Editorial page

Monday, August 9, 1999

Leadership rides into the sunset

In a gesture that hints of desperate confusion rather confident leadership, our MLAs have passed Bill 15 into law.

Bill 15 is the legislation that increases the number of electoral districts in Yellowknife, Hay River and Inuvik.

Since the Supreme Court ruled that the current configuration of electoral districts violated the constitutional rights of the some voters, legislators were obliged to reach some sort of resolution.

After looking at the recommendations of the committee formed to solve the problem, the legislature decided to pass Bill 15 as it stood, with one major amendment, a "sunset clause" repealing the legislation at the end of the next legislative session.

So, while the problem is temporarily patched, the real work on resolving the make-up of the legislature has yet to be done.

In fairness, the premier had his back against the wall. With an election looming, a solution had to be found for a problem that was driving a wedge right through the people of the Northwest Territories.

The committee's recommendation to the legislature was to form a commission to study the problem, followed by a constitutional conference to be held in June 30, 2002. The results of the conference would be put to a binding referendum. The purpose of all this is to try to formulate an alternative to the court's ruling, which many Northerners felt gave urban centres an unfair weight in the legislature.

Now, with the inclusion of the "sunset clause," the decision has been deferred. The process of politically defining the NWT has been marked by good intentions and futile actions that dwindle into history's fog. The Western Constitutional Working Group faded like a pair of old jeans.

No commission, no conference, no plebiscite will have any meaning unless the leaders show some political will. This will be a tricky, albeit important, course to steer. Now is the time for a firm hand on the wheel.


Ball in Sport Nunavut's court

One of the first tests for the Nunavut government's decentralization policy will undoubtedly be the performance of the Sport Nunavut staff out of its new Baker Lake location.

Make no mistake about it, there are more than a few people still smarting over Premier Paul Okalik and Community Government Minister Jack Anawak both turning a deaf ear to their pleas to have the Sport Nunavut head office remain in Iqaluit until after the eastern capital had hosted the Arctic Winter Games in 2002.

If the new director of Sport Nunavut, Patrick Tagoona, is not able to get a solid Team Nunavut in place for the rapidly approaching 2000 edition of the Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse, there will be whisperings of "told you so" floating around the capital.

And, make no mistake about it, with Nunavut planning to send almost 300 athletes to the 2000 Games, the task awaiting is going to require a herculean effort to be successful.

The Games are slated to begin on March 5 and Sport Nunavut will not be able to hold its first general assembly until Sept. 17 in Iqaluit. This will give regional organizers, many of whom still haven't been incorporated away from the GNWT, a scant five months to schedule, organize and complete regional and territorial games to select Team Nunavut.

Anyone who has ever been involved with the Arctic Winter Games, or any other major amateur sporting event, knows the logistics of completing such a task in the given time frame are precarious at best.

Hopefully, Tagoona and company will silence many of the critics by putting together a strong team to compete in Whitehorse. If not, one can rest assured, the premier and his ministers will have their ears open when the inevitable whispering starts.


Not right or fair

More power or just more responsibility?

The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs recently released a new volunteer strategy that encourages communities to deliver more services, especially social services, through the use of volunteers.

The department was careful to state that this is not a plan to download more responsibilities onto agencies and communities that are already stretched.

No? What would you call it, then?

On the surface at least, it would seem like a blatant attempt for government to get rid of some cost and responsibility by dumping some vital services onto people who are already running themselves ragged to help and improve their communities: volunteers.


Ante up

Nunavut residents will seriously have to question their Cabinet's motives if the elected body declines to fund all or, at the very least, part of the much-needed school library in Cambridge Bay.

For the last four months of their reign, these very politicians have openly spoken about the tremendous need for education and -- make no mistake -- it will be hypocrisy at its very best if Cabinet turns around and decides not to hop on the funding wagon.

The contradiction would become particularly apparent when one considers that several other organizations, some from as far away as England's Cambridge University, have already thrown thousands of dollars towards rebuilding the fire damaged resource.


Owning up

Municipalities across both the NWT and Nunavut should realize the recent death of a toddler in Lutsel K'e isn't a good sign. Two-year-old Morris Lockhart was mauled to death last month by a dog who was tied up.

Hay River's bylaw officer reports that the Lutsel K'e incident is a predictable result when toddlers get too close to tied-up dogs. While we agree that this is certainly a potential problem, we also see this incident as an indication that too many dogs in the North are being neglected. Their owners simply chain them up day after day and when they do get around to tossing these animals food, it's usually not enough to quench the dog's hunger.

Maybe bylaw officers should start issuing fines to people who neglect their animals. There is no reason for a child to lose his life in such a horrible manner.