Friday, March 09, 2001
One piece at a time, the government is building a wall to protect the people from unscrupulous acts by those elected and hired to serve us.
There are rules that govern elected officials. Last week MLA and Finance Minister Joe Handley, chair of the Financial Management Board, introduced a code of conduct for government employees.
Now, we just need a conflict code for deputy ministers and "whistleblower" legislation that protects workers from recrimination when they report wrongdoing.
That we need a code at all is unfortunate, but after what has already happened in the NWT, we've learned our lesson.
It's just too bad the government can't do it all at once, rather than piecemeal. The longer there are no rules, the longer we're open to the possibility of abuse.
Numbers don't lie. So if we are to believe Stanton will open its surgical ward next month, we need to know its bottom line.
In 1999, Stanton rang up a deficit which is now in the neighbourhood of $1.6 million. In the fall of 2000, administration announced the merger of the surgery and pediatric wards to shave $350,000 off the annual budget of $48 million.
The announcement shocked the community and hospital staff. Surgeons and nurses were outraged at receiving no warning and insisted closing surgery would "profoundly affect" patient care. Stanton administration shelved the merger.
By January there was still no set date to re-open surgery and surgeon Chris Blewett warned that patients were not receiving appropriate care. CEO Dennis Cleaver denied Blewett's charges but declined to debate through the media. Yet this week, Yellowknifers met with at least one MLA because of patient-care problems resulting from the ward closure.
Now it's March. After nine months, surgery is still closed, we're told, because they are having problems hiring enough staff.
Unfortunately, Cleaver's crusade to reduce the deficit has created a medical mess. Bad decisions under the pressure of 'fiscal restraint', have upset patients, staff and NWT communities.
But we can't put the blame solely on the shoulders of administration. Maybe they just don't have the money to provide adequate health care.
If that is the case, we have no guarantee this won't happen again in a few months. The territorial government has to provide administration funding to do a proper job.
Only then will the public believe that Stanton can provide adequate patient care.
It's good to see NorthwesTel has had a change of corporate heart on its use of Northern art for the cover of the phone directory.
Last year when NorthwesTel opted out of using a Northern artist to illustrate its phone book, they took away one of the most important tools of an artist's trade -- an opportunity to showcase their work throughout the territory.
NorthwesTel admits it was a bad move and was bombarded with calls and e-mails complaining of the lack of artwork.
This year's choice of putting an Anne Timmin's original, Aurora Night, on the cover will not only bring recognition to her work, but proves that our phone company is commited to re-investing its profits in Northern art.
Keep it up.
Editorial Comment
Malcolm Gorrill
Inuvik Drum
The Northern Youth Games have come and gone, but the memories generated by participants and spectators will last for quite a while.
Dozens of young people from the Delta and Sahtu converged upon Inuvik to take part in Arctic and Dene games.
No doubt for some athletes the games served as an introduction to some events, while for others the weekend was good practice for the upcoming Arctic Winter Games.
The competition was fun to watch, with athletes cheering each other on and showing good sportsmanship in other ways.
The Paulatuk Drummers and Dancers, and the Fort Good Hope Drummers, were among those who provided entertainment.
The event started off March 1 with an orientation session. Those taking part got a valuable lesson on how tobacco can hurt one's health. Alfred Moses, community health representative for Inuvik Public Health, gave a talk on the dangers of smoking.
Perhaps that evening made a few athletes realize how much more difficult tobacco can make it for them to excel, let alone the very real dangers associated with smoking.
Congratulations to all the participants, organizers, and volunteers.
Fair message
Many folks filed into the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex recently to take in the Health and Wellness Fair.
Nearly 20 exhibits displayed items on health issues and ways to promote a healthier lifestyle. The fair was the first of its kind for Inuvik, but similar fairs are to be held in the region.
Events like this can serve a valuable purpose by informing or reminding people of some prevalent health issues in the community.
Step in the right direction
Life is full of choices, some good, some bad; some hard, some easy.
Town council, and a committee studying the Department of Education, Culture and Employment's capital spending plans for Inuvik, have made a decision after, no doubt, a lot of discussion.
They are telling the department that they would like the new Aurora College campus built right away, and postpone the scheduled renovation to Sir Alexander Mackenzie school. Council and committee members must now await a response.
