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The people most interested in the fate of 237,000 tons of arsenic stored underground at Giant Mine are environmental activists eager to make a point and consulting firms eager to make money.
Public meetings are being held by DIAND next week to discuss the latest report on the best way to deal with the deadly chemical.
The arsenic is not an immediate threat to Yellowknifers; it's a long term problem for the federal government.
There is also lots of money at stake. The latest report offers solutions with a price range of $30 million to $1 billion.
The cheapest method is to let the mine flood and treat the contaminated water. Considered 'high risk' for the harmful release of arsenic in the long term, this would continue until there is either no more water or no more Earth.
The consultants were working within a 100-year timeframe.
The most expensive method is to package up all the arsenic dust and take it away.
The end point right now is 'assumed' to be Alberta, which means that hasn't been nailed down. That plan has a $1 billion pricetag and is 'high risk' in the short term to both public and workers handling the stuff.
The latest consultant's report recommends two approaches.
The first, coming in at $90 to $120 million, is the 'frozen block'.
Using technology, the ground around and under the mine would be frozen.
The mine would be slowly flooded. The arsenic bearing drums and chambers would be immersed. The whole mine would be frozen solid. Temperatures would be monitored and waste water treated.
The freezing technology would only have to be turned on every few decades, depending on Arctic warming.
The second approach comes in at $230 to $280 million with moderate risk to workers.
The arsenic would be collected and mixed with cement. It would then be put into a lined landfill on the surface and covered.
Water around the landfill would be monitored and treated as would water in the rest of the mine.
Both approaches seem reasonable and we can expect no expense has been spared on hiring the expertise. DIAND bureaucrats will be under the microscope throughout the public process.
The short notice given for next week's sessions leaves them open for criticism, as does their funding track record.
The public won't get too involved unless the federal commitments are broken.
That has happened before and could happen again.
When a dog roaming the land outside city limits gets caught in a trap, it's a shame.
When a dog inside the city gets caught in a trap, it should be a criminal offence.
In mid-December, a dog had one leg caught in a trapper's snare 10 kilometres outside Yellowknife. The wound was so bad the leg had to be amputated.
Unfortunately for Roxy and her owner, trapping remains a big part of the NWT's economy -- $477,365 worth of pelts sold in 2000-2001. It's something pet owners must realize when they let dogs run free outside the city.
On Dec. 18, this time in a wooded area behind Sir John Franklin school, a dog died after it was caught in a Conibear trap.
Yes, the dog should have been on leash, but whoever set the trap broke a city bylaw. This trap looked like a birdhouse and a curious child could just have easily stuck a hand in the hole.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
A famous NHL coach once said, "Predictions are for Gypsies."
Although Toe Blake's remark would be viewed as politically incorrect in our modern age, the warning contained in the statement still holds water today.
To stick one's neck out with a bold prediction concerning matters one has no control over, often does little more than leave egg on one's face and a swath cut out of their credibility.
However, there is something to be said for beating the odds.
After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
The Nunavut government has been letting rumours leak out to all who care to listen that Premier Paul Okalik will not be calling an election in 2003.
It's a good pitch, especially with all the built-in rhetoric of MLAs riding year-end spending to victory in April 2004.
A good pitch, but we're not buying.
I don't think we risk letting the cat out of the bag by saying Okalik is less than enamoured with the performance of a few of his cabinet ministers.
In fact, one or two have come dangerously close to ending up as ministers without portfolios during the past few months.
The problem Okalik faces is the thin talent pool he has to choose from in handing over any of the three portfolios he'd rather see in other hands.
At this point, lobbying MLAs behind closed doors to bring forward a non-confidence motion against any of the current ministers is not an option.
That leaves the premier with but one choice, call an election in 2003 and hope the voters see things his way.
The next few months should prove themselves more than a little interesting as potential candidates position themselves to throw their hats into the political ring -- and there will be some surprises.
It's looking more and more as though a number of current MLAs will re-offer in new ridings during Nunavut's second territorial election.
And, Okalik may not be the only one envisioning defeat for a number of current MLAs in the next election.
The capital rumour mill has one or two high-ranking personalities cutting their ties with current ministers in order to run in the next election themselves.
Call it an executive decision.
We'll go way out on a limb and get you to mark two months on your calendar.
In March, Okalik will inform members of the legislative assembly that he's going to call a 2003 election.
That election will be held around mid-October.
If not, the yolk's on us.
Editorial Comment
Tara Kearsey
Inuvik Drum
So the joke is on us.
Inuvik must have been on Mother Nature's "naughty list" this year. Throughout the year the town has been plagued with unseasonable and certainly unusual temperatures and weather patterns.
