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Yellowknifers win
Wednesday, October 21, 2009

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The people of Yellowknife have spoken. The latest municipal election brought some new faces to city council and the school boards, with a healthy number of incumbents returning to public office.

Congratulations are in order for all those who ran for election. Given the number of signs around the city and the effort put into going door to door and debating at candidates' forums, the majority of candidates appear to have fought hard for votes.

Unlike previous years, this election saw real competition without any acclamations.

Even though Mayor Gord Van Tighem beat his competitors with more than 70 per cent of the vote - it was the first time he was challenged since becoming mayor in 2000 - it was refreshing for Yellowknifers to have a choice.

The large number of council candidates who chose to run this year also added interest in this year's election. There were 16 candidates vying for eight city council seats.

It is disappointing that more Yellowknifers did not vote. Forty-nine per cent of registered voters came out to cast their ballot. That's up from 29 per cent from the last municipal election - definitely a better turnout, but leaving plenty of room for improvement.

This council should waste no time in rolling up its sleeves and tackling the issues raised during the campaign like downtown crime, homelessness, creating and improving green spaces and building the economy - simply, making Yellowknife an even better place to live.

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Bring back full season campsites
Wednesday, October 21, 2009

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It shouldn't be any surprise that people used territorial campgrounds near the city less this summer than they did last year.

Not only was the weather awful, but the department that oversees campgrounds, Industry, Tourism and Investment, introduced fee hikes at the start of the season and stirred up a hornet's nest by cutting full season campsites used by Yellowknifers down to two months from four for the same $500 price.

To be fair, it had been nearly 10 years since overnight campsite fees had increased, but doubling the price on full season campsites while cutting them in half wasn't a very good idea.

Kevin Todd, regional superintendent, said the department is considering whether to establish a mix of two-month extended stay sites while offering some of the old full season sites as well.

We say get rid of the two-month sites altogether, and bring in more full season sites if there weren't enough of them in the first place. The problem with the two-month sites is that summers here are short. It just about guarantees ballot draw purchasers at least a month of crappy weather, whether one ballot lot begins May 15 or the other ends Sept. 15. That's not much of an incentive to sign up for the ballot draw - only 30 people bid for 80 available sites this year after years of sellouts.

The department is building an extra loop at Reid Lake which is, by far, the least used of the three campgrounds around Yellowknife.

Park officials should definitely consider putting aside more sites there for full-season users.

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Laughing at the turkeys
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, October 21, 2009

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Oh, the irony of it all.

A $200 turkey is let loose from the Northern store's barnyard in Arctic Bay just when the feds are looking at taking away the individual's right to use the food mail program.

If it wasn't so sad, it would be hilarious.

Of course, once the frozen bird was let loose over the Internet, a turkey of a different kind was quick to step up and explain to all of us Northern sheep that it was all just a labelling error.

Labelling errors seem to happen a lot at Northern retailers.

I often tell people new to the Kivalliq to stop talking while in line, and keep an eye on the tally when their groceries are being rung up.

It's amazing, actually, how many times items on sale are rung up at their regular price.

Now, in fairness to the stores, bring your receipt to the office like a good little sheep and the difference in price will be refunded.

I mean, hey, mistakes happen, right? And if six or seven people out of 10 don't notice the mistake, well, you do the math over the course of a fiscal year.

Now, in fairness to the Northern consumer, I, personally, have caught such mistakes while being rung out, and was left to wonder why the mistake was repeated the very next day when I purchased the same item, still on sale, and it rang through at its regular price again.

I'm not saying mistakes don't happen, but I will go on the record and say I don't ever want the wolf entering the data there to ever be in charge of doing my taxes!

And that's what makes me very afraid of the dodo birds in Ottawa who will decide whether we can keep using individual food mail.

Forget the fact that one of the head dodos is a former longtime member of the aforementioned wolf pack.

Even if we believe any loyalties to the Northern pack have long since vanished, these birds have shown in the past they're quick to buy into the mistake explanation.

But, hey, the food mail program cost the feds $50 million last year and that's a lot of lamb chops, right?

