Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

There is nothing wrong with the city going green - providing city council's longing for environmental accolades doesn't break the back of Yellowknife taxpayers.

This is the risk that comes to the city as it tries to out-green other municipalities. Emboldened by three years running as Canada's "Most Sustainable Small Sized City" - awarded by a group nobody has ever heard of, the Corporate Knights - city hall wasted no time trying to live up to its anointed status by trying to foist an overly-ambitious geothermal and district energy project on the citizenry in 2010.

It was an interesting concept and may have eventually succeeded had the city managed to get more downtown properties onside and not spent so much time focusing on unproven geothermal possibilities from Con Mine. Draped in secrecy, and headed by a council blinded by enthusiasm, the district energy project was doomed to fail after voters refused to approve the $49 million the city needed to borrow to get it off the ground.

The city has been more modest in its green energy efforts since then but a recent declaration that the city intends to become carbon neutral by 2025 - while pointing to similar aims expressed by much larger cities such as Copenhagen and Sydney, Australia - ought to give council reason to pause.

Some measures are no-brainers. The city reports having reduced its annual operating costs by $500,000 since 2006 while cutting its reliance on greenhouse gases by more than 24 per cent by through energy-efficient retrofits, such as installing wood pellet boilers and a heat-recovery program at the Multiplex.

Another is the city's decision to replace street lamps with LED lights, which is expected to be paid back after seven-and-a-half years while saving the city more than 975,000 kilowatt-hours in electricity per year.

But Carl Bird, director of corporate services and a big backer of the geothermal project, says before it can truly depend on renewable energy, the city will have to invest in newer technologies. This includes building a wind farm and a 'digester' at the dump's baling facility to convert waste into bio-gas.

City government must remember the first priority of the renewable energy's plan is saving money. Future plans must not mean investing millions in new technologies that don't have a proven record in reducing costs.

Officials must do their research into what is compatible to the area's energy consumption needs and make sure these technologies will be less expensive than current energy sources.

It would be very hard for ratepayers to feel good about reducing carbon emissions when they are burdened by higher costs to pay for it.

Council should look to Ontario, where communities have been saddled with expensive energy schemes that failed to deliver on their savings promises.

Tying green energy to cost-saving will ensure future success and accolades from the most important authority - Yellowknifers.

Being in Repulse Bay for three days to officiate the Arctic Circle Cup hockey tournament this past month was a wonderful experience.

Although the tourney featured some decent hockey and a great final game, that wasn't what made my three days on the Bay so special.

It was the kids. And they were everywhere!

First, I was swarmed by a number of peewee-aged types who remembered me as a ref from the Powerful Peewees event earlier this year in Rankin Inlet.

Some of them simply wanted to say hello, while others couldn't help but wonder if I remembered them from the Rankin tourney.

And many were filled to the brim with questions about officiating.

Do you like it? Is it scary? How long have you been reffing?

The last one is always met with a collective, "whoa!" when I tell them.

And, my personal favourite, "are you the oldest referee in Nunavut?"

There's nothing like a little ego-deflator from the mouths of babes.

Then comes the group who start by asking my name.

I've always found it a little curious when a dozen kids surround me, and each one takes their cue from the first to ask my name.

It's like they're waiting for the answer to change.

Then, of course, they want to know where I'm from.

When I tell them Rankin, I'm immediately met with a kid's look of scepticism that anyone who's raised a child knows all too well.

That signals the start of what I like to think of as the challenge round of questioning.

Once convinced I am, in fact, from Rankin, and have lived here for a long time, the flood gates open and the inquisition begins in full force.

By the second day, a slowly growing number start asking my last name.

I still find it hilarious, listening to them trying to pronounce all five letters of it correctly.

When the last name questions start, I know some of the kids are starting to put two-and-two together.

With some, the name rings a bell of recognition that can only come from Dad, or another relative, singing my 'praises' as a referee after returning home from a tournament in Rankin.

Again, hilarious is the only word to describe the I-know-something-you-don't-know looks on their faces as they realize they've just come face-to-face with the object of their relative's 'affection.'

The other group swings in a different direction after learning my last name.

They delegate the bravest amongst them to ask if I'm the Kivalliq News guy.

Once convinced I am, I spend the next 10 minutes in old (well, not that old) writer's heaven, as they diligently report the name of every friend and family member who has appeared in the newspaper.

It is, without a doubt, the warmest feeling I've ever had as a writer-journalist.

Some tournaments, of course, go off the rails and become so intense it makes it difficult to enjoy the kids the same way at the arena.

Thankfully, they are few and far between.

The rest of the time, being with the kids makes me remember while hockey is the best game on the planet, children will always be our greatest treasure.

