Good time to seed city tourism growth Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, March 17, 2017
The City of Yellowknife is thinking big and into the future with its plan to develop a tourism marketing organization tasked with promoting the city.
A similar organization, NWT Tourism, is doing a fine job of promoting the territory in its Spectacular NWT campaign, and has increased tourist numbers to prove it. But it's not NWT Tourism's job to promote the capital specifically.
That's on Yellowknife itself.
The federal government, through the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor),could give the city approximately $560,000 toward developing a Yellowknife marketing agency.
The city plans to use this funding, with a top-up from city coffers, to seed a $700,000 two-year marketing agency and advertising campaign.
A permanent marketing agency would eventually be funded through a hotel tax administered by the city should the territorial government grant it the legislative power to levy one.
In 2014, visitors spent $98 million in Yellowknife.
This is an impressive number and puts the sub-million dollar cost of setting up a marketing agency into perspective. A five or 10 per cent increase in visitors could mean $5 million to $10 million in extra spending annually in the city.
Tourism dollars demand a diversified economy with opportunity for artists and purveyors of entertainment, dining and retail establishments. More spending by tourists means a more vibrant city for all Yellowknifers.
There is a lot on the line for Yellowknife. It's not enough to pin the city's future on mineral extraction, government jobs and government spending.
While it's premature to suggest Yellowknife has entered a "post-diamond economy," as Coun. Julian Morse did in December there is no doubt tourism will play a key part in maintaining future prosperity for the city.
Promoting Yellowknife through a dedicated marketing body is such a good idea the only concern should be whether or not the city is putting aside enough money at the start to give this program an honest chance of making a difference. This is not the time for a furtive half-measures.
It is rare that a proposal should have so little, if any, downside.
The city should pull out all stops in moving forward with this opportunity.
The real danger here is that the territorial government will rest on its heels when it comes to approving legislation to allow the city to introduce a hotel tax.
It would be a shame for the city to launch this campaign only to find out there's no way to fund it beyond its first two years.
Budget proves MLAs are listening Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, March 17, 2017
Despite loud criticism from two regular MLAs over the 2017 territorial budget, the other 16 voting members were happy enough with it to stamp their approval March 3.
There's no denying it was a rough road for this year's $1.7 billion operational spending budget, with several changes being made along the way.
Those include adding $5.5 million in top-ups to program funding, as well as Finance Minister Robert C. McLeod announcing another $4.8 million for home care, an anti-poverty fund, youth in crisis, freight costs for the fishing industry, the Mineral Incentive Program and the Community Access Program. He also promised to defer $669,000 in reductions to Aurora College funding after public backlash arose to the college's proposal to cut its teacher education and social work programs.
The two dissenting voices raised some good points. Frame Lake MLA Kevin O'Reilly said significant cuts to environment, education and economic diversification funding remain in place.
These cuts will lead some losses in jobs, programs and services. Nahendeh MLA Shane Thompson called the retooled budget an improvement but pooh-poohed it nonetheless, saying the cuts went too deep and would impact smaller communities in particular.
No government budget is perfect. However, the last-minute and timely changes to this one show MLAs are paying attention to their constituents and doing the job they were voted to do by working to make changes where they think they will do the most good.
This is how democracy is supposed to work, with give and take from everyone involved in the process.
Don't dismiss wellness options out of handDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, March 16, 2016
Looking through the past 25 days MLAs have spent in the legislative assembly, it's easy to get riled up about one or two issues.
It was a tough assembly all around, and both Nahendeh MLA Shane Thompson and Deh Cho MLA Michael Nadli took their fair share of lumps.
For Thompson, those lumps came with the territory of being one of two MLAs to vote against the budget. But even more controversial was a proposal he put forward that public service employees receive five wellness days per year.
To support that idea, Thompson referenced an increasingly hostile work climate for employees due to layoffs and lack of job security as factors leading to added stress on employees.
The idea was met dubiously in the assembly, with Finance Minister Robert McLeod stating the GNWT is not looking to expand its leave provisions. McLeod also said the government will have wellness specialists research the topic of wellness days.
McLeod also noted the current round of negotiations with the Union of Northern Workers includes a proposed memorandum of understanding that the employer and union work together on recommendations for improving mental health in the workplace.
The existence of that memorandum is already a positive
step forward when it comes to mental wellness.
The specific notion of wellness days had a less generous reception outside the assembly, with people taking to social media to ridicule Thompson for his idea. But whether public sector employees deserve more days off is not really at issue here - rather, the question that should be addressed is how the GNWT can most effectively bolster the mental health services it provides to employees. Whether that comes in the form of extra days off or something else altogether remains to be seen.
Unfortunately, mental health is still not taken as seriously as it should be. It is still not seen as equally important to physical well being.
