Anglais
Indigenous Guardians program gets $5.7M in fed funding

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Ten First Nations communities from across B.C., along with 25 other Indigenous communities nationally, have been selected to receive funds for a new federally-funded environmental stewardship program.
The Indigenous Guardians Pilot Program was included in the 2017 federal budget and federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna was on Vancouver Island this week to announce the allocation of $5.7 million in funding.
Three First Nations communities on the Island, the Tseshaht First Nation in Port Alberni, the Quatsino First Nation in Coal Harbour and the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation in Tofino are among the 10 receiving financial support for stewardship of their lands.
28 <a href= »https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndigenousGuardians?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw »>#IndigenousGuardians</a> programs have received funding by <a href= »https://twitter.com/environmentca?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw »>@environmentca</a>. Up until now, Indigenous communities have had to largely cover costs of wildlife monitoring & enforcement, environmental clean-up, research etc. themselves. Maps show projects. List: <a href= »https://t.co/L9lN8rzSTq »>https://t.co/L9lN8rzSTq</a> <a href= »https://t.co/GnFcseXwuL »>pic.twitter.com/GnFcseXwuL</a>
—@faisal_moola
« Guardians are, in a way, fulfilling their traditional role in monitoring and stewardship of the watersheds in our traditional territory, » said Saya Masso, natural resources manager for the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation.
« Our goals are to see our homelands managed for abundance really, that’s the clearest mandate that we have mitigating environmental impacts. »
Other First Nation communities in the province receiving funding for the stewardship program include:
- The Tsilhqot’in Nation in Williams Lake.
- The Tahltan Nation in Dease Lake.
- The Fort Nelson First Nation.
- The Nlaka’pamux Nation in Merritt.
- The Great Bear Initiative Society.
- The Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance.
- The Kaska Dena Council in Lower Post.
The strategy comes after members of the Canadian Indigenous Leadership Initiative asked the federal government for $500 million for a national guardians program that would allow people in Indigenous communities across the country to monitor the land, preserve wildlife and maintain their culture.
Canada announces close to $6 million in funding for 28 <a href= »https://twitter.com/hashtag/Indigenous?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw »>#Indigenous</a> Guardians programs across the country, including support for the <a href= »https://twitter.com/hashtag/CoastalGuardianWatchmen?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw »>#CoastalGuardianWatchmen</a> – <a href= »https://t.co/YQAOOT1UdW »>https://t.co/YQAOOT1UdW</a> <a href= »https://t.co/ZWQu3lSFvk »>pic.twitter.com/ZWQu3lSFvk</a>
—@CFNGBI
McKenna said the community-led program is an effort toward reconciliation and connecting youth to the land through traditional knowledge.
« This is a very practical way that you can recognize that First Nations, Metis, Inuit peoples are extraordinarily close to lands, water, nature, animals, and they have a huge role in protecting it, » she told The Early Edition’s Stephen Quinn.
Training and stewardship
Masso said guardians will work to see salmon stocks recovered, manage invasive species, conduct outreach and education and monitor the land as the planet faces the impacts of climate change.
The new funding will help each community train their guardians in oil spill response tactics, wilderness first-aid, environmental monitoring and more.
« It’s been a long time coming. We’ve had a traditional role in this aspect for thousands of years and we finally… got the federal government to work with us, to have a presence in all of the coastline in all of B.C., » he told All Points West host Robyn Burns.
In his role, Masso said he sees many projects put aside due to lack of funding and is looking forward to reviewing which ones they can accomplish now they have more financial support.
« We know it’s just getting started here, and we’d like to see a multi-year program going that actually sees these types of programs flourish. »
With files from All Points West, The Early Edition
To hear the full interviews listen to media below:
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Anglais
‘Business as usual’ for Dorel Industries after terminating go-private deal

