Don't let city election get drowned outYellowknifer - Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Democracy only works if people participate – voters and candidates stepping up to the plate.
If the municipal election were held today there would be no election. The mayor would be acclaimed for the third time in six elections and there would not be enough candidates to fill the eight seats on city council.
Nominations only opened on Friday so it's arguably early days yet but with two other larger elections taking place this fall – both federal and territorial – it seems reasonable to fear this municipal election risks being drowned by the greater drama – and greater reward for those seeking office – presented by these other contests.
City council has already lost two incumbents who will be seeking a promotion this year to the legislative assembly – Couns. Dan Wong and Cory Vanthuyne.
It will likely be an even greater struggle for Yellowknife's two main school boards, Yellowknife Education District No. 1 and Yellowknife Catholic schools. In 2012, after the city decided to cut the school boards loose to run their own elections, trustees complained of voter turnout dropping by as much as one-third. It won't be getting any easier this year.
Yet much is at stake.
This next mayor and city council will be deciding on a number of enormous issues, including whether to enter a bid on the $35-million Canada Winter Games in 2023 and redevelopment on 50 Street. Alas, the fewer candidates seeking election, the less debate and attention these issues will receive.
A burgeoning slate of iServeU candidates has brought an interesting if poorly understood concept of online direct voter involvement to the municipal election but more election choices are needed.
If anyone is considering giving city council a try, or even running for mayor, now is the time to put your hat in the ring.
Politicians also responsible for high gas pricesYellowknifer - Wednesday, September 9, 2015
The North has long suffered from high gas prices and they will remain high until the end of time.
This is the reality of being in an isolated region with a small customer base.
After years of price stagnation with regular gas costing $1.389 per litre, pump prices finally started to go down last November before rising again over the summer, then falling and rising again. This week the price of regular gas in Yellowknife sits at $1.239 per litre.
Last year's dip in gas prices came after the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs "invited" retailers to a meeting to explain why gas prices remained high while the global price of oil was dropping. Pump prices quickly began to drop after that.
Perhaps this was coincidence or maybe retailers really were listening to Yellowknife politicians agitating for regulation on gas prices. In any event, the lower gas prices didn't last for long even as the price of oil fell even further.
While it's great our politicians are speaking out for long-suffering gas consumers, they have very little influence on gas prices in general. Coun. Adrian Bell suggests that if only more commercial land was available for retailers then more gas stations could open, which would encourage competition and lower gas prices. At least four gas stations have closed over the last decade or so. It might therefore be reasonable to assume the retailers themselves believe there are enough gas stations operating in the city.
In any event, government itself bears plenty of responsibility for higher gas prices. The NWT fuel tax alone adds 10.7 cents per litre on gasoline, while raking in $18.7 million in annual revenue. If politicians are looking for gas price relief for consumers maybe they can start by cutting there.
Looking to regain credibilityEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Only time will tell if Glenn McLean of Baker Lake's recent acceptance of the position of interim president of the Kivalliq Chamber of Commerce is good news.
Hopefully, McLean still has enough interest in the region's business affairs to revitalize the once proud and influential chamber.
Arviat businessman and chamber executive member Ryan St. John has already come out publicly to endorse McLean as interim president.
St. John points to McLean's wealth of experience with the business community as something needed by the chamber to move forward.
And that may be.
But the first thing the chamber has to do is show a phoenix-like ability to rise from the ashes and be taken seriously as a player in Kivalliq business affairs once again.
The chamber also has to seriously focus on bringing fresh young blood into the fold, something, apparently, McLean has on his agenda during his time as interim president.
There can be no denying McLean's track record as a business entrepreneur, nor can his performance as an MLA be brought into question.
In fact, it was extremely disappointing to this corner when McLean announced he would not seek re-election at the time.
Ellie Cansfield of Rankin did a solid, if not overly-productive, job during her time as president, but the fact of the matter is the chamber had been on a slow downward spiral since Ray Mercer's retirement.
So now the chamber goes back to the veteran business person's talent pool in hopes McLean, not that far removed from Mercer's time line, can right the sinking ship.
