Many Yellowknifers are damn mad.
Their own government is trying to keep them as second class citizens, launching costly, futile court battles to block their Canadian right to proper, democratic representation.
Why, they ask. Do the regions fear democracy for Yellowknife? When there are so many aboriginal MLAs and ministers, what's the problem?
Tu Nedhe MLA Don Morin and Nehendeh MLA Premier Jim Antoine, among others, say the people who elected them won't trust a territorial government with so many MLAs from Yellowknife.
Morin and Antoine are half right -- people outside Yellowknife, especially aboriginal leaders, don't trust the territorial government. They have good reason not to.
Every time one of their regional leaders gets elected to the legislative assembly, they trade in their work worn land claim self-government jacket for a nice shiny territorial government suit.
The new MLAs and ministers don't like words like "land claims or self-government" any more, preferring instead "territorial policies" and "formula financing".
They complain about the trials of living in Yellowknife with expense allowances larger than the incomes of the people who voted them in. And when these MLAs and ministers don't come through for their communities, either for critical funding or self-government powers, they blame Yellowknife. The blame sticks, even though aboriginal leaders have long dominated the territorial legislative assembly.
So it's no wonder people in the communities hate Yellowknife. Who wouldn't?
Now Premier Antoine wants five months to travel the communities so people can tell him again how much they hate Yellowknife and Yellowknife shouldn't get more seats. With an election looming, who's going to argue?
Antoine should spend that five months implementing self-government in the regions instead of hoarding all the power for his cabinet.
The Aboriginal Summit is calling for the suspension of the territorial government as a last resort. The largest voting block in the Western NWT -- Yellowknifers -- may just add their voices to that call if something isn't done.
The Yellowknife Association of Community Living is getting results in the area of helping the disabled.
Thanks to the programs offered through the Abe Miller Centre, 19 people have been able to join the workforce and improve the quality of their life substantially.
The association is also having great success with its independent living support program which currently is ensuring that six people with intellectual difficulties can live on their own.
The association should be proud of these accomplishments.
Now, if we can just get a wheelchair ramp in the Centre Square Mall.
Like many families, Leslie Suchlandt and Kevin Stannard were probably very excited when they first got Puppy, their four-month-old husky.
They were probably very excited when they brought him home, looking forward to the reaction of their two-year-old son Jeremy. They probably pictured Jeremy playing with the dog for years to come, the two, as so often happens, becoming best of friends, totally devoted to one another.
So when someone came along and threw or kicked Puppy, they hurt more than the dog. They hurt a two-year-old too.
They hurt an entire family.
Editorial Comment
Glen Korstrum
Inuvik Drum
When discussing whether a new ice plant is worth the $270,000 expense, Mayor George Roach said the Midnight Sun Arena cost is nearing $8 million.
The arena cost was pinned at about $4.8 million back in 1995 when town council went to ratepayers twice to ask for more money to complete the complex.
Both times the answer was no.
In June, 1996, ratepayers finally gave the town the OK to pump an extra $400,000 to complete the facility by a Quebec-referendum-close 51.3 per cent yes vote.
Since then, the arena has grown in its reputation as the Olympic Stadium of the North.
Math errors were noticed in January, 1997. Or at least that was the excuse at the time for council to pass a motion to spend up to a total of $6,256,780 to complete the project.
Little by little, cost overruns continued to stack up with the total cost reaching $6.5 million thanks to additions such as a new boiler and a stage, combined with engineering costs that were not initially included in cost estimates.
The wallet-emptying mega-project finally opened in June, 1997, a mere six months late and $1.8 million over budget.
No council motions have granted more money to fund the green monolith, but if Mayor Roach estimates the building's cost has become closer to $8 million, that figure is as likely to be true as it is likely to be an inaccurate exaggeration.
That huge cost makes the $270,000 for a new ice plant look paltry in comparison, but it is still a massive expense for Inuvik residents, many of whom are in tax arrears.
The story behind the new ice plant dates back to last year when council originally approved a budget to replace the chiller and the condenser at the existing ice plant -- just those two components.
No area company was able to meet town deadlines so the town awarded the contract to the Edmonton firm, Cimco.
Cimco offered to do the required work for $110,000, but then made the town the offer for a brand-new ice plant for $270,000 which would mean a totally new ice-making system and all its components.
The proposal is likely to pass with the biggest question on councillors' minds being whether to approve the $270,000 or opt for a $50,000 savings by foregoing the long- term service agreement.
Though the plant comes with a warranty, regardless, the service agreement would mean Cimco workers would provide all labour to inspect and maintain the system as well as pop up here twice a year to start-up and shut-down the system.
The way arena costs have soared, it's tempting to shut off the money tap and go for the lowest cost option (which is the $110,000 one).
Unlike when the town held plebiscites to ask ratepayers whether they agreed with each spending increase, none was held on the new ice plant.
When ice was installed a mere five months ago, its late arrival was blamed on a new chiller which was late arriving. Now it comes out that the old one was used all along and there are massive new costs for ice next year.
