Wednesday, January 26, 2000
If Diavik Diamond Mines had any doubt about the importance of its project to the North and the people of Yellowknife, last week's firestorm of protest should put such doubts to rest.
Igniting the furore was an interim land use permit Diavik needed to get ready for hauling material and fuel over the ice road.
DIAND officials refused to issue the permit because the company hadn't concluded an environmental agreement. Diavik immediately suspended operations and suggested the scheduled start up of mine construction was jeopardized.
Press releases were launched like scud missiles, first from Diavik, then Yellowknife MLAs, the NWT Chamber of Mines, NWT Construction Association and independent contractors, all directed at DIAND's decision. Radio ads calling the permit rejection an economic disaster ran every hour while Yellowknife Mayor Dave Lovell tallied up the $90 millions and 120 jobs lost to Yellowknifers.
By Friday, shopkeepers, shoppers, people on the street and in the restaurants were all talking about "what the feds did to Diavik."
Coincidentally, DIAND minister Bob Nault was in town for meetings and a Liberal fund-raiser. He calmly defended the decision while expressing confidence the $1.3 billion project would go ahead. He also laid the responsibility for any delay at the feet of Diavik, implying the company had been dragging its feet on getting an environmental agreement in place and the company itself could set the pace to completion.
Who's right and who's wrong? Considering the temporary drop in stock prices for Diavik's partner Aber and the bad public relations for DIAND, if anyone made a mistake they will likely be or should be taken to task by their superiors.
The important thing is to conclude the environmental agreement and get the project back on. Yellowknifers made it clear they support Diavik and they want the environment protected.
Both can be accomplished if government and industry get to work and keep their commitments.
While the federal government caused a uproar by getting involved in pro hockey, here in a Yellowknife a similar situation was unfolding.
City council was weighing the pros and cons of a bylaw regulating the jackpots of Yellowknife's unofficial pastime -- bingo.
Concern for bingo players' rights prompted a proposal that bingo game operators not be allowed to lower advertised jackpots if attendance at the game was less than expected.
A compromise was reached and operators may reduce the amount of the prize by 30 per cent.
And so the bingo crisis has been averted and our civic legislators can put fears of civic unrest out of their heads.
With the appointment of a new festival executive director, Christopher Foreman, Yellowknife's beloved Folk on the Rocks heads into its twentieth year.
Over the last two decades the annual summer festival has become the pivotal cultural event of the season.
It is one of the city's assets, and has earned the serious support of both city hall and the GNWT.
Foreman inherits a festival with a great deal of momentum. The last few years have seen Folk on the Rocks mature into a credible and delightful array of talent, culture and entertainment.
The festival has built a solid reputation among performers. An army of volunteers, a dedicated staff and a devoted board have given Yellowknife something to be proud of.
Now with Foreman at the helm, it's enough to make you pine for those long summer days.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
The price tag continues to go up on the Nunavut government's original platform of bringing the government closer to the people.
That price continued to soar this past week with Finance Minister Kelvin Ng's announcement he was pushing back his schedule for the preparation of Nunavut's 2000-2001 budget.
The delay means, in all probability, the final budget won't be tabled in the legislative assembly until late March.
Like their counterparts across the territory, Kivalliq MLAs will have precious little say in departmental draft budget figures when they see them sometime next month.
With the time-line pressure the delay will put on having the budget approved, and MLAs worrying about such things as barge orders, the writing is pretty much on the wall this is going to be a take-it-or-leave-it budget.
What you won't hear any MLA admit publicly, is that many of them felt the community consultations were too ill-timed to make any noticeable difference for the next fiscal year.
In short, the price of a stalled budget was way too high for the relatively small benefit these community consultations may provide.
There could be an argument made the consultations and budget delay are a way of providing another ready-made excuse for any shortcomings in Ng's new budget.
While the finance minister was quick to accept plaudits for a balanced budget, when dealing with criticism he was also quick to point out there were many finger prints on the first territorial budget left behind by an outgoing government.
This time around, we could well be in for a stream of 'we did the best we could within the short time frame caused by the consultations' rhetoric in explaining weak areas in the upcoming budget.
The budget delay also took a good deal of the wallop out of the upcoming legislative assembly sitting in Rankin Inlet.
While some MLAs refer to the Business Incentive Policy and pre-discussions on the Education Act as hot topics to be discussed in Rankin, more are wondering what they will be filling their time with for two weeks.
The truth of the matter is, with the high visibility of the Rankin session and the delay in the budget, there were a number of Baffin and Kitikmeot members who let it be known behind closed doors they would rather be anywhere than Rankin next month.
Despite losing much of its political clout due to the budget delay, the February sitting will provide networking opportunities and give Kivalliq residents a first-hand look at the assembly in action.
It will also provide the opportunity for many organizations to lobby their MLAs on a one-to-one basis.
And, it will be interesting to see how the members handle actually being this close to the people in a formal setting.
Especially those in their own political backyard.