Faulty communication threatens lives Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, July 29, 2016
Lodge owner Bryan Chorostkowski did not mince words describing the narrow escape of him and his group of 11 children and 10 adults from Namushka Lodge July 15.
He believes it's likely lives could have been lost had it not been by a stroke of luck that they were alerted the fire was fast approaching.
Chorostkowski's brother had called warning winds were pushing the fire towards the lodge. So Chorostkowski went out to check the firebreak and found towering flames licking at the trees just 500 feet away.
He rounded up the group and by the time they were floating away to safety, the fire was consuming the lodge.
Now, the question the Chorostkowski family is asking is: "Where was the government?"
Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) fire operations is in charge of tracking forest fires, fighting them, and identifying any communities or buildings threatened, at which time they send out public safety alerts.
According to Richard Olsen, manager of fire operations with ENR, the Chorostkowski family was warned the fire might come their way on that fateful Friday. The Chorostkowskis are saying that didn't happen. They are saying they tried to contact the department but nobody answered the phone.
Either way, it was a phone call from Bryan Chorostkowki's brother that saved the group.
The Department of Municipal and Community Services handles evacuations if they need to happen, but the department's director of public safety, Kevin Brezinski, said they are not set up like a 9-1-1 dispatch, so it's important for lodges to have their own emergency response plans.
If the Chorostkowski family was briefed on Friday, then ENR would probably have known the family was hosting a group that night.
ENR staff also knew winds were gusting 50 km/h and while the extreme weather made it impossible for crews to fight the fire, they were hopefully tracking it.
When the wind changed direction and the fire started moving south towards Namushka Lodge, why didn't ENR warn the group it was coming?
Faulty communications can cost lives. It's true that July 15 was very hot with high winds. The fire was moving quickly and unpredictably. It's understandable that these weren't the best working conditions for those tracking the fire.
That said, the Chorostkowski family is asking reasonable questions. It's also reasonable to expect the government will take a good look at how it handled communications on July 15, and how it can do better .
Last week, the public saw a report assessing what went wrong when the Olesen's log home burned on the Hoarfrost River in 2014. Flawed communication based upon faulty information was a major factor in the mishandled fire.
Hopefully a similar report about the events that led to the destruction of Namushka Lodge will help the government improve emergency response operations during wildfires. And, while we're hoping for things, here's hoping the public can have easier access to reports like these, in the interest of transparency.
Catholic church's rebuilding return to graceDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, July 28, 2016
Last week village council voted to approve the development of a new Catholic church in Fort Simpson.
Although construction won't begin for a little longer yet I have to say I think this will be great.
When I was a child several of the churches near my house in New Brunswick decided to amalgamate to help pay the bills.
While this seemed like a good idea, the congregation and I soon found ourselves holding services in a middle school auditorium as we raised money to construct a (w)hol(e)y new church.
Admittedly, I don't go to church often, or at all (I'm a journalist. I need my Sundays to practice my Peter Mansbridge impersonations).
However, I do understand the pleasures of having a place to call your own.
As nice as the middle school was to allow us to use their facilities, it wasn't a church.
When the parish I was a part of finally did move into the new church we constructed, it felt like a return to grace (pardon my pun).
I remember walking in the front doors for the first time and seeing the inside of the building.
The first thing I noticed was the stained glass windows from my old church had been incorporated into the new one. It gave me peace of mind that my old, quaint, little church would live on.
Remembering the past is important in my mind and is a major part of religion.
And, with the steeple from the previous church remaining next to the new proposed one, it seems like this community is on track to do just that.
Now the only thing that stands between the present and the construction of the new church is a 14-day waiting period in case there are any complaints or appeals from the public, and by the time this newspaper comes out it will be far fewer than that.
I would encourage the community of Fort Simpson to take this time seriously.
While I've described the inside of the my church back home as beautiful, the outside looks dreadful.
There's really nothing to say about a church that looks like a modern retail store, no matter how many stained-glass windows you slap inside.
