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There were some disturbing economic indicators arising from stories in last week's edition.

One is the plummeting property values in Inuvik ("Inuvik housing prices take a fall," July 21, NWT News/North). According to information provided by Coldwell Banker, real estate prices in the community have declined, on average, by 10 to 15 per cent.

Another was the decline in private business in the NWT ("Gov't grows, businesses close," July 21, NWT News/North). A recent NWT Chamber of Commerce survey pointed to rising energy costs, taxation and other expenses, and growth in the number of GNWT employees creating skewed salary expectations as the culprit.

Both issues are related and can be blamed, along with other factors, for the population woes in the NWT.

Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger promised after the last budget to bring 2,000 new residents to the territory in an effort to reverse recent drops in population. Population decline is a major issue in the NWT. The territory's budget contribution from the federal government depends on it and every person is worth tens of thousands of dollars.

With only approximately $1 billion to spend, every cent counts. Unfortunately, advertisements marketing the greatness of the territory and people can experience a high-quality of life is not enough when the government is not meeting its obligations to ensure there are opportunities for everyone.

Government should not compete with business. It's as simple as that. If businesses are failing because they cannot afford to compete with wages paid to an arguably inflated bureaucracy and the government's general labourers, it's a recipe for disaster.

The GNWT, although accounting for nearly half of the territory's jobs, cannot employ everyone. It is not feasible from a budgetary point of view, nor is everyone is qualified for government jobs. That, in part, is where the private sector should be filling the employment gap.

When it doesn't, employment falls, economies shrink and, when combined with energy woes such as those seen in Inuvik where heating costs have jumped due to the loss of natural gas, the results can be dramatic. That is being demonstrated by the collapsing housing market, which does nothing to attract people.

If Miltenberger wants to bring more people North, more must be done. Employment-related tax breaks for businesses must be considered, greater emphasis on economic development and small business, more opportunity for non-resource-based jobs such as in tourism and incentives for young people to migrate North could be explored. Perhaps the latter, as we've suggested previously, could come in the form of a program to help new graduates pay off student loans.

If the territory is only attractive to government workers, it will never see an increase in population, just a revolving door as employees come and go. A long-term, sustainable solution that fosters a burgeoning private sector is what is sorely needed.

Dump fire bigger than Iqaluit's capacity
Nunavut News/North - Monday, July 28, 2014

Perhaps because it has been going on for so long, or perhaps because the smoke doesn't always blow its noxious odour over populated areas consistently, the fire at the Iqaluit dump isn't getting the attention it deserves.

It's an environmental disaster which is spewing toxic particles into the air over a capital city and threatening to pollute a pristine ocean waterway. There is no question that the fire, which has been burning since May 20, must be extinguished soon, and with as little impact on the environment and Iqalummiut as possible.

It is a challenge that is too large for the City of Iqaluit and even too much for the Government of Nunavut.

There have been numerous meetings involving municipal politicians, city employees, the fire chief and an outside consultant which have resulted in proposed plans that have not been carried out. Environment Canada has lent its expertise in the form of advice. The Qikiqtani Medical Association has raised the alarm about the risk to human health as the fire continues to burn.

The estimated price tag to really tackle the fire climbed to $5 million from earlier estimates of $4.5 million, $4 million and $3 million.

The latest plan, approved by city council on July 22, is estimated to cost $2.2 million, plus a contingency fund. Environment Canada has agreed to monitor water runoff in a holding pond for toxicity and potentially help the city decontaminate the water before it flows into Frobisher Bay. The city still needs permission from the territorial government to press forward.

Council made a request to both the territorial and federal governments to help with the cost of bringing in extra manpower and equipment. To date, the city has spent about $68,000 on fighting the fire, has paid a consultant a significant fee for advice and has brought in new rules for residents to follow when disposing of garbage.

At this point in time, there has been an awful lot of talking but very little action to address this environmental nightmare. It is a difficult but not impossible problem to fix. Piling garbage four storeys high on an area the size of a football field, where all sorts of garbage are mixed together to fester, compost and create its own heat is a disaster waiting to happen.

Modern landfill sites separate waste into different streams which are handled with techniques appropriate to the content, including recyclables, electronic waste, paper products and hazardous material.

Given the enormity of the fire now, it is obvious that the problem has grown larger than the City of Iqaluit's capacity, larger even than the ability of the territorial government to respond.

What constitutes a state of emergency? To deal with the problem in a proper manner will require millions of dollars, firefighting experts, heavy equipment, significant manpower and professional leadership.

It is time to go beyond a simple request for help from the federal government. Ottawa needs to get fully involved in the dump fire file sooner rather than later.

The painted scene accurately captures the inside of the Wildcat Cafe. The eatery is populated with coffee-drinkers and servers offering cafe-goers trays of cheese.

The discernible difference from reality is that the customers, created from the mind of Yellowknife artist Nick MacIntosh, are mice.

While this may appear to be a clever portrait celebrating an Old Town icon, to the City of Yellowknife it is an illegal act.

