Wednesday, March 18, 1998
Students in Yellowknife are on to something good with their plan to offer awards to fellow youth for outstanding contributions to city life.
The awards, to be issued on May 19, are the brainchild of youth from St. Patrick and Sir John high schools after realizing "so much bad stuff is in the papers and on the radios about youth." They hope recognizing both youth and the businesses and agencies that support young people will help the community foster a more positive attitude about youth -- an initiative that itself should be rewarded.
Deadline for nominations is April 8.
Nothing brings a community together like the invasion of a couple of thousand athletes, coaches, organizers, reporters and fans. An optimistic and friendly attitude comes as second-nature under such circumstances.
But there's more than just the chance to make some new friends at stake this week. The Arctic Winter Games represent an opportunity unlike any other to sell Yellowknife as a place to vacation and do business. It's called exposure, and we can't afford not to take advantage of it.
If, by the end, of the week, anyone is feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the action, just remember that we could be reaping the rewards of a successful Games for years to come.
The city has come through with $25,000 for a new Folk on the Rocks stage, something organizers of the annual musical extravaganza say is sorely needed.
The decision, coming as it did on the eve of Arctic Winter Games, proves that city council is more than capable of looking down the road at what best serves the community. Folk on the Rocks, in turn, has promised to raise the rest of the $34,000 cost of the stage itself, and use volunteer labor to build it.
Sounds like everyone is willing to do what it takes to make this year's festival another success. We look forward to enjoying the music and excitement of what has become an integral part of summer in Yellowknife.
Last week in Yellowknifer's report on the need for a new twin pad arena, local businessperson Les Rocher proposed a new facility be built on the shores of Great Slave Lake.
Considering the frustrating history and increasingly bitter tone of the present debate over the proposed twin-pad arena, Rocher's idea will probably not receive the attention it deserves. However, Rocher's proposal highlights one undeniable fact and city council should take note: There is no municipal facility showcasing Great Slave Lake, the 10th largest lake in the world.
As a recreational and tourist attraction, the lake has no equal in the city. Why are we ignoring it?
Lakefront is a precious commodity in this city, as became clear when Miramar Con closed its dock to the public. The city should have a plan to make the best use of what little remains.
The trend in recent months to leave any drastic changes to government policy and infrastructure in the Keewatin and across the Eastern Arctic until after division could prove somewhat problematic.
Keeping the status quo until April 1, 1999 is not that sensible and will only backlog the incoming Nunavut government to an even larger degree. A danger lies in the temptation to push off changes that could be made now until the new government is in place.
Keewatin residents saw the pipeline issue die because it was more prudent to wait until after the Nunavut government comes into power. And now residents are seeing the same hesitation to move ahead with community empowerment until after division because of fear of its impact on the incoming government.
Yes, it's true that it's difficult to make decisions now that will affect a government that isn't even in place yet. But what's the solution -- close the shop until 1999 and wait for it to happen?
What residents should be prepared for is longer waits. If issues now in the planning stages get put on the back burner, they won't resurface again until the Nunavut government is well on its feet and has got a handle on essential services. The government, in its early stages, will likely be treading water for a while, doing what it needs to do, not looking at how existing ways of doing business can be altered. The office of the interim commissioner has already said that only three of the 11 government departments will be up and running at changeover time, so it seems likely that there will be a lot to do.
Where will regional issues fall on the ladder of importance for the new government and will it be too busy to give the kind of attention to issues that Keewatin residents truly need?
Issues like the Keewatin Pilot Project will undoubtedly get lost in the shuffle of all the excitement of 1999. It will likely be months after division before the project is looked at again.
What local governments should be doing, and what many are, is looking at ways to prepare for Nunavut now by taking care of some initiatives before the hysteria of the changeover begins. The scramble to get the basics into place by April 1, 1999, has already begun and will likely only heat up as the road to the new territory shortens.
The attitude that things will take care of themselves seems to be the order of the day, topped with mass complacency about how the new Nunavut government will function.
As issues come to the forefront on the road toward Nunavut, it's likely that difficult decisions will have to be made -- decisions that affect a government that is not yet put together.
But each decision that's left until after division is one more matter that Keewatin residents will have to wait out until the new government gets around to dealing with a plate that is already piled high -- and the feast won't start for another 13 months.