Government foot-dragging holding back First NationsNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, April 10, 2017
Darryl Boucher-Marlowe says he will explore ways to boost infrastructure and investment after being elected chief of the Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation.
"I want to get the young people's voices heard," he said after his win on March 28 ("Lutsel K'e elects new chief," April 3).
At 30-years old, Boucher-Marlowe said he believes he could be the youngest chief ever elected in Lutsel K'e. He wants to find ways to boost infrastructure and investment in the community, such as developing a hotel and restaurant to increase tourism.
He wants to create jobs and sell local goods.
"When we get visitors into the community, we have nowhere for them to stay or for them to come and spend their money," he said. "We want to help create jobs more sustainably for our First Nation."
Boucher-Marlowe is not alone.
And it's time government bureaucrats wake up and take notice.
There is simply no good reason to throttle efforts by indigenous people to have a life truly free of the invisible grip of colonialism.
Take a look at the roiling situation in the Deh Cho between the Nahanni Butte Dene Band and the Department of Lands.
Nahanni Butte Chief Peter Marcellais said the band had asked for the department's assistance in putting together an application for a land use permit in early February and has been waiting to sign off on the final application ("Lands dep't seeks injunction for road," News/North, April 3).
So what does the government do? It seeks an injunction against Nahanni Butte for work the band has been undertaking on a road next to the community. The band has had members working for more than two months to slash brush and clear the road, which used to be an old logging road.
The department claims Nahanni Butte is trying to speed up development of Prairie Creek Mine by getting around an environmental assessment process required for construction of a road to the mine.
Currently, a proposed all-season road to the mine is before the Mackenzie Valley Review Board - no stranger to accusations that it has a fondness for long and drawn out processes.
The GNWT dodged a bullet in its decision to withdraw from the case last week and seek an out-of-court settlement. Its reputation as a legitimate level of government is already seriously hampered in communities outside of Yellowknife. The authority of its institutional power is being challenged but clearly this a case where patience and compromise would win a better result.
Metis leaders in the South Slave, meanwhile, are "frustrated" by the status of their long-running land claim negotiations with the GNWT and federal government, ("Metis voice frustrations," News/North, April 3).
And it's not just because negotiations are into their 21st year - with a final agreement years away - even though an agreement-in-principle on land and resources was signed in 2015. A final agreement would also deal with self-government.
The territorial and federal governments are reportedly trying to have new offers on the table for three outstanding NWT land claims by the middle of May, including Northwest Territory Metis Nation.
We will see if that moves the ball down the field any. Because it's been stuck in the mud for some time.
"I wouldn't say that it's an impasse," said Fort Resolution's Garry Bailey, president of the Northwest Territory Metis. "But we're frustrated because we've been dealing with these issues for a long time."
No kidding. Indigenous people have a paucity of faith in government. And for good reason.
It's time to cut the red tape holding indigenous communities back. Let them fly or fall - but at least let them try.
Arts partnership needed for new city developmentNunavut/News North - Monday, April 10, 2017
It's good that the Qikiqtaaluk Business Development Corporation - and Qikiqtani Inuit Association - are working together with the City of Iqaluit to develop a second core in the city's west end.
The development will see between 700 and 900 residential units - a major addition to the city's infrastructure - as well as a conference centre, hotel and other needed facilities.
We're hopeful culture will get serious consideration as this project develops. The city needs to encourage a second partnership that would help Nunavut's performing arts community through Qaggiavuut build the territory's first performing arts centre.
Just as the city benefits from the development of a second core, so too does the development corporation benefit from having traffic drawn toward its project.
Qaggiavuut's Ellen Hamilton indicated to city council that the conference centre will have a performing arts aspect but that it may duplicate her organization's efforts. If that's the case, the Qaggiavuut project could struggle to come to life as a result.
It makes more sense to look to the people who have fought for many years to develop a performing arts centre, and to bring the project into the fold. Qaggiavuut's project will be of significant benefit to Inuit, and give life to the neighbourhood.
