GNWT not a class actNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, February 6, 2017
When a re-tooled territory-wide junior kindergarten program was rolled out late last year, officials said it would would act as a support for children whose family life might not be ideal.
The optional free daycare for four-year-old children run in NWT schools would also expose youngsters to the education system at an earlier age. In theory, if the concept of school was presented younger tykes, perhaps they might decide to attend more regularly as they progress through the grades.
They might even choose to stay around long enough to get a diploma - really the most basic requirement if one wants to live and work in the way of traditional western society.
News/North's editorial board has supported the concept of junior kindergarten, provided the school boards were funded properly to implement it.
So that's why we're more than a bit puzzled at the GNWT's decision to offer up the option of reducing teaching time in some NWT schools by up to 100 hours a year. That could total a whole year of instruction gone from K-12 if implemented across the board.
The classroom hour reduction proposal was part of the teacher's union's four-year collective agreement with the GNWT, which was ratified in September.
Schools across the territory and Yellowknife Education District No. 1 can reduce classroom instruction time by a maximum 100 hours a year over a three-year period.
It certainly looks like the GNWT's Department of Education, Culture and Employment bent over backwards to placate the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association for this one. And in doing so, the government showed it really has no consistent vision or well-crafted policy for education.
On one hand, it's really important for the GNWT to get kids away from potentially poor living conditions and reverse the negativity about education held by parents or grandparents who might lump in the thought of classrooms with their own experiences in the residential school system.
But then it's just peachy to kick the older kids out of class - placing a lot of stress on working parents especially - in order to placate the teacher's union with time off for its members.
Oh, wait a minute.
"These redirected hours are not days off," Shannon Barnett-Aikman, director of education for the Tlicho Community Services Agency, said at a media conference Jan. 23. "These hours are to be used in the school for what we are calling embedded or structured time."
The 100 hours of 'embedded or structured time' allegedly give teachers more time to work on lesson plans, gain professional development and complete other school activities while students are not in the classroom.
How much more professional development do teachers need?
And where are the children and teens when they are not in the classroom? Many will be in those same negative environments the GNWT wanted to get them away from when they were four years old. It just makes no sense whatsoever.
Teachers already are being more than comfortably paid for jobs that come with extended periods out of the classroom. Take summers, Christmas break and spring break for example - at least three months paid vacation.
And while it's tough to attract and retain educators in many smaller communities in the NWT, we don't think this extra perk will do much to address that.
It is just a bad concession made by a government that is known for laying down when it comes to contract talks across all sectors.
What a sorry lesson we've learned about our elected officials.
Ratepayers stuck in deep endNunavut/News North - Monday, February 6, 2017
In its first weekend, Iqaluit's aquatic centre became the capital city's beating heart.
The foot traffic to the centre is astounding, with 4,000 visits in its first weekend. Young people can finally hang out in a supervised, fun, safe building downtown. Elders have a place to spend time with friends and family. It's a place of health and fun for everyone who visits.
There have been bumps along the way, with people being turned away due to over-capacity, and some mechanical issues to cope with in the early days. It's also logical to wonder whether many of Iqaluit's youth will be able to afford regular visits - the cost is $6 per swim for teens and $4 for children - but if the weekend lineups are any indication, this pool has been needed for a long time.
Sadly, the territory has not contributed more than a token amount to the $40 million aquatic centre. The city itself is on the hook for almost the entire cost, with the federal government putting in an even $4 million, which is going against interest payments.
Most federally-funded projects require the territory to inject 25 to 50 per cent of the funding but that did not happen with the pool.
The territory put in $130,000, plus some administrative support in transferring $4 million of federal funding into the city's bank account. Despite this, Nunavut's minister of Community and Government Services attended the opening to be thanked for the territory's contribution.
The pittance is a short-sighted lack of support by Premier Peter Taptuna and his government.
The aquatic centre is a major piece of infrastructure for Iqaluit, yet the government ignored its value for anyone who visits Iqaluit, including those from the communities. That value was an argument for a $300 million airport, into which the territory is pouring $68.7 million.
The aquatic centre is a piece of health infrastructure that encourages physical health but also supports mental health for those who use it. The design also encourages a healthy community by providing a meeting place for a wide cross-section of residents young and old, ratepayers or not.
The aquatic centre is also a place for youth, especially, who clearly needed a space to call theirs. Adults had access to gyms and arenas but this new hub goes further than any other facility in in the city to draw youth out of their homes. It's a place that encourages healthy living, reduces boredom, and increases personal security.
Until it opened, these were concepts known to those who believed in the project. Recreation director Amy Elgersma gets credit, as do the city councils and staff who worked to make it a reality. MPs Leona Aglukkaq and Hunter Tootoo get credit for garnering federal support. Most of all, Iqaluit ratepayers and supporters get the credit for putting the massive financial burden on their own backs.
