Monday, March 6 2000
As the NWT heads towards self-government and the devolution of powers that follows, the GNWT will find itself walking a fine line between the duplication of services from region to region and centralized administration.
Nowhere is the problem clearer than in the field of health care. At the moment there are nine regional health boards serving a total of about 40,000 people.
Because regional health boards negotiate their own contracts with doctors, they actually compete with one another for physicians.
This competition comes at a time when there is a shortage of doctors working in the North.
Add to that the diminished buying power of smaller health boards. It is only economic logic that nine little health boards won't have the same economic leverage as one big one.
As it stands now, each regional health board takes direction from a board of trustees that is comprised in part of representatives from the local land-claim beneficiaries.
For reasons of cost efficiency, Nunavut has eliminated its three regional health boards in favour of one territorial board.
Here in the NWT, we might want to follow their example. In the current climate of healthcare-worker shortages and budgetary pressures, having nine regional boards is a luxury that we can not afford.
In order to keep regional representation equitable, representatives of land-claims groups should be given a seat on the board.
Surely amalgamating recruiting needs and administrative costs will reduce expenses.
The Northwest Territories is on the brink of a bold new experiment in self-government. The role of the GNWT is on the verge of being re-defined. But without common sense and fiscal prudence, the experiment is doomed to fail.
Indeed, the honeymoon is over between the Nunavut Employees Union and the Government of Nunavut.
Gone are the days of blushing compliments accompanied by assurances that the relationship will continue to be amicable without working on it.
The sweet bliss was nice while it lasted, but as these things go, it's time for the work to begin.
It's time for the two parties to get down to the very serious business of negotiating a new collective agreement.
And unfortunately, time is not on their side -- the current contract is set to expire in just three and a half weeks.
Such pressure isn't good even for the most stable of relationships, but perhaps it will provide the GN and the NEU with the fire they need to get the job done.
Here's hoping it doesn't go the other way and cause all talks to break down until professional help -- in this case a mediator -- steps in and intervenes.
As long as everyone keeps their tempers in check and their egos at bay, the workers still have a chance of ratifying a decent contract that accurately reflects the cost of living in Nunavut.
With three of the four bargaining rounds under their belts, and with the fourth postponed until additional financial research is done, the union and the employer are still quite far apart.
NEU president Doug Workman said the union had presented a monetary package, but apparently, the employer didn't like what they saw. At all.
On that note, we'd like to offer a few words of caution.
There's more at stake here than simply winning an argument or besting an opponent.
The financial well being of the public sector, and in turn, the health of the territory, depend upon ability of both parties to reach an agreement.
We hope all involved understand as much and begin the serious compromising that must be done.
While the price of fuel increases across the country, so too grow the coffers of governments which reap higher and higher taxes as the price escalates.
The tax on gas is partly based on a sliding scale that increases with the price of gas. The gas tax was imposed in the 50s to help fund the construction of the Trans-Canada Highway, but when the highway was completed, the government grew so fond of the gas tax, they decided to not only keep it, but raise it.
Now, over $5 billion is collected each year by the federal government, with a mere five per cent going back into the construction of our roads.
So, as we are shelling out more and more at the pump because of OPEC's squeeze on world oil prices, federal finance minister Paul Martin is rubbing his hands together in anticipation of the swelling surplus. Already truckers have begun public protests publicly. The rest of Canadians may not be far behind.
If the Department of National Defence waits until April to begin the clean-up at the destroyed Victoria Island radar site, it will be putting people at risk.
Hazardous contaminants given off from burning PCBs extend up to 40 metres from the site.
The site is frequented not only by people, who will likely now stay away, but by animals who will continue to eat in the area.
The snow is covered with ash and cancer causing dioxins -- a dangerous part of PCBs.
After the animals eat, they will move on and quite possibly end up shot by hunters and later eaten by families. The longer DND waits to clean-up the site, the greater the chances are that people will eat country foods contaminated with cancer-causing agents.