Monday, January 2, 2006
The announcement came after years of hamhanded handling of the pipeline issue by the federal bureaucracy and broke a log jam of expectations that threatened to kill the $7 billion project.
We say hamhanded because as ground was being broken on pipeline negotiations, it was revealed the wife of a federal bureaucrat had bought mineral leases on Deh Cho lands when her husband was in charge of determining exactly what wealth lay under those lands. As if the bramble bush of Deh Cho land negotiations needed a beehive in the middle of it.
Then there was the squabble over who sits on the board responsible for the environmental regulations and the appointment of a board chairman that ignored everyone's wishes but those of the sitting member of the federal government.
These are just a few examples but they characterize the political animosity built up in the Deh Cho over decades of federal inaction followed by huge federal pressure to get a land deal once pipeline money was on the table.
Meanwhile, the Inuvialuit of the Beaufort Delta, already deep into corporate economics and poised to take financial control of their political and social future with their oil and gas reserves, are forced to sit on their hands as the mountains of pipeline paperwork pile up and community consultations lurch along.
Inuvialuit frustration is compounded by the fact billions of dollars of diamond mines are popping up in the barrenlands to the southeast and any whispers of dissent are quickly silenced by the benefits of money coming out of the ground.
The Deh Cho land claim still remains unresolved as does the scope of the actual pipeline benefits Mackenzie Valley communities can expect.
What did not come as a surprise in 2005 was the lack of a deal between the federal and territorial government over royalties and handing over a reasonable amount of all the mineral and oil and gas profits out of the NWT.
NWT Premier Joe Handley has forgotten the lessons of his years in bureaucracy. He seems to think if a Prime Minister or any minister of the Crown looks him in the eye and makes a handshake deal, then the federal bureaucracy is actually going to get onside.
We can only hope Premier Handley now knows the real problem lies with the federal bureaucracy and his only hope is to beat them into submission with the politicians sent to Ottawa in the next election, that and vigorous diplomacy at the highest levels of the civil service.
With worldwide demand for energy mounting, the Mackenzie pipeline will be built, exploration will increase dramatically. Along with more diamond and gold mines, opportunities will be too numerous to count.
Whether Northerners will truly benefit will depend on our ability to get along and compromise in the interests of all, and how clear a vision we have as to where we should be going socially, economically, politically.
The year 2006 will undoubtedly hold more surprises than 2005 even dared to dream.
During 2005, many wonderful people have graced our pages.
There was Tanya Tagaq Gillis, the Cambridge Bay singer whose talent has carried her to the international stage and national awards.
In Pangnirtung, Billy Qaqasiq runs the hamlet sewage plant, not letting a little thing like only having a Grade 6 education get in his way.
Cape Dorset elder Oqswalik Ottokie, 81, doesn't let age get in the way of trying new things - in one case, learning the hoola-hoop.
Then there is Billy Ukuvak. The Arviat school counsellor lost his son to suicide more than four years ago. He's taken the pain from that tragedy and turned it into a passion for helping people and trying to stem the tide of suicide that continues to devastate this territory.
The folks behind Leelie Outfitting, Leslie and Tia Nukiwuak, needed somewhere for people to stay, so they got creative. They had a solar and propane powered Airstream travel trailer shipped to Qikiqtarjuaq.
Entrepreneurs were also prominent, like Vicki Aitaok, manager of the Arctic Closet in Cambridge Bay. The store celebrated its one-year anniversary in December.
You could call Peter Iqalukjuak a "new-age Inuk." The Clyde River man has wired his house with modern technology and never goes anywhere without his camera, just in case he sees a polar bear or a whale.
Speaking of whales, Marcel Mapsalak and his crew of Repulse Bay hunters caught a bowhead in just 45 minutes this past August, fastest ever.
And there were so many more.
Young or old, they're proud of their heritage, full of ambition and eager for what's coming in the future.
They are open and honest, resourceful and reliable, everything that makes our home so special.
Our leaders over at the legislative assembly can learn a lesson or two from these fine folk.
Speaker Jobie Nutarak apologized for something, then refused to say what he was apologizing for. Like a herd of muskox, the rest of the MLAs surrounded him and won't speak to the issue.
Regular MLAs hold a meeting, but don't turn up on time for a sitting of the legislative assembly, forcing it to be cancelled.
Bureaucrats, either suffering from poor leadership from elected representatives or too much red tape, aren't much better.
When a potentially deadly virus infected a still unknown number of people, health officials waited three months to let the public know.
Then there were two dental flights from the Kitikmeot region that never got met in Iqaluit.
Financial reports are weeks and months late.
It's time politicians and government officials looked to the people they're elected and hired to serve for inspiration.
Nunavummiut deserve a government as creative, open and honest as they are.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Wow! Talk about a super Christmas gift to a group of kids in the Kivalliq - this one is pretty high on the list.
Although it won't be announced until Dec. 22, Kivalliq News has learned the Rankin Inlet bantam hockey club has been picked as one of Wayne Gretzky's Future Team Canadas.
The program is a joint effort between the Wayne Gretzky Foundation and the Canadian Hockey Foundation.
Because they were selected as one of the winners, the Rankin bantams will be receiving a very special package sometime during the next three-to-four weeks.
The kids will receive a new supply of sticks, sweaters and gloves, including the two goalies who will each get a new trapper and blocker.
The squad also gets a $1,000 cheque to be used for team-development purposes.
The bantams will send a team photo into the foundation and it will appear in a nationally distributed publication.
So, who do the bantams have to thank for this wonderful Christmas gift?
That would be their coach and long-time volunteer Tommy Adams.
Adams took the time to fill out and submit a lengthy application when he found out about the national program a few months ago.
While Adams is to be highly commended for landing this windfall for the Rankin kids, he is far more than a bantam coach.