The strange part in all this, however, is we constantly hear community after community claim they're not seeing any of the food mail program benefits local retailers.

The same message came from Arctic Bay earlier this month after the great turkey caper.

Are all these people loony birds, or could there be something to their claims?

Recently, there has been plenty of chatter about people protesting outside local retail outlets should individual ordering be taken from the food mail program.

Only time will tell if that particular dog has any bite behind its bark, or if it's just so much idle squawking from the chicken coop.

Hopefully, this time around, the dodo birds will decide to side with the sheep instead of the wolves and we'll never have to find out.

But, in all likelihood, the dodo birds will decide the sheep really don't know what's best for them, and put the food mail program into the hands of the wolves.

Then the wolves get to snicker all the way to the bank, howling at the fact the dodo birds turned out to be the biggest turkeys of all!

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Gasping for air
NWT News/North - Monday, October 19, 2009

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In the United States, people's lives are destroyed when bills associated with health care take their cars, savings and then their homes.

In Canada, we should be safe from those traumatic expenses - extreme costs that cause stress, which is detrimental to the healing process.

However, one Colville Lake elder is fearing for the stability of her household. Her power bills have steadily increased to more than $4,000 due to an oxygen machine she needs to prolong her life, and those bills are bound to climb even higher with the cold winter months approaching.

Elder Simone Kochon's situation is a travesty. For the NWT health system to send Kochon home with an expensive piece of medical technology and not provide the financial assistance necessary for its operation is irresponsible.

On top of saddling the 72-year-old pensioner with the oxygen tank's massive power usage in a community with one of the highest electricity rates in the territory, the department has also failed to make good on its promise to deliver a cheaper alternative.

Regardless of whether the new, cheaper machine arrives or not the power bills should not be Kochon's responsibility.

Fortunately, the Power Corp. has not decided to shut off Kochon's power even though she's struggling to pay her bills. As well, according to a Power Corp. spokesperson, as long as Kochon pays a little each month she is at least safe from suffocating in the dark, something it seems the NWT health care system could not care less about.

An ailing Kochon is forced to choose between breathing and paying her bills. It's a choice no Canadian should face, and one the government must rectify now.

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Development shouldn't trump health
NWT News/North - Monday, October 19, 2009

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A recent Edmonton city council decision will put the future development of the Alberta capital above the safety of emergency medical patients from the North.

The impending closure of the Edmonton Municipal Airport will mean that patients being medevaced from Yellowknife will fly into Edmonton International, on the outskirts of the city, which will increase travel time to the hospital.

In an emergency situation, minutes can mean the difference between life and death and increasing travel times by up to half an hour for medevac patients is unacceptable.

A planned ring road scheduled for completion by 2015 will reduce travel times, but at what cost? How many lives will be lost or permanent medical issues caused in the meantime?

Obviously, Edmonton aims to serve its own needs and unfortunately this latest move comes at the expense of Northerners. At the very least Alberta's Health department, which didn't object to the plan, should commit to having helicopters waiting at the airport to transfer Northern patients to hospital.

Time is of the essence. If a Northern patient dies or is left permanently debilitated because of the City of Edmonton's decision to put development before people, Edmonton should face the full wrath of families and the GNWT in a civil court room.

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Inquest a good start
Nunavut News/North - Monday, October 19, 2009

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The announcement that a coroner's inquest will look into the death of Elisapee Michael is a welcome development.

Michael's family has questions they want answered and so do we, but they also want a public inquiry in addition to the inquest. We feel an inquiry may be justified, if the inquest fails to answer the questions satisfactorily.

Michael, 52, fell down the stairs of the Nova Inn in Iqaluit in the middle of the night on Aug. 9. She was taken to Qikiqtani General Hospital, where she reportedly caused a disturbance and staff turned her over to RCMP officers who happened to be there on another matter. The hospital workers told the officers to bring her back when she was sober.

The next afternoon, the RCMP called the hospital's emergency room and asked to bring her back in. Hospital staff said they were too busy to take her. A few hours later Michael was in medical distress. She was taken back to the hospital, medevaced to Ottawa, and died a few days later on Aug. 14.

