Wednesday, August 19, 1998
Business is business. That's the message coming from First Air, after its deal offering BHP's fly-in workers special discount fares to Edmonton.
Mayor Dave Lovell was first to condemn the move, asking the question: "Why don't they offer them to all Northerners?"
Lovell's concern that discount fares will discourage BHP workers from living in Yellowknife is well founded. Now Councillor Dave Ramsay is slamming First Air for not acting like a Northern-owned company. On that point he is on shaky ground because a more accurate description is that First Air is a Northern Quebec owned company. More relevant is his mention of the impact on the diamond task force and dozens of other people, as well as the Territorial government, all of who put a lot of effort into keeping diamond spinoffs in the North.
Canadian North, now NWT owned, is taking the high road in the debate, declaring their competitor is hurting the Northern economy. We can be confident Canadian North managers looked at potential profits, subtracted negative public reaction, decided to back away and look good. Many believe it was simply a case of Canadian North losing the contract but nothing would stop the airline from matching First Air's rates.
The issue is being put before the Yellowknife and NWT chambers of commerce but what can their members do beyond grudgingly accepting the business principles and long for the discount rates themselves?
First Air is looking at the bottom line and that is what Mayor Lovell, Councillor Ramsay, the rest of council and the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce must do.
The discount deal only affects BHP employees who choose not to live in Yellowknife. What are we doing to encourage BHP employees to live in Yellowknife? BHP is trumpeting its Northern hire figures. Are we inviting families from the communities to move to Yellowknife? Do we have any plans at all?
Better to look upon First Air's aggressive marketing as a yardstick against which to measure the city's efforts. And if Canadian North wants to get even more aggressive in the skies, let them offer deep discount fares for families who are considering coming North. They would win more than a few Northern friends doing so.
As most students across the Keewatin head back to classes this week, there are countless others who, for whatever reason, have decided not to return. It is to those people that Nunavut's leaders have to start paying more attention -- to find out why they are leaving school in droves. Without basic education, training Nunavut's young people for the workforce will largely fall short of the new territory's demands and expectations.
Since the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement was signed five years ago, the people of the Eastern Arctic have heard about the importance of training a workforce for the new government. Expected to be 50 per cent Inuit in its first few years of running and up to 85 per cent several years after that, the new face of government is supposed to better-reflect the people of Nunavut. This is the goal, but it can only happen if there is more emphasis on finding ways to keep youth in the classroom.
Graduating classes are typically one-quarter the size of the school's kindergarten classes. The current system doesn't work and there has to be more effort on the part of the decision-makers to improve it. Young people deserve their share of the $600-million Nunavut pie to make their futures a little brighter.
The federal government has, however, made money available for programs like the Aboriginal Training Fund to tackle the task of training a workforce. And by all accounts, some of these initiatives are making significant headway. The only problem is that many of these programs focus on those who have already left school, and there is little attention given to keeping students at school.
Realistically, none of the training efforts can really work to their maximum potential if young people keep leaving school and undergoing training for the workforce without the basics. This is a band aid solution that can only be used on a short-time basis. Like most quick fixes, it has no long-term benefits and will likely only cause more problems.
Certainly the immediate need for qualified personnel is great, but Northern leaders have to shift their thinking to see the value and potential in creating more incentives to keep young people in school. It may take longer to see the results of this approach than it does when training someone to do a particular job after they've quit school, but there's no question, the rewards will be longer-lasting.
nteers to augment the 19 career firefighters on staff.
The Yellowknife fire department is looking volunteers to augment the 19 career firefighters on staff.
The criteria is pretty straightforward: good physical condition, a clean driver's abstract and no convictions that would represent a security threat.
But being a volunteer firefighter also requires a strong commitment, because fires don't happen on schedule. Volunteers and their employers have to be prepared to give freely of their time to answer the call of duty.
Not everybody can or will make the kind of commitment required. The community is fortunate to have as many people as we do who are willing to rise to the task.