RAINY RIVER - JoAnne’s impressive educational background includes an Expressive Arts Practitioner Certificate from the WHEAT Institute, Masters of Education from Lakehead University, a Bachelor of General Studies from Athabasca University, and a member Elementary Teacher’s Federation of Ontario Leadership & Collective Bargaining training.
The Rainy River resident is ready to take Queen’s Park back to school with these types of skills.
“Years of cuts have left schools overcrowded, understaffed, and in urgent need of repairs, all across the province,” Gustafson explains. “Andrea Horwath and the NDP will invest in schools, tackle the repair backlog, respect teachers, and provide safe learning environments for our kids to thrive.”
Gustafson has filled in many of these gaps to help teachers and students develop their skills with resource development, workshop development, and workshop facilitation, which includes an Indigenous content advisor for provincial writing projects.
“An NDP government will boost funding for Indigenous language education and support culturally relevant land-based learning,” Gustafson said. “Community leaders and knowledge keepers can provide input to make sure we do this right; teachers have been asking for this kind of guidance for years. We will provide culturally appropriate mental health support for students, and we will fully fund Indigenous curriculum writing sessions cut by the Ford government. New Democrats will support more Indigenous representation on boards, and we’ll encourage the recruitment of Indigenous school board trustees to ensure our communities are represented in school decisions.”
As an anti-racism advocate, Gustafson encourages people to adopt practices supporting and empowering people who experience oppression. She has spent a considerable amount of time educating her students and the general public on topics of anti-racism and Indigenous issues as a motivational speaker and a developer of virtual education programs that promote equality.
“Young people, whether in First Nations or any Ontario community, see that the cost of living is at its highest point in many years. Safe and affordable housing is impossible to find. And good jobs with decent pay and some predictabilities are hard to find,” Gustafson begins. “The last two years have been tough. Student loans have increased. Virtual education hasn’t been easy. Students are much more aware than people give them credit for and often have more creative solutions than adults. Political leadership needs to listen to youth. Being active in our home communities has always been an important part of change. We encourage young people to get involved and vote so that they can be part of a community that works together to fix the things that are broken.”
Education is the only institution Gustafson wants to share knowledge with Queen’s Park. Health in the north is widely underfunded and in an institutional overhaul.
“Years of Liberal and Conservative funding cuts have brought Ontario’s health care system to its knees. In Northwestern Ontario, hospitals are on the verge of closing their emergency rooms,” Gustafson explains. “This happened in Red Lake because of a shortage of doctors. First Nations have always lacked access to health care; these are the hospitals they go to when they need health care. Now, after four years under the Ford Conservatives, it is getting harder for everyone to get the health care they need. People in the North have to travel thousands of kilometres from home to get the medical attention they need. This is stressful and expensive. People are waiting hours at the ER, waiting weeks for a doctor’s appointment, or spending weeks or months waiting in pain and anxiety for surgery. The pandemic exposed not only how broken our healthcare system is but also how it amplifies the sheer lack of health care in many First Nation communities. Nursing stations are great, but many communities don’t have this service; even in a drive-in community, it’s hard to get to the nearest town if you don’t have a car. Northern hospitals are chronically short-staffed, while nurses, doctors and other health professionals are run off their feet, unable to give patients the time and attention they need.”
On the topic of the pandemic, Ontario saw a massive oversight in the Long-term Care Home, where the pandemic took a staggering number of senior death due to COVID-19.
“The pandemic exposed why we need to get the private sector out of Long-Term Care. Tragically, more than 4,000 seniors died during the COVID-19 outbreak in long-term care. Communities in Kiiwetinoong, in Kenora-Rainy River and across the Northwest need more beds. The Ontario NDP’s plan to transform long-term, home and community care includes ensuring seniors have access to care that is personal and familiar, with staff and practices that reflect their distinct cultures, first language, community traditions, and cultural practices. We'll add more beds in the Sioux Lookout and Kenora - Rainy River. It's essential that planning of services is guided by First Nations,” said Gustafson.
In addition to doctors, nurses, and personal support workers, hospital beds are essential for adequately providing health care.
However, keeping people within the Kenora-Rainy River district is another struggle that seems everywhere in these smaller communities. The lack of affordable housing is driving people to search elsewhere to find a place to live.
“There is an affordability crisis across the province and an acute shortage of housing across the North, and that includes Sioux Lookout, Kenora-Rainy River and the Northwest. First Nations leaders and community members tell us that housing is a critical issue on reserve as well,” Gustafson said. “We're committed to a “for Indigenous, by Indigenous” housing strategy. This would provide the necessary resourcing and allow First Nations to design housing programming that best meets their needs. The NDP’s Homes You Can Afford plan will build 6,000 units of new affordable housing in Northern Ontario and 3,600 units of supportive housing.”
JoAnne is a member of Couchiching First Nation, the community where her mother's family comes from; however, she grew up in Fort Frances, where she raised her family. Her community volunteer work involves working with the Fort Frances Badminton Club, Fort Frances Youth Soccer as a referee and coach, Cyclone Swim Club, led workshops about the Ojibwe language at the Fort Frances Public Library & Technology Centre, creating an "Orange Shirt Day" event at Fort Frances Public Library & Technology Centre, and volunteer work with Borderland Pride in 2019 and 2020.