Was she examined by a doctor before being arrested and taken to the RCMP detachment? Is it common practice to turn patients over to the RCMP because they're intoxicated? How busy was the emergency room the next day that it could not accept a patient with a head injury?

As pointed out by the family's lawyer, these questions and the doubts they raise are causing Nunavummiut to lose confidence in the quality of care delivered by Qikiqtani General Hospital.

A coroner's inquest involves witness testimony and determines the manner of death - for example accident, suicide, homicide or undetermined. An inquest also results in recommendations to prevent such a death from happening again. These recommendations, however, are not binding.

Neither are the recommendations of a public inquiry, but an inquiry can issue a notice of misconduct to a person or organization - something an inquest cannot do.

Public inquiries are expensive and can be lengthy. But if, after the coroner's inquest is completed, pressing questions still remain, the premier should order a public inquiry to get to the bottom of the matter.

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Distance learning a valuable resource
Nunavut News/North - Monday, October 19, 2009

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The development of distance education is a necessity for Nunavut, if higher Grade 12 graduation and post-secondary education benchmarks are ever to be met.

Leaving home is a hurdle to higher education many Nunavummiut students are unwilling to overcome. But even though numerous universities and colleges across Canada already offer distance, Internet-based courses, Nunavut's Internet connections are not up to par, making it difficult for students to take advantage of what's out there.

Nunavut Arctic College also has the potential to expand its offerings to smaller communities.

What will make this possible is better communications infrastructure - including satellite Internet bandwidth that will support videoconferencing - at the territory's community learning centres.

With enough funding and political will, perhaps someday soon students will be able to pursue their post-secondary dreams, all from the comfort of their home community.

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The consequences of being untidy
Yellowknifer - Friday, October 16, 2009

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A resident of Northland Trailer Park had some possessions hauled away from his unkempt lot last month and he's fuming over it.

The problem is he made a mess, had plenty of time to clean it up but didn't do a sufficient job despite the passing of many months.

The Municipal Enforcement Department issued warnings to Marie-Angelo Urbancig on July 25, 2008 and again on Oct. 15, 2008 that his Northland home was unsightly due to all the aging vehicles and other property cluttering his lot.

It wasn't until June 25 of this year that a third warning came. This time it was by way of a clean-up order and word that he would be closely monitored. When the July 17 deadline came around, he stayed home to see if there would be consequences. There weren't that day, but he was served a ticket on Sept. 9 for failing to clean up his lot and his property was hauled away a short time later.

Nobody is contesting that Urbancig's lot was a shambles.

The bylaw officer brought a firefighter along during one site assessment to strengthen the case.

Urbancig himself said, "I always admitted by guilt."

On top of that, Mike Roy, the manager of the trailer park admitted that there are "a lot" of untidy properties in the neighbourhood, but none bad as Urbancig's.

"You couldn't even make it to the door," Roy said.

So it's little wonder that Urbancig's belongings were carted away.

Unfortunately the bylaw department did make a mistake in processing the ticket and sent Urbancig to court on the wrong day. That would be frustrating, but, to the Municipal Enforcement Division's credit, the office did withdraw the ticket in light of the error. That's reasonable.

In order to retrieve his possessions from the dump, Urbancig must cover the costs the city incurred in cleaning his lot on his behalf.

He could have avoided the entire ordeal had he taken adequate action long ago.

This should serve as a reminder to other Northland residents, and to any property owner in Yellowknife, that one cannot ignore warnings from the city.

If Urbancig had a leg to stand on in his opposition to the city's actions, he should have challenged the municipality's refusal to fix Northland's deteriorating roads and water and sewage pipes. If the City of Yellowknife insists that those issues are Northland condominium corporation's problem, how can it still enforce its property bylaw? It does appear to be a double standard.

Let's hear someone from city hall explain that.

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Heading out
Editorial Comment
Tim Edwards
Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, October 15, 2009

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My time at the Deh Cho Drum is up and I'm headed back to Yellowknife to continue at the newspaper there.

I just want to say that this is a very nice chunk of land you've got here and, even though I'll be glad to be back with my friends and family in Yellowknife, I'm a little disappointed to be leaving. I never even went golfing.

