The nuclear optionYellowknifer - Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Say the word 'nuclear' and people go running, or on environmental tangents about indestructible waste, or reciprocate with loaded words such as 'Chernobyl' and 'Fukushima.'
But take a look around.
The Snare and Yellowknife rivers, which supply the city with hydro power, are mere trickles compared to a couple years ago. The Jackfish diesel plant is coughing up oily, black smoke on overdrive, trying to make up for water levels so low the hydro system can't generate the power required to keep the city's lights on.
Despite the NWT Power Corporation being "cautiously optimistic" - which it was last year as well just prior to the territorial government's $30 million power-consumer bailout - the city and territory must acknowledge this may be the new climate-change-induced norm.
What is barely working now is unsustainable into the future.
A gold mine potentially coming online in 2025 will only add further stress to the power landscape. TerraX president Joe Campbell says the mine could consume at least as much power as the city currently uses.
The territorial government will be craning its neck at the height of its debt ceiling within a few years and the $50 million it forked over to power corp. to shield citizens from even higher rate increases over the last two years - and possibly into the future - is digging into already depleted revenues.
The territory cannot afford to use its valuable borrowing ability to fund expenses with zero return.
According to a 2012 study by the Institute for Energy Research on power costs, nuclear power emerged as cheapest, at 2.1 cents per kilowatt hour. Right now, Yellowknifers pay 28.9 cents per kilowatt hour.
Despite the cheaper energy a nuclear option could provide, M.V. Ramana, Princeton University nuclear physicist, says the kilowatt-hour cost of a new nuclear reactor without government subsidies would initially be around $9 U.S. due to the very expensive safety tests they require.
But if we're talking about government subsidies, should they not be aimed at something with a promise of eventual savings? Throwing millions every year at power corp. to make up for the cost of diesel does nothing to guard us against skyrocketing power rates. Subsidizing a power source with a high up-front cost that is guaranteed to drop drastically in the future could be a wise investment.
Nuclear power now doesn't necessarily have to look like the classic image of gigantic milk-bottle shaped cooling towers dwarfing everything in sight - there is smaller-scale technology pushing to break out into the market right now.
Civil engineer Daniel Gillis thinks the 'integral molten salt reactor' is the Hail Mary to the city's energy woes and he has been a loud advocate of just that. Created by Canadian company Terrestrial Energy, the reactor touts itself as being incapable of meltdown as it uses liquid fuel and not pressure or water. It also produces a third of the waste of traditional reactors, and has the ability to recycle its own waste. Both Toshiba and Hitachi have also designed smaller-scale reactors although neither have gone further than the prototype.
Galena, a diesel-dependent village of 600 in Alaska, nearly received a small-scale reactor from Toshiba after frustration with high energy costs but the company abandoned the project because the certification stage was too arduous.
The territorial government, now responsible for researching alternative energies through its Department of Public Works, told Yellowknifer this fall while small-scale reactors are on its radar, it's not willing to be the technology's flagship.
It's up to the territorial government to investigate options and make the right decisions for the future. Maybe, if not nuclear, the answer is a liquid natural gas plant adjacent to the city, as power corp. spokesperson Pam Coulter suggested last week. There has been no solid case for solar and there is just starting to be a sliver of hope for wind which is abundant on a set of hills near the Snare hydro system.
Power corp. should be reminded should it resist that, it's bound to take cues from its sole shareholder, the GNWT. Either way, these are important discussions as our reliance on diesel is simply unsustainable.
Time to streamline permit processEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, February 24, 2016
It was an eye-opening experience to be involved in trying to stage a fundraiser to support a group of young soccer players in Rankin Inlet during the past few weeks.
The boys hope to travel to Yellowknife this coming April to participate in Super Soccer.
And as always, the cost is in the tens of thousands of dollars to get them there.
The idea was to host a beer dance with live entertainment at the community hall.
I had been asked by the boys coach if the band I play in would do the gig, and I immediately said yes. That's when the fun began.
I had heard stories in the past of the difficulties involved with obtaining a liquor permit for such occasions, but it was the first time I actually got to see the process unfold.
The first step is quite understandable, as the non-profit or registered charity group hoping to hold the event must first seek the hamlet council's approval.
Really, who should know better if an event is in the community's best interest than its hamlet council?
