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Bad faith bargaining NWT News/North - Monday, November 15, 2010
Ottawa's decision to remove subsurface protection from 14,000 square kilometres of land known as Edehzhie in the Deh Cho region is further evidence the federal government will only support the wishes of aboriginal groups as long as they do not conflict with its own. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada told News/North it decided not to renew the subsurface protection in the region because it deemed it appropriate to allow for a greater balance between conservation and development in the Deh Cho region. Really? The Dehcho First Nations, who are in the process of negotiating a land claims agreement, believe otherwise. The Deh Cho have put an emphasis on environmental protection on their land and the interim land withdrawl agreement the First Nations signed with the territorial and federal governments was designed to protect those interests until a final land claim can be penned. Ottawa may be correct in its assertion that too much land is being protected and barred from mineral development. However, the decision to open environmentally, culturally and spiritually sensitive land to development should not be unilaterally in the hands of the federal government. The move jeopardizes more than a decade of work that was about to culminate in designating Edehzhie a national wildlife area and makes a laughing stock of the NWT Protected Area Strategy. According to the strategy's website, its mandate "outlines a community-based process to establish a network of protected areas across the NWT. It recognizes the need to balance conservation and economic development, while respecting aboriginal rights, third party interests, and land use planning processes." It seems contradictory to emphasize a process as community-based if the federal government can undermine 10 years worth of work with one ill-advised, unilateral decision. Removing sub-surface protection without consulting the Deh cho obviously shows no respect for aboriginal rights nor land use planning processes. It appears now the NWT Protected Area Strategy did no more than give the federal government an opportunity to discover mineral wealth in the region and create a loop-hole in any future protection efforts to exploit it. In an e-mail to News/North, INAC stated resource development "is not necessarily inconsistent with protecting the conservation values in Edehzhie." Not only is that statement insulting, it demonstrates yet again the federal government's failure to bargain in good faith and displays complete disrespect toward the rightful land owners.
Destructive negotiations Nunavut News/North - Monday, November 15, 2010 What's 1.25 + 1.5 + 1.5? That's the percentage increase Nunavut's teachers received in the past three years through their last collective agreement with the territorial government. What's 0 + 0 + 0 + 0? That's what the Government of Nunavut is reportedly offering Nunavut's 740 teachers in terms of a salary change for a four-year period. It's also an equation that does not make sense. How can the territory recruit and retain teachers to improve a notorious 25 per cent graduation rate and strengthen Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun in schools if it won't improve its financial incentives? In its quest to save money, the Department of Education is also looking to axe a benefit paid to teachers that speak a second language - primarily an Inuit language - an amount that can total $1,200 to $5,000 annually per individual - or close to $880,000 per year overall. That cut would hinder the GN's goal to expand Inuit languages to high school by 2019. There has been pressure on the territorial government to bump that date back, but former education minister Ed Picco kept insisting that there are not nearly enough qualified Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun educators. So how is this offer to freeze salaries and reduce benefits going to help? Clearly, it's not. Teachers in Nunavut who have earned a university degree make $61,565 to start. That jumps to a maximum of $96,533 after 11 years. That's not peanuts, but it trails the NWT, where their counterparts make $75,500 to 111,000, respectively. Yet the cost of living in Nunavut is higher. Education Minister Hunter Tootoo has been uncharacteristically silent on the wage freeze. Daniel Shewchuk, the minister responsible for human resources, is the lead minister on contract negotiations with the teachers. Tootoo, as a regular MLA, was well known for directing stinging questions at Picco while Picco was education minister. Now that he has assumed that same portfolio, Tootoo must be trying to keep his head low, hoping that none of the other MLAs confront him over repeating well-worn phrases about striving to improve education while Shewchuk acts as the henchman against the teachers. Both of them surely know that no education system can thrive when they are taking actions to demoralize or drive away the very people who deliver the critical lessons. If this is the government's idea of hard bargaining, they would do well to begin from a more reasonable position.
Remembrance Day Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, November 12, 2010
Harman wrote a poem read aloud in front of his school titled War, which reflects on the horrors of battle and the sacrifices made by our troops.
