Wednesday, November 15, 2000
With 22,492 eligible voters in the NWT, a tiny riding among hundreds larger in Canada, our elected politicians have to fight to be heard.
Liberal candidate Ethel Blondin-Andrew has convinced Northerners two elections in a row that she is the best person for the job.
| Clarification An article in the Nov. 1 Yellowknifer on the selection of a Canadian Alliance Party candidate for the Western Arctic noted Alliance supporter Ter Hamer had donated office space to the party.
Hamer notes that the company he works for, Polar Panda Developments, also offered office space to the Liberal Party and would have offered space to any other political party if asked. Hamer said his personal political views are not necessarily those of Polar Panda Developments.
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As voters, we should be asking where candidates stand on landclaims, resource development, the environment and the Northern health system.
Once the platforms are public, we want to know how candidates will negotiate the halls of power. Blondin-Andrew will be standing on her record while Bevington, McLaughlin and Turner must stand on the strength of their vision and individual strategies.
One of the stickiest questions will be: Which comes first -- Northerners or the party line.
Blondin-Andrew will be most vulnerable in view of her stand on gun control where she stuck with Liberal government policy against the wishes of her constituents.
Had she broken ranks, chances were she would have lost her junior cabinet post and with it the influence that could help raise the profile of the NWT. Whether she wielded that influence to the greater good is up to the other candidates to question and the voters to decide.
Probably the most important issue for Northerners is funding for the territorial government. Do the candidates understand Ottawa is squeezing the territory for the sake of some dubious fiscal goal? Do they understand how serious it is? What can we do about it?
No one MP can control what the federal cabinet does. Taking into account our small population and large needs, voters must decide how well we have been served in the past compared to how much better we can reasonably expect to be treated in the future. No easy task.
NWT child protection workers are overworked and reaching their breaking point.
That's the message from the Union of Northern Workers, which represents child protection workers, and a report released by Child Welfare League of Canada.
According to the report, 22 additional workers are needed in the NWT to manage the now unmanageable case load.
The only solution offered by Health Minister Jane Groenewegen has been to hire three additional workers.
A permanent solution hinges on funding approval that won't be decided until next February's territorial budget.
Groenewegen says her department did not respond earlier because there had not been a "concerted effort" by the Yellowknife Health and Social Services board and child protection workers to communicate with her department.
But all of the information Groenewegen needed was in the Child Welfare League's report that was tabled in the legislature last June.
The report identified Yellowknife and the Deh Cho region as trouble spots needing immediate solutions.
Child protection workers in the capital carry case loads three times the national average, and in the Deh Cho region it's twice the national average.
While the workers and children await budget approval, the minister announced last week that the department had reallocated $500,000 to fund the Women and Children's Healing and Recovery Program.
If the department solved situations before they became problems maybe it wouldn't have to worry about funding healing programs or about the 334 NWT children who needed shelter from an abusive parent last year.
Maggie Amarualik's opinion on the attitude of some abuse victims will not win her any popularity contests in some corners.
And while the impact of any form of abuse on an individual cannot be downplayed, Amarualik does raises valid points.
Everyone heals in their own way, in their own time, with no set formula. Some people struggle to come to grips with the past, while others never fully work it out.
Amarualik doesn't have any problem with abuse victims struggling to cope with what happened to them. She has a problem with are those who aren't trying, and using the abuse they suffered as a shield against criticism, accountability and, in some cases, opportunity.
Some victims fall into the trap of using what happened to them as an excuse for any shortcomings they may have.
It becomes far easier for them to simply use their abuse as an excuse and save themselves the effort of addressing the real problem.
Let's be honest for a moment.
How many of us are angered when we watch or read about a crime where the perpetrator claimed his or her actions were a direct result of their own abuse?
How many of us have known people who simply stop trying, opting instead to continually play the system and use their abuse as an excuse for parenting problems, a reason for not seeking employment or justifying a criminal act?
Conversely, how many of us have met people we truly admire and respect for facing their demons?
People who suffered similar tragedy and managed to heal and become a productive member of their community.
There are many.
We often hear of breaking the cycle as one of the keys to curbing family violence, alcoholism and drug addiction.
Those who choose to constantly blame others for their own actions do nothing to help break these cycles of violence and addiction.
In fact, their chosen behaviour often helps perpetuate these cycles.
One should always strive to avoid stereotyping of any kind.
We all know Amarualik's remarks do not describe the behaviour of all abuse victims. Nor were they intended to.
Her contentions are against those who have suffered abuse and have not learned from the wrongs committed against them.
Although we greatly appreciate the trauma of abuse and how difficult it is to overcome its emotional and psychological effects -- those determined not to move forward will be left behind.