Friday, January 21, 2005
Normally calm and very supportive, the Parent Advisory Committee at Sissons is very upset at what can be described as the school board's latest exercise in closed-door politics. Sissons' parents have done their best to make clear that their anxiety has more to do with the surprise factor than trying a new approach to French immersion.
It seems the board got a surprise, too, when news of what they were planning was made public. After months of discussion, surveys and special committee meetings, board members were confident they had done all their homework.
The problem is, all of the people they were talking to and getting advice from have a personal stake in French education. Those with an equal stake in English education were kept out of the discussions. Even the Sissons English-teaching staff was shut out.
Sissons has 164 English students and only 77 French immersion.
By now the board should have a very good idea how the issue of French immersion in the district must be handled. The freight train barrelling down the tracks delivering a decision to make Sissons all French immersion must be stopped.
There are three issues to be resolved: The first is whether French immersion works best starting in Kindergarten or Grade 4. The second is whether mixing English and French students in the same school hinders French immersion students.
If the consensus is that an all French immersion school is best, which is likely the case, the third issue to be resolved is how best to accomplish redistribution within the present public system.
This will have to be done with the realization there are twice as many English students as French immersion students at Sissons. This disruption should not be taken lightly.
It is common knowledge the federal government is very generous with money for French education and the board no doubt has factored that in.
But this type of undemocratic and secretive action frightens parents and makes them question the stability and direction of the public school board. They may well vote with their feet and look for alternatives to their children's education in the city.
Aside from the potential harm to the district's enrolment, French immersion is too important for a quality education to be harmed by bad politics.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
While all Nunavummiut should take great pride in their willingness to share with those in need, the Kivalliq region was a model of compassion and community spirit this past holiday season.
Holiday food banks and Christmas hamper drives were the norm across the region, from Repulse Bay to Arviat and every point in-between.
The word community means much more than a group of houses, stores and office buildings standing together in one area on the land.
The true definition of a community includes pride, spirit, security, tolerance, understanding, generosity, compassion, co-operation and caring.
And the good folks of the Kivalliq region showed this past month that all seven of the region's hamlets are communities in the truest sense of the word.
Yes, we have our share of differences from time to time, but, when the chips are down, the vast majority of us who call the Kivalliq home never fail to answer the bell when our neighbours are in need of a little help along the way.
People from all walks of life open their hearts and give what they can in the Kivalliq, and they do it without a moment's hesitation.
It is heartwarming to see the results of such generosity.
To hear of an RCMP officer being met with tears of joy as he or she drops off a food hamper to a large family during the holiday season, or to see the glowing faces of children as they unwrap Christmas presents they otherwise may not have received, leaves a lasting impression on one's heart and mind.
Global community
The spirit of compassion that so marks the people of the Kivalliq is not confined to within the region's borders.
In this modern age, the world truly is becoming a global community and, thanks to the wonders of technology, we know of our neighbours' struggles almost as soon as they happen.
When the tsunami disaster struck in Asia this past month, the people of our region responded quickly to the heart-wrenching images flashing across our TV sets.
Donation jars were quickly placed, and filled, in high-traffic areas in every community.
Benefit concerts were organized, baked goodies were sold, and Kivallimmiut opened their hearts and wallets to hundreds of thousands of people a half a world away.
The generosity of our region is not confined to disaster, or special occasions once or twice a year.
We are almost always among the most charitable people of our nation, despite lacking the personal wealth many in the south enjoy.
And although Kivallimmiut give without asking for recognition, they are to be commended for their understanding of what it means to be a true community - in every sense of the word!:
Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
Last year I wrote an article about Dan Sydney's remarkable foil ball, constructed over a 30-year span using nothing but cigarette box tinfoil.
Recent events saw the town wavering over whether to include recycling in its landfill contract via the request for proposal for a beverage container depot, which brought to mind Sydney's tinfoil ball exploits, once again.
You see, when Sydney went to work on his ball of foil, oh so many moons ago, he must have been pleased with his progress. Starting with one foil piece and adding a second, Sydney instantly doubled the mass of his ball.
However, with each additional piece he added, our hero was increasing the size of his sphere by a fraction equal to however many pieces preceded the latest.
Comparing that to the amount of, let's say, tin cans adding up in the town's landfill for the last 30 years, there is a belief, similar to Sydney's foil ball progress, that one more can isn't really going to make a difference.
