Friday, December 06, 2000
Yellowknife city council has sent a strong message to administration that it's time for a new way to budget.
It's about time.
When the city looked to cut spending last year, it sought some savings through library service reductions.
It was a cut that was not just doomed from the outset, but was designed, we believe, to prove to taxpaying Yellowknifers that spending reductions can only mean service cuts.
Last Monday, council sent the 2001 budget back to administration to find $100,000 to bolster the contingency fund and restore special grants funding.
It's an important first step by council to reclaim control over city spending.
They have realized that the budget, as presented, is not written in stone. Until now, that has not been the case. In the past, council has seemed loath to question the numbers presented by administration; and if they did, changes were seen as too difficult. Coun. Dave McCann was correct to call the process flawed.
The issue has generated a hearty debate at council.
Councillors O'Reilly and McDonald have raised valid points about the impact of cuts. People must be prepared to accept the reality of reducing city spending: some services may have to be cut back to levels taxpayers can afford.
Wendy Bisaro and Blake Lyons say council has to make tough political decisions to ensure belts are tightened.
Administration has to prove to council Monday night that it looked at every line and into every account to trim the fat before reducing services. Raising taxes must be the avenue of last resort.
Mayor and council must live up to its early promise and continue to set the direction; even sending the budget back for further changes if need be.
We commend the RCMP for their crackdown on retailers purposely selling cleaning products to addicts, but why are the police asked to perform such a time-consuming chore?
Police already spend Sundays gathering drunks who have supplemented their usual tipple of cheap wine with window cleaner, hairspray, mouthwash and aftershave. We see these people everyday and we know the problem isn't going to go away anytime soon. Just try walking down an alley without tripping over their empties.
If some retaillers are purposely topping up their inventories to sell these products to addicts they should be ashamed. But should the RCMP be asked to provide the solution?
Perhaps, instead, Health Canada should require that alcohol be removed from these products. If Scope can do it, surely others can get with the times and clean up their acts.
We cannot afford to lose people like Freda Hope.
We can, however, afford to erect signs warning against snowmobiling in areas well known for unsafe ice conditions.
The coroner has recommended the signs and the Yellowknife Fire Department supports his suggestion.
Signs would, at the very least, give some snowmobilers a chance to make an informed decision about what direction to take.
But no matter what solutions are offered to prevent future tragedies, Northern sled riders will continue to blaze trails all over the NWT -- it's what we love to do.
We cannot expect ice conditions of every NWT water body to be monitored -- there are too many. But signs are a good place to start: they're effective, low maintenance and cheap.
And a sign may have meant the difference between living and dying for Freda Hope.
It may be lonely at the top, but many Gwich'in leaders got some encouragement last week from their own people.
Gwich'in from Aklavik, Tsiigehtchic, Inuvik and Fort McPherson gathered at the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex in Inuvik to partake in a feast and dance, and to honour their leaders.
Many spoke on the important role leaders play, whether it be providing food and support to their neighbours, or representing their communities abroad.
Comments were made on the amount of time chiefs need to spend away from their families and homes.
Barry Greenland, sub-chief for the Inuvik Native Band, helped organize the event and encouraged those present to keep backing up their leaders.
He also said he felt it was important for Gwich'in to have such meetings, and that similar feasts might be held in the future.
It is to be hoped those attending the gathering came away with a better understanding of what their leaders do for them, and the importance of having capable people willing to aid their community.
Acting up
The acting bug has hit Inuvik. Erin Balaban has begun conducting a Drama Club at Sir Alexander Mackenzie school.
Youngsters get to play games and engage in activities to introduce them to the basics of drama.
And over at Samuel Hearne Secondary school, Grade 9 students are practising their lines for their play, Too Wrapped Up for Christmas.
Drama can add a great deal to children's education. Having to memorize lines of text does wonders to improve concentration. Especially when those lines must one day be delivered in front of a live audience.
As well, being involved in putting on a play -- with all the unexpected miscues and pitfalls that can involve -- really hammers home the point that the show must go on.
That's a lesson that can be carried off stage as well.
Acting out plays truly unlocks the imagination, taking actors and audience members to different lands and times, depending solely on the playwright's whim. It's an effect television can not duplicate.
Seeing plays performed, or taking part in them either on stage or behind the scenes, makes them stick longer in people's minds. Perhaps years later, they'll read that same play and in their minds replay the scene they witnessed all those years ago.
Another neat thing about drama is that its power can still be felt even if the audience is small and the stage has few props. Therefore, a performance at the local school can be just as magical, if not more so, than a production at a full fledged, 5,000 seat theatre.
After all, surely even William Shakespeare had to start small.
For a small village, Fort Simpson frequently has a busy airspace.
There are three local charter companies with eight planes among them. There are private planes in addition to the scheduled commercial traffic, like First Air and Air Tindi. A couple of helicopter outfits also operate in the area.
The conversion to CARS, like the downgrade from a hospital to a health centre, has been met with resistance. Nobody wants to settle for a lesser service. However, we don't yet know if the shoe is going to fit.
Pilot Jacques Harvey put it best when he said, "Until we try it we don't know how well it's going to work."
A little apprehension can be expected in the early stages. Uneasiness accompanies practically all forms of change. Local pilots suggest they will be especially cautious as they get a feel for the new system.
This isn't to slight the new observer/communicators, who will surely provide the best level of service they possibly can. But, obviously, we cannot stand for a compromise in safety.
Harvey said the pilots won't allow it: "You'll hear us complain really quick if we feel safety is jeopardized."