It's apparent this is not a project the Taptuna government believed in.
But if the government wants to be known as one that supports infrastructure, health, and youth, it will have to do more than it has.
Taptuna and his colleagues can make an immediate impact with their support. Might we recommend providing subsidies for young people who can't afford to visit the aquatic centre, making an annual commitment to provide swim passes to at-risk youth?
On the other hand, we don't think the city would turn down some post-opening infrastructure funding. With the city signing a 20-year mortgage this week, you have some time to think about it.
More compassion needed from city over cemetery Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, February 3, 2017
How awful it must be to see a loved one's headstone knocked over or otherwise vandalized.
Now couple that with the ignominy of finding out about the damage through the media. This is what happened to Bob Wilson, who saw a picture of his father's toppled headstone at Lakeview Cemetery in Yellowknifer last month.
Wilson said he's not upset at anybody in particular but saddened it happened and further saddened the headstone laid on the ground for days before he was made aware of it.
The City of Yellowknife owns and operates Lakeview Cemetery, although individuals buy plots. The damage was initially reported to RCMP, who stated they learned of the damage Jan. 15 and passed the information along to the city.
A city spokesperson declined to say whether officials had reached out to the Wilson family and declined to share the protocol the city has to notify next of kin when something like this happens. The city even refused to clarify information in the city's cemetery bylaw.
At this point, the city has inspired very little confidence that it cares about the families who buy plots at the cemetery it maintains. Yellowknifer was able to discern, through the city's cemetery bylaw, that the city does in fact keep a record for every plot with names and contact information for next of kin but to this day does not know what protocol exists to contact them in the event of damage or vandalism.
There may have been good reason Wilson was not contacted about his father's headstone. Perhaps the information the city has was not up-to-date, or there was a clerical error, or maybe there simply is no protocol and it was an oversight.
But the attitude of the city toward this issue is embarrassing and indefensible.
If an individual, or institution such as Yellowknifer, has questions about protocol regarding maintenance of a city-owned facility such as the cemetery, these questions should be answered. Same goes for questions to clarify a bylaw.
By the way, the question Yellowknifer had regarding the definition of the word "voluntary" is in regard to a clause of the cemetery bylaw that stipulates a $500 "voluntary fine" for defacing a monument.
Yellowknifer still thinks this is a good question and is still interested in hearing an answer.
Teachers win, students lose Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, February 3, 2017
A number of disturbing decisions emerged from the latest negotiations with NWT teachers, including the school boards in Yellowknife, that ended with the offer of less classroom time for students.
It seems that both parties - government and teachers - agreed money was tight so if the teachers were to get anything to their benefit, it would have to come in another form.
That was where classroom time came in: cut that back and teachers will be happy, all parties at the negotiating table decided.
Once all around the table accepted that idea, the only job was to inform the public. The education department, teachers association and the school boards then geared up their propaganda efforts, producing figures that showed the number of teaching hours in the North was at the high end of the national numbers, that teachers work more than 50 hours a week-plus (based on self-reporting) and there is so much teachers have to do outside the classroom. The reduced hours will make them more effective when they are in the classroom, so the argument goes.
Completely left out of the discussion were parents, those so-called "partners" in educations. Also left out were the MLAs, the ones ultimately responsible for changing the legislation needed to roll back the required hours, legislation their predecessors debated, drafted and voted into law.
But no matter, so long as the teachers get something.
We suggest before the GNWT negotiators and teacher association executives go back to the student trough, they should take a hard look at all those activities that teachers take on outside of the classroom, including "professional development days," not to mention streamlining incomprehensible report cards.
If the workload is still too large, then hire more qualified rather than less qualified teachers.
Open for businessDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, February 2, 2016
The Deh Cho region is open for business.
As MLAs gather in Yellowknife for the new sitting of the legislative assembly, and negotiation teams review a report from Ministerial Special Representative Anne Marie Doyle on the Dehcho Process, now is the ideal time for the Deh Cho to open its doors.
And that's just what it's doing. In March, Dehcho First Nations and the Dehcho Economic Corporation will be holding an economic readiness forum in order to promote a wider conversation on business in the Deh Cho.
Among the invitees will be youth, leaders and aboriginal businesses.
According to Dehcho First Nation, the conference aims to "evaluate, educate and strengthen" the business knowledge of communities within the Deh Cho in order to promote sustainable economic opportunities and growth.
What that means is that Dehcho First Nations, facing a year that could hold many unknowns - but most positively the potential lining up of the metaphorical stars for the region, to quote Grand Chief Herb Norwegian - is putting the focus on the future of the region.
Great things happen when leaders and entrepreneurs come together to discuss their future.
And after the last couple years of facing a lagging economy, both in the Northwest Territories and across Canada in general, the timing couldn't be better for a forum of this nature.
