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Nothing but a sham
NWT News/North - Monday, October 26, 2009

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The conflict of interest inquiry into Premier Floyd Roland's affair with former committee clerk Patricia Russell was a travesty.

Even though his recommendation has yet to be made, it's safe to say adjudicator Ted Hughes failed the public and the assembly by not steadfastly pursuing the truth and ensuring total accountability.

After determining that Roland was in a conflict of interest, Gerald Gerrand, the conflict of interest commissioner called an inquiry to determine the severity of the premier's actions. Unfortunately Hughes did not gather enough information to accurately make that judgment.

Throughout the inquiry it appeared that Hughes and Glenn Tait, the adjudicator's lawyer, were more interested in a speedy conclusion than actually ensuring a just outcome.

Roland, Russell and their lawyer Kathy Peterson breezed through the proceedings. Too many statements made in support of the premier and his girlfriend's innocence went unchallenged.

First Peterson told the adjudicator of an unnamed MLA who her clients claimed was actually responsible for leaking committee information to the premier. The intent was to take Russell off the hook as the suspected informant, during the months when she and Roland were quietly involved in a secret affair.

Later, Roland and Russell brought forward information - which they described as precedent-setting - regarding a relationship between former premier Joe Handley's executive assistant and a former clerk of committees.

In both instances, neither Tait nor Hughes chose to challenge Roland or Russell on their statements. In fact, Hughes went so far as to state he was not interested in knowing who the mystery MLA informant was.

Obviously, he was also not interested in knowing whether Russell's and Roland's assertion that a previous relationship in the halls of the legislature was similar enough to be considered a precedent and would excuse their actions.

David Inch, the former committee clerk that Russell and Roland were referring to, wrote a letter disputing that his relationship with Handley's assistant was in any way similar to Roland's and Russell's affair. But Inch was ignored.

At no time was any effort made to ensure the accuracy of statements made by the premier or Russell.

Tait and Hughes took a kid gloves approach to the inquiry, comparable to a criminal lawyer accepting at face value that a witness had an alibi.

Opponents who called the inquiry a waste of time and money were right, but for the wrong reasons. Both Hughes and Tait wasted taxpayers dollars by failing to ask the hard questions and by not challenging the premier to actually prove he did not compromise the integrity of the legislative assembly.

Instead, they provided Roland and Russell a forum to freely assert their innocence and deflect blame.

Did Hughes and Tait make up their minds prior to the start of proceedings? Were they trying to save Roland and Russell the embarrassment of a thorough cross-examination?

Either way, the inquiry failed to shed any light on how severe Roland's breach of public trust was, begging the question: Why were public tax dollars wasted to simply reiterate what was already widely known?

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Giving birth at home
Nunavut News/North - Monday, October 26, 2009

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Given Nunavut's birth rate - the highest in the country - opening birth centres close to home makes logistical and financial sense.

Many have questioned the practice of sending expectant mothers to hospitals outside their communities a few weeks before their due dates. They lodge with other outpatients in a strange city and give birth among strangers, sometimes without family present, and then fly home a few days later.

In addition, non-Inuit Nunavummiut are expected to find their own lodging and pay out of pocket for those weeks away from home for a hospital birth.

Giving birth is dangerous - often the most risky medical event in a woman's life - which is why pregnancy comes with a long list of precautions to minimize risks for the mother and child.

Midwives receive extensive training in pregnancy care, childbirth and post-natal care, and they can handle uncomplicated deliveries. They are also trained in identifying high risk pregnancies and deliveries and refer these to hospital care.

It's possible expectant mothers will get more continuous care and establish better rapport with a community-based team of midwives than they can bouncing from community health centre to flight nurse to big-city hospital to obstetrician-on-call.

Nunavut mothers need and deserve better maternal care. The territory has high rates of low birth weight babies and fetal alcohol syndrome. Many of its mothers are young and need medical staff who can spend more time with them, giving advice, guidance and reassurance.

If implemented properly, with enough staff and funding, midwife-staffed birthing centres may provide the best maternal care possible in Northern communities.

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Prospects look good
Nunavut News/North - Monday, October 26, 2009

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If there's one thing Nunavut has a lot of, it's rocks.

So learning to identify types of rocks and their mineral compositions is a handy skill to have for anyone who spends time on the land.

Fossils and meteorites are valuable for scientific research, and Nunavut is also rich in mineral resources.

Few of these resources have been explored, making it a prime area for prospecting.

The lure of prospecting is that a chance find could lead to a windfall of profit for the lucky man or woman who uncovers it.

Many outsiders come North to prospect for minerals and have no stake in the territory or its communities, other than as a source of labour.

Nunavummiut should take advantage of prospecting training because they know and respect the land and they have the greatest stake in our territory's future.

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Dial 911 for stupidity
Yellowknifer - Friday, October 23, 2009

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Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro blames the territorial government's reluctance to adopt a 911 emergency phone service on its bias against Yellowknife.

Based on what was said in the legislative assembly last week by Municipal and Community Affairs Minister Robert McLeod, however, it would seem the bias extends much farther than our fair city.

In fact, it would seem to include any community in the territory that has more than a few homes and a school.

"We have to also ensure that this service or any basic service is available to a lot of remote communities we have out there," McLeod said Oct. 15.

We have to ask what the minister means by basic services because if the GNWT intends to play the great equalizer role it has a lot of catching up to do. It's been a couple years since the GNWT of Bureau of Statistics has updated its community infrastructure profiles, but we doubt the situation on the ground has changed a whole lot since then.

In 2003, only 20 NWT communities had so much as a nursing station, five didn't have recreational facilities, and 17 are without all-weather roads.

