B2 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 5, 2003

From front

Improved aboriginal hiring
record needed, Derrick says

many native people when times
were good.
Laws against hiring discrimina-
tion are little help, he added.
“Even the provincial: and federal
governments don’ thire us.’
But Derrick says it’s important for

employers and decision-makers to.

accept the growing aboriginal reality

of Terrace and work with it rather
than against it.

“We're all here to stay,” Derrick
suid, “We're not going anywhere.”

‘Census numbers also point to
growing numbers of aboriginal se-
niors in the decades ahead, demo-
grapher David Baxter says.

Terrace’s native population fits

that national trend. There are !,000
aboriginal people here — nearly one
third of the total - aged 25-44.

That means new challenges in
providing sufficient housing and
health care for them, Baxter says.

“Who will look aftér these people
socially — it becomes a community
issue,” he said.

Native language slide continues ||

NORTHWEST aboriginal languages
continue to decline toward extine-
lon, new census resulls suggest,

The number of people wha count
Gitxsan as their mother tongue fell
about 14 per cent to 905, new statis-
tics from the 200) census indicate.

Nisga'a was: the.: language the

second largest. number -of - people.

grew up speaking. ‘It: declined: ‘from
_675 speakers in 1996 to 510-in 2001,
People. with, Tsimshi

nas their:

mother tongue declined from 380 to
340. And the number with Haida as
their mother tongue is down to 145.

The stats show there are more
people in each case who speak the
language today than who count it as
their: mother tongue,

The nuimber: who say they speak
Gitxsan is 1,325, while Nisga’a
speakers number 915 and 305 say

they’ speak: Tsimshian.

- Nationally, about. 24 percent of

aboriginal people say they had en-
ough knowledge to converse in an
aboriginal language. That was down
from 29 per cent in 1996.

Dictionaries have been made and
aboriginal languages are taught in
some northwest classrooms.

But analysts say the decline in
mother tongue speakers indicates
many languages are gradually dying
-off with the elders who know them
best. ©

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PO Box 550 * Hwy 37 © Terrace, BC

e Picture of Hea
opin valtordabee, sustainab
ic health care system

oo We're modernizing our
health care system,
to ensure services are
Q sustainable accessible

and provide the care | 8

you need, when you |

need It.

Our health care system is one of our greatest assets. But rising costs are placing the
system under stress:

3 BC. apends. the highest amount per capita on health caré
ha aan Our health care spending has doubled overthe past decade?and has increased oe

by $1.1 billion this year alone

. We now spend $28.5 million each and every day on health care .

, Health care accounts for 41% of the province's total budget, up from 34%
ten years ago

Pharmacare costs have grown by 147% in the past decade
The federal government used to contribute 50% of our health care © funding,

and today only contributes 14%

We're modernizing our health care system
so it's affordable, accessible and sustainable
while ensuring it's consistent with the values

of the Canada Health Act:

“A coordinated network of community and
regional hospitals to increase efficiency
and improve services for patients
- Restructured health authorities, from 52 to

. six, to create efficiency and reduce administrative costs so those dollars
go to patients
: New three-year service plans and funding blacks for health authorities

to improve planning of resources

Wellness and prevention programs to help people look after their own health
Programs to attract and retain the best nurses, doctors and health care providers
Fair and affordable Pharmacare rates based on ability to pay me

Th learn m more e about how: we re modernizing our health care e system:
Call 1 800- 465- 4911 or visit

Www. OV. be. ca/ bchealthcare

ny.) vince.

Health Care Costs Have Doubled
. Since 1991

$10.4.
BILLION |

$5
BILLION
1991

1993 1997

2000 2002 2003 |