It's a mission -- unless he has the interim tag removed and is given more time -- he cannot complete.
If the idea is to get the chamber back on course and implement a solid plan during the next two years to attract more youthful members to its executive, McLean could well be the right man to turn to at this particular time.
However, if he's just keeping the seat warm for a full-time president to slide into, he would be more effective leading a head-hunting mission to find his successor.
This may well be the chamber's last shot at regaining the credibility it once held.
McLean's been in the game long enough to know if you're going to do a job, you may as well do it right.
The question is: Is he still engaged enough to really care?
The more the merrierNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, September 7, 2015
It's still more than a month before the writ drops for the territorial election but the Nahendeh riding is already turning out to be a hot contest.
Incumbent Kevin Menicoche has announced his intention to keep his seat but it looks like he'll have to fight former CKLB radio director Deneze Nakhek'o and artist and reality television star Randy Sibbeston for it.
Here's hoping more people come out of the woodwork to challenge the incumbents. On election day four years ago, voters in three ridings didn't get the chance to vote because nobody challenged the incumbents.
Inuvik Twin Lakes' Robert C. McLeod, Tom Beaulieu in the Tu Nedhe riding and Premier Bob McLeod in Yellowknife South were all acclaimed in the 2011 election.
This trio didn't have to campaign to keep their seats, which means they didn't really have to defend their record in public service or test their platforms with the electorate. On election night, they didn't wait with bated breath, surrounded by friends, family and supporters in their campaign offices for the final votes to be tallied. They were ushered in, no questions asked.
Four years ago, when McLeod was chosen by MLAs to be the territory's premier, News/North reported he was the third acclaimed MLA in a row to have reached the premiership, after Floyd Roland and Joe Handley. This means voters haven't played any role in choosing the last three premiers. And it could happen again if nobody comes out of the woodwork to challenge McLeod in Yellowknife South again and is successful in his repeat bid for premier.
In fact, then-NWT chief electoral officer David Brock remarked in his post-election report that the 2011 election saw the lowest number of candidates since the division of the territory in 1999. Voter turnout also dropped between 2007 and 2011, with only 48 per cent of voters bothering to head to the polls.
The three uncontested ridings in the 2011 election did see competition four years prior, although three other ridings acclaimed their MLAs in 2007. That year, Norman Yakeleya was acclaimed in the Sahtu, Michael McLeod in the Deh Cho and Floyd Roland in Inuvik Boot Lake. In contrast, Inuvik Twin Lakes saw competition with Robert C. McLeod earning 306 votes against Denise Kurszewski's 261 votes. Tu Nedhe was a busy riding, with five candidates in the running. Tom Beaulieu earned his spot that year with 252 out of 477 total votes. Yellowknife South also saw some action in 2007, with Bob McLeod coming out ahead of Amy Hacala and Garett Cochrane.
There is still plenty of time until Oct. 26, when the writ drops.
A healthy democracy relies on healthy competition and an engaged electorate, so let's hope this fall's election delivers.
Potential leaders need to offer food solutionsNunavut/News North - Monday, September 7, 2015
Despite numerous calls for relief from the high price of food in Nunavut, evidence presented last week shows that the situation is only getting worse.
In fact, at least two communities, Kimmirut and Kugaaruk, have seen the cost of groceries increase by 16.2 per cent and 17.2 per cent respectively between March this year and March 2014, based on a basket of 24 selected food items. The new reports from the Nunavut Bureau of Statistics are a result of food price surveys collected by government liaison officers and include staples such as two litres of two-per-cent milk, margarine, a dozen eggs, potatoes, carrots, bananas, a can of baked beans, ground beef, bread, frozen pizza, instant rice and white flour. On average, the price of the 24 food items increased by 5.1 per cent across Nunavut.
The director of business development for the NorthWest Company, which operates NorthMart and Northern stores in many Nunavut communities and receives subsidies for the cost of shipping healthy food, said price tracking by the federal government's Nutrition North program has shown a decrease in the cost of fresh food products over the past four years.
