They weren't there because without a land claim settlement they had no legal authority over their land. They have that now with an Interim Measures Agreement, but that came too late for the DCFN to be included on the review panel.
Given the fact 40 per cent of the pipeline route will run through Deh Cho land, the First Nations want and deserve two seats at the table. The Inuvialuit have two seats and the federal government can appoint two more people to the board. The Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board (MVEIRB), little more than an instrument of the federal government, will take up three seats on the seven-member review panel.
So far, DCFN attempts to secure representation on the panel have been rebuffed. Now they have threatened to take the federal government to court. The threat is not new. In January 2002, there were similar rumblings from the Deh Cho.
Now it's the 11th hour and fingers of blame are pointing at the DCFN.
The Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Producers Group say plans are at a "critical stage" and a lawsuit would derail efforts to have Beaufort Delta gas flowing south by 2006.
Premier Joe Handley warned that any delays could hurt the NWT pipeline, what with efforts to push the Alaska Highway line gaining momentum.
The DCFN is simply doing what any negotiator would do: playing from a position of strength.
Three years ago, it had none. Today, with the pipeline looming, it has plenty.
So instead of criticizing the DCFN, industry and the territorial government should look to the federal government.
Re-open the deal that set up the review process and simply add Deh Cho representation.
The pipeline will have too much impact and is too important to the territories' future to believe something as trivial as the size of the review panel is written in stone.
Inuit own the land and they make up the majority of Nunavut's elected officials. But when it comes to the job of running their own government, Inuit are behind where they were when the territory was part of the Northwest Territories.
This sad fact was pointed out forcefully last week. Federal auditor general Sheila Fraser blasted Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) for not doing enough to implement the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement. Of course, INAC officials disagree with Fraser's assessment, saying the department has met its obligations.
Check the number of beneficiaries employed by the Nunavut government and you could run a qamutiik through the holes in that statement.
Article 23 of the land claim calls for the number of Inuit employed in government to be representative of the territory's population -- about 85 per cent.
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) says only 41 per cent of government jobs are held by Inuit, down from 44 per cent five years ago. Nunavut News/North asked Nunavut's human resources department how many unilingual Inuktitut-speaking Inuit are employed and they couldn't tell us.
Here's how a press release from the auditor general put it:
"The Nunavut land claim calls for increasing Inuit participation in government employment and spells out specific steps to be taken by the federal government. Yet, 10 years after the agreement came into force, the Department still has not measured the impact of federal actions to increase Inuit participation in government."
Federal officials and NTI continue to debate how to get Inuit working in government.
For the time being, the federal government appears to have walked away from this very important commitment, leaving the cash-strapped Nunavut government to do the job. Making article 23 happen will take time and money.
It's cheaper and easier to hire southerners with experience and training, but that's just a short term solution. Adult Inuit need to be trained to fill government jobs. That cost will be high because it may involve job shadowing and mentoring. Young people must be groomed for the jobs of the future.
The GN can't do it on its own. Only Ottawa has the cash to make it work. It must work because those government jobs are a cornerstone to the self-reliance and well-being of Inuit.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
For those of you who may not know, let me say right up front that away from the office I eat, sleep and drink the game of hockey.
And, if you'd like to discuss my views, you can find me at the Rankin arena all this weekend and next, or catch up with me later at any of the remaining hockey tournaments in the Kivalliq region.
Although I now find myself closer to 50 than 40 years of age, I still love the game enough to referee about 80 games or more each year.
So, where am I going with all this?
Well, there's been much discussion the past two weeks on the incident between Columbus Blue Jacket player Tyler Wright and our own Jordin Tootoo.
Not much of the talk has been on whether anyone believes Wright's claim that Tootoo bit his pinky during a scrum along the boards in a recent game.
Rather, the talk has focused on whether Wright is a racist for his remark about how Northerners eat.
Well, I'm here to tell you -- coming from a guy who has spent most of his life around hockey rinks -- players will say anything in the heat of the moment.
I'm not defending the "banter" that often goes down between rivals (especially hard-nosed players), I'm simply stating it's commonplace and rarely racist in nature.
Yes, there have been racist comments made in pro sports, we all know that.
But, we also know Tootoo has received far more publicity that the average rookie and that's not going to endear him to every NHLer.
Wright's remark was more of a reflection on the publicity surrounding Tootoo's heritage, rather than any form of racial slur.
Let's face it, Wright would be lucky to find Rankin Inlet on a map, let alone know anything about our eating habits up here.
The worst I've heard
How far do players take it on the ice? Well, I was recently asked at the arena about the worst I've ever heard and here is my answer.
Those easily offended may want to turn the page.
A young senior mens referee once fell in love with a young woman who did not share his feelings.
She broke up with him and the young ref (who we'll call Jimmy) was quite upset.
Jimmy decided to end it all, filled his bathtub with water, plugged in his portable heater and jumped in.
But, it wasn't to be.
The heater cord wasn't long enough and came out of the socket before he hit the water.
After a bit of a supervised rest, "Jimmy" returned to hockey.
