Wednesday, March 14, 2001
You can do a lot of things in an hour. But you can't solve the fiscal problems facing the Northwest Territories.
An hour is how long Finance Minister Paul Martin spent with territorial Finance Minister Joe Handley on March 4. Martin stopped here as he jetted across the West. What was the value to taxpayers and the North?
The discussion could just have easily taken place over the telephone.
If Martin wants to really understand why the NWT needs a bigger share of resource royalties, he needs to get to places like Wekweti, Paulatuk or Fort Good Hope where he can experience first-hand what it's like to live in the real North.
Perhaps MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew can make that happen.
The federal fuel rebate cheques that appeared in mailboxes early this year must have seemed to persons on social assistance like belated Christmas presents from a lost uncle.
It's human nature to treat unexpected cash - in this case $125 for individuals and $250 for families - as a windfall.
Anyway, it's not a lot of money, so it probably went quickly on essentials and maybe even a treat or two.
Then along came the government of the Northwest Territories. It said the federal fuel rebate is income and demanded that persons on social assistance pay it all back.
The result was that some families got cheques for just $3 to fill their grocery baskets last month and were forced to turn to the food bank for help.
Jake Ootes, GNWT minister of education, culture and employment, defended the claw-back, and pointed out that the government covers all food, housing and heating costs for persons on social assistance.
To ease the pain, the minister offered to spread the clawback over several months. He also promised to look for "gaps and problems" in the income support system.
The minister might also ask his helpers to address the apparent common sense gap in his department. Surely it occurred to someone in the GNWT that it costs more to issue a $3 cheque than it's worth to the recipient.
When taxpayers rail against waste and inefficiency in government, a $3 cheque is just the thing to tear up and throw in the faces of politicians and bureaucrats.
But that's one of the dangers of playing the rich and generous uncle with public money.
We appreciate the pressure Yellowknife city councillors are feeling over the selection of a site for the new arena. There is nothing to be done but move ahead.
However, it is disturbing to see discussion move behind closed doors, as happened at a committee meeting last week. While Mayor Gord Van Tighem gave an honest answer when asked about the reasoning for the secrecy, ("Open and candid discussions," he said.) the request came from city administrator Max Hall.
Be warned councillors. All the bad and very costly decisions made by city in the past two decades have involved closed door meetings. Avoid such meetings no matter how uncomfortable public debate may be.
Yellowknifers will respect you for your effort and your decisions will be made with all the facts. Because, in the end, the public is the best test of any information coming before council.
And it is the public who will have to live with the decisions.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
It will be interesting to see how insurance rate hikes threatening to put a serious dent in hamlet budgets unfolds during the next 17 days.
One thing is certain, if hamlets are hoping to be cut any slack by an insurance company, they're in for a long wait.
The Nunavut Association of Municipalities (NAM) is currently seeking financial assistance from the Nunavut Government to help alleviate some of the impact to the hamlets.
And the impact is substantial, with a typical non-tax-based community looking at an overall increase of about 30 per cent.
The NAM works in partnership with the NWT Association of Municipalities to provide group general insurance to municipalities in both territories.
Right now, the expected premium increases will total more than $1.1 million between the two territories.
With premiums based largely on population, the bigger the community, the higher rate hikes it will have to endure.
The deaths which resulted from a tainted water supply in Walkerton, Ontario, have had a profound affect on the insurance industry.
While it is understandable many insurance companies are moving away from municipalities, the fact hamlets are being forced to deal with numbers given in one quote out of 20 requests is disturbing.
Before providing any financial assistance to the hamlets, the Nunavut Government would be well advised to force the NAM to show it's been pounding the pavement seeking further quotes.
In fact, with the major fires the North has seen during the past few years, pounding the pavement for a more obliging insurance company should be a Northern art form.
Many Canadian organizations have faced similar periods in the past, where insurance scales were tipped against them, and had to go beyond our borders to find a policy they could live with.
If every avenue has been exhausted, we would expect the NG to absorb some of the financial impact the hamlets are about to feel.
However, the onus should be placed on the NAM to show it has explored every option before approaching the NG with hat in hand.