There are variables that explain the discrepancy, related to the sample size, how long numbers have been compiled and which products are tracked.
Significant changes were supposed to be coming to the Nutrition North program to allow consumers to see the profit margin for the retailer on specific items and a review of community eligibility requirements.
So far, the only change we've seen is that savings on products to consumers attributed to Nutrition North are shown on receipts printed by the till at the grocery store checkout.
Much more needs to happen to reverse a dismal trend in food security numbers and actually help Nunavummiut eat healthy, affordable food.
The Household Food Insecurity In Canada report, prepared by an international, interdisciplinary team of researchers to identify policy options to reduce food insecurity, concluded that the rate of insecurity in Nunavut households was 45.2 per cent in 2012.
Not much has changed. Relief is needed across the board. The cost of food eats up a disproportionately large percentage of a family's household income. Many people go without food, particularly adults, who make sure the children are fed first.
All we've seen is a tiny step toward transparency and little else.
Strong leadership is required for real solutions to Nunavut's food crisis. This is a basic needs issue that deserves the utmost attention. Let's ask the four candidates in Nunavut who are seeking votes in the Oct. 19 federal election what they would do if elected.
Right time for power push Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, September 4, 2015
All cynicism aside, given that MLAs are facing re-election this fall, the territorial government understandably feels it has no choice but to pay the bill for the extra diesel required due to our failing hydro system in the North Slave.
The alternative is a nightmare scenario of already overburdened NWT homeowners paying an extra $30 to $100 a month every year the drought continues. With the GNWT unable to reverse the territory's declining population numbers, down 1.1 per cent over last year, the costs will only get higher the longer Snare Hydro and Bluefish Dam are unable to produce adequate power.
Thus in one year, the GNWT will have spent nearly $50 million shielding residents from skyrocketing power costs, which are already far higher on average than what southern customers have to pay.
This is obviously a very bleak situation, one requiring a substantial remedy if the territory is to have any hope of bringing the NWT's already high cost of living to somewhat tolerable levels.
Alas, all that has occurred since Michael Miltenberger, the minister responsible for NWT Power Corporation, hosted an energy charette last fall, is a questionable attempt by power corp. to cut out the middle man in Hay River - Northland Utilities - which distributes the power there.
Much more needs to be done with much greater urgency. Wednesday's news release announcing the GNWT's commitment to provide an additional $29.7 million on top of the $20 million borrowed last year to subsidize power consumers contains airy pronouncements about embarking on a "resiliency study" for wind and solar farms.
Recent drought issues aside, unreliable windmills and solar panels simply do not have the potential hydro has in a Northwest Territories crisscrossed by several major rivers. Water levels on the Taltson River, which currently has a dam capable of producing 18 megawatts of power, has not been affected by more severe drought conditions north of Great Slave Lake.
Last year, Miltenberger announced the GNWT was dropping plans to tie the Taltson and Snare systems with the power grid in Saskatchewan and a northern spur to the diamond mines after the price tag came in at $1.2 billion.
Conventional practice suggests large infrastructure projects such as hydro expansion are typically paid off over 50 years. If the GNWT was to contribute $25 million a year financing transmission and hydro generation infrastructure instead of covering diesel costs it would have that figure paid off in less that time.
This project will obviously require tremendous political will in the legislative assembly and outside help. Miltenberger said last year he doubted MLAs would support such an expense. The case must be made therefore -- as it has already been demonstrated by the GNWT's decision to cover the diesel expenses -- that the North Slave's energy woes is a problem that affects the entire territory.
Only a connection to the southern energy grid will stabilize the territory's energy costs, including in smaller communities which are subsidized by Yellowknife and other larger centres.
In his recent letter to the leaders of Canada's major political parties seeking to form the government after next month's general election, Premier Bob McLeod questions what they would do to reduce the NWT's high energy costs.
With polls showing a virtual tie, now is the time to put pressure on these leaders to help the territory with its energy burden.