I wish I had been able to check out more of the surrounding area, as I spent most of my time in the community of Fort Simpson, but what I saw here was a hidden gem.

On one of my first days here, I was invited to play in a ball hockey tournament.

I told the team captain who invited me that I wouldn't exactly be an asset to the team, but still he told me to come out and play, so I did. The tournament was a lot of fun, and even though my game didn't bring much other than an extra body in front of the net, no one got on my case about it. It was a just-for-fun tournament and a very relaxed environment.

In fact, I was even invited to play at the weekly games. Even though I wasn't great at receiving passes or finding the net, they'd keep sending the ball my way. I ended up scoring two in my stint here, which is a fine personal record.

I've found the folk here to be very sociable and hospitable. I didn't meet a person that I didn't like, and I felt very welcome in the community.

Another thing I've noticed is that when I gathered stories here, people are willing to talk and say what they think.

In Yellowknife, due probably to the much larger population, a fair number of people don't want to have their picture taken or even be quoted in a story - and some, if they submit, will give a safe answer that doesn't really take a stance.

Here, I had just one person refuse to have their picture taken, and that was just because they didn't like how they looked in pictures.

As well, when I talk to people about local issues, they aren't afraid to speak their mind. Most people seem to know the issues fairly well. One benefit of a small town, which can also be considered a curse, is that word spreads like wildfire.

While there are social ills such as alcoholism and drug abuse everywhere, they don't overflow into the streets here like they do in bigger cities. As a city grows, everything multiplies, including the negative aspects. Sometimes it seems the negative aspects, such as hard drugs and violence, outweigh the benefits of a larger populace and economy.

The countryside here is fantastic. Yellowknife has its lakes, which are great when you go out on them, but the rivers here offer a lot more to look at on the land.

Enjoy the small town life because, at least in my opinion, you've got everything you need here. Except maybe a movie theatre.

Thanks for the good times.

Editor Roxanna Thompson returns this week.

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How long does it take to be an informed voter?
Editorial Comment
Andrew Rankin
Inuvik Drum - Thursday, October 15, 2009

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With the election on Oct. 19 only days away, things are getting interesting.

Most captivating for me is the mayoral race. Based on what I'm hearing around town, it's too close to call. It's great to see people out wearing their pins in support of their favourite mayoral candidate. The whole thing's got me excited for election day.

That said, I wouldn't mind voting since I've been living here for the last 10 months and have no plans of moving anytime soon. But unfortunately the territorial government says I'm not qualified to vote. So I'll let someone else decide who will represent me on council for the next three years.

In order to vote in an NWT municipal election you have to have been a resident of that jurisdiction for at least 12 consecutive months. Why? The government's stand is that one has to live in Inuvik for 12 months to have a proper grasp of the issues to make an informed vote. A rather vague statement but it does have some merit.

People should get to know their community and get acquainted with the issues and its political representatives before they go out and vote. But does one need a year in order to make an informed vote, or more to the point, to decide which candidate they would like to represent them at the council table?

Look at other provinces in Canada. None of them require the same length of residency in order to exercise a basic democratic right in a municipal election.

Maybe someone working for the NWT government could tell me how much more informed I would be about Inuvik if I lived here for a year, compared to six months. Is there a certain formula to support such an electoral rule? If so, I would like to know about it.

If the government wants to go to such lengths to ensure voters are casting an informed vote, why not introduce a testing process where residents would have to prove they had a basic understanding of Inuvik and its issues before they could vote? I wonder what the results would be.

I don't pretend to know everything about Inuvik and I don't know any of the councillors on a personal level. Yeah, I have a lot to learn. But I do believe that I've learned enough to make an informed vote; enough to decide who I want to see making decisions on how the town is being run and how my tax dollars are being spent.

Some might say I have an advantage because my job is to be informed on the issues. That's true. But anyone can pick up the phone and talk to the mayor or councillors, or attend council meetings.

What this rule does is offer one more way to discourage people from being involved in local political discourse. It really is a shame, because Inuvik needs all the help it can get in that department.