In September 1995, a 16-year old girl went to the hospital in Whitehorse with a sore stomach after eating home smoked fish. The doctor she saw believed her pains were imaginary and did not do a physical examination. Falling into a coma, she died in April 1998.
A panel of doctors from British Columbia reprimanded that doctor for not properly assessing and treating her symptoms, fining him $5,000. He is appealing the findings with the Yukon Supreme Court.
Last September in Whitehorse, that doctor, Allon Reddoch, despite his blemished record, was elected president of the Canadian Medical Association. We question the intent of CMA members in their choice over other qualified candidates for the job, including a NWT physician.
Clearly the CMA chose to support a troubled colleague over protecting the integrity of their profession.
In our view, it was the wrong choice.
Sometimes it's enough to make your eyes glaze over. Between the doomsayers forecasting the end of life as we know it and the volley of incomprehensible statistics, it's hard to know whether to worry or roll over and go back to sleep.
However, when the problem shows up on your doorstep, it snaps into perspective.
Biologists and other environmental scientists have long pointed to the Arctic as a meaningful indicator of whether or not the climate is changing.
Because the relationship between wildlife and the climate in the far North is so fragile, small shifts in the weather echo through the ecosystem.
So, when the population of Peary caribou in the High Arctic islands drops like a rock in the sea, concerned biologists look at the climate.
What they see is more snow in the North, caused by warmer winter air carrying more moisture. More snow means that the caribou have to work a lot harder to forage for the small arctic plants they eat. More work means burning more energy. A growing body of evidence points to a relationship between the emission of gases such as carbon dioxide and a general raising of the world's temperature.
While conclusive proof may never exist, that is no reason to assume that the problem isn't there.
Although the problem is a global one, solutions begin locally. The first step is awareness. When the caribou population on Bathurst Island drops from 3,000 animals in 1990 to 75 last year, it's time to get serious.
The North is going to have to rethink its romance with internal combustion engines. The benefits of developing natural resources are going to have to weighed carefully against the environmental impact. Cleaner technology can offer some relief.
While it easy to ignore the sweeping generalizations of environmental activists, there is no denying the body count among the Peary caribou.
While some of the recommendations made by the jury in the coroner's inquest into the drowning death of a Cape Dorset man at the Yk Correctional Centre have merit, for the most part, they missed the key issues.
Most importantly, had the man been wearing a life-jacket or never allowed out of the sight of the maintenance officer, he would, in all probability, still be alive today.
The focus of the jury should have been directed more at what could have been done to prevent the tragedy in the first place, not at issues surrounding emergency response to the incident.
Editorial Comment
Glen Korstrum
Inuvik Drum
I never thought the vision of social contract theorist Jean Jacques Rousseau was practical until I came North.
Basically, he believed the rights of everyone were best protected when there was a kind of unofficial election every day.
Consensus reigns in a continual process where people in the community are regularly consulted as plans are being drawn. And, instead of being top down or having representatives standing in for others, each person's view is respected and weighed evenly.
Evidence this ethic prevails here is that political parties have never evolved more towards a grassroots level than the ever-distant federal government.
Perhaps this culture works well and suits the North because of smaller and more isolated hamlets and regional centres than in the rest of the country.
The Oct. 29 meeting to discuss and prioritize Inuvik trail development showed consensus in action. There was no vote on the options, but discussion until general agreement arose.
More pragmatic than ideological, those interested enough to come out demonstrated how to successfully get things started.
Clearly, different opinions is what makes the world go round, and few ideas meet whole-hearted and universal agreement -- as is shown with residents upset about the location of the planned female young offenders facility.
What is important on the issue of the facility's location is that groups and individuals involved have made a strong effort to get together, solicit feedback and forge a consensus.
Rabies mix-up
Last week the photo spread text had some errors.
Most significantly, I mistook wolves for foxes once back at the office. Area hunters and trappers, as well as others, must wonder how anyone could make such a mistake.
Well, there is no good explanation. My focus was obviously split as I was carrying on the conversation while trying to focus on what would make good photos.
Maybe encroaching darkness and a head cold put me in a bit of a slump. Some weeks can be like that.
I did go for a fake tan and an orange juice after seeing the new council sworn in Nov. 2 and felt invigorated afterward.
I've never been into fake tanning before but, with snow crunching under my boots as I walked back to the office, I realized that for a few minutes there it started to feel a bit more like summer.
Strange as it may seem, maybe tanning beds could be one new thing to help raise my spirits if this winter starts seeming long.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
If there's one unifying issue in Fort Simpson, it would seem to be the horrendous condition of the roads.
Several people made complaints about the shape of the roads at the village's public meeting last Wednesday.
There were other issues brought to the attention of Mayor Norm Prevost, who represented village council.
Excessive property taxes in Wildrose Acres, the eroding riverbank, rumours of water subsidies being eliminated and loose dogs were discussed.
All valid concerns. To his credit, Prevost fielded the questions, and accusations, admirably -- especially considering that the budget/capital projects portion of the meeting ran more than two hours. Prevost periodically spread the blame, levelling criticisms at the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs for a shortage of funding, but also talked of future plans of action instead of just lamenting about past frustrations. The village's deficit, once as high as $1.1 million, was down to $363,755 as of the end of September. A $35,000 surplus was projected by October 2000.
There was also some bad medicine to swallow and there was no ducking punches. In regards to the renovations to Main Street, which will now take closer to five or six years than the originally planned three, Prevost said, "It's going to be painful for businesses and residences along Main Street."
It was a healthy exercise. It's beneficial for the public to get these grievances off its chest. It's also crucial that council be accountable for its decisions.
At one point, a gentleman suggested that village council should hold public meetings every second month or, at least, quarterly to keep the public up to date on its affairs. He also suggested that a newsletter wouldn't hurt. Prevost responded that council used to produce an information sheet, but it was discontinued when the Drum came on the scene. He said he'd look into reviving the newsletter because "You can't believe everything you read in the newspaper anyway." He smiled when he said it.
Overlooking the "good-natured" affront, I'm in favour of council publishing a newsletter once again. That's not because I want to be spared the duty of its meetings. I attend as often as I can -- newsletter or no newsletter -- I'll be there anyway. But, I simply can't devote an entire issue of the paper to every matter before council. I have to pick and choose the items which are likely the most important to the people in this community.
It should be noted that this whole issue of block funding, the deficit and capital projects didn't go unnoticed by the local press. It appears in an article "No more money" (News/North, Sept. 14). There may, however, have been other issues to have come and gone which some people would have considered to be very important. The time to find out isn't months after the fact.
There are some extremely difficult matters debated at council meetings. The decisions are not always easy ones to make.
At Monday evening's council meeting there was general agreement that public meetings should be held more often. Nothing was made formal. No dates set for the next one.
Let's not let this slide. The ballot box is not the only place where a constituent has a say.