MONTREAL — Dorel Industries Inc. says it will continue to pursue its business strategy going forward after terminating an agreement to go private after discussions with shareholders.
« Moving ahead. Business as usual, » a spokesman for the company said in an email on Monday.
A group led by Cerberus Capital Management had previously agreed to buy outstanding shares of Dorel for $16 apiece, except for shares owned by the family that controls the company’s multiple-voting shares.
But Dorel chief executive Martin Schwartz said the Montreal-based maker of car seats, strollers, bicycles and home furniture pulled the plug on a deal on the eve of Tuesday’s special meeting after reviewing votes from shareholders.
“Independent shareholders have clearly expressed their confidence in Dorel’s future and the greater potential for Dorel as a public entity, » he said in a news release.
Dorel’s board of directors, with Martin Schwartz, Alan Schwartz, Jeffrey Schwartz and Jeff Segel recused, unanimously approved the deal’s termination upon the recommendation of a special committee.
The transaction required approval by two-thirds of the votes cast, and more than 50 per cent of the votes cast by non-family shareholders.
Schwartz said enhancing shareholder value remains a top priority while it stays focused on growing its brands, which include Schwinn and Mongoose bikes, Safety 1st-brand car seats and DHP Furniture.
Dorel said the move to end the go-private deal was mutual, despite the funds’ increased purchase price offer earlier this year.
It said there is no break fee applicable in this case.
Montreal-based investment firm Letko, Brosseau & Associates Inc. and San Diego’s Brandes Investment Partners LP, which together control more than 19 per cent of Dorel’s outstanding class B subordinate shares voiced their opposition to the amended offer, which was increased from the initial Nov. 2 offer of $14.50 per share.
« We believe that several minority shareholders shared our opinion, » said Letko vice-president Stephane Lebrun, during a phone interview.
« We are confident of the long-term potential of the company and we have confidence in the managers in place.”

Anglais
Pandemic funds helping Montreal businesses build for a better tomorrow

Many entrepreneurs have had to tap into government loans during the pandemic, at first just to survive, but now some are using the money to better prepare their businesses for the post-COVID future.
One of those businesses is Del Friscos, a popular family restaurant in Dollard-des-Ormeaux that, like many Montreal-area restaurants, has had to adapt from a sit-down establishment to one that takes orders online for takeout or delivery.
“It was hard going from totally in-house seating,” said Del Friscos co-owner Terry Konstas. “We didn’t have an in-house delivery system, which we quickly added. There were so many of our employees that were laid off that wanted to work so we adapted to a delivery system and added platforms like Uber and DoorDash.”
Helping them through the transition were emergency grants and low-interest loans from the federal and provincial governments, some of which are directly administered by PME MTL, a non-profit business-development organization established to assist the island’s small and medium-sized businesses.
Konstas said he had never even heard of PME MTL until a customer told him about them and when he got in touch, he discovered there were many government programs available to help his business get through the downturn and build for the future. “They’ve been very helpful right from day one,” said Konstas.
“We used some of the funds to catch up on our suppliers and our rents, the part that wasn’t covered from the federal side, and we used some of it for our new virtual concepts,” he said, referring to a virtual kitchen model which the restaurant has since adopted.
The virtual kitchen lets them create completely different menu items from the casual American Italian dishes that Del Friscos is known for and market them under different restaurant brand names. Under the Prasinó Soup & Salad banner, they sell healthy Greek options and their Stallone’s Sub Shop brand offers hearty sandwiches, yet the food from both is created in the same Del Friscos kitchen.

Anglais
Downtown Montreal office, retail vacancies continue to rise

Some of downtown Montreal’s key economic indicators are heading in the wrong direction.
Office and retail vacancies in the city’s central core continued to climb in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to a quarterly report released Thursday by the Urban Development Institute of Quebec and the Montréal Centre-Ville merchants association. The report, whose first edition was published in October, aims to paint a socio-economic picture of the downtown area.
The survey also found office space available for sublet had increased during the fourth quarter, which may foreshadow even more vacancies when leases expire. On the residential front, condo sales fell as new listings soared — a sign that the downtown area may be losing some of its appeal to homeowners.
“It’s impossible not to be preoccupied by the rapid increase in office vacancies,” Jean-Marc Fournier, the former Quebec politician who now heads the UDI, said Thursday in an interview.
Still, with COVID-19 vaccinations set to accelerate in the coming months, “the economic picture is bound to improve,” he said. “People will start returning downtown. It’s much too early to say the office market is going to disappear.”
Public health measures implemented since the start of the pandemic almost a year ago — such as caps on office capacity — have deprived downtown Montreal of more than 500,000 workers and students. A mere 4,163 university and CEGEP students attended in-person classes in the second quarter, the most recent period for which figures are available. Border closures and travel restrictions have also brought tourism to a standstill, hurting hotels and thousands of local businesses.
Seventy per cent of downtown workers carried out their professional activities at home more than three days a week during the fourth quarter, the report said, citing an online survey of 1,000 Montreal-area residents conducted last month.

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