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CBC
5 days ago
- Business
- CBC
You don't have to almost die to be happy at work, but it helps
Singer-songwriter Aysanabee was snowshoeing across a frozen lake in remote northern Ontario over a decade ago, when the ice gave way beneath him, plunging him into frigid waters. "I could like feel the icy water filling up my snow pants and I knew I couldn't swim with the snowshoes — and all these different things are running through my mind," said Aysanabee, who is Oji-Cree, Sucker Clan of the Sandy Lake First Nation. "I just thought, 'Wow, this is it, this is it for me and I haven't done anything with my life," he told The Current's Matt Galloway. Aysanabee is now an award-winning musician, but at the time he was 19 and working for a mining company, playing music in bars in his spare time. It was around -40C on that early January day, and the young man was alone, more than six hours outside Ear Falls, Ont. But Aysanabee had managed to fall slightly forward as the ice broke, allowing him to sink an axe into the ice shelf. As he struggled to drag himself out, one swing of the axe at a time, he frantically bargained with "whoever was listening … a higher power or something." "If I get out of this, I promise … I will do this thing, I'll go play music," he remembers pledging. He eventually managed to pull himself back onto solid ground, where he started a small fire to warm up and dry off. On the long walk back to camp, he had time to reflect on how close he came to death — and what he wanted to do with this second chance. "Then, three months later, I bought a one-way ticket to Toronto to go do music," he said. At the University of Guelph, Jamie Gruman and his research team recently interviewed 14 people who suffered near-death experiences, examining the impact on their work and careers. Published in the Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion in April, their research showed that survivors gained new insights, from a greater interest in spirituality to a belief that everyone is born equal, and here for a reason. "Specifically as a result of those things, the insights and the personal transformations, work often became much less important to people," said Gruman, a professor of organizational behaviour at Guelph University. "They thought, 'Well, why am I doing this? Like, what's the point? Is this meaningful? Does it matter?'" he said. WATCH | Aysanabee performs Near to Death, a song inspired by his experience: In the years since he fell through the ice, Aysanabee has released two critically acclaimed albums. He's been nominated for the Polaris Music Prize and took home two awards at the 2024 Junos, including Songwriter of the Year. Looking back at his younger self, he says he always knew he wanted to be a musician, but didn't know "how to do it." He credits what happened with giving him the courage to pursue that dream. "I think that whole experience definitely made me realize how precious time is," he said. "I don't want to waste any of it, you know, wondering, 'What if?'" Workers 'lost interest' in money Gruman said that what people want from their work boils down to three things: economic security, meaningful work that allows them to grow and develop, and high-quality relationships. But for the study participants who had come close to death, that changed. "They all completely lost interest in making money and any external measures of success," he said. "They didn't want big houses and cars and boats. They didn't want to be the executive vice president. They didn't want to get rich." By contrast, the desire for meaningful work and strong workplace relationships skyrocketed, he said. That led some participants to change jobs, or even completely change careers. Others were able to find what they needed by rethinking how they approached their work, Gruman said, giving the example of a teacher who "didn't really like teaching." After her near-death experience, "she considered herself now to be a teacher in the school of life," he said. "Teaching math and science was just incidental to teaching students about the importance of treating people well and living well." Like Aysanabee, a brush with death taught the participants a lesson about time. "They decided, 'Look, you know, my time here is limited, so let me make a move. And do something that speaks to my soul,'" Gruman said. Listen to your gut, says career coach Career counsellor Stephanie Koonar says there are lots of reasons people can be dissatisfied with their work, but you don't necessarily need a life-or-death experience to make a change. "A lot of it is about being in touch with your own gut instincts," said Koonar, Vancouver-based co-founder of PeerSpectives Consulting, which offers career coaching and leadership development. "My husband calls it the toothbrush challenge: in the morning when you're brushing your teeth, are you excited to go to work?" Koonar helps people dig into those feelings with the Japanese concept of ikigai, which involves asking yourself four questions: What do I love? What am I good at? What does the world need? What can I be paid for? She said the responses can offer clues to what matters most to someone, but it doesn't always mean completely changing your career to get involved with something important to you. "Maybe you're an accountant or maybe you do website development or social media but you could … seek out those organizations that are working on issues and challenges that you think are important and bring your skills and talents to them," she said. She added that bosses and managers also have a role to play. "Nowadays people don't want a boss; they want a coach," she said. "That includes helping them course correct if they've made some mistakes … [but also] spotting their strengths and talents and then maybe giving them opportunities." Ultimately, Koonar says that being happy every day at work might not be the goal. "Happiness is fleeting and at the end of our lives we are looking for more meaning," she said. "[That] might be bringing your talents and your strengths to a challenge. It may not even make you feel happy all the time … but it's rewarding because you're making a difference." For researcher Gruman, the lesson is to focus on what matters in your work life, both in terms of your own well-being and the people you build work relationships with.
