plan and act for a better future.
As LIRN BC partners, the BC Rural Network, Canadian Rural Partnership, Service Canada, the Self Help
Resource Association of BC, and the Social Planning and Research Council of BC (SPARC BC) have
combined their expertise and resources in an effort to maximize community capacity building
opportunities for people living in rural, remote, and northern parts of the province. The objective of the
LIRN BC process is to create a safe space in which community members learn and work together in a
manner that is locally relevant.
BC Healthy Living Alliance
Canadian Rural Partnership
Canadian Rural Partnership (CRP) is a federal initiative which supports rural communities by helping to
identify the issues they are facing, by taking collaborative action to address these issues, and connecting
community to community and community to government to share information on available resources and
best practice in rural development. We identify issues by bringing rural community residents together for
dialogue or at conferences. The information from these gatherings is shared with a federal/provincial Rural
Team which can undertake collaborative action to address these issues and can provide the input toward
influencing government policies and programs with a Rural Lens. We also share information from one
community to another and from government to communities through listservs, newsletters, best practice
guides, and program lists. For more information about the Canadian Rural Partnership, please visit our
website at: http://www.rural.gc.ca/team/bc/bchome_e.phtml
Service Canada and the New Horizons for Seniors Program
Service Canada is becoming the program delivery arm of the federal government. Over a dozen federal
departments are working with Service Canada so it can become a single window of service and program
delivery for the federal government. Service Canada is home to the Employment Insurance system, labour
market programming to help unemployed people return to work, income support like Old Age Security and
Canada Pension. Service Canada also coordinates the New Horizons for Seniors program, which is a
program that provides funding for community-based projects that aim to encourage seniors to contribute
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to and become more engaged in their local communities. Service Canada is interested in strengthening
linkages with communities for more effective delivery of federal programs and services. For more
information about Service Canada and the New Horizons for Seniors program, please visit our website at:
http://www.sdc.gc.ca/en/isp/horizons/toc.shtml
Social Planning and Research Council of BC (SPARC BC) and the
Community Development Education Program
SPARC BC, a registered non-profit society and a federally registered charity, was established in 1966 and is
a leader in research, public education and advocacy regarding issues of community development,
accessibility, and income security. SPARC BC is a provincial organization with over 15,000 members and is
governed by a Board of Directors from across BC. Our mission is to work with communities in building a
just and healthy society for all.
The Community Development Education Program is one of our methods for realizing our mission. The
Community Development Education Program aims to empower individuals and organizations by providing
them with learning opportunities to identify local assets and issues, build local knowledge and develop
skills and action-plans that contribute to effecting local consensus-oriented change. The curriculum
resources and facilitation services of the Community Development Education Program are available to
communities through the LIRN BC process. For more information about SPARC BC and the Community
Development Education Program, please visit our website at www.sparc.bc.ca.
The Self-Help Resource Association of BC
The Self-Help Resource Association of BC (SHRA) promotes peer support approaches to community
development, building the capacity of individuals and communities to become healthy, responsive and selfdetermining. SHRA programs and services focus on the processes of self-help and peer support, so that
people can apply the information to their individual, organizational or community needs.
SHRA offers:
 Capacity-building workshops on group development and facilitation.
 Consultations, collaborations and partnerships related to peer support and community
development initiatives.
 The Kinex Youth Initiative, a youth driven team supporting social and systemic change through
peer support approaches.
 Information and referral services in the Lower Mainland.
 PeerNetBC.com, an online space for peer support communities.
Find out more about SHRA at www.selfhelpresource.bc.ca or contact us at cheryl.shra@telus.net.
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