Wednesday, October 11, 2006
This success attracted students. With those bodies came dollars that have helped YCS prosper.
Stability at the top has also been important. Trustees and senior officials have avoided the infighting and scandal that paralysed the Yk Education district #1 board over the years - until now.
There's no question a single school board with a Catholic component for all Yellowknife makes economic sense. Because of the board's success, there's been little appetite among Yellowknifers or government bureaucrats to seriously consider the idea of merging boards.
The board's insistence that all trustees be Catholic changed that. All of a sudden, people are starting to ask questions, unfamiliar territory for YCS.
The debate over an all Catholic board is the biggest threat YCS faces.
The Catholic board could get exactly what it wants. Or the issue could wind its way through the courts for years, with either YCS or the territorial government appealing decisions not in their favour. Disenfranchised non-Catholic parents, too, could pursue their own court fight.
The fight could lead to a forced merger into a wider public school system, or non-Catholic students being ordered to attend Yk #1, draining Catholic school coffers and undermining the quality Catholic education system built up over years of hard work.
This would all make sense if the future of the Catholic district was in jeopardy from outside forces. But it is not. Internal forces on the board, using Superintendent Kern Von Hagen as their instrument, are causing the conflict.
While the Catholic issue has been clumsily handled by the board, the debate has had one very positive affect: voters are getting to know where each candidate stands.
It's unlikely anyone knew non-Catholic candidate Amy Hacala's stand on religion during the 2003 election because religion wasn't an issue. We now know thanks to her website.
All candidates have been forced to share their beliefs with the electorate. It's possible YCS could end up with an all-Catholic board after Monday's vote, because nine of 11 candidates are Catholic.
Tonight at St. Pat's high school, voters will get a chance to meet six of the candidates for the YCS board at a public forum, starting at 7 p.m.
The real issues for parents are how to deal with overcrowding and maintaining a high quality of education.
Editorial Comment
The rhetoric surrounding the supposed termination of the position of ambassador for circumpolar affairs earlier this month was the type of stuff that would have made Monty Python writers proud.
To hear foreign affairs spokesperson Dan Dugas say he had erred when announcing a senior bureaucrat would assume the position bordered on the surreal.
Reaction to the original announcement from the circumpolar world was swift and predictable.
The ambassador's position is an important one and should be reinstated by the federal government.
If one takes Dugas at his latest word that appears to be what's going to happen, although I haven't checked for further comments during the past 10 minutes.
One little side note seems to have fallen through the cracks in all of this, lost amongst the verbal subterfuge we've been subjected to on the topic during the past nine days.
Canada's Inuit Circumpolar Council president Duane Smith made it clear that he views the ambassador-for-circumpolar-affairs position as an important one.
He wouldn't look forward to going through a senior bureaucrat in order to reach the right ears in Ottawa.
In his zeal to have the position reinstated, Smith made a passing reference to the fact there were concerns about the job performance of former Nunavut minister Jack Anawak as ambassador.
Anawak's held the position since 2004.
Add in the fact we never heard a peep from Anawak when he was told more than a month ago he was going to lose his job, and things just don't add up.
Even though the ambassador's position was created by the Liberals, this could be a job-performance issue and not another attempt by the Tories to distance themselves from all things Liberal in origin.
Those who remember the battles with Premier Paul Okalik during his final year as a member of the Government of Nunavut (GN), would have to admit Anawak is being uncharacteristically gentle in his responses to losing his job.
This is a man who ended up as a minister without portfolio in the GN because he refused to keep his differences of opinion from the public.
Yet, in this case, he has offered little more than a personal endorsement of the position's importance.
The other shoe should drop this week, now that Nunavut Liberal MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell has asked Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay for an explanation.
It's hard to believe the feds would not realize the importance of the position with the challenges facing the circumpolar world today.
Yet, it's also doubtful the Tories would worry about embarrassing a staunch Liberal supporter such as Anawak.
This was a major announcement in the circumpolar world, and one that needs to be explained - honestly and fully!
If Anawak could no longer be counted on to perform his duties, the Tories should step up and say that.
If, however, this was simply another cost-cutting measure at the expense of the North, they should own up to that, as well.
