Hospital will shelter homeless regardless Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, January 20, 2017
As second vice-president of the Union of Northern Workers, Marie Buchanan's concern for worker safety following the hospital's decision to allow the homeless to warm up and spend the night in the hospital lobby is understandable.
It's her job to look out for workers rights, but that vigilance must always be balanced with the labour movement's general compassion for the well-being of all, especially those most disadvantaged in society.
Hospital administration demonstrated that compassion when it quietly took steps last year to open the hospital lobby at night to those in need of shelter from the cold. Security keeps an eye on the lobby, and a set of rules define how the lobby is to be used and how that privilege could be revoked if the rules are broken.
So far, both the union and hospital administration report no official complaints regarding the sympathetic policy.
It seems all involved have found a way to balance workplace safety with compassion for others.
As Union local 11 president Frank Walsh said, none of those who escape Yellowknife's cold nights every dreamed of waking up homeless one day needing shelter from the cold. Hospital staff, administration, the union and security should be commended for the humanity they have shown.
While it's true the hospital lobby is not a long-term solution for homeless in need of shelter during frigid winter nights, it does take some pressure off the hospital's emergency department.
As hospital staff know only too well, the emergency department can also be used to escape the cold. This is a potentially more disruptive situation with valuable emergency resources directed toward individuals who really just need a warm place to spend a few hours or the night.
The hospital will always be a place of refuge and last resort for the homeless. The current practice where they can come through the front doors and quietly settle in so long as they are non-disruptive and abide by the rules is a much better solution than having those same individuals arrive by way of the emergency department.
Parents: let your voices ring Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, January 20, 2017
On Jan. 24 Yellowknife Education District No. 1 is holding a town hall meeting to discuss with parents how the planned roll-out of junior kindergarten will affect services.
The big question is how the board will fund their share of the program now that the GNWT has said it will be going ahead.
A promise of some funding to boards - $2 million of the overall $5.1 million - is a marked improvement over the GNWT offering no funding and telling boards to use their accumulated surpluses.
The board has already been made clear there will be some unspecified cuts to other school programs to fund junior kindergarten but the
program is coming no matter what.
Now is the time for the board to figure out how to avoid that, as they wait for confirmation of the number of students they will have enrolled next year.
Superintendent Metro Huculak estimates up to 145 junior kindergarten students may be added to the public district enrollment.
How the government money will be allocated will hinge on how many students each board receives.
Both the public and Catholic school boards administrations in Yellowknife have been very well funded for a good number of years. As with all organizations, bureaucracies especially, there will be a calculated and determined effort to maintain what they have. This will shape their arguments and their presentation of 'facts' and options.
It is up to the elected board members and parents to send their respective school administrations a firm message - no cuts until there has been a serious effort to find efficiencies and forgo some professional luxuries.
The success of junior kindergarten will benefit teachers and parents as much as students.
It's up to the boards the ensure that success.
Funding hits the markDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, January 19, 2016
The Northwest Territories received a welcome surprise on Jan. 16 when the federal government announced it would be providing millions of dollars in targeted funding to the territory's health-care system.
In total, $36.1 million will be making its way North for health care in all three territories over a span of 10 years.
In the Northwest Territories, that includes $7.4 million for home care infrastructure and $6.1 million for mental health initiatives.
The money was secured nearly a month ago, on Dec. 19, as part of a new agreement for health care funding with the federal government.
Any money in support of health care - especially mental health care - is money well-spent.
And this particular chunk comes with two expectations: that children and youth will receive better access to mental health care, and that the number of patients in-hospital can be reduced by treating some at home or in their respective communities.
For the Northwest Territories, home care and mental health care are two very important issues families in small communities struggle with.
And more and more, the mental well-being of youth is emerging as an issue that needs to be addressed.
Hopefully, the territorial government will not be shortsighted where this funding is concerned, given the litany of problems plaguing smaller communities in the Northwest Territories.
Chief among these mental health problems are suicides, crime rates, drug and alcohol addiction and homelessness. Although none of these problems are specific to the youth, they all have a foothold in the youth population of many communities in the Deh Cho. A healthy youth population means a healthy future for the territory as those youth grow into adults.
The money for mental health care needs to be put into programs for youth in small communities. That includes addressing the strain of isolation, intergenerational trauma and re-connecting aboriginal youth with their culture and heritage.
Some of that money could be best used on developing school programs to address these things, while the rest would be best put into community programming.
