Friday, April 27, 2001
Privacy online. Can it really be guaranteed? It's a difficult promise to make since the Internet is the communication gateway to the world.
Accessing personal information is fast, easy, and untraceable if you know what you're doing.
The personal property registry in Yellowknife is about to join the high-tech world.
With a couple of hundred dollars in software and a claim of interest in something someone is selling, such as a car, boat, ATV or stereo, you can find out how much is owed, who owes it and who they owe it too.
Is that too easy? Perhaps, to those who prefer their finances remain private.
Obviously, the registry needs to carefully monitor the amount of personal information online.
People should be able to access the financial history of what they want to buy, not the person who is selling.
If anyone needed another reminder that tuberculosis remains a problem in the Northwest Territories, the recent case at BHP's Misery camp is it.
A contract worker from Lutselk'e developed symptoms of the disease while at the camp.
As a result, 100 people will have to be tested for the disease. They're left to worry and wonder if they have contracted TB and whether their families and friends should be concerned and seek testing as well.
And everyone else must wonder what the extent of the disease in the North is today.
Tuberculosis killed Dene at the rate of 761.4 per 100,000 in the NWT between 1937 and 1941. It was brought under control and 25 years ago testing was suspended in the belief the disease was eradicated.
But it never went away. In 1999, there were 24 cases in the NWT. Last year there were 10. One woman died and as a result the government commissioned a report on TB control and the chief coroner plans to hold an inquest.
So where do we go from here? The government has a plan to bring TB rates on par with the rest of Canada within five years.
It's a tall order, and only in five years will we know for sure whether it's a goal that can be achieved.
It will take diligence on government's part: ensuring promises of a new TB consultant, upgraded clinical standards and increased surveillance will pay off in better control and wider awareness.
Even if this new attention to an old problem does result in fewer cases, the very nature of tuberculosis means that we should never again relax our guard.
This week throughout the country thousands of volunteers are being rewarded for their hard work. As National Volunteer Week wraps up we couldn't think of a better candidate for the Respected Elder of the Year than Esther Braden.
A true Northerner, Braden has brightened our community for decades with her many deeds as a volunteer.
An avid contributor since arriving in Yellowknife in 1964, she helped create the Yellowknife YWCA and continues today tending to seniors' interests on both the local and national levels.
Braden joins 12 other Yellowknife volunteers who, too, are being honoured for their efforts by the department of Municipal and Community Affairs this week.
We congratulate Esther, and all of you for a job well done.
Editorial Comment
Maria Canton
Inuvik Drum
I've already had several bouts of spring fever this year.
The first came in January when my plane touched down in Yellowknife after a year-and-a-half of reporting in Iqaluit.
Those long Eastern Arctic winters can be killers, and last summer reporting from Rankin Inlet didn't exactly lend itself to suntans and sandals.
But the fever quickly subsided when I re-discovered Yellowknife in January and February means deep freeze.
And then March came roaring into town with gusty winds and sunshine warm enough to melt snow and ice.
Chasing winter all the way, April has brought me Inuvik.
Day one had temperatures of -20 C, but the extended daylight made up the difference. The brilliant sun keeps my fever just below breaking point, always making me think the big melt is here, but just asking me to wait another day, week, month.
I'm told the melt comes fast -- here today, gone tomorrow. Speaking of which, I'll be your newswoman for the next month (just as spring arrives in earnest) while Malcolm is on holidays.
I invite all readers to drop by the office for a coffee, to pick up a paper or share a story idea. And if there's no time for that, give me a call when something is going on, I'll be happy to attend.
Paying homage
A special ceremony will take place soon.
Family members will gather to mark the grave belonging to Mary Snowshoe, a Fort McPherson resident who died in 1967 and was buried in Inuvik.
The family is unaware of which plot belongs to Snowshoe, but that's about to change thanks to the efforts of Bella Kay.
Kay decided a few years ago to pay homage to her great-grandmother, and plans to do so on Mother's Day with help from a town employee, who will guide her to Snowshoe's grave.
Kay is doing this because she believes Snowshoe's descendants, especially the young ones, need to know where they came from.
