March 23, 2017

Posted by Nick Aroutzidis on Mar 23, 2017

March 30, 2017: Rick Orr and Patti Riehl “Update Auto and Home Insurance”. Ian Fisher will introduce our speaker and Dan Scarborough will thank our speaker.

Head Table: Our President Kevin Silver, invites, Ian Fisher, Angus MacDermid, Ian MacLean, Shawn Malvern, Fadia Mankal, Peter Maranger and Bob Martin, to join him at the head table.

President Kevin opened the meeting by acknowledging a sure sign of spring – the return of the snowbirds. He also congratulated Andrea Paige and Rob Russell for balancing the meal payments with the attendance for the second week in a row. Research staff are checking with Guinness to see if this is a record.

Gerry Thuss gave a presentation on the Catch the Ace fundraising opportunity, the potential risks and rewards, and the commitment that would be required from volunteers. A motion was passed to move forward with the planning and to come back to the club when more details are finalized.

Gerry Thuss discussing possible “Chase the Ace” type fundraiser with club.

This Week: Our guest speaker was George Henry. Mr. Henry is a member of the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation and a direct descendant of Tecumseh, who we all remember from our study of the War of 1812.

Guy Bellehumeur introducing our speaker George Henry, Councillor of Chippewa First Nations and descendant of Tecumseh.

We use many words for our First Nations. Mr. Henry advised that the best word is “Indian”, which has its roots in the Latin expression for “people who live like God”. “Ojibway”, who are part of the Chippewas First Nation, means “people who can write”. The Ojibway have had a written language for over 3,000 years.

Mr. Henry provided interesting insights into our history and parallels with current events. In the 1700’s, the Americans rebelled against Britain because they did not want the British monarch to own the land; they wanted the right for the individual to own land in “fee simple”. This was also one of the primary reasons behind the War of 1812. The Americans believed that it would be easy to take control of British lands to their north because the British armies were busy fighting wars in Europe.

Today, Mr. Henry is involved in resolving land claims arising from treaties signed between the First Nations and the Europeans, particularly the British. These treaties gave some land rights to the British monarch, while keeping some for the First Nations.

From a legal standpoint, the British monarch ceded ownership of lands in Canada to our federal government when Pierre Trudeau repatriated our constitution. Thus, our federal government is responsible for resolving land claims related to treaties that were signed with the British.

Locally, there are about 30 claims involving the Huron Tract, an area of 66,000 acres. Three of these claims have been settled. The negotiations are not intended to result in the First Nations taking possession of the land. The objective is to have both the federal and provincial government acknowledge that the First Nations have treaty rights and to compensate them by transferring a small portion of the property taxes.

Other current issues include environmental protection and free trade. Many First Nations have lands on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border. Immigration is not an issue, but customs duties are.

Guy Bellehumeur introduce our speaker and Rheo Thompson thanked him.

Scribe: Steve Lichti

District Governor elect Martin Ward visiting our club to talk about couple of upcoming District Programs

Rotary Announcements

Katherine Hahn advised the club that the Rural Urban Dinner is almost sold out. There are still openings, however, for anyone wishing to volunteer for the concessions at the last hockey weekend of the year.

Mimi Price let us know that there are still opportunities to serve as a director for the next Rotary year. It is a great opportunity to learn more about Rotary for the low investment of one meeting per month.

Rob Ritz continues to recruit volunteers to assist with the parking on April 1^st.

Michael Fox will be bringing “membership cards” to the next meeting. These cards can be given to prospective members to encourage them to attend a Rotary meeting as a guest. Look for opportunities to give a card to an attendee at the Rural Urban Dinner and other events.

The Rotary Club of Grand Bend will be loading a second container of books on March 25^th. Some pre-loading work will also need volunteers. Please check the web site of the Grand Bend club for details.

District Governor Elect Martin Ward brought greetings and encouraged club members to attend one of the upcoming Rotary Leadership Institute learning opportunities, scheduled for April 6 in Michigan and May 8 in London. He also encouraged members to attend Total Team Training, (formerly District Assembly), on April 1^st in Sarnia. The cost is $40 which includes lunch. President Elect Training (PETS) will occur on the same weekend in Sarnia. Paul will be participating from Stratford, in place of Linda.

Guests: Today we welcome; Mary Ruston, Martin Ward (D.G.E), Andrew Frazer and Laura Pogson (FCRC).

Draw: The prize today donated by Lisa Breault and won by Jo-Anne Hood Tidman.

Make-ups: Gord Sherwin March 24 at Rotary Club in Pondicherry in India.

March’s Attendance Committee: Jo-Anne Hood Tidman (I/C), Rob Russell, Jim Scott, Dave Bean, Walt Bathe, John Wright, Andrea Page, Chris Thomson, Al Wakelin.