The Holland College experience is a focus during the Student Union election.

By Daniel Brown

Feb 21, 2017

            The college experience was a theme with each of the candidates running for Holland College Student Union president this year.

        The three candidates gave brief presentations, which were open to the public in the Florence Simmons Performance Hall on Feb. 21. Each discussed how important the student union’s role is in enriching student’s college experiences.

        The candidates are Luke Ignace, Cassidy MacDonald, and Templeton Sawyer. Voting takes place Feb. 23.

        Ignace graduated from the performing arts program last year. He is now studying business administration.

Everyone at Holland College has a different experience and the student union should make an environment that allows for good experiences, Ignace said.

        “I would make it my goal to revitalise campus.”

        Ignace wants to level with students - to be human and sincere with them. The student union is making more progress every year, he said.

        “With each president at Holland College, there’s always been a moving forward.”

        MacDonald is a second-year events management student. She can see how her experience at Holland College allowed her to grow as a person, she said.

“I want all of you to have the same experience.”

MacDonald wants more to be done to connect the campuses across P.E.I. She praised Holland College for its hands-on learning approach, from the performing arts to the police academy.

        MacDonald has attended multiple leadership conferences during her education and has been involved with the student union as well. She feels ready to be president, she said.

 The college’s diverse student body is a defining trait, MacDonald said.

“Without our diversity, we wouldn’t be Holland College.”

Sawyer is a first-year events management student. Holland College’s diversity is important to recognize, he said.

“Each of us brings perspective which should not be ignored.”

Sawyer wants to implement guidelines so these voices can be heard. His experience in leadership and public speaking would help him be a good president, he said.

The Holland College experience would be the focus if Sawyer were elected, he said.

“Let’s make our experience at Holland College wholesome.”

Need a passport in a pinch? P.E.I. can’t help any time soon.

Corinne Reid helps Chelsey Rogerson with a passport application at MP Sean Casey’s office on the corner of Queen Street and Fitzroy Street in Charlottetown. Islanders can visit any MP’s offices for passport assistance. Daniel Brown photo.    

By Daniel Brown

Feb. 15, 2017

Brady MacVarish was desperate. He’d lost his passport.

The Hermitage, P.E.I man spent the entire night trying to find it with no luck. He had to catch a plane to Russia the next day.

His lawyer was able to speed up the application process. That morning, MacVarish jumped on an earlier flight to Halifax. P.E.I didn’t have a passport office.

Once there, MacVarish took a cab to the Halifax office before his afternoon flight to England.

He skipped the line and asked for a certain person. They took him aside, snapped his picture and gave him his passport 20 minutes later.

MacVarish hopped back in his cab and returned to the airport.

“By the time I got on the plane to England I was wiped,” he said. “I was running on adrenaline.”

Overall, everyone involved was good to deal with, MacVarish said.

“I was shocked that they processed it that quickly.”

MacVarish doesn’t think P.E.I. has enough people to warrant its own passport office, he said.

“I think they should have some sort of auxiliary office,” he said. “They could use that to speed up the process.”

That happened in 2000. Nothing has changed, said Charlottetown MP Sean Casey on Jan. 23.

            He was speaking with journalism students at Holland College. He opened the floor to questions.

“Has anything been done to ease access to passport services for Islanders,” a student asked.

“Yep, my office is open nine to five, Monday to Friday.”

A chuckle swept the room. Casey continued.

“Somebody right there at the front desk, and she has more than a dozen years of experience looking over these things. And if it passes Corinne [Reid]’s seal of approval, you can be darn sure it doesn’t came back.”

He took a breath.

“Sorry, I’m being facetious.”

            P.E.I. is still the only province without a passport office. Any MP’s office will help with passport applications, but applying through mail typically takes about 20 business days.

Casey asked his government to expand passport services to P.E.I. last August, because many Islanders need quicker and more efficient access.

He received a formal response in December from Ahmed Hussen, the minister of immigration, refugees, and citizenship.

P.E.I. likely wouldn’t get a passport office in the foreseeable future. The federal government knows how many Islanders apply and how many urgent cases there are, Casey said he was told.

“Basically, the message from the government is the population mass doesn’t warrant it.”

If a passport is needed on short notice, Islanders have to look elsewhere, Casey said.

“In urgent situations, yes, you have to get in your car and drive to Fredericton or Halifax.”

After 25 years, AIDS PEI continues to overcome misconceptions surrounding infection

The flame is shared during AIDS PEI's candlelight vigil at the UPEI Chaplaincy Centre on Feb. 1.  Those attending were invited to share the names of people they knew who died due to HIV-AIDS. Daniel Brown photo.

By Daniel Brown

Feb. 3, 2017

            Rev. John Lacey remembers the 1980s, when his friend was diagnosed as HIV-positive.

            Whenever Lacey visited his friend, he would avoid using the towels out of fear of becoming infected.

            In 1989, Lacey’s friend died due to the infection. Because of this, Lacey aimed to better understand HIV-AIDS.

“It made me aware of this whole phenomenon.”

In 1991, he helped create a board on P.E.I. to educate people about HIV-AIDS.

            Lacey is not on the AIDS PEI board anymore, but he was invited to speak at an event on Feb. 1 at the UPEI Chaplaincy Centre.

The event was to celebrate World AIDS Day and Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week, which takes place in early December but was delayed due to inclement weather.

It consisted of presentations, a candlelight vigil for victims of HIV-AIDS, and music by the aboriginal drum group Lone Cry Singers.

While it still exists today, there used to be much more shame in being HIV-positive. People would hide their diagnosis due to the nature of the infection, especially from family, Lacey said.

“The big thing around that time too was the fear factor.”

HIV-AIDS only spreads if someone with it has sex or shares blood injection equipment. When Lacey first started the organization, the mandate was simply to tackle the many misconceptions surrounding it.

“Now it’s broader. Much broader.”

AIDS PEI has branched out, aiming to improve the lives of those with HIV-AIDS, those affected, and those at risk.

Cybelle Rieber is executive director of AIDS PEI. She provided a brief timeline of AIDS, noting advancements in medicine and its global effect.

In 2015, 1.1 million people died of AIDS, Rieber said.

“Our numbers are not going down. HIV did not go away, and we still have a lot of work to do.”

The organization is very involved with the aboriginal community, because HIV-AIDS has taken a huge toll on them. It is also doing more with the LGBTQ+ community by starting a youth group and holding workshops, Rieber said.

“[It’s] opportunity to reflect, create space for healthy dialogue, and overcome stigma.”

Throughout its 25-year history, AIDS PEI has had many HIV-positive individuals affiliated with its board, which helped them spread their message.

Troy Perrot-Sanderson was diagnosed as HIV-positive when he was 21-years-old. The P.E.I. local became used to others being uncomfortable around him due to the infection.

“Most of the time I used humour to get past that little bit.”

Perrot-Sanderson was originally thought to have only five years to live, which pushed him into a shell, he said.

Twenty-four years later, Perrot-Sanderson considers himself lucky, and is very grateful for the support he gets from his family, his friends, and AIDS PEI.

“It is what it is. You live with it.”

Rev. John Lacey

Cybelle Rieber

Troy Perrot-Sanderson

(Left to Right) Trenton Smith and Dresmond Cudmore of the Lone Cry Singers