It's certainly a twist on the phrase 'Porn Wars.'
The fact that there is no legislation in the Northwest Territories to cover the sale and age limitations on pornographic material was recently brought up by Yellowknife South MLA Seamus Henry.
At the same time, Henry suggested that town and villages enact bylaws to limit the access of pornographic material by young people. He claims the problem could be dealt with "far more expeditiously at the community level."
Of course, that also means we will have councils across the territory struggling to define what is pornography and to enact laws to limit it.
No -- this should be something that the legislature takes a leadership role on so that we are left with one coherent and consistent law.
While no one disputes that Yellowknife could use an infusion of money, supporting the construction of a new correctional facility because it would be good for the economy is cynical at best.
In terms of proximity to the courts and convenience of transportation, Yellowknife is probably the best place to put a jail.
Sadly, Yellowknife Correctional Centre is overcrowded. We say sadly because it is a shame so many people end up in prison. The per capita rate of incarceration in the NWT is higher than the national average.
Statistically, in 1996 one in five Northerners was convicted of violating the criminal code, which is twice the national rate. The rate of sexual assault in the North is six times the national average.
While the crime rate is actually declining, the rates at which it is happening are still astounding.
As long as people end up in court and the courts keep sentencing people to jail, YCC is going to need room to accommodate them.
There is a debate over whether or not a renovation or a new prison is the better use of the money. There is also a debate over putting a facility for young offenders in the same place as a prison for adults.
Putting the two together is probably fiscally prudent but sounds like a recipe for a rehabilitation calamity.
The real question here is why do so many people end up in the correctional stream. While the justice arm of the government has $30 million to wave at a new prison, Northern Addictions Services is closed.
Whether YCC is renovated or rebuilt, whether the juvenile facility ends up as part of a larger building or as a separate institution, the fact remains that we are forced to spend the money at one end of the system because we have inadequately dealt with the problems where they start.
Your grandmother will tell you that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. When it comes to allocating where the money goes, that would be sound advice to follow.
At a time when it seems the youth of our country are constantly being criticized and pointed to as bad examples, it is comforting and right that two local youth are taking the initiative and making it work.
Anneka Westergreen and Missy Jaud were featured in last Friday's Yellowknifer for their business, Sweet Bliss Ice Cream Store. The two teenagers are cashing in on our penchant for cool and sweet in the summer.
It is comforting to see young people who are taking the initiative, who are looking ahead and who are starting a future now.
There are more youth out there who are positive and energetic and building meaningful futures than the stories we hear would lead us to believe. It is good to see those youth acknowledged and encouraged.
Editorial Comment
Daniel MacIsaac
Inuvik Drum
I learned this weekend, my second in the region, that festivals aren't restricted solely to Inuvik.
I had to pleasure to attend the Midway Lake Music Festival and came away having made scores of new friends and gained greater insight to this, my new home.
Driving along the Dempster, my first time, was a pleasure as was getting a close-up look at those beautiful Yukon mountains. You might say it's been two weeks of first for me, and will continue to be for some time.
Midway was simply incredible. The setting, the food and, of course, the people.
Dusty and weary after my three-hour drive I wandered into the kitchen and, without a word, was immediately handed a bowl of steaming caribou soup.
But then the words began -- and I heard stories from both children and elders and everyone in between. Whether or not I'm naturally sociable is questionable, but being a reporter gives me no choice but to throw myself into new situations and I'm genuinely glad about that.
Being a southerner -- and until I came to the territory I never considered myself as such -- I feared I might be looked upon with some suspicion at such a family-oriented event as the Midway Lake festival. But, fortunately, I couldn't have been more wrong.
Everyone was more than happy to hear what I had to say and to answer my probably-naive questions. I was welcomed to sit by campfires, have a cup of tea and at one point even found myself in charge of a group of McPherson kids at the Nerysoo campsite.
Now I don't want to paint myself as so much of a rookie. I have done some travelling and have found myself in some pretty unusual situations -- sometimes coping in a land where the language and customs are foreign to me. It's those experiences that give me the confidence to venture into unchartered territory and to investigate my new surroundings with a mixture of curiosity and respect.
I'm hoping this approach works and, with several more festivals on the agenda and more communities left to visit, I'll have plenty of opportunities to gauge my success.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
It was rumoured that former DIAND minister Jane Stewart would be making an appearance at the Deh Cho Assembly in Kakisa, but with Jean Chretien's cabinet shuffle Tuesday, she has now been given the Human Resources portfolio.
