Wednesday, November 17, 1999
Retraining the Giant miners was a nice gesture by the Department of education, Culture and Employment, but what has been offered the workers falls woefully short of any real hope for a new future.
The laid off miners can attend any training course as long as it's no longer than one-year-long and offers a certificate or diploma upon completion.
These restrictions narrow the choices considerably for these men, whom have done little else other than mining.
Certainly, with almost a ten billion dollar surplus in the ECE bank, we can do more than a resume writing workshop or babysitting courses for these workers.
With that kind of money floating around, these miners should be applying to the ivy league -- not through applications on matchbook covers.
At the drop of a writ, election signs sprout in this town like tulips in Holland.
All across town signs are affixed to fences, storefronts and houses. Billboard-like constructions flourish at the side of the road, making the curbside look like a construction site employing several contractors.
The candidates, in pursuit of blanket coverage, don't limit their promotions to their respective ridings. And why should they? Voters work and shop all over town. It is no different that putting your ad on television.
Some citizens have complained that this information blitzkrieg has them confused as to who is running where.
Don't worry. Only the names of the eligible candidates will appear on the ballot you are given at the polling station.
Last weekend cinema-starved Yellowknifers had an all too rare opportunity to expand their circumpolar horizons.
The fourth annual Far North Film Festival wrapped up on Sunday, ending three days of screenings of films from Nunavut, Greenland, Iceland, the Yukon and the United States.
The films ranged from documentaries to full-length features to gritty little shorts.
Charles Laird is the engine behind all of this. His festival is fast becoming a cultural institution in this town. It is the sort of thing people mention when they list the city's assets.
Laird doesn't do it alone, of course. Both the corporate community and the GNWT extend their generosity his way. The only thing that's missing is a cartoon or two to kick it off.
French language funding has been a hot topic since the mid-eighties.
That's when GNWT leader Richard Nerysoo, pressured by the federal government to adopt French as an official language, wrangled over $16 million dollars for aboriginal languages as part of the deal. Aboriginal leaders howled but Francophone leaders said rather than attack the success of French, aboriginal people should build on that success and apply the same principles to their own languages.
The $16 million is gone, the Dene languages are in tatters. The plan should now be to apply at least some of the $4 million in federal funding to existing French programs and redirect territorial funding into aboriginal languages.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
It has reached the point where our Nunavut Government ministers, local agencies and even concerned citizens have to take action to address these serious shortfalls in our system.
The fact that many single parents in the Kivalliq are still being represented in family court by Yellowknife lawyers is totally unacceptable.
Especially when one figures Inuit culture into the equation and their need to establish one-on-one relationships built on trust.
Surely our Nunavut Government must realize the importance of custody and access issues and the major implications they can have on a child's development.
A fair number of Kivalliq schools are also operating short-staffed.
The number of students enroling continues to rise while funding hasn't kept pace.
In addition to under-staffing, many of these same schools are being forced to use unqualified substitute teachers.
Now, we find there is an alarming shortage of foster parents available in the Kivalliq.
This is one area where Kivalliq residents themselves have to shoulder their share of the load for an effective safety net to be in place for our region's less fortunate children.
A fair per diem is paid to foster parents, whose generous giving of time and love can have a great impact in helping to secure a young person's future, not to mention their immediate well-being.
The foster parent program is nearly maxed out in the region, which could lead to a child's safety being comprised if an emergency situation cannot be addressed.
There can be no denying the fact that there is an incredible demand being placed on Nunavut's financial resources, especially as the legislative assembly prepares to start its first pre-budget discussions.
However, how many top priorities can be above the well-being, care and education of our children?
In a perfect world, a child's care, and his or her safety and well-being, is most evident in the home.
Sadly, however, this is not always the case in reality.
A strong safety net must be in place to accommodate those children needing immediate help and adequate legal assistance established to help look after their long-term needs when a family unit breaks down.
Our future progress as a territory depends on how we care for, educate and protect our children.
A responsibility that must be shared at every level of our new territory if, indeed, it truly is a territory for all people.
The Kivalliq Region is suffering shortages in far too many areas which affect our children.