As for home care, there are plenty of patients in the Deh Cho who would be relieved to not have to fly to Yellowknife just to receive a shot or be given a handful of pills. The stress medical travel puts on patients and their families should not be underestimated, especially if it seems like a frivolous matter.
But before any of these problems are resolved, the Deh Cho and Nahendeh electoral districts are going to need some strong representation from MLAs Michael Nadli and Shane Thompson in the legislative assembly to ensure some of that money comes south of Yellowknife.
Nadli and Thompson need to convince the territorial government that money given to smaller communities is money well-spent. Instead of having funding trickle out of Yellowknife, this particular chunk is best used directly in the territory's other communities.
Smaller communities cannot be left out of this funding. Any initiatives used under this funding must not be centralized to Yellowknife but instead need to be offered to each community - with the most remote ones getting top priority.
Reliving past might not prepare for futureInuvik Drum - Thursday, January 19, 2016
As an ideal, language and culture revitalization are unarguably good things.
But some things sound better as ideals than they are in reality, and chasing a warm, fuzzy nostalgia for the past can impact and limit one's future if due care is not taken.
I found this an especially interesting subject in Nunavut, where the government is pushing very hard to keep Inuktitut alive and even expand its influence in public schools and places.
It certainly sounds nice. It's a beautiful language, gives you a window into the past, and is tied closely to the culture of Inuit people.
Younger generations have the Internet nowadays and a very English-centric Western world, so naturally they have much more exposure to English than their native language, leading to the old ways dying out.
As nice as the old ways are, we also have to recognize that the world changes, and we have to change with it.
What I'm saying is more true for Nunavut, where in my experience the command of English is rather poor overall, compared to Inuvik.
It's clear that in Nunavut an inability to communicate in English limits Inuit people's job prospects. If they don't learn to speak and write English to a decent standard, they are basically confined to working in Nunavut, likely for the government.
By far the most professionally successful Inuit, the ones who have taken up high positions in government or represent youth councils, or who have become doctors, lawyers or engineers, all have a superb command of English.
Look at any job posting in North America, and it's obvious learning English to a high standard is critical for career development.
Now, there are certainly some career paths where knowing a native aboriginal language would be beneficial. These would likely be in cultural tourism and very local programming. But these jobs don't exist on a wide scale.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with keeping a beautiful culture alive. It becomes misguided only if it impacts your ability to succeed in the future.
English might not be sexy, but it sure is useful. Government-funded education in Canada must be focused on excellent communication skills in the modern world's ubiquitous language.
Keeping culture alive is a good thing, but it comes with the challenge of balancing the old with the new. Traditional skills at the expense of modern ones could hurt a young person's prospects. But putting the work in to develop both is a noble and worthwhile goal.
There is always a place to honour, nurture and celebrate our history. The only requisite is it does not come at the expense of our future.
Delay increases sufferingYellowknifer - Wednesday, January 18, 2017
For those in the territory counting on implementation of the new Mental Health Act, the gears of government must be grinding painfully slow.
The overhauled act, unveiled in June 2015, promises to essentially streamline mental-health care in the territory.
The admissions process for those with mental-health issues will be easier, paperwork demands lessened, and people receiving care will be able to continue their treatment in their home communities.
Other changes include a provision to require patients take their medication, and an expansion of who can examine and assess patients.
This new tool is intended to help those in smaller communities receive mental-health care.
The new act also includes an expansion of criteria to force a person to get treatment, in an effort to let authorities intervene before a case reaches the point of causing harm.
Last year, Health and Social Services Minister Glen Abernethy set a target date of Jan. 1 for implementation of the act, but that date has now been scratched and indefinitely delayed.
To be realistic, this new Mental Health Act is no magic bullet that will solve the layered, systemic, multi-generational problems that cause mental health issues here in the territory.
The $500,000 in new money to implement the act is a drop in the bucket of what could be spent fighting this problem.
Like any societal issue, addressing mental-health care needs a multi-faceted approach.
But it is an improvement that many people across the territory have said has long been urgently needed.
Because as it is right now, the only real treatment centres we have are the street, the psyche ward and the territory's jails.
And while we all wait for these new legal tools to provide better mental-health care in the territory, costs will continue to mount and people will continue to suffer without help.
Important to raise support for new poolYellowknifer - Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Across the board, for everybody who uses it, this is a unanimous assessment.
So it was wonderful to hear the federal government was willing to put up as much as $12.9 million toward the project.
This federal funding is certainly a welcome contribution, but is only 23 per cent of the $55.9 million the pool has been estimated to cost, as per a 2011 city-funded report.