The efforts of Kay and other family members illustrate how family ties can transcend the years.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson
How many students per teacher is too many?
The Department of Education was aiming for an average of 17.5 students for each teacher in the NWT this year.
There are plenty of conflicting pupil/teacher ratio numbers for Bompas Elementary school. The most recent numbers obtained from the school are 8.5 teachers and 160 students. That works out to an average of 18.8 students for every teacher. On the face of it, that doesn't seem too bad.
However, looking at individual classroom numbers reveals something more to consider, even if the Department of Education does not base its pupil/teacher ratio on students in any given classroom.
There was, for a while, a problem at the Kindergarten level with 27 students. After complaints by parents, the class was divided into 11 students in the morning and 14 students in the afternoon. Here are the numbers for the rest of the classrooms at Bompas:
Grade 6: 23 students, Grade 5: 20 students, Grade 3/4: 22 students, Grade 3: 21 students, Grade 2: 26 students, Grade 1: 25 students.
It should be understood that there are times when the classes are divided for various subjects, making the numbers more manageable. There are also times when special needs assistants are available in the classroom to provide valuable support. Yet there are still periods when individual teachers at Bompas school are left to deal with up to 26 students at a time. That's a handful.
Of course, some would quickly point out that it's not uncommon to find classrooms of 30 or more students in the south. Although that may be true, it doesn't make it right.
According to the letter Dehcho Education Council (DEC) chair Allan Landry wrote to the Fort Simpson DEA, the Department of Education has found a few ways to cut back on funding. These practices are typical when one level of government off-loads programs or services to another level of government or a designated board. The funding usually falls short of what is needed, leaving those in charge to make difficult decisions.
The DEC has chosen to dip into its surplus to bolster resources -- making classroom support a top priority -- especially in Fort Simpson. The problem is that, at the rate the surplus is being swallowed up, it will only last another four years. Unless something is done, the real education crisis will begin when that surplus is exhausted.
Nolan Swartzentruber, director of the Dehcho Divisional Board of Education, defended the Department's practices, arguing that it allocates funds across the entire NWT in the "most equitable way possible." Any Department surplus at the end of the year is given to the boards, he noted.
What the Department requires, Swartzentruber suggested, is the political will of the government to designate more money towards education. For that to happen, NWT residents, including those in the Deh Cho, will have to make it crystal clear to MLAs that education deserves a bigger piece of the pie.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Female hockey coach Jill Suzanne Sparks deserves full marks for her ability to look beyond medals when judging the progression of female hockey in Nunavut.
We here in the Kivalliq region have always boasted some of the best female hockey talent in the North, and it is good to know someone as well grounded as Sparks is involved with the program, both at the grassroots development and elite levels.
Sparks knows there is far more to accurately judging a program's development than the number of awards its teams or athletes rack up.
Competitiveness, enthusiasm, skill development and appreciation for the game are all aspects of an athletic program's development every bit as important as winning awards, if not more so.
Culture awareness
April was a big month for Inuit culture and tradition with the annual Nunavut Drum Dance Festival in Rankin Inlet and an audience with Pope John Paul II for five Kivalliq youth.
As exciting as having our Kivalliq youth perform in front of 50,000 at Saint Peter's Square in Rome is, the event which awaits next year right here in Canada promises to be every bit as big a triumph for Inuit culture on the international stage.
The more Inuit culture and tradition is exposed to the global community, the more quickly interest grows in experiencing that culture first hand.
That interest in experiencing a specific culture and its traditions quickly translates into sales in the areas of artwork and fashions.
History has shown in other regions such attention also holds the promise of attracting tourists, eager to learn about their new interest and the history behind it.
At the same time, events like the Nunavut Drum Dance Festival are equally important for keeping our traditions alive and strong within our own borders, and helping to develop the next generation of performers who will present that tradition to the world.
While funding for the trip to Rome was courtesy of the 2002 World Youth Day organizing committee, such ventures help lay an important foundation for our own government's ventures in promoting all things Nunavut to the rest of the world.
A foundation, hopefully, the future success of our region and territory can be built upon.