What could be a cornerstone of tourism potential has been left to isolated artists. They have the will to create but lack the ability to carry out the business of arts marketing."
The government asked the NWT Arts Strategy Advisory Panel to talk to artists and report back with ideas on how to give the artists and cultural groups a boost. That report was delivered in January. It took nine months for government to respond.
Their first step came in the spring. The NWT Arts Council budget was doubled to $280,000. (In 2002-2003, 70 applications sought $750,000 in funding.) The money went to 59 groups and individuals. Grants paid for traditional jigging lessons in Fort Smith, filming Fort Good Hope students on a traditional trail hike and work on Woman Warrior Cece Hodgson-McCauley's autobiography.
Despite the budget boost, much of the government's response is lacklustre. There are promises of policy reviews, meetings, studies, and revised job descriptions for staff at Yellowknife headquarters.
Where the arts panel asked for other sources of money -- from lottery funding for example -- the government offers support and promises to review its options, but no cash.
It seems artists must "work within existing resources."
The response is government-speak at its best, but what else could we expect? There is no extra money in territorial coffers to help artists become more than just a secondary industry.
If artists in the NWT really want to grow, they must not rely too heavily on government.
They must form co-operatives to pool resources, look to private partners to take their wares to southern buyers.
They must hone their artistic vision with a little bit of entrepreneurial spirit.
The government will continue on its way, with more studies, panels, meetings and reviews. But when roads need building, schools need replacing, tradespeople need educating and pipelines need building, the arts will never be able to compete.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
The joke (and we use the term lightly) going around Rankin Inlet and Baker Lake this past week is that government workers in those two hamlets better have their suitcases packed, just in case.
Rankin and Baker have a track record of finding themselves in the middle of decentralization controversy.
With the latest political black eye Premier Paul Okalik has received with the grand design of decentralization, government workers in the two Kivalliq hamlets are feeling a little uneasy these days.
The joke could turn sour in a hurry if the premier does, indeed, decide to play spin the community wheel once again.
Okalik wants to decentralize 23 jobs to Panniqtuuq.
They were supposed to come from wildlife and the evaluation-and-statistics division but the employees told the Nunavut government what it could do with its decentralization plan.
To date, the majority of the 15 wildlife personnel have refused to relocate and have handed in their resignations.
The number of stats employees to accept the transfer is zilch, zip, zero.
The premier is vowing behind closed doors he's not going to let this turn into another Petroleum Products Division fiasco.
We'll adopt a wait-and-see approach on that one.
Cost keeps climbing
The almost deafening roar the premier is hearing is the sound of the decentralization cost metre spiralling out of control.
The best spin the GN could put on this latest development was to hold the stats-and-evaluation positions up as an example of jobs people in Panniqtuuq could strive to someday obtain.
Good plan, for sometime in the next decade.
For now, the metre will kick into high gear as the GN scrambles to hire more staff from abroad, while finding the wherewithal to absorb the costs associated with the latest band of merry mutineers.
Build from within
What the GN sorely lacks in both its decentralization and 85 per cent Inuit staffing plan is a realistic time table and a vigorous commitment to training.
The government seems determined to find out the hard way that you can't make people leave their homes and families.
Even those they do entice will only be on a short-term basis, whether they openly admit it or not.
For now, the government should concentrate on staffing the positions it needs to run effectively.
From there, the focus can shift to training people in the smaller communities to one day assume these jobs.
And, while we're at it, let's lay to rest the argument that we have too many people who can't leave home to gain an education.
If we can't get people in any given community to leave home long enough to gain the education required to put high-paying jobs in their hamlet -- why would we think others would so willingly toss aside their lives to go live there?
Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum
A junk food ban at the schools might not stop the tide of obesity or diabetes that is plaguing the young people of the country, but it sure is a good start and a great way to get people thinking about what goes in their bodies.
Seeing the tide of youngsters flood into the healthy breakfast program at SAMs school really opened my eyes to something I always took for granted as a kid.
I came from a Beaver Cleaver house, where my mom had oatmeal in the pot and a stack of toasted homemade bread waiting for us on the table each morning, but that has become the exception rather than the norm now.
