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Invest carefully, GNWT Yellowknifer - Wednesday, June 15, 2011
There will be less money available from Ottawa and we need to be very careful in the way we spend our funds. There is $150 million in the federal budget for the Dempster Highway extension, from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk, an amount that must be matched by the GNWT. This project will undoubtedly bring benefits to that region, but it won't bring significant gains to the NWT as a whole. The wheels may already be turning on that project, but the GNWT needs to think long and hard about the costs and benefits of its next infrastructure investments. A Mackenzie Valley Highway would be similar to the Dempster extension - it will really just benefit the residents of those communities which it would reach, and possibly bring a modest number of additional tourists, if they brave the atrocious Liard Highway or the awful stretch from Behchoko to Yellowknife on Highway 3. On that note, upgrading and paving our southernmost roads, which connect to the provinces, would be a sound investment so the gateway to the North doesn't look like a step backwards in time. Another option that deserves even greater priority is a road north to the Snap Lake and the Lac de Gras area to service and refuel the territories' three diamond mines, with the possibility of branching towards Kennady Lake, just southeast of Snap Lake, for the proposed Gahcho Kue diamond mine. This road to resources may even attract investment from the mining companies. Outside of transfer payments from Ottawa, the NWT's future revenue will largely come from both taxes and resource royalties from the mines, as devolution becomes a reality. Snap Lake and Gahcho Kue each have close to a decade of expected mine life while BHP is forecasting that cost-cutting measures could extend diamond extraction at Ekati until as long as 2040. There are numerous other prospects for metal and mineral finds in the area as well. A road to resources would be an investment in our economy - the type of project we need to invest in as the country and the NWT fight their way out of debt.
Vote of confidence in Ed Sangris Yellowknifer - Wednesday, June 15, 2011 Incumbent Ed Sangris is back as Dettah's chief for another four years after election results rolled in Monday. The majority of voters are obviously pleased with his leadership. Sangris, a longtime band councillor with four years of chiefdom under his belt, has a strong foundation in the community and has represented the people well. The Chief Drygeese Government Building was developed as a new meeting place in the community during his tenure. He has also fought beyond the boundaries of Dettah, working last summer to help reach an agreement for the Yellowknives Dene to split the cost of paving Ndilo's roads with the City of Yellowknife. Sangris has been strong in his stances on many issues, voicing his concerns over the NWT's devolution agreement-in-principle and how that will affect the Akaitcho territory if federal authority is transferred to the territorial government. He has also raised questions about why the city is proposing to relocate its water source to Yellowknife Bay from Yellowknife River and has openly criticized last fall's decision that Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. would reinstate Edmonton as a pick-up point for southern workers, possibly reducing job opportunities for members of his band. His platform continues to be structured around issues of housing, promoting the traditional language and protecting the land. Sangris' determination to create change for his community is hopefully just getting started.