CBC
29-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Wildfire within 1 kilometre of Deer Lake First Nation prompts call for community evacuation
Dry conditions creating high to extreme fire behaviour, fast rate of spread Image | Wildfire smoke northwestern Ontario Caption: A photo of wildfire smoke posted to Facebook May 24, 2025 by Ontario Forest Fires. A number of restrictions remain in effect in the region, including a restricted fire zone, travel bans and limits on access to certain lakes and waterways, as the wildland fire hazard remains high to extreme. (Ontario Forest Fires/Facebook) Open Image in New Tab Water bombers and bird dog aircraft are responding to a wildfire near Deer Lake First Nation in northwestern Ontario, which has prompted leadership to request a community evacuation. The fire, known as Red Lake 12, is within one kilometre of Deer Lake's airport, fire information officer Chris Marchand told CBC News. "The fire has quickly grown in size to 100 hectares and community officials are guiding residents to a safe zone near the bay close to the nursing station," Ontario's Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES) posted on Facebook Wednesday evening. About 1,100 people live in Deer Lake, an Oji-Cree community in Treaty 5 located about 180 kilometres north of Red Lake. It is only accessible by air or winter road. Shortly before 5:30 p.m. CST, southwest winds were pushing the flames away from the community, Marchand said, though he noted the situation was quickly evolving. West of Deer Lake, Manitoba has declared a provincewide state of emergency as wildfires are rapidly spreading across the region. "We have not at all had enough moisture to really get us out of these escalating fire conditions," said Marchand. "This ongoing lack of rainfall over the past several weeks, particularly near the Manitoba border, is resulting in some really high to extreme fire behaviour and fast rates of spread." Late Wednesday afternoon, Webequie First Nation issued a pre-evacuation notice to its members due to a nearby wildfire, encouraging people to prepare 72-hour emergency kits with medications, ID, water, clothing and charging cables as a precaution. "As one set of tankers were headed to Deer Lake, another set of tankers were headed to that community," Marchand said. Earlier in May, an evacuation order was issued in Wabaseemoong Independent Nations due to Kenora 20, an active wildfire in the northwest which is now 32,000 hectares large. Evacuees are staying in Niagara Falls, Winnipeg and Kenora. A number of restrictions remain in effect in the region, including a restricted fire zone, travel bans and limits on access to certain lakes and waterways, as the wildland fire hazard remains high to extreme. "We would ask that residents obey the restricted fire zone at this time, when we have a lot of our resources engaged in emerging situations. We don't need any more human-caused fires on the landscape," Marchand said.
CBC
23-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Sandy Lake First Nation mourns loss of 11-year-old to house fire, calls for more resources
Delores Kakegamic says she's tired of losing children to house fires in her community. The chief of Sandy Lake says the First Nation is mourning the loss of an 11-year-old child to a house fire that occurred Thursday afternoon. "Our firefighters have no gear. If they had gear, they would have been able to go further into the house, but with all the smoke, they could only go a couple of seconds at a time," Kakegamic said. The house belonged to the community's fire marshal, she said. A fire shield in the home gave them enough time to get the rest of the children out. Many of the occupants were treated at the nursing station for smoke inhalation. Sandy Lake First Nation is an Oji-Cree community located in Treaty 5, about 600 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, Ont. Kakegamic says about 3,500 people live there. There are two fire trucks in the First Nation but only one is functional, she said. Our firefighters have no gear. If they had gear, they would have been able to go further into the house, but with all the smoke, they could only go a couple of seconds at a time. The Nishnawbe Aski Police Service (NAPS) told CBC News in an email that nine occupants escaped the fire, which was reported shortly after 5 p.m. on Thursday. "When officers arrived on scene, community fire suppression efforts were already ongoing. A scene is being held and members of the NAPS Northwest Crime Unit are now involved in the ongoing investigation," NAPS spokesperson Scott Paradis said Friday morning. The community is still grieving the death of a kindergarten student in a house fire in late February, Kakegamic said. In January 2022, three children — ages four, six and nine — also died in a house fire in Sandy Lake. In the fall, Sandy Lake filed a lawsuit against the federal government, alongside Oneida Nation of the Thames, over Canada's funding of fire services in First Nations. "We can say what we want, but it never arrives," Kakegamic said of the resources she's been asking for. CBC News has reached out to Indigenous Services Canada for a response about Thursday's fire in Sandy Lake First Nation and is awaiting a response. Fire prevention, planning People who live in First Nations are about 10 times more likely to die in a house fire than those living in other communities in the country, according to Statistics Canada. Arnold Lazare, who lives in Kahnawà:ke, Que., is the interim CEO of the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council. While the cause of Thursday's fire in Sandy Lake is unknown at this time, he said most fire-related deaths in remote communities can be attributed to a lack of smoke detectors, a shortage of firefighting services and overcrowded, inadequate housing. "You end up getting a perfect storm where you have multiple people, multiple families in an underrated home without a smoke detector," he said. While much of his work involves getting smoke detectors delivered to communities, he said, the most important thing is fire prevention education. For example, Lazare said people often take down smoke detectors when they're cooking and don't put them back. "There needs to be a public education process where the family is made aware of what to do, primarily the children and the elders who are the most vulnerable," Lazare said. He encourages all households to create a fire safety plan, so all members know where to locate emergency exits and have a meet-up spot outside in case a fire occurs. "We know that by continuing on this path, we are going to reduce the number of fire-related deaths," he said. 'The firefighters are traumatized' At the time of Thursday's fire, Kakegamic said about half of Sandy Lake's firefighters were participating in training outside the community. In addition to better equipment, she said she wants to see more mental health support for those keeping the community safe. "The firefighters are traumatized," she said. "They're left to deal with it on their own and they're having a tough time." With a new federal government in power — and the first Indigenous MP to hold the position of Minister of Indigenous Services — Lazare said he feels hopeful that federal funding can be better allocated to meet First Nations' needs. Providing resources at the community level is key, he said. "Part of our plan is to advocate not for an increase in funding, because we realize funding is short, but what we're advocating for is a more effective use of the dollars that are there," he said. "It empowers the community."
