Monday, January 31, 2000
On the eve of a full-blown strike, the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association and the territorial government reached an agreement, that, if nothing else, is an admission that there are critical issues to be addressed in the Northern education system.
Today members of the teachers' union vote on whether or not to accept the contract. NWTTA President Pat Thomas has endorsed the tentative agreement, raising hopes among parents and students alike that the teachers will be back at work.
The dealmaker in this situation was a memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed by Premier Stephen Kakfwi that upped the ante.
The MOA commits the GNWT to spending $14 million over the next four years to address the problems of class size and "special needs" students.
Among the issues that teachers brought to the negotiating table were improving graduation rates, increasing support for "special needs" students and lowering the ratio of students to teachers in the classroom.
The GNWT has agreed to increase the number of teachers in the educational system, which should help alleviate the problem of class size.
Education, Culture and Employment deputy minister Mark Cleveland is quick to point out that while the current graduation rate lags way, way behind the national average, it has increased 25 per cent in the last six years.
While those numbers indicate we're on the right track, they also make it clear we have a long road ahead of us.
The term "special needs" is a murky one, used to describe any student that requires extra help.
As a result of the MOA, the education ministry is undertaking a study to clarify what needs are indeed special. Defining the problem will go a long way towards solving it.
We can only hope that with a pending agreement that the GNWT doesn't think the problem is solved. The real work to unravel the North's education problems is just beginning.
Residents in the Hay River South riding must be taking great pride in the recent accomplishments of their MLA.
Jane Groenewegen, who was acclaimed in the recent election, not only won a place in the cabinet, she was made deputy premier.
She also holds the portfolio of Health and Social Services, one of the toughest beats there is. In an era of increasing demands on the social safety net and calls for fiscal restraint, Groenewegen will have her work cut out for her.
However, if she's tough enough to put her career on the line by standing up to former premier Don Morin, she's tough enough to take on her cabinet responsibilities.
The addition of a woman's voice to the cabinet is a bonus.
Congratulations, Jane.
The people have spoken.
In a move which strongly reflected public opinion, the Nunavut Liquor Board showed they were listening.
Announced last Thursday afternoon, the board said they were turning down the proposed Uvagut Bar's application for a liquor license.
They had no choice, said chair Goo Arlooktoo.
Based upon emotional public presentations -- the vast majority of which opposed the opening of a new bar in Iqaluit -- and given the additional research the board conducted, Arlooktoo said the decision was so obvious that it almost made itself.
The proposed owners of the cocktail lounge said they were unhappy with the outcome. One member went as far as to accuse the board of being biased against them.
But, prejudices and hard feelings aside, the decision stands, at least until the Supreme Court is given the chance to rule on it or the group regroups and reapplies.
The time it will take to put together another application or to appeal the current decision might give the aspiring bar owners the opportunity to come up with an idea for an establishment that's more in keeping with what community members want.
The added time will also give the town's social agencies the extra months or years they need to begin to put together a comprehensive plan to deal with alcohol abuse.
Such a plan is both lacking and necessary in modern day Iqaluit.
And if, down the road, the community should decide that an additional liquor selling venue is inappropriate, then so be it.
The negative and abusive experiences the community members spoke of when opposing the bar are very real and if they come together and agree that another bar will add to the town's problems, Uvagut will just have to accept that decision.
It's hard to imagine that Iqaluit emergency dispatchers wouldn't want to move to a new state-of-the-art, paid-for communication centre.
The director says one reason is because he's consistently short-staffed and officers won't be around to fill in as the firefighters do -- the new centre will be at the RCMP detachment rather than at the fire hall.
But when a $400,000 gift that will help improve dispatch services in not only Iqaluit, but all of Nunavut is being offered, it seems one should take it.
The drive up the road is only another two kilometres and dispatch has recently hired two more dispatchers, both of whom speak Inuktitut.
They should accept the offer and move.
The Canadian government's commitment to clean up and contain the uranium tailings at the Port Radium mine site on Great Bear Lake is a long overdue, but welcome development for the people of Deline.
Although the government knew there were dangers associated with uranium mining, the people of Port Radium and Deline were never told.
More than 50 years have passed since the federal government took over the mine. It has now pledged support for medical studies, cleanup and monitoring of the site.
The people of Deline have asked for very little, all things considered. The chief said they want answers -- answers they should have had many years ago.