Monitoring key to measuring impacts Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, February 17, 2017
Environmental reviews, studies, reports and analysis surround all modern industrial projects that are expected to have an environmental impact.
The public has come to expect these exercises to describe how proposed projects will negatively impact the environment and regional wildlife populations that inhabit the nearby environs or the people who rely on a given area for sustenance, water or livelihood.
So it was a welcome surprise to discover that the NWT Power Corporation's Bluefish power plant has helped to create what is essentially a new spawning ground for lake whitefish, lake trout and ciscoes in the plant's outflow areas.
The discovery came out of ongoing environmental monitoring that began in 2012 while the plant was under construction. Ongoing monitoring meant power corp. could work with environmental scientists to optimize water flow so as to protect the newly discovered spawning environment.
Generally speaking, environmental monitoring protocols are put in place to protect the environment and detect negative impacts in their early stages so they can be corrected.
So it's good news all around when those same protocols detect an environmental benefit and can be used to preserve and maximize that benefit.
The North offers a unique environment with, for example, lake trout spawning in moving waters, something not seen in more southerly ecosystems.
It is heartening to see environmental monitoring in the North not only protecting the environment we all share but discovering and contributing to a fuller understanding of the northern world.
This discovery will contribute to future industrial projects in the North and may, through dissemination via scholarly channels, contribute to projects elsewhere.
Without robust environmental monitoring nobody would have known fish are thriving in an area that is also used by industry.
Juno nods shows value of NACC program Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, February 17, 2017
Three more northern artists have joined an exclusive club that have been recognized nationally for their work.
Greyson Gritt and Tiffany Ayalik, who make up the duo Quantum Tangle, and Isis Essery, a graphic designer, have all been nominated for this year's Juno awards. Quantum Tangle is up for Indigenous Music Album of the Year for their album Tiny Hands, and Essery has been nominated her for artwork found on Gord Downie's Secret Path album.
All three shared their thoughts with Yellowknifer on how they developed their projects and being nominated, all of whom said at first they had a hard time believing they had been bestowed the honour. Their nomination puts them in the same company as Leela Gilday, who took home the 2007 Aboriginal Album of the Year award, and was also nominated in the same category in 2003 and 2015.
The connection between Gritt and Gilday is they participated in the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre's mentorship program, where established artists help emerging ones develop their craft and prepare for the entertainment industry.
Executive director Marie Coderre said the industry is very competitive in the south, and having the program helps local artists hoping to break into the scene learn the ins and outs of a difficult business in which to find success.
The number of success stories coming from the program is proof that the mentorship program is a valuable one in helping new talent find their place on the national stage.
First step needs follow throughDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, February 16, 2016
Junior kindergarten is coming to the Northwest Territories - that much is certain.
But the question remains as to how the rollout will happen and what the GNWT is doing to fund the program.
Earlier this month, the government made a surprise announcement it would be fully funding junior kindergarten in the coming school year.
That was a policy pivot sharp enough to give the average territorial resident whiplash, considering the GNWT had been adamant school boards would need to foot much of the bill for the controversial program.
As usual, the devil is in the details. MLAs are still questioning whether the true cost of the program will in fact be covered or if a good portion of the burden will fall on school divisions regardless of the minister's statements.
If indeed the funding dollars come through, this change in position is incredibly welcome news for many communities within the region, where education pressures are creating a wealth of problems that need to be addressed.
First and foremost among those problems is that enrolment in Deh Cho schools has unfortunately declined once again.
That means teaching positions could be on the chopping block when the Dehcho Divisional Education Council deliberates on its budget in June.
Nahendeh-riding communities have embraced junior kindergarten since the beginning, according to Nahendeh MLA Shane Thompson.
When the program was in its pilot phase, however, not all Nahendeh schools ran junior kindergarten. In some cases, that was because there were no children of the proper age. In others, such as the case of Sambaa K'e, a crowded school meant there was little room for four-year-olds.
The unique problem faced by small-community schools in the Northwest Territories is that often you have one teacher, who is usually also the principal, for all grade levels.
As Thompson speculates, the introduction of a play-based program like junior kindergarten in those schools not only creates an additional responsibility for the teacher, it also brings up the question of how play-based programming can co-exist with structured lessons for older children and youth.
