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Last week, a Senate committee on illegal drugs recommended that marijuana should be legalized and anyone convicted of possession be granted amnesty.
NWT Senator Nick Sibbeston, however, refused to support the findings, stating: "I'm concerned about what drugs would do to young people."
He has good reason to be concerned. The committee recommends the age marijuana can be legally purchased be 16. The same age most teens are thinking about getting their driver's licence, but two years away from being allowed to legally purchase cigarettes, and three years from being allowed to purchase alcohol.
The committee concluded that cannabis is not a "gateway" to more harmful drugs, such as heroin or cocaine, but provided no information on the links between marijuana consumption and cigarettes, or alcohol.
The information on the subject in the NWT is also poor. Yet, a GNWT drug survey from 1996, found marijuana consumption in the NWT at 19.8 per cent -- more than twice the national average.
Cigarette smoking among youths 15-24 years of age was also twice the national average at 64 per cent. Eighty-seven per cent of youths drink alcohol.
The Senate committee report says legalizing marijuana will "probably lead to an increase in cannabis use for a certain period," but would likely level off as interest wanes. Yet, the report also found that Canadian youths ages 12-17 are the largest user group at 250,000 smoking marijuana daily.
Looking at all the above numbers we have to ask why draw the line at 16? What purpose would that serve, particularly in the North where so many youths already have substance abuse problems.
With more than two-thirds of Canadians supporting decriminalization, it appears inevitable that Ottawa will rewrite its drug laws. Some day one may even be able to purchase marijuana at the local grocery store.
But most would agree sanctioning minors to smoke it borders on the ridiculous. Perhaps, within our "chamber of second sober thought," the senate committee was too blinded blowing smoke in each others eyes to see the writing on the wall.
It's tough to kick the smoking habit.
Studies show nicotine addiction to be nearly as powerful as being hooked on heroin, so it's no wonder it takes smokers many attempts before they can quit for good.
There are patches and gum, and even hypnosis, to help smokers pack it in, but while becoming healthier and adding years to one's life should be incentive enough to quit, nothing works quite as well as a reward.
That's where Public Health hit the nail on the head. Its Quit to Win contest, is tempting daily smokers with a chance to win a trip should they stay smoke-free for the rest of the year.
Here in the NWT nearly half of adults are regular smokers. Three-quarters of teens 15-17 are in the habit. Even worse, one in four youths age 10 to 14 smoke.
While the contest won't put a huge dent in the number of smokers up here, anything that can be done to get them thinking about quitting is a good start.
And any program that can help reduce the health-care costs gets thumbs-up from us.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Rankin Inlet hamlet council voted down a proposal earlier this month to join a tax-base study being conducted for Cambridge Bay by the Department of Community Government and Transportation. Council's reasoning in the matter was more than a little weak, fearful if it lets CG&T "get a foot in the door," moving to a tax-based structure would be forced upon them.
That notion is a little far-fetched (some would say paranoid), but that's not what troubles us the most.
For the past year, Rankin council has impressed us with its move towards a more proactive approach in dealing with hamlet matters. Recently, however, the spectre of ways past has been rearing its head.
The council was caught with its head down when it came to preparations necessary for the long-promised installation of artificial ice. Failure to do its homework on the project translated into another year's wait for the community. With its decision not to take part in the tax study, council is repeating that mistake.
We agree that Rankin is not ready to move to a tax-based economy. However, the move is inevitable. Taking part in the study would have provided council with the information necessary to start preparing for the transition.
When it comes to moving towards a township and instilling a tax-based economy, council finds itself caught in a Catch 22 situation. On one hand, it wants the increased independence in managing its own affairs a township provides. It also opens the doors to funding initiatives the community is not privy to while retaining hamlet status.
On the other hand, council is worried about fallout being sparked by property taxes being imposed and an increase in municipal service fees.
At this particular juncture, the other hand wins. However, council should have seized the opportunity to learn all it can about a tax-based structure. It was, in fact, painfully obvious at the last council meeting that a number of councillors had very little understanding of the move, outside of the fact homeowners would be shelling out a pretty penny in taxes.
And, while definitely a hurdle to be overcome, it is but one brick in a much larger structure.
