The main thing that a recent study on the arsenic and cyanide levels at Miramar Con Mine shows clearly is that we have more questions than we have answers.
The report, done jointly by the Royal Military College of Canada and the University of British Columbia, found that waste water coming from the tailing ponds of the mine contain frighteningly high levels of arsenic and cyanide.
The study also shows that the tailings seem to be raising the levels of arsenic and cyanide in the water and the soil in surrounding areas: notably around Rat Lake, Kam Lake, and the Meg, Keg, Peg water system.
The hottest levels being recorded are as much as eight times the safe level for cyanide and 40 times what's considered safe for arsenic.
The reassurances contained within the report don't seem all that reassuring.
On one page, it says the levels are "unlikely to be an environmental concern."
A few pages later, it adds a recommendation to "restrict raw water consumption" in some areas and calls for further study in the Rat Lake area, which "might be a risk," and further study on the effects the elevated levels might have on the food chain.
Aside from the obvious need for further study and steps to mitigate the contamination already in the ground and the water, there is another lesson here that must be taken to heart.
This contamination is not the result of a single dramatic event. Rather, it is the result of decades of slow accumulation and practices that seemed adequate at the time, but obviously were not. Con opened the mine in 1938 and only now are we taking steps to determine how much, if any, damage has really been done.
The lesson here is the necessity to look hard at the long-term and plan accordingly.
Prosperity means more than profit today. It means quality of life and peace of mind tomorrow. Without that, we could find ourselves living in the most valuable ecological desert in Canada.
As Jonas Sangris steps down as chief of the Yellowknives Dene, he leaves behind two communities well positioned for the next century.
Dettah and Ndilo have come a long way in the past 12 years. Their quality of life has improved considerably and both places offer a very desirable lifestyle.
It hasn't been easy with Yellowknife dominating the landscape. Then there are the sensitive relations and differences between the larger Dogrib communities of Treaty 11, made more complex by the diamond development on their traditional lands.
New Chief Richard Edjericon will have to continue to balance the needs of the two communities with the enormous pressure of the political and economic changes now under way.
July 1st is the nation's 132nd birthday. In terms of nation-states, that makes us pretty much middle-aged. We're younger than England or the United States, for example, but older than any number of recently redefined countries.
As a middle-aged nation, we find ourselves looking back fondly at days gone by and at the same time tortured with regret at roads untravelled and missed opportunities.
We face the future riddled with self-doubt and we're uneasy at the challenges that lie ahead. We must rely on the wisdom of accumulated experience rather than the brash energy of youth to go forward.
The good news is we are past the spotty days of adolescent growing pains. Now it is time to be mature.
Maturity means counting our blessings every now and again and leaving the whining to the kids.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Few topics have prompted as much emotion and public opinion as the Keewatin Regional Health Board's (KRHB) recent awarding of the patients services contract at the former Ublivik Centre in Winnipeg, to T.C. Enterprise's Tony Chang, in partnership with Rankin Inlet's Lorne and Sally Kusugak.
The contract ended a 30-year association with the facility and Gloria Penner, affectionately referred to as the Angel of the North by many.
As Penner's tenure ends today, June 30, and the centre officially becomes known as the Kivalliq Inuit Centre, many people across the Kivalliq are supporting the awarding of the new contract and many are screaming "foul."
The popular consensus is that Penner was not awarded the contract because of waves she made recently, trying to collect $100,000 she claims is still owed her by the KRHB. Penner had been operating the Ublivik Centre without a contract since 1993.
Still others claim Lorne Kusugak had an unfair advantage in the tendering process due to his close association with the health board in the '90s, which had him present at many meetings which would have given him a strong understanding of many of the elements contained in his bid.
Although the selection committee members signed a declaration of conflict of interest, some people pointed to Kusugak's standing in the Kivalliq Inuit Association and the fact a KIA employee was a member of the selection committee.
There was a petition signed by 1,030 people, protesting the awarding of the contract, sent to the Nunavut government. There were 172 signatures gathered in-house at Winnipeg, 116 in Repulse Bay, 159 in Baker Lake, 73 in Coral Harbour, 61 in Rankin Inlet, 226 in Sanikiluaq, 178 in Arviat and 45 in Whale Cove.
Baker Lake MLA Glen Maclean raised a number of concerns in the legislative assembly, but received no support from his fellow MLAs because, in their outlook, just as many people support the new contract as oppose it.
Indeed, although detractors are quick to point out Penner's bid met Article 24 criteria, closer scrutiny of the bid shows one of the "voting members" of her company to be a boy under the age of puberty, which goes a long way in off-setting claims of "insider information" aimed at Kusugak.
The fact is, this was a business process, both on the part of the KRHB in awarding the contract and those who submitted bids in an attempt to secure the service.
Everyone involved used what was legally at their disposal to meet their own agenda, whether that be a good working knowledge of the process, meeting Article 24 stipulations or the actual awarding of the contract.
Gloria Penner will be forever remembered for her hard work and dedication at the Ublivik Centre, but a new page has been turned. And, while it remains to be seen the level of service which will be provided by the new contractor(s), it is unfair to judge them on anything other than their performance.
Kivalliq residents would be well-served to thank Penner for her 30 years of service and wish the current service providers the best of luck with their new endeavour.