Wednesday, July 1, 1998
It took three decades, but the International Conference on Permafrost finally held its proceedings in a place that actually has first-hand experience with permafrost: Yellowknife.
Held every five years, the conference gives geologists and other researchers an opportunity to share their latest findings and a chance for the rest of the city to take stock of just how much effort it took to carve a place to live out of this part of the Canadian Shield.
Building a city on terrain riddled with permafrost was no easy task. As soon as trees are cleared and the roads laid down, the permafrost begins to melt, threatening the stability and structural integrity of anything built above it.
Wisely, the city's early planners chose to move the downtown to the sandy plateau up the road from Old Town, an area that will allow massive buildings such as the Centre Square Mall and NorthwesTel tower to sit securely for decades to come.
Not everything worked as planned. A market garden near the rocks that are now home to the legislature was a disaster in the 1950s, and the melted permafrost turned the region into a swamp that remains to this day.
Many of the early government housing units on School Draw Avenue had to be moved after their southern-style foundations buckled and shifted, and just last year some clever retrofitting was necessary to keep the Visitor's Centre from collapsing into the pond it overlooks.
From these experiences have emerged numerous technical innovations, such as the insulation beneath the legislature's parking lot. But more importantly, Yellowknifers have learned to respect the forces of nature, and never take the earth for granted.
Some of the solutions cost millions of dollars, but we are now wiser and a little less arrogant thanks to the knowledge that ice is not be trifled with.
Here we are, 131 years old and still squabbling like infants. While the rest of the world is banging on the door to get in here, Canadians happily air their discontents, resentments and grudges without the slightest acknowledgement of gratitude for their blessings.
In that respect, Yellowknife is a snapshot of Canadian life. It is populated with arrivals from all over the globe, the First Nations people are still trying to find their rightful place, the weather is in turns beautiful, frightful, always unpredictable and everyone complains: taxes are too high, governments waste money, beer's too expensive. And still, Canadians are still the only people in the world who apologize to the person who steps on their toes in a lineup. Sorry for taking up so much of your time, have a nice Canada Day.
The most difficult part about running an institution is making it feel like anything but an institution.
To that end, Stanton Regional Hospital seems to have been successful, as it has in keeping high standards in health care and technology.
Stanton staff, no matter how busy they may be, have a reputation for stopping and talking to patients to make them feel comfortable. Translators are available and signage is in the aboriginal languages as well as English and French.
Stanton staff have set a high standard for the next 10 years. With donations like the $25,000 from the Bank of Commerce, and more to come, likely in smaller amounts, from the rest of the community, we can show our appreciation well into the next decade.
Editorial Comment
Jennifer Prichett
Kivalliq News
The people of the Keewatin deserve better. The Keewatin Regional Health Board's recent announcement that they have brought in the fourth interim CEO from Yellowknife is cause for alarm.
Six months ago, territorial health minister Kelvin Ng said that there would be a new head of the regional board in three or four months. What happened?
Last winter's health-care crisis was what it took for territorial leaders to listen to the people of the Keewatin. With such slow movement on finding a new CEO, can the people of the Keewatin really believe that the improvement of the region's health care is a truly a priority with the territorial government?
Back in January, Ng identified stability as an important part in re-building the health services in the region. Four CEOs in six months hardly gives the impression of stability. This is not to say anything untoward of the interim executive directors that have come to the Keewatin to help provide strong leadership for the region's health services.
But the reality is that with four new faces in six months, there is still no consistency in the leadership. People hardly know who is implementing the decisions passed down by the board.
With such change happening in the region in the coming months, good leadership at the senior level is absolutely imperative to get through the next year without having another health crisis. No one wants to see that again.
Kiguti Dental Services Ltd. is closing shop in less than a month and the board, in connection with the Kivalliq Inuit Association, is still developing a transition plan to provide dental services in the area. Plans are also being made for Rankin's new health facility, probably the single most important health initiative in the region in the last 15 years.
And let's not forget division, just 10 months away. There's no doubt about it -- these next few months are happening times which require strong, consistent leadership. Desperately-needed change is happening slowly. The people deserve better, the nurses, doctors and the rest of the health professional that work in the system deserve better.
While one must recognize that true change takes time, the people of the Keewatin can wait only so long for reliable health care.