The cadets, as usual on Remembrance Day, held a 12-hour vigil at the cenotaph on Veterans Memorial Boulevard and took part in yesterday's Remembrance Day parade. And for an added touch, a group of four cadets visited Lakeview Cemetery Wednesday night and lit candles for the 64 veterans buried there.
War is not something our youth would be expected to know much about. Sure, everyone is aware of the war in Afghanistan; some young people might even know that 152 Canadian soldiers have died there since 2002.
But we would have to go all the way back to the time of their great-grandparents during the Second World War to know a time when war affected everybody.
And for these young people to want to honour Remembrance Day shows us they understand it's not about paying tribute to war and glory, it's about the sacrifices made by people who came before them, and that is what made our country great.
While for tourists bison make great photo opportunities, most residents have a very different view.
It doesn't take long to become acquainted with the down sides of living with bison. They include giant bison patties, hoof printed lawns, dead trees, mangled fences and vehicles that have been damaged by bison using them as licking blocks. Flower and vegetable gardens also aren't safe when bison enter communities.
All of those issues, however, are relatively minor compared to what some residents fear may happen. Concerns are often raised about the possibility of a bison injuring or killing a human, maybe a child.
This summer Dianne Nelson of Fort Liard watched in shock as her pet of four years was killed in front of her by a young bison. At 100 pounds her dog was larger than most children.
Complaints about bison, many of which originate from Fort Liard, have elicited a number of responses from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Now in Fort Liard the department wants to try a new tact, teaching the bison to stay out by allowing residents to hunt an increased number of the animals in close proximity to the community.
This plan has some obvious benefits.
The plan allows the community to have an active role in solving what has long been a problem. If changes are made to wildlife legislation community members will be able to harvest up to six bison a year.
From the department's perspective if it works it will make their jobs easier. If the bison learn to avoid Fort Liard renewable resource officers won't have to spend time chasing bison out of the hamlet and will be able to avoid the task of culling problem animals.
The plan, however, will take long term commitment from both sides. Only one tag has been used in the hamlet in approximately the last seven years. Fort Liard residents will have to embrace the idea of harvesting and eating bison while the department will have to find ways to make the process of accessing and using the tags as easy as possible.
Of all the many bison management plans this one seems to have the best chance of making a noticeable difference. All it will take is co-operation from the community and the department and some healthy fear on the part of the bison.
It's grown significantly from just a few members to about 40. They meet regularly to, among other things, discuss business related matters in town. In fact on Tuesday they had a regular chamber meeting where the president of NWT Chamber of Commerce, Ann Marie Tout, was in attendance.
The philosophy behind the group is admirable. Their mandate is to represent the interests of Inuvik businesspeople on both a local and territorial scale. So it's nice people are still taking an interest. The group's vice-president, Lee Smallwood, showed up at Monday's town council meeting with a proposal for the group to take over administering business licences from the town.
He argued the group could offer the service more effectively than the town. The chamber will provide the staff and in return they'll get the $20,000 to $30,000 in revenue the town usually gets by selling licences. It was just unfortunate Smallwood had to present and justify the proposal by himself. He made a good argument that the group needs the money to get itself going. Only one of the group's members, David Kaufman, showed up in support. It would have been a great opportunity for membership to offer some specific goals the group would like to achieve.
Just after September's blackout several members showed up to a meeting complaining about NWT Power Corp. Chamber president Larry Peckford decided to write a letter to NTPC demanding answers. So a few weeks later, when it came time for a public meeting with power corp. officials, just a few members bothered showing up. Considering how much everyone loves to complain about NTPC, it was surprising to see only a handful of people there.
There's nothing wrong with people getting together to discuss local business. The question is this: Is the group serious about getting down to work or will it be another failed attempt to fulfill an idea of a truly collective business community that's serious about making things happen? We will see.
Her decision to shelve the controversial changes to supplementary health benefits last week followed a public battle that lasted almost two years. Lee's about face came as a sigh of relief for many, especially seniors, who fought tooth and nail to stop her proposal. They were worried about having to pay a portion of expenses for items like drugs, dental work and eyeglasses.
While the decision to scrap the changes came extremely late in the game -- and after going back to the drawing board on two occasions - it's a welcome response for many. It is still essential that Lee honours her commitment to find ways to provide coverage for low-income earners, however.