A $55-million pool would require the city to come up with $42 million of its own money which might explain why administration has opted to work with a $30-million preliminary figure.
Will the pool actually come in for as little as $30 million? Maybe. But no matter what the cost, the city is going to have to put up millions
of dollars of its own money.
A plebiscite is always an option, and might actually be a good thing, because it will create a strong incentive for the municipal government to be clear with the people in terms of funding and planning.
Seeing as a new pool is still in very preliminary stages, the city would be wise to make one concrete decision right now - keep the public closely in the loop and get community users onside.
Violent offenders need not apply!Editorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, January 18, 2017
During the past decade, or so, we've heard a number of voices say we have to start bringing difficult issues out from behind closed doors in Nunavut.
It's time to discuss them openly and honestly, despite the pain that often accompanies them, if we're going to start making a difference in our ongoing battle to overcome some, if not all, of the barriers that yet stand in our way as a territory.
The issue of domestic violence and seeking election in our government has hit the front burner again, being fuelled by the YWCA's efforts in the NWT.
Up for debate is not allowing anyone convicted of domestic violence to run for office for a period of at least five years following their conviction.
First and foremost, it should be made clear that while, yes, the vast majority of domestic-violence victims are women, females are found guilty of the same crime in Canada every year, as well.
And, there is no doubt in this writer's mind, that the vast majority of men who suffer domestic abuse at the hands of a female spouse never report it.
It's an age-old stereotype of it just not being the manly thing to do, despite the fact there are millions of men walking around who really don't have a violent bone in their body.
And, despite what some would have you believe, there are millions more who would never, under any circumstances, raise their hand to a female.
Nunavut has the highest rate of domestic violence in this country.
I, for one, believe our leaders should lead by example, despite the growing number who fall from grace every year.
And, I would support any movement to ban for life, let alone five years, any person convicted of domestic violence, sexual assault or sexual interference from running for office.
We talk and talk and talk in this country, and we take to social media in droves to express our opinions, often in the most verbally inflammatory way.
Yet, at the same time, we're so damn worried about offending anyone, infringing on anyone's rights - real or perceived - or being accused of being this, that or the other thing, that we rarely bring about any significant change.
Unless a conviction gets overturned (it must be stated in good conscience, as people are, at times, wrongly convicted), do we really want anyone convicted of these crimes dictating policy?
Does someone who cannot control their temper enough to refrain from violence, or who cannot accept the fact that you're morally bankrupt the second you strike your spouse, deserve to sit in government and enjoy the perks that come with it?
How about someone who says no really means yes, or who interferes with a minor?
No! And it has nothing to do with democracy and a person's "right" to run for election.
Time and time again we've seen people with questionable pasts get elected, and time and time again we've seen them crash and burn (anyone remember a certain mayor in Toronto?).
We'll never achieve the utopian society some folks dream about.
Sadly, it's just not in our (human) nature.
However, we can better define and enforce our accepted parameters, and the top is as good a place to start as any.
Life is often about choices, and those choices are supposed to have far-reaching consequences.
If ever there was a time when we need morally upstanding leaders, it's now.
And setting the bar high for those who make the rules the rest of us have to live by, would be one giant step in the right direction.
More health cash vitalNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, January 16, 2017
To maintain future health spending, Premier Bob McLeod has warned his government may have to slash funding in other departments in order to compensate for federal cuts to the usual increase in Canada Health Transfer payments.
According to Finance Canada, the territory will receive $45 million in Canada Health Transfer funds in the 2017-18 fiscal year, up $1 million from this fiscal year.
But that's not enough to maintain the NWT's " unsustainable" spending on Northern health care, McLeod said in an interview Dec. 21.
"I guess a decision will have to be made whether we take money from other programs to pay for health care," McLeod said
So what is the average person supposed to do with that information? The eternal squabbling over health-care funding in this country is really enough to make a person feel queasy.
Does McLeod expect citizens to petition his brother, NWT Liberal MP Michael McLeod? Are we supposed to organize rallies in front of the MP's office? Perhaps start an e-mail campaign directly to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office?
While any of the above might help, our premier and his government must be prepared to do the heavy lifting in this battle.
There certainly shouldn't be anything but improvements to our health-care system in the North. As for cuts to other departments - maybe education, or justice, or public works? - no way, Bob.
The premier and cabinet are in the midst of a self-imposed quest for $150 million in savings or additional revenues from increased efficiencies.
Before any cuts are made to programs - if the feds can't be convinced to pony up more cash for health care - we expect an honest effort to be made find those new savings/revenues.