Pilot Chris Pinckard feels the true test will come during break-up in spring -- break-up and freeze-up are particularly hectic periods as flying is the only way in and out of the community. If that test is passed we can afford to breath easy, at least until a economic boom hits the area. If and when pipeline construction begins and traffic starts to climb steadily, it will be time to take another close look at the local situation.
NAV Canada official Brian Stockall is on the record as saying that Fort Simpson can return to flight services when the numbers necessitate it. We will have to hold NAV Canada to that.
Fort Providence's loss is only a partial one in the case of Jeff Philipp and family. They still considers the hamlet their home. Although their business has outgrown the community, the Snowshoe Inn division remains. The Philipp family story is an amazing one in itself -- truly a Northern success story.
Sig and Memoree Philipp had worked hard to get things off the ground. Sig was a power plant technician and Mem was a school teacher. They opened the restaurant in the late 1950s. Then came a construction business followed by the hotel. Things have gradually expanded to include bulk fuel delivery, ferry operations as well as an electrical and mechanical division. Jeff has carved his own niche.
He went to school in Fort Providence until Grade 7 and then transferred to a boarding school on Vancouver Island. It was in Grade 8 that he got hooked on computers. He returned to Providence and worked his way up through the family business. He also got his pilot's licence. His urge to get back into computers prompted him to start SSI Micro in 1992.
Sig and Mem are now retired in B.C., so Jeff, a few other family members and a close family friend are running the businesses. Over the past four decades many residents in Fort Providence have worked for Snowshoe Inn to the benefit of all the community.
Success story
For a small village, Fort Simpson frequently has a busy airspace.
There are three local charter companies with eight planes among them. There are private planes in addition to the scheduled commercial traffic, like First Air and Air Tindi. A couple of helicopter outfits also operate in the area.
The conversion to CARS, like the downgrade from a hospital to a health centre, has been met with resistance. Nobody wants to settle for a lesser service. However, we don't yet know if the shoe is going to fit.
Pilot Jacques Harvey put it best when he said, "Until we try it we don't know how well it's going to work."
A little apprehension can be expected in the early stages. Uneasiness accompanies practically all forms of change. Local pilots suggest they will be especially cautious as they get a feel for the new system.
This isn't to slight the new observer/communicators, who will surely provide the best level of service they possibly can. But, obviously, we cannot stand for a compromise in safety.
Harvey said the pilots won't allow it: "You'll hear us complain really quick if we feel safety is jeopardized."
Pilot Chris Pinckard feels the true test will come during break-up in spring -- break-up and freeze-up are particularly hectic periods as flying is the only way in and out of the community. If that test is passed we can afford to breath easy, at least until a economic boom hits the area. If and when pipeline construction begins and traffic starts to climb steadily, it will be time to take another close look at the local situation.
NAV Canada official Brian Stockall is on the record as saying that Fort Simpson can return to flight services when the numbers necessitate it. We will have to hold NAV Canada to that.
Fort Providence's loss is only a partial one in the case of Jeff Philipp and family. They still considers the hamlet their home. Although their business has outgrown the community, the Snowshoe Inn division remains. The Philipp family story is an amazing one in itself -- truly a Northern success story.
Sig and Memoree Philipp had worked hard to get things off the ground. Sig was a power plant technician and Mem was a school teacher. They opened the restaurant in the late 1950s. Then came a construction business followed by the hotel. Things have gradually expanded to include bulk fuel delivery, ferry operations as well as an electrical and mechanical division. Jeff has carved his own niche.
He went to school in Fort Providence until Grade 7 and then transferred to a boarding school on Vancouver Island. It was in Grade 8 that he got hooked on computers. He returned to Providence and worked his way up through the family business. He also got his pilot's licence. His urge to get back into computers prompted him to start SSI Micro in 1992.
Sig and Mem are now retired in B.C., so Jeff, a few other family members and a close family friend are running the businesses. Over the past four decades many residents in Fort Providence have worked for Snowshoe Inn to the benefit of all the community.
Giving the stamp of approval to the formation of a Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit in Rankin Inlet should be high on the new council's list of things to do following the Dec. 11 election.
The program is a win-win situation for the hamlet and the entire region.
First, the creation of an auxiliary unit means our marine search-and-rescue (SAR) members will be better trained.
Second, the insurance available to an auxiliary unit is a definite bonus.
Search and rescue operations can be dangerous and sometimes, as tragic and unfortunate as it may be, things go wrong.
The insurance would be a comfort to SAR members who take out their own vessels in precarious conditions in an effort to save lives.
And while no one ever wishes to be in that situation, it would be comforting to all marine SAR members to know there is some sort of assurance in place to look after their families should tragedy strike.
With hopes of having 15 units across Nunavut during the next few years, including at least two more Kivalliq communities, Rankin Inlet has the chance to get in at an early stage and set a precedent.
Walking the walk
You have to hand it to Nunavut member of Parliament Nancy Karetak-Lindell -- she's a quick learner.
Our Kivalliq MP said all the right things during her election run and exhibited a keen willingness to listen.
This, despite knowing the odds of her being defeated in the recent federal election were higher than those of the Montreal Canadiens winning the Stanley Cup this year.
Karetak-Lindell is always quick to point out she represents all Nunavummiut -- and rightly so.
However, our MP also remembers where she comes from and, when pressed, shows a keen understanding of the issues that need addressing for our region to grow and prosper.
Karetak-Lindell is going back to Ottawa with the solid support of the people of Nunavut behind her and a promise to lobby on behalf of the Kivalliq Region.
Only time will tell if our faith in her is justified, but in this corner we're betting it is.