It's ironic the term ambassador is at the centre of an issue so thoroughly lacking in proper etiquette and honour.
Editorial Comment
Vote or die. A simple phrase that was initiated by a famous rap singer in America a few years ago, for their Presidential election.
Of course voting is not a matter of life and death, but some could argue that it comes close. I know a lot of people who take voting really seriously.
Some of you may not know this, but we are given extra influence with our current voting situation. In a community with a population of roughly 3,500 people and nearly 1,000 registered voters, you really only need the support of a few hundred people to win. Even the underdog has a chance.
I have been a registered voter since the last mayoral election, when the Clarkson regime came on top. It was back then when I saw the light and the importance of my vote.
Some of you may not be on the voters list, (which can be found in stores all around town). If you have not already voted in the advance poll, I suggest you drag yourself into that booth on Oct. 16.
Think of your vote as a chance to have some control over the community. I have been on the streets this week preaching the importance of the vote.
A common argument that I have come across in my recent campaign for a good voter turn-out is that there are no 'good' choices. That neither candidate is good enough.
I don't mean to be blunt, but these candidates are the only option. At least for the next few years before another election is called.
There is no excuse to miss out on the vote. I think this election has the potential to have the largest voter turn out in the history of this community.
If you choose to stay at home on election day and not vote, you have officially given up your right to bitch about anything the new mayor will do.
One person can make a difference. If you strongly oppose one candidate, then really the best course of action is to vote for someone else. Don't leave your vote for the next person in line.
Being informed about a vote is important as well. I want to briefly touch on a few of the ideas brought forward by some of the candidates.
Youth violence and vandalism was one of the hotter topics for the candidates at a recent public forum.
One council hopeful said he would like to see the RCMP increase their patrols by going door to door, to keep the peace.
Another candidate wanted more done to address the town's crack problem. After a public meeting that was held last year, he wants to see results.
A citizen patrol was also brought up as a crime-fighting solution.
Having a patrol would mean paying more people to roam the street and keep an eye on the youth, no matter what they're doing.
Editorial Comment
I was asked to read to a Grade 6 class today as part of Bompas Elementary's participation in NWT Literacy week, which runs Oct. 1 to 7.
I have to say, I'm honoured. This comes even though I know I'm only standing-in for the errant Deh Cho editor Roxanna Thompson, who recently left for a much-needed vacation (and who also just celebrated her birthday over the weekend).
I guess the reason I'm so excited is because I get a chance to share something I love to do as part of my profession as well as outside the office.
In my childhood, whether I wondered how high I could stack turtles thanks to Dr. Seuss, or laughed as the paper-bag princess found out her prince-charming-to-be wasn't so charming after all with Robert Munsch, reading gave me something I couldn't do without - my imagination.
And this, something so many of us take for granted or even dismiss as we get older, is a gift no child should be without (even if it spawns an imaginary friend or two).
A good imagination can make the most of a mundane car ride that just won't end, but more importantly it can allow you to dream of all the wonderful things you'd love to accomplish as you become an adult.
Many of my most prized childhood memories involve one book or another.
In fact, many of my high school lunches were spent in my school's library where I would search endlessly for new books to devour.
But my love of books and the written word were not things I learned in school.
These things were taught at home, where stories were used to impart things like tradition, values, and love, not to mention a good sense of humour.
I got a chance to speak to author Jacqueline Guest at John Tsetso Memorial Library Sept. 26 before she addressed many assembled children and parents.
She told me, "Take 15 to 20 minutes anytime of the day and give the child your undivided attention."
Guest said parents or guardians have to do more than just read stories, it's a time to discuss what was written and talk about how it applies to the child.
Most importantly she made sure I knew, "Reading is not just something you do at school."
And that's all there is to it.
It's as easy as taking out 15 to 20 minutes in a day, a time when no one will interrupt, to get your child hooked on reading like I was, something I continued to do as I grew. Because, believe me, there aren't many kids who don't want that kind of attention.
Now, to figure out what I'm going to read during my 15 minutes of fame. Perhaps some Harry Potter, hmmmm.
- Jessica Gray will be covering for Roxanna Thompson until the end of October.
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Dez Loreen
Inuvik Drum
Jessica Gray
Deh Cho Drum