Council must lay aside its preconceived notions when it comes to matters of this magnitude. The quicker we have all the information regarding such a move, the quicker we can start analysing data and properly prepare for the day we are able to make the switch. In all probability, that day is not far off.
Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum
Seismic slump Seems the interest in oil and gas in the Delta has fallen off sharply this year, with major producers holding their cards close to their vests until they see what will happen with this pipeline.
They were ready to boom once before and were disappointed. No doubt that fiscal uncertainty is buzzing through the Calgary and Houston boardrooms again.
With so many other new prospects opening up, the big players are hedging their bets. Oil and gas on the east coast with Hibernia and Sable opening up, as well as new finds along the Rocky Mountain trench and in the Gulf of Mexico, are leading producers where the game is a sure bet.
Up here, they don't know what cards they're going to get dealt.
With pitch men and politicians dealing these wild cards and wild promises of 100 per cent ownership and billion dollar subsidies, the producers would just as soon place their bets where the game is played straight.
With slumping gas prices and shell-shocked stockholders every CEO is looking for a safe bet and with the winds of political pandering blowing south, I'm not sure they are ready to sit in on this Northern game.
Walking and talking
It was good to see the crowd of people walking the streets last Sunday to raise awareness of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
Far too long this was a dirty little secret that was hushed away at the detriment of the unborn.
Generations grew up not knowing the evils of drinking during pregnancy and events like this one get people talking about the issue.
Help on Husky
The residents of Husky Trailer Park have a few options open to them, but it looks like none of them are going to be cheap.
Moving the trailers is out of the question for some of the people with older homes and doling out money for a new lot won't come cheap either.
The town will crawl out from under the situation one way or the other, so it's up to the home owners to seek the best route out for themselves.
Buying the existing lots to pay for a new utilidor may appear to be a quick fix to the problem, but the area still needs a proper survey done.
Once surveyed, one trailer will have to be moved out completely and the rest nudged over to meet with code.
Moving a trailer a foot or a mile costs about the same, so the owners had might as well look to cutting their losses and move into the new trailer lots the town has for sale.
Seems like a hard sell, but the options are few and all expensive.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
It's bewildering to think that more than $32 million has been pumped into a mine within the Deh Cho region, but a mere pittance has accrued to local businesses and residents.
CanTung mine resumed production in January and had been making preparations for months prior to that. The most commonly used defence for the lack of Deh Cho benefits is two-fold:
- The road through the Yukon is the mine's lifeline.
- Little interest has been expressed to date by First Nations and businesses in the Deh Cho.
For the record, there hasn't been anyone vigorously refuting those arguments, not since the departure of Shane Parrish, former CEO of the Acho Dene Koe Group of Companies, anyway.
Another factor that makes CanTung a tough nut to crack is that it has been around since the '60s. Therefore it can cling to exceptions for existing third-party interests and can fall back on some of those infamous grandfather-type clauses -- although North American Tungsten currently has a heck of a battle on its hands against the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board, which won't renew its water licence under dated terms. It looks like that matter will be decided in court.
The Deh Cho First Nations' struggles to guarantee royalties and impact benefits agreements through the federal government -- equitable measures, all -- wouldn't apply at CanTung even if the details were worked out and ratified yesterday or last year.
Therefore, having a delegation meet face-to-face with the mine's top executive last week, although overdue, was a step in the right direction. The demands placed on Udo von Doehren, president of North American Tungsten, last Friday were neither great nor unreasonable.
The challenge was for CanTung to provide more jobs for local people and to pay to get them to and from the mine. Although von Doehren balked at picking up the full tab for the employees' return flights from Fort Simpson, he was willing to entertain a lesser cost if government or any other group would subsidize it.
To hold up its end of the bargain, the Deh Cho will now have to produce some committed employees. A three-week in, three-week out camp environment in such a remote, but scenic, location isn't appealing to every unemployed individual. Whatever the reason, there's obviously a hurdle to overcome when 10 of 11 CanTung employees from Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte walked away from their jobs.
In a region of 3,000 people, not all of them of working age, not all of them seeking employment, there are only so many workers to spread around as development projects become a reality. Opening the door to other NWT residents and Southerners who are willing to make their home in the Deh Cho is inevitable.
By starting now to figure out other ways the Deh Cho can benefit when the larger and richer MacTung deposits are tapped into, the better off we'll all be.