But before we get to that point, there is always the chance the Trudeau government will move off its insistence to cut transfer payment increases to three from six per cent.
We do applaud McLeod for joining several other provinces an territories in standing firmly against the Trudeau government's plan. A handful of jurisdictions folded after initially taking a united stand against the federal government after a unfruitful meeting in Ottawa Dec. 19
However, we hope the premier has sharpened his argument since that December News/North interview, when he couldn't provide a specific figure as to what the territory needs from Ottawa.
"We want to see more funding," he said then.
A child can make a stronger argument when debating his parents about his weekly allowance. He must attach a dollar figure if he expects Ottawa to take the request seriously.
McLeod is certainly between a rock and a hard place. But that's when we expect him to really put his shoulder into the push-back against Ottawa.
Or, he must stare down the unions and find savings in GNWT offices before any front-line staff or services are cut.
Sesquicentennial a super waste of moneyNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, January 16, 2017
Spending for Canada's 150th birthday party has been ballooning out of control since the Liberals took over a program they derided while in opposition.
The theme has also changed to a multicultural celebration from one with a more militaristic/historic theme.
The largest share of the money for the sesquicentennial - $300-million - is being delivered by regional development agencies, including the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency for the three territories.
That money is earmarked to renovate, expand or improve "community and cultural infrastructure."
Ironically, that might mean fixing up some infrastructure built 50 years ago for the centennial celebrations.
Meanwhile, the Canada 150 Fund, run by Canadian Heritage, is spending $180 million on projects ranging from small and local - plenty of fireworks displays already happened, such New Year's Eve in Hay River - to national cross-country tours.
As the Globe and Mail reported, the Harper Conservatives wanted celebrations to emphasize Canada as "strong, proud and free," while the Liberals have redrawn the event to target diversity, reconciliation with indigenous peoples, the environment and youth.
So while the Trudeau government argues with the provinces and territories over heath-care funding, it's more than happy to grab the reins of what is (now) a fabulous opportunity to drive its agenda into every region of Canada under the guise of celebrating the country's
sesquicentennial.
The money being squandered for this phony year-long party could have been much better spent, perhaps even on health care.
Faster, cheaper Internet possible with innovationNunavut/News North - Monday, January 16, 2017
There's an old saying, that when it comes to service, you have three options: fast, good, and cheap. You get to pick two.
But when it comes to Internet service in Nunavut, you're not likely to get any of them.
We've always wondered why, to date, there hasn't been a way for Internet service providers to cache -i.e. store on their own servers - websites and content such as video, so that the end user doesn't have to get that data from the southern side of a satellite connection.
Keep the most popular YouTube videos and software updates on a server in Iqaluit. Consider that Windows 10 requires a four gigabyte download, while the latest update for Apple computers requires a 5GB download. Mobile app updates, too, are too often larger than 100 megabytes, and most users need to make such updates every few days. Why does this data have to squeeze through the satellite more than once?
In light of this issue, there will be many who welcome the recent announcement that users of Meshnet - Iqaluit's community-based Internet service provider -are now able to take advantage of local storage to increase, without additional cost, the video quality of Netflix, a huge bandwidth drain in many Nunavut homes.
According to the developer of the NightShift software, Meshnet will be able to download a movie once for all of its users, and redistribute it on demand from the Iqaluit server. The developer promises huge bandwidth savings for the Meshnet user community.
But it does pose the question: if the promises come to fruition, why can't Nunavut's bigger Internet service providers do the same, and provide a true public service by increasing the speed and quality of the Internet, while reducing data overage costs that are the bane of Nunavummiut.
Despite federal support and territorial government contracts, the cost of broadband remains obscene in Nunavut. Fibre optic appears to be but a dream to speed up the Net, so we are stuck with satellite. If we all have to accept this, we call on the big players to follow in Meshnet's footsteps and make a true difference for average users.
Because for those of us who don't use Meshnet, it's not a demand for better Netflix, although that is a nice side effect. We want Internet service providers to find ways to make every megabyte or gigabyte of data coming through the satellite to count so that we can keep some of our money.
It seems a no-brainer that ISPs would download a popular video once for the community, not once for every user. If a small single community ISP can do it, why can't the big companies?
And to go one step further, if Meshnet can offer unlimited bandwidth over satellite for a fixed rate, why can't they?
It's time to start asking your service provider what they're doing to be responsible with your money and public funds. Innovative solutions exist, and now we all know about one that could make a real difference.
Our money, and our bandwidth quotas, is too precious not to be used to improve essential government services, or just to put more food on the tables of Nunavummiut.
