Monday, July 13, 1998
It can take decades of consultation, study and debate to set up a national park. But even after the legislation is passed, there's no guarantee the political headaches will subside.
The problem comes down to a lack of agreement on what parks are for. Though much attention in the South has been focused on Banff, Canada's first national park, in recent months, the North has more than its share of examples.
On Baffin Island, Inuit leaders are holding up negotiations on the creation of a whale sanctuary, the Iqaliqtuuq National Wildlife Area for want of details over how Inuit can profit from the park.
In Fort Smith, the mayor says proponents of a road through Wood Buffalo National Park complain that "if we can't benefit from the park, there's no reason for it to exist."
And in the Western Arctic, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation recently lost a battle with Parks Canada to leave mineral-rich land out of Tuktut Nogait National Park in hopes that it will improve the chances for a new mine.
In each case, environmental advocates find themselves debating those who believe that parks should provide jobs. Such debates are perhaps unavoidable, but they are usually unnecessary.
In the NWT, at least, the battles have been about adding an economic element to the primary goal of ecological preservation, not playing off one against the other. No existing economic activity is threatened and no jobs will be lost through wildlife and habitat protection.
Canada has an obligation to preserve representative samples of the natural world within its borders. If and when those who live nearby can exploit the parks without undermining ecological integrity, then it only makes sense to do so. Indeed, not to take advantage of a sustainable economic opportunity would be to ignore our responsibilities to those who live here.
But the key word is "if."
Hats off to Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. President Jose Kusugak and Interim Commissioner Jack Anawak for putting some pressure on the GNWT to open last week's Leaders' Summit to the public. But does their zealous drive for public access mean that all NTI and office of the interim commissioner meetings will be open in future?
The first leaders' summit in Iqaluit last January was closed to the public and virtually all Office of the Interim Commissioner briefing sessions with the deputy ministers have been behind closed doors. Bearing this in mind, it is ironic that Anawak would call for this round of meetings be made public.
As the new government is formed over the coming months, Nunavut constituents will see for themselves if the commitment to keeping the public informed is genuine and not just another political ploy to gain public support.
Why is it the government never jumps head first into positive endeavors?
Take the Resolution Island Clean Up Project, for instance. Funds, trained employees and equipment are waiting for the bureaucratic nod that will allow the Qikiqtaaluk Corporation to go in and dispose of PCBs.
If the Nunavut Impact Review Board takes much longer to look over the project, the clean-up will be stalled for yet another year and once again, red tape will be responsible for botching a worthy and necessary venture.
Increasingly, day camps are becoming popular in places such as Pangnirtung and Fort Simpson. Summer is being approached as a good opportunity for children to learn more about what they may not be exposed to in school.
The benefits of this trend contribute greatly to the government's stated desire to give youth a sense of pride in self, culture and community, the best way to stem the tide of substance abuse and high suicide rate. Some camps, such as one in Iqaluit, is focusing on women in trades while another is offering scientific studies on the land. Many other day camps offer traditional activities.
The point is, summer is a good time to learn and have fun at the same time. Government should be quick to put more resources into making the most out of Northern summers.
Kim Rossignol appears to be a responsible and upstanding young woman, well suited to represent the NWT at this year's Miss Canada International Pageant in Toronto later this month.
But we can't help but be troubled by the method through which she was selected to play Northern ambassador.
The notion of a pageant of young women has fallen into disfavor, so much so that there is no longer enough interest in many parts of the country, including the North, to attract a roster of contestants. As a result, organizers simply choose someone from the community that might do the place proud.
The unavoidable fact is that Miss NWT is not required to go through any degree of public scrutiny or competition, which are necessary for a pageant to be taken seriously.