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That's a sobering statistic on the eve of National Addictions Awareness week, and as more communities around the North examine increasing availability of liquor. Fort McPherson is the latest place where rampant bootlegging has pushed leaders to the breaking point.
The question that has to be asked is simple: will making it easier to get booze curb our bad drinking habits or put bootleggers out of business?
According to the Ministry of Health, four times more people than the national average abuse alcohol.
In August alone, we consumed 348,000 litres of spirits, wine, beer, coolers and ciders. That's 8.5 litres for every man woman and child in the NWT.
When the coroner issues his report on deaths during 2000, it will show very clearly the devastation booze causes. Of 18 accidental deaths last year, eight involved alcohol. In 1999, it was 13 of 22 deaths, and 11 of 31 in 1998.
That rate is "substantially higher" than the national average, according to NWT Coroner Percy Kinney.
While restricted access to alcohol can be traced back to our binging habits, simply making booze more available will not solve our problems.
Bootleggers will still seek profit from less fortunate members of our community. Children will continue to suffer from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. People will are addicted will still suffer.
Change will only come from a healthier attitude toward alcohol. That means educating our young people to drink responsibly. Police need the tools to crack down on bootlegging: more cops on patrol and stiffer sentences for offenders.
And it means continuing to build a territory where the future promises education, jobs and more than a subsistence lifestyle.
John Bourne, a school principal in Rae Lakes, has done his homework. He knows that if the territorial government continues to ignore housing problems facing teachers, we will continue to lose educators.
"If the government was trying to recruit and retain (teachers), by not addressing the housing issue they shot themselves in the foot," said Bourne, after a new contract was drafted between the GNWT and NWT Teachers' Association. That contract was approved Nov. 7.
Teachers' association president David Murphy said they will continue to fight to improve living conditions for teachers. But the association also needs a much tougher strategy.
The government pulled out of providing teachers with housing a decade ago, and school boards are only required to provide accommodations to a maximum of three weeks.
All the pay hikes in the world won't help a teacher who can't find a roof to put over their head. But that is the reality in some communities, particularly in the Beaufort Delta.
Holman lost seven out of nine teachers last May. Paulatuuq and Sachs Harbour also lost teachers. Lack of housing was the main reason.
In June 2000, all five teachers at the school in Lutsel K'e left. The same thing happened at the end of the school year in 1999. Housing was one of the key reasons for their departure. However, Paulatuuq learned a lesson from which we could all benefit. The community was afraid they could not get teachers so the mayor made sure the premier and MLAs heard the message. Supplies were to be barged last summer to build two housing units for teachers.
That will provide comfort to the community and especially the kids. It is after all the kids who pay the highest price when teachers leave.
The prospect of an Inuk on Mars might seem like science fiction, but it's not too early to consider a role for Inuit in the exploration of the red planet.
Many experts believe humans will be walking on Mars within 30 years. The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the private-sector Mars Society are laying the groundwork, so to speak, for such an expedition. And they're doing it right here in Nunavut.
They're here, testing techniques and equipment, because some of the territory bears a striking resemblance to the surface of Mars. It also happens that part of their experimental terrain on Devon Island is Inuit land.
While the multi-year project is on winter hiatus -- even prospective astronauts would rather not work in the depth of a High Arctic winter -- project leaders are trying to work out a land-use agreement with the community of Grise Fiord.
There are things that NASA and the Mars Society can do in return for access to the land. Hiring more Grise Fiord and Resolute help would be a good start.
But the truth is their project by its very nature is designed to have as little impact and leave as few traces as humanly possible. The scientists on Devon Island are not miners, with only profit on their mind.
Perhaps the Inuit negotiators could consider the Mars project an opportunity to contribute something to the international space exploration effort. We don't have the money or the technology of a spacefaring nation. But we do have the land.
One day, in return, we could see an inukshuk assembled on the surface of an alien planet. It's an intriguing vision, one that may even inspire Nunavummiut to seek out a career in space exploration themselves.
It's easy to understand why the Inuktitut language hasn't received the attention and resources it deserves over the past couple of years. Building a territorial government and implementing the country's biggest land claim involves an almost endless list of tasks, and arguing over spelling and terminology probably aren't at the top of too many Nunavummiut's lists.
But now that much of the groundwork for Nunavut has been laid, it's time to start dealing with the details. And few are as challenging as modernizing Inuktitut.
Until now, the territory's translators have been meeting every few years to discuss how to incorporate new words from foreign languages and scientific and technical fields. They know better than anyone how important it is for Inuktitut to grow into a modern language, one that can handle the fast-paced world of research and development, without sacrificing the essence of Inuit culture.
A recent conference in Iqaluit was an excellent example of what it will take. But they need more opportunities to share their experiences as they search for just the right words to express subjects and inventions that didn't exist five years ago, let alone five hundred.
Sometimes it makes more sense to simply embrace an English word, modifying it only to accommodate the different sounds of Inukitut. Other times, phrases that draw on Inuit cultural experience will be required.
Complicating matters are the differences between the regions of Nunavut. Other languages face the same challenges. But Inuktitut doesn't have the luxury of waiting for common standards to evolve -- there just aren't enough speakers and enough publications around.
The Nunavut government must take a leadership role, and support regular and frequent opportunities for educators, translators and other experts to get together and plot the future of Inukitut.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
We encourage everyone around the Kivalliq Region to attend their community's Remembrance Day service this Sunday, Nov. 11.