A policy gone horribly awry Darrell Greer Kivalliq News - Wednesday, June 15, 2011 The Government of Nunavut's (GN) seemingly determined method of conducting its affairs in a clandestine and heavy-handed manner is a dangerous game, slowly opening a number of rifts which could prove most difficult to heal if they continue to grow. While conducting business devoid of transparency and accountability is, in itself, cause for utmost concern (please Google auditor general's report on the matter of $50 million in G8 Legacy Infrastructure Fund spending for a prime example), even more disconcerting is the effect the GN's way of doing business is having on regular folks. Leading the way in creating ill will between Inuit and non-Inuit residents in a number of communities, from businesses all the way down to students, is Nunavummi Nangminiqaqtunik Ikajuuti, known to most Nunavummiut as simply the NNI policy. The GN is fighting a behind-the-scenes battle with the NWT and Nunavut Construction Association which, if an agreement can't be reached and the association's members stay united, could see Nunavut contractors stop bidding on GN contracts. A number of contractors feel the GN has ramped up its clandestine efforts against them by quietly spreading rumours of missing materials and other issues in an attempt to point the finger of blame at them for the Nunavut Housing Corp.'s well-publicized $110-million-plus shortfall. They also feel the NNI policy is not being interpreted properly and the GN's implementation practices are going to increasingly alienate true Nunavut contractors and open the door for southern firms and fly-by-night operators. Concern is also rising over a growing number of student summer positions being offered to only one segment of our communities under the guise of the NNI policy. Most people with any sense would not doubt the validity of priority being given to Nunavut beneficiaries for most positions, skill sets not withstanding. But to discriminate against non-Inuit Nunavummiut, especially students, and not allow them to apply for summer positions in their own community -- jobs administered by a hamlet office which is supposed to represent the entire populace -- is close enough to racism to make most people feel more than a little uncomfortable. What better way to alienate youth who have lived the majority of their lives in Nunavut and encourage them to move south permanently upon completing their education than this approach? Or is that the intent? The GN and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. should be challenged to explain how such an approach benefits the growth of this territory. Bright young adults who have spent the majority (if not all) of their lives here, understand the way of life, are comfortable and productive in a multi-cultural environment, and view the community as their home are denied the same opportunities as others based on the colour of their skin? This sound familiar? It is nothing short of despicable, in this day and age, for something such as the NNI policy to be twisted enough in its application to deny equal opportunity to those so young, and with so much to offer our territory in the future. It is a policy going horribly awry!
Good first impressions NWT News/North - Monday, June 13, 2011
Over the past year or so, that entryway into our territory has been given a complete overhaul. More than $1 million - including $150,000 for a new welcome sign -- has been spent to spruce up the first attraction tourists see on their way to the North. Last week, MLAs, park staff, community leaders, residents and passing tourists attended a grand opening for the new facility. Those who News/North spoke to gave glowing praise to the new centre, which replaced one built back in the 1960s. Considering tourism in the NWT rakes in $111 million per year, according to Bob McLeod, minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, $1 million is well spent. Regardless of the amount the NWT pumps into tourism advertising, the industry relies heavily on word of mouth. A few good words on a website such as Lonely Planet can attract droves of people to our treasure trove of outdoor wonders. Obviously, a clean and new place to freshen up after hours of driving isn't going to compel thousands of new road trippers to pile into their cars and start the long haul to our borders. But, in the words of McLeod, you don't get a second chance to make a first impression. Once through the door into the NWT, our visitors' second and third impressions are of wide-open wilderness, abundant wildlife, and a vast network of streams, rivers and lakes. For any level of outdoors lover, the NWT is vacation paradise. However, our great home is not without its problems. Perhaps the greatest deterrent to RVers and other road warriors is the state of the territory's roads. Fortunately, the NWT has begun work to improve the worst of them, such as Highway 7 - known as the Liard trail. This year, more than $6 million is being spent to upgrade and repair roads in the Deh Cho region, helping to create a stable and easy-to-drive road link to the region. While these road improvements will benefit territorial residents by making travel easier and improving the supply link that brings much needed cargo to communities such as Fort Liard, attracting more tourist traffic does benefit our communities. Tourists bring money for gas, food, supplies and souvenirs. Those are dollars that boost local economies, add bulk to the wallets of small business owners and bring much needed income to our community artists. What's in a price? Nunavut News/North - Monday, June 13, 2011 Grocery retailers North West Company and Arctic Co-operatives along with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), got an earful from Iqaluit residents