To the hundreds of kids I met in Repulse this past month: thanks for the reminder!

Last week, the Governor General of Canada awarded a number of Northerners and former Northerners with awards of bravery for their actions in harrowing and life-threatening situations.

Inuvik's Larry James Angasuk Jr., Teddy John Allen Omilgoituk, RCMP constable Todd Glemser were recognized for their actions during a fatal house fire in Inuvik. The men were instrumental in puling two children from the flames. Unfortunately, one child did not survive.

Cpl. Scott Joseph Young risked his life to save a suicidal person fro the Slave River.

Sheldon Charles Catholique was awarded for his actions following a plane crash near Lutsel K'e. Despite suffering from severe injuries, he managed to pull a woman to safety and care for her injuries while they waited for help to arrive.

Also awarded last week was Fort McPherson's Charlie Snowshoe. He received an Indspire Award for his efforts to help protect the environment. It is the third award the elder has received for such efforts.

All of these people, albeit for different reasons, are examples of how all of us can contribute to protecting the people around us and the land we live on.

None of them put their lives on the line or dedicated their lives to a cause seeking to be rewarded. Nonetheless, the awards are great ways to recognize their efforts and inspire the rest of us to be greater.

There was a lengthy round of applause at the recent Nunavut Mining Symposium gala dinner when James Nasso, the chairperson of the board at Agnico Eagle Mines, announced the company is providing $5 million to the Government of Nunavut to start a fund for the creation of a University of Nunavut.

The company deserves the applause for backing an initiative that has been identified by many people as a necessity for Nunavut. Further, it is noteworthy that Agnico Eagle has specified that the money be used toward a bricks-and-mortar project to create a university in the territory. With the trend toward distant learning, and recognizing that there is no physical university in either of Canada's three territories, the distinction is important.

How much it will cost to create a university is another matter. Although $5 million may sound

like a lot of money, when one considers the costs of construction, establishment of a curriculum, hiring of staff and the myriad details involved with establishing a physical centre for post-secondary learning, it is only a small start.

More corporate partners will be needed, the federal government will need to become involved with the provision of funding and the territorial government will be challenged to put planning pieces in place, such as deciding on a location, timeline and budget.

Establishment of a university fits well with the goals stated by Premier Peter Taptuna and his cabinet that this government's primary focus during its current term is education.

Critics have suggested more attention is required at the elementary and high school level. That is where the Department of Education is currently focusing its efforts.

We suggest that work toward building a university shouldn't interfere with work toward improving standards and results in kindergarten-to-Grade 12 classrooms.

In fact, the knowledge that there is a university in Nunavut, we believe, will act as an incentive for Nunavut youth to excel in secondary school and ensure they have the grades to be accepted in programs of study tailored toward their unique needs and culture.

Some may point to the offerings at Arctic College's campuses in Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay, or the opportunities to enrol in university courses at institutions in the south through the University of the Arctic, as being adequate for the needs of a relatively small population. However, neither institution is able to grant degrees or offer the same level of education as a standalone university.

Canada is the only circumpolar nation out of eight countries in the world that does not have a university in the North. Significant research has already been done by the Ilitturvik University Society and the Walter & Duncan Gordon Foundation.

We say keep the momentum going. Small steps toward a stated goal will be sure to result in much applause in the future.

As each day brings the city closer to the social disgrace of being without a homeless day shelter, police are amping up their downtown patrols.

With 70 users daily at the shelter - which keeps people off the street, gives them a warm, safe place to retreat to use the bathroom, sleep or sober-up - there is bound to be a substantial impact come May 31, and Yellowknife needs to brace for it.

Although the RCMP does make up a portion of the resources such a population requires, its role is decidedly short-term. To remove a drunk and disorderly person from a downtown street, place them in a jail cell for the night and release them when they're sober, is addressing an immediate issue but ignoring an underlying cause. Valuable police resources are being diverted to putting the same Band-Aid on the same wound again, and again and again.

Without the shelter to supplement police enforcement in addressing complex social issues, the problems only perpetuate, putting a strain on our courts and jails, while doing absolutely nothing constructive for those caught in the vicious cycle of poverty and addiction.

This failure in services for the city's most vulnerable falls right onto the shoulders of the territorial government and the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority, for not finding an alternative when help was discovered the shelter was set to close and its building demolished.

When government fails to take care of its citizens who need it most the problems do not just go away - the costs linger through increased policing, ambulance calls and hospital visits.

While the homeless day shelter is not a standalone solution, it does help alleviate some of those costs - a person able to sleep off their drunkenness on a couch at the shelter is not going to be on the street and at risk of being taken to a jail cell to do that very thing - or at risk of consuming more alcohol, which could manifest into worse consequences.