Despite these deficiencies, the NWT Association of Communities - representing 27 out of 33 NWT communities - were gracious enough to pass a resolution in 2007 calling on the territorial government to begin setting up 911, even if it had to be phased in to larger communities first, such as Yellowknife, Hay River, and Inuvik. The association has reaffirmed this resolution twice since then.

Not only that, but the former chief coroner of the NWT recommended 911 service after a life was lost in a snowmobile accident on Prosperous Lake in 2000. Almost 10 years has passed with no real progress. For shame.

Implementing 911 would cost $1 million to start up and $1.2 million annually to maintain. It can be done in the territory's seven largest communities, representing 77 per cent of the territory's population. That was the conclusion reached in a reported funded jointly by Yellowknife and the GNWT.

It seems like a small price to pay to ensure three-quarters of the territory's residents have an easy-to-remember number to call when their lives are in danger.

But for some unfathomable reason, the territorial government won't go there.

It might be tempting to label this as just another crass, political decision by MLAs to beat up Yellowknife while currying favour with folks back in their home ridings, but since both McLeod and Premier Floyd Roland are from Inuvik, where residents could benefit from 911 immediately, we'll just have to settle for calling it reckless, and stupid.

Another item of curiosity - how long do Yellowknife's two MLAs on cabinet - Bob McLeod and Sandy Lee - intend to sit in silence, collecting their rich cabinet salaries while letting this nonsense continue?

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Shiny new promises
Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, October 22, 2009

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There are wins at the polls and then there are landslide wins.

What voters in Fort Simpson handed Sean Whelly on Oct. 19 was a landslide. With 269 votes Whelly had more than three times the number of votes garnered by incumbent Duncan Canvin.

Speaking with the Deh Cho Drum on Tuesday evening, Whelly said the results of the mayoral race demonstrated voters wanted a change. There is little room to argue with that.

More interesting is to examine what sort of a change residents want. While Whelly was elected decisively, the rest of the council remained virtually unchanged. All but two of the eight councillors are back in the seats they have occupied for at least one previous term.

It seems that voters saw fit to keep the collective experience of the council but change the person steering the ship. Based on Whelly's electoral platform, it appears one thing residents want is more open avenues of communication with village leadership.

Whelly has promised to respectfully listen to all residents' concerns and is making plans for town hall-style meetings to give residents the chance to voice their opinions on proposed plans for the village.

Like every other meeting of this sort, it will probably be hard to get people to actually attend but the fact they have the opportunity to speak their minds is what really matters. While members of the previous council often raised issues their constituents brought forward, there were very few cases over the past three years where dedicated meetings were held to gather public opinion on village matters.

Also tempting is Whelly's promise to focus on the "small things" as much as the larger issues. Often referred to as dogs, ditches and dumps - it is the basic services the village is responsible for and ones residents notice the most, Whelly correctly acknowledged.

The test will be to see how much change the new council will be able to bring about in the delivery of these services. While the campaign promise of painting the crosswalks should be relatively simple to accomplish, solving the safety issue posed by loose dogs is a matter that has bedeviled every council.

One of Whelly's other plans is to create both one-year and three-year action plans for the council to outline its mandate. Whelly said he wants the village to be in a position where it can be proactive and address issues before they've reached emergency proportions.

Given the trouble the previous council had with the sewage treatment plant, the housing of the John Tsetso Memorial Library and other issues, it's no surprise voters like the idea of having potential trouble spots identified and dealt with far in advance.

Days after the election, however, all of these items are still just election promises. Residents of Fort Simpson voted with a clear voice for a new mayor to lead the village. Now community members must see to it that Whelley lives up to the challenge.

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A fresh slate
Editorial Comment
Andrew Rankin
Inuvik Drum - Thursday, October 22, 2009

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In my brief career as a reporter I've had the opportunity to report on a couple of elections. But I didn't have the opportunity to watch the last election I covered in Nova Scotia unfold vote by vote in a polling station.

I sat at the Midnight Sun Complex polling station on Saturday for more than four and a half hours, right up until the last ballot was counted. By times it was a trying experience watching the painfully slow process of vote tallying unfold. But I was impressed with how focused and good humoured the ballot counters and scrutineers remained throughout, even well past midnight.

I got a little insight into just how much work goes into preparing for an election and carrying out one for that matter.

But that effort was complemented by the number of people who actually came out to exercise their most fundamental right. Almost 200 more mayoral votes were cast in Monday's election, which drew 956 voters, compared to the last town election in 2006, which saw a total of only 777 votes staked - that's a pretty impressive increase. With a new mayor elected along with four new councillors it looks like residents here are seeking for a bit of a change. And a change they got.

Most surprising for me was the victory Denny Rodgers scored over Derek Lindsay for the mayoral seat.

Everyone who I talked to figured it would be a much tighter race. Both candidates brought a different, but interesting skill set to the table. That can also be said of the new council, which is impressive in its diversity.

Above an abundance of business experience and a pretty impressive educational background, the mix of new councillors bring with them proven passion and commitment for Inuvik.

It will be intriguing to see how Rodgers is able to work with the newly elected council, since he has promised that ensuring members gel as a team will be one of his main priorities. One of his other campaign promises is to ensure the lines of communication between the town and community will remain open. Soon he plans to host a meeting with local business owners to find ways to stimulate the economy. That's a good start.

Inuvik probably needs more public forums to discuss any number of issues affecting the town, excluding council meetings.

I've always thought that people should be more interested in political discourse no matter on what level. I also think the foundation lies at grass roots politics. But it also falls on councillors to make people care about getting involved. There's always plenty of work to be done in that area.

It will be interesting to see how council approaches that challenge, to make itself more relevant in the lives of Inuvik's residents over the next three years.

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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!