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Time for a city work audit Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, December 17, 2010
There are differing views on who can do it most efficiently and at the best price. Yellowknife is certainly no stranger to this argument, which came to a head during budget presentations to city council last week. Dennis Kefalas, the city's director of public works, was visibly upset after Warren McLeod, president of the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, requested an audit to help determine what services the private sector could provide in a more cost-effective manner. "You should ask the actual members of the Chamber of Commerce how many ... of their companies have actually decreased their costs over the years," Kefalas countered. In actuality, the private sector already provides many services to residents on behalf of the city, from road construction to garbage pick-up to water delivery in Old Town. The city ensures taxpayers get the best bang for our buck by putting contracts for these services out to tender. City council provides oversight by choosing the companies for these contracts - typically the lowest bidder. It's not a perfect system. For example, only one company bid for the city's paving program this year. An engineer's estimate put the project at $2,051,686; NWT Construction's bid came in at a slightly higher amount, $2,077,844. If we look at other public works, such as snow removal from streets, they are handled mainly by the city's public works department with its own fleet of vehicles valued at $13 million. City administration contends the city's 10 heavy equipment vehicles each save taxpayers $45,000 a year for doing the work instead of contracting it out. This may well be true, but it would hardly seem a bad idea for the city to take up McLeod's request for an audit. Maybe a company could do some of these other jobs cheaper, or perhaps not. Taxpayers would probably like to know. Ultimately, deciding who carries out the work should come down to who can do the job, cheaper, better and quicker.
Citizen patrols need help Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, December 17, 2010 It's easy to laud others for volunteering their time driving home drunks or hanging around in the dark to keep an eye out for crime. It's not so easy to do these tasks themselves, which is largely why it's been so hard to keep afloat two volunteer-based community watch programs - Citizens on Patrol (COP) and Citizen Patrol Services (CPS). COP began in 2004 as a citizens' crime watchdog group; CPS started two years later as an idea to help people get somewhere safe when too intoxicated to do it themselves. Both groups helped take a load off the RCMP. CPS allowed police to concentrate on policing rather than babysitting drunks, and COP provided them with an extra set of eyes. Both have been out of commission since March after running out of funding and volunteers. There is hope for the revival of CPS now that Lydia Bardak of the John Howard Society has expressed an interest in running it through the society. Anything that helps substance abusers get off the street is helpful to the community-at-large. It's also worth noting a ride home is better than a night in jail where prisoners risk getting assaulted by cellmates. Lea Martin, senior co-chair of the Yellowknife Homelessness Coalition, says there is also interest in reviving COP by a yet to be disclosed party. A lack of interest is often accompanied by a lack of profile. Hopefully, now that governments and potential sponsors and volunteers know these groups need support, people will come forward to revive them.
Providing direction Editorial Comment Roxanna Thompson Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, December 16, 2010
These simple pleasures are a lot easier to enjoy now and less draining on bank accounts thanks to changes to the territory's electricity system. As of Dec. 1 residents in the Deh Cho have 300 more kilowatt hours per month from September to March subsidized to the Yellowknife rate of approximately 26 cents per kWh. This means households using a lot of electricity have more leeway in the months when more power is required. People in five Deh Cho communities will be spending less due thanks to Northwest Territories Power Corporation implementation of a single rate thermal zone. Residents in that zone will pay 49 cents per kWh for residential customers. Savings range from a decrease of 70.6 per cent in rates in Nahanni Butte to 33 per cent in Fort Simpson. These are substantial numbers. Credit for the changes, which are a great holiday present, can be given to the territorial government but should go to NWT residents first. For years residents in the communities with higher electricity rates have argued with, begged and cajoled authorities to find ways to drop electricity rates. The concept of one power zone for the whole territory, which the new system hearkens towards, was one publicized option. The call for the changes that have been implemented clearly came from the grass roots level and percolated upwards. While the battle for lower power rates has been won to some degree there is no time to rest on laurels. The next campaign will be centred on alternative energy sources. The price of diesel fuel, which thermal generated communities rely on, is unlikely to fall in the long term. The territory needs to prepare alternative ways to keep the lights on. Fort Simpson got a glimpse of what this future could look like over the summer while an in-stream hydro-kinetic turbine was being tested in the Mackenzie River. The pilot project revealed there are still hurdles to overcome with this technology but results could improve if the right location is found. The important thing, is for the territorial government to continue to receive the message that people want to see progress on this front. In the search for continued power rate reductions alternative energy sources need to be fully explored and adapted for Northern conditions.
