Monday, February 12, 2001
Effie Blake's death from tuberculosis is most keenly felt by her family in Fort McPherson and Inuvik, but her passing should concern every resident of the Northwest Territories.
At the very least, her death is a challenge to public confidence in the effectiveness of the health care system's efforts to detect and treat TB.
The 52-year-old grandmother and teacher was examined at the Health Centre in Fort McPherson and then at the Inuvik Regional Hospital. She was not diagnosed with TB until she was transferred to Yellowknife several weeks later.
Andre Corriveau, chief medical officer for the Northwest Territories, said "there certainly was a delay in diagnosis" and concluded that "in this day and age, no one should die from TB."
Health Minister Jane Groenewegen commissioned an expert to investigate and report. So far, there is no sign from the minister that she will make the findings public.
The circumstances of Effie Blake's death came to light only after News/North published a story on current efforts to combat TB. Would the government have come forward on its own? We don't know, but so far the silence is deafening.
The report Groenewegen commissioned will be delivered to her desk sometime this month. The Blake family has a right to know what it says and so do taxpayers.
"Here it's always like that," Effie Blake's daughter Maria told News/North. "They send them home and say 'it's nothing, it's nothing'."
That's a damning assessment of health care service in Fort McPherson and Inuvik that the report - whatever its findings - won't cover.
Effie Blake's death raises questions about the quality of health care not just in Inuvik and Fort McPherson, but across the Western Arctic.
The Blake family has proposed a public inquiry. That may be the only way to get the answers.
The permitting of a third diamond mine brings good news for the North.
De Beers Canada, which is 100 per cent owner of the Snap Lake deposit on the Camsell Lake property, filed water licence and land-use applications with the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board earlier this month.
De Beers is hoping to complete the permitting phase by the end of 2002 with the mine set to be fully operational by late 2004. While De Beers calls this a major milestone, to us adding a third diamond mine was pretty evident given the successes of BHP and Diavik.
What is unique, though, is that the mine has decided to scrap its plan for an open pit operation.
The decision is not only better for our environment but is good news for our sagging gold industry. There's no doubt with Yellowknife's Con Gold mine on its last legs, the opening of the North's first underground diamond mine will mean jobs, jobs, jobs.
Almost every week there's a report of another snowmobile injury.
It started with three deaths in Fort Good Hope in October. An Inuvik boy had to be flown to hospital in Edmonton two weeks ago after the snowmobile he was on crashed into a car. Had he been wearing a helmet, his injuries would not likely have been as severe.
On Feb. 3, a 20-year-old female pedestrian was hit by a snowmobile in Fort Good Hope and charges are pending against a 15-year-old youth.
It's time to get serious about snowmobile safety.
The premier has suggested mandatory helmet use, and it's now time to set it all in law, for everyone in the NWT.
These are powerful machines that have to be used with respect.
It's painfully obvious that some don't see it that way.
The death of Bruce Aasivaaryuk was a tragedy. Of that there is no question.
The 25-year-old was an inmate at the Arviat Alternative Justice Land Camp and died just a day before he was to be released.
He was caught in a blizzard while out checking a trap line.
The death may cause some to question whether the alternative justice camps are worth the risk.
After all, in the Arctic, life can be tenuous. Blizzards strike with ferocious suddenness. A wrong turn on a trail, even in good weather, can result in tragedy.
It's a situation all who live in the North face.
The camp was designed to offer offenders a chance to reconnect with their cultural roots and steer away from their troubled past.
So is the risk of offering this form of rehabilitation worth the price? Yes.
Aasivaaryuk and the other inmates at the Arviat camp saw how tradition could help turn them against a life of trouble.
The government knows, too, that Nunavummiut need to understand their past in order to ward off the destructive ways that all too often accompany southern influences.
That must be kept in mind through the trio of investigations -- RCMP, Coroner and Northwest Territories Corrections -- that are taking place in the wake of the camp death.
They will determine whether appropriate safeguards were in place.
They should not judge the value of the program.
That will only be determined by the inmates who have been to the camp and learned all that tradition offers and how well they fit back into society.
Architecture reflects the mood of a culture at a particular moment in time.
When southerners began to move North, they saw the need to conquer and control the environment and the people.
The buildings they designed, especially the schools, were austere and windowless. Any view to the outside world was thought to be merely a distraction.
It was a harsh and unforgivable way to house and school a group of people who used to spent virtually their entire lives outdoors.
The way buildings are designed in Nunavut is now starting to change. New, cheaper building methods and materials and a better understanding of Northern life and the environment are reflected in what we build and where we live.
As architect Robert Billard points out (see story on page B12.), that type of design -- the architecture of fear as he coined it -- is being replaced. As people realize colonization is wrong and that it's easier to work with the climate than fight it, the buildings in Nunavut are beginning to change.
Schools now have windows and the classrooms are based on more open-concept designs.
Many new office buildings have symbols of tradition built right in. Government of Nunavut office complexes pay homage to the qamutiq, the iglu is ever-present, and inukshuks frame the doorways of more than one building. We can see this as a sign of a culture honouring the past and protecting their symbols.
The final frontier, it would seem, is to have more private residences designed in a way that would allow the homes to blend into the environment.
Frivolous though it may seem, costs can be minimized and space used more effectively with some of the newer designs of housing units.
Editorial Comment
Malcolm Gorrill
Inuvik Drum
Lots of young, local athletes were sharpening their skills over the weekend.
A volleyball clinic was held at Aurora College as part of efforts to select athletes for the Aboriginal Sports Circle high performance camp in Winnipeg. Players were also trying out for the NWT's Canada Summer Games volleyball team.