In the process of handling the supplementary health fiasco, it seems Lee learned to deal with hot-button issues in a more timely manner. The mid-October announcement of funding cuts to respite services in Yellowknife was met with much opposition. Even though the service supports just 29 families in the city and employs over two-dozen part-time workers at a cost of $250,000 a year, Lee insisted funding would have to come from another source. This potentially left caregivers with high-needs dependents without an option for a few hours of relief each week.
A petition signed by more than 1,800 people and daily grilling by regular MLAs in the legislative assembly led to Lee's relatively quick backtracking.
However, it remains a mystery how funding will be made available to respite services in the future. Damien Healy, Department of Health and Social Services spokesperson, said the department is committed to offering a territory-wide respite program.
The federal funding scheduled to run out in March next year was specific to the Yellowknife Association of Community Living, which provided respite services here. A territory-wide program could mean less money for Yellowknife respite services or a potentially heftier price tag if the GNWT takes on the hiring.
No matter how respite care is reformed, it's important that Lee and her department consult those who will be affected and come out with a strong plan to avoid another supplementary health debacle.
The Department of Health and Social Services' website dispelling commonly held but erroneous beliefs among teens regarding birth control is a good tool for combatting the territory's high rates of teen pregnancy and sexually-transmitted infections.
The website is free to access. It's anonymous, and it's far more helpful than the advice dished out by teens' sometimes equally clueless peers - such as drinking Mountain Dew to reduce sperm counts, or taking a couple of somebody else's birth control pills.
It even details what sexual activities are no-risk, low-risk, medium-risk and high-risk for pregnancy and sexually-transmitted infections, giving teens concrete tools with which to set their personal boundaries.
The website is also worth a look for adults who need a refresher on the basics of safer sex - because teens don't have a monopoly on awkward questions.
To say the past month in the world of Nunavut politics was one for the books would be an understatement.
Few would have believed the leadership review and confidence vote on Nunavut's premier and cabinet ministers would have resulted in Paul Okalik being named Speaker for the Nunavut legislature.
It made perfect sense for Premier Eva Aariak and her ministers. What better way to silence Okalik than make him Speaker? But one has to wonder what led Okalik to accept the nomination.
It's quite possible he felt the confidence - or non-confidence, depending on your point of view - vote was his last chance to usurp Aariak.
Then, lacking the support to rock the ministers out of the boat, decided if you can't beat them, join them.
It's also possible Aariak and a few ministers survived the review because the call for non-confidence was being led by Okalik.
He lobbied behind closed doors for months to topple Aariak or, at the very least, Education Minister Hunter Tootoo, who he felt had to pay the price for his performance while responsible for the Nunavut Housing Corp.
It wouldn't be surprising if, faced with the choice, the members simply decided to stay with the current leadership, which they viewed as the lesser of two evils.
The results of such an entertaining day either had Louis Tapardjuk slapping himself for resigning as Culture, Elders, Language and Youth minister before the review, or his resignation was part of this grand performance.
On the surface, the shell game that resulted in Okalik as the new Speaker is just a little too convenient.
Equally entertaining was former Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) president Paul Kaludjak's lament on being ousted during NTI's annual general assembly in Rankin.
Kaludjak had been suspended for indiscretions on his corporate credit card and was ultimately fired for some supposedly unacceptable public comments while on suspension.
Kaludjak didn't see the ousting coming and felt he was stabbed in the back by some of the NTI delegates, especially those he took to hockey games and fancy restaurants while in office. He did point out, however, such activities only happened when time permitted because they're a busy bunch at NTI.
Do you get the feeling a number of NTI reps just don't get the point?
Finally, numerous Nunavummiut expressed outrage, although none would express it publicly, over an invitation sent by the Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA) to a number of businesses to attend a consultation session to discuss potential changes to the contracting provisions in the Meadowbank Inuit Impact Benefits Agreements.
Seems the KIA is concerned Agnico-Eagle may not be giving maximum benefit to genuine Inuit firms.
In the invite, the KIA insinuated Agnico-Eagle has contracts with companies that are Inuit firms on paper only.
The invitation referred to the unnamed firms as "potato companies," a term most readily identified as meaning brown on the outside and white on the inside.
Nope, not a banner month for those supposedly leading the way in Nunavut.
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