Regardless, the Deh Cho First Nations (DCFN) have been getting their "ducks in a row," so to speak, in preparation for self-government negotiations. They have hired a chief negotiator and have selected a negotiations team. So now it's time to get to the table.
Ministerial envoy Peter Russell was at last year's Deh Cho Assembly in Wrigley. At that time, he waited somewhat anxiously while DCFN delegates debated whether or not to move forward based on the 21 common ground principles they established with the federal government. The delegates ultimately voted in favour, but a year has since passed with things moving at a snail's pace. The face-to-face negotiations themselves are bound to be a long, arduous process, but it would be promising to at least turn the corner and get that process under way.
Back from vacation
So we made it back from vacation. Visiting with our families and friends was thoroughly enjoyable. The exception was the actual travelling part. To save some money, we took the bus from Hay River to Edmonton and then flew from there. Let me tell you, 15 hours makes for a very long bus ride. I can't imagine how anyone could endure a entire butt-compressing, cross-country trek like that. My problem is that I can't sleep on the bus, or on the plane for that matter (but at least we only have to fly for five or six hours). I'm sure that I got no more than a total of two hours sleep on the bus, and most of that came in five-minute intervals as my head drooped but quickly bobbed back up again as we pulled into yet another stop along the way.
Something I realized that I don't miss is the heavy traffic in the south. Although it far from being this country's most populous city, Halifax has its fair share of nuts on the road. It seems that there's always somebody right on your bumper regardless of whether you're crawling through traffic lights in the heart of the city or if you're flying down the highway at 100 km/h (ah, maybe just a touch faster than that).
We wound up staying a full day in Edmonton on the way to Nova Scotia and when coming back again. I never really had a chance to explore Alberta's capital before. We had to use public transportation and that proved another reminder of how different life can be in urban centres. We asked the bus driver if he could let us know when we turned onto Calgary Trail South, our destination. He agreed. After close to 45 minutes of riding the bus, he pulled into a depot. I asked if we were getting close. He admitted that he forgot about us completely. In fairness, he was apologetic and pointed out another bus that could get us where we wanted to go. When we boarded that one, I made the same request to that driver.
"Can you please let us know when we get to Calgary Trail South?" I asked.
"If I remember," he said bluntly.
Welcome to the city.
It's nice to be back in the Deh Cho.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
While more and more voices are being heard in Rankin Inlet complaining about the messy state of the hamlet, precious little seems to be getting done about it, save for those few individuals with enough civic pride to keep the area around their own home clean.
In fact, one would had to have looked very hard to find anyone out and about during the hamlet's Cleanup Day which, for the most part, went by almost completely unnoticed.
While there are many of the opinion it is time for Rankin Inlet's council to pass a bylaw enabling local authorities to fine those people whose yards or business areas look a combat zone or a poorly maintained junkyard -- there are just as many who seem to feel the root of the problem lies with the fact Rankin's council doesn't care one way or the other about the hamlet's appearance.
There can be no denying the fact that, in general, our hamlet is a cluttered mess. If council truly does care about its hamlet's appearance, the time for action is now before, once again, Old Man Winter swoops into town and covers our shame until the next spring thaw.
It's one thing to hand out free garbage bags, it's quite another to give hamlet residents the incentive to use them for anything other than impromptu laundry hampers.
Another puzzling factor in this messy business is the almost total absence of a voice from our tourism sector advocating the cleaning up of our community. After all, tourists come to the pristine North to get back in touch with nature and experience a different way of life and our scenic beauty.
They can experience all the uncleanliness, rampant littering and numerous eyesores their little hearts desire without ever leaving their respective urban homes, let alone spend thousands of dollars and travel thousands of miles only to be confronted with the same intolerable mess.
If we're to continue to be perceived to be the unofficial regional capital, it's time we, literally, picked up our socks and started caring about the negative message our messy community sends out.
And, while everyone should do his or her part to help beautify our hamlet, they should also take the time to gently remind our hamlet council that it should be leading the way in cleaning up our community.
If our mayor and counsellors continue to sit on their laurels and ignore the problem until the snow hides it from view and people's minds -- maybe it's time for local voters to make sure the next major cleanup in Rankin is on election day.