One would think if a local event has the approval of hamlet council, the rest of the process should be pretty straightforward.
However, while Nunavut's Liquor Licensing Board may move straightforward, it does so in the lowest gear imaginable.
The permit was granted for the dance.
But not until the morning before the event was scheduled to be held, and a day after it had been postponed due to lack of said permit.
Anyone who has ever staged a large event can tell you, one working day is not a whole lot of time to cross your t's and dot your i's.
In a community where the use of alcohol is legal, such as Rankin Inlet, and its hamlet council has already given its approval, the granting of a permit should be a fairly quick process.
The bottom line is, there are very few ways to fundraise in our communities, and there's a long list of deserving organizations, school athletic programs and minor sports teams hoping to get a small slice of the pie.
In a community where the people have spoken, and the selling of beer is allowed for special events, those events become valuable fundraising opportunities.
They can easily prove to be the difference between a group of kids participating in a positive experience such as Super Soccer, or sitting at home with a game controller in their hand and a bitter or heartbroken look on their face.
And let's not open Pandora's box on a beer dance or two a month being any less acceptable to a community than the seemingly endless nights of bingo games we see held.
The liquor board members should understand the importance of a viable fundraiser in our communities, and they should be obliged to process each application as quickly as possible.
It's time the Government of Nunavut put the ability to outright grant a special event licence in the hands of hamlet council.
Our councillors are elected representatives with the community's best interests at heart.
And opportunities to raise funds for worthy causes flow through our communities slow enough, without board members shutting off the taps altogether through nothing more than indifference.
Stop, collaborate and listenNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, February 22, 2016
With a brand new legislative assembly and Decho First Nation's brand new lead negotiator Garth Wallbridge, the two parties are set to give land claims talks another round.
Land claims are important. They give First Nations rights, control and determination within their own boundaries. They give First Nations leaders an important place at the table when negotiating whether resource development will happen and how much money will go back to First Nations communities if it does. In a post-devolution territory, land claims give First Nations governments a portion of the territory's resource revenues. Land claims give First Nations the ability to build their own renewable resources boards to manage caribou hunts.
Dehcho First Nations negotiations hit controversy last year when chief Herb Norwegian cried foul over Premier Bob McLeod's public claim that the GNWT was negotiating in good faith while privately it appeared he was giving an ultimatum. As far as Norwegian was concerned, the government was offering a limited amount of acreage and saying, "Take it or leave it."
This time, McLeod appears to be taking another approach. In his bid to retake the premiership, he promised his peers in the legislative assembly he would meet First Nations leaders and come back to them with new offers within 90 days. That was in mid-December, so these new offers should be on the table soon.
McLeod will be meeting with Dehcho First Nations leaders for the first time under the mandate of the 18th Legislative Assembly next week.
A spokesperson stated the premier wants to leave behind the "cookie-cutter approach used previously." He said he will listen, collaborate and work constructively with First Nations leaders and encourages them to do the same.
Land claim negotiations cannot be a cookie-cutter project by design, because what works with one First Nation probably won't work with the next. Each First Nation has its own unique set of challenges, resources and historically used lands, so doing away with any sort of prefab approach is a good start.
For the good of everybody involved, the best of luck to Wallbridge and McLeod in guiding Dehcho First Nations toward a settled land claim.
Make plans to bring Inuit artifacts homeNunavut/News North - Monday, February 22, 2016
It is wonderful that efforts are being made to preserve thousands of Inuit artifacts collected over dozens of years.
Home to the largest collection of Inuit artifacts in the world, totalling about 30,000 pieces, the Winnipeg Art Gallery in the Manitoba capital is set to take delivery of another 8,000 precious items from the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife through a loan agreement with the Government of Nunavut.
It is at the Winnipeg Art Gallery where some selected pieces will be put on display.
The vast majority of them, however, will be kept in storage, under climate-controlled conditions to ensure they do not degrade over time.
Much of the artwork has been under lock and key in Yellowknife for years.
Included in the collection are carvings, wall hangings, prints, drawings, textile art and other pieces of art.
These are the historic documents and artifacts of the Inuit people that were collected prior to division.
In fact, there was talk more than 15 years ago when Nunavut was created of the need for a place within the new territory to house and display the many historic items that had been collected over the years and deemed important enough for special treatment.