It will also follow on the heels of the GNWT's budget, which could include more cuts and consolidation of departments.
In the face of that, any initiative that promotes business is a good thing - even more so if that includes a regional focus and roundtable discussions.
That means business-minded youth have the opportunity to network, and aboriginal business leaders have the opportunity to mentor new entrepreneurs. Together, they can find a way forward through tough fiscal times.
The opportunity this forum will give to prospective businesspeople and young businesspeople, to learn from aboriginal economic leaders who have tried-and-true methods of conducting business, is priceless.
But aside from that, business workshops in general are relatively few and far between in the Deh Cho region.
The ones that do happen are, generally, actual courses, which occur with unfortunate infrequency. Businesses are left to their own devices and it's uncommon to see communities actively engage with each other about their economic prospects.
That sometimes means entrepreneurs from small communities such as Sambaa K'e and Nahanni Butte must go their own way without much guidance, unless they search for it.
Having the opportunity to learn from established businesses could be invaluable to the economies of these communities.
And having a collaborative forum where these entrepreneurs can share their ideas and bond with the larger business community is essential to building the economy of the Deh Cho region in general.
We live in a representative democracyInuvik Drum - Thursday, February 2, 2016
During the Sunday bar debate at last week's council meetings, Coun. Vince Sharpe opined that the majority had shown its will at the public meeting earlier this month and it was council's job to follow that.
He said council was elected "to do the public's bidding."
But that's not council's role.
We live in a representative democracy at the municipal level, where the majority's will is followed only at elections or in other special circumstances, such as referendums.
We elect people to make decisions on our behalf. There would be no point in electing people if every decision came down to majority will.
For whatever reasons, Inuvik residents thought these seven council members would be the best available representatives of their wishes. Through the election, we hand them the power to make decisions as they best see fit within their scope of jurisdiction.
This doesn't mean we shut up and deal with whatever they do, and it doesn't mean that they can't make decisions based on whatever moral guidance they choose, such as wanting to represent majority will on an issue.
But it is worth the reminder that we nominated these individuals as particularly capable decision makers on their own, and these are the people we want spending their time researching, debating and deciding on the issues of the day.
I also take some issue with the idea that because the seeming majority of the 50 or so people at the town hall meeting opposed Sunday bar openings, this means the majority of Inuvik opposes it.
Fifty people in Inuvik, even being such a small town, is less than two per cent of the population. It is also the less than two per cent who, I would imagine, would be more likely to come out to a town hall to oppose the Sunday bar openings than speak in favour.
That group could well represent the population's stance on the subject, but to conclude that from the town hall takes a large, presumptive leap.
A few councillors suggested that in their personal interactions, the majority of people didn't care much either way about the subject.
I'd hazard that's the actual majority opinion of Inuvik, as apathy is usually the leading opinion on local political issues. A bar opening on Sundays a few more times isn't exactly a barnburner of a topic.
The definition of democracy often gets confused and debated when things aren't going someone's way.
I'm glad we live in a representative democracy, because a majority vote on every little thing sounds like chaos to me.
Cabinet must walk the talkYellowknifer - Wednesday, February 1, 2017
While some people may be raising their eyebrows at cabinet's trip to a mining conference in Vancouver last week, it may not actually have not been a bad idea.
Frame Lake MLA Kevin O'Reilly and Yellowknife Centre MLA Julie Green both questioned the wisdom of the trip, which took place just a week before territorial leaders headed into a budget session touting fiscal restraint.
Cabinet has good reason to advertise the territory at the AME Roundup 2017 -- it's a large mining conference that brings together geologists, prospectors, financial investors and partners to discuss the industry.
Think of it as an investment - if the territory's leaders go down and convince even one mining company to start exploring up here, that could mean thousands of dollars flowing into the economy. That said, sending an entourage of 30 people might be overkill. Hopefully a few of those 30 people were able to bend the ear of people in the mining trade.
As Industry, Tourism and Investment Minister Wally Schumann stated to Yellowknifer last week, mining makes up 20 per cent of the NWT's GDP. That statistic is nothing to snub one's nose at.
But if the territorial government is going to spend roughly $75,000 to hail the Northwest Territories as a wonderful place to do business, it needs to avoid false advertising -- the territory better actually be open for business when people come here.
Last week, the territory once again received a failing grade from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. The organization's Red Tape Report Card looks at the strength of political leadership, public opinion and clearly set caps on government regulation. The report stated the government still needs to make it a priority to set easy-to-understand and non-cumbersome regulations.
Yellowknifer agrees. If the government is going to spend public money to tout the territory as a great place to do business, the government also needs to spend time making sure it is actually a great place to do business.