It takes a balance of resources to achieve long-term solutions to the problems of addiction and homelessness. A four-pillar approach, like how the City of Vancouver tackles its addictions problems, means enforcement when it's due, harm reduction - which would include the day shelter - when it helps, treatment when it's needed and prevention when it's possible.

Take away one of those legs and the whole thing topples. Increase enforcement, but eliminate harm reduction, and one is left with an imbalanced approach less likely to lead to a solution.

Unfortunately, the territorial government's view on this problem appears to amount to little more than substituting police officers for social workers and the city's safety net for homeless people with jail cell bars.

Last week, Yellowknife resident Kyle Thomas released his self-published book - Yellowknife Street Stories - which shares tales from the local street people population, bringing them to life and shedding some of their stereotypes.

It is this non-judgemental view those with the power to implement solutions must take, ensuring they help - rather than hurt - the population. Users of the doomed day shelter need social supports and structures rather than more officers, handcuffs and jail cells.

There's nothing like a string of fires to put a community on edge.

A steady stream of people went by the Northern store in Fort Simpson on April 27 to look at the damage that had been done there earlier in the day. A wooden shed was reduced to charred remains and goods that would have kept the stores' shelves full until the Liard River ferry begins running were scattered across the ground, pulled from the metal warehouse where they were stored after the contents also caught fire.

If village residents wanted to get a full sense of the fires that took place on Sunday they also had to drive past Liidlii Kue First Nations' office and the post office where garbage dumpsters were burned and Bompas Elementary School where a garbage container was also on fire. Four fires in one morning is enough to make anyone wonder what is going on in Fort Simpson.

The RCMP and the Office of the Fire Marshall are investigating, but undoubtedly many residents already have theories about what happened and who's behind it.

Was it a pyromaniac with a desire to see some things burn or a statement to make or was it a youth or a group of youth who were bored and looking for something to do? Three of the fires were relatively small and the fourth would have been too if the fire in the Northern shed hadn't also caused supplies in the metal warehouse to ignite.

While people work on their theories, they must have one niggling worry, was this quartet of blazes an isolated grouping or will it be the start of something larger?

Fort Simpson, on the whole, isn't subject to a lot acts of vandalism or arson. There is the occasional graffiti tag and minor damage to personal property, but not usually a drawn-out campaign.

It would be unfortunate for everyone in the village if this was to change. Not every Deh Cho community is as fortunate.

In June 2012, a small abandoned house was burned in Fort Liard and a second house was burned to the ground in June 2013. The hamlet's fire chief said both fires were arsons, along with a number of vehicle and grass fires he's seen set over the years.

Hopefully, the Fort Simpson fires will be isolated incidents and the culprits will be found quickly and faced with consequences that serve as warnings for others contemplating similar actions. Deliberately set fires are serious matters and even those that start small and with minimal intention for damage can grow to threaten both lives and structures of significant value.

With the Inuvik Community Greenhouse ready to open its doors to the growing season, it's time for Inuvikmiuts to seize the opportunity to "grow up" a little.

One of the most common complaints around town – not that it's unjustified – is the cost and quality of the food available here.

Oftentimes, NorthMart is described in less than flattering terms because of its ubiquitous presence throughout the region.

Other grocery stores, including the Stantons chain, also take it on the chin. Both are at the mercy of southern suppliers and the challenges of shipping produce so far north can sometimes leave consumers wanting.

With the long days of summer, filled with ample sunlight, now on the horizon there is little excuse not to take matters into your own hands and do something about it.

That's why the opportunity to have a plot at the Inuvik Community Greenhouse is such a unique opportunity to help address one of the fundamental problems of the North.

Why would you not want a chance to grow your own fresh food and have some direct input into the quality of what you're eating?

The greenhouse gives you a chance to start doing just that, with only a moderate amount of work.

Plants grow phenomenally well under the midnight sun. At times it's almost too well, since it doesn't take much for them to grow wild in a hurry. Other than basic weeding, the main requirement is to water regularly, and that's not a lot of work.

Last year I wrote about having a plot at the greenhouse. While I had some misadventures, I did manage to grow enough to readily supplement what food I was buying at the grocery stores. That was the first time I've ever been able to grow anything successfully, so when I state if I can do it, you can too, you can take that to the bank.

The greenhouse, for all its usefulness, is only the beginning of the process. With some ingenuity, a few skills, and some effort, it's quite possible to grow at least some crops outside. Some people locally are experimenting successfully with raised beds for food stuffs. There's no clear-cut reason why more people can't do it.

Food security is one thing you can literally take into your own hands here and run with it. I encourage everyone to try it.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.