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Especially large pay bonuses to some workers and not others.
That appears to be the case at Stanton Regional Hospital in Yellowknife. Some support staff ... physiotherapists, lab and X-ray techs among them ... are apparently upset at recruitment and retention bonuses paid to registered nurses and doctors.
It's an understandable reaction. After all, these so-called support services are important to quality health care. The people who do those jobs are no less valuable than doctors and nurses.
Unfortunately, there's no staffing crisis for those jobs.
The difference is that the laws of supply and demand are driving up the price of doctors and nurses. If we want these medical professionals, and we do, we have to pay.
That means bonuses for signing a contract and annual retention pay to keep them here.
It's not an unusual practice.
In the United States, a federal law allowed agencies to pay up to 25 per cent of a job's annual salary as a recruitment bonus for difficult-to-fill positions.
In British Columbia, the government had such a difficult time getting social workers into its remote northern communities that it offered bonuses of up to $12,000.
That will come as cold comfort to people in health care jobs where the demand isn't as pressing.
To them we say thanks for doing a good job. To others who can improve their skills to qualify for higher paying jobs: go for it.
Catholic school board chairman Larry Purcka was not the only board member opposed to having students tested this June, but the reasons for his decision don't make much sense.
He says our students, who follow the Alberta curriculum every day they attend school, would not be prepared to write Alberta Achievement Tests this June. He says educators need more than five months to prepare. Teachers must be able to use some of the allocated professional development days to learn how to administer the tests.
These test scores serve as benchmark to compare with students' scores nationwide. So board members opposed to starting testing this June have to reconsider, and soon.
Parents and students have a right to know if they are achieving the same academic standard as southern students. June sounds like a perfect time to find out the answer to that question.
CBC North is in for a tough haul finding someone to fill the boots of George Tuccaro.
Tuccaro's last official broadcast for CBC North radio was Thursday afternoon. He'd spent 29 years with the corporation. During his career, he won many faithful fans in the North as he mastered the art of hosting. He also was instrumental in developing CBC North's radio and television coverage of amateur sports.
More importantly, aside from his talent of hosting and emceeing, he's a role model for all Northerners. Close to being let go by the CBC in 1980 because of alcohol troubles, Tuccaro kicked the habit and has helped many Northerners who found themselves in the same boat. One thing's for sure: while we applaud the fact that he can retire at such a young age, we will miss him.
See you on the golf course, George, and 'Don't forget to check the date on your pension.'
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
There are many teams around the world that are, no doubt, happy the government of Nunavut has very little to do with the rules governing international amateur sporting events
Now, we agree with Minister Manitok Thompson in that you just can't accept anybody who submits an application to attend the Arctic Winter Games. But what is Sport Nunavut doing to tell the difference?
We simply can't buy into the argument that getting defeated by a lopsided margin always destroys an athlete's or a team's desire to excel.
In fact, when you look at scores from early Russian and American hockey teams that went up against Canada in the Olympics and other international events, the logic behind that argument is almost laughable.
By Sport Nunavut's logic, there's an awful lot of female hockey teams around the world who may as well just give it up now.
There's a much bigger issue here than Sport Nunavut's fear of being embarrassed at the international level by someone getting a good old fashioned butt-kicking. It's the mental health of our region's youth!
We applaud Thompson's acknowledgement that the two situations in Coral Harbour (Please see special report on page 9) could have been handled better.
In a region with precious little to offer our youth -- and where the battle against teenage suicide still rages on -- we have to have people on the frontlines sensitive to how they handle certain situations.
It can be a terrible blow to the most emotionally stable among us to walk around with joyous expectations concerning an event and then have the rug ripped out from under your feet so late in the game.
It's never easy weeding out the pretenders from the contenders. But frontline staff should have a strong enough understanding of policies, rules and regulations to be able to address any questionable attempts to attend the AWG when the athletes register, not months later.
There are social implications to almost everything that happens in the Kivalliq, not the least of which are sports.
In closing, some of our sports leaders may want to pay extra attention during the next few major international sporting events to some of the athletes and teams who don't leave with medals.
You may notice some other benefits they take away from the competition -- pride in representing whatever locale they call home, a better understanding of what it takes to be successful and a sense of belonging.
The list of benefits they receive goes on and on. Even the ones who get their butts kicked.
Editorial Comment
Malcolm Gorrill
Inuvik Drum
Yet another reminder of the power of words was last weekend's Rabbie Burns Dinner in Inuvik.