The business development corporation's mission is to provide career development opportunities, and its mandate is to work with public and private partners. There's a lot of logic in aligning with an existing body that has received the Arctic Inspiration Prize, and which has strong leaders that include Hamilton - an Order of Nunavut recipient - and many respected Inuit.
This week, the Toronto Star reported that 401 Richmond - one of the city's heritage buildings and home to mostly artists, art galleries, and cultural startups - faces a dramatic tax increase due to the fact it is on prime real estate. Its assessed value is far more than the rents would indicate.
So Toronto is asking the Ontario government to change a tax rule that could help promote the arts by reducing the tax burden for such spaces where real estate is valuable. That's because places such as 401 Richmond keep the city alive by bringing culture to an otherwise all-business neighbourhood.
The same attitude is needed in Nunavut. Arts projects like the performing arts centre need the support of those with money, in this case the Qikiqtaaluk Business Development Corporation.
Nunavut is the only circumpolar capital without a performing arts centre, and we look with envy at NWT's, Yukon's and Iceland's centres. We encourage the QIA to direct its business development arm to work with Qaggiavuut and make a space that visitors to Iqaluit will want to make their first port of call.
Jamboree no place for out of control sledders Weekend Friday, April 7, 2017
Two weekends ago a person operating a snowmobile lost control and plowed into a Department of National Defence tent and display area at Long John Jamboree.
The tent was occupied at the time by armed forces personnel and tourists. Fortunately, nobody was seriously injured but it doesn't take much of an imagination to consider the possible tragic outcomes had a child or adult been in direct line of impact.
This was a close call and it was only by chance that no one was seriously injured.
Details are scant at the moment while RCMP conduct an investigation into the incident but the sled was last registered to a local tourism operator who declined the opportunity to clarify his company's involvement in the incident.
Tourists and tourism are one the city's greatest assets. It's incumbent on tourism operators to ensure the safety of all people and to put restrictions on activities that could mar otherwise wonderful events, not to mention the possibility of maiming or killing event goers.
Bruce Hewlko, president of the Great Slave Snowmobile Association, quite reasonably asked members and all sledders to avoid the congestion around the Snowking snow castle during the Long John Jamboree weekend. It is unfortunate that not all heeded the call.
With thousands of square kilometres of ridable lakes and terrain in the Yellowknife area, he was not out of line to ask snowmobilers to give the festival grounds a wide berth. The jam-packed Long John Jamboree site is not the place for an inexperienced rider to learn how to handle a sled. Modern machines are built for speed. They go from a standstill to high speed in the blink of an eye, and require a generous safety buffer zone to comfortably learn to control.
Even if it turns out after the RCMP investigation concludes that the rider wasn't inexperienced, it would just go to show that accidents can happen whenever sleds are operated among large crowds of people who are not necessarily on the lookout for random, out-of-control snowmobiles.
Nobody likes to see piles of rules and restrictions damper the fun but if common sense isn't enough to control behaviour, snowmobiling by the general public needs to be formally excluded from within or near future winter festivals on the lake.
Kudos for dealing with water bills Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, April 7, 2017
When it comes to city issues, economic growth and diversification tends to be at the top of the list.
Yellowknife government and residents want businesses to come here and flourish. The more business there is, the better the economy does.
This is why it was so shocking to hear that in December of last year, Old Town businesses got a nasty surprise on their water bills - suddenly, the fee per litre went up five-fold once they reached a threshold of 2,730 litres in a month. For Fletcher and Miranda Stevens who own NWT Brewing, that meant their water bills skyrocketed by 300 per cent. John Doody, co-owner of Bayside Bed & Breakfast, saw his water bill double. These businesses brought their bills back to city hall, complaining the sudden hike was unsustainable. Yeah, no doubt.
City administration and council definitely deserve a pat on the back for responding to this issue and suggesting a refund. That said, administration is only suggesting refunds back to January, despite the problem starting in December.