Many kids are rushed out the door or left to their own devices, which usually means a breakfast of Smarties and Coke. A bellyful of sugar and empty calories is likely the worst thing for children to try to learn on.
With 40 to 50 kids taking part in the breakfast program each day, it's obvious that it's certainly something that is needed. ICC and the Brighter Futures Program deserve a huge thanks for funding this.
I don't think it should be left to one group or one government though. This program is important enough to be cost-shared by any number of agencies.
With the way the world works, healthy meals could easily be part of a healthy education program anywhere.
Busy parents would love to be able to buy books of meal tickets to ensure that their kids were getting a good meal, rather than handing them ten bucks that will end up spent on fries and gravy.
Success of such a program is hard to measure, but watching grade point averages is a good start.
Slow wheels
Two years have slipped away since Keith Blair was killed and finally the trial is about to start.
Legal wrangling, fired and hired lawyers and court time stretched to the limit have prevented this trial from being anything but speedy and that is a travesty for the friends and family who are forced to live this nightmare all over again.
This court case won't bring back their friend and loved one though. Having to deal with this all again will break open those old wounds and cause undue pain to those who've already suffered more than anyone should.
Last beat on the Drum
As many of you have already heard, this will be my last edition of the Drum.
It has been a real and sincere pleasure to work for you folks over the past two years.
I first came to this town to fill in for the summer of 2000 and I liked it then, but I love it now.
So much has changed here in a short period of time and it's been amazing watching this transformation.
Even just the look of Inuvik has improved vastly, but on every other front, this town is poised for great change.
The political, cultural and economic landscape is evolving at a huge pace and it's a thrill to watch success come to a place that had so many lean years. That's part of the reason I've chosen to stick around.
This is easily one of the most exciting places in Canada to be for a journalist and I have to hang around to see how this story goes.
I leave you in the capable hands of Jason Unrau, who's been in the territory for a year and knows the ropes.
Best of luck Jason and thank you all for sharing your lives with me and the readers and, most of all, making me feel welcome here.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
Teens wandering the streets at night is an issue in Fort Liard and Fort Simpson.
There's an interesting contrast between the two communities, however.
Fort Liard doesn't have a recreation director. There hasn't been one in the community for several months even though the position has been advertised.
Fort Simpson does have a rec director and there are ample activities for adolescents. In addition, there are plans for a new outdoor soccer pitch and the Fort Simpson Parks and Playground Society is raising funds for a multi-purpose park. The latter would give teens a place to practice their skateboarding and BMX tricks.
In Fort Liard there is no longer a functioning youth centre. Some bad apples have repeatedly broken into the facility and it has been damaged extensively. That resulted in its closure, twice.
Fort Simpson has had a youth centre up and running for the past year, even though there have been occasional concerns over inappropriate behaviour, especially littering.
Despite the differences between the two communities, they are dealing with the same dilemma: How do you keep the kids off the streets? Fort Simpson goes through its spates of property crime. Village Council is now turning to enforcement of a curfew as a solution. Fort Liard tried a curfew in the past but it didn't work due to a lack of community support.
While some kids in Fort Liard have blown it by destroying their own youth centre, it's not every adolescent who's so pernicious.
Picking out the bad apples
There are people in Fort Liard who seem certain that it's a few youths who are responsible for the recent spate of break and enters and vandalism. In a community of fewer than 600 people, it shouldn't be too difficult to figure out who's behind the crime.
Residents, including teens, must take it upon themselves to report the culprits to the police. Whether the offenders are fined, jailed or brought before the justice circle, some sort of justice must be served. Ideally the guilty party should be forced to make reparations.
The culprits may come from broken homes -- perhaps there are extensive social issues within their families. Ideally that could be turned around, but it's not always possible, or it may take a long time. Although that's regrettable, these individuals still have to understand that their actions are unacceptable and won't be tolerated.
Without consequences, what will cause the wanton vandalism to cease? There must be a renewed effort to find outlets and activities for youths in Fort Liard. It's true, the Fort Simpson example shows that there will still be some aimless individuals even if options and alternatives exist. But you can't stop trying. You can't fail the kids who deserve something more than walking the streets.