That the Government of Nunavut did not work toward creating archival space within the territory speaks perhaps to the chronic shortage of money for cultural necessities, in comparison to the pressures of the territory's social problems.
And we recognize it may be difficult to justify spending millions of dollars to preserve ancient art while a large percentage of the population lives with food insecurity in overcrowded housing.
However, this is valuable Inuit art that was created by Nunavummiut.
The prospect of having to travel to Winnipeg to view the product of people's ancestors is too much to bear.
History has its own importance to people. Some say if you don't know where you came from, you don't know where you're going.
In this day and age, when repatriation of artifacts is so important for so many people, we submit that plans should be made for Nunavut to bring these artifacts home, not to sit in a dark, climate-controlled storage space, but cataloged for public access and displayed for the world to see.
This rich history has been carefully preserved for years in Yellowknife but it is ultimately Nunavut that is responsible for its integrity and future.
Make tourism lemonade out of fiscal lemons Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, February 19, 2016
The territory is in an economic doldrum at the moment thanks to commodity prices stuck at a level that does nothing to stimulate investment in mineral resource development.
But all is not grim as recent statistics show the NWT leads the nation in terms of employment.
As a government town, Yellowknife enjoys an enviable economic stability that cannot be denied but it is not just government that seems to be weathering the storm.
There are two mine projects on the go right now, Gahcho Kue and the A21 pipe at Diavik, while Ekati recently received approval for its Jay Pipe expansion.
The weak Canadian dollar can help keep these projects viable against the backdrop of a weakened diamond market as multinational companies typically budget the cost of construction using the U.S. dollar, around 25 cents higher than the Canadian loonie, which means some costs could potentially be 25 per cent lower.
This financial buffer for the mines has other benefits.
Calgary Herald recently reported that Banff National Park is on pace for a second record breaking year in terms of park visitors and revenue.
The low Canadian dollar is cited by a tourism official as not only contributing to an increase in American visitors but also as a factor encouraging Canadians to seek out Canadian travel rather than face an exchange rate penalty south of the border.
Now is the time to double-down on investment in tourism promotion to draw people North.
The North is now a bargain for Americans, and a stay-in-Canada vacation may be just what many Canadians are thinking as they turn their thoughts to summer travel and a weak dollar.
Can NWT Tourism and the Northern Frontier Visitors Association work together to help make this summer a record-breaking summer for visitors to Yellowknife and beyond?
If there was ever an opportunity to break records, this is it. A low-dollar, direct flights from Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Whitehorse, and a clear international interest in Northern life, culture and landscape set the stage for a brilliant opportunity to make tourism lemonade out of fiscal lemons.
NWT Tourism has had great success increasing the North's profile and drawing visitors here.
It is time for all levels of government and tourism businesses to ask what they can do to further bolster the North as a travel destination, and put money and resources in place to bring concepts to life.
Let French board determine admissions Accessibility audit could open doors - Friday, February 19, 2016
As Education Minister Alfred Moses gets accustomed to his new job, he should ask himself whether the territory should be in the business of preserving different cultural groups within its borders.
If the answer is 'yes,' then it follows the Commission scolaire francophone should be able to admit those who are not legally entitled to attend French school but may still contribute to the preservation of French culture.
It's not really a novel idea. Prior to 2008, the French school board was able to make that determination itself.
Parents of Metis students without French speaking relatives, for instance, could apply to the French school district on the basis that their ancestors did speak the language and the board would allow their children into their classrooms.
Incoming school board president Simon Cloutier says that's no longer the case.
Eight years ago, former education minister Jackson Lafferty put the kibosh on the French school board admitting those not constitutionally entitled to a French education - that is, Canadian citizens whose first language is French -- and now Cloutier says the GNWT won't allow students to attend their schools unless they produce a family member who can speak it.
This development occurred during an acrimonious lawsuit over a lack of facilities in the French school system. The legal battle is now over. Moses has replaced Lafferty. Cloutier has succeeded Suzette Montreuil. While the courts have ruled it is permissible for the education minister to maintain control over admissions, these new leaders need not be bound to that arrangement. This an opportunity to start fresh.
After all, it is in the interest of the territory that the NWT's francophone population keeps growing. More French citizens means more per capita federal funding to pay for government programs and services.
Evidence suggests the city's francophone population is growing despite GNWT efforts to suppress the number of students entering the French school system.
