Monday, June 04, 2001
For all the horror stories about pollution, it's reassuring to note that country foods remain among the healthiest sources of nutrition for all Northerners.
Whether or not that remains the case depends on the success of the Canadian government in winning international support for the so-called Stockholm Convention.
Gaining that support will take continued effort by Northerners. After all, the job of bringing persistent organic pollutants (POPs) to international prominence began at the community level.
The work continues in Nunavut and the NWT through the Northern Contaminants Program and the $5.4 million that goes into research each year.
That's the only way to show how use of DDT, polychlorinated biphenols and other chemicals from distant corners of the planet contaminates the whales, caribou, seal, fish, birds and other animals Inuit, Dene, Metis and non-aboriginal peoples depend upon.
We already know that levels of PCBs are 40 to 60 per cent higher in blood of women in some parts of Nunavut.
We need to know more, particularly for the sake of pregnant and nursing mothers who are at risk from eating contaminated meat. What are the levels of POPs and heavy metals in burbot around Fort Good Hope? Does the level of contamination among landlocked char in Resolute Lake and Char Lake vary over time?
As well, the long-term health impacts remain unknown. We have to be prepared for that.
It will also show the United States, Japan, and Europe that it will take millions of their dollars to support Third World nations', efforts to clean up their act.
We must not let the federal government rest on its current success, but must continue to press for the means to ensure pollution no longer threatens our Northern way of life.
In theory, the NWT Development Corporation makes sense. It puts $50 million of the people's money to work making jobs and a future for the people of the territory.
One just has to look to Kivalliq Meat & Fish Ltd. or Kitikmeot Foods Ltd. to see what has been accomplished in the past.
There have also been failures: Great Slave Forest Products, the Hay River abattoir.
It has become more "workfare" than a venture capital program.
That's why the legislature's accountability and oversight committee's questions about how the development corporation spends its funding are so important.
But more than question, committee members must press for answers and look for ways to retool the agency so that it generates new growth with our money, with sensible businesses that can eventually stand on their own.
That's the only way the economy can develop.
Zacharias Kunuk paved the dream road for Nunavummiut when he won the Golden Camera Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Kunuk worked for a number of years making the three-hour film - entitled Atanarjuat. Funding battles reared their ugly heads, but Kunuk and Isuma Productions persevered.
They had a vision, they kept to it and they were rewarded for their hard work.
The award is a good lesson for the territory's residents. As talented as he is, Kunuk is just an average guy struggling to share his views and ideas with the rest of us.
If we can all remain true to ourselves and to our work, we can also succeed and clearly illustrate that anything is possible.
He was experienced and prepared, but despite all that, Hyoichi Kohno went to his grave during an Arctic trek.
The 43-year-old Japanese adventurer died more than a week ago off the northern tip of Ellesmere Island.
He was two months into a six-year solo journey from the North Pole to his homeland. He felt the need to conquer the Arctic. The Arctic conquered him.
His experience -- Kohno had trekked to the North Pole solo once before -- was no match for the unpredictability of High Arctic ice floes.
That he maintained regular contact with a support team in Resolute Bay and that a cell phone and GPS-like unit relayed his every move shows he understood the danger.
He isn't the first adventurer, though, to die in the High Arctic. He won't be the last.
Let's just hope that when future adventurers feel the need for similar deeds, they're as well prepared.
Parks Canada says it is "not prepared to consider an all-weather road" through Wood Buffalo National Park.
Yet the guardian of Canada's treasured jewels of wilderness has just approved a winter road through the park.
It is difficult to argue against the economic benefits to the residents of the area, but a winter road is a serious violation of the ecological integrity of the park. Wilderness, after all, is by definition undeveloped.
Furthermore, no one doubts that the pressure for a year-round road will evaporate with this compromise decision. The simple truth is, the political distance between no road and a winter road is a much shorter than from a seasonal road to a year-round route.
The simple question is which comes first - parks or people? Either way there will be sacrifices.
Editorial Comment
Malcolm Gorrill
Inuvik Drum
Well, here I am again with another issue, after a long (and well deserved) vacation.
I arrived in town last Friday, and I hadn't even left the airport before I met up with several people I knew and was welcomed back to Inuvik.
That sentiment has continued and I must say it's good to be back.
Before I go any further I have to give a big, big thank you to Maria Canton and Dawn Ostrem, who filled in for me during my absence.
Right off the bat I got to cover a neat story, namely the 30-Hour Famine at Samuel Hearne Secondary school. More than 40 students went without food to raise funds for World Vision.
