Monday, May 14, 2001
It's conceivable that in the last 20 years there was one minister of Indian Affairs who did not hold up the Indian Act and propose to review it, revise it, or scrap it altogether.
If there was, we don't remember his/her name.
So no one should be surprised that First Nations leaders have failed to salute Robert Nault's proposal to rewrite the Act that Canadians love to hate.
The last time this came up, the same Liberal government was in power. Indian Affairs was to be dismantled, its administrative powers and budget handed over to First Nations.
That was several years ago. Nothing came of it, and there is no reason to think anything will come of the latest plan, except a lot of hot air from another inept minister of Indian Affairs.
Heated confrontations between union and non-union workers in Iqaluit last week illustrate the need to revisit the essential services agreement between city workers and the city.
The capital city's washboard roads and raven-ravaged garbage piles, the results of a locked-out labour force, have serious health repercussions. Neither side of the bargaining table disputes it. Last week a patient could not be transferred to the airport by ambulance until the road was smoothed over.
Under the existing essential services agreement, penned after much debate late last year, two key areas were classified essential: water-sewer service and emergency services.
Adding road maintenance under the essential services agreement needs consideration. Especially in a town with sub-standard roads at the best of times. Obviously, Nunavut Employees Union members should not lose bargaining power. But sympathy for the union will be severely jeopardized if health and safety are further compromised.
After the latest outburst from Alberta's deep south, Northerners must wonder if there is intelligent life in Calgary's city hall.
First it was Ralph Klein, then mayor, who admonished 'Eastern creeps and bums' not to sully the streets of his affluent city.
Now we have Calgary city councillor Dale Hodges.
He wants to turn the land North of 60 into a gulag for the bikers charged with plotting to blow up his house. Northern politicians responded graciously, suggesting that Hodges spoke without thinking.
We're not extending an invitation, but we don't see how the Hells Angels would be any less desirable than Hodges. Their manners appear to be similar.
Come to think of it, maybe there is room on one of the abandoned DEW Line stations for bikers and Calgary politicians.
In the last several months, we have written and editorialized more than once about the M'Clintock Channel polar bear quota reduction and moratorium.
We questioned the government and wondered why, if the bear population was so small, the government waited so long to do anything about it.
We wondered why more traditional knowledge wasn't included in their study. It seemed absurd that a decision that would so profoundly affect hunters in the area would ignore the first-hand year-round information that was available.
In stories and editorials, we advised hunters and guides from Gjoa Haven, Taloyoak and Cambridge Bay to take the caribou by the antlers and not wait for the government to find answers to the dilemma.
Now, proposals have been submitted that could result in jobs and an independent traditional knowledge study being conducted.
Nunavummiut must be commended for their proactive approach.
We also advised Sustainable Development Minister Olayuk Akesuk at the end of January that we'd be watching as his department formulated a solution to the problem.
Akesuk said he would announce that solution during the Legislative Assembly's session that begins this week in Cambridge Bay.
The time has come to put your money where your mouth is Mr. Akesuk and we are indeed watching.
We want to see an economically viable action plan that will result in sound re-training programs.
We want to see the government commit itself to incorporating traditional knowledge in all of their studies from now on, from the ground up. Inuit knowledge should not be treated as an afterthought.
And lastly and most importantly, we want to see a solution that works for the people it is designed to help.
Olayuk, you studied the issue for months. We want to see appropriate resolutions that make sense to Inuit.
Across Canada, federal agencies must provide services in both official national languages: French and English.
That includes a Coast Guard marine safety radio service. That will change in Nunavut on July 1, when people who speak Inuktitut will do the same thing for boaters around Iqaluit.
The Coast Guard would like to expand the service throughout Nunavut, but is looking to communities for funding to help make that happen.
Expanding the service around the territory is the right step, asking Nunavummiut to pay for it is not.
The service is essential and must be provided in Inuktitut in a territory where a great number of the residents don't speak English or French.
What's good for the rest of Canada, isn't necessarily good for Nunavut and the Coast Guard should provide the service in our territory's mother tongue.
Elections are expensive -- especially in the North.
There are few roads and most of the communities are only accessible by air.
Recently released election expense figures show just how expensive it can: Liberal Ethel Blondin-Andrew ran up a $50,137.79 travel tab as she cris-crossed the Northwest Territories last October.
Her campaign total of $107,000 was nearly three times the amount spent by Dennis Bevington, the NDP candidate who finished second.
With that in mind, it's easy to see how the candidate with the most bucks can make the biggest bang.
While Blondin-Andrew, a three-term incumbent, does have a solid following in the NWT, the financial backing she received -- including $26,000 from the Liberal riding association -- gives her a decided edge.
While credit must be given to parties and candidates who can raise the money to finance an effective campaign, it's a fact in the North that candidates can only to as many people as their bankroll allows.
For some, like the Nunavut Alliance candidate from Whale Cove, the distance proved too much to overcome: she missed a deadline to file her nomination papers by 34 minutes because of a late plane.
It's time Elections Canada recognized the challenges of campaigns in the North are much different from the south, where there are roads and more people to put their money behind their favourite candidates.
A taxpayer-funded aircraft charter or travel fund that would get candidates into all communities would at least ensure all people got to meet the people who seek to represent them.
Editorial Comment
Maria Canton
Inuvik Drum
Leaving a dinner companion stranded in a restaurant with an extra meal -- and the bill -- doesn't hold well for either party, but the scenario probably isn't too unusual for many a firefighter.
