Editorial page
Friday, July 3, 1998

Welcome premiers

We would like to extend a warm welcome to the western premiers. As you are about to discover, you couldn't have picked a better spot for a meeting.

However, we want to caution you about any hopes you might have of achieving anything of political importance while you are here. The long, crisp days of a Yellowknife summer are conducive principally for dreaming up ways of avoiding work.

Sitting in the sun, getting out on the water, fishing for monsters, outdoor cooking, taking in the inestimable beauty of the landscape, these are the resolutions Yellowknifers pass each summer.

So enjoy it, gentlemen. The issues you came here to discuss will still be waiting for you in the fall. Might as well make hay while the sun shines.


Looking ahead ...

Speculating about the future isn't a task that comes easy to a newspaper. We are, after all, in the habit of reporting what has already happened, not what might.

But Yellowknife is a city in transition. All the evidence suggests our community is about to go through some pretty interesting times.

Diamonds are about to replace gold as a leading economic indicator. Two territories are about to emerge from one. Yellowknife will soon have to share the role of capital with Iqaluit. An influx of federal employees could be on its way, as Indian and Northern Affairs bureaucrats prepare for a transfer from Ottawa, possibly making up for the loss of GNWT staff to the East.

On the municipal front, Yellowknifers are facing some serious choices about how to spend their tax dollars. Though the twin-pad arena was rejected by rate-payers, we still need another ice surface, if not today, then soon. A dearth of convenient waterfront access remains a sore point for boaters, and we still haven't sorted out what to do with the Woodyard.

On a more basic level, there is population growth to worry about. Ald. Cheryl Best's prediction of an additional 10,000 residents in five years sounds a bit extreme, but there is no reason to believe the population will do anything but rise in the early years of the 20 century.

Birth rates across the NWT are far higher than the national average and it is inevitable that many of those residents will find their way to Yellowknife in search of jobs. And if even half of the new mines now on the horizon go into production, there will undoubtedly be hundreds, if not thousands of new Northerners hoping to build a life in Yellowknife.

It won't be easy handling the pressures that come with these changes. But there is one thing we can do to make it as manageable as possible: work co-operatively. City council and the GNWT must engage the general public in an open and free debate over the choices we face. None of the crucial decisions can be made behind closed doors.


All the facts

The lawyer the city asked three years ago for advice on secret meetings says his opinions should never be released to the public. If that should happen, warns Ed Gullberg, "frank" advice would be impossible.

To that we say, maybe the city should find another lawyer. The notion that legal opinions must be kept secret, even after the judge has ruled and all avenues of appeal exhausted, is nonsense. Lawyers working for a public government must be willing to stand by their advice.

It may very well be that the advice on secret meetings will tell us nothing we don't already know about how the previous council conducted its affairs in the secret-meeting case. But considering past actions of council, the people of Yellowknife deserve all the facts.


Lucky to be Canadian
Editorial Comment
Glen Korstrom
Inuvik Drum

This is the perfect time to reflect on how fortunate we are to live in Canada. Nowhere else is there the combination of universally accessible medical care, world-class universities and almost unimaginably vast wilderness.

Though Ottawa listens to central Canadian voices more than others, we do live in a democracy -- and that is not something to take for granted.

We also benefit from liberal immigration policies. Recently I spoke with a visitor from New York who uniquely equated his home to the North. New York is a city of immigrants, he said. The North is a lot like that too.

Many Inuvialuit or Gwich'in would probably agree, only for the whole country. But the New Yorker was referring to southerners who emigrate North to what is in many ways its own world.

Alas, marring much celebration for Canada Day and the good feeling about living where we do was some resentment from tax-paying Inuvik residents that council raised future councils' salaries.

Admittedly, this is not a good time for council to raise future councillors' salaries, but it may be now or never. When is a good time?

Councillors are bringing their salaries in line with those of other Western Arctic councillors while taking a stand that could see voters boot them from office.

The upside for Inuvik is there will be pressure for them to perform. Many residents have seen hardship the last several years. Many people have lost jobs and are struggling to survive.

Some have felt the brunt so hard they are on the list of debtor taxpayers. And Mayor George Roach said the town has started to expropriate property. Ouch!

So even though council can justify its own pay hike the final say will rest with voters in the community who could consider the next election a de facto referendum. Roach has daringly opened the door for some crusading resident to run for mayor on the promise he or she will return his or her personal salary rise to town coffers.

Many politicians owe success to such stands. But voters should keep their eyes on the ball and ask for hard-working councillors who earn what they are paid, not simply for those who will work for less.

Public service is a noble calling, no doubt. And many in Inuvik need not be asked to sacrifice time for their community. But fair compensation for the work councillors do will keep capable and desirable people willing to enter the fray.

Working as an elected official may be honorable, but it comes with others prying into one's personal life and mud-slinging from opponents. It can also erode valuable time spent with families.

Politicians have a tough job and strong potential candidates should not be deterred by the expectation they will work long and hard with little financial reward.


Meet the new guy
Editorial Comment
Arthur Milnes
Deh Cho Drum

As I told you last week, Alison and I are off to further adventures with Northern News Services in Yellowknife next week.

So, today, it's my job to tell you a bit about the region's new "paper guy or Drum guy" as I often found myself being called.

Derek Neary is the Drum's new editor.

Neary has spent the past six months in Yellowknife working for Northern News Services.

"I'm really looking forward to working in the Deh Cho region," he said Monday. "I arrived only yesterday but I've already been greeted by a number of friendly people."

There are a couple of friendly faces at home as well. His spouse, Valerie, and their cat, Madi, have also made the trip. Valerie said she is excited about the experience she will gain here. Madi had made no comment as of press time.

Originally from Nova Scotia, Neary found the bison on the highway and the ferry crossings to be remarkable as we drove in from Yellowknife.

"I'm more accustomed to seeing porcupines and skunks on the roadside than bison," he said. "But the scenery was picturesque. We stopped at the overpass by Sambaa Deh falls and the view from there was magnificent. I can't wait to go back and explore."

Neary is a graduate of the University of King's College in Halifax where he obtained a Bachelor of Journalism degree in 1995. His first job was a summer stint in Oromocto, New Brunswick. Before coming to the North, he covered sports for two years in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia. (Local sporting groups take note).

He says that coming North presented an opportunity to experience new cultures and new terrain. He saw a Northern News Services ad in the Globe and Mail one day and he and Valerie decided to try their luck. They were soon on a plane.

"It's absolutely been worthwhile. I hope people feel free to call the office or approach me if they have a story or picture they'd like to see in the newspaper," he said. "Things look great here in the Deh Cho and I'm excited about getting down to work."

So, from Alison and I, we wish Derek and Val all the best.

And, as I said last week, thanks to all those who helped out the Drum in the past year and those who became our friends as the year progressed.

See you in Yellowknife. The first Big Mac is on me.