DANIEL WEBBE began to
limp shortly after Christmas.

By Kate Zimmerman
News Reporter

His family thought the five-
year-old was simply imitating his
sister, who was hobbling around an
crulches. After all, when Pavel
Bure got a groin injury. sports
fanatic Daniel complained of the
same thing.

The boy's doctor didi't uke the
pains particularly seriously, and
neither did his parents, who tried to
exercise the ailment out of his sys-
tem by having him jog. They felt
terrible when they finally realized
Daniel had a disease called Legg-
Perthes, or osteochondritis,

“It’s caused by the circulation
being cut off to the head of the
femur," Danicl's mother, Jiffian,
explained. Some of the bone tissue
then begins to die and the bone
becomes spongy.

Small fractures sometimes
occur. The head of the bone begins
to flatten and lose its round shape.
The hip socket cannot hold it,

Although blood circulation
returns to the head of the femur ina
matter of months, it takes much
longer for healthy bone tissue to
replace the dead tissue.

Legg-Perthes strikes children

between the ages of five and 10.
Most are active boys, small for
their age. The disease lasts two to
four years,
_ “Down the line, (Daniel will)
bounce back,” said Jillian. “It isn’t
something that's dreadful or dra-
matic cr whatever, but it is a
change.”

Daniel is one of the 10% of chil-
dren who get Legg-Perthes in both
legs. He must wear braces all day
down to his knees and sleep 10
hours a night in traction, so the

bones are held in the joint properly.
: “If it’s not treated, the femur

becomes deformed and one leg

becomes shorter than another,” said
~ Jillian.

Danie! can walk in a spider-like
fashion wearing these braces, but
he needs a wheelchair or other
-assistance when it comes to Jong
distances, Jillian Webbe considers
her family lucky because it could

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NEWS photo Mike Wakofield

DANIEL. WEBBE, 5, sutters from Legg-Perthes disease. Here he
holds his prized hockey stick, autographed by Dixon Ward.

afford braces, lightweight crutches
and a reasonably portable wheel-
chair.

The Webbes were also able to
purchase a small, battery-operated
car called Suzuki Quads by Power
Wheels, which not only allows
Daniel to get around at school but
gives him a bit of a psychological
edge.

In B.C. in 1989, there were 131
diagnosed cases of Legg-Perthes.

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Jillian would like to stan ‘a support
group for families coping with the
disease or who have already lived
through it. (If interested, please call
Kate Zimmerman at the News at
985-2131.)

In the space of two months, she
has accumulated many helpful tips
for other parents. When Daniel is
finished with his crutches, she
wauld like to be able to pass them
on to another child in need,

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BILL C-16 LAND Ch Ali

The Sahtu Dene and Metis Land
Claim Settlement Act, Bill C-16, is
presently making its way through
Parliament. It has completed second
reading and has gone to committee.

The Dene of the Mackenzie Valley
first filed the comprehensive claim with
the Federal Government in 1976 and
the Metis filed the following year. The
Minister of Indian Affairs, the Hon. Ron
Irwin, has asked for a swift passage
through the House.

LAND TITLE DETAILS

The agreement will give the Dene
and Metis, 982 adults and 773 chil-
dren, control over 280,000 square kilo-
metres of land. This is an area 50
times the size of Prince Edward Island,
five times the size of Nova Scotia, and
about 30 percent of the size of B.C.
Approximately 40,000 square kilome-
tres of the total will be title in fee sim-
ple - a parce! seven times the size of
Prince Edward Island. On approxi-
mately 1,800 square kilometres of this
area they will also own the sub-surface
mineral rights.

The settlement area is comprised
of both land that has been used tradi-
tionally = <:: Sahtu Dene and Metis
as well ditional iand chosen
specifics .' oring economic benefit.
Suppleme.iary io these revenue gen-
erating opportunities, the beneficiaries
of this land claim agreement will
receive $75 million tax free in 1990
dollars each year for the next 15
years.

People who are not Dene or Metis
but who presently live in the area of
the Mackenzie Valley covered by the
agreement will be allowed to stay pro-
vided that they are accepted by one of
the Sahtu communities, and the public
will be allowed access in order to
reach adjacent territory.

ve Wing

_ moving. We move

MOVE,A

DEBATING THE BENEFITS

The major question that arises out
of this settlement agreement is “What
injustices are we trying to right with
such a generous package?" Life for
aboriginal peoples in the land north of
60 has traditionally been a subsistence
existence, harsh and unforgiving. This
agreement entrenches in the
Constitution commitments on the
Government of Canada that we may
not be able to afford and it does not
provide for a finite end to the financial
responsibility of the federal govern-
ment to the Dene and Metis.

Clause 3.1.5 clearly states that the
participants in the agreement shall
have full access to all preserit and
future programs for aboriginal people
as well aS programs available to all
other Canadians. This includes a
share of the $4.5 billion Indian Affairs
budget and access to 29 specific abo-
tiginal programs in.15 other depart-
ments of Government.

David Chatters MP stated in the
House: “In my opinion the initiative (for
this land claim agreement} comes
from...that group of lawyers, consul-
tants, bureaucrats and indian Leaders
that year after year swallow up the
vast majority of money designated to
solve the problems of poverty, illitera-
cy, substance abuse and suffering
among our native people. This agree-
ment does nothing to solve that prob-
lem." (Hansard, April 25, 1994)

MY QUESTION

Should your MPs commit future
generations of Canadians to this
extremely generous package, consid-
ering the current financial situation, our
doubtful ability ts maintain our social
safely net, and the precedent it sets
for future agreements?

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