Which leaves us with Albert Bernhardt of AB Salvage and his wife Barb Armstrong, tireless champions of recycling in a region that needs one desperately, perhaps more than anywhere else in Canada.
When the GNWT introduced its Waste Reduction and Recovery Act in October of 2003, it solicited expert opinion on the matter from around the territory.
Now the territory is tackling this mandate by putting out requests for proposals (RFPs) for beverage container depots, part of a larger recycling initiative planned for the NWT.
Whatever one's feelings about free enterprise and the privatization of the delivery of services in the territory through RFPs and tenders, with AB Salvage's nearly four years of experience garnered by establishing its own depot for recyclables, why didn't the GNWT get AB Salvage on board straight away?
Instead, it issued an RFP for a beverage depot in Inuvik - submissions to be reviewed by Resources Wildlife and Economic Development (RWED) - and essentially sparked a mountain of what now appears to be a pile of unnecessary work. The RFP set into motion an Armstrong appeal to town council to answer the RFP by way of including the depot with its current landfill contract.
Council then referred her request to its public works committee, which advised council to hire a consultant to explore the options, which it did.
However, when it was all said and done, council back-pedalled, citing its unwillingness to compete with private enterprise as well as the unknown cost factor of building a depot, which is not included in the RFP.
Meanwhile, potential recyclables are piling up in the landfill and those who have fought for recycling in this community with actions, not just words, are seemingly being shut out of the process.
To date, Armstrong has put her own proposal together but if it's accepted then we're back to town council. Why? Because her proposal includes building a depot at the landfill, which is town land.
Will this saga ever end? Who knows. What all of us do know is that the cans, bottles, plastic containers, cardboard and countless other recyclables will continue to pile up at our beautiful landfill.
Fortunately for Inuvik residents, there's somebody already there, sorting out the trash.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh cho Drum
Dim the lights, put on the soft music and let's take a trip down memory lane.
It's 2001, and that's Tom Wilson sitting in the Fort Simpson mayor's chair. He and his council are certain they're getting a raw deal through the Department of Municipal and Community Affair's (MACA) financing formula.
Mayor and council have a MACA senior financial advisor appear before them in council chambers. The bureaucrat explains how reverting to hamlet status would not stop the community's financial woes. The loss in tax revenue will be greater than the gains in formula funding as a hamlet. As well, MACA will assume decision-making power over capital projects priced at $100,000 or more.
The hamlet deal looks great for homeowners and businesses because they'll save a bundle in property taxes. The problem is, there's only about 120 of them in the community of 1,250 people.
Back to the downside, as a hamlet, Fort Simpson will no longer be in position to gain from a future population boom and increasing tax revenues.
But, many residents say, that senior financial advisor works for MACA, so he's biased. He's giving us skewed information.
The allegation lingers.
Raymond Michaud and a new council are elected. They too are feeling the pinch of what they deem to be an unfair formula funding policy.
After meeting the minister of MACA, council convinces the department to pay for an independent village versus hamlet analysis. It's a move that should put a end to persisting doubts.
North of 60's Andrew Gaule, a Fort Simpson resident, drafts an in-depth, 45-page report that reiterates several of the points that MACA's senior financial advisor made three and a half years ago. There are some keen new insights and a major new wrinkle: The GNWT's New Deal for Community Governments.
It could throw a major wrench into things. Gaule suggests waiting for the full picture before making a hasty decision on village versus hamlet status.
In addition, there's uncertainty over whether MACA's existing legislation would even allow the village to slide back to a hamlet. It could take at least a couple of years before such a move is approved, if ever.
Then there's Dehcho First Nations self-government. It's going to have a major impact on municipal governance, too. Unfortunately, nobody knows exactly how all that is going to work yet.
One thing is for sure, it seems, the formula financing deal stinks for Fort Simpson. That's a finding that seems to surface again and again.
Village council has passed a 2005 budget with a $831,954 deficit attached. It's a giant neon sign that exclaims, "We're broke!"
In a few weeks, the mayor and senior administrative officer will sit down with MACA officials and once again bring their attention to the funding formula. If they can prove to MACA that the village isn't throwing money away, then MACA should finally relent and give the village the "new deal" it has been waiting for.