Should be child's playInuvik Drum - Thursday, July 21, 2016
Every week, we do a feature on the sports page called the sports card, in which we ask children which sport they like best and then a few more questions about why they like it.
The most popular answer - by far - is soccer. It beats out hockey, even in the winter. After weeks and weeks of this answer, and as the weather grew warmer, we started asking where these children were so enthusiastically playing soccer.
Their answer: inside the school or in their backyards.
This is a curious thing because pretty much every small municipality in the country has something of a soccer field. To be fair, there is a nominal field on Ruyant Crescent but as the deputy mayor Steven Baryluk noted this week, it is in sad shape.
The real shame is that soccer, unlike other sports, requires relatively little equipment. With the fewest frills, it requires only a soccer field and a soccer ball. No need for heavy hockey pads, sticks nor ice time, soccer offers a level playing field for families of all income levels. But to do it right, a field is necessary.
It wasn't always this way.
There used to be an outdoor sports facility before East Three took over the space.
The territorial government at the time had promised that the facilities would be replaced but obviously that hasn't happened yet.
Town council heard the matter could be resolved this fall, and I certainly hope that will be the case.
There's a lot of talk about getting people active and taking full advantage of the summer months to get outside and make the most of the 24-hour sun. There are many programs geared toward getting children involved in sports, arguably too many sometimes.
Yet this town doesn't have a useable outdoor field.
It may seem shrill to complain about something which is admittedly pretty far down the priority list for many levels of government but consider the end game, if you'll pardon the pun, is that young people will be healthier for it.
The massive investments this year alone in the town's water treatment plant and utilidor system were and are obviously more urgent than recreation - not to mention from vastly different funding sources. It just seems, however, that something so basic should not be so easily overlooked. It would seriously improve the optics of the centre of town, and would be good for everyone.
Furthermore, when the majority of children, admittedly in a very unscientific poll, say they love soccer and want to play more of it, it would be really great if we could give them a place to do it.
Indigenous culture equals auroraYellowknifer - Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Visitors to the Dene Nahjo hide-tanning culture camp in Somba K'e Civic Plaza were treated to the pleasant aroma of pungent sweet smoke wafting out of a hide smoke-tent, the sound of tools scraping against stretched hides.
The scene transports one to a time and place where life was lived entirely on the land.
As such, this showcase of indigenous culture is a tremendous experience, all the more relevant because those traditions continue to be passed on to new generations.
This is no museum display or historical re-enactment by paid actors. This is the real deal, so it's no surprise hundreds were drawn to the site since it opened earlier this month.
The cultures and traditions of the people of the North are valuable in their own right but public interest in the caribou and moose-hide tanning workshop is worth noting: Northern indigenous culture offers an anchor point for tourism.
With about 200 visitors per day visiting the camp and participating in the workshops it is clear Dene Nahjo has keyed into a brilliant idea and tapped a valuable, renewable traditional resource.
Culture camp visitors were described as not only being local but included U.S. and international visitors.
The stories and photographs they take home or post on social media will do much to pique interest in what the North has to offer beyond auroras, dog-sleds and houseboats.
Territorial and federal bureaucrats as well as elected officials should recognize the brilliant success of this culture camp and its power to draw curious and inquisitive minds (and their tourism dollars) North.
Ongoing support is festival's lifebloodYellowknifer - Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Another Folk on the Rocks has come and gone and by all accounts one of the biggest and best so far.
Nationally-recognized acts like Joel Plaskett, Emergency, as well as A Tribe Called Red kept audiences on their feet and dancing alongside Northern artists getting more exposure and entertaining family and friends.
There is always a wide variety of entertainment, from bands for adults in the beer gardens to performers aimed at families.
Its broad appeal brought many of the festival-goers from all over the country, flying, even driving the long road North, an experience in itself.
It isn't just music that brings out the crowds. Artists and local merchants gave the crowds more reasons to come spend the weekend and take in an arts extravaganza that makes the city so unique.
Some of the hardest workers, however, are not performing onstage. The board works throughout the year to get the best talent they can attract, dealing with fees, travelling distance and competing festivals down south as well as recruiting volunteers and wrestling site logistics to the ground.
