An indiscriminate killerYellowknifer - Wednesday, April 27, 2016
With fentanyl on the streets both explicitly and cut into other drugs, doing drugs in Yellowknife has become a game of Russian roulette.
As Yellowknifer has explored over the last two weeks through its four-part feature series Killer on the Streets, there is cause for alarm but also reassurances as critical forces throughout the city mobilize in a proactive effort to combat the deadly opioid drug.
We heard from Stephanie McNeely, who injected what she believed was liquid codeine, blacked out, and woke up to a 17-day stint at Stanton Territorial Hospital where she was told, to her surprise, she had high levels of fentanyl in her system. She was also told it stopped her heart for more than a minute on the medevac flight between Fort Resolution and the city. McNeely is one of the lucky ones.
Between 2009 and 2015, five deaths in the territory can be at least partially attributed to the drug that is 100-times more potent than morphine. While this pales in comparison to the toll in Alberta and B.C. -- which is in the hundreds and climbing - Yellowknife can be a delayed reflection of the activities in its southern neighbouring provinces. The powers-that-be, especially the City of Yellowknife, are right in their move to address the issue on the ground floor. Without political motivation or fanfare, the city has equipped its ambulances with Narcan - a drug that reverses the effects of an overdose - and has trained its firefighters, many of whom double as paramedics, on how to use it. Since fentanyl unfurled its tendrils in the city, the Department of Health and Social Services' methadone program - which prescribes the synthetic opioid to addicts to stabilize their lives and curb their addictions - has at least doubled. The department has since padded the service with crisis counselling and mental-health nurses.
While it's up to the federal government to work with China - where powder that makes up the pills in Western Canada most commonly comes from - to stop the importation of the drug, it's up to municipal and territorial powers to keep people alive and informed.
The territorial government could do more. We heard about how Alberta has created a website to inform everybody about fentanyl and how B.C. has made Narcan available without a prescription. When asked if the GNWT has similar plans, a health department spokesperson tells Yellowknifer it is monitoring other jurisdictions. Today we read about the disappearing act that is the prescription drug monitoring program which seemed ready to kick off two years ago but is nowhere to be found today. As doctors say fentanyl addiction often starts as prescribed medication, this lack of programming is a jab to the efforts to curb addiction.
Some efforts deserve applause, others need coaxing to be improved but one thing is certain: fentanyl is in Yellowknife and it is an indiscriminate killer.
Volunteers at heart of communityYellowknifer - Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Much of what people enjoy about community life depends on those who are willing to donate their time and effort to make things happen.
This is no less true in Yellowknife, where a number of residents were recognized earlier this month for their volunteer efforts at a city-hosted event held at the Multiplex arena. Kirby Marshall, founder of the True North Rotary Club, received the Rotary Club Award for his work founding the group's second Yellowknife chapter with an emphasis on volunteering time over cash donations.
Marshall came up with the idea because there were many people who wanted to help but couldn't afford to donate much money to Rotary's other branch. The two branches work together to come up with community projects, generate funding and perform hands-on work, such as sanitizing the Food Rescue facility, cleaning the women's shelter and running an annual soup event in front of the downtown post office.
Having a dedicated body of volunteers is not only in the best interest of those they help directly but the community as a whole, for strengthening community spirit and lending vibrancy in ways that are not always readily apparent but have a major impact on community well-being.
Innovative thinkers create new groups and events that bolster the community's sense of identity and add to the city's colourful history. Marshall was among many to be honoured for the time they put in to make services available, including the Yellowknife Community Foundation, MS Society and Ecology North.
Not only do these groups offer services and supports at low cost or even for free, they also help residents understand and promote the city's history. All of these events and services would be dead in the water if not for the commitment of an army of people who wish to give back to the community and make it a more vibrant place to live.
Lessons learned, answers soughtEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Upon being transferred to Rankin Inlet in December 1998, I promised myself I would not carry any preconceived notions to the Kivalliq with me.
I vowed to keep an open mind during my year in Rankin (I kind of undershot the mark on that one) and decide upon things based on what I learned through experience.
Almost 18 years later, and I have come to a couple of conclusions when it comes to the entities that make the big decisions in Nunavut.
First on my list, I have very little faith in the effectiveness of non-party politics, nor do I see the system improving over time.
