Monday, April 02, 2001
Education newsflash: The NWT graduation rate, as reported after division in 2000, was 41 per cent. The national average was 72 per cent.
These are dismal figures but understandable given the cultural and economic hurdles many students must contend with in getting their Grade 12.
Aggravating the problem is the financial squeeze the territorial government finds itself in that translates into inadequate budgets for territorial school boards.
While Yellowknife crunches numbers and tinkers with student/teacher ratios, the quality of education in NWT communities largely depends upon parents, teachers and leaders scrambling to get the best education possible for their children.
The best example of grassroots innovation to date is the compulsory homework policy devised by the Beaufort Delta Divisional Education Council.
Since last January, in all grades, students are to be given daily homework assignments geared toward their grade levels, from 15 minutes a day for kindergarten to Grade 3 students to 90 minutes a day for Grade 10-12 students.
As reported in News North last week, administrators and chairpersons around the territory love the idea and parents should too.
Hay River Principal Ray Young said it all: ?Most skills and traits are established long before students get to high school.?
The message is get children, and just as critical, parents used to daily homework requirements from the moment they enter school.
We don?t expect there will be any dramatic results posted in the Beaufort in the first years of the compulsory homework but judging from the reaction of education experts in the rest of the territory, the inherent common sense of the policy should be enough to encourage other school boards to follow suit.
The Beaufort Delta council?s imaginative leadership is truly inspiring.
The absurdity of Wha Ti's attempt to keep alcohol out of the community finally got to the lone RCMP officer.
Frustrated after seizing $4,200 worth of liquor headed for carnival celebrations in the supposedly dry community, Cpl. Duncan Babchuk let loose on Wha Ti's drinkers.
"There's no such thing as social drinking here. It's drink 'till you're crazy and fight," he told the media.
Albert Nitsiza, Wha Ti First Nations sub-chief, took offence and said the officer should be working with council to control the illegal import of alcohol.
We thought Babchuk was doing that when he impounded the booze.
Wha Ti drinkers are in dire need of an alcohol education program. It might be more effective than the prohibition edict that seems to do nothing more than encourage binge drinking.
Turbot fishers in Nunavut would be wise to pool their resources.
Strength comes in numbers and that could result in the purchase of Nunavut's first locally-owned fishing vessel. Nunavummiut who currently participate in the territory's industry fish through the ice or sell their quotas to southern boats.
Now, given the opportunity in the waters off Qikiqtarjuaq and Clyde River, the idea of owning and operating a fishing boat is more feasible than ever.
Research conducted by Canadian scientists showed the turbot population in Davis Strait to be extremely healthy. Based on that study, the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization said 4,000 metric tonnes of turbot could be fished from the area known as Division OA.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans said Nunavut would have access to Canada's entire 2,000 metric tonnes. Exactly how much each community receives will be allocated after a fishing plan is developed this month.
The increase brings Nunavut's total allowable catch up to 3,500 metric tonnes. That number could increase even more depending on how DFO decides to allocate the remaining 2,000 metric tonnes.
Whatever the final numbers might be, preliminary figures clearly illustrate that it's time to begin building the infrastructure.
A plan has to be drawn up to allow those interested to get the best value for the dollars they will have to invest to develop business interests.
Scant resources stretch a lot further when combined and more of the money stays in the territory when jobs are filled by Nunavummiut.
It could be a sound investment for other NWT communities to follow the lead of the Rae Edzo band.
They are putting the finishing touches on a $5-million airstrip that was built without a cent from the territorial government, which wasn't convinced the project was a sound investment.
Instead of wishing and waiting, the band took matters into their own hands by seeking other financial means. Then they bought the necessary equipment and put their residents to work with on-the-job training.
Besides the economic and social benefits of having an airstrip, the band can bid on other construction projects and they have a trained workforce to handle the load.
It's business class all the way for Rae.
In Kugaaruk/Pelly Bay, they're faced with having to fly heating fuel in for the second straight year.
Last year, it cost the territorial government $168,933.
The fact they have to do it again wasn't a surprise. The 1.3-million litre tank farm is too small for the growing Kitikmeot community of 600 where 16 homes and a duplex have been built since 1996.
A new tank farm is needed and planned. It's not expected for some time. The government's five-year capital budget indicates work on the four-year, $4 million project won't begin until the 2002/03 fiscal year. Completion target is 2005/06.
Until then, fuel flights will likely continue each spring, a Band-aid solution to a serious problem.
But what more can be expected of a territory that's trying to build itself from the ground up?
There are many issues that must be addressed: health care, education, building a viable Northern economy and much more.
It all takes time and money that can only come from the federal government.
With Nunavut only in its third year of life, high expectations that came with division have been tempered by reality.
People understand that building a new territory takes energy and dedication by leaders, communities and individuals.
And as the Nunavut department of Public Works and Services says in its 2001-02 business plan: "While considerable progress has been made, the limitations of a new and developing government present a number of challenges..."
And one of the most important challenges is to ensure Nunavummiut don't become disillusioned by the slow pace of change.
Editorial Comment
Malcolm Gorrill
Inuvik Drum
More than 30 years ago, Father Mouchet had a dream. He envisioned people in this area competing with the best in the country, and even the world.
As a result of his vision, and hard work by himself and many others, the Territorial Experimental Ski Training (TEST) program was born in 1967.
