Friday, March 30, 2001
The city of Yellowknife and Yellowknives Dene would do well to observe the progress of a court case launched in Southern Ontario on Tuesday.
The good folks of Port Colbourne are suing mining giant Inco and the provincial environment ministry, among others, for $750 million for alleged contamination of their town and the land around it by a nickel refinery Inco shut down in 1984.
The case bears some resemblance to that of Giant Mine and its effect on this area. But here, there is no question the environment has suffered during the half century the gold roaster spewed toxins into the air and the arsenic trioxide was stuffed into underground caverns.
Here, rather than a provincial environment ministry, the federal government was responsible for ensuring that did not happen.
It has become clear political pressure alone is an ineffective way of prodding the federal government to live up to its responsibility for cleaning up the mess.
Money was late and thin last year. So far this year there's no indication of how much, if anything, will be committed to the clean up or when it will come.
We're a small population, far from Ottawa, represented by a Member of Parliament who has proven far more effective as a political careerist than as a representative of the people who elected her. We are easily ignored.
The courts, however, do not have that option. And the federal government does not have the option of ignoring the courts.
You know it's Caribou Carnival time when excited children get on the phone and plan out how they're going make the most of their time on Frame Lake.
First: the meeting place. Then the sugar shack. Did you know you can keep going back for more?
It's all part of the excitement building in the days leading up to the 47th annual March festival.
Caribou Carnival is worth getting excited about. It's a chance to shake off the long winter and mix and mingle with old friends and meet new.
So grab your family, get to Frame Lake and have some fun.
And if you happen to come across a hard-working carnival volunteer, shake their hand and say thanks.
It's good that this winter has been so snowy, because the snowmaking machine snowboarders bought thanks to a city grant can only sit and collect dust until next fall.
The Yellowknife Board Sport Association was awarded $4,250 to buy the machine, only to learn what they thought was a city promise to drill a well at Bristol Pit was only a promise to see if it could be done.
Turns out the cost to drill the well is too high and now the association may have to raise more money to pay for connecting to water from the nearby cemetery.
It's almost too funny. The association has chalked the matter up to experience, and we hope the city has, too.
It's the city's responsibility to ensure that money is well used. That means ensuring equipment purchased with city funds can actually put to use sooner, rather than later.
Editorial Comment
Malcolm Gorrill
Inuvik Drum
More than 30 years ago, Father Mouchet had a dream. He envisioned people in this area competing with the best in the country, and even the world.
As a result of his vision, and hard work by himself and many others, the Territorial Experimental Ski Training (TEST) program was born in 1967.
TEST skiers competed nationally and internationally. Just two of the many success stories would be twins Shirley Larsson-Firth and Sharon Firth, who became the first Canadians to compete in four Olympic games.
Though the program ended in 1975, the trails it blazed remain.
Last week the TEST Ski Symposium was held in Inuvik. The event allowed for a reunion of many TEST skiers, along with testimonials about how much those skiers -- along with the community which rallied behind them -- accomplished in such a short period of time.
But the symposium was more than a reunion. It was a chance to examine TEST's legacy, and the current state of skiing within the NWT.
There was much talk of creating a new program like TEST, for skiing and perhaps other sports as well.
The role of sports and recreation in helping create healthy bodies and communities was discussed, as well as the desired role communities and governments should play in promoting sport and leisure.
Though no one final answer was drafted by delegates about what should be done next, one telling remark made during the closing banquet was that it is time to do something.
It was a fitting reminder that though TEST wrapped up in 1975, its trails are still leading the way.
Blooming plans
Before long people will be able to drop by and buy some fruit and vegetables, or plants, at the Inuvik Community Greenhouse.
People will also have the chance to tend to their plots on the main floor, or even if they aren't members, they can still mingle among the plots, admiring nature's handiwork, and chatting with neighbours.
Such prospects can seem to make winter fade away just a little faster.
Many thanks
The many volunteers involved in the 1st Inuvik Scouts group were thanked recently during a banquet at Ingamo Hall.