According to Statistics Canada, there were approximately 650 francophones living in Yellowknife in 1996. Today, there are around 830. How many more might there be if their culture and language were allowed to grow further without government interference in the school system?
Thoughtful cuts neededDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, February 18, 2016
With the new sitting of the legislative assembly starting Feb. 18, now would normally be the ideal time to contact one's MLA.
In fact, Nahendeh MLA Shane Thompson has taken the initiative to sit down with municipal and First Nations leaders to lay out what he expects will be coming in the next sitting of the assembly.
Ahead of him? Weeks, if not months of tough talks about austerity measures and cuts in the wake of a weakened economy.
The proof of that is in repeated announcements from the GNWT about discussing fiscal policies and strategies with MLAs.
Those announcements accompanied reports of the government approaching $1 billion in debt within a matter of years as revenues shrink, expenditures grow and the federal government cuts transfer payments.
The GNWT has a borrowing limit of $1.3 billion. Hitting the $1 billion mark means hard discussions for MLAs to ensure that debt is managed.
Considering that debt includes cost overruns from the Deh Cho Bridge as well as millions of dollars in subsidies for power consumers due to low water levels at the Snare hydro dam, the question needs to be asked: How can the current sitting government avoid the pitfalls of the past?
Thompson is against austerity measures. He counts himself as one of those MLAs who see austerity as ultimately hurting the economy - and he is correct.
If the territory decides to cut jobs, it will drive away skilled workers as well as their families.
The impact to the economy could end up being more than the government saves.
However, in a resource-based economy, new revenue sources are few and far between. Cuts have to be made somewhere in order to ensure government debt does not spiral out of control.
Thompson again has the right idea here: he believes the government needs to consult with public service employees, who often have a better idea of where efficiencies can be found than top bureaucrats do.
As someone who used to work within the public service, Thompson has first-hand knowledge of that.
The government has also said it plans to invest in targeted infrastructure projects. How much of that reaches the Deh Cho and Nahendeh remains to be seen, although the territorial government has a long, established track record of focusing its funds toward Yellowknife.
If there is one goal Thompson should work toward during this sitting, it is opening the government's eyes to the economic potential of the Nahendeh. If some of those infrastructure funds were to come south, the Deh Cho and Nahendeh electoral districts are key places to invest. Tourism, traditional art and other economic diversifiers thrive here.
It is time for the government to realize smaller communities are truly some of its greatest assets.
Good reasons to play sportsInuvik Drum - Thursday, February 18, 2016
This month is all about sports. Coverage is spilling from the dedicated sports page in this newspaper and taking over the general news sections, similar to how they insinuate themselves into people's lives far beyond time spent actually practising.
This week alone there is a basketball tournament, traditional games summit, and one of the biggest annual hockey tournaments in the region, to name a few of the activities going on. Players in these events range from elementary school age to grown men and everything in between.
Speaking to the older contingent of athletes, the benefits of life-long participation in sport are clear. They talk about bringing communities together and the camaraderie of playing with a team, but also about their continued desire to strive for bigger and better things and ultimately win.
These are traits and desires that serve people well in their lives off the court or ice as well, and something of value which participation in sports can impart on younger players.
All these good things don't even include the opportunity to travel that sports brings Northerners. While teams raise ridiculous amounts of money to make it happen, that effort is still cheaper as a whole than paying for individual return tickets to Yellowknife and even further afield several times a year.
Children from all over the Beaufort Delta will be travelling to Greenland in a few weeks for the Arctic Winter Games, a place few would likely see on their own. You could argue that such trips are only for top athletes and not accessible to the majority of enthusiasts. While that may be true, school teams are hardly as selective and they do still travel within the territory and sometimes out of it.
But being involved in sports brings far more to athletes than even travel. We're always hearing about wellness and the need for programs to promote healthy living. Sports does that. We're also always hearing about the need to bridge the gap between youth and elders and bring families together.
If the attendance at the Northern and Dene Games Summit and annual five-on-five basketball tournament the previous week is any indication, sports does that too.
There is always an outcry that sports get all the attention and funding dollars to the detriment of arts and culture programs, and in Northern communities, that is a largely undeniable if also regrettable fact. What is also undeniable is the positive influence sports have on athletes young and old, as well as on the wider communities where they live.