When a triple pager tone sounds, the 24 volunteer firefighters in Inuvik know they have to act, and quickly.
Come to think of it, the dinner hour wouldn't be that bad of a time to get called out to an emergency. If it has to happen, most would likely prefer any time other than 3 a.m. in the dead of winter.
The funny thing is, the volunteers don't complain. They know once they agree (and are accepted) to become part of the team that makes up part of Inuvik's essential services, their time is no longer their own. No one knows when trouble will spark, they just know they must be available in the event that it does.
The local firefighters are an amazing bunch. They all work regular jobs like the rest of us, a lot of them are attached and many more have families. Having a day job and a family is already like having two full-time jobs. Add to that volunteer work that, as I said, decides when you will volunteer, not vice versa, and you have a very busy person.
Even more impressive are the fund-raising efforts that the same bunch of folks invest into the department. Coming up with hundreds of thousands of dollars is no small feat, especially in a town this size. It takes countless hours of hard work pounding the pavement, or in this case, filling the bingo halls.
Any way you slice it, the volunteer fire department does a heck of a lot of work in the community without expecting any recognition for it. Because of them, we can all sleep soundly at night, knowing they are the ones who are willing to get up should duty call.
Good luck to our soccer players
Players from five Inuvik teams will be among some 4,000 youthful soccer players descending on Yellowknife this weekend for the annual Super Soccer tournament. Here's hoping they all do well and we can all be thankful that we're here and not there. Haha.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson
Next week's Deh Cho First Nations leadership meeting in Fort Simpson may be a pivotal point for the Acho Dene Koe of Fort Liard. Chief Judy Kotchea has concerns with the DCFN's interim self-government agreement. She wasn't willing to spell out the basis for her concerns publicly, but said everything should be on the table at next week's meeting.
Remember, it was two years ago when former Fort Liard chief Harry Deneron and his council has passed a band council resolution to pursue a comprehensive land claim. An official with the Department of Indian Affairs seemed cool to the idea then. He said the federal government tries to avoid dealing with individual community claims, preferring to deal with regions instead. However, Deline is a community in the midst of negotiating its own agreement.
One of the primary issues that divided the Acho Dene and the DCFN in 1999, other than philosophical differences regarding oil and gas development, was the Acho Dene Koe's boundary disputes with the Kaska First Nation in the Yukon and with the Fort Nelson First Nation in British Columbia. Deneron accused the DCFN of not helping out. Grand Chief Michael Nadli said the Acho Dene Koe had been avoiding the DCFN, not seeking assistance.
Now Judy Kotchea is chief, but the traditional lands overlap with the Yukon and B.C. still exists for the Acho Dene, and those areas are not included in the interim agreements. Whether that's Kotchea's only concern remains to be seen.
Will this be the final wedge driven between the DCFN and the Acho Dene Koe? Or will the two parties come to an understanding and shoulder on together? Stay tuned.
Cuts, cuts, cuts
The village of Fort Simpson is unquestionably staring in the face of a drastic funding cut. Chopping $1 million from a community of 1,200 can't help but hurt.
The prospects look grim, but mayor Tom Wilson refuses to say uncle at this point. He maintains that the united front between the municipality, the Liidlii Kue First Nation and the Metis Local will prove formidable enough to make the GNWT see the error of its ways.
If Wilson is wrong, residents of Fort Simpson will inevitably wind up paying much more for services, and a variety of user fees will likely be established. That's already a reality in many communities in the south.
We should remember that we're in this boat because of decisions made by past councils and by MACA (in its role as an "adviser"), and because a community with fewer than 200 rate- payers is in over its head as a tax-based municipality. Although development holds a lot of promise for the future, there's little sign of any quick fixes for the next few years.
Let's hope Wilson, LKFN chief Rita Cli and Metis president Albertine Rodh can together somehow find a way to bail us out before we take on too much water.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
You have to give credit where credit is due and the Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA) deserves praise for the evolution of its Reclaiming our Sinew concept.
Spearheaded by Bernadette Dean and Lucy Makkigak, the project enjoyed great success when first launched a little more than a year ago in Rankin Inlet. In fact, the response was so overwhelming, the KIA had to find funding to offer an evening sewing class for those in the community with jobs or family obligations preventing them from attending during the day.
When the project started, both Dean and KIA president Paul Kaludjak told Kivalliq News their vision included seeing the program, or a similar variation, branch out to other Kivalliq communities.
Since that time, KIA staff have worked diligently, seeking funding to make that expansion a reality, and Arviat represents the latest chapter in this successful saga.
The program is a winner on a number of different fronts, not the least of which is its ability to help preserve Inuit custom and tradition. But it is its practical side which really pushes the program into the winner's circle.
Being able to produce wearable, comfortable and weather-beating clothing from start to finish in the Arctic is no small feat.
The sheer numbers of people submitting their names to these programs speaks volumes as to their popularity. And, judging by the results we've seen, the instructors hired by the KIA to deliver the programs have done a marvellous job.
It has come as somewhat of a surprise for many of these instructors to find out just how many of our longtime Kivalliq residents knew absolutely nothing about processing seal or caribou skins.
Should Dean, Makkigak and the rest of the KIA staff manage to obtain funding to continue offering and expanding the program, that will soon change.
The Reclaiming our Sinew project is a wonderful concept, one that took a great deal of time and effort to turn into a reality. Those at the KIA responsible for the hundreds of smiling faces of course participants and their family members should have the acknowledgement from our region on a job well done.
They deserve it.
Qujannamiik KIA. Pijariitsiaqpusi.