Monday, November 22, 1999
Who would have bet that Inuvik's campsites would outdraw the capital's?
Well, according to recently released figures, when you take NWT residents out of the mix, more tourists camped in the Delta than in the North Slave region.
The busiest campsites in the territory are in the South Slave area.
The reasons for these figures? Roads. The conclusion is inarguable, if you want to bring in the tourists, you have to have roads.
In the South Slave, easy access from Alberta explains the success of the campsites.
In the Delta, it is a little more complicated. Campsites around Inuvik benefit from the influx of European tourists who fly directly to Whitehorse every summer from Germany and Switzerland.
Those tourists rent recreational vehicles and campers and hit the road, taking advantage of the Dempster and Alaska highways to see the North.
Tourism is the world's fastest-growing industry. The citizens of the NWT are sitting, cash-strapped, in the middle of the world's last great wilderness while tourists from around the world zip around above our heads.
While we wonder about the future of an economy rooted in the non-renewable resource industry, visitors willing to spend money are driving up and down the Dempster and Alaska highways looking for new places to go.
As it stands now, many communities rely on winter roads built to service mines for the delivery of goods and services. If the mining companies don't build the roads, then the communities are left in isolation.
Building an infrastructure that will adequately service communities and provide access to tourists will take planning, foresight and political will.
As the NWT heads into an election, now is the time for to raise the issue. After all, those tourists are busy planning right now where they're going to spend their money.
According to the testimony of three different women in Iqaluit, Rohypnol, also called the date-rape drug or roofies, has surfaced.
While the mere suggestion of its appearance is frightening, particularly for the women who believe they were targeted and victimized, the larger picture inspires even greater fear because it shows us the more things change the more they stay the same.
Just when we begin to feel that we have taken a few steps forward, something like roofies comes along and indicates clearly that violence against women continues to escalate.
The very real effects of this insidious drug illustrate that point completely. Causing black-outs for up to 24-hours, roofies are about ten times as strong as valium, have no taste, colour or smell and can cause aggressive hyperactivity or sedation in those who ingest it.
"It really is the drug of choice for rape," Trish Hughes-Wieczorek, the executive director of the Qimaavik Women's Shelter in Iqaluit, told News/North last week.
The drug is slipped into women's drinks and, without knowing what is happening, they are sexually assaulted.
The appearance of a drug that leaves women powerless and without control over their own bodies points directly to the unbalanced power dynamic that is still so pervasive in all communities in Nunavut and across the country. In fact, it joins the numerous forms of violence that are perpetrated on women by men around the world and these run the gamut of physical, sexual, emotional and economic abuse.
The appearance of roofies also inspires great anger because the lesson we are to learn is that bars and other public venues are not safe places for women. It reinforces the very sexist belief that women should remain in the home where they belong and are safe.
Perhaps the answer, or at least a solution that might help us keep each other safe, is to stick together and watch out for one another. While there isn't always safety at home, there is safety in numbers.
The decline of the fur trade has cost a generation of Northern people more than jobs, it has cost them a way of life.
For generations, earning a living from the land went far beyond a paycheck, it had meaning: the solitude and the relationship between people and animals which had a grounding, centering effect for all those who worked the land.
With the rock-bottom price of furs, trapping has become little more than a weekend hobby for people who now have to live in town to earn a living.
Loss of livelihood is one thing, but loss of a way of life is quite another.
Considering the amount of money the feds have spent to preserve the east coast cod fishery, the fur trappers seem strangely ignored.
With more than 20,000 registered people on the list of voters, we're looking forward to a big turnout in the NWT's historic first election.
We're faced with the important issues of self-government, settling land claims, fiscal responsibility, accountable government and cutbacks in social programs, to name a few.
In a democracy people get the government they deserve. An informed voter makes informed choices and you really have no right to complain about the government you get if you don't vote.
We can all take a lesson from the voters in Fort Smith, who traditionally turn out in droves to voice their opinions.
On December 6th we'll decide who will guide the our new territory into the next millennium. Our part is to get out and do our best to mark an informed X on the ballot.
Inuksuk high school's efforts to resurrect their instrumental band program after a 10-year absence are admirable.
Tireless work by band instructor Ryan MacLeod to teach Grade 8 through 12 students how to read music, play instruments and give live performances is appreciated not only by his students, but by parents and the community as well.
Because of MacLeod's efforts, the halls at Inuksuk echo with not only the voices of students and teachers, but with the sounds of trumpets, clarinets, drums and guitars.
We look forward to attending their first open concert.