Level playing field good for everyoneYellowknifer - Wednesday,February 1, 2017
What's good for the goose is good for the gander. There is no reason regulations that apply to a bed and breakfast should not apply to an Airbnb. To do otherwise is to make the playing field uneven and that's just not fair.
The city plans to look into its business bylaws this month. When it does, it should take a look at unregistered Airbnbs, which director of corporate services Jeff Dalley says currently occupy a regulatory blind spot.
While it may not seem to be the case to those who run such establishments, leasing out space without registering as a business nor paying taxes on that income is illegal and cannot be tolerated. Much-needed tax revenue is denied to the public purse and those who play by the rules are put at a disadvantage.
But the city need not put the screws to Airbnb and possibly threatening young yet growing businesses. The City of Ottawa chose a middle path last fall in deciding how to accommodate the growing and popular Uber transit service while appeasing taxi drivers who were upset to find themselves in competition with an unlicenced transportation provider.
The result was regulations for Uber drivers and cheaper licensing fees for taxis. Bringing Uber into the regulatory fold offered the fledgling industry credibility while helping to level the playing field for traditional taxi drivers.
Certainly another similar compromise could be found here. After all, bed and breakfasts, both regulated and unregulated, draw money into the territory. Regulations should not stop this from happening.
Furthermore, regulations have the potential to protect a shared interest: the reputation of Yellowknife's tourism industry. People who have a good time tell their friends, people who have a bad time tell everyone. A particularly unsavory unregulated bed and breakfast could create a bad impression. Preventing that is everyone's interest.
Personal thoughts on the loss of a friendEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday,February 1, 2017
Like everyone, I was shattered to hear the news of the horrific tragedy that had befallen the Kaludjak family back in Rankin while I was among those in Arviat taking care of matters at the JLM Calm Air Cup senior men's hockey tournament.
Upon grasping what I'd just been told, I was overwhelmed by grief, anger, and a sense of loss towards the oldest of the three men who lost their lives that fateful day. I didn't really know the youngest, Billy, very well. A polite nod around town and a couple of referee-and-player chats on the ice was about the extent of our relationship.
I continued my goaltending career for a few years when I first arrived in Rankin in 1998, and ended up on Makpa's team during my final year guarding the cage, before I went back to the zebra's stripes once and for all.
As luck would have it, our team went all the way that year and took the senior league championship.
I enjoyed Makpa's devil-may-care attitude in the dressing room that year, and found him to be a genuinely funny guy in the best sense of the term.
On the ice, he was mostly all business, with more than a few good moves and a decent shot, if somewhat of a reckless playing style.
Still the relative new guy in town at the time and trying to fit in - and being a somewhat easy target for those who didn't like it much if I was making a few too many saves in any particular game - what I respected most about Makpa was that he was always the first to jump to my defense if an opposing player took a few liberties with the guy guarding the crease. And it didn't matter what the player's last name happened to be.
I never knew his feelings away from the arena, but on the ice I found him to be a fiercely loyal teammate who was always quick to get between me and whoever was trying to make my life miserable at that particular point in time.
And the irony of it was, being at a point in life where I could play both age groups at once, his father, Joe Kaludjak, often took the same role when guys were messing with me in old-timer's tournaments, especially once in Naujaat and another time in Northern Quebec.
I respected the heck out of both guys for that and never forgot their courage, kindness and loyalty for a teammate.
My greatest sense of loss in the wake of this tragedy, however, is for Patrick, who was the most gentle soul I've ever met.
I first got to know him through playing on hockey teams together, and getting him to sharpen my battered old goalie skates, which he took great delight in teasing me about every time I clanked them down on the table, their leather tattered and torn.
But it was later, during our years refereeing together, I got to know Patrick much better. We weren't pal-around or party buddies, but you learn a lot about a guy when you spend numerous hours in a ref's room together.
No matter how tense things got with players or coaches, Patrick (Mikilaak) never, in all my memories, added fuel to the fire.
He'd sit there; with that lovable smile of his, perfectly calm, offering his opinion or advice when asked.
Patrick often lamented the fact to me that what he disliked most about refereeing - and what took a lot of the fun out of it for him - were guys who couldn't leave it on the ice.
Being a hockey referee in a small town is not easy and my coolest memory of Patrick is from a few years back, when he was with a good friend of his who was giving me a pretty hard time verbally during an Avataq tournament.
A day or two later he came to tell me, face to face, how bad he felt over it. It was a sincere, generous gesture from a real stand-up guy.
Mikilaak had a quiet, yet over-the-top sense of humour that could leave your belly sore from laughing. Some of my fondest memories are of him and our mutual friend and fellow zebra, Donald Clark, exchanging barbs in the ref's room. It was the type of dialogue that could bring tears of laughter to your eyes in record time.
My heartfelt prayers and sympathies to the entire Kaludjak family in this most trying of times.
And Patrick, my friend, I miss you already.