That's not a territorial issue. That's a nationwide issue, and it needs to be addressed everywhere. But there are certainly challenges unique to the North when it comes to mental health, especially when factoring in long periods of darkness and isolation.
In any case, Thompson got the ball rolling by opening up the conversation about employees' mental health needs. And as someone who worked for the GNWT for decades, Thompson likely has an intimate knowledge of what these employees need.
The memorandum of understanding McLeod alluded to is a great first step in the conversation about mental health. But it's all too easy to let something like that fall by the wayside during and after negotiations without actually addressing it properly.
Thompson is looking for real-world solutions to help people. Hopefully this is the start of a conversation that keeps moving forward.
Greenpeace's fear mongering is unfairInuvik Drum - Thursday, March 16, 2016
Inuvialuit harvesters should soon be able to market their sealskin products to the European Union, a goal the Inuit in Nunavut recently achieved.
The crash of the sealskin market worldwide was initially caused by fear mongering from Greenpeace and other organizations that painted the practice as barbaric and cruel.
Greenpeace has since apologized, long after leaving a trail of economic devastation, but their modus operandi today hasn't changed.
Greenpeace is more a rabid political group than innocent, pro-nature charity.
Montreal-based Resolute Forest Products Inc. sued Greenpeace last year after years of attacks on its forestry practices.
In its motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Greenpeace admitted its attacks on Resolute "are without question non-verifiable statements of subjective opinion and at most non-actionable rhetorical hyperbole."
It's safe to assume that goes for many of the organization's campaigns.
These organizations get a lot of rope to smear industries they don't like. They tug at heart strings to pit good versus evil.
Their rhetoric centres on pitting faceless, ravaging Big Business over the innocent, life-giving environment. Or in the case of the seal hunt, the supposedly greedy and cruel human slaughtering the cute puppy-eyed seal.
The fact that human lives and economic sustainability are at stake doesn't matter. Those people can just get some other job, maybe building greenhouses.
These organizations jet set around the globe in planes, cars and boats to shake their fists at the very industries affording them that luxury.
Devastation abounds. Apocalypse is near. We must repent for our sins. It's pure environmental fear mongering.
Greenpeace slipped up going after a traditional indigenous practice. Best stick to the faceless corporate entities. They're harder to sympathize with.
Today, Greenpeace is still very active in the Arctic, now heavily involved in the Clyde River seismic drilling debate. They get a lot of play. It makes a good story: little hamlet vs. industrial giant.
Time, courts and history will decide which side of that debate has it right.
It's a win for the Inuvialuit to be on the path to getting their industry back.
The moral of the story is to be equally skeptical across the board. The world is made up of infinite shades of grey and actions have consequences.
The fact we all want a healthy environment and ecosystem is a given.
But the same skepticism shown to a corporation claiming its practices are environmentally friendly should be shown to the boy crying wolf repeatedly.
Where there's smoke ...Yellowknifer - Wednesday, March 15, 2017
One time is chance. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is a pattern. What do seven confirmed trucking incidents - four of them involving spontaneously burning vehicles since Feb. 20 suggest?
It suggests the Department of Transportation should be taking care to make sure trucking companies and drivers are following safety protocol on the territory's roads and highways.
In the legislative assembly March 6, Yellowknife North MLA Cory Vanthuyne asked Transportation Minister Wally Schumann to find out why there have been so many mishaps lately.
Schumann told Vanthuyne he has met with officials from the Tibbitt-to-Contwoyto winter road joint venture, whose executives assured the minister they are having ongoing meetings with contractors to determine the problem.
The Department of Transportation has a mandate to make sure the territory's roads are safe. In its 2015 Road Safety Plan, the department states collisions involving commercial trucks are more likely to result in fatalities and serious injuries than those involving smaller vehicles.
The report also states there are publicized carrier safety ratings available to the general public, which is determined by evaluating a company's safety record in terms of collisions, convictions, inspections and facility audits. Yellowknifer is interested to see these ratings in light of recent events but as of press time the Department of Transportation has not said where they can be found. Luckily, nobody has been hurt after these incidents. But there is nothing guaranteeing the next accident or fire won't lead to extensive property damage, a trip to the hospital or death.
Schumann could certainly be more proactive than accepting a reassurance that commercial carriers are looking into these incidents.
In light of the fact there have been seven reported incidents, the Department of Transportation should at the very least do a review of commercial transportation over the past month to identify areas where drivers need to use more caution on the road.
Here's to five years of FOXYYellowknifer - Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Three years ago, now former Alberta judge Robin Camp looked down from his bench at a 17-year-old sexual assault complainant and asked why she couldn't just keep her "knees together."
This weird, retrograde attitude toward sexuality is unfortunately pervasive within the country's police and court system, so in light of the fact sometimes the grown ups just don't get it, it's important to teach youth about healthy relationships.