I see decentralization as one of the most colossal wastes of money I've witnessed in my lifetime, and, with each passing year, that gets even more impressive.
My most painful lesson in Rankin -- taking into account I've considered it my home for many years now -- is the realization that with some people, I will never truly be seen as being from here.
Equally maddening, although thankfully a lot fewer in number, are those who not only don't believe in the public's right to know, but also prioritize which answers to give based on who is asking the question.
I convince myself the prioritizing is done on the who's really from here angle, rather than other differences.
Boards, such as the Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA) board members, are a necessary evil.
Boards, when functioning at least adequately, keep greed, power and ego in check, and have the collective ability to see the big picture.
Conversely, they can slow things down to a crawl or make critical mistakes if they border on being dysfunctional.
However, those who head powerful organizations like the KIA should bring their own vision to the position.
They should also realize blanket comments with little substance to back them mean very little.
I read with great interest a letter sent to the media on March 3, penned by KIA president David Ningeongan.
In it, Mr. Ningeongan expressed the KIA's surprise and disappointment at the Government of Nunavut (GN) reversing its position on exploration and the protection of caribou calving grounds.
The letter made some good points and expanded the focus from core calving grounds to include post calving migration routes, and caribou water crossing areas.
For the past month I have been patiently trying to speak to the KIA president to get him to expound upon his comments, especially in regards to the role he sees the KIA in and how that stacks-up against what the GN and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. may be thinking on the subject.
Judging by the tone of the letter, this is a very important topic for almost everyone in the region and one most people would want more information on.
The last I heard, Mr. Ningeongan was still waiting on the KIA board's approval to speak to the topic.
Seriously? A month to get permission?
One can't help but wonder how long deciding decaf or regular takes them in the morning.
If Mr. Ningeongan's thoughts are heated enough to cause a month's delay for permission, it would be a heck of an interview.
Then again, there's also that whole boards-functioning-adequately thing!
GNWT tax bombNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, April 25, 2016
The territorial government has thrown a wrench into its ongoing land claim negotiations with the Acho Dene Koe First Nation by dropping a $1.6 million tax bomb on its band members.
Chief Harry Deneron was joined by several other members of the First Nation in speaking out against tax bills sent to residents a few weeks ago.
The First Nation says it was told the tax is a service charge for improvements to property. The GNWT sent a list of talking points to News/North on April 22 under the headline "Property tax arrears in Fort Liard, insisting that Treaties 8 and 11 do not provide property tax exemptions but it does not explain why people are getting these enormous bills now.
The accusations being leveled against the government are fairly serious. The chief says band members have never had to pay taxes before. Now some of them are facing bills for as much as $76,000, according to Deneron, with the chief himself saying that he owes $67,000.
As if the taxes weren't already enough of a surprise, Deneron said the band has been told land could not be selected as part of the land claim agreement until the overdue bills are paid.
Given that the government isn't bothering to publicly respond to the tax crisis it created all we can do at this point is speculate.
So why come for the money now given that land claims are still being negotiated? Could it be because the government is hurting for cash? Or is it trying to blackmail the Acho Dene Koe First Nation into coughing up money before it agrees to proceed with negotiations? Regardless of the motivation with land claims yet to be finalized the question remains: does the government currently have the authority to tax the Acho Dene Koe? The GNWT says it does in its unattributed memo from April 22. If that's the case then the government should explain why.
This isn't the first time the territorial government has been accused of coming to the negotiating table in bad faith.
Last year, Dehcho Grand Chief Herb Norwegian called out Premier Bob McLeod for threatening to break off negotiations with the First Nation over its land claim. Although McLeod denied this was the case, calling out the First Nation for being "the boy who cried wolf," Norwegian was able to produce a letter from the premier proving that he had done just that.
At the height of the Cold War, American President Dwight Eisenhower responded to the threat of a nuclear attack at the hands of the Soviets by calmly stating that "I don't believe responsible people should indulge in anything remotely considered ultimatums or threats."
If it turns out that the territorial government has told Acho Dene Koe band members it must pay taxes in order to gain an upper hand at the negotiating table, it would cause irreparable damage to the land claim process.
It would also expose a pattern of irresponsible behaviour which could have wide reaching implications for land claims negotiations with other First Nations.