The ongoing problems in the Middle East since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States illustrate just how fragile peace in our time can be.
Each and every day of a peaceful existence is a wonderful gift to be deeply treasured. We do not enjoy that gift accidentally, nor does it come without a price. Thousands upon thousands of our fellow Canadians made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may enjoy our relatively peaceful existence.
Looking at the chaos around the world today should give us even more reason to stop and reflect upon just how lucky we really are.
Our veterans from the last great war are aging. It won't be all that much longer before none remain to remind us of the horrors of war. That makes honouring our veterans on Remembrance Day even more important.
Take a moment this week to look at the little poppy on your collar and reflect upon its meaning. Silently give thanks to the men and women who died on the battlefield so that we may live in peace. Quietly pray that none of our children ever have to witness the same horrors to preserve our way of life.
But, most of all, vow never to forget. Never forget how valuable our way of life truly is. Never forget the price paid by so many to keep our nation great and our society free.
Vow to never forget how many people around our planet have never known the true taste of freedom.
Never forget the atrocities that can be committed against our fellow man when freedom fails and oppressors rule.
Hopefully, as a people and a nation, if we never forget our past mistakes we will never have to repeat them. As we gather together this weekend to remember, our greatest allies in avoiding the horror of war in the future is our fear. Our fear that ... Lest we forget.
Editorial Comment
Malcolm Gorrill
Inuvik Drum
Gift certificates and a well deserved pat on the back were handed out recently.
About 100 people turned out for the Town of Inuvik Volunteer Recognition Event at the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex.
The event was particularly appropriate since it occurred in the midst of the first Live to Give Volunteer Symposium. Delegates from as far afield as Colville Lake to Sachs Harbour took in the event, and got tips on things such as team building and planning.
This is also the International Year of the Volunteer.
Though doubtless most volunteers would say taking part in an event or an organization, and making a difference, is reward enough, it's nice for them to get some kind of official acknowledgement.
Volunteers play a crucial role within most communities, and that certainly holds true in Inuvik. They help put on meetings and events at the rec complex and Ingamo Hall and other places, and help run many organizations, including the local army cadets and girl guides.
It's nice for them to hear that their absence would be felt.
Sharing the experience
Speaking of showing appreciation, a dinner was held at the legion on Sunday evening so that the 1st Inuvik Scouts Group could thank all those who helped 16 members attend the 10th Canadian Scout Jamboree this past summer in Prince Edward Island.
A definite highlight was a slide show of photos taken during the event, many of which were snapped by the scouts. Images ranged from people sliding along ropes into the ocean, to people sightseeing, and of course, worn out scouts snoozing away.
Commentary on various aspects of the trip was provided too, adding further proof that such brief events can leave lasting memories.
Counting down to the games
It won't be long now before athletes from all over the North compete at the 2002 Arctic Winter Games.
Over the next few months regional trials will take place, including many in the Delta, as young people seek the chance to take part in a truly special event.
Hopefully the athletes will bear in mind that while winning is nice, what's really important is trying their best, and representing their community well, whether at regionals or the AWG.
It's worth noting too that the trials and Arctic Winter Games are definitely very volunteer dependent.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson
The hue and cry for a nurse in Wrigley should evoke sympathy.
It would be most reassuring for residents to know that a trained medical professional in the community could address medical concerns within minutes. Instead, symptoms are usually relayed over the phone to Fort Simpson, more than 200 kilometres away. If urgent, a medevac flight is arranged.
The same situation exists in Jean Marie River, Nahanni Butte, Kakisa and Trout Lake. None of those communities have a single nurse.
As much as we may sympathize with these communities, the reality of the situation is that recruiting nurses has proven a real chore in the North; not only the North, but across the entire continent over the past few years. The Deh Cho has been fortunate, for the most part, with only a few of its positions vacant at times.
Unfortunately, in the battle to attract nurses, resource-rich Alberta has been offering a very handsome package and has a distinct advantage. Other nurses have gone south to the U.S. where extremely generous salaries and benefits are provided.
Although Deh Cho Health and Social Services (DCHSS) achieved a surplus in its last fiscal year, it is not able to apply any of that unused funding towards additional incentives to attract nurses to this region. Doing so would violate the Union on Northern Workers' collective agreement, DCHSS chief executive officer Kathy Tsetso said.
This nursing shortage is a problem that stands to get much worse, according to an American news feature. It stated that aging "Baby Boomers" are supposed to require peak nursing care by 2010. That coupled with the fact that enrolment in nursing programs has dropped substantially in the U.S. over the past five years is the formula for a medical crisis.
Yet there seems to be a glimmer of hope in a nurse practitioner program offered through Aurora College in Yellowknife. It's not a panacea, but it would surely ease the minds of people in communities who have no medical personnel to turn to at the moment.
Deh Cho Dr. Shane Barclay is an advocate of the nurse practitioner program. The program has nine students enrolled, as it is in its infancy in the NWT. However, the example in Newfoundland is one the NWT could certainly follow. There, nurse practitioners can order blood tests and X-rays as well as prescribe certain drugs. Just as important, they also provide reassurance.
Having someone with some medical knowledge and training in our smaller communities would be an important first step in countering our nursing crisis.