Around 90 people, from many different backgrounds, gathered together for just one of many such celebrations held world-wide to honour a man who died more than 200 years ago.
Toasts were made, a meal was enjoyed and people shared a lot of laughs.
It is a remarkable testament not just to the popularity of one writer, but also the ability of words to inspire and otherwise affect people from all walks of life, and in many parts of the world, even centuries after they were first penned.
Family Literacy Week activities are taking place, and are another way to emphasize the need to learn from and be inspired by books.
All of Canada is mourning the loss of one man who knew well the power of words, Peter Gzowski. The former host of CBC Radio's Morningside died Jan. 24, and was a big promoter of literacy.
I was fortunate enough to meet Gzowski once. I interviewed him briefly while he was in Yellowknife about two years ago, holding one of his golf tournaments.
I recall Gzowski spoke quite softly, and that it felt weird to be interviewing someone who has himself conducted so many interviews of his own.
Vote looming
Information packages are being made available this week on the proposed family centre for Inuvik.
Ratepayers are to be asked shortly whether or not the town should borrow up to $5 million to build the centre, which would include an year round pool, among other facilities.
The plebiscite takes place Feb. 18 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Inuvik Centennial Library.
A public meeting takes place on the centre proposal and the plebiscite this coming Monday in council chambers, starting at 7 p.m. It is to be hoped both this meeting and the plebiscite will feature plenty of participation. To proceed or not with this project is one of the most important decisions residents will make this year, and the more people who have their say and cast their vote on this matter, the better.
Good luck to athletes
A number of Arctic Winter Games territorials take place this weekend, including juvenile male and female soccer, and Pee Wee hockey, in Inuvik, plus snowshoeing in Fort McPherson.
The best of luck is wished to all athletes taking part.
Curling up a storm
The Dave McLeod rink out of Aklavik swept to success over the weekend, winning the "A" qualifier in the NWT Curling Association's Men's Playdowns. Now they'll see if they can advance to the national championships.
Curling can provide plenty of exercise and enjoyment. This is true whether it's a low-key game between friends or a truly competitive match.
Congratulations are extended to the McLeod rink, as well as the best of luck as they seek to advance further.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson
Thirty-two dollars a month is not a lot of money. That's all that some tenants in Fort Providence -- those with no income -- were asked to pay for their public housing units.
Some have apparently spent years taking advantage of the roof over their heads without paying a cent. The consequent evictions are most unfortunate and, undoubtedly, very disheartening for the seven Fort Providence Housing Association board members to have to enforce. After all, the board members are also community members and maybe even neighbours to those in question.
Allen Bouvier, manager of the Fort Providence Housing Authority, said that since such drastic action has been taken, other tenants with outstanding rent have begun to make payments.
Housing comes at a cost. In the case of public housing, the costs aren't even covered by those who pay rent. Tenants must make rental payments a priority just like buying groceries. There are so many others waiting to be granted a public housing unit -- and willing to pay rent -- that those who can't meet their commitment must face the consequences.
Incidentally, although there is still a demand for housing in Fort Providence, the trend is not towards building any more social housing units, rather its towards home ownership, according to Bouvier. Plans are in the works to have local businesses involved in constructing multi-dwelling units like "four-plexes" or "six-plexes," he said.
A different view
It's interesting for a Fort Simpson resident to be in Fort Liard and hear the people there talk about how slow things are this winter. Last year was apparently fairly slow by their standards as well. Comparatively speaking, the oil and gas industry and related seismic activity were brisk two and three years ago.
Regardless, walking into the bustling 210-person Beaver base camp just outside Fort Liard is, in itself, unlike anything found in Fort Simpson. The board found on the wall just inside the front entrance to the camp kitchen is speckled with names in erasable marker, indicating who is assigned to what room at camp. A majority of those names belong residents from a variety of Deh Cho communities. The rest are workers from the south.
There are also a number of Deh Cho residents employed at the two drill rigs at Bovie Lake.
If, in the future, each Deh Cho community dives headlong into its own economic development initiatives, how could this region of approximately 3,000 people possibly muster the workforce to take advantage of all the jobs? It couldn't.
The CanTung Mine has taken on a few Deh Cho employees. If and when the Prairie Creek Mine goes into production it will also provide more jobs.
Although jobs are only one part of the economic equation, it's an important part. Therefore it would be in the best interest of local people to carefully pace development over the long term.