Seize opportunities to explore outside worldNunavut/News North - Monday, April 25, 2016
"You don't know what you've got till it's gone" may be the lyrics to the Joni Mitchell song Big Yellow Taxi. But the phrase also holds true for the many youth who have left Nunavut on an adventure and returned.
Again and again we have heard stories from young people who have returned to a place and have opened their eyes after living what they thought was a bleak existence.
It's as if they never before realized the vast beauty of their home community, the wonders of country food, the familiar support from friends and family and the opportunities that surround them in the richness of Inuit culture and traditions.
Filled with the knowledge of the wonders of modern technology and previously unheard of access to the entire world through the Internet, today's teenagers have at their fingertips the ability to communicate about their unique place on this planet, the skills and expertise they possess and the contributions they can make.
There are several programs which offer opportunities for young people to leave their home communities and explore.
The Ayalik Fund, established by David and Laurie Pelly in the aftermath of the sudden death of their beloved son in 2014, is a very new program with impressive intentions. Right at the outset, young people selected to participate are told why they get to go on a trip outside Nunavut -- to assist them with personal growth, to increase their self esteem and to have challenging and rewarding experiences.
Just the process of persevering through some of life's many challenges often results in one of the greatest rewards of all - the knowledge and confidence that a person can get through the obstacles and triumph.
The support from the Ayalik Fund helped two youth participate in a Rocky Mountain expedition with Outward Bound, which turned out to be a life-changing experience.
One teenager who participated was known for skipping school and not applying himself to his studies. Upon his return, he became a good student, became involved in his community and even signed up to a mentorship program so he can use his newfound knowledge and experience to help other young people.
Another program, Northern Youth Abroad, offers a chance for Nunavut youth to live and work in another community in southern Canada after completed preparatory courses in Ottawa.
The North West Company sponsors a youth leadership program which rewards nominated young people for being role models, volunteering and being active in their communities.
School counsellors have a wealth of information about opportunities for youth to get involved in programs and activities.
Being a part of sports teams or other organized groups, like the cadet corps, also opens up opportunities for youth to expand their horizons.
We encourage young people to seek out opportunities to expose themselves to the rest of the world as a way to help themselves and their home communities.
Yellowknife's water is safe Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, April 22, 2016
Yellowknife's drinking water is safe. Eating fish caught in the Yellowknife River or on Great Slave Lake remains part of a healthy diet. Swimming or playing in the water on any of the beaches in the Yellowknife area is perfectly safe from a water quality point of view.
Each of these facts bears repeating in light of a recent university study that found elevated levels of arsenic in many of the tiny pond-like lakes within a 25 km radius of the former Giant Mine. The largest of the 25 lakes studied is less than a quarter of the size of Frame Lake and therefore has no water worth drinking or fish to catch.
The study's findings are hardly surprising. After all, as the study pointed out, these ponds have negligible drainage. Any contaminants that may have fallen into the water over the years has nowhere to go.
Andre Corriveau, the NWT's chief public health officer, said he is planning a health advisory based on the new information. That advisory will, we are told, recommend people not eat fish or drink water out of these small bodies of water.
But nobody drinks from that water. Anyone with the barest set of outdoor survival skills already knows not to drink untreated water from small, stagnant ponds lest he or she come down with any number of digestive ailments.
As for fishing, local and visiting anglers are not going to spend their weekends discovering the fishing potential of shallow backwaters off the Ingraham Trail where the only thing that bites are mosquitoes.
The real danger here is that people who may be considering a fishing trip to the North, or standing on lake ice to view the aurora, will get tripped up by misleading headlines or health advisories that suggest there is a problem with the water up here.
Last year, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment made the mistake of issuing a unneeded warning concerning local mushrooms whose only real effect was to enter the word "arsenic" into Google search results for NWT mushrooms. No doubt, international morel mushroom marketeers will take note when researching the territory's potential in this lucrative trade. Never mind that none of the bumper crop harvested last year was anywhere near the city.
No health advisory should be issued where there is no real danger to the public, and especially where the advisory could have a serious negative impact on Yellowknife's tourism and commercial industries and the people who depend on them for their livelihood.
This is not to make light of the study's findings.