When all these capital costs are calculated on a per-day basis, the result is obscene. The only way to make up for what many see as a bad investment is to extend the ice season regardless of maintenance costs -- five months is a bit short.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
The public meeting in Fort Simpson last Tuesday regarding the staking of traditional lands -- or Crown lands, as the federal government calls them -- proved to be an interesting chess match.
On one side of the table, three officials from DIAND took their positions. Across from them sat lawyer Chris Reid and land-use planner Petr Cizek, both of whom are associated with local First Nations groups.
Things were rather routine in the early going. DIAND's director of mineral resources, Kate Hearn, started off by reviewing the Canadian Mining Regulations (CMR). Nobody expected to get excited over what she had to say -- she even good-naturedly asked her audience a few times to let her know if she was droning on.
It was the question and (occasional) answer session that proved to be most interesting. Cizek brought up the proposed Thor Lake beryllium project, which many communities have openly opposed. He asked if the federal government has ever turned down a proposed mining operation.
Floyd Adlem, director of operations for DIAND, said there are provisions in place to deny mining operations if there is a valid reason to do so. However, he couldn't think of an instance where the government rejected a mining company outright. The closest such precedent he could recall was the abandonment of a uranium mine project in the Keewatin due to the environmental regulatory process. Adlem suggested there's a possibility that mining companies could take court action and may even be awarded compensation for being denied a mine site or even if they are delayed in cases where the government doesn't have substantial reason to disapprove them.
Cizek then made a point that the cumulative environmental effects of mining operations will become a concern if it's difficult for the government to say no to mining companies. Adlem didn't disagree.
Then the subject of staking traditional lands came up. Herb Norwegian inquired about the consultation and review process, contending "somewhere or another we seem to get sucked into this smoke screen."
The DIAND officials explained that a consultation isn't required by the CMR when staking and surveying is done. They explained that an individual only need be 18 years of age or older and have $5 to obtain a prospector's licence (companies must pay $50). The subsequent application for a land-use permit, should there be one, is where the First Nations begin to come into the consultation picture. If any sort of environmental concerns are found, DIAND may investigate, but the result likely would be imposing terms and conditions on the land-use permit to "mitigate" those concerns, according to Adlem. The CMR actually requires the individual or company to explore the lot or they lose the right to that claim, he noted.
Should a claim be made and exploration be carried out on Crown lands where a trapper's cabin exists, the trapper essentially cannot prevent a claim unless he or she is leasing the lands from the government, according to Kate Hearn, director of mineral resources for DIAND.
In the end, what it all amounts to is that DIAND has its hands tied by the CMR.
"I know there hasn't been a happy history here with consultations," Hearn said, adding that work should continue to improve communication.
But if the mining regulations aren't going to be revised, then nothing's likely to change. Until land claims and self-government negotiations are settled, the best DIAND officials can hope for is tolerance rather than outrage and resentment.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
There can be no doubt whoever was responsible for destroying the igloo in Rankin Inlet this month, that so many in the hamlet put their efforts into constructing, deserves a good swift kick in the butt, politically correct to say or not.
The igloo was the idea of a group of elders in the community and was to serve both as a cultural-education tool and as the centrepiece for our Nunavut Day celebrations.
The folks at the Community Wellness Centre put in a great deal of effort to help fund the project and it was refreshing to see so many school-aged kids want to join in and help construct the igloo under the elders' direction.
Plans were already in place to raise some extra monies by having people enjoy the igloo experience and spend a few bucks for the opportunity to sleep overnight in the structure.
A week ago Monday would have seen the first group of kids arrive to learn some cultural education from the elders in the igloo, including wonderful stories of days gone bye.
As April 1 rolled around, the igloo would have been a beautiful cultural statement into how much has changed in such a remarkably short period of time and a pleasant reminder of a lifestyle now past. Plans were also in place to hold a number of Inuit games at the site which, no doubt, would have provided hours of fun and enjoyment for kids of all ages.
However, all that being said, the thrashing of the igloo did not come as a complete surprise and many people in community stated publicly they expected it would happen.
But, and it's a big but, there can be absolutely no credence lent to the rumblings from some quarters that this was a strike at Inuit culture. Such hate mongering accomplishes nothing and serves no purpose other than to attempt to use the incident as a means of furthering the personal agendas of those who will always have an axe to grind with someone.
The smashing of the igloo was the random act of youthful destruction, period. This is not an attempt to diminish the wrongdoing or downplay its effects in any way. There are many angry and disappointed people in the community and rightfully so.
However, this was the act of youth with too much time on its hands and probably the result of an 'I dare you,' not a political statement by an anti-cultural organization bent on destroying the memory of the old way of life. Such thoughts deserve to be put in the garbage with the rest of the trash.
Full marks to those in the hamlet who quickly jumped to the forefront of efforts to rebuild the igloo so we may have our cultural reminder and centrepiece come April 1.
For those who destroyed the igloo, they would be best served to remember the fear of being exposed they're feeling right now the next time the urge to destroy something creeps upon them and take some pride in the efforts of their community.