Friday, September 11, 1998
With the division looming larger by the day, pressure mounts for the government and Union Workers to start making the compromises necessary to make a deal.
The antagonists seem to be incapable of resolving the pay equity complaint before division. At the very least, they must settle the contract dispute. The difficulty of resolving the pay equity will only increase after division, when the number of players gets more complicated.
Settling these difficult disputes are exactly what politicians, union leaders and negotiators are paid to do. It's high time everyone involved in the process started getting results instead of engaging in the rhetoric and finger-pointing that has gone on so far.
Enough already!
The members of the Constitutional Working Group have taken to advising themselves that the public is tired of consultations, forums and hearings. They're right.
We suspect the members of the CWG are getting a little tired of hearing it all too. In fact, the Sahtu has already dropped out and other aboriginal groups may soon follow.
The original deadlines for resolving this issue have come and gone. The only deadline that has remained in tact is division, and after months of listening and issuing reports, we seem no closer to any kind of resolution of a new western constitution.
The next step is a conference, called for mid-winter. We say great, on one condition: it's the last conference. Let's get this over with.
Editorial comment
Glen Korstrom
Inuvik Drum
Residents have probably spotted several new faces around town now that school is underway. Many of these new arrivals are at Aurora College to embark on practical post secondary education.
They are making the best investment life has to offer -- an education.
But more than that, an education rounds out a person, generating confidence, self-reliance and a greater sense of the world.
Many will likely endure angst about financing the start of their careers and their dreams. Another reason some students drop out is that they miss family and friends in their home community.
Nyla Klugie, who is an alumni of the recreation leaders program, addressed these fears in a presentation at Aurora College Sept. 8.
Though Klugie is seen by many as a national native role model, she said her own role model is her 65-year-old mother who is starting school this month at the Fort Smith campus.
"You're never too old to learn," Klugie told the 130 or so students listening attentively.
Ideally, when students learn how to operate new computer software or other learn practical skills in trades or accounting they can immerse themselves in what they are learning and not be distracted and stressed out by how to pay the rent or whether, as a single mother, they are providing the best formative years for their children.
Education is the best insurance of a stable future that a person can make, and single parents set a positive example for their children, passing along a sense of the importance of education.
When not focusing on their studies, Klugie urged students to think about what keeps them strong -- things such as their culture, heritage, family, elders and spirituality.
One way for a student to be resilient if classes seem overwhelming is to think of positive things in their lives -- things like hobbies, honesty, friends, security, support, home and how they have self esteem.
Sometimes a list of things to avoid can be equally important whether the pitfall is alcohol or procrastination. Perhaps it is the presence of negative vibes coming from people who, for whatever reason, take satisfaction in the troubles of others.
Finally, I want to apologize for last week's cartoon.
Each week, I pass along a few cartoon ideas to Bush, the Drum cartoonist. I must not have been thinking when I included the idea of the Mitchener family whose house collapsed. Clearly, they are enduring a tragedy and the matter is not to be joked about.
Editorial comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
In this job, I often leave the office bound for surrounding communities with story ideas in mind. I always hope I'll stumble across something more when I arrive.
Friday turned out to be one of those days. While in Fort Providence, I stopped by Deh Ga'h school where Nellie Norwegian introduced me to Laetitia Levavasseur and told me she was leaving for France. So, I sat down and asked some questions about her trip. If you check out this week's Coffee Break, you'll read some of what she told me.
Afterwards, I began to think about what a monumental decision this was in her young life. At the age of 15, she was leaving home for a place she had never visited before, a place where she doesn't understand the predominant language. She had arranged to live with an uncle and cousins she had yet to meet, and she was going to travel by plane for the first time despite her fear of heights.
Personally, the chances I have taken in life pale in comparison. I lived at home throughout high school and university. Living near Halifax, Nova Scotia, I ventured as far as Oromocto, New Brunswick (about a five-hour drive) for my first job, a summer position, after graduating from a four-year journalism program.
When that term was complete, I was fortunate enough to land a job with another community paper, this time in Port Hawkesbury, N.S. (only a three hour drive from home). After two years on there, I saw an enticing Northern News Services advertisement. By that time, I had met my spouse, Valerie, and together we made the enormous decision to venture North. Even so, it's within Canada, there are many people who speak English and I wasn't going alone.
And, it's not like we were the first to embark, by any means. It seems like every second person you meet in Yellowknife is from the East Coast. Like many of them, we were both leaving family behind. That's truly the hard part. You expect to see everyone again, but you never know. A month ago, my grandfather was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The amount of time he has left is expected to be brief. My mom and aunt are with him and I have spoken to him since, but it's difficult being at the other end of the country.
Hopefully, Laetitia will never have any such worries as long as she lives overseas. But you can't let those concerns limit your endeavours. I have learned a great deal from my grandfather and I have fond memories of him.
Yet, the past eight months in the North have very worthwhile for me.
It's not going to be easy for Laetitia while she's away from home. Undoubtedly, she's going to be introduced to a number of eye-opening experiences, good and bad. At the time, the underlying lesson may not be apparent. In the future, she will achieve a better perspective of what the gained from her travels.
For me, I have come to realize that in meeting Laetitia, I was introduced to the spirit of courage and adventure.