The long-term effects of mining related contamination certainly needs to be understood. But alarmist and misleading headlines or health advisories about arsenic contamination do no one any good when that contamination is confined to relatively insignificant pools of water which are only contaminated precisely because they do not form part of the larger watershed where people draw their water, catch their fish and go swimming on the weekends.
The area's lakes and rivers, whether Prosperous, Prelude, the Yellowknife River or Great Slave Lake, are some of the cleanest waters in the world and are rightfully the envy of many.
To suggest otherwise is false, creates unnecessary fear, and needlessly damages the reputation of Yellowknife and its pristine back-country in the eyes of the world.
There is no way Corriveau can issue a health advisory on area water quality without needlessly tarnishing the entire watershed. He should stand down on his threat.
Celebrating womenDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, April 21, 2016
The recent nomination of the legendary Catherine Bouvier Beaulieu Lamoureux to the Bank of Canada is a tribute to the lives Northern people have lived for generations.
Lamoureux was nominated by the Fort Providence Metis Council this month to appear on a bank note. She is one of thousands of nominations across the country.
Everyone whose ancestors lived in the North should be proud.
In the words of descendant Bob Norwegian, Lamoureux's nomination is symbolic - a way to honour all our grandmothers and great-great grandmothers, the ones that history remembers and the ones the history books have forgotten.
The stories that circulate about Lamoureux paint a picture of a fearless Northern woman who stood strong on her own two feet - a woman who was intent on getting the task at hand done, regardless of weather or season.
Her nomination is a reminder to celebrate the women of the North both historical and living. She represents the ideals of the true North strong and free.
Her descendants, the residents of the Deh Cho and those who live across the Northwest Territories, should swell with pride that someone took the initiative to put her name forward.
Catherine Lamoureux has many names behind her - names that are now very prominent in the territory. She is tied to the Norwegians, the Sibbestons and the Antoines; the Villeneuves, the Laffertys and the McLeods - to name a few.
Her descendants have become leaders and have gone on to make a name for themselves.
It is always exciting when women of note are given recognition for their work but more so when they are so vastly deserving of that recognition.
Not only is it a celebration of the Northern spirit, it also shines a spotlight for the rest of the country to see. It showcases the tremendous sense of history that dwells in the territory as well as providing some understanding into why the people of the North often take their heritage so seriously.
The nomination is something to be proud of, and it is something everyone should be celebrating, regardless of their ties to Lamoureux.
It is also a step in the right direction for the Bank of Canada to seek female nominations in the first place.
There are so many ancestors of the North who deserve recognition. To begin with a Metis woman who lived much of her life in the Deh Cho would be a great start indeed.
Development good sign for futureInuvik Drum - Thursday, April 21, 2016
In the North, and in a town like Inuvik -- especially in these tough economic times -- any news of development that isn't driven by government is a good thing.
While many have been pushing the Inuvik International Satellite Facility as a beacon of hope for some time, now a group of private companies is getting in on the action, making that hope that much closer to a reality.
We learned this week that a new site is being planned for at least nine more dishes, owned and operated by companies who have not found the federal-run facility to suit their needs. Proponents are talking about it being a move towards making Inuvik a centre for innovation and technology, blessed as we are geographically.
We agree, insofar that it's great to see growth not driven by the public sector. It instills a bit more confidence that this is truly a viable industry and not just another project to throw infrastructure money at in the hopes of keeping the region afloat.
That being said, cautious optimism is perhaps the best way to move forward. While the Mackenzie fibre optic line is an exciting development, allowing residents to get better access to faster Internet -and hopefully cheaper - it is also an easy and obvious pipeline for data to be moved from the horrendously expensive Arctic to places where analysts are far less costly and far more prevalent.
We're not convinced the presence of satellite dishes will definitely lead to the creation of data processing centres in the community to employ our young people who, while no doubt tech-savvy, don't have the specific training to allow them to work for space agencies around the globe and their industry counterparts.
But these are solvable problems and the satellite sites are a great start. If Inuvik can parlay its existence into lasting benefits for the region, including but certainly not limited to increased infrastructure while igniting young people's passion for the science and technology industry, so much the better.
In the meantime, it's estimated that about half the money spent developing the current site has stayed in town. Hopefully the same will be the case for the new facility as well.