Building the college first is the right choice. Both projects are important, but the new campus has been promised for some time, and the college serves the entire region.
The kind of training offered at the college is especially important for this area now, with the opportunities relating to oil and gas development.
Putting the college first could also benefit SAMS, in that in a few years enrolment may rise and make it more likely the territorial government will fund renovations for the whole school, instead of just part of it as is now the case.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson
The housing package deal that the Jean Marie River First Nation and Fort Liard's Acho Dene Koe band are working toward is a smart move.
Both First Nations stand to benefit, as Jean Marie River requires the jobs and revenue, while Fort Liard needs the housing.
Acho Dene Koe chief Judy Kotchea said she and her council have a goal of creating a training program for carpentry in Fort Liard. That way construction and maintenance of homes could be done within the community.
"There has to come a time where we have to start helping ourselves and stop waiting for somebody else to do things for us," Kotchea said. "It's our responsibility as a band to help our band members, and this is just one way of doing it."
Jean Marie chief Stanley Sanguez is planning something similar. In addition to training mill employees to produce the housing packages, he is planning a summer program for students, which would enable them to build six lodges in the community.
Those lodges would not only be useful for tourists, but would allow Jean Marie River to host smaller conferences and meetings.
Sanguez is also hopeful a joint venture can also be formed with an American company interested in producing furniture from aspen.
It's possibly a step towards greater autonomy for the band.
Sports galore
It's a busy time of year for sports and recreation across the NWT. Territorial championships have been held in a number of communities, including Fort Simpson, which hosted the senior men's recreational hockey championships during the last weekend in February and the Peewee hockey championships this past weekend.
Yellowknife entries proved dominant in both tournaments. It makes some people question how it might be possible to reach a competitive balance in the NWT -- a conundrum that's been around for many years and has been addressed in many ways. There has been no solution to date, and there's still no simple answers.
One highlight of the Peewee tournament was the skills competition. The spectators reacted enthusiastically to the event, and the players enjoyed the challenge. It's an idea that will hopefully catch on at all tournaments.
A final note on the Peewee tournament, isn't it unusual that all the visiting teams had the nickname "Huskies?" The Yellowknife Huskies. The Hay River Huskies. The Fort Smith (PWK) Huskies. When I was asking about the nicknames, some Fort Smith players realized the coincidence and then began discussing alternatives until settling on "Predators."
What's in a name?
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
It is good to see Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) decide to try and negotiate an end to the Noah Kadlak situation in Coral Harbour before taking the matter back before the courts.
However this seemingly never-ending saga on the traditional polar bear hunt finally plays out -- one thing we don't need to see is another large sum of beneficiaries' money going into the all ready deep pockets of lawyers willing to fight the good fight for such a nobel and justifiable cause.
One thing that does worry us here at Kivalliq News, however, is NTI president Paul Quassa's assertion that every Inuit has the right to conduct the same type of hunt that Kadlak proposes.
Should Kadlak ever succeed in his quest, it doesn't take a huge leap of the imagination to envision a number of testosterone driven young hunters, desperately lacking in experience, heading out onto the land for their first traditional kill.
And, although we applaud NTI's decision to take the path of negotiation over that of the courts, we are concerned over Quassa's apparent stance that NTI's interpretation of the Land Claims Agreement completely outweighs the wishes of the majority of Nunavummiut.
Should the vocal majority not want NTI to return to court to battle the Department of Sustainable Development, yet again, over Kadlak's proposal, Quassa should listen.
Who decides how much money should be spent by the Nunavut Government and NTI fighting over one proposal, to kill one bear?
This money has to come for somewhere and where it would eventually come from is the pockets of all Nunavummiut.
With so many needing so much in our fledgling territory, it is hard to justify the costs of another court battle over a single hunting proposal.
There seems to be little doubt Quassa firmly believes in the stance he has taken.
And, as such, he should use every ploy in his considerable political arsenal to have Minister Akesuk see things his way during the upcoming negotiations.
However, at the end of the day, should the minister still give thumbs down to the proposal, it would be in the best interests of all Nunavummiut for Quassa to accept his decision, once and for all.
Should this matter end up back in court, we won't have all that long to wait until the next NTI election to find out how Quassa fared in judging popular opinion.