Obviously, the priorities of Ottawa have little or nothing to do with the reality of life in the North right now.
To shuffle Jane Stewart out as minister of DIAND at a time when a number of agreements and negotiations in the North appear to be at an important, if not critical, stage seems like a questionable decision at best.
If nothing else, it was disappointing in terms of Stewart's impending visit to the North and meetings with groups here.
Hopefully, the new minister, Robert Nault, can be brought up to speed quickly and will take a personal interest in all that's unfolding up here. We'll see.
Regardless, to get a new minister at this particular time for the sake of political expediency on Chretien's part does not smack of smart planning -- not from where we're standing at least.
The Aboriginal Youth Conference held recently in Rae-Edzo, was heralded an unqualified success by all who attended.
One notable who did not attend, however, was Secretary of State for Children and Youth, MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew, who should have at least sent along an apology.
Blondin-Andrew has also been conspicuous in her absence at the Dene National Assembly, The Deh Cho Assembly and basically, the rest of her constituency.
Granted the MP is a busy woman. She's been swamped in the nation's capital, helping the PM shuffle his deck.
With an election year approaching, we're guessing we might actually see the MP spending some time with the folks in the land she calls Denendeh.
The recent criticism by Bill Tait, owner of Raven Tours, on the lack of support offered by the city to help boost the summer tourism market was dead on.
Tait, who has enjoyed seeing his original venture in winter tourism -- aimed at the Japanese tourist market -- grow from 80 visitors in 1989 to 5,400 in 1999 -- calls the city of Yellowknife's response to summer tourism "apathetic."
We agree. A recent NWT exit survey study commissioned by the territorial government deems the growth rate of the NWT's tourist trade as being a tortoise among hares.
Comparing the NWT's 3.25 growth rate for last year with the other provinces and territories, we're the lowest in the country. You only need to look at the Yukon, which saw a 12 per cent growth last year, to know there's also tremendous room for growth in the Yellowknife market.
Last week the legislative assembly was rocked by an uncharacteristic display of bad manners.
While discussing the controversial Bill 15, Yellowknife North MLA Roy Erasmus referred to some of his colleagues as "bumps on a log."
Mr. Erasmus must have been steamed to let loose with such a defamatory blast. He is normally a model of parliamentary restraint.
While we are forgiving of Mr. Erasmus' outburst, bumps have every reason to be outraged. Nobody deserves to be compared to a legislator.
In fact, we would probably be in a lot less of a mess if more legislators did behave like bumps on a log. After all, when was the last time you found a bump on a log in a conflict-of-interest hearing?
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
While there may be some who herald last week's announcement from the Nunavut government's central hiring agency concerning job interviews as a bold new initiative, there are more than a few in the education field who are worried about the message it's sending to our youth.
Billed as a newer, kinder and more effective approach to job interviewing, the department of human resources' director of staffing, Tom Thompson, said the "behaviourial event model" draws on experience in real-life situations, rather than knowledge of theory.
Thompson admitted the Nunavut government is desperate for qualified candidates for government jobs being moved into communities through decentralization, saying "Departments are in a mad rush to fill positions."
This "mad rush" is wherein the danger lies. Although probably lined with nothing but good intentions, the policy sends the undeniable message that one doesn't need a formal education to land a good-paying government job and all the security accompanying it.
If more and more youth start seeing their friends and relatives ã who they know never came close to completing their high school education ã landing high paying government jobs, where will be their motivation to complete their formal education?
For the most part, we have no bone of contention with the government's affirmative action program aimed at creating true representative public service, although we do know a few individuals who have lived in Kivalliq for 30 years and, under policy guidelines, still don't qualify as "Northerners."
However, the bar should not be lowered to the point where formal education and accredited training are of little advantage to those qualifying for government positions. First and foremost on the agenda of our fledgling new government should be to ensure the people hired are capable of performing the tasks they're hired for.
If new initiatives like the one announced by Thompson this past week are absolutely necessary to fill existing job vacancies, capital spin doctors should put in some extra time to ensure they're packaged better to include positive references towards the future hiring of those who do complete their secondary education and other accredited courses.
After all, one need not set their educational goals too high to be able to list their accomplishments in alphabetical order.