Wednesday, December 01, 1999
After 51 years and over seven million ounces, history was made last Wednesday with the pouring of the last brick at Giant Mine.
Weighing in at about 60 pounds, this brick marked 11,847 poured and the end of the mine as we know it.
In many ways, Giant's history is interwoven with the history of Yellowknife itself and that should never be forgotten.
Throughout the life of the mine about 300 people were employed annually, two or three times more people were employed indirectly.
We have yet to see the full impact the loss of Giant mine will have on our community but steps are already being taken to preserve the history by the group Spirit Yk.
After witnessing the last brick's pouring, one of Spirit Yk's higher profile members, prospector and Yellowknifer columnist Walt Humphries, salvaged priceless photographs mine staff had collected.
Spirit Yk has long lobbied for a mining museum, and has identified several items on the Giant property such as old buildings, machinery and records that can be saved and preserved.
We will eventually recover from the enormous financial burden Giant's bankruptcy placed on the community -- $4.5 million to Yellowknife creditors, job losses and thousands owed workers in severance and pensions -- but we should never forget that this one-square mile of land and the hundreds of workers who worked there since the Dirty '30s helped make our city what it is today.
And while we won't see any spinoffs from the last pour -- eight gold bricks worth about $1.5 million -- we at least have, thanks to Spirit Yk, an important portrait of the past to help us remember Yellowknife's heritage.
Our tenuous supply line from the south has been severed a little early this year.
Yellowknifers are used to the empty milk shelves and the wobbly broccoli on the good years.
This year, however, we were caught dangerously off guard. With harsh realities of low heating fuel and propane, we're reminded of just how fragile our link to civilization really is.
If we are lucky we will make do as we have for the past decade. But this year should serve an early wake-up call to those of us who got feeling a little too cozy with the amenities trucked from south of 60. Fact is, we're not out of the woods yet.
Negotiations over Miramar's purchase of the Giant property have had the appearance of hard bargaining.
Mayor Dave Lovell and city councillors seem to have succeeded in protecting Yellowknifers' interests against those of Miramar and the federal government.
It would be a shame then, if Coun. Kevin O'Reilly's caution about the true condition of the Giant property is ignored.
Protection against all legal liabilities is critical but even more important is ensuring the land and lake bed are not so contaminated as to render it useless as a marina.
Have the federal and territorial governments provided a timeframe for any cleanup? Is there a money back guarantee if the site is deemed unusable by regulatory agencies?
These are questions that should be answered before council signs any deal.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
If, indeed, our government is looking at tourism as nothing more than a way to provide make work projects for our less fortunate, the industry is doomed to forever being a non-factor as an economic vehicle for our region.
Dyan Gray is bang on when she says the tourism industry must be run like a business.
And, as with any business, that means having skilful, dedicated, well-trained and professional people on the front lines.
She is also bang on when she laments far too many of the training funds available to our region have too many stipulations or strings attached.
Again, we harken back to our premier's words that Nunavut is for all the people.
That is, at least, all the people who fit the right demographic category.
Even our educators have run into problems when trying to gain funding for educational projects which broaden the horizons of our youth.
Too often, the availability of the funding depends more on "who" is included in the group, rather than the worthiness of the project.
Premier Paul Okalik did, in fact, name tourism as one our prime candidates for a successful economic engine while rubbing elbows in Japan.
He has also used the same line numerous times while in discussions at the federal level.
However, one need look no further than the cruise ship fiasco in Coral Harbour earlier this year to see just how far our tourism industry has to go.
When a boat-load of tourists, with pockets full of money to spend, lands unannounced in your region, you have some serious communication and preparation problems within your industry.
Arguably, the strongest point which could be made through all this, is that we, both as a region and a territory, or letting a glorious opportunity slip through our fingers.
Environmental tourism is a buzz term within the industry right now which our region is well-equipped to take advantage of.
As well, there is still a certain romantic idealism surrounding our new territory in the eyes of many around the globe -- which won't last forever.
With the obvious disadvantage of having precious few tax-based communities in our territory, the premier is right when he identifies tourism as a viable economic vehicle.
The problem is, tourism is falling into the same category as most pressing issues in our territory -- there's a whole lot of talk and very little action.
And, until action replaces rhetoric, the vast majority of faces we see in the Kivalliq will continue to be our own.
It is more than a little distressing to hear our Keewatin regional tourism development co-ordinator speak about our government's view on the tourism industry.