Over the years they've brought many big-name acts, some already popular and others on their way to super stardom, remembered years later for whipping crowds into a frenzy.
Keep in mind a festival is only as good as the support it gets from its audience.
It takes a lot of work and enthusiasm to keep it alive.
Crowds don't show any signs of thinning in the near future, but fans have to remember their continued support, through tickets, merchandise and volunteering will keep the grand tradition of Folk on the Rocks alive and well.
Curfew: reflections of a youth who grew upEditorial Comment by Cody Punter
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, July 27, 2016
I remember the first time I was brought home by police. I was 14 and I had just graduated from Grade 8. To celebrate, I invited a couple of friends over to my house. After my mom went to sleep, my two friends and I decided to sneak out of the house.
I felt a rush of excitement as we tip-toed out the door through the back alley. It was a wonderful feeling - we had just finished school and now we were free to roam the streets without any parents to tell us what to do.
We weren't looking for trouble and we didn't really find any either. But sometime around 4 a.m. a police cruiser pulled up beside us on a side street. After realizing how young we were, the officers wanted to know why were out so late. We explained that we were just walking around and not doing anyone any harm. Despite our protestations, we were told that we weren't old enough to be out in the early hours of the morning — we finished our evening in the back of a police car, on the way home.
Needless to say my mom was less than impressed. Neither were the parents of my friends and for a while we were all grounded.
That was the last time I was ever brought home by police. It was not the last time I snuck out of the house. Although the fear of getting caught was always in the back of my mind, it just made me take extra precautions to make sure that didn't happen.
Which brings us to the issue of curfew in the Kivalliq.
Last week I spoke with parents from communities across the region who would like to see curfews imposed in their communities. In Rankin Inlet, the issue has been taken to hamlet council which is currently debating the merits of implementing a curfew. I have seen the polarizing effect this debate is having among people on social media, with one half supporting a curfew and the other saying it is up to the parents to keep their kids under control.
One of the problems I see in all these discussions is that people are confusing the crimes being committed late at night with youth being out on the streets.
Although I have only been in town for a month, I have been woken up my fair share of times in the middle of the night. This has not been the result of children playing but rather people drunkenly shouting abuse at each other, or ATVs squealing around town.
Would a curfew stop this from happening? I doubt it. Would it stop the people who are breaking windows and stealing things with no regard for laws that are already in place? Almost definitely not. If communities want to get to the heart of the matter they should look into implementing bylaws that would address these problems specifically, whether noise complaints, public intoxication or vandalism. Curfews are just an easy way to pretend to solve problems that are much more complex than any one law can solve.
In a few weeks I will be leaving Rankin, so my opinion may not matter much to those who have lived here all their lives but I will offer my two cents before I go. I think an effort needs to be made to hear all sides: parents, youth, police, and community leaders. Bring everyone to the table and discuss these issues publicly rather than doing it from behind a computer screen. Come together as a community to develop a series of solutions that tackle the heart of the issue, whether it be more programming for youth, better supports for parents or penalties for disturbing the peace.
As the saying goes: it takes a village to raise a child. A community's youth is its future and they should be cherished as such. Blaming them for the failures of adults will only divide the community and breed resentment.
Where's dignity and respect?Northwest Territories/News North - Monday, July 25, 2016
The GNWT Income Assistance Handbook states that as a client, you have a right to "be treated with dignity and respect."
So why then were some clients of the GNWT's Income Security Division in Tuktoyaktuk left in dire straits after their benefits were chopped?
"It's been very tough and the bills are piling up also," Clara Bates told News/North, in a July 18 story headlined "Elders starving in Tuk."
"It's the first time I've really seen people cry or say that they're starving. They feel like giving up."
That's truly awful. Times are tough in the North, which is suffering the ripple effect both the oil slump and rising costs of living.
While News/North recently reported the employment rate in the NWT has increased by more than three per cent since June of last year, if you dig deeper into the statistics, you see that a large part of that increase was in part-time jobs.