Apparently, according to administration, it would be a headache to refund money collected in 2016, as the city is in the midst of an audit for that year. It probably is a headache but it surely is an even bigger headache for overcharged businesses to only be partially compensated because it's inconvenient.
So, as Coun. Julian Morse says, "If people have paid a bill that council has decided is an unfair bill, I think we should make sure we're refunding that money."
Amen to that.
Student truancy not only a school problemInuvik Drum - Thursday, April 6, 2016
Liz Adams has been working in Inuvik's school system for more than 20 years, and she admittedly doesn't have many solutions for chronic attendance problems.
It gets worse when the sun stays out and school nears its finish following spring break, teachers say.
East Three School staff are constantly coming up with games and fun ways to experience school. In the confines of the public schooling system, they're doing about all they can.
Whether everyone agrees the curricula of public school is optimal or not, it's certainly good practice for showing up to work on time and getting used to the 40-hour work week.
Beyond many of the specific skills school teaches, work ethic and delayed gratification are two of the most important characteristics people need to learn, no matter what career they go into.
Considering the difference between the traditional way of life in this region with that of urban southern Canada, it can be easy to conclude the lack of buy-in among students and families has to do with the transitional period this region is in.
On one hand there is the culture of living on the land, and on the other the modern institutionalized systems of education and employment.
But these don't need to be mutually exclusive, and the same attributes that make people successful anywhere are shown in both.
A traditional seal hunter knows about delayed gratification and the ability to work hard in the present to set up a bounty in the future.
Similarly, there was no lack of work ethic that propelled the aboriginal groups in the area to survive and thrive in what many consider a brutal environment.
Ultimately, the lack of economic opportunities here and the rise in welfare rates has to be considered a contributing factor to lackluster enthusiasm for school.
There are many forms of welfare and some are more justifiable than others, but the danger with all of them is creating the incentive not to work. It's a balancing act all governments play and many programs get rather elaborate trying to reach it.
From 2006 to 2015, the monthly average of beneficiaries of income assistance has risen from 155 to 254 in Inuvik, while the monthly average of cases has increased from 85 to 156, according to Stats NWT.
Income assistance payments in that same time frame have more than doubled, while the employment rate has dropped.
Welfare, at its worst, is a self-perpetuating cycle that destroys incentive to work. At its best, it is a brief bounce off the safety net and hand up to those most truly in need.
That's one side of the coin. The other might be an even larger question: how else can one make money in this sleepy economy?
If people cannot see opportunities, they have no incentive to better themselves and their families.
Fortunately, the digital age means people are less dependent on location than ever to pursue their dreams.
Poor school attendance is symptomatic of a bigger problem than sunny nights being fun times to play. Putting that problem completely on the school system is unfair.
No shoes, no bra, no dignityYellowknifer - Wednesday, April 5, 2017
How degrading it must be to have to face a judge without shoes on or a bra.
For some reason, this is the just the way it's done in Yellowknife. According to lawyers, advocates and people within the court system, RCMP have made a habit of taking away shoes and bras from prisoners before their court appearances.
In fact, according to Robert Abel, who has been in and out of the court system since the 1980s, there hasn't been a time he has ever been allowed to keep his shoes on in a Yellowknife courtroom.
Could it be a security issue? Maybe, but considering how prisoners have access to these same items in North Slave Correctional Centre cells, that doesn't really make any sense.
Either way, Kim Schofield, solicitor general of the Department of Justice, said it's not normal practice or policy, despite the fact it seemingly has become informal practice.
Now, the RCMP in the Northwest Territories is contracted by the Department of Justice to deliver policing services. This means the territorial government pays for RCMP to be here, and to deliver a certain level of service.
If the RCMP is making its own policy for prisoner transport unbeknownst to the department, it is the department's responsibility to make sure that changes. In some cases, with some particular prisoners, there might be legitimate security issue that forces the RCMP to take away these items during transport to the courthouse. But the people for whom it is not a security issue - but happening anyway -- it definitely is a human-rights issue.
