The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Oakville Beaver | Thursday, September 14, 2023 | 30 insidehalton.com REGION Aitlalto on ‘all Compost Giveaway Halton residents are invited to attend the Fall Compost Giveaway as a thank-you for helping divert approximately 27,000 tonnes of yard waste last year. During the event, Halton residents can take up to the equivalent of seven garbage bags of compost per household, free of charge. Where: Halton Waste When: September 23, 2023 | 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Site, aw GY INIVWIUL Sz GY TVNOIDTY BRITANNIA RD HWMS 5400 Regional Rd 25 5400 Regional Road 25, Milton Who: This event is open to residents of Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville. Visitors may be Lower] Base Line cD asked for proof of residency. cen Remember to bring: Gardening tip: When applying compost ol Vv + Ashovel to bag your compost + Up to seven of your own bags or containers Staff will be accepting non-perishable food donations for food banks in Halton. Cash donations will not be accepted at this time. For more information, visit halton.ca/waste or call 311. to your garden, blend it with topsoil or another gardening fill. For best results, apply 60 per cent topsoil and 40 per cent compost. Fall cleanup tip: When you visit the Compost Giveaway, bring in your fall cleanup items for disposal at the Halton Waste Management Site. Residential Household hazardous waste, electronics, and tires can all be dropped off free of charge. Visit halton.ca/waste for a complete list of acceptable items and fees. Meetings at Halton Region In-person meetings are held in the Council Chambers at the Halton Regional Centre, 1151 Bronte Road, Oakville. Electronic/hybrid meetings are held via Zoom with some attendees in-person and others online. Visit halton.ca for the full schedule. eeds at Halton Region SUBMIT YOUR LETTER TO THE EDITOR TODAY! COMMUNITY TEACHING THE TREATIES FOR A BETTER TOMORROW SARAH BISSONETTE sbissonette@ metrolandnorthmedia.com For Maurice Switzer, education i is Key te to having a better Itwas whilea a director of communications for ust the Assembly of Firs! tions and then the Union not Ontario Indians that the former prairie newspaper publisher "realized that an important part of commu- nications, particularly for Indigenous people, was public education ... be- cause so many Canada people know so little about them because it wasn't in- cluded in the school curric- ulum for decades," he said. Now retired, Switzer lives in North Bay, where he volunteers on board for the North Bay Parry Sound Dis- trict Health Unit Board and Nipissing University's In- digenous Council on Educa- tion and continues to focus ancient history fact ofthe matter is Canada exists because First Na- tions agreed to share their land with newcomers in treaties across the coun- try. The breaking of those promises has led to a lot of the socio-economic disad- recognize that," noting that all “Canadian citizens have treaty rights and obligations. He hopes Canada can become a "model for the world in human rights and how to have a really good relationship between the ‘irst peoples who here and everybody “alse who is comin; Switzer, a citizen of the Mississaugas lerville First Nation, of which his grandfather was chief in 1905-1909, grew up in Lake- field, Ont., after his grand- parents left the reserve for opportunities in employ- ment and education. His late wife, Mary, who he said grew up in Toronto but was immersed in her family's Slovakian lan- guage and culture advised him to “be yourself," he aid. "There have been many times when I have remem- bered that because when we are in positions, wheth- er you area politician or, in some cases, a teacher or corporate executive, in many ways, you are kind of playing a role," Switzer also keeps in mind the words of a man who received what is today called the Inspire awards; the man said he was "very lucky to have been in ina po- sition where (ne) can help T peo} ile educators shouldn't "gloss over the negatives" while teaching about Canada's history with Indigenous peoples, including residential schools, in an age-appro- priate way, Switerzer said he emphasizes “to teach- ers, (that) there are so many contributions Indig- main defence force in the War of 1812" with the Unit- ed States. In more modern times, he pointed out that Canadian Medical Associ- Maurice Switzer photo Maurice Switzer is a citizen of the Mississaugas of Alderville First Nation, author, and public speaker, who focuses on treaty education. Switzer lives in North Bay. ation president Dr. Alika afontai is an Indige- nous doctor from Sas- katchewan and Brad Re- gehr, of the Peter Ballan- tyne Cree Nation in Sas- countless examples of achievers, and I encourage teachers to tell those sto- ries," he said. “Otherwise, the danger is the kids will just think of Indigenous peoples as problem people. And yes, we've had our share of challenges, but we've been very There have been sea who have gone to residen- tial schoo! id have complished great things, One of Canada's most re- spected authors, Tomson Highway, was in residen- tial school." Switzer recalled a book highlighting the accom- plishments of Indigenous peoples, noting informa- tion could be now found online for those looking to learn more. ‘SCAN THIS CODE for more Truth through Storytelling coverage.