Monday, December 11, 2000
The fact that Metis Nation president George Morin has thrown in the towel because the organization is falling apart at the seams begs some attention.
Morin, who has been on leave since Oct. 16, submitted his letter of resignation to the board of directors Nov. 24. He wrote that he was stepping down because of unfavourable working conditions and a lack of financial compensation.
He also claimed funds had been frozen, and staff and creditors went unpaid while board member were paid their honoraria. Bill Enge, who has taken over the helm agrees that the organization has seen better days.
This resignation would seem to confirm that the problems plaguing the nation are immense. Let's hope that now that the problems have been made public, some solutions can be found under the nation's new leadership.
We'll be following the situation closely.
It is going to be a Merry Christmas thanks to the CRTC's announcement that long-distance competition begins in 2001.
In a few weeks Northerners will no longer have to ring southern friends and tell them to ring back.
And the long-awaited announcement is not only being welcomed by Northerners.
NorthwesTel's president says the company is very happy to offer Northerners comparable services at rates comparable to the south.
Of course, NorthwesTel still wants us to "buy local" so to speak.
But we've been paying too much for too long to talk to loved ones. So unless the company can match the cheapest rate being offered by southern companies, they shouldn't depend on our loyalty.
Let the competition begin.
Christmas has become, in recent decades, crassly commercial and we've all but forgotten about the old way of celebrating the holiday season.
As we buy the bigger and better version of everything, we forget that it is -- or was -- a time to be shared with family and friends. The moment the mini-chocolate bars and vampire teeth of Halloween are off the shelves, Christmas explodes all over stores and shoppers are off to a running start.
To a large extent, we've replaced good, old Christmas cheer by the need to shop ourselves into a frenzy.
It's important that we pay attention to this because as we spend those dollars, we may not be spending the time or the attention on what's happening with our neighbours.
Suicide rates skyrocket during the holidays and many of the people around us struggle with bouts of depression and emotional pain. Helplines are overwhelmed at Christmas as distressed people seek solace.
Imagine the difference we could make in our communities if we took the time to check up on the people who surround our lives. Imagine if we paid everyone around us a little extra attention and put effort into finding out how they really are.
It would take such a small amount of time and would turn Christmas into a season of caring instead of a season for spending.
Gift giving isn't the problem.
But it seems that we need to change the kind of gifts we're giving. What follows are a few suggestions Nunavummiut can add to their lists of gifts to give this year.
- Volunteer at the Nunavut Kamatsiaqtut Help Line, or your local suicide prevention line
- Make a donation to Qimaavik Transition House for Abused Women, or to your local women's shelter
- Give a child in need a gift
- Donate a basket of food to the Oqota Emergency Shelter
- Take a lonely person to your community's traditional games and square dances
- Invite someone who is alone over for Christmas dinner.
Tuktoyaktuk mayor Ernest Pokiak doesn't trust the government's numbers when it comes to the town's school.
He believes it's overcrowded (High school crunch in Tuk, News/North, Nov. 27), even though there are only 233 students in a facility built to house 330.
Reality is, however, that some of those students are high school aged and attend classes in a school originally built for use as a elementary and junior high.
The bathrooms used by high school kids at Magialik school are inadequate and principal Janie Jones calls the hallways and the lone door the students use "pressure points."
Some minor renovations are planned to alleviate part of the problem, but that can't solve the real issue: the fact high school students must share space with young kids.
"The students don't get the high school experience here," says Jones.
That may seem like an unreasonable complaint, but how many of us had to deal with five and six year-olds every day while we worried about physics and algebra? High school is also a place where teens grow up, learn about relationships and to deal with adults.
In past years, NWT high school students attended school in Inuvik, Yellowknife or Fort Smith. While they were away from home, they got to mix and mingle with their peers and do the things high school students do.
Now, they get to stay in their home communities thanks to grade extensions, but don't get the same experience.
The department of education has detailed criteria for whether or not a school's general office is carpeted, what kind of counter-tops are to be installed in staff washrooms, and that limit the amount of space for hallways, student gathering places and lobby to 20 per cent of program areas.
More difficult is how to quantify how to make an elementary school fit high school needs; and give older students a place to call their own.
In days gone by, the knowledge youth needed was more about how to survive on the land and provide for your family.
While those skills remain essential in the North, Nunavut's changing economy demands higher and higher levels of education.
With interest in mining, and now oil and gas exploration, Nunavummiut youth need Grade 12 and more. That's what students learned during Kitikmeot Employment Fair 2000.
They learned about the jobs and training that will be needed to build future prosperity for themselves and Nunavut.
Organizers are to be congratulated for encouraging students to prepare for futures that are far different than their forefathers could ever have imagined.
Pond Inlet's new school bus is truly a treat for the students.
The North Baffin community is a long and hilly town with winters that have 24-hours of darkness and average temperatures of -30, not counting wind.
But the District Education Authority is right about not rushing into anything: safety first they say.
Many of the students have only ever seen a school bus on television and the new driver has never been behind the wheel of anything like it.
The start of busing services has been delayed in order for the police to teach bus safety to each and every student -- in the class and on the bus.
Attention to detail is paramount when dealing with the safety of children.