Stephen (Steve) Mantis was born in 1950 in Reading, Pennsylvania, and immigrated to Canada in 1972. After settling near Thunder Bay, Ontario, Mantis worked as a carpenter and established his own construction company. A workplace injury in 1978 resulted in the loss of his left arm. Employment in vocational rehabilitation followed, including work as an employment services manager with the Ontario March of Dimes.
Mantis founded the Thunder Bay Injured Workers Support Group in 1984. Further organizational work led to the establishment of the Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups and the Canadian Injured Workers Alliance (CIWA), the latter formed following the 1990 National Conference on Re-Employment of Injured Workers. Mantis served as CIWA’s national coordinator from 1996 to 2002, working to build collaboration among provincial groups and trade unions. From 1991 to 1994, Mantis was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Ontario Workers’ Compensation Board.
Additional public service included membership on local roads boards and representation of rural residents on the Lakehead Planning Board. Later efforts focused on education and social inclusion through the creation of the Speakers School in Thunder Bay, a program designed to support civic engagement among marginalized populations, including people with disabilities, First Nations and Métis individuals, single parents, and those living in poverty.
Awards recognizing Mantis’s contributions include the Judge George Ferguson Award for advancing disability rights, the Ron Ellis Award for work in workers’ compensation law, the Credit Union Central of Ontario Social Responsibility Award, and the Canada 125th Anniversary Medal for service to the community and country.
Sources:
- Injured Workers Online. Steve. https://injuredworkersonline.org/stories/steve/
- CIWA. Our History. https://www.ciwa.ca/our-history/
- Steve Mantis. www.stevemantis.ca
- Lakehead Archives. Canadian Injured Workers Alliance fonds. https://archives.lakeheadu.ca/index.php/canadian-injured-workers-alliance-fonds
- Wikipedia. Steve Mantis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Mantis
Dr. Walter Thomas Momot has been a Professor of Ichthyology at Lakehead University since 1975 and was Chair of the Department of Biology, 1996-2003. He was born in 1938, Hamtramck, Michigan, USA. He graduated with an Honours Bachelors of Science from the Wayne State University of Detroit, Michigan in 1960, a Masters degree in 1961 and Doctoral degree in fisheries in 1964 from the University of Michigan, Flint Michigan in 1961. He began his career in fisheries at the Sandy Hook Marine Lab in New Jersey. Later he moved to a position of assistant professor of zoology at the University of Oklahoma in 1964. He advanced from instructor to Associate professor of Ohio State University from 1964-1975. He worked as a visiting professor at the Louisiana State University 1981-1982, University of Hawaii & Western Australian Marine research lab, 1990-1991 and the University of Alabama 1996-1997. Dr. Momot is known for his extensive knowledge of crayfish and passion for the biogeography of fish and invertebrates in the Boreal lakes and rivers. Dr. Walter Momot retired in 2003 but continues to lecture, biology of fishes, as a Professor Emeritus. Dr. Momot is an honourary member of the International Association of Astacology, American Fisheries Society; Canadian Society of Limnology, and the North American Benthological Society. He is a fellow of the American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists.
Research Interests: Fish Ecology. Production ecology, zoogeography, and population dynamics of fish and invertebrates in boreal lakes.