Environment Canada meteorologists are baffled. They say 2002, for us, was the 10th warmest and 19th wettest in 46 years. And they say 46 because that's how long the records go back.
So since the winter months were warm, that can only be blamed on global warming -- right?
Wrong. That theory doesn't pan out, because as Inuvik residents may recall, last summer was really cold!
So what's happening with Mother Nature? Your guess is as good as mine. Not even the experts can figure it out. All I do know is, it can't be good.
Welcome back, sunshine
Today, I have officially been in Inuvik for one week.
But I was in town for a brief stint exactly two years ago to start up the News/North office, so I'm no stranger to the darkness.
I was a little wary about moving here in January once again, but this time I was more prepared for what lay before me.
So now that the brilliant sun is finally poking its head above the horizon, I'm certainly jumping for joy.
It's extremely difficult for me to get out of bed in the morning, but I manage, as does everyone else in town.
If the winter blahs are starting to get on your last nerve, all you have to do is remember that as each day goes by we will see a little more of the sun.
Before you know it, it will be summer time again. I just hope this one is better than the last.
Money for pipeline
So Fred Carmichael is "90 per cent positive or better" that the Aboriginal Pipeline Group will secure funding for the Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline by the month's end.
He was in top-secret meetings in Calgary all this week, and probably last week too, trying to persuade an unknown number of unidentified individuals or companies to fork over a good portion of the required $1 billion.
Speaking with him via telephone at the Regency Hotel in Calgary, Carmichael sounded quite optimistic and excited about the negotiations.
We can only hope that this time, we will strike gold (so to speak). From what I can remember, the Inuvik economy is not booming like it was two years ago.
It's time for the people of the Mackenzie-Delta, and all of the Northwest Territories, to get what we all deserve -- prosperity.
Let's keep our fingers crossed. Good luck Fred!
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
Should Fort Simpson revert to hamlet status?
That question brings to mind the old adage, "The grass is always greener on the other side."
Village council debated the village-versus-hamlet issue once again at Monday evening's meeting. If we turn the clock back to late May 2001, council heard a presentation by a senior financial advisor for Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) on that very topic. Here's the gist of the arguments against hamlet status:
- Even though the village's funding has been cut, a hamlet would receive even less funding annually.
- Hamlet council would possess less authority as all capital projects in excess of $100,000 would have to be approved by MACA.
- A hamlet would not be permitted to borrow money.
- Hamlet council would still be responsible for outstanding debts, sewage treatment, water delivery and recreation.
On the plus side, MACA would become responsible for reserves (for outdated equipment such as an ambulance). As well, property taxes, which accrue to the GNWT from hamlets, would drop for the 120 taxpayers in this community of 1,200 people.
Also keep in mind that Fort Simpson will grow some day (nobody's going to put money on when that day will come, but surely it will). If the community does boom as a hamlet, the territorial government will realize the extra tax revenues from the influx of people.
Coun. Duncan Canvin suggested that new service trucks and swimming pools "seem to fall out of the sky" for hamlets. That point seems valid when one looks at Fort Liard. They have an impressive new hamlet office, some new service trucks and a new swimming pool. At the other end of the spectrum, the hamlet of Fort Providence couldn't even open its aging swimming pool last summer because it was condemned. Which of these realities would confront Fort Simpson?
Let's face it, when it comes to municipalities, Fort Simpson has long been the oddball. It's a tax-based municipality with the skimpiest of tax bases. Even with its high mill rate, the municipality can't scrape together all the funds it needs. So it's no surprise that the community has always had to lean on the territorial government for a little extra. Granted, all the money wasted on fighting the village's legal battles hasn't helped matters.
The slashing of village funding hasn't yet been as drastic as the territorial government braced us for. The municipality will get $1,413,000 in funding for 2003/04 as opposed to the $795,000 forecasted two-and-a-half years ago (let's give mayor and council and MLA Jim Antoine credit for asserting some influence here). Some extras are still coming, too, such as $110,000 from the Minister of Youth for youth centre training.
It's good to know the option to become a hamlet is always there. It is a wild card, a scare tactic to keep the territorial government wondering whether Fort Simpson would actually go that far. We're not alone. Nearly every municipality in the country is being asked to make do with less money.
Of course Fort Simpson should keep being the squeaky wheel and pushing for everything it can get. The territorial government also cries poor, but it continues to help out in many ways. As a hamlet, those perks may come off the table. Do we really want to take that chance?
A Yellowknifer editorial (City no place for trapline, Jan. 8, 2003) suggested dogs must be on leash when being walked by their owner within city limits.
According to the city bylaw, a dog must simply be in its owner's control, including responding to voice command.