and Nunavut's MLAs two weeks ago. One of the 60 Iqalummiut who attended the public meeting May 31 brought along two boxes of raspberries. One was bought in Ottawa for $1.67, the other in Iqaluit for $4.99. He asked why he was paying $3 per box of berries for freight. MLAs grilled the retailers in the legislative assembly June 1, looking for an explanation of why the prices for food in Northern grocery stores are so high. Many people think retailers use their monopolies in remote communities to charge unreasonable markups. Nunavummiut want to know what that $3 difference in price between Ottawa and Iqaluit is paying for. They want a breakdown spelling out the cost of the item wholesale, the cost of shipping, the shipping subsidy, the cost of overhead (staff, electricity, rent, maintenance, vehicles, gas) and profit. Nunavut News/North has asked for this in the past, and retailers have refused to provide it, saying it was competitive information. We understand the costs of operating grocery stores in the Arctic are high. There are warehouses to maintain and massive sealift orders to co-ordinate. Labour is not cheap. Electricity rates are skyrocketing in Nunavut. Shipping is expensive. The cost of food itself is rising globally. According to the World Bank, the price of wheat and corn, for example, has risen about 70 per cent since last year. Rising oil prices are pushing food prices even higher. When Nutrition North was being rolled out, transparency was promised. Poster boards informing shoppers what the price was on an item prior to April 1 and what it is now (tomatoes now $12.29 per kilogram in Arctic Bay instead of $12.89), is not showing us what the subsidy is and how it's being applied. It's just a joint public relations campaign on behalf of the retailers and INAC. Nunavummiut want real answers. INAC has promised periodic audits of the new program. These audits need to be done sooner rather than later, and the reports be made public. Public money is being spent to make food affordable for Northerners, and the public has a right to know how much is being spent, where it's being spent and whether it's been effective at bringing prices down. However, is INAC's in-house auditing and evaluation department the best fit for the job? In the past, it hasn't kept up with its monitoring of third parties tasked with delivery of its programs. A 2008 INAC report on the food mail program found it had last audited Canada Post's food mail books in 1994. Considering that dismal record, the responsibility of monitoring the practices of retailers and the overall effectiveness of the Nutrition North program should be removed from INAC and added to the auditor general's list of tasks.
Feds police themselves but fine us Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, June 10, 2011
Erasmus's scepticism was aroused by an order issued by Michael Martin, a water resource officer with the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada after an ice dam caused Baker Creek to breach its banks and flow into an old tailings pond at Giant Mine last month. The contaminated water then re-entered the creek channel and flowed into Great Slave Lake. Water samples taken afterwards showed arsenic levels at 10 times the acceptable level for drinking water and 20 times the acceptable level for the protection of aquatic life. The intent of the water resource officer - whose criticism of the breach was unusually harsh to the ears of reporters unaccustomed to such forceful statements coming from a federal bureaucrat - is undoubtedly sincere. But it's hard to ignore that he works for the federal department managing the cleanup of Giant Mine, the same department facing fines of up to $100,000 and a one-year jail sentence per each day of non-compliance should his orders not be followed. Indeed, department communication staff set up Martin's interviews so he could lambaste the department's poor response to the overflowing creek. Martin says it's up to a different department, the Department of Justice, to actually prosecute non-compliance of his orders, but if former owners of the abandoned Giant mine, who left taxpayers on the hook for around $300 million in cleanup costs, can escape prosecution, people should be forgiven for doubting any order from one bureaucrat to another has any real teeth. And what if fines were handed out? Does anybody believe bureaucrats involved in the Giant Mine cleanup will be hauled to jail and forced to pay $100,000 fines? The reality is, much like the $450,000 fine handed to the NWT Power Corporation earlier this year for allowing a dike to breach and destroy fish habitat, it's the public paying the fines when governments get in trouble with the law. Fines aside, Erasmus says a more independent body is needed to monitor the cleanup of Giant Mine. This is a reasonable demand considering the long-lasting impacts this mine site will have on the Yellowknives Dene and residents of this city, even after the cleanup is complete. In 2003, a committee called the Giant Mine Community Alliance was formed to act as a liaison between the cleanup project team and the public. The group has been fairly silent lately and there are three vacancies on it according to the department's website, including two positions set aside for the public-at-large. It seems an opportune time to revive the committee and have the water resource officer working directly for them with all the same powers and authority he has now. That way Yellowknifers can be assured local people are involved in monitoring the Giant Mine cleanup, the federal department can be relieved of the responsibility of policing itself, and the decision to levy fines and penalties will be in the hands of people more mindful of the taxpayers who pay the penalties at the end of the day.