With our recent deficit budget just delivered, every level of government and territorial organization must ensure it does its utmost to shoulder its share of the financial load.
Editorial Comment
Malcolm Gorrill
Inuvik Drum
The Northern Youth Games have come and gone, but the memories generated by participants and spectators will last for quite a while.
Dozens of young people from the Delta and Sahtu converged upon Inuvik to take part in Arctic and Dene games.
No doubt for some athletes the games served as an introduction to some events, while for others the weekend was good practice for the upcoming Arctic Winter Games.
The competition was fun to watch, with athletes cheering each other on and showing good sportsmanship in other ways.
The Paulatuk Drummers and Dancers, and the Fort Good Hope Drummers, were among those who provided entertainment.
The event started off March 1 with an orientation session. Those taking part got a valuable lesson on how tobacco can hurt one's health. Alfred Moses, community health representative for Inuvik Public Health, gave a talk on the dangers of smoking.
Perhaps that evening made a few athletes realize how much more difficult tobacco can make it for them to excel, let alone the very real dangers associated with smoking.
Congratulations to all the participants, organizers, and volunteers.
Fair message
Many folks filed into the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex recently to take in the Health and Wellness Fair.
Nearly 20 exhibits displayed items on health issues and ways to promote a healthier lifestyle. The fair was the first of its kind for Inuvik, but similar fairs are to be held in the region.
Events like this can serve a valuable purpose by informing or reminding people of some prevalent health issues in the community.
Step in the right direction
Life is full of choices, some good, some bad; some hard, some easy.
Town council, and a committee studying the Department of Education, Culture and Employment's capital spending plans for Inuvik, have made a decision after, no doubt, a lot of discussion.
They are telling the department that they would like the new Aurora College campus built right away, and postpone the scheduled renovation to Sir Alexander Mackenzie school. Council and committee members must now await a response.
Building the college first is the right choice. Both projects are important, but the new campus has been promised for some time, and the college serves the entire region.
The kind of training offered at the college is especially important for this area now, with the opportunities relating to oil and gas development.
Putting the college first could also benefit SAMS, in that in a few years enrolment may rise and make it more likely the territorial government will fund renovations for the whole school, instead of just part of it as is now the case.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson
The housing package deal that the Jean Marie River First Nation and Fort Liard's Acho Dene Koe band are working toward is a smart move.
Both First Nations stand to benefit, as Jean Marie River requires the jobs and revenue, while Fort Liard needs the housing.
Acho Dene Koe chief Judy Kotchea said she and her council have a goal of creating a training program for carpentry in Fort Liard. That way construction and maintenance of homes could be done within the community.
"There has to come a time where we have to start helping ourselves and stop waiting for somebody else to do things for us," Kotchea said. "It's our responsibility as a band to help our band members, and this is just one way of doing it."
Jean Marie chief Stanley Sanguez is planning something similar. In addition to training mill employees to produce the housing packages, he is planning a summer program for students, which would enable them to build six lodges in the community.
Those lodges would not only be useful for tourists, but would allow Jean Marie River to host smaller conferences and meetings.
Sanguez is also hopeful a joint venture can also be formed with an American company interested in producing furniture from aspen.
It's possibly a step towards greater autonomy for the band.
Sports galore
It's a busy time of year for sports and recreation across the NWT. Territorial championships have been held in a number of communities, including Fort Simpson, which hosted the senior men's recreational hockey championships during the last weekend in February and the Peewee hockey championships this past weekend.
Yellowknife entries proved dominant in both tournaments. It makes some people question how it might be possible to reach a competitive balance in the NWT -- a conundrum that's been around for many years and has been addressed in many ways. There has been no solution to date, and there's still no simple answers.
One highlight of the Peewee tournament was the skills competition. The spectators reacted enthusiastically to the event, and the players enjoyed the challenge. It's an idea that will hopefully catch on at all tournaments.
A final note on the Peewee tournament, isn't it unusual that all the visiting teams had the nickname "Huskies?" The Yellowknife Huskies. The Hay River Huskies. The Fort Smith (PWK) Huskies. When I was asking about the nicknames, some Fort Smith players realized the coincidence and then began discussing alternatives until settling on "Predators."
What's in a name?