TEST skiers competed nationally and internationally. Just two of the many success stories would be twins Shirley Larsson-Firth and Sharon Firth, who became the first Canadians to compete in four Olympic games.
Though the program ended in 1975, the trails it blazed remain.
Last week the TEST Ski Symposium was held in Inuvik. The event allowed for a reunion of many TEST skiers, along with testimonials about how much those skiers -- along with the community which rallied behind them -- accomplished in such a short period of time.
But the symposium was more than a reunion. It was a chance to examine TEST's legacy, and the current state of skiing within the NWT.
There was much talk of creating a new program like TEST, for skiing and perhaps other sports as well.
The role of sports and recreation in helping create healthy bodies and communities was discussed, as well as the desired role communities and governments should play in promoting sport and leisure.
Though no one final answer was drafted by delegates about what should be done next, one telling remark made during the closing banquet was that it is time to do something.
It was a fitting reminder that though TEST wrapped up in 1975, its trails are still leading the way.
Blooming plans
Before long people will be able to drop by and buy some fruit and vegetables, or plants, at the Inuvik Community Greenhouse.
People will also have the chance to tend to their plots on the main floor, or even if they aren't members, they can still mingle among the plots, admiring nature's handiwork, and chatting with neighbours.
Such prospects can seem to make winter fade away just a little faster.
Many thanks
The many volunteers involved in the 1st Inuvik Scouts group were thanked recently during a banquet at Ingamo Hall.
Leaders, committee members, and others who help out are what allows that group, and others like it, to function.
Incidently, a big thank you is extended on behalf of myself for the certificate of appreciation I took home for Drum coverage the Scouts have received. The plaque was a pleasant surprise (the food was nice, too).
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson
There are those who argue that students in Northern schools receive an inferior education to those in the south.
That debate has raged for quite some time and won't likely abate in the near future.
What can't be argued is that many Northern students get their fair share of incredible travel opportunities. Last week, seven potential graduates from Thomas Simpson School drove to Edmonton and then boarded a plane to Los Angeles -- and that wasn't even their final destination. They spent a few days aboard a cruise liner, living the high life. They also visited charming Catalina Island.
Good for them. They worked their butts off, shovelling piles and piles of snow on some very cold days to get there. There were a number of other fund raisers held as well. They didn't simply stick their hands out looking for donations, unwilling to break a sweat.
As an aside, grad class member Gabe Byatt pointed out that Catalina Island was once a bird and animal sanctuary. A western movie was once shot there, and numerous buffalo were imported for a number of scenes. Afterwards, instead of removing the beasts, they were released, Byatt said.
So you can go to Fort Liard and see bison and you can go to Fort Providence and see bison. You can also hop on a plane, fly to the west coast, take a boat to a tropical island in the Pacific Ocean and still see buffalo... if only there were palm trees in Fort Providence and Fort Liard (well Liard is the "tropics of the NWT." We'll take it).
Days get longer
The earlier sunrise sure is a welcome sight these days, and it's setting later every evening too. We have surpassed 12 hours of natural light, so we can spend most of the day seeing what we're doing without having to flick on the light switch.
This weekend marks the beginning of daylight saving time. That means our clocks go ahead one hour on Saturday night. It's sure nice to have the extra light later in the evening, but it's a shame to lose an hour of our weekend, isn't it?
It won't be long before we're tending to gardens, cutting the grass and swatting mosquitoes. But don't count old man winter out yet. April snowstorms aren't uncommon in the Deh Cho. Keep the shovel handy.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Baker Lake MLA Glenn McLean is only slightly off the mark with his assertion the Nunavut Government doesn't want to recognize traditional economies.
It's really not so much the NG doesn't want to recognize the traditional aspect of the economy, as it is a case of nearsightedness on the government's part.
The problems faced by the tourism industry in attracting visitors to our region due to a lack of funding is another example of the government refusing to spend money now for future gain.
The money spent on arguing the ill-fated Nunavut time zone alone would have supplied Baker with workable quarries for the next two decades.
If there's one thing the Nunavut Government has proven itself good at, it's forming committees to analyze just about every decision it makes.
No matter how routine an issue, a committee needs to be formed to steer the government in the right direction.
And, we're willing to bet members are paid a tidy little honorarium for sitting on these committees, not to mention travel allowances every time they decide to seek the opinion of average Nunavummiut by visiting their communities.
Maybe, instead of so many travelling road shows, it's time for our government to spend more of its resources on promotion, feasibility studies, research and market development and lobbying groups to better promote all Nunavut has to offer.
The world is not going to come to us if we do not reach out and let it know we are here and, to borrow a line from our capital, open for business.
Elder a class act
The entire Kivalliq Region should take pride in Rankin elder Mariano Aupilardjuk's winning of an Aboriginal Achievement award.
Aupilardjuk is, simply put, a class act.
The elder works tirelessly to promote Inuit culture and, with his knowledge, grace and soft-spoken mannerisms, paints an endearing picture of Nunavut for the rest of the country and beyond to admire.
A former editor of Kivalliq News, Jeff Colbourne, wrote an editorial about the affect meeting Aupilardjuk had on his perception of Inuit culture in the April 30, 1997, edition of the Kivalliq News.
In that piece, Colbourne wrote, "I've never seen anyone so passionate and creative about their culture.
"Aupilardjuk is the epitome of Inuit culture. Everyone can learn something from him, just as I did."
Hopefully, the torch of Aupilardjuk's passion, wisdom and creativity will be passed on to many generations.