Wednesday, December 8, 1999
It's all over now but the recounts.
The first election for the new territory, with new ridings that expand the city's representation in the legislature, is history.
One incumbent, Roy Erasmus, lost his seat. Two incumbents held their seats: Jake Ootes and Charles Dent.
Yellowknife elected its first female MLA in 20 years.
One riding is waiting for a judicial recount due to the results being so close.
With a turnout of 70 per cent, one could say that the democratic process is alive and well in Yellowknife, if not flourishing.
The atmosphere at the Great Hall of the legislative assembly, where people gathered election day to watch the results being posted, was like that of a town hall meeting. People were milling around, discussing the results, confirming suspicions and registering surprise as candidate fortunes rose and fell. That is participatory democracy at its best.
The road ahead will be rocky for the new crop of MLAs representing Yellowknife.
They have to tread the thin line between representing the city's best interests and not alienating the communities, who already have a good deal of resentment against the capital. The debate over Bill 15 made it perfectly clear there is a deep-seated mistrust of Yellowknife beyond city limits.
Who is chosen for the cabinet will go a long way in addressing the needs of both the city and the other communities.
Choosing the Speaker from the Yellowknife caucus could be taken as an equalizing measure and a gesture of good faith, as the Yellowknife MLAs will be giving up one of their votes.
With self-government looming, the legislative assembly is going to have to reinvent a role for itself, a process that will probably set the stage for a new constitution for the NWT. While the issues remain the same as last week, Yellowknifers have elected some new blood.
We wish the class of 2003 well in the execution of their duties.
Twenty-five years ago, seven students were shot in an Ottawa school.
One of the students at the school was Liz Baile, now a Yk Catholic School student support consultant, who is working with the RCMP on a response plan in the event such a tragedy occurs here.
The shooting Baile experienced makes the point that random acts of violence are not a quirk of modern society, nor are today's youth especially prone. Some people have always been driven to extremes, finding no other outlet for their anger and frustration but to inflict suffering on others.
The only solution is to identify the warning signs and offer a non-violent way out. Violence response plans are essential but unfortunately they only come into play after a tragedy. Just as important is a response plan for student despair, a more difficult task but one for which our schools are well suited.
Essential to any government and developing territory is a strong, well-developed trades program.
Without skilled workers with expertise and the ability to oversee infrastructure maintenance and essential services, people could not live.
That is why Kugluktuk's successful efforts to run a program that will certify 12 students, two of whom are women, as journey carpenters is inspiring. Each community should have a program that develops a skilled workforce, eliminating downtime, and the need to have southern or Iqaluit-based "experts" flown in.
The GN must realize the necessity of establishing more programs, offering everyone the chance to learn a trade, a measure that will only help this territory thrive.
In five years, Yellowknife campgrounds have doubled their visitors from outside the NWT. Nearly half of all these campers came from Southern Canada.
This is a welcome indication of good things to come and we hope we can look forward to more of the same.
Although the prices have increased at the five campgrounds most frequently used here, the facilities have also been upgraded with showers, hook-ups and picnic areas.
Paying 12 bucks a night is still cheap by southern standards, where prices are twice that -- plus firewood. It's good news that our southern neighbours are coming to visit, but let's make sure we have enough space for Yellowknifers, who have supported these sites since the beginning.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
However, that being said, we find it very difficult to support Coral Harbour resident Noah Kadlak's assertion he should be granted a permit by the Department of Sustainable Development to conduct a traditional polar bear hunt.
The first point to be made here is that Sustainable Development Minister Peter Kilabuk is, himself, an accomplished hunter with a great deal of knowledge on the subject.
And, while the official reason of fear for public safety he gave in denying the application is justifiable in its own right, it does not tell the whole story.
We here in the North are about as far removed from the "tree huggers" philosophy as is possible.
But there are limits.
Polar bears were once hunted by spear out of necessity, not choice.
Since the advent of the rifle and, at one time, the high-powered cross bow, the use of a spear to hunt polar bear has become both impractical and unnecessary.
Safety issues aside, for all we here in Nunavut preach about respect for Mother Nature -- have we become that insensitive to allow one of her most glorious creatures to meet with such a needless death?
Kadlak erroneously equates the denial of his request to the refusal to reinstate his rights to practice traditional hunting rights.
No one is denying his right to hunt. It is the manner in which he wishes to hunt being refused.
Kilabuk has exercised some keen foresight in his decision to deny the request.
Knowing Kadlak's plans included the filming of the event, it doesn't take a great leap of the imagination to see some undesirable effects quickly developing.
Just ask many a former seal hunter.
Imagine the rest of the country watching in horror if Kadlak's attempt was not a clean, decisive kill.
The public outcry over images of the once proud bear reeling in agony, dying a painful, horrible and totally unnecessary death.
Kilabuk also realized, should this scenario ever unfold, the ramifications it might have on Nunavut-Ottawa relations.
Not to mention the instantaneous appearance of such organizations as the Greenpeace Foundation on our doorstep.
A point could also be made that a recent occurrence outside Arviat (see story this issue) vividly shows how easily things can go wrong during a polar bear hunt.
Kilabuk denied no traditional hunting rights when he denied Kadlak's application.
What he denied was a method of killing long past its era of acceptance and he should be commended for having the fortitude to make the decision in the face of "cultural" claims by Kadlak.
Hopefully, our minister will have the same fortitude in standing by his decision.
Make no mistake about it, we here at Kivalliq News have always advocated the preservation of Inuit culture and tradition.