Not much of a Christmas present Editorial Comment Aaron Beswick Inuvik Drum - Thursday, December 16, 2010
Six full-time positions will be moved to Yellowknife and then to Fort Smith, while another three will be eliminated. Seven relief positions will be moved, and five will end with the facility's closure along with a term manager position. That's 22 families directly affected in a small community. It's a lot to stomach. What else is a lot to stomach is that the facility was destined to close well before the building's lifespan from the day it opened. While the territorial government was constructing the Arctic Tern facility to house under-age women in trouble with the law for its 2002 opening, the federal government was preparing a new Youth Criminal Justice Act. The new act, with good reason, changed the way young offenders are dealt with by the state - preferring in-community punishment and programs over sending them to jail. This makes sense and since the act came into effect in 2003, occupancy at the Arctic Tern (designed to house 14 young offenders) has dropped to an average of less than one occupant over the past year. During the 2006/07 year, when it averaged five residents, the facility cost $2.5 million to operate. During the 2009/10 year, it cost $2 million for an average of three residents at any given time. According to the numbers, and what can be read between the lines of the press release announcing Arctic Tern's closure, the territory should have built a combined adult/young offender facility in 2002. That's what they're planning on doing now - aiming to have it open in Fort Smith by 2014. If only the territorial government had known that a year after opening a young offenders facility, Canada's laws would change the way young offenders are dealt with. Should it have known? Yes. It can be assumed the federal government was working on the new Youth Criminal Justice Act in the years leading up to the changes. It's a very expensive case of one hand not knowing what the other was doing. The consequence was a multi-million dollar blunder and an essentially new facility that will be closed as of March 31. Mayor Denny Rodgers makes a good point when he said the building is here, the money is spent, and a need remains in Inuvik for a drug and rehabilitation centre. This should be given some serious thought. A facility to serve Inuvik and its surrounding communities would fit the same train of thought that resulted in 2003's Youth Criminal Justice Act - people in trouble with the law or with their own addictions are better served near their circles of family and friends.
Taxes closing in Yellowknifer - Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Nor should they. Houseboaters have historically prevailed over the city in battles over authority. The city failed when it started trying to impose taxes and building codes on the bay dwellers in 1995, but the court cases dragged on for years. It was obvious these actions were beyond the city's jurisdiction because the water body is a federal responsibility. The municipality event-ually abandoned its legal pursuits. The city later attempted to take control of the lake bed in 2000, but was thwarted by the GNWT and the federal government. Now change is upon us. City hall is forging ahead with the formation of a harbour commission. The harbour planning committee, a precursor to a commission, was formed in January and it includes delegates from the federal and territorial governments, the Yellowknives Dene, the city as well as other groups and residents of the area. This is a joint effort that includes those who have real sway and authority over the bay. At a Dec. 1 public meeting involving consultants hired by the harbour planning commission, houseboater Matthew Grogono, a prominent figure in past legal clashes with the city, referred to a mention of potential property taxes against houseboaters as a "red herring." He's wrong. As a Yellowknifer series focusing on the waterfront informed readers in July, there are already precedents in other Canadian locales for charging houseboaters. In Victoria, B.C., houseboaters answer to the Greater Victoria Port Authority, which was established in 2002. Those who own float homes must pay $1 per square foot per month, a licence fee of $150 per month (plus utilities) and the local improvement portion of municipal property taxes. The CEO of the Greater Victoria Port Authority made this recommendation in regard to the rate charged for moorage: make market value the guiding principle. Some Yellowknife houseboaters have long made the argument they do no use municipal services, so they therefore should not have to pay for them. It's true they don't have piped water and sewage service. It's also a given that the fire department is not going to reach a houseboat if a blaze breaks out in the summer. However, every time houseboaters leave their abode and come into the city, they use city roads or sidewalks. There is an expense to build and maintain those. Some Yellowknife Bay residents also make use of the costly Multiplex and Fieldhouse recreational facilities. How about houseboaters with children? They should be paying taxes to the school boards for their children's education. There are individuals who own multiple houseboats and rent them out to generate income. Of course these people should be shouldering their share of the load. There's no disputing that houseboats, numbering about 20, and their occupants add character to our city, but nobody can expect a free ride. The best float home owners can do is take part in the planning committee meetings and negotiate the most acceptable rate they can.
Time to start thinking hard about speaking up Darrell Greer Kivalliq News - Wednesday, December 15, 2010 While I've railed a number of times in this space about too many Kivalliq residents being scared to state their opinions publicly, I often understand the reasons why. The power base in Nunavut may be relatively small, but its reach makes the long arm of the law look like an inchworm and everyone knows it. Nowhere is that more evident than in Baker Lake right now, when it comes to getting the average person to state their opinion on the Kiggavik uranium project. By average, I mean not linked to Areva on the pro side, or Baker concerned citizens or Nunavummiut Makitagunarningit on the con side. At this early stage, many believe it's a no-win situation no matter which side of the fence you're on. It's tough to speak openly against uranium mining if a number of your family or friends are praying for jobs at the proposed mine. And, Kivalliqmiut are well-known for understanding how the game is played. Many Baker residents know the top businessmen in their community are pulling for the project to go ahead. Businessmen have long memories, and are the only ones who can provide good private-sector jobs in the community apart from the mining industry. The perception is good luck getting hired on by them if you're seen as a voice who helped stop a golden goose from landing on the lake. On the other side of the coin, many believe if they speak out in favour of the project and something bad were to happen, they'd be forever shunned as one responsible for poisoning the land. Still others have no desire for confrontation with those who oppose the project. Yet, sooner or later a decision has to - and will - be made on Kiggavik. At that point, opinions no longer matter and it becomes too late to make a difference. The Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA) will release the results of a survey it did earlier in the year on the project, and, like all others, it shows strong support for Kiggavik across the region. That's not a Kiggavik endorsement on my part, but a simple statement of fact. A total of 534 people attended the KIA information-gathering sessions, with 188 the high-water mark in Arviat and 25 in Chesterfield Inlet being the lowest turnout. The sessions attracted 124 people in Baker. The percentage of those who gave strong support for the project on the KIA survey was 91 per cent in Coral Harbour, 86 in Chester, 78 in Arviat and Rankin, 76 in Repulse Bay, 70 in Whale Cove and 66 in Baker Lake. Baker was the only community with a disapproval rate above 20 per cent (21), with no other Kivalliq hamlet being higher than 11 per cent. There will be more opportunities for people to speak their minds on the project, as it works its way through the regulatory bodies. No doubt some will, while others will remain silent. Hopefully the final decision will not be totally opposite of what's felt by the silent majority. But, if it is, that majority will only have its silence to blame.
Don't cut our future NWT News/North - Monday, December 13, 2010
Since the 2004-2005 school year ECE's efforts have helped to improve the graduation rates in the territory. According to the 2010 Auditor General's report, aboriginal graduation rates in the NWT have nearly doubled over the years, jumping to a little more than 40 per cent in 2007-2008 school year from a little more than 20 per cent in 2001-2002. Although a notable increase, our territory's overall graduation rates continue to lag behind the rest of the country. For this reason, it is mind-boggling the department would make a funding decision with the potential to jeopardize a successful schooling program that has proven results in graduating aboriginal students. Shifting to a block funding formula from per student funding for Fort Smith's Phoenix School will cut the amount of money the alternative school receives annually by more than $200,000. According to Julie Lys, chairperson of the Fort Smith District Education Authority, the reduced funds might force the school to close, even though it has 57 students enrolled this year. On average since 2007, nearly 10 students a year -- a majority of them aboriginal -- have graduated from the Phoenix School. Part of its success is due to its welcoming students that may not fit in the traditional school model and allowing them to work around family or job commitments. Programs with demonstrated success in helping more students succeed should be at the top of the list for funding and support. On the bright side, Dan Daniels, deputy minister of the Department of Education Culture and Employment, said the funding will be reviewed to ensure the Phoenix School's survival, adding the department sees the value in the alternative school approach. Daniels said the new formula was based on a number of criteria which should be sufficient to cover the costs of the program.
Behchoko priest embraced the Tlicho NWT News/North - Monday, December 13, 2010 Behchoko lost a respected man of faith, a father figure and a devoted friend of the Tlicho people when Father Jean Pochat died on Nov. 28. Pochat was beloved by many in the community. Pochat was a pillar of the community and was an inspiring figure amidst the backdrop of a Catholic Church that had committed many mistakes, particularly with residential schools. He proved he genuinely cared for the people of the North and strove to help them create a better life. Pochat was more than a preacher; he encouraged Northerners to embrace faith and walk their own path. He didn't sit in judgment of the people he served in the name of his religion. Instead he wove himself into the lives and hearts of the Tlicho people. Taking the time to learn the Tlicho language and embrace the culture, Pochat became a friend, confidant and mentor to many people in the region. Former premier Stephen Kakfwi described Pochat as a humble man with a strong presence. We are sure his legacy and memory will live on in Behchoko and around the North for generations.
Learning from others Nunavut News/North - Monday, December 13, 2010 In October, two staff from the Department of Environment and a group of fishers from Pangnirtung visited Greenland to get an idea how its Davis Strait summer fishery works. Pangnirtung's fishery operates mainly in winter, and poor ice has the number of fishers participating declining to about seven from about 100. So there's been a test fishery in Cumberland Sound the past few summers to determine the viability of a summer operation. The Cumberland Sound fishery faces challenges Greenland doesn't when it comes to summer fishing. Greenland's Disko Bay fishery has small boats navigating shallower waters near the community. In Cumberland Sound, smaller boats aren't suitable as the water is deeper, the tides are higher and the fishers have to venture farther from the community to get to the fish. But the difference between turbot quotas - Cumberland Sound's sits at 500 tonnes per year, where Greenland's Disko Bay is at 8,800 tonnes - indicates Nunavut is barely tapping a vast resource just off its shores. Investigating other successful Arctic fisheries is a step towards establishing industry and employment based on a renewable resource. It will also aid the community in making the most of the small craft harbour that should be completed next year, and drive employment at the fish plant. Also in Pangnirtung, artists participated in a series of workshops between September 2009 and March 2010 with a visiting expert from Montreal. They were then asked to create images that "were real to them." The result is a series of innovative and challenging prints in Pangnirtung's 2010 community collection. Though some still feature traditional depictions of wildlife and spirit beings, the resulting artworks also include realistic portraits of the artists, scenes of violence in the community and skyscrapers in Vancouver. The collection also departs from previous ones by having a number of the works printed in Montreal, allowing vibrant colour. New inspiration for artists also fosters industry based on a renewable resource - imagination. As remote as our communities are, it requires special effort, and financial support, to reach beyond our borders and make connections with people who have surmounted similar challenges or have refreshingly different perspectives to offer, be it in printmaking or fisheries. Such connections help artists, and industries, grow.
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