FOXY, or Fostering Open eXpression among Youth, does just this. The organization was borne of a need to teach the territory's young people about positive sexuality and healthy relationships.
Young women who take these workshops learn how to build relationships on a foundation of mutual respect, have a chance to ask anonymous questions in a non-judgmental atmosphere, get information about sexual health, and instill the concept of consent.
Last year, the organization expanded to include boys with SMASH (Strength, Masculinities, and Sexual Health), where young men are taught similar things. These groups have reached more than 1,800 youth across the North.
There is a definite need to teach youth how to approach difficult, embarrassing subjects -- such as sex -- with maturity, so they know their rights, how to articulate their boundaries and reduce risk when getting into relationships.
And hopefully when these FOXY and SMASH alumni go on to become teachers and judges themselves, they will help create a healthy world for tomorrow's youth.
Seeking answers and praying the bet is rightEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, March 15, 2017
I'll be the first to admit there are a fair number of occasions throughout the year when I feel like a human out of time.
I'm a dinosaur, if you will, during those occasions, wondering why I'm still intellectually roaming around when most of my breed has long gone extinct.
However, never being one intimidated by self-reflection or examination, I've come to the conclusion that the majority of the traits that qualify me for dinosaur status are actually quite positive.
Where I struggle is with my ability, or lack thereof, to comprehend much of what goes on in today's world.
I have long reached the point where I wish I could simply ignore most happenings or, much like headline scanners and quick-fact readers, only absorb the most basic points of information.
The world, or, at least, their inner sanctum, must be so much quieter and far less cluttered for those who can accept the pop philosophy of haters gonna hate and leave it at that.
No need to ponder the dark complexities of hate for hate's sake, hate for the sake of Christ, love and hate for the sake of Allah, or how anyone, with a single ounce of intelligence, can think hatred brings back anything but hatred.
Theirs is a world governed by the definitions of the Urban Dictionary, where every jock owns a ricer and spends most of their time online.
In today's world the concept of right and wrong has grown increasingly thin in substance, like too little butter spread over too much bread.
So, as well, have the veils of governance and leadership been stretched so thin, and rendered so ineffectual, that the darkness now hides easily within the light.
I still cling to my Christian beliefs, though I have also come to believe we are, indeed, shuffling willingly toward the end of days and, truth be told, I'm no longer as confident I put my money on the right entity, but, alas, no changing horses mid-rapture.
As Canadians, we were forced to lay our airs of moral superiority aside this past week with the news Senator Don Meredith (appointed by Stephen Harper) breached the Red Chambers ethics code by engaging in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a young woman that started when she was but 16 years of age.
The Red Chamber's ethics code? How about every moral decency and ethical code that not only once used to exist but actually played a prominent role in our society and helped define who the people of trust were supposed to be?
You can pretty much rule out any fear of fire and brimstone on Meredith's part, considering he first met the teenager during a Black History Month event being held at an Ottawa-area church.
Our religious community should be morally outraged by Meredith's behaviour.
And it probably would be, if not for the inconvenient sexual allegations of priests being involved in sex orgies, pornography videos and prostitution in Italy at roughly the same time as Meredith was telling everyone in the Twitter universe what a lucky guy he was to have such a wonderful wife in his life.
I'd like to think I won't give any of this another minute's thought during the rest of my week, but I'd just be kidding myself.
The first order of business will be to pull my thick dinosaur hide on nice and tight, and try to shield myself, once again, from the doubts trying to push their way through after almost a lifetime of belief.
It's comforting to know the early years of my life – the formative years – were enjoyed in a simpler time and place, where the difference between right and wrong was far more definitive.
Abusers and racists will always affect me the same way too much pain in the world stung John Coffey in the movie The Green Mile; like pieces of glass in his head, all the time, and the absolute lack of a discernible endgame surrounding so much of the useless rhetoric and political correctness in today's world will always threaten to drive me a little bonkers.
Yet, the majority of us carry on and continue to believe, leaving the haters to their hate and the sinners to their sin and hoping, nay praying, we have it right.
Family's fight makes a differenceNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, March 13, 2017
When Hugh Papik died, a long-time friend of his said his death is an example of how racism is impacting the territory's health-care system.
Rosemarie Kuptana, former president of Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, now known as Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, was in a residential school with Papik and said she was horrified to learn how he died on Aug. 3, 2016.
The 67-year-old Papik suffered a stroke but his symptoms were dismissed as drunkenness by staff at the Aklavik Health Centre.
"I think that those kinds of incidents still happen because it seems to me that there is such a strong element of racism in the health system, and it's more apparent in some regions than in others," she said at the time. "This whole case raises a lot of questions."
It certainly did. After the case made national headlines, NWT Health Minister Glen Abernethy called for an external review of the incident in an announcement on Aug. 16.
