As reported in News/North Monday, there is confusion about the role Yellowknife No. 1 (public) school board trustees play when it comes to the school calendar.
The calendar sets the time classes start each day, how many days kids are in school and time for teacher training. Each year the board votes to accept the calendar and there should be no changes without their approval.
But this year, after the calendar was set, the morning starting time was changed and class length cut at William McDonald middle school. It's not clear whether students will receive the enough class time as set by law.
At Range Lake North elementary, two days were cut from instructional time so teachers could receive in-service training. It appears that mysterious "unscheduled hours" for field trips, plays and "out of school learning" will make up the minimum number of hours required by the territorial government. So, how did this happen?
Superintendent of schools Judith Knapp approved the changes after the school board had already set the calendar. In neither situation did the board get to discuss the implications or vote on whether they should proceed. Parents, left wondering what was going on, turned to trustees who were unable to answer parents' questions.
Let's hope things work out at both schools, but it's a mess that must not happen again.
Seventeen people, including six incumbents, want your vote for the public school board. Before you decide, ask them if they are satisfied with what happened at Range Lake and William McDonald.
And find out how they will regain control over decision making from administrators who are paid to carry out the board's orders.
So the city wants to know what the citizens of Yellowknife think.
One might think that could be delivered best through local voters who aren't shy about giving city councillors an earful.
The city, however, wants to hire a pollster for $25,000 to ask 800 of us what we think. The surveys have a general theme. The 2001 survey focused on quality of life in relation to city services. Taxes and the efficiency of municipal services were the topics last year.
We're not suggesting the surveys aren't valuable. The 2002 survey revealed 66 per cent of respondents wanted a new library.
But we wonder if an annual poll is necessary. That would be $100,000 in tax dollars between 2001 and 2004.
Perhaps a survey every two years would be less expensive and just as valuable.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
To hear some of the rhetoric being tossed around, you would think the Nunavut education system was in a total state of disarray, with precious little working in its favour.
This is simply not the case.
Yes, there is still plenty of work to be done.
We must continue to raise our number of graduates, and we must ensure those graduating are academically deserving of their high school diplomas.
We will save our thoughts on curriculum development and Inuktitut as the primary language of instruction for another day.
All that being said, education in Nunavut is still taking positive steps forward.
When I first arrived in the Kivalliq in the late 1990s, I would ask students near graduation -- as I still do today -- about their future plans.
At that time, the vast majority of answers centred around hamlet jobs such as vehicle driving or reception-type positions, the local Co-op or Northern store and the ever-popular government job.
Of course, the working for the government line was quite generic in nature, and rarely came with any specific vocation in mind, let alone one viewed as upper- or mid-management spots.
Even more rare, were students who planed to attend post-secondary institutions, especially those outside the boundaries of Nunavut.
More grads college bound
Fast-forward to students graduating in the Kivalliq region during the past two years, and attending some form of post-secondary training is a common response.
We now have graduates trying to become pilots, working towards their master's degrees in business and education, training to become nurses, becoming master chefs and, yes, even pro athletes.
Now, let's be crystal clear about two points.
First, this editorial is not intended to downplay the significant contribution those who work in the various hamlet offices and retail outlets make to our communities.
However, it takes a lot more to run a successful, self-sufficient territory than retail and hamlet workers.
Second, despite the numerous challenges that still lie ahead, our education system is no lame-duck operation churning out graduates who major in comic book reading.
The list of Kivalliq graduates moving on to bigger things continues to grow in most communities every year.
Hopefully, the choices made in the ongoing development of our-made-in- Nunavut education plan will be based on practical applications and not the romantic idealism of a time long past.
If so, the next decade will see an ever-increasing number of successful post-secondary graduates come home to help Nunavut grow and prosper.
If not, keep the doors to the water truck open!
Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum
The meeting with self-government negotiators opened a few eyes and answered some questions about this emerging new government here.
While much still needs to be answered in the areas of financing, the political structure and voting rights seem fairly clear.
There will be guaranteed representation from Gwich'in and Inuvialuit which will form half of the council, with four open candidates composing the other half.
Many feel that they should be able to vote for any candidate, but that really waters down the whole purpose of self-government.
The reason for guaranteed representation is self-explanatory; if an aboriginal candidate is campaigning to the masses, that candidate is not necessarily representing the needs of his or her people.