On July 8, MacIntosh was served a surprise. After printing his painting on T-shirts he had hoped to sell around the city - a $2,000 endeavour - the City of Yellowknife sent him a letter threatening legal action unless he surrenders all the shirts "bearing any reference-to or depiction-of the Wildcat Cafe."

Not wanting any trouble, he complied.

Does his depiction do the city a disservice? Would it have tainted the reputation of Yellowknife?

These are questions administration failed to ask the real owners of the copyright - the citizens of Yellowknife - before it forged ahead with a decision that has some people shaking their heads and others shaking their fists.

Understandably so - the city's thoughtless assertion of its copyright was a purely legal decision made without any consideration of its implications.

The city purchased the copyright in the first place to stop former chef Pierre LePage's attempted re-branding of the restaurant as "Le Wildcat" on menus, napkins and T-shirts.

Whereas that was an apt decision in which the city had its fingers on the pulse of the public, this one was not.

As the Wildcat Cafe is pumped fat with $500,000-worth of public funds, the city had a responsibility to take direction from its citizens. And because funnelling the interests of 20,000 people into a decision that pleases the majority can be like trying to corral a bunch of small wild animals, there is an elected council in place to make decisions on the public's behalf.

When the city makes such potentially contentious decisions without consulting the people or their representatives, it does us all a disservice. While the city does indeed have a responsibility to ensure the people's copyright is used properly, its responsibility is to the citizens of Yellowknife above any law-book or knee-jerk reaction.

The RCMP should be commended for putting officers on bikes, as should the officers who volunteered to take the required training.

The move goes a long way toward dispelling public safety fears in areas less accessible to cars and trucks -- such as the McMahon Frame Lake Trail.

While police, city administration and citizens have said fears directed toward the area are overblown, those who are fearful find this of little comfort.

Rather than face an uphill battle trying to convince would-be trail-walkers otherwise, it is far better to show that the area is safe by having police regularly patrol on bikes.

The problem is that it is a bit late in the season.

In mid-July, RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Marc Coulombe said the number of officers trained for bike patrols could triple over the next month.

At that time, the trained officers will have missed the opportunity to put their skills to use during the peak summer period which includes both Canada Day and Aboriginal Day and those who might make more use of the trail will have missed out on using the trail during that time as well.

On the other hand, bike cops will be ready to hit the trail and other more remote areas of the city in full force next summer.

We hope they do, putting their new-found skills to good use.

The centre is unlike anything in any other community in the region. Even Fort Simpson, with its larger population, doesn't have a centre of that calibre.

Most communities are lucky to have a few pieces of exercise equipment, if any at all. Fort Providence has a dedicated room in its recreation centre that is filled with brand new equipment.

The fitness centre will certainly be an asset for the community and will hopefully be well-used and afforded the proper level of appreciation. The improved centre was made possible through the community's involvement in a three-year pilot project.

Deh Gah School, the hamlet, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs and Sports Canada are collaborating to discover if having a physical literacy co-ordinator in the school will result in the students being more physically active on a daily basis. Both the hamlet and the school used a portion of the funding they've received to purchase new equipment for the centre.

Patrick Kippax, the school's physical literacy co-ordinator, said he's already seen changes in the broader community. People are becoming more conscious about the importance of being more physically active and healthy, he said. There is a lot of interest from residents about being able to use the new centre.

The increased level of awareness is likely not limited to Fort Providence. On a daily basis people are bombarded with information in the media about the increasingly dire straits of the population's general health in Canada.

People aren't as active as they should be, they don't eat the food that is best for them and levels of obesity, diabetes and other health problems are on the rise. The question is, what actions are people willing to take to reverse the trends?

Not every community can be like Fort Providence and be chosen as the site for a physical fitness pilot project. Without additional funding many communities don't have the resources to purchase fitness equipment.

What residents can do is make healthy living and physical fitness a priority in their community and insist that their local government provide support in any way possible. That can include applying for grants to purchase new equipment or directing recreation staff to create fitness programs that appeal to a broader range of people.

Fort Providence has a leg up with its improved fitness centre, but other Deh Cho communities can follow different routes to also support healthy-living goals.

The question of homelessness in Inuvik continues to be a pressing one, and one of the main issues is how to assist that population during the day.

There's no argument there's a lack of things to do and places to go for the homeless during the day. That makes them more visible as they travel from place to place, often in groups, particularly during the endless days of summer.

The shelter stepped up in the last month or so to tackle that question with a bold move to try operating 24 hours a day four days a week.

So far, the test appears to be going well. Staff at the shelter report a fair bit of use during the day, and it also gives them a chance to provide more services for their clients.

Many of those clients are looking to get back into housing of some kind and need help with the government paperwork to do so, said shelter staff. That means they can become easily frustrated trying to properly fill out the forms and go from office to office to get things accomplished.

During the daytime, shelter staff now have the chance to render that assistance during the regular working hours of the government offices, and that's invaluable.

The main stumbling block to opening the shelter for longer hours is paying for it but, so far, a few tweaks to the budget and staff scheduling to reduce or eliminate overtime is making it feasible to keep it open four days a week.

Currently, though, the food budget is literally being eaten up as the shelter serves up to three meals a day to the people staying there.