Meanwhile, in the Deh Cho riding under MLA Michael Nadli, two communities that run Aboriginal Head Start programs are still widely unhappy with the prospect of junior kindergarten - regardless of whether that program is fully funded.
There are still many questions that need to be asked by communities. The lingering question of funding is just one of many that need to be addressed.
MLAs need to keep up their pressure on the GNWT to ensure that when junior kindergarten is rolled out to all communities, it is done in a way that does not affect the education of other students and does not jeopardize the existence of programs like Aboriginal Head Start.
And the GNWT needs to clear the air once and for all on what exactly it is willing to provide money for.
Rethinking educationInuvik Drum - Thursday, February 16, 2016
School attendance and performance continue to be a big issue in the North.
It isn't great in the first place at the elementary level and then it drops off even further in high school.
The subject is complicated. Educators have spent and will continue to spend years debating it, and it can't be solved in a 400-word editorial.
Taking an alternative perspective, I don't think public school is in all that good of a place these days, north or south.
Growing up in Vancouver, my friends and I now shake our heads incredulously at how poorly we were prepared for the world.
Everyone passes public school down there but I'm not sure that means it's cranking out geniuses.
Notably missing was any sort of financial or economic education.
Most 18-year-old graduates in Canada, I would bet, cannot tell you how to do taxes, what interest is, basics of how economies function or even where the government gets its money. A lot of my peers now at 28 can't even explain half those things.
It is predatory how these young adults are pushed into signing up for expensive college degrees when many of them can barely articulate what a loan means. In the Western world, we're teetering on the edge of a bubble because of that.
I didn't like school. I get why youth don't go. I'm not saying it's right. But I get it, and I wish they had better options.
I think it's sad how much lost potential we have in high school.
For many bright young people, that 14- to 18-year-old age range is one of the peaks of their lives for inspiration, creativity and drive. They could be doing a lot more for the world than going to school.
Nowadays, that contribution to the world is delayed even further with the near-compulsion to attend a post-secondary institution. In some ways, we're just extending childhood.
Some people could take what I'm saying as anti-education. I'm anti any sort of monopoly on what education means. I am absolutely pro-education, but with a diverse view of what education entails.
This rigid ladder of grades, levels and institutions we must grind through from childhood until adulthood serves more to choke and limit the progress of the world than enhance it.
A fundamental education is vital to every society. Defining how to achieve that is where opinions might differ.
What really matters is being able to harness the special abilities unique to all of us. There is no useless person in the world, and no one who can't contribute if put in the right situation.
To flip the subject around, the goal has to be an education system diverse enough to empower each individual, rather than trying to make everyone fit in the same box.
Spiking calls not just city problemYellowknifer - Wednesday, February 15, 2017
The statistics are in. Numbers from 2016 show just how much slack the city's first responders are picking up, largely due to a change in the way RCMP handles calls for intoxicated people downtown.
While the RCMP has reported a decline in calls for service by 13.6 per cent, the city's fire services saw calls spike nine per cent. Much of these calls are medical, and Dennis Marchiori, the city's director of public safety, has drawn a link between this data and the RCMP's change in policy to not respond to calls for intoxicated people downtown.
In the summer, Marchiori told Yellowknifer he believes people have started calling the city's fire and ambulance services instead of the RCMP to report intoxicated people, a trend that he believes contributes to the rising numbers.
This is obviously a problem. According to Marchiori, the more time the city's first responders spend on these calls, the less time they have for other things, such as training and maintenance. As we know, the territorial government's Department of Justice contracts police work to the RCMP. Yellowknifer has previously called on the department to pressure the RCMP start responding to calls for intoxicated people again. Nothing seems to have been done on this issue yet but council has at least one card in its deck to negotiate improvement.
During council's budget debate in December, Coun. Shauna Morgan brought up the fact the city has the power to increase the amount of money it charges the GNWT for ambulances to deal with medevac patient transfers. She put forth a motion to increase that charge to $1,100 from $445. While council decided to defer this vote, Yellowknifer remembers it's still a possibility and suggests it could be used to leverage movement from a territorial government that can be obstinate in its inertia.
Yellowknifer encourages council to also keep this in mind - remember the Department of Justice has the power to negotiate its contract with the RCMP. If the territorial government won't encourage the police to start responding to calls about public intoxication, perhaps it can just pay more for the privilege of using the city's already over-worked emergency services.