As Abel himself says, appearing before a judge without basic clothing items makes those who are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty look like convicts.
"You're already guilty," he told Yellowknifer about how it feels to be in that situation.
If the RCMP isn't going to take a step back and consider the necessity before stripping prisoners of their shoes and bras, it's imperative on the Department of Justice to make sure it happens. Schofield tells Yellowknifer this is something the department plans to do. According to Abel, this practice has been happening since the '80s, making the department embarrassingly late to the party.
But better late than never.
Transparency integral to safety infoYellowknifer - Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Ratings are not just for television shows but when it comes to road safety the idea is the same.
Problem is, unlike in Alberta or Ontario, safety ratings on transport trucks are not publicly available in the Northwest Territories, even though the Department of Transportation has been apparently monitoring that information since 1990.
A road safety plan published on the department's website states the safety ratings are public but when pressed by Yellowknifer, the department admitted that claim was likely made in error.
Until this winter, complaints on transport carrier safety have been few and far between but a recent spate of highway accidents and fires involving transport trucks heading to the diamond mines has shaken public confidence.
The snafu with the undisclosed safety ratings has clearly embarrassed the department. Officials now say they are taking steps with a "goal" to making the ratings public. It reported that all 375 carrier companies currently operating in the territory have "satisfactory" rating, the highest rating achievable.
That's good to know but it's troubling that the department is already hedging, saying it presently doesn't have the authority to make the ratings public.
Female debacle and Canadian hopes in the world of hockeyEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, April 5, 2017
The hockey world avoided an extremely embarrassing moment when U.S.A. Hockey struck an 11th-hour deal with its Team U.S.A. female players to avoid a boycott of the world championships lastweek.
We can leave all the equality arguments outside the world of hockey alone for the time being because, when it comes to equality, there is no comparison between the Americans' female and male national squads.
The female teams have won substantially more medals than their male counterparts.
One can only imagine what could have transpired at the IIHF world championships had the defending gold medalists indeed boycotted the event, or been replaced by a bunch of beer league replacement players (scabs by any other name) as threatened by U.S.A. Hockey. The reason for the dispute was the female players asking U.S.A. Hockey for a justifiable raise to the meager pittance of $1,000 a month that was only paid to them for the six months preceding the Olympics.
American NHL teams, albeit featuring numerous Canadian and international players, have taken over the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens beat the L.A. Kings in the 1992-93 Cup final - the last time a team North of the border took Lord Stanley home in recent times.
It has been a completely different story on the international stage, where Team Canada has been able to (and continues to) rack up gold medals in everything from the Spengler Cup to the world hockey championships, the reinvented Canada Cup and the Winter Olympics.
The spat between the female players and U.S.A. Hockey was as much about respect for the players as it was the monetary increase.
A more than valid consideration, considering how the girls have vastly outplayed the boys of their nation during recent decades.
So what went wrong for the men's team in the U.S.A. program?
Well, for starters, the pride associated with wearing the Team U.S.A. colours has still not completely recovered from the abysmal behaviour displayed by the American players at the Sochi Olympics.
Secondly, the American brain trust overestimated the strength of their overall program due to the success it briefly enjoyed when the hockey planets aligned and the right group of players were all wearing red, white and blue for a few years.
This is a fairly common pitfall the female team has managed to avoid Also, while the competitive factor in female hockey has stalled, leaving Team Canada and Team U.S.A. to battle for supremacy in every female tournament you can name that includes the two hockey superpowers, the same has not been true on the men's side.
The biggest problem with the Canadian hockey world is that it only takes two or three premier international events without a gold medal, and the country starts screaming in anguish and asking what's gone wrong with our game?
It's a scenario that's played out over-and-over again and, unfortunately, has led to knee-jerk reactions on more than one occasion that actually set our game back a number of years.
Hopefully, the foul odor left behind by U.S.A. Hockey's childish response to a legitimate request by its female players will fade away and not have the female program take the same hit to its pride factor that the Sochi Olympics had on the men's side.
