First Nations Right to Play moves into 39 First Nations

The Toronto Star, by Tanya Talaga, Queen's Park Bureau, Friday Feb 10, 2012

It has been exactly two years since the world-renowned sports organization Right to Play turned their attention to help boost the confidence of impoverished native children.

The dream of teaching northern First Nations kids how to skate and play Canada's beloved game came from now Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid, a Scarborough hockey dad.

A few years back Duguid served as provincial aboriginal affairs minister. While touring fly-in communities in the north, he noticed the ramshackle state of some reserve arenas and how the kids didn't have equipment to get on the ice.

Enter Right to Play, a program that sends Olympic and professional athletes to war-torn countries to promote life skills through sports. This is the organization's first foray into a Canadian province.

What started off as a two community pilot project at both Sandy Lake and Moose Cree First Nations has grown into a leadership program for 1,000 children in 39 First Nations, the provincial government announced on Thursday.

The program has cost Ontario $1.5 million over four years and current Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kathleen Wynne says it's a keeper in this time of deficit-fighting budgetary restraint.

"I believe in sport. It is a way to make connections, build character, help people understand how to work as a team," Wynne said. "This is the kind of program I will defend. We get way more out of the program than the money we put in."

So far, corporate Canada matched and exceeded Ontario's investment. Private sector partners have contributed $2 million to the Play Program. Support has come from the NHLPA Goals and Dreams Fund, Tim Horton Children's Foundation and the newest corporate sponsors are Goldcorp and Bruce Power.

Two-time gold medal Canadian Olympian hockey player Sami Jo Small recently returned from volunteering her time at Sandy Lake as a Play ambassador. Sandy Lake is an Oji-Cree community found deep in the northern boreal forest about 600 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay.

"This was my first trip to one of the communities and I was absolutely floored," Small told the Star. "A lot of times, programs happen and you don't really know what to expect but when I got to Sandy Lake, Right to Play had done more than I expected."

If kids can meet an Olympic hockey player like Small, they can feel a gold medal could one day be within their reach, said Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Stan Beardy, whose political organization represents 49 northern First Nations.

"It makes such a big difference in the mentality and outlook for those kids. Until Right to Play came along there was nothing we could really provide," Beardy said.

"And it is not just Right to Play. The kids see equipment coming in and professionals who spend three, four or five days in the community and that makes a difference. They don't spend an hour there and then get out," he said. "It creates hope for them."

As soon as Small got to Sandy Lake she said the kids gravitated to her. "They know you are with them and that the rink will be open so they can play," she said.

What Small was especially proud of was that she taught girls how to play hockey.

"You see them learn and develop as people," she said. "Sport isn't life but it teaches you a lot about yourself."