It's clear the staff and board members would like nothing better than to turn it into a full 24/7 operation to better help the people they serve, but the funding just isn't there.

That makes it key for either the government to step in with more funding, and/or for community members to step up with more donations, whether it be cash, food, in-kind or volunteer assistance.

Currently, the shelter might well be the only one in the NWT offering this kind of service.

It's a step in the right direction, one the community needs to be aware of and fully support.

This year's record fire season has proven people must be prepared to protect their own properties when wildfires come close.

With 243 fires burning across the NWT, homes, cabins and lodges are under threat of burning anywhere below the treeline.

David and Kristen Olesen's home at the mouth of the Hoarfrost River on the east arm of Great Slave Lake was destroyed July 4.

While Olesen was given assurances crews would fight the fire near his home, he stopped short of laying blame, saying the fire caught everyone by surprise.

At the same time, members of the Gibeault family were left largely on their own battling a blaze threatening their cabin 80 km east of Yellowknife.

Gibeault decried the lack of help he and others received from the GNWT. He said he had to clear brush and spray water when flames came within metres of his property while GNWT firefighters focused on other areas nearby.

For both the Olesens and Gibeaults, it's clear they and all property owners living off the grid must be prepared to protect their properties on their own during fire season.

When resources are stretched thin under extreme conditions, decisions are made on the fly and communication can become confused. Mistakes can happen. Sometimes all the right decisions don't prevent tragedy. In the end, people can't rely on policy makers and bureaucrats because they have no control over them.

Well before this fire season, the GNWT had been vocal about getting property owners to be vigilant and follow Firesmart procedures, like clearing brush away from buildings, keeping woodpiles from the house, having a water supply, planning for the worst etc.

This fall, the GNWT should do a postmortem on how the season was handled, identifying gaps in information, re-examining priorities, strengthening communications not only with the public in general but those at immediate risk in particular.

Considering the effort put in and the successful protection of people and property across the territory, except the sad losses on the Hoarfrost River, there's no reason to doubt the dedication and resourcefulness of NWT firefighters.

Ensuring they have all the people and equipment they need should guide future policy and budget decisions.

If there was any doubt as to the ongoing needs of the less fortunate in the city, it was amply demonstrated by Renee Sanderson through her 2nd annual Christmas-in-July food giveaway.

Sanderson organized and distributed supply bags of food, toiletries and water to homeless men and women in front of the post office last week.

With the help of two volunteers and cash donations, she gave out 178 bags. Sanderson said she surpassed last year's cash donations and is planning on expanding next year, with clothing and backpacks if she can get enough donations.

The homeless and needy of the city need something like this now THAT there are fewer options for them to get bare necessities.

The Yk Food Bank shuts down from June to September. The now closed Day Shelter was one of the few places where people could get a snack during the day. Despite the summer weather, the situation looks bleak as the city and territorial government continues to drag their heels over a new location.

Sanderson's food effort and the response on the street are a healthy reminder the homeless need more than occasional donations. They need a guaranteed safety net.

I find that every so often there seems to be a theme to the stories I hear throughout the run of a week. It's odd, but it's as if clusters of things pertaining to a particular subject present themselves to me. Either that or I just relate them all in my mind and think of them that way.

This past week and a half the theme I've been hearing and thinking a lot about happens to be drowning.

I'm speaking in reference to the tragic loss of a young man in Whale Cove who drowned while swimming with a bunch of his friends. I know from speaking to people in the community that it's a loss that hits everyone, especially when the victim is so young.

I also heard the story of Louis Pilakapsi - the man heavily involved in politics and his community who drowned in 2000 in Hudson Bay just outside of Arviat with his ship crew. Even hearing that story 14 years later it's clear what a loss it was, and the person telling me the story said it was made even worse that all of the lives were lost and searchers never recovered them.

I know that loss, personally.

Coming from the East Coast and from an extended family of fishermen, drowning is something you just deal with growing up as one of those things that happens. You become desensitized to stories of drowning over time - at least until it hits someone in your family, or someone who you know well in your community, and then believe me, the senses come back.

A year-and-a-half ago, five young fishermen were lost when their boat, the Miss Ally, capsized during a February storm just after Valentine's Day. All of the men lost were young, had young families and, like most in southwest Nova Scotia, were related somehow to almost everyone.

One of the fishermen was my cousin, Billy Jack, and, although we were never really close, it still hit hard that he was gone, leaving behind young children. I remember when the call went out that the boat was in distress, another cousin's husband was one of the first to try and help.

The fishermen in the community took to the choppy seas themselves to try and rescue the young men, but there was nothing they could do.

For days I watched and listened around the community as girlfriends, wives and soon-to-be widows kept praying, left their outside lights on at night as a symbol of hope, and banded together for support until the sad day that the Canadian Coast Guard and the RCMP called off the search.

I'm sure in a coastal region like the Kivalliq there are many sad stories of lives lost and taken by the bay, lakes, rivers, while fishing or swimming, or just enjoying the water.

For all of those who have been touched by this, I know it's heart-wrenching to hear of it happening over and over again.

Unfortunately, so long as we venture out on the water to make a living, or harvest what nature has to offer, there will always be the chance that nature takes something back.

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