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Psychiatric care needed, not prison
Yellowknifer - Wednesday, March 3, 2010

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Once again Tommy Kapatoan is in jail awaiting an assessment of his mental health. Kapatoan has had three psychiatric assessments in three years. The 21-year-old man who last resided in Dettah is in jail again awaiting another assessment.

Although he is a man with a long criminal history, Kapatoan is not a typical criminal. He has been noted in court to have Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, of borderline intelligence, and has trouble caring for himself.

It is clear Kapatoan is a danger to the public, but it is also clear he suffers from a mental illness and is in dire need of specialized help.

How is it possible the justice system, along with the Department of Health and Social Services, have allowed this man to be sent to Edmonton repeatedly, only to end up back where he started - without help or assistance of any kind?

It is no surprise this has led him into a vicious circle of committing crimes, going to jail, waiting for an assessment and eventually being released again to commit more crimes.

How long is the system going to allow this to continue?

Kapatoan's situation should be a wake-up call to the territorial government. The GNWT clearly needs to fix the system so that those with mental illness don't fall through the cracks, to be continually chewed up and spit out by the courts.

Kapatoan needs to be in a secure facility with health care providers, not in jail. There are several in western Canada.

Although his convictions are for serious crimes, sexual assault among them, in a situation like this, one can only place so much blame on the individual - the blame also belongs to the broken system and a government that has refused to fix it.

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Fish plant points the way to success
Yellowknifer - Wednesday, March 3, 2010

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Brian Abbott and Henry Jewer have bought up a local business and are taking it to a higher level, making the most of opportunities in Yellowknife for the benefit of Northerners.

The entrepreneurs now own the fish processing plant on a barge by Jolliffe Island, and are building on its foundations to create Great Slave Fish Products Ltd., an environmentally-friendly producer of fish and - as is planned - fish products from Great Slave Lake. The new business continues to sell fillets of whitefish, trout and burbot out of the barge, with an added commitment not to produce sewage nor dump any waste back into the lake. Moreover, the entrepreneurs plan to sell fish year-round, opening a chance for Yellowknifers to buy truly local food.

The opportunity seems obvious enough - why should city residents be reliant on fish and other food shipped in from the south, from places hundreds and thousands of kilometres away? Abbott and Jewer promise to make thorough use of fish culled from the lake, with plans to produce fertilizer, fish patties and pet food out of unused fish parts, to be sold in southern markets.

The new business makes the most of local resources. In so doing it limits our reliance on shipping, and further limits harm to the environment. If successful, Great Slave Fish Products' formula promises to set a standard of success for businesses in the North, and perhaps the country at large.

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So many inconvenient facts
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, March 3, 2010

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I listened in awe this past week as some gentlemen, whose name I didn't catch, rambled on the radio about record high temperatures across Nunavut this winter, and how climate change is very much alive, despite the recent attacks on the science involved.

Apparently, temperature tracking done by Americans and Canadians is far more reliable than the rubble those English blokes have been tossing at us for a while now.

So, OK, we're willing to forget about the threats of destroying data, exaggerated and since retracted claims and flawed science.

And, hey, we're sure the fact carbon trading was an astonishing $128-billion industry across the planet in 2008 was nothing more than the sheerest of coincidences.

But we are eagerly looking forward to Al Gore's sequel to An Inconvenient Truth, tentatively titled The Inconvenience Of Explaining My Bank Book.

Of course, old Al hasn't been front and centre on many TV screens lately.

My mystery voice on the radio may have missed a series of stories done recently on the National Climatic Data Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the good old U.S.A., as well as NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies.

So let's take a peek at just how dependable their work on global warming has been, shall we?

What we find is the percentage of Canadian weather stations in lower elevations used for their database during the past two decades tripled, while those at higher elevations (yup, where it's colder) were cut in half.

And, if that weren't bad enough, much of the readings came from sites near southern airports and cities, where logic dictates winter temperatures would be warmer.

But, OK, mistakes and errors in judgement happen. We all appreciate that.

What we residents of the Canadian Arctic really want to know is what their figures showed on our temps?

I mean, after all, they've been telling us for years we're at the front of climate change up here, and we'll be the first to feel the radical changes that will threaten to end life on Earth as we know it.

Now, that's pretty heavy stuff, so, surely, readings from our neck of the tundra were playing a leading role in these databases being compiled, right?

Uh, no. Not quite.

The National Post (God, how I loathe giving credit to anything associated with Lord Black) also did a little digging into that point.

What the Post found, using the NOAA's own data, was that as recently as 1991, almost one-full-quarter of NOAA's Canadian temperature data came from High Arctic stations. Today, the High Arctic contributes a mere three per cent of the Canadian data used.

Now, call me a pessimist if you must, but, you know...

On the bright side, all these revelations should go an awful long way in ensuring peer-reviewed science becomes the order of the day before Chicken Little makes yet another appearance.

Of course, Chicky's still resting up from its work on the H1N1 virus, but that's a story for another day.

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Fishing for dollars
NWT News/North - Monday, March 1, 2010

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NWT fishers on the Great Slave and Kakisa Lake have finally pulled the plug on the much criticized Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation, which leads to the obvious question, what to do now?

Their decision to leave Freshwater Fish is risky business. Quitting means they will be cut off from the Crown corporation's extensive marketing connections throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. But it's clear for far too long the corporation has treated the NWT as a forgettable backwater, barely worth the trouble.

While Nunavut fishers were boasting of a $42 million catch of turbot in 2008, the Great Slave market limped along with a paltry harvest of $412,783 - mostly for whitefish, a species that just about every other fisher under the Freshwater Fish umbrella is also targeting, undoubtedly for less cost and higher profits too.

It's no wonder the Great Slave fishery has been sinking like a stone for decades in an industry increasingly led by old men, as younger generations look for work elsewhere.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans even took to advertising commercial licences outside the territory in 2008 to make sure there were enough fish to deliver to Great Slave's sole-remaining processing plant in Hay River.

It's a shame because there are opportunities everywhere.

The world's ocean fisheries are increasingly under pressure as overfishing on species such as tuna, cod, and sea bass, drives prices on remaining stocks beyond the reach of average consumers. Fish farming operations, meanwhile, for species such as Atlantic salmon, are falling into disrepute as questions arise over their impact on the environment. Concerns are also abound over pollution effecting commercial freshwater fisheries down south.

Alas, the vastly underutilized freshwater fishery of the NWT remains unplucked like an overripe grape. No wonder NWT fishers took exception to Freshwater Fish's defeatist attitude, forever shipping undervalued whitefish to highly competitive markets down south without exploring the full range of possibilities to help fishers make better money.

It's particularly irksome to walk into, say the Northern Store in Fort Simpson, and find a $12 package of whitefish that was probably caught in Lake Winnipeg. A report conducted on the Great Slave fishery in 1994 concluded that 150 tonnes a year of locally caught fish can be absorbed by the Yellowknife market alone.

And what of species like goldeye teeming in the rivers and streams flowing into the south shore of Great Slave Lake? They've been marketed as the famous "Winnipeg smoked goldeye" in that city's finest hotels and restaurants for more than a century. Most these days are harvested from Lake Claire 140 km south of the NWT, but fishers here toss them back because Freshwater Fish never bothered to figure out a way to sell them.

There are many possibilities for the NWT's freshwater fishery if marketed properly. NWT fishers will need some help on that front.

After their vote to leave Freshwater Fish, an official with the Department of Industry, Tourism, and Investment said, the "GNWT has no capacity to market fish."

That's an unacceptable statement considering the lineups going around the block at Northern House last week in Vancouver, where the GNWT is promoting the territory to the world during the Winter Olympics. Our fishery is a valuable resource - think oil, gas, diamonds, gold - in a field where other markets around the world are depleted and in decline. Unlike the above commodities, the Great Slave fishery is renewable. We must learn how to make it work for Northerners.

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Saving the caribou
Nunavut News/North - Monday, March 1, 2010

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Caribou are an important part of Inuit culture, especially in the Kitikmeot region. Meat, organs, hide, antler, sinew... all parts of the animal have a use and the skills in hunting and preparation have been passed down from generation to generation.

Life without a caribou hunt is unimaginable to most Nunavummiut. But that's what's facing hunters in the Wek'eezhii region of the Northwest Territories. The government of the NWT has banned all hunting of the Bathurst herd as an emergency measure because the most recent population count has shown a sharp drop in numbers.

A joint plan by the GNWT and the Tlicho government proposes helping people in the no-hunting zone travel to other areas of the territory to hunt caribou from other herds. This concerns hunters in the Kitikmeot, because all of the caribou herds migrate back and forth across the NWT/Nunavut border, and all of them have declined in numbers in recent years.

The reasons for the decline are unclear, and could include the impacts of climate change and unusual weather patterns on their ability to find food, calving ground disturbances from resource development, overhunting, or a combination of factors.

Caribou have sustained Inuit for centuries; Inuit have a strong interest in sustaining caribou for centuries to come.

To be truly effective, the drive for conservation has to come from the people on the land, not the people in the offices. Without the consultation and consent of affected hunters, any conservation effort is doomed to fail.

Some hunters in the affected region in NWT have harvested caribou from the diminishing herd out of spite for the blanket government restrictions that infringe on their treaty rights. Wildlife officers then seized the carcasses, and the meat and hide went unclaimed for weeks while the government tried to find someone to take the meat.

What a waste of a precious resource!

Any effective conservation plan will stem from consultation with elders, hunters and trappers organizations on both sides of the border, and be agreed upon by the same people. We encourage Nunavummiut hunters to make their voices heard at the many caribou forums happening in the NWT. Our representatives in the government of Nunavut must also relay our concerns over caribou conservation to their counterparts in the NWT. This issue is too important to ignore and it requires a united effort.

Passing on traditional skills to the next generation can only continue if there are caribou left for our children and grandchildren.

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Let's turn the page
Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, February 26, 2010

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Eighteen years is too long to wait for closure.

Since 1997 - five years after the lives of nine men were snuffed out by a mad bomber - the families of the victims of the Giant Mine explosion have been embroiled in a lawsuit launched by the NWT Worker's Compensation Board.

Widows of the nine men killed have been seeking restitution from the parties involved in the labour dispute that eventually led Roger Warren to planting the bomb that killed the miners.

Named in the suit was the territorial government, mine owner Royal Oak, security firm Pinkertons of Canada Ltd. and Timothy Bettger, a striking mine worker whose participation in acts of vandalism prior to the fatal blast, lawyers argued, created a charged atmosphere that instigated Warren's homicidal deed.

In 2004 it seemed the widows of the miners killed in the blast would finally find some peace. The NWT Supreme Court awarded them $10.7 million in damages. The ruling was met with relief and vindication. More importantly, after more than a decade, the families could finally begin down the path towards healing.

Four years later, however, the NWT Court of Appeals reopened old wounds when it overturned the judgement. Appealing to the Supreme Court of Canada, the widows were forced to wait another two years before this country's highest court finally put the issue to rest.

Forcing these families to relive the horror of the Giant Mine bombing for nearly two decades is a travesty. It's a well-known fact that the wheels of justice can sometimes move slowly and this particular case was far from simple. When the first ruling was made, unions and government officials believed if it stood the test of appeal it would have had wide-sweeping ramifications on labour relations in Canada.

Mainly, the appellants questioned why they shared nearly equal blame with Warren, suggesting the bomber was fully at fault for the deaths.

The bombing can be fairly described as the single-most tragic event in the city's history. The events of that day, and the strike leading up to it, created divisions, some of which remain to this day. Our city was marred by violence, vandalism and murder.

Conduct by all the parties involved can easily be described as extreme, and in many cases reactions and the resulting consequences were driven by emotion.

It's easy to look back on the strike and imagine how circumstances would have changed had certain parties reacted differently. What if Royal Oak had shut down the mine instead of hiring replacement workers? What if the union protest had been more level-headed? What if workers had not crossed the picket line? What if the GNWT had intervened?

Unfortunately, that isn't what happened and what-ifs don't change the facts. The pure fact is Warren had a choice that day. A choice to turn anger into murder. He set a bomb attached to a trip wire; an action obviously meant to target miners and rain violence on anyone caught in the blast. A court determined his intent was to kill, and he admitted his actions, although he tried to duck the blame after he was charged.

The Giant Mine strike was a combustible situation fuelled by emotion. Anger and hatred sparked that emotion into civil disobedience and violence. But, in the end, Warren's choice was his own.

With no more course for appeal we sincerely hope all parties can now turn the page on this horrible chapter in Yellowknife history.

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Role models for education
Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, February 25, 2010

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When the topic of role models is discussed, adults who have made the choice to return to school and further their education normally aren't near the top of the list.

In fact the list for most young people would probably include a variety of celebrities and musicians from whatever genre of music is at the top of the charts. Adult students are not a common choice of role models, but that is exactly what they are.

In the Deh Cho, as in the rest of the territory and most of the world, there's an emphasis on education. From an early age, children are pushed to get the best education possible so they can get a good job, support themselves and generally succeed in the world.

The education message comes from teachers, parents and even leaders. I've yet to be in a Dehcho First Nation leadership meeting where youths, their future and the importance of them filling professional roles in the region didn't come up.

Everyone knows how important education is, but for myriad reasons many students in the region find it difficult to reach their Grade 12 graduation, let alone a higher level of diploma or degree. This is where adult students come into play.

While it's important that every possible step be taken to ensure that students stay in school and succeed until at least Grade 12 there have to be visible options for those who don't. Returning to a school, like Aurora College, and upgrading their education is one option for those who need a plan B.

Adults who are currently in school are a reminder for everyone - students, teenagers and other adults alike - that it is possible to work towards receiving a better education or learning new skills in different fields. That's not to say, however, that education gets easier the older you get.

As Barb Tsetso, an adult educator at Aurora College in Fort Simpson pointed out, all of the same challenges that people faced in high school are still present and new ones have been added on top of those.

Adult students need to juggle paying bills, raising children, supporting spouses, securing housing and a variety of other challenges in addition to finishing assignments on time.

Returning students need to be personally motivated, dedicated and be supported by those around them in order to succeed, Tsetso said. Those who make it to class on a regular basis and work towards competing programs are really beating the odds.

Adult students may not be on many role model lists at the moment, but some day they may be given the recognition they deserve for highlighting the path that's available for people who want a second chance at completing or supplementing their education.

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Helping the homeless
Editorial Comment
Andrew Rankin
Inuvik Drum - Thursday, February 25, 2010

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As if the folks running the shelter don't have enough to worry about without having to go to the town to beg for 10 grand. With the risk of making too much of a generalization here, I know that employees at that institution are already called upon to become makeshift social workers and psychologists. They're forced to deal with some of the people that land there, suffering from mental illness and a variety of addiction problems.

The Nihtat Gwich'in Council are in charge of running the shelter and it deserves praise for, at the very least, keeping that place open and having a safe place for people to go. It happens to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and it can hold 16 people. Over Christmas the shelter's doors remained open, offering people a host of daily activities, food, movies and board games.

The territorial and federal government ultimately fund the institution. It just doesn't make any sense to me that both governments can't provide that extra $10,000 relief that the shelter is looking for from the town. Maybe to some, that figure isn't a whole lot. But it's what that figure illustrates that irks me: the fact the homeless people, many of whom are suffering from serious addictions, are going unnoticed. The shelter is a community institution and everyone should take an interest in the wellbeing of the people who use it, but ultimately the territorial government should be responsible for shelling out the necessary cash for its upkeep. Why can't the federal government shell out the extra $10,000?

But the cash-strapped shelter obviously isn't an isolated social problem in town. It's just one of the many problems that continue to fall by the wayside here.

It's amazing to me that a community this size doesn't have a detox centre even though mental health workers and addictions specialists are working overtime and are overloaded trying to deal with the demand. What's worse is that there doesn't seem to be a solid plan by the territorial government or from anyone else about how to deal with the problem.

There are concerns about how these current problems will only be exacerbated if the pipeline project goes ahead. Yes there's a social impact fund that's expected to be available if that happens, but what concerns me is we have a government whose priority currently doesn't lie with combating homelessness and drug and alcohol addiction

Governments only react to what the people want and obviously poverty doesn't seem to be a priority. Cheaper electricity is. We should also be thinking of the strain these people put on health care and law enforcement sector, for example, but unfortunately this is the type of issue we like to face tomorrow.