However the unemployment rate has increased 17.6 per cent year to year, according to the NWT Bureau of Statistics.
So boiled down, a few more people found work, likely a part-time job in the service industry but a lot more are unemployed.
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So enter Income Assistance. And start ordering in more red tape.
The Income Assistance Program was set up to provide financial assistance to help Northerners meet basic needs.
But you'd better make sure you follow the department's rules to the letter. Or you're cut off. Just like that.
Clara Bates told News/North she was just one of a group of Tuktoyaktuk residents who had their income assistance payments cut off this spring.
"It's been really tough," she was quoted as saying in that July 18 edition.
"I've talked to a lot of people. I'm talking to them on a regular basis, just trying to keep their morale up and try to let them know that I am trying to do something about this."
On May 11, the GNWT issued a letter stating that Bates' support payments would be discontinued.
The letter stated that she had "not disclosed adequate information about your income and circumstances."
Bates said she was told that her income tax information hadn't been received.
"I told them that I did all my paperwork," she said.
"We did our stuff on time. The mail was pretty slow this spring."
In the meantime, Bates said she was without income support since she her last cheque in April.
Robert Anikina, Bates' brother, also had his income assistance discontinued after being told that he hadn't provided adequate information. He said that at the time, he had difficulty getting to the Income Assistance office due to a broken ankle and no telephone in his home.
Anikina said he explained his circumstances to a local GNWT client services officer, but still received a letter stating his income support was being discontinued.
Why has this editorial emphasized the Monday, July 18 edition of News/North?
Well the same day that paper came out with the front page headline. "Elders starving in Tuk," Bates and her brother's payments were reinstated without explanation.
While that might have been a coincidence - the problem solved the same day as the story ran - we're grateful the GNWT reinstated the payments.
We understand rules prevent fraud and abuse of the system. But people can't be left to starve and stew about a cruel bureaucracy.
The stated priority of government is to protect its citizens - and indeed treat us all in any situation with "dignity and respect." This wasn't done in Tuktoyaktuk.
No rush for devolution dealNunavut/News North - Monday, July 25, 2016
Both Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Cathy Towtongie are pleased the federal Liberal government appointed a new chief federal negotiator on the devolution file.
They see the eventual completion of negotiations on the transfer of responsibility for Crown lands and resources to the territorial government from the federal government as a good thing, perhaps imagining the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Essentially, a portion of resource revenue from mining companies like Agnico Eagle Mines in the Kivalliq region and the Baffinland iron ore mine at Mary River would go directly to the GN instead of Ottawa.
The formula is not supposed to change the level of transfer payments to Iqaluit from Ottawa, a vital revenue stream that represents more than 90 per cent of the money going into GN coffers.
Nunavut is the last of the three territories to go through the devolution process.
Yukon was the first on April 1, 2003.
On April 1, 2014, the Northwest Territories government became responsible for managing public land, water and resources.
The financial benefit resulted in new jobs and the GNWT keeping 50 per cent of royalties from resource development on Crown lands. Further, it agreed to sharing up to 25 per cent of its portion of resource revenue with the aboriginal governments.
We submit that the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is not as sparkly as first thought for the NWT, especially considering the bureaucratic mechanisms required, such as the GNWT's formation of a Department of Lands and the bottoming out of the global resource industry.
In fact, there is much for Nunavut to learn from the process undertaken in the Northwest Territories and the results of devolution since 2014. And there is a great deal of time for our negotiations to be concluded.
Overall, devolution means little to ordinary citizens. Its importance as a priority for government is severely diminished when one considers the others issues we face.
We submit that adequate and ongoing funding for suicide prevention is more important. Addressing food insecurity is an issue of high priority. Education, training, health all top the list ahead of devolution.
Then there is the issue of jobs. Will there be enough beneficiaries under Article 23 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement to fill territorial government jobs inherited through devolution?
Devolution will happen in time but there should be no rush for it to be completed. Too many pieces of the puzzle need to fall in place for it to happen successfully.