Adams has been a certified Level Two hockey official for a number of years and is also a board member of the Rankin Inlet Minor Hockey Association.
The easy going hockey nut is the perfect example of the type of volunteer we need more of in the Kivalliq.
While there is no shortage of folks who are quite willing to point out the weaknesses in our Northern hockey program, there are few willing to step up and put in the amount of time to improve the program as Adams does.
We're fortunate in that Adams is not alone.
You would be hard pressed to find an evening during the week Donald Clark is not at the local arena, while people such as Justin Merritt and Ron Roach have been involved with minor hockey at various levels for years.
The same can be said for Jim MacDonald, who decided to step away from the game for awhile this year after being known as Mr. Hockey in Rankin for more years than he probably cares to remember.
While we have a strong base in Rankin, we still have plenty of room for more people to get involved.
In fact, volunteering time to make your community a better place to live sounds like a pretty good new year's resolution to us.
The people we've listed above could certainly use your help, and hockey is but one program that would welcome you into the fold.
It's nice to end the year on such a positive note by sending our congratulations to Adams for getting his bantams included in the Wayne Gretzky Future Team Canada program.
If more volunteers offer their time in the coming year, we're sure we'd have even more good news to pass your way - something to think about during the holidays.
Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
National Energy Board hearings getting underway, followed by a federal election are just a few things we can expect early next year.
I am hesitant to say "look forward to" as a room full of lawyers and polling stations don't really breed too much excitement. However, both are important for the region and the country, but not the most festive things to be thinking about when there's turkey to be cooked, gifts to be bought and wrapped and friends and family to visit.
Personally, I'm looking forward to a few days off to tune out the world and relax around the tree.
The last thing I want to be doing is watching federal party leaders Paul Martin, Steven Harper and Jack Layton battle it out in soundbites on the TV. One can only hope these guys either turn it down a notch - at least until the hangover of New Year's has worn off - or actually start talking about the issues instead of trying to win the public over with cash handouts, tax cuts and new gun laws.
It's times like these that living in Inuvik is calming. At least we don't have the federal MP hopefuls lurking about ready to ambush us while we wait in the Northmart checkout line. Western Arctic candidates have vote-rich Yellowknife to battle for. That said, it would be nice if Inuvik could get a commitment from all four - Dennis Bevington (NDP), Richard Edjericon (Conservative), Ethel Blondin-Andrew (Liberal) and Alexandre Beaudin (Green) - to attend Inuvik's all-candidates debate Jan. 16., you know, a gesture of good faith and all to show the people they really care about this region.
Beaudin is a Yellowknife photographer and glass worker, and joined the campaign earlier this week.
The Delta is only standing on the edge of a $7 billion pipeline project so you think we'd warrant a co-ordinated visit by the candidates, to show that we actually matter, not just the gas underneath us.
Bevington has already thrown his hat in the ring but it won't be much of a debate if nobody else shows. Don't you just love our democracy in action?
Apart from peace on Earth, goodwill to everyone and a Sizzler Steakhouse gift certificate, my Christmas wish for the Delta is that serious planning begin on an all-weather road from Wrigley to Tuk. Then when it gets built, say sometime in the next five years if we're lucky, a gallon of milk won't cost more than a six-pack of beer during freeze up and break up periods.
(Funny how the price of booze never goes up during these periods.)
Next on the list would be an addictions treatment centre here in town, followed by an arts and cultural centre and, what the heck, a crack-free Inuvik in 2006! Sad to think that the odds on favourite is the gift certificate from Sizzler - about the only item that fat guy in the red suit could deliver. I mean who's really going to pin their hopes on the government delivering anything apart from the usual.
This year I resolve not to vote for anybody who won't bother attending the all-candidates debate in Inuvik.
I could have said I'll quit smoking or staying up late watching pay-TV but I'm not sure I can take the guilt of eventually breaking those. So I figure my vote resolution is an easy one to keep and one others should consider.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
There are times when it feels like saying thank you just isn't enough.
This is one of those times.
As many of you know, my wife Val and I are leaving for Halifax (actually she's already been there for the past three months and, believe me, I miss her).
Our reason for leaving is a personal one: it's family.
The Deh Cho has given us so much over the past seven and a half years. We've been made to feel warmly welcomed. But our parents are on the East Coast, and the time has come to be close to them again.
Leaving isn't easy, though.
We have grown fond of the beautiful land, the wonderful people and the casual lifestyle here. It's been a richly rewarding time in our lives.
My days in the Deh Cho have taught me more than I could have ever imagined.
I owe so much to all those who took time out of their day - as some of you did on a weekly basis - to help form each edition of this newspaper.
I'm also indebted to everyone who sent in photos, especially the regular contributors.
When I'm down south and people ask me what life is like in this part of the North, I'll tell them about the Dene and Metis and how they are striving to protect the land and their language; how they are trying to retain their storied culture, a culture they generously shared with me and others.
At the same time, I'll say, these admirable aboriginal people are aiming to assert themselves and take control of governance and industrial development in an ever-changing world.
I'll also be sure to mention the incredibly dedicated professionals and volunteers I met in the Deh Cho: education and health staff, justice workers, recreation directors, firefighters, and, yes, local politicians.
This diverse group of people didn't always see eye-to-eye, but these individuals were, without a doubt, doing their utmost to better their communities.
"Wow, that sounds like a perfect place to live," some people might say.
I will reply, "No, of course it's not perfect.
"Like every other place it has its problems.
"But, all in all, I sure do hope to go back again someday."
Until then, thank you so much for allowing me to tell your stories.
I wish you the merriest of Christmases and all the best in the new year. Mahsi cho.
P.S. If you want to stay in touch you can reach me at dehchoderek@yahoo.com