Their willingness and ability to go without food for so long was impressive, especially for someone like me who hates to miss a single meal, let alone a bunch in a row.
Students I spoke to commented on how fun the event was, what with games and other activities going on. But they also pointed out the event was for a good cause, and some said the famine was a good way for them to understand what it's like for those who have no choice about going to bed hungry.
And speaking of Samuel Hearne students, ironically enough, some of them were recently in my neck of the woods.
While I was vacationing in Prince Edward Island, five SHSS students took part in the Canadian Junior Debating Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
By all accounts they did the NWT proud.
Congrats to these seven, as well as all those behind the scenes who helped make the trip possible.
This might also put a bit more focus on the school's debate club. Not many who get into debating go on to compete at a national level, but it can provide a lot of good experience.
As well, good public speaking skills and boosted confidence will serve students well no matter what they do after school.
Speaking of which, congrats also to the 2001 Samuel Hearne graduating class. Their grad ceremony takes place this Friday.
Graduation is one those key milestones in life. It's a way for young people to announce to the world that they're about to venture into it, on their own, and are ready to make their mark.
Reaching the end of high school also marks acknowledgement of a lot of studying, hard work and much fun.
Good luck to the grads of 2001.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson
The importance of next week's Aboriginal Pipeline Group meeting in Hay River should not be understated. Whether each region will be prepared to ratify the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline agreement giving aboriginal groups one-third ownership is uncertain.
Deh Cho First Nations Grand Chief Michael Nadli and chief negotiator Chris Reid have made it clear that consenting to a pipeline prior to developing a Interim Resource Development Agreement with the federal government, which is expected to take another year, will compromise their position at the self-government negotiations table.
After reprimanding the Deh Cho's Aboriginal Pipeline Working Group delegates for not properly representing the DCFN's position, it would appear hypocritical for Nadli to sign a proposed agreement next week. Yet, as Wilf Blonde suggested, it will be up to all First Nations chiefs to sign the agreement, not just the grand chief. There were those who will defend the APWG delegates. Will they be willing to sign a proposed deal? Could the majority of Deh Cho communities be willing to get on board?
Some have questioned why there's such a rush to sign an agreement. Remember that pipeline negotiations have been taking place in the context of a race against a rival pipeline stretching from Alaska through the Yukon. While a number of industry analysts have claimed both pipelines will eventually be built because of the great demand for natural gas, there still seems to be a competition to be first to reach southern markets.
There's another potential roadblock through the Sahtu as well. The Western Arctic Energy Corporation, based in Norman Wells, has its own proposal for 100 per cent aboriginal ownership of the pipeline. Blonde said that proposal has no merit. We'll find out next week if everyone else agrees with his opinion.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
While we congratulate Rankin Inlet's Dustin MacDonald on making the first cut towards earning a birth on the 2001-02 edition of the Team Pacific hockey club, we couldn't help but notice when it was that the coaches and scouting staff make their final evaluations.
The time frame of September through to November vividly illustrates what's wrong with the current hockey season in the Kivalliq due to the lack of one regional artificial ice surface.
Basically, it puts us out of whack with the rest of the country and severely limits what our developing young players are able to accomplish.
Now, we're not saying the time wouldn't be right anyway for MacDonald to head down south to further his hockey career, artificial ice in the Kivalliq or not.
What we are saying is it's time we started to move towards getting our hockey program in sync with the rest of the country and, at least, laying the foundation for the day when our home-grown talent will be able to develop in their own territory.
With all the informed and educated voices to have spoken up in the past two years about the benefits of artificial ice, it kind of makes you wonder if anyone in the Nunavut government is listening.
That sentiment goes out with our apologies to a certain Iqaluit MLA who we know has been listening. Unfortunately, the message he's been receiving has been somewhat distorted.
Praise deserved
It's a wonderful feeling to see so many of our Kivalliq teachers earning recognition for their classroom efforts.
From the iglu project in Arviat, to Muffin Saturdays in Repulse Bay and every hamlet in between, our Kivalliq teachers are continuing to raise the bar of excellence in their innovative approaches to higher learning.
We also applaud Carmie MacLean's modesty in viewing her Prime Minister's Award as an award to all teachers who strive so diligently every day to open the doors of knowledge within the minds of our youth.
The Northern environment presents an even deeper challenge to these educators in effectively blending contemporary subjects with Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit. A challenge, by most indications of the past two years, which is slowly being met.
Our Kivalliq teachers are to be commended for their efforts. But, hey, why let the prime minister steal all the glory? Take the time to thank a teacher today.