The new guard Editorial Comment Roxanna Thompson Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, June 9, 2011
During the Thomas Simpson School graduation ceremonies, guest speakers, with words of congratulations, urged students to look toward the future. The Deh Cho needs new leaders, was the call. The region needs young people to become doctors, lawyers, teachers and especially leaders to guide the Deh Cho into the future. That message is spoken yearly and with good reason. A glimpse at the band and Metis councils around the Deh Cho quickly reveals that the average age of leaders isn't getting any lower. Many chiefs and presidents are nearing or at the stage where they could be termed elders and the majority of their council members aren't far behind. The age range, in itself, isn't a bad thing. With age comes experience and, in theory, a greater ability to lead. Where things become problematic is that there seem to be few young adults waiting in the wings to be mentored and eventually take over the leadership positions. It's a situation that is readily apparent to the group that is working on the Berger project. Members of the group were either part of the Berger Inquiry staff or the reporters who covered it 36 years ago. Returning to the Deh Cho, they are speaking with some of the residents who spoke before the inquiry and are gathering material to be used in an interactive educational website. The years surrounding the inquiry were a heady time in the territory. In 1969, the Indian Brotherhood of the Northwest Territories was formed. Young First Nations people became activists and fought to establish Dene rights and self-rule over lands in the territory they had lived on for thousands of years. In 1973, NWT Supreme Court Justice William Morrow ruled that the Dene had aboriginal rights and hadn't abolished their land rights when signing the treaties. The ruling paved the way for land claim negotiations. Many of the young people who were involved in the Brotherhood became politicians and leaders and many who were part of the leadership in the Deh Cho at the time still are. The same rights, such as control over the land, are still being fought for by the aboriginal groups that need younger, up-and-coming leaders. It seems, however, that the same level of energy and excitement no longer surrounds the issues as it did around the time of the Berger Inquiry. In the end, it might take a loss or infringement of some rights that were passionately fought for to make younger generations pay attention and look to how they can get involved and help lead the Deh Cho towards new goals. Why choose North? Editorial Comment Samantha Stokell Inuvik Drum - Thursday, June 9, 2011
If there ever were a godforsaken community, this would likely be it. You hear the complaints of snow on June 1 and -50 C temperatures. That the bugs will be bad and the night scene worse. It's hard not to fall into the complaining trap. But no one has forced anybody to move thousands of kilometres from family or to stay more than 1,200 kilometres from the nearest Tim Hortons. Joe Clark, the former prime minister of Canada, had an interesting insight about Inuvik's residents. He described Inuvik as an isolated place, but noted the residents don't live as if they're isolated. For the most part, people living here choose to live here and make the most of it. So it snowed on June 1? Awesome, you can fit in one more cross-country skiing trip. Minus 50 C temperatures? Sweet, you can stay warm and huddle inside with a loved one. And who needs Tim Hortons when there's an amazing bakery with freshly made goods just waiting for you every morning? For those that are born here and those that come from away, the job opportunities also prove to be enticing. The advancement, the pay and the unique experiences make even regular jobs an adventure. Whether it's teaching and having an opportunity to visit one of the most remote national parks in Canada, or travelling to all the communities to fix whatever needs fixing; it's practically guaranteed your colleagues in the south won't have the same stories to tell as you. The great thing about the North is that it's not done yet. It's still a work in progress and because of the small size of communities, people actually have a chance to make an impact, no matter how large or small. So you want a bike rack outside of your apartment building? Feel free to e-mail the landlord! You've got a beef with the policy being discussed in the legislative assembly? Type a quick note detailing your qualms to your MLA. He or she will likely discuss it the next day in the assembly. The small population lends itself to a real democracy. Your voice will be heard and your opinion will be taken into consideration. That's what it comes down to. Shouldn't you embrace those little annoying things like bugs, snow and too much sunlight and instead use your complaining voice for positive change? There are fewer bugs, snow and sunlight in more southern locales, so if you can't handle it here, move. No one's making you stay and there's likely someone looking for adventure willing to take your place.
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