"There's a role to play in how we interpret the rules and how they're implemented.
"Going beyond that and becoming a social advocate makes it very difficult to be seen as impartial," Roland said in the legislative assembly last week.
His comments came the day after liquor board chair John Simpson resigned, citing a frustration with lack of co-operation from the GNWT.
As minister responsible for the administration of the Liquor Act, Roland's comments bring about doubts that he even knows what the Liquor Board is all about.
True, the board enforces the Liquor Act, which sometimes results in stiff penalties for liquor establishments that don't play by those rules.
Recent board rulings shut down Frosty's Pub in Inuvik for three months and The Right Spot bar in Yellowknife for three weeks. Both of these establishments had been in front of the liquor board for breaking the rules before. In criminal court, repeat offenders get stiffer sentences than first-time offenders. The same should apply to those found guilty before the liquor board -- the punishment should reflect the seriousness of the crime.
In order for the board to do its job, it must be conscious of the reasons why enforcers are doing that job in the first place. Public drunkenness is a social problem and therefore must be considered as such by liquor board enforcers.
Simpson was right on the money when he said "Alcohol abuse is by definition a social issue. The board has responsibility for that social issue within licensed establishments."
Simpson is right. Roland is dead wrong. When was the last time you witnessed a drunken fight in a bar, Mr. Roland? When was the last time you heard a verbal argument or the sound of someone puking in a bar bathroom stall?
Spend a Friday night in Yellowknife's best-known watering holes and then tell us again that what happens inside the tavern doors does not constitute as a social issue.
Then we have the financial side to consider. The finance department oversees the liquor board, which punishes establishments for infractions of the Act. The finance department also raked in more than a $20 million surplus on liquor sales in 2003/2004. The same is anticipated this year.
Hmmm. We believe there is a potential conflict of interest there.
Roland plans to look at overhauling the Liquor Act soon in order to clarify roles and responsibilities for those enforcing it, and how the liquor board "would look at itself."
Well, perhaps he should consider transferring responsibility for the Liquor Act over to the justice department where it belongs. Then there would be no conflict.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
We here at Kivalliq News have outlined our policy on letters to the editor many times in this space.
Quite simply, a letter must be signed to be published.
Basically, if you have an opinion you deem important enough to be published in a newspaper, it should also be important enough for you to put your name to.
So, letters we receive with no name or contact number for verification never see the light of day.
All that being said, we received a letter and an accompanying document this past week which has us more than a little concerned.
The unsigned letter accuses the Kivalliq News of reprimanding the people of Arviat for not voting for former MLA Kevin O'Brien.
We challenge the letter writer to produce any copy of the Kivalliq News endorsing O'Brien as a candidate of choice in the territorial election.
In fact, our publisher has strict rules against such endorsement, so we suggest the letter writer read the article in question a little more carefully the second time around.
The letter also went on to insinuate Inuit voters have zero tolerance for politicians who break the law.
Considering Nunavut's original house speaker was re-elected as an MLA this past election and the well-documented past of Nanulik's former MLA, we beg to differ.
In light of these facts, we can only assume the letter writer meant zero tolerance for white politicians in Nunavut.
As distasteful as the writer's character attack on O'Brien was, it was not the reason for our concern.
Also included was a copy of the actual RCMP ticket issued to O'Brien this past summer for the unlawful possession of alcohol in a prohibited area, namely Arviat.
The author also faxed us a copy of O'Brien's receipt from the Nunavut Court of Justice for the $215 fine he paid for the offence.
We can't help but wonder what other information he or she has been taking from, we assume, court files, and who else they're passing the information along to.
We shudder to think this could be a court employee, in a position of trust, accessing this documentation to further their own agenda.
Our problem is not with the fact O'Brien broke the law, was convicted and fined.
Such information is a matter of public record for those so inclined to keep up with such things.
However, in this modern age, identity theft and fraudulent financial transactions are all too real.
Original police tickets and/or files often contain personal information such as a full address, driver's licence number, date of birth and, depending on the matter, a social insurance number.
Our poison pen writer could cause significant damage to a person should they persist in leaking such documentation.
Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
Similar to the "back-seat driver" syndrome or armchair sports commentator, the million-dollar idea haunts the subconscious and tends to rear its particular head when conversation turns to business.