As an exodus of people flow North to take the gas South, aboriginal people here will soon be out-numbered and guaranteed representation by their own population is necessary to protect their interests.
I understand the principles behind that, but the flaw I see in basing any system of government on race, ethnic origin or for that matter religious affiliation is that one day we will all be the same race.
One big happy family
Futurists predict that should humanity survive the next few centuries, we will become a homogenous mix of the world's races.
Looking that far down the road, the lines that divide us are blurred and I don't think people spend enough time looking that far ahead.
Catholics and Protestants, Israelis and Palestinians, Sikhs and Muslims and countless others have spilled oceans of blood over their differences.
If they'd look down that long road ahead I think they might spend more time celebrating their similarities, rather than fighting over their differences.
I understand the inherent right and the reasons for self-government, but I don't like the negative way people are using their differences to build walls between races.
One thing that sticks in my mind from Monday's meeting came from Bob Simpson:
"It's not so much who has the power, but how you share that power."
If this shared power is used to build a better region for all; it will be a great thing. If it's used to build walls of difference, it will be counter-productive and hurt more than help.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
Somehow the tune has changed in regards to a potential Mackenzie Valley pipeline over the past year or two.
Hark back to January, 2000 when aboriginal groups from the NWT gathered in Fort Liard and agreed to work together to benefit from a major natural gas pipeline running from Inuvik south into Alberta. At that time, Deh Cho leaders were willing to back the group but with conditions. Outright support hinged on self-government negotiations, then Grand Chief Michael Nadli explained.
Over the few years, pressure was heaped on the DCFN from around the North and from Calgary (perhaps Ottawa too). The Deh Cho, it seemed, wore the black hat in this scenario. Some remained cautiously optimistic, but others talked of gloom and doom if the DCFN didn't come on board. The whole pipeline project could fall apart, alarmists speculated.
Despite the coercion, the Deh Cho steadfastly stuck to their objectives. The remainder of the regions in the NWT along with the Aboriginal Pipeline Group -- the Arctic Resources Corporation (ARC) was still in the picture at that time, too -- and industry were forced to begrudgingly forge ahead without the Deh Cho's participation.
Now it seems we've arrived at a point where the DCFN is no longer viewed as "making or breaking" the pipeline.
Deh Cho at the table
So what has changed? Well, the Aboriginal Pipeline Group has secured its funding for the preliminary study stage. It took quite a while but it was done without the Deh Cho at the table. Obtaining the money was a boon.
Talk of "losing out" to a competing an Alaska-Yukon pipeline has faded. The odds now heavily favour the Mackenzie Valley pipe being built first.
The Mackenzie Gas Project (under the oil and gas consortium led by Imperial Oil) established a presence in three Northern communities, including Fort Simpson. Consequently, there has been an upswing in consultations. There is plenty of talk of jobs and contract opportunities associated with preliminary pipeline work and, later, construction of the pipeline. Yet questions remain about how well prepared the DCFN will be to capitalize on these preliminary opportunities.
Deh Cho communities, like many of their Northern neighbours, continue to be flooded with representatives from oil and gas companies, environmental firms, heavy equipment businesses, helicopter operations, camps, catering companies and others. Most of these business people are interested in forming partnerships, or joint ventures. Many of the First Nations are negotiating and signing on the dotted line for themselves.
Greater royalties
Yet the Deh Cho First Nations' negotiating team hasn't changed its stance in regards to the pipeline. The Deh Cho's chief negotiator, following direction from the region's elected leaders, is still going head-to-head with his federal counterparts, still demanding guarantees of greater royalties for the Deh Cho.
Is a Mackenzie Valley pipeline going to be built? North American demand for natural gas certainly isn't tapering off, nor is the Deh Cho First Nations' demand for an equitable share of the pie.
Interestingly, it is NWT Premier Stephen Kakfwi who now is getting media coverage for threatening to halt resource development in the territory if the GNWT doesn't get a share of resource revenues from Ottawa. The only thing that seems to have subsided -- maybe only temporarily -- is the intense pressure for the DCFN to get a deal done immediately.
In last Friday's Yellowknifer photospread on page 11, wrong information appeared on one of the photos.
The photo of the two women at the computer desk should have read: Behind the scenes work can be just as important as being on the front lines in an RCMP detachment. Cecilia Beaulieu, seated and Sheila Vittrekwa are two long-time data entry clerks at the Yellowknife office.
Yellowknifer apologizes for any inconvenience.