Shortly after, he was working as a linesman and positioned at the blue-line in front of a players bench.
One player leaned in just enough so the young ref could hear him and politely asked, "Hey Jimmy, wanna' good deal on an extension cord?"
A great guy who would never say such a thing away from the rink , the player just couldn't resist the comment at his local arena.
We are not justifying Wright's remarks, as personal taunts really have no place in sports.
However, they do occur, especially in pro hockey, and Wright is guilty of nothing more than poor sportsmanship and bad judgement.
And, we're sure Mr. Tootoo will point out the error of his ways with a little "talk" of his own the next time the two teams meet.
Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
When the Workers Compensation Board's workplace smoking ban comes into effect this May, the territory's smokers will have even fewer places to light up.
Inuvik will soon have its contingent of dedicated smokers, shivering on the streets.
Several weeks ago, when the temperatures dipped to more than 40 below, a trio of smokers huddled around the back entrance of the post office earned my admiration. These guys were the smoking equivalent to what extreme sports enthusiasts are to armchair athletes.
Though May will be a more agreeable month for enjoying a smoke in the great outdoors, I'm worried about my state of mind when the temperatures drop and my recreational puff becomes an adventure in extreme smoking.
While I and smokers around Canada salute the efforts of those who would let nothing stand in the way of having a puff, I can't picture myself going through the same hardship.
So, in an effort to avoid the feelings of animosity towards those whose influence banished me to the windswept Arctic streets for a nicotine fix, I'm opting instead to try and break the habit altogether.
On Feb. 14, I will embark on the "Quit to Win" quest to wean myself from this deadly habit that, besides from all of the harmful chemicals I inhale each time I have a smoke, is becoming harder and harder to enjoy.
Tips for living with denial
These days when I buy smokes, I request a package without the stroke afflicted brain, dead heart or machine-strapped lung disease victim. When one is in denial about the detrimental health consequences smoking presents, staring at an overflowing ashtray or a picture of a wheezing man when enjoying a drag is much, much better.
I pretended to believe this for some time until I was snapped out of my delusion not too long ago.
Despite the blatant "these things can kill you and anyone around you" warnings, I was still buying the darn things. To me, they are the little box of rewards for a job well done, a video well watched and a beer well consumed.
Even as I near the end of writing this piece, I stare lovingly at my cigarettes and think about the brief celebratory moment I'll enjoy while treating myself to a smoke for finishing the week's editorial.
Quit and be a winner or...
So good luck to all of those who have decided to enter the "Quit and Win" contest. It will be a test of one's determination (and how badly one wants the trip for two to Mexico). Statistics indicate that the odds are not favourable for going the distance.
Nevertheless, even taking a break from smoking will be beneficial to your health, so that's a win of sorts.
As for the real winner, keep in mind that two people are allowed 400 cigarettes duty-free when returning from Mexico. So, in the eventual "Quit and Win" winner's non-smoking glory, please don't forget about the ones you left behind; that dying breed.
When I think about all those great smoking moments I'll miss as I venture into the realm of the non-smoker, I console myself with the thought of a holiday I'll take with the money I'm going to save.
At more than $10 for a box of smokes, pack-a-day smokers spend nearly $4,000 each year feeding their addiction.
Then, I think about all the extra time I'll have, previously wasted by thinking about going for a smoke, finally deciding to have one, searching for my smokes, followed by actually going through with smoking. The ridiculousness of it all makes me want to quit right now.
But not before one last smoke...
Editorial Comment
Andrew Raven
Deh Cho Drum
Dozens of experts from across the country are gathering in Fort Simpson this week for a symposium on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), a condition that by all rights shouldn't exist.
The disorder is caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol and its severity can vary from minor behavioral problems to physical birth defects and learning disabilities.
The knowledge that alcohol can have a catastrophic effect on a developing fetus is nothing new, but the disorder persists nonetheless. During the last few months I have met a number of people who have FASD and most of them are well acquainted with the legal system.
One man I knew suffered from a relatively mild form of FASD and except for his slight stature, you'd be hard pressed to tell he had the disorder.
He was quick witted, intelligent and amiable, but there was another side to him.
It was this side that had accumulated nearly a dozen criminal convictions and had a hard time understanding it isn't acceptable to vandalize property and swear at people in the mall.
The man drifted from one menial job to another and spent most of his nights at the Salvation Army.
He's in the same frustrating predicament as hundreds of other Northern residents, resigned to a life of despair simply because his mother drank while she was pregnant.
And perhaps that's the most maddening part about FASD.
The disorder is entirely preventable.
It could be wiped off the face of the earth in one generation. But knowing how to do something, and actually doing something are often two entirely different things.
Whose responsibility is it to change the way things are?
Mothers who drink while they're pregnant share some of the blame, but the reality is the territorial government has failed miserably when it comes to treating substance abuse.
The government can hold conferences until it's blue in the face, but it won't make a lick of difference until more money is siphoned into combatting alcohol addiction.
It's borderline scandalous that in a territory of 40,000 people, there is only one drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre.
How can we begin to fight FASD if we can't make a dent in alcoholism?