Leaders, committee members, and others who help out are what allows that group, and others like it, to function.
Incidently, a big thank you is extended on behalf of myself for the certificate of appreciation I took home for Drum coverage the Scouts have received. The plaque was a pleasant surprise (the food was nice, too).
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson
There are those who argue that students in Northern schools receive an inferior education to those in the south.
That debate has raged for quite some time and won't likely abate in the near future.
What can't be argued is that many Northern students get their fair share of incredible travel opportunities. Last week, seven potential graduates from Thomas Simpson School drove to Edmonton and then boarded a plane to Los Angeles -- and that wasn't even their final destination. They spent a few days aboard a cruise liner, living the high life. They also visited charming Catalina Island.
Good for them. They worked their butts off, shovelling piles and piles of snow on some very cold days to get there. There were a number of other fund raisers held as well. They didn't simply stick their hands out looking for donations, unwilling to break a sweat.
As an aside, grad class member Gabe Byatt pointed out that Catalina Island was once a bird and animal sanctuary. A western movie was once shot there, and numerous buffalo were imported for a number of scenes. Afterwards, instead of removing the beasts, they were released, Byatt said.
So you can go to Fort Liard and see bison and you can go to Fort Providence and see bison. You can also hop on a plane, fly to the west coast, take a boat to a tropical island in the Pacific Ocean and still see buffalo... if only there were palm trees in Fort Providence and Fort Liard (well Liard is the "tropics of the NWT." We'll take it).
Days get longer
The earlier sunrise sure is a welcome sight these days, and it's setting later every evening too. We have surpassed 12 hours of natural light, so we can spend most of the day seeing what we're doing without having to flick on the light switch.
This weekend marks the beginning of daylight saving time. That means our clocks go ahead one hour on Saturday night. It's sure nice to have the extra light later in the evening, but it's a shame to lose an hour of our weekend, isn't it?
It won't be long before we're tending to gardens, cutting the grass and swatting mosquitoes. But don't count old man winter out yet. April snowstorms aren't uncommon in the Deh Cho. Keep the shovel handy.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Baker Lake MLA Glenn McLean is only slightly off the mark with his assertion the Nunavut Government doesn't want to recognize traditional economies.
It's really not so much the NG doesn't want to recognize the traditional aspect of the economy, as it is a case of nearsightedness on the government's part.
The problems faced by the tourism industry in attracting visitors to our region due to a lack of funding is another example of the government refusing to spend money now for future gain.
The money spent on arguing the ill-fated Nunavut time zone alone would have supplied Baker with workable quarries for the next two decades.
If there's one thing the Nunavut Government has proven itself good at, it's forming committees to analyze just about every decision it makes.
No matter how routine an issue, a committee needs to be formed to steer the government in the right direction.
And, we're willing to bet members are paid a tidy little honorarium for sitting on these committees, not to mention travel allowances every time they decide to seek the opinion of average Nunavummiut by visiting their communities.
Maybe, instead of so many travelling road shows, it's time for our government to spend more of its resources on promotion, feasibility studies, research and market development and lobbying groups to better promote all Nunavut has to offer.
The world is not going to come to us if we do not reach out and let it know we are here and, to borrow a line from our capital, open for business.
Elder a class act
The entire Kivalliq Region should take pride in Rankin elder Mariano Aupilardjuk's winning of an Aboriginal Achievement award.
Aupilardjuk is, simply put, a class act.
The elder works tirelessly to promote Inuit culture and, with his knowledge, grace and soft-spoken mannerisms, paints an endearing picture of Nunavut for the rest of the country and beyond to admire.
A former editor of Kivalliq News, Jeff Colbourne, wrote an editorial about the affect meeting Aupilardjuk had on his perception of Inuit culture in the April 30, 1997, edition of the Kivalliq News.
In that piece, Colbourne wrote, "I've never seen anyone so passionate and creative about their culture.
"Aupilardjuk is the epitome of Inuit culture. Everyone can learn something from him, just as I did."
Hopefully, the torch of Aupilardjuk's passion, wisdom and creativity will be passed on to many generations.