It's downright offensive. Yellowknives Dene are so fed up with the mess along the Ingraham Trail, some leaders are threatening to block access to the land. The land is theirs.
The Trail is Yellowknife's summer playground attracting cottagers, campers, hikers, bikers and anglers by the thousands.
Most treat the land with respect. Others, including teen partiers, could not care less about the trees and wildlife. To them, it's a spot away from prying eyes of police and parents. Spent booze containers, trash, huge firepits and hacked trees are left as messy monuments.
Enough is enough.
While the solution has to start with the people who are creating the mess, it's going to take strong action from the government.
RWED is planning a strategy to combat the problem, but we have a few ideas of our own.
Start off with a survey of known party places and illegal dumping grounds. Try to find evidence so someone can be charged with littering. A regular enforcement blitz, on weekends, must be part of the plan.
Yellowknives Dene should invite RWED Minister Brendan Bell to see first-hand why they're so upset.
Everyone who enjoys the bush should pack out their trash and be prepared to report those who don't to the authorities.
Toddlers learning to peddle two-wheelers aren't going to be arrested for cycling on the sidewalks.
But yahoos who think that metre-wide strip of concrete is a bicycle freeway should be targeted by city bylaw enforcement officers.
That's the kind of common sense we expect from bylaw officers. They've issued a few tickets to unruly riders because it is illegal to cycle on sidewalks.
Those few marauders who insist on cycling at breakneck speeds, speeding up behind unwary walkers should remember that.
Ride with care and respect for pedestrians and you won't be bothered.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
We're more than a little concerned over the manner in which a Kivalliq resident was handled by Iqaluit police this past November.
The person was arrested and detained for more than 12 hours by Iqaluit RCMP under the Mental Health Act, when they determined the man was placing himself in danger due to exposure to the cold.
The person filed an official complaint with the RCMP over the actions of four officers during the ordeal.
The findings of the investigation concerning the two arresting officers were released this past month.
While we have no doubt the officers had the man's best interests at heart, the way the case was handled shows some disturbing trends.
The fact the man was taken to a cell instead of a hospital or medical practitioner went against Section 11 (f) of the Mental Health Act.
More disturbing than the action taken was one of the arresting officer's claim that he believed it to be common practice to not take a mental health patient to the health centre until the morning.
The same officer also did not read the man his rights or allow him to seek legal council, as he, by his own admission, believed those rights did not apply to an arrest under the Mental Health Act.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, however, guarantees everyone the right to seek legal council and to be informed of that right.
Officers need guidance
We were glad to see both arresting officers were found to have acted in an inappropriate manner and will receive "operational guidance" for their conduct in the matter.
That being said, we hope this operational guidance does, in fact, provide corrective action and educates the two officers regarding their actions.
For a peace officer to assume a person, who may be suffering from some form of mental disorder, no longer has the same basic rights as the rest of the population is appalling at best.
No less shocking is the officer's apparent belief that mental health patients should be locked up in a jail cell until it's convenient for the police to transport them to the local health centre in the morning.
Not only are these two officers in bad need of a refresher course on RCMP policy -- not to mention some basic rights and freedoms reading in their spare time -- they are also in bad need of a little sensitivity training.
There are many people in our communities who suffer from one form of mental illness or another.
We would like to think the people we entrust our safety to do not view these individuals as second-class citizens.
In fact, we would like to think understanding and protecting the rights of those who may occasionally need protection -- even from themselves -- would be a high priority among our peace officers.
We can only hope the operational guidance these officers receive gets that message across.
Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
Working together. Enhancing the role of Western Canada in the federation.
This is the working title for discussion between the seven western premiers gathered in the region for the next two days.
On the agenda is health care, energy and trade relations with the US, Mad Cow, securities regulation, and of course, strengthening the federation.
Of particular interest to the North is the agenda item regarding delivery of services to rural and remote regions.
Though energy ranks third on the Western Premiers' Conference Agenda, the location for this year's gathering gives an inkling as to which topic will be the talks' centerpiece for discussion.
If all goes according to the plans of the Aboriginal Pipeline Group and Mackenzie Valley Producers Group (as well as to the hopes of other vested interests), construction of a Mackenzie Valley pipeline would begin in 2007.
Thirty years ago, Thomas Berger released his two volume inquiry into a Mackenzie Valley pipeline entitled Northern Frontier, Northern Homeland, which recommended a 10-year moratorium on any such development.
It is interesting that the same issues -- environment and social impact -- remain at the forefront of the current processes geared towards making the pipeline a reality.
The one thing that has changed since Berger's style ushered in an era of public consultation with media participation has been the rise in political power of First Nations in the territory.
Questioning Kakfwi's support
Fred Carmichael of the APG is questioning former premier Stