 |
|
|
|
|
Subscriber pages
 News Desk
Columnists
Editorial
Readers comment
Tenders
Demo pages Here's a sample of what only subscribers see Subscribe now Subscribe to both hardcopy or internet editions of NNSL publications |
A matter of life or death NWT News/North - Monday, August 23, 2010
The quicker operations can be initiated and the longer rescuers can search from the air without having to refuel, the better chance of survival. With that in mind, stationing search and rescue aircraft in the North is an obvious and necessary choice. Jack Kruger, the RCMP's search and rescue co-ordinator in the North, recommends the versatile Cormorant helicopter as the ideal Northern rescue vehicle. Basing the helicopter in Norman Wells would also make sense. Such a central Northern location would reduce response times in much of Nunavut and the NWT by between 30 minutes and eight hours. For someone on the ground fighting for life, every hour counts. The added benefit of a Northern military search aircraft would be an increase in search times. An aircraft beginning its operation in the North could search longer before having to stop and refuel. Factor in less fuel and the costs of search and rescue operations also decrease. If the ability to save those in distress isn't enough to make our government respond - and by its lack of action it obviously isn't - then we can always emphasize that having military search and rescue aircraft in the North will increase our presence and reinforce Arctic sovereignty. One additional spinoff benefit would be having personnel living in Norman Wells contributing the community's economy. Our MP, premier and aboriginal leaders should make sure the need for a military search and rescue aircraft in the North resounds in Ottawa. Sadly, it seems the federal government has yet to be convinced to save Northern lives.
Accountability should apply everywhere NWT News/North - Monday, August 23, 2010 Accountability should be a pillar of all governments. John Mantla, a Tlicho beneficiary, has strong criticism of the way his government conducts business. A 400-name petition calling for the resignation of the four Tlicho chiefs suggests he is not alone in that opinion. Unfortunately we cannot confirm whether the petition has merit as Tlicho government leaders would not speak to the issue, nor did they accept it as an item of business at the Tlicho Assembly in July. Mantla suggests that people in the Tlicho region are afraid to speak out against the government for fear of losing their jobs or being singled out in their small, tight-knit communities. If these fears are founded, the people in the region should feel free to speak their minds. Aboriginal governments will, and should have, distinct features. However, all systems of leadership should be accountable to their constituents. Measures must be in place to ensure governments that are not accountable face consequences. If not, leaders become dictators. The Tlicho government has a responsibility to acknowledge the petition and treat it seriously until it can be verified as meeting the test of law. Residents also have a responsibility to hold their government to account. If you signed this petition and truly believe in its intent then it is time for you to speak up.
Living at work Nunavut News/North - Monday, August 23, 2010 In the past, mining companies built towns to house their workers and their families during the life of the deposits. Now, of course, the current model is to fly workers in to the mine site and house them in camps for a set number of weeks before flying them back to their homes. But the townsite option is one that could still be considered for long-term mining projects in Nunavut. In Nanisivik's later years, one of its executives reflected that having a town site had been good for the mine. On the practice of fly-in, fly-out contracts at NWT's diamond mines John McConnell said, "They could have built a town rather than rotate workers. Many are missing the experience of seeing their kids grow up." The social effects of rotational shifts have been cited as one of their main drawbacks. Workers are away from their families during holidays, birthdays, graduations and other celebrations. It's a heavy burden on those left minding the home and the kids for weeks at a time without a break, and schools in places like Baker Lake report that absenteeism and behavioural issues with kids and teens often turn out to be linked to a lack of supervision at home as parents are away at a mine. But would mine towns attract more Inuit employees? Housing is certainly scarce in many communities and the promise of a brand new home may be an attractive lure. Past mining towns, prior to the emphasis on training Nunavummuit that exists today, tended to consist mostly of southerners living a replica of the southern lifestyle. In the example of Nanisivik, the town of about 350 was a fully-functional community complete with a school, nursing station, church, RCMP detachment, library, recreation centre, arena and pool, but despite its proximity to Arctic Bay, only a fraction of the mine's employees - about 30 -- were Inuit. A third of them were from Quebec, a third from Newfoundland and the rest from elsewhere, though the average tenure of a Nanisivik employee was a lengthy 15 years. When the mine shut down in the fall of 2002, these families boarded planes and left. Most of the buildings - including housing units that Arctic Bay had hoped to salvage -- were declared contaminated and destroyed. And as Hal Timar, president of the Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce, once observed in regards to establishing mining towns, "The whole idea of resettlement is a bit of a touchy subject with the Inuit." Proponents point to communities such as Rankin Inlet and Yellowknife as examples of mining towns that not only persisted after the mines closed, but thrived, developing other economic bases. But for every Rankin Inlet, there's a Nanisivik. Which approach is better - flying workers in and out or building a town? The answer may be different depending on your perspective, but the option of "taking your family to work" is still a valid one that companies should consider.
Crying racism Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, August 20, 2010
Earlier this month, a couple of family members camping at Fred Henne Park suggested their eviction was motivated by racist attitudes among park officials and RCMP officers. Those officials came to the family's campsite after quiet hours Aug. 2 to tell them they were being too noisy.
Ruth Casaway, a resident of Medicine Hat, Alta. who was in Yellowknife to attend her niece's funeral, said she planned to lodge a formal complaint. Parks officials and police would have handled the situation differently had she and her family not been of aboriginal descent, she said.
But her admission that her group - numbering up to 10 -- had been drinking and partying that night seriously harmed any chance that her cry of racism would be taken seriously.
If officers were rude and confrontational - an assertion that was disputed by another family member in a letter to the editor published in Yellowknifer Aug. 13 - it doesn't mean they were racist.
The fact is, whether you are aboriginal or not, if you're going to party and drink in a public campground after quiet hours, you stand a good chance of getting the boot and you shouldn't expect authorities to be entirely polite while they're doing their jobs.
National Dene Chief Bill Erasmus says aboriginal people in the city tend to face more racism than immigrants because of stereotypes associated with aboriginals, such as being drunk and homelessness, while immigrants are seen as hard-working and productive.
The existence of these perceptions is hard to dispute, even if held by only a minority of our population.
Three years ago, a senior federal government bureaucrat in Yellowknife was caught red-handed passing around a racist e-mail insulting to aboriginal women.
This bureaucrat's poor judgment showed that it's not just knuckle-dragging Neanderthals living in beaten up old trailers who harbour racist attitudes toward aboriginal people. Sadly, these attitudes still occur in the highest levels of government where one would expect to find more enlightened minds and a higher degree of sophistication.
By the same token, it does nothing to promote harmony and understanding to cry racism every time one has been challenged or feels abused. People are quite capable of being nasty to each other regardless of one's race.
Last month, a rural youth educator from the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights in Edmonton, Alta., visited Yellowknife and before her visit was complete, she expressed dismay at how poorly Yellowknife fared in a human rights test she administered to 10 young residents of the city.
Considering the small sample size of her group, and the questions asked - one prodded for their views on the presence of slavery in the city -- it would hardly seem an accurate reflection of how our city and territory have made serious efforts to help downtrodden citizens. A transition home for men and a day shelter for the homeless speak to that effort.
Racism and prejudice must be combatted on every level, but those who are quick to complain should be sure they are not levelling accusations without merit.
This, of course, isn't the case. Rivers, lakes, creeks and streams all have a level of interconnectivity and decisions that are made thousands of kilometres away can end up affecting the water that is within a stones throw of many Deh Cho houses.
This level of connectivity makes water stewardship and management all the more important and, therefore, programs that support it. One example of this kind of initiative is the Aboriginal Aquatic Resource and Oceans Management program (AAROM).
The program provides funding to aboriginal groups to allow them to acquire the administrative capacity and scientific expertise to participate in aquatic resource and oceans management.
The Dehcho First Nations' is overseeing the program while the communities establish individualized programs.
Participation in AAROM is important for Deh Cho communities. It's allowing them to reinforce traditional knowledge with scientific data.
The communities with established programs such as Trout Lake are gathering baseline data that will allow them to track any changes that take place in their traditional waterways. The data will provide quantifiable proof of the changes.
In each community, however, there have to be individuals who are interested in gathering the data and making the observations. The Youth Ecology Camp that was held at Ekhali Lake last week provided the atmosphere for fostering that interest in the younger generation.
Through interesting, hands on activities the eight youth participants learned more than they every realized there was to know about the ecology of the lake. Students examined everything from the lake as a whole unit down to its smallest microscopic zooplankton parts. The camp, unsurprisingly, was partially funded by AAROM.
As the industrialization of Canada and the world moves forward access to clean, fresh water will become increasingly important. By taking the right steps now and installing an interest in the youth the Deh Cho can position itself in an enviable position to protect its pristine water resources.
That's what a group of local residents are striving for as they organize Inuvik's upcoming soon-to-be annual multicultural heritage festival, calling on all groups - from here and from away - to cook up a traditional dish and get involved in the town's celebration of its own localized cultural mosaic.
As former mayor Peter Clarkson put it, "any time people can get out and socialize and celebrate as a community, it's a healthy, good thing to do." Few people would disagree with that, especially since Inuvik's population - according to the 2006 census - includes sizeable Arab, African, Chinese, Filipino and South Asian communities for a town its size, as well as a good mix of folks from Gwich'in, Inuvialuit, Metis, Dene and European descents. Inuvik has attracted people from across Canada and all over the world - a fact worth celebrating.
But that fact alone is not enough for Inuvik to claim to be a truly diverse community. We have to reflect that diversity not just on our census forms but in our attitudes and actions toward others, particularly those who are different from us.
Ours is a generally open and accepting community, it's true. But as I walked into the library last Friday afternoon to cover Inuvik's first-ever gay pride event to find five other people in a mostly empty room - the same room where only a week earlier nearly double the number of residents had sat during the first planning session for the multicultural heritage day - it struck me just how much work we still have left to do when it comes to promoting acceptance of all types of diversity in our town. I'm not suggesting the lack of bodies in the room equates a local lack of support for human rights, nor does it necessarily mean that homophobic attitudes are prevalent in town. But it does mean we as a community need to work harder to visibly show our support for equality and take a stand against discrimination on all levels - in our homes, our schools, our workplaces and on our public streets. The upcoming heritage day on Sept. 18, as well as next year's planned gay pride event, are prime opportunities to demonstrate that kind of support, and, ideally, gain a greater understanding of what it means to be a truly diverse community.
Katie May is interim editor of Inuvik Drum. Andrew Rankin will return in September.
The Mackenzie River Basin trans-boundary agreement introduced in 1997 as a guideline for water management has essentially been ignored by British Columbia and Alberta - two jurisdictions that did not sign the agreement -- only the NWT and Yukon are signatories.
BC Hydro's plan to build a 900-megawatt dam and generator on the Peace River will put more pressure on an already strained system, which is already under siege from oil sands developers and struggles with industrial pollution. A proposed hydro-electric project for the Slave River is another potential strain on the water system.
Our water supply is being drained and polluted by jurisdictions that aren't willing to co-operate in protecting and preserving waterways that cross our borders. If the GNWT can't come to a legally-binding agreement with the two provinces in this David versus Goliath-like situation, then it needs to turn to the federal government for support.
Should Ottawa not take the issue seriously then the territorial government needs to consider partnering with aboriginal groups, who have treaty leverage in this situation, and take the issue to the courts. First Nations can bring great strength to the NWT's environmental-preservation position, while the territorial government could provide the legal resources and funding to wage this legal battle.
While such a court case will not come cheap, it will be worth every penny to fight for the safety and protection of our water system.
The former chair of the NWT Power Corporation's board of directors was right in taking the line that privatization of the publicly-owned power company shouldn't happen.
Lew Voytilla, who was fired last week by Premier Floyd Roland, agreed with the findings of two reports on the power corporation and a proposed merger with the Calgary-based ATCO group - a 2009 report titled "Brighter Futures" and a power corporation report released in the spring - both stating there would be no gain from privatizing power in the NWT. If ATCO were to take over the business of supplying power to the North, it would certainly bring changes to the way things are done now. Like any successful business, ATCO would strive to increase profits, which brings the prospects of cutting jobs or increasing rates, while the money flows south to Alberta.
Nonetheless, the contentious discussion on the proposed ATCO takeover has proven useful. The prospect of the power corporation going private has forced the utility to find ways improve its internal operations and show privatization doesn't need to happen. It also motivated the power corp.'s big wigs to go to the communities for consultations, which helps them better understand the issues.
The upcoming changes to the power rate structure and the efficiency recommendations in the power corp.'s report are positive signs the corporation could be changing for the better, even if it took a serious scare to get some action.
A dark and ugly presence has manifested itself in Baker Lake.
This presence is pure evil and goes against not only every aspect of Inuit culture, but just about every culture in the modern world.
When the evil first reared its head about three years ago, it appeared to be the type of stupid and insensitive vandalism that periodically strikes communities across the country.
But now the manner in which bodies have been disturbed in the Baker Lake graveyard suggests foul work is at play, far more severe than random acts of vandalism.
At least four bodies have been disturbed during the past three years and all of them have been female.
In at least one case, the pants of the deceased were left pulled-down, raising the stomach-churning spectre of necrophilia or the spirit-freezing notion of someone trying to practice necromancy.
Either way, it's a demoralizing and frightening time for the community to have to suffer through such indignities being committed.
One can only imagine the hurt and anger being felt by the families of those whose final resting place have been disturbed in such a sinister manner.
The Hamlet of Baker Lake has resorted to encasing some caskets in cement in an attempt to keep away those vile enough to perpetrate such acts.
The local detachment of the RCMP has placed a priority on apprehending those involved with the desecrations.
Having such acts committed in its community is as unsettling for a local police force as the residents it serves.
In the bigger picture, one can't help but wonder how such evil manifested itself in a religious-minded community such as Baker.
Indeed, the vast majority of Kivalliq communities are known and respected for their level of spirituality, and all must be rocked by what's happened in Baker; acts that strike at the very core of their beliefs.
But even more disturbing for the people of Baker Lake is the knowledge of having someone, or some people, so obviously disturbed walking around their community.
If, in fact, those responsible for these acts believe themselves to be truly practising some insidious form of what is often referred to black magic or the dark arts, there is no telling what they may, ultimately, be capable of if they're not apprehended.
That, in itself, is reason enough for the community to aid the police in any manner it can to bring to justice those responsible.
Whether you, personally, believe in such things is immaterial.
The problem is whether those who committed the foul deeds at the Baker graveyard are convinced such things are real.
If they do, the danger of what may happen next is all too real.
Hopefully, people in the community will realize the potential danger that walks among them, and do what they can to eradicate it before someone still drawing breath becomes a victim.
The people behind this evil need help, and the chances are high they're not going to seek it on their own.
|