That review was recently completed, with Abernethy saying it will help the government address systemic racism in the territories' health-care system ("Health minister vows to fight 'systemic racism," News/North, March 6).
Some of the report's 16 recommendations, which were made public, are aimed at making sure indigenous people are treated the same as non-indigenous people in the territory, with mandatory cultural training for all health-care workers and new medical protocols for strokes.
Alas, Abernethy told the legislative assembly Feb. 23 there is no firm timetable for implementing the recommendations.
While we are pleased to see that Abernethy travelled to Aklavik to share the report with Papik's family prior to its release, it's Papik's family and friends who are the true heroes in this tragic case, as they spoke out when they determined something wasn't right.
And their case didn't fall on deaf ears, as the media exposure of Papik's case no doubt pushed the minister to call for a review.
However, it appears that more media pressure will have to be applied to make sure the recommendations are indeed implemented - despite there being no firm timetable for doing so - so that the efforts of Papik's loved ones aren't in vain.
MLA's longing for 'wellness' puts taxpayers in a bad spotNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, March 13, 2017
A GNWT cost-cutting budget and departmental amalgamations have seen maybe 100 positions eliminated over the past two years.
Though a small number even the remote potential of being tossed out on the tundra has been hard to handle for many of the 5,000-plus territorial workforce, according to one MLA.
And the Dickensian nightmare of working without a signed contract for almost a year has also placed an emotional burden on GNWT employees.
"As a result, our employees are not feeling good about their relationship with their employer," Nahendeh MLA Shane Thompson told the legislative assembly March 7.
The solution? Five paid wellness days spread out across the year to allow employees "to spend more time with their families, hobbies, or self," said Thompson. "To recharge their batteries and return to work rested and enthusiastic about the work they do for the GNWT."
We can't imagine why Thompson would utter such nonsense. And on the day before the GNWT was to return to the bargaining table with the Union of Northern Workers.
Government employees in the NWT generally enjoy healthy salaries with generous vacation, sick, and special leave provisions that by in large put the private sector to shame.
Even if Thompson sides with the union and believes in "wellness days," for him to throw out such a meaty bone just before talks resumed shows disrespect for the collective bargaining process.
And disrespect to the other party in the mix - taxpayers.
School fires a costly cry for helpNunavut/News North - Monday, March 13, 2017
Every kid dreams of what they would do with $1 million. Every adult, too.
The Barenaked Ladies channeled those dreams in If I Had $1,000,000, sharing visions of new houses, Kraft Dinner, and expensive ketchup.
For most Nunavummiut, $1 million is an abstract concept left only for songs and dreams.
But a few young Nunavummiut have literally had millions of dollars in their hands and set it on fire. This month in Kugaaruk, and in 2015 in Cape Dorset, teens are accused of burning down their schools, places where dreams are supposed to be built, not dashed.
Each school will cost more than $30 million to replace. In the case of Cape Dorset, the government had almost no insurance; in Kugaaruk, the government will contribute $10 million to cover its insurance deductible.
Let's dream about what $10 million could buy in Nunavut. At a cost of $500,000 each, new fire trucks for almost every hamlet. Or perhaps night security guards for every school. Surely sprinkler and security systems for every school, and fencing, too.
We dream but Finance Minister Keith Peterson must be losing sleep thinking about how to prevent another insurance claim. Surely next time, the territory's insurer will be asking for an increase in its deductible while charging a higher premium.
But lost in this conversation are the children themselves, the ones who put their communities and territory in a tough spot. What drives a child to set fire to a school?
We can think of many reasons a child may lash out at the physical structure of a school, targeting it for vandalism or destruction. Maybe they're bullied, have difficulty learning, have problems at home, or feel lost due to the effects of colonization. One teen accused in the Cape Dorset fire told a judge the fire was an accident, that the kids were allegedly sniffing gas when the tank ignited but being in that situation - sniffing gas and playing with fire -was no accident.
When it comes to the future of our children, we can't remain focused on the dollars and cents of the situation. We build schools to build futures, and we must rebuild more than just the buildings.
We must rebuild the hope these buildings are designed to represent. We work together as communities to help our young people find light when there is darkness. As we work to secure our physical structures, we must work to protect the spirits of our children.
And, as much as we yearn to buoy the dreams of the young people who hope to graduate in Kugaaruk and Cape Dorset this year, we must remember the hopes and dreams of the young people accused of starting the fires.
What does the future hold for these children whom will carry their transgressions to their graves? Let us focus on helping them heal, for their pain must be greater than we feel at the loss of these schools. If there is anything these children need now, it's love.
We will never forget but we must forgive. It will take work and time but it's in the best interest of all of our young people to do so.
In the meantime, the costly lesson today is that the government must do everything it can to protect the schools.
