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Poor planning was the only reason the surgery ward remained closed for over a year, starting in July 2000. The Stanton Regional Health Board proved that when it bowed to public pressure to reopen the ward in October 2000, after announcing the previous month that it was amalgamating surgery and pediatric wards as a cost-saving measure.
It took them about a year find staff to re-open. In the meantime, tensions rose as staff and patients said care was being compromised.
The board delivered its first balanced budget in two years last fall. That is about the only good thing to come out of this medical mess. Patient care and staff should never be compromised to save a buck.
Congratulations must go out to Dan Schofield and the Yellowknife No. 1 school board for getting its accumulated deficit down to $400,000.
While the biggest reason for this accomplishment may be the $183,400 shot in the arm and fuel rebates from the GNWT, the board's own cost-cutting measures -- charging maintenance fees to Ecole Allain St. Cyr and cutting back on photocopying costs -- are clearly paying off.
This is a vast improvement from last year's deficit of more than $840,000.
But before we get too excited we must remember what caused them to go into debt in the first place. Three years ago the board had a huge surplus. But after Sir John Franklin high school's renovations were completed -- thanks to $14 million in funding from the GNWT -- the board dug into its own pockets to add $1.4 million to provide extras it thought the school needed.
This not only ate up their entire surplus, but plunged them into a deficit.
Now, while the board is busy wrestling with ways to eliminate the rest of this year's deficit, it's also gearing up for its next big project -- much needed renovations to the 35-year-old Mildred Hall school.
This year the board will enter into negotiations with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to get the core funding for the renovations.
Let's hope the board does its homework this time around.
While Schofield has estimated the work to cost around $9 million, any outstanding costs incurred outside of the funding agreement must be absorbed by the board.
Let's hope it learned from its experience with the Sir John project, and negotiates exactly what it needs when it comes to funding.
Crisis management brings out either the best or the worst.
In the case of the housing crisis, city council's desire to deal with the housing crisis is good, but desperation can lead to mistakes.
One such proposal buried in the city's downtown revitalization is a $100,000 plan to offer a $1,000 tax credit for each residential unit. Then there's a suggestion the city should give Niven Lake land to developers -- at no charge. The assumption is the tax return would make up for the lost revenue. But who is going to pay the $2.27-million debt the city already carries on the property?
The robust rental market is enough incentive.
Better to have an open-door policy at city hall where developers feel welcome, not rejected. That means quick response on applications and a willingness by staff to help projects along.
We suspect this may already be happening.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
It's not as if we didn't try to get some information from the Nunavut government on what help may be available to parents in similar situations such as Leonie Aissaoui in Repulse Bay (Please see page 13 for story).
Far from it. We phoned the office of Nunavut's health minister on a number of occasions this past week, taking the time to explain the situation to secretaries and leaving messages with executive assistants.
Heck, we know Health Minister Ed Picco is a busy man. We even went out of our way to make it clear that the big guy himself didn't have to phone us with the information.
All we wanted was for any person within the department who knows what type of financial aid may be available to help those with special-needs transport equipment to give us a call.
So what do we deduce from the fact nobody from the Nunavut government called?
Well, we could come to the conclusion nobody in the department actually knows what policies are in effect to deal with that type of situation.
If that's the case, we agree that it is better for them to say nothing at all than to give the wrong answer, especially when dealing with such a delicate matter.
Or we could share the mother's viewpoint and conclude nobody outside the community gives a darn about a 12-year-old Repulse Bay boy confined to a wheelchair with muscular dystrophy.
Why should any of the poor, overworked folks at the Department of Health take the time to explain to the local media what options are available to the parents of handicapped kids in our region?
So what if this particular boy's mom is a teacher who has spent eight years in the community?
Getting good, qualified teachers to hang around the same community for more than a year or two is the Department of Education's problem, right?
And, what if this particular mom has also done so much for the cadet program on the Bay?
Bad communication or not, a physically challenged young boy waiting so long for repairs to be done to his wheelchair is simply not acceptable.
Neither is the length of time it often takes to get any information from a number of departments within the Nunavut bureaucracy.