With the recent property purchase and development visibly underway in town, what an appropriate time to share what, perhaps, is not a literal "million dollar idea," but could be worth so much more in other ways.
Inuvik needs a cinema. I am told that it used to have one but now the space is being used for another business -- more profitable than a movie theatre, I am sure.
So with a perfunctory "that's business," this doesn't sound like much of a million dollar idea. For the most part, movie theatres take a lot of space and with the advent of multi-plex movie houses, the days of the small-town theatre have all but vanished.
Nevertheless, wouldn't it be nice to have a movie theatre here. I can almost smell the popcorn and remember the days when the family would take in an afternoon matinee on weekends.
But these sugar plum day-dreams are just that, unless there is a way to set up a theatre at a low cost.
I am starting to become used to seeing the usual pack of kids standing outside the variety store at midnight on a weekday.
"It's been going on for years," a friend told me and I suppose it will carry on this way in the foreseeable future.
Though not naive to believe that a movie theatre would cure this problem, at least it might provide kids with somewhere else to hang out.
Unlike its southern counterparts, Inuvik's theatre would be affordable -- kids 18 and under would only be charged, say, $2.50 admission and family discounts would be given.
As the weather warms up and events such as the petroleum show, arts festival and music festival approach, what better time than to get the show on the road, so to speak, and plan the town's movie theatre.
While there is sure to be great discussion as to where a good place would be not to put the dog pound and homeless shelter, a movie theatre should be a piece of cake.
And what about the building itself? With the family centre set for completion in the fall, the town will have no use for the tent covering the old pool.
The golf club has expressed interest in obtaining the structure to use as its clubhouse. However, a structure that resembles a big-top circus tent is a much more appropriate enclosure for a theatre. We could call our new theatre Circus of the Stars.
What a great way to welcome next winter than snug inside Inuvik's very own theatre. With a box of popcorn in your hands, let the action on screen take you to another place.
And for what dreams are made of, as the coming pipeline has indicated, if you build it, they will come.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
Should First Nations' governments use the regulatory process to further their political agendas?
That's one question that arises as public hearings on a Mackenzie Valley pipeline take centre stage in Fort Simpson next week.
A recent example: aboriginal groups in the Deh Cho essentially convinced regulators to conduct an environmental assessment on Imperial Oil's winter geo-technical program. That delayed the project for a year.
Although the majority of contracts for the geo-technical work had been awarded to First Nations and their partners, Liidlii Kue First Nation Chief Keyna Norwegian expressed public disappointment that the most lucrative contract went to two companies from Hay River.
Norwegian then went on to say that industry seemed to doubt the First Nation's ability to have the geo-technical program called up for a environmental assessment. That is exactly what occurred, and Norwegian said industry should take note that what the First Nations say is what happens.
The message was implicit. Had Imperial Oil played by the rules that the First Nations set out, a crippling delay by environmental assessment wouldn't have been in the cards.
Now the pipeline itself is on the table.
LKFN councillor Dennis Nelner argues that the First Nations need "a hammer," and the regulatory process is that very tool. It's one means to ensure industry recognizes aboriginal authority and negotiates what is seen as a fair deal by all parties, he says.
Roland Semjanovs, of the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board, doesn't take kindly to the idea that his organization is being used as a pawn. If that's how the regulatory process is being used, he invited a representative of any group involved to convey that rationale to the review board.
Barring a candid confession to board members next week, Semjanovs acknowledged that the board cannot question every speaker's motives. In all fairness, the First Nations do submit valid questions and concerns on the environmental front. Absolutely they do. But until self government becomes a reality in the Deh Cho, the regulatory process can be a vehicle for aboriginal groups to leverage their positions.
Regardless of the political battle of wills, the average person should still feel free, if not obliged, to add their two cents at next week's hearings. A project of this magnitude doesn't come along very often (this one has been on the drawing board for the past three decades).
See you there.
For those who read this week's Fort Simpson Village Council briefs package, even though Coun. Owen Rowe's name is prominent it's not a sign of favouritism. He was easily the most vocal of the councillors present on Monday evening. The minutes from the meeting will verify that.