If Canada is sincere about developing a prosperous North, helping it bring energy costs to manageable levels is the crucial step needed to make that happen.
Tremendous talents see sun at lastDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, September 3, 2015
More than a week after Fort Liard celebrated its first annual fall gathering, community members are still feeling the positive effects.
Camaraderie generated by a handgame tournament and the memory of great food and great company still linger.
The gathering brought in many people who got to see Fort Liard at its best and showcased true Northern hospitality.
Although Fort Liard is one of the bigger communities in the Deh Cho, it is still relatively small in the grand scheme of things. Yet its impact, traditionally and artistically, far outstrips its size. The talent that comes out of Fort Liard is incredible.
At a public meeting on Aug. 27, artist and community member Rose Reid brought up concerns to the government regarding the difficulty artists in remote communities have showcasing their work to the territory and country.
She said when opportunities arise in Yellowknife or Hay River, the cost for artists from Fort Liard to attend is often too high for them to manage, meaning they stay in their community and their work is not shown.
Rose is correct that more funding needs to be available for small artists. The NWT prides itself on the diversity of its economy but often seems to put the onus on individuals to succeed in their endeavours, where a helping hand could go a long way.
But as long as such funding is inaccessible, it is more important than ever for small communities to take these matters into their own hands, as Fort Liard did with the fall gathering. Aside from benefiting the region, the fall gathering gave local artists the opportunity to teach others. It also allowed out-of-towners to see the tremendous talent in Fort Liard.
That does much for the regional economy and the tourism industry.
The fall gathering itself was organized and facilitated by Hillary Deneron and a small group of volunteers, no small feat for a community that has not had similar events in recent memory.
Cooks and artists shared their skills freely. It was a weekend of teaching, learning and connecting for many.
Everyone who spoke to Deh Cho Drum said the event was wonderful and the food was magnificent. People travelled from B.C., Alberta, the Yukon and Yellowknife to attend and remarked often on the generosity of the community.
If more people work together in future years, the Deh Cho could truly have a great annual fall gathering on its hands, similar to the spring gathering that often takes place in Fort Simpson.
The benefits that could bring are vast, and may do more for budding and established artists than they would see from travelling to Yellowknife to show their work.
Prevention strategies difficult but essentialInuvik Drum - Thursday, September 3, 2015
It's no secret that legislation without resources is toothless at best. This sentiment was clearly articulated at a meeting last week to review the Mental Health Act, a bill set to replace the current act if approved in the legislative assembly.
While there was virtually no discussion of the specifics of the new bill -- barring the glaring omission of specific attention to youth and children with mental health issues -- there was a lot of talk about the need for resources, programming and staff in communities.
The thing is, prevention will always be cheaper than a cure, if such a thing can even be said to exist in these cases. The trouble with prevention is that it is difficult to legislate.
Prevention means coming at the problem from a hundred angles, starting young, and following people for their entire lives. It means catching sadness before it can snowball into depression, and if it does, treating it before it gets to the point of suicide. Even better, it means instilling the capacity to turn to one another within communities when things get tough, increasing the chances of getting help exponentially.
Prevention strategies can take the form of anything from outdoor spaces to youth activities, and having safe people to turn to in places like schools. You never know what will make the difference, what will spark something in someone's mind which will make them seek help, or even accept it once it has been offered.
That's hard to legislate and even harder to implement. On the one hand, people complain that there isn't enough programming and on the other, organizers find it hard to keep funding coming in when no one -- or very few -- show up for that programming.
It goes further than encouraging people to turn up for activities. It's about consistency and the complete lack of it in so many non-profit organizations. Funding is allocated for specific programs, doled out every year, with only a small percentage available to keep the lights on and the heat working. There is no way to run a consistent, substantive service on that premise.
There is no way to keep staff when they may or may not have a salary after the next reporting period, and there is no way to build trust in communities when the programs and staff who are supposed to be helping are as ethereal as smoke.
Legislation is great, and clearly much needed after 30 years with virtually no updates, but it will not solve much if something isn't done a lot closer to the front line.