We can only wish the best to the Repulse teacher and her son and try to assure them both that there are people outside of their community who care -- not only about Yohan, but all our region's physically and mentally challenged residents.
We only wish more of that caring would come from the top.
Editorial Comment
Malcolm Gorrill
Inuvik Drum
There's a couple of new developments on the music front in the Delta. Students are jamming on a weekly basis at Samuel Hearne Thursdays after school. No one who shows up is allowed to be a spectator, but those who take part have a great chance to play with fellow musicians and learn a few new tunes along the way.
As well, a co-founder of the Strings Across the Sky Foundation is coming to Inuvik and several other NWT communities soon. Andrea Hansen will not come empty handed, of course. She has plenty of donated fiddles to hand out to young people, and will provide introductory lessons as well.
It is to be hoped that children who receive some of those fiddles will continue practising after Hansen leaves and the hoopla caused by her visit dies down.
Music is in many ways the universal language, as listening to a song can make people laugh or cry or contemplative, even if they do not understand the words because they're in a foreign language.
Being able to play a tune, whether via a fiddle or guitar or some other instrument, is a valuable talent that can bring a lot of joy to a musician over the years -- even if they never cut an album or reach the top of the music charts.
'Joy rides' cause grief for many
The Town of Inuvik, acting on a request by the RCMP, is studying the idea of requiring owners to lock up their snowmobiles to deter would be thieves.
This comes in the wake of an increase in the number of snowmobiles stolen in the community. RCMP explain that many of the machines are found before long, and that many of the thefts apparently result from people deciding to add a little excitement to their lives.
Unfortunately, what these thieves do not seem to realize is that joy rides may be fun for them, but are anything but that for the owners. At the very least owners encounter inconvenience, not to mention a sense of violation, and probably repair bills and higher insurance costs.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson
In Fort Simpson last week, Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault emphatically stated on two occasions that he will not discuss Deh Cho negotiations in the media. Yet what he did say publicly was rather inflammatory. His contention that a Mackenzie Valley pipeline could proceed across Deh Cho territory with aboriginal consultation but without consent is something that the courts may have to ultimately decide. Hopefully self-government negotiations proceed smoothly enough so the matter doesn't have to be dragged into the courts.
Nault's assertion that the outcome of the Deh Cho Process would be "very similar" to other settled land claims in the NWT certainly isn't what the Deh Cho First Nations were hoping to hear. To date, their self-government negotiations have already broken ground. No other land claimant group has had an Interim Measures Agreement or worked towards an Interim Resource Development Agreement.
With the exception of Fort Liard, there is to be no land selection in the Deh Cho, a key component of other land claims settlements. Federal negotiators have acknowledged that.
So while the minister keeps talking tough, the Deh Cho keep making advances. It's headway that hasn't required the federal government to make unreasonable concessions or even threaten to shut down negotiations. As long as that continues, things should progress just fine.
Fortunately, Nault was not affected by Tuesday's extensive federal cabinet shuffle. A new minister always brings setbacks in scheduling. That definitely would have been the case if Nault were moved as he committed to meet with the Deh Cho in Ottawa by mid-February.
Uphill battle
Beaver Enterprises' decision to hire a drug and alcohol counsellor for its troubled employees is one step in the right direction. With the company owned by band members, it is up to them to decide how the situation should be handled in the long run. Stringent measures such as pre-employment testing would help eliminate the problem at work sites, but not necessarily in the community. It would also leave a significant number of people without a job.
Let's not forget, there are some top-notch, substance-free workers in Fort Liard. The question is how to deal with the ones who are not.
Mercury rising
Residents of Wrigley are being asked to pay 90.5 cents per litre for home heating fuel? Ouch!
It's probably safe to assume there's a lot of firewood being cut in the community in order to avoid such an outrageous expense.
With home heating fuel selling for less than half that price in Fort Simpson, 220 kilometres away, wouldn't there be a profitable way for a private agent to supply Wrigley with heating fuel at a lower price?
The story headlined "The return of Bob" in the Jan. 16 Yellowknifer contained an error. Ndilo Chief Peter Liske's choice for a new name for the western territory is Denendeh. Yellowknifer apologizes for any confusion or embarrassment the error may have caused.