Reporter shows how to stand up to bullyYellowknifer - Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Yellowknifer business reporter Jessica Davey-Quantick has demonstrated for us all how to stand up to cyberbullies.
Last month, after bringing the house down with a brilliant Brrrlesque tap-dance routine at the Top Knight, she posted photos on Instagram to commemorate the experience.
Meanwhile, a 15-year-old teen in London, England ran across her photos and, as teens are want to do, left a mean comment about her body. Then, the teen took it upon himself to go through an entire year's worth of posts suggesting she commit suicide, among other hateful things.
A little bit of Internet research later, Davey-Quantick was in possession of this child's identity and contact information for his parents. So, she told on him.
When his parents decided to get defensive instead of reprimand the child, she contacted his school. This led to a suspension and the confiscation of his phone.
Davey-Quantick works in media and can write eloquently about her experiences, so she decided to get her story out there so other youth who receive abuse like this know they don't have to take it. It's a positive message that each and every person who reads her story can take to heart.
Most avid social media users will at one time or another encounter a random mean-spirited cyberbully.
So it's important to remember the person on the other side of the screen is probably just a pimply punk, and there is nothing wrong with telling that punk's parents what he or she is up to online.
A unique relationship in helping outEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, February 15, 2017
While a hockey program may have been the latest to cast a shining spotlight on just how generous folks in the Kivalliq tend to be, especially when it benefits children and youth, that generosity reaches far beyond the hockey community.
The people of all seven Kivalliq communities are well-known for their generosity in supporting everything from registered charities, to sports teams, student travel, gently-used clothing operations, food banks, and annual Christmas food hamper and toy drives across the region.
Yes, it was pretty incredibly to see how much the local Rankin atoms program was able to fundraise towards travel costs during the recent Arctic Atoms championship in Rankin, but, even so, it really shouldn't surprise anyone all that much.
This is what the people of the Kivalliq do. They rise to the occasion and support those teams, organizations, students, and community programs that need a helping hand. And here is one of the wonderful elements of the relationship in all of this. Those doing the helping do not blindly throw their money at any person, group, team or entity that is doing nothing to help themselves. But to those working hard to achieve their goals, the people of this region give whatever they can afford and, when you're trying to raise funds to cover travel outside of the North, every donation is cheerfully accepted.
Likewise, those seeking help in achieving their goals don't take the region's generosity for granted by simply assuming they'll reach their target by putting the word out, sitting back, and waiting for the money to roll in. Those who take that approach rarely get off the couch, let alone out of the North.
We saw a wondrous show of community support in Chesterfield Inlet this past December, when an RCMP officer and her partner were able to give special a Christmas gift to every child in town, in addition to the warmly received food baskets they and their helpers delivered around the community.
People in the Kivalliq are really a fun-loving bunch at heart, and everyone on both sides of this unique relationship is someone's relative, friend or neighbour.
In other words, they usually have an awful lot in common. That opens the door to numerous fundraising events that allow those helping out to do so while enjoying a few laughs along the way, or, maybe, even winning a few bucks in a Texas hold 'em poker tournament, or a 50-50 draw for that matter.
The people of the Kivalliq are notorious bargain hunters, too, leading to the popularity of using events like flea markets to raise funds. Picking up a little bargain item while helping out a worthy cause is actually pretty cool, when you come right down to it.
And, if you're wondering if the notorious Kivalliq sweet tooth also plays a role in all of this, check out the next bake sale that's held in your community.
We all know the king of fundraisers in our region is bingo, and those who are awarded a slot by the hamlet usually stand to take care of a good chunk of their monetary goals in one or two nights.
But bingo doesn't make our list of friendly fundraisers or gracious donors, because it's a totally different mindset that just doesn't lend itself to a sense of community. Despite the fact a worthwhile cause almost always benefits from bingo nights, the game takes too much money out of the pockets of those in the community who can least afford it and it's driven by the desire to profit, not to support or aid.
But, leaving bingo out of the mix, the fact remains people in the Kivalliq are a generous bunch and the region truly does have a most unique relationship when it comes to helping each other out.
Cut post-secondary programs hurt NorthNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, February 13, 2017
Aurora College's social work diploma and bachelor of education programs are gone. Victims of government cutbacks.
The college is also set to raise tuition incrementally over the next two years but will still remain below the $2,400 in financial assistance students receive.
The college is facing a $1.89-million cut with the announcement of the 2017-18 territorial budget last week.
While we generally encourage the GNWT to find efficiencies wherever possible - we certainly can't dig the debt much deeper - reducing post-secondary education opportunities in the NWT is just plain wrong.
Especially in the in-demand social work and education fields. And particularly when the students are from the North and will likely stick around here once they graduate.
An Aurora College social work student who will be one of the last to graduate with the diploma says the cancellation of her program is "shocking."
Shelby Clarke articulated the situation in an interview with News/North after the surprise announcement from the college Feb. 2.
"They're in desperate need of social workers and cutting a program that actually helps people become social workers doesn't really make sense to me," said the 22-year-old Clarke. "And I think bringing counsellors and social workers from down south up here to deal with Northern problems isn't going to work.
"It's important to have people understand the different situations that you're going to be dealing with up here in the Northern communities. If you're bringing people who have no idea, they could really affect it in a bad way if they don't understand what's going on."
If students such as Clarke understand the situation so clearly, why does it appear our elected officials have blinders on?
As the news was just sinking in with tearful students at Aurora campuses in Fort Smith and Yellowknife - where the education and social worker programs are delivered, respectively - MLA Kieron Testart (Kam Lake) questioned Education Minister Alfred Moses in the legislative assembly.
Testart wondered why Aurora College's funding was cut and the two programs nixed before the school's strategic plan has been developed this year?
Moses cited low enrolment and graduation rates, and said Aurora College has the autonomy to make its own decisions. However, it's easy to understand that once the programs are cut, then they have no chance to grow at all.
But then he delivered this bombshell: he encouraged students who want to continue similar studies to do so somewhere else.
The government offers "a great student financial assistance program" and will support any student who wants to get a similar degree from a southern institution, Moses said.
Once they leave, we may never see them again after they've paid off their remissible loans. Well, maybe at Christmas.
Educating Northern students in the North is the best way to ensure they stay in the North and not follow the brain drain south. The latest Statistics Canada figures for the NWT show smaller communities continue to struggle with population loss.
We strongly urge the GNWT to work with Aurora College to reverse this awful decision.
And we really hope Education Minister Moses doesn't truly believe the best solution for educating our youth is to send them away.
Jail needs more than a makeoverNunavut/News North - Monday, February 13, 2017
The territorial and federal governments are finally investing needed funds - $75.8 million - to renovate Baffin Correctional Centre.
The end result will be the death of BCC, and the birth of the Qikiqtani Correctional Healing Centre. But will this be an actual rebirth or simply a rebrand? Knowing the history of the place, Nunavummiut will be crossing their fingers that the new facility lives up to its promise.
Even a hefty financial investment will make difficult work of repairing its reputation within the community.
The media is rarely welcomed into such facilities, so we have had to rely on images of BCC supplied by investigators to get an insider's view of the conditions there. We've seen the images of mattresses on the floors of BCC's gymnasium and cells. We've heard that capacity in individual cells was often doubled, tripled or quadrupled depending on the day. With 57 people at one point sharing two showers, two toilets and three urinals, it's not a stretch to describe living there as a struggle to survive.
Premier Peter Taptuna was warned in 2015 to expect lawsuits over the constitutionality of housing people in such conditions.
The neighbouring Makigiarvik minimum security facility is a luxury hotel in comparison to the current jail. It started housing inmates ahead of its scheduled opening in 2015 because mould was causing a health crisis at BCC.
People will also need to wait and see whether living conditions improve considering the suggestion Nunavummiut will be returned from southern facilities to be held at the new Qikiqtani Correctional Healing Centre. It wouldn't be a surprise if the centre hits capacity immediately upon opening in 2020.
The investment is only a piece of the justice puzzle. With the courts facing shortages of space and judges, delays are allowing serious cases to be thrown out due to rules that require an accused to face justice in a reasonable time. The correctional system is thus feeling the pressure.
If the space and staffing levels can't keep up, it will be hard to see any healing take place. The situation echoes Nunavut's housing crisis: it's hard to focus on progress when everyone is in survival mode.
There needs to be real effort and change, not only at the correctional centre, although there is plenty of work to be done there. The government now has to find the people - mental health and addictions professionals and so on - to keep this ball rolling.
If the renaming doesn't translate into helping inmates heal, the name will simply be fresh lipstick on a pricey pig.