But that wasn't the only clinic in town. Many basketball buffs took part in a Player Development Clinic.
Putting that camp on was Jason Dayman, who's in charge of player development for the NWT Basketball Association.
Turnout was slight at the Saturday evening segment of the camp at Samuel Hearne Secondary school. However, that didn't stop Dayman and players from engaging in some practise and one or two fun games.
It was fun to sit back and watch the action for a while. The games and drills were an interesting combination of zany fun and instruction.
The experience was all the more enjoyable, in that meeting up with Dayman again was kind of a blast from the past for me.
Dayman, now phys ed instructor at the school in Deline, recently graduated from St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He played for several years with the St. F.X. X-Men basketball team, and I covered him and his team while a sports reporter in Nova Scotia not that long ago.
Interestingly, Dayman said one thing he teaches is the importance of teamwork and fair play. He pointed out these are skills that come in handy off the court as well.
Dayman also touched upon an important point by talking about how basketball (and other sports), aside from providing physical benefits, can give young people something constructive and fun to do.
How best to spend
Early this week the Committee on Governance and Economic Development was in town to hear peoples' reactions about Bill 13 (the Hotel Room Tax Act).
One interesting theme which popped up during the evening was how best to use the funds raised by the tax to promote tourism in the NWT.
Proposals from the presenters included putting all the money into marketing the NWT as a whole, in hopes of catching the attention of potential visitors worldwide.
Another idea put forth was to have the money raised in the Inuvik region sent back here to promote the area, as well as fund local projects.
No doubt this debate will resume in earnest if the bill passes third and final reading in the assembly.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson
Self-government and land claims negotiations are all the more complex when territorial overlap issues are thrown into the mix.
Such is the case with the Dogrib First Nation. Its negotiators are striving to reach a final land claims agreement by the end of March and then formally endorse the deal by summer. There are still a number of outstanding issues they must address, among them is a border with the Deh Cho First Nations (DCFN).
A few members of the Dogrib First Nation and the Deh Cho First Nation still use the Horn Plateau for hunting and trapping today as their ancestors did in the past.
After two years of negotiations, there's still been no agreement that each side is willing to ratify. One idea already put forward is that of a buffer zone, where a tract of land would be shared by the two First Nations groups. Although it seems to be a feasible compromise, for some reason, it was not ultimately endorsed.
Last February a meeting in Fort Simpson held promise as a procedural document was drafted to resolve the squabble. There was talking of forming a working group to put the issue to rest.
Still, they're no farther today.
Perhaps it's time to reconsider the buffer zone proposal. There's a great deal of land out there and it's only reasonable that the two sides should be able to share it for hunting and trapping purposes.
The issue of development in the area may be a non-issue if the DCFN is successful in making the Horn Plateau a protected area.
There are obviously arguments to be had over a lack of consultation, or interference with trap lines, but those could easily be resolved with the will of the parties involved.
In the bigger picture, with all that's at stake in land claims and self government -- and with both First Nations groups attempting to get the best deal possible from the federal and territorial governments -- it would be a shame to see things hampered by a relatively petty dispute by two long-time neighbours sharing a common culture.
A good living
This is Apprenticeship Week in the NWT. It's a means of learning in the classroom and on the job, and provides a realistic alternative to those who aren't planning to spend four or more years in a university setting.
Beyond simply being available to the public, some the NWT's apprenticeship programs, as Roger Tremblay can attest, are first-class operations. Quality instruction, plenty of individual attention and top-of-the-line tools and equipment convinced Tremblay that the heavy duty mechanics program is second to none.
With growing interest in oil and gas in the region, apprenticeship is one route to a secure livelihood.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
There has been a noticeable improvement this week in the efforts of the Rankin Inlet arena staff.
Work is proceeding on the dressing room and public washroom areas, and Rankin recreation co-ordinator Johnny Tucktoo has the staff making a visible effort to clamp down on the shenanigans of some of the hamlet's more youthful rink goers.
We can only hope this effort continues and doesn't disappear once the community's attention is diverted elsewhere.
Camps beneficial
It has been a difficult week for Premier Paul Okalik in his role as Justice minister.
Okalik and his Justice Department heads made a smart move by calling in corrections officials from Yellowknife to investigate the tragic death of Baker Lake's Bruce Aasivaaryuk at the Arviat Alternative Justice Land Camp Jan. 29.
The move should eliminate any claims of bias against the government investigating itself.
As tragic as Aasivaaryuk's death was, we agree with Premier Okalik that the benefits these camps provide far outweigh the risks involved. To date, former inmates at the Arviat camp have been receiving solid reports from their home communities.
And although it is still too early for actual statistics to be compiled in our region, it appears, to date, former inmates at the land camps are less likely to re-offend than those who spend their entire time behind bars.
Honours earned
A big thumbs up this week to Rankin Inlet's Mary Tatty and the women's senior volleyball team.
Tatty has worked tirelessly with the volleyball program in Rankin for years and deserves the accolades that come with "her girls" capturing the bronze medal at last month's NWT Senior Women's Volleyball championship in Yellowknife.
Solid decision
Sustainable Development Minister Olayuk Akesuk's appointment of Coral Harbour's Jackie Nakoolak as DevCorp chairperson was a good move for the new minister.
Many smaller communities in Nunavut have been complaining loudly that their needs are not being heard by the Nunavut Government and Nakoolak's appointment shows Akesuk is aware of the importance of smaller communities having a voice in the NG's affairs.
With Nakoolak being from Coral Harbour -- if any of the larger communities are feeling slighted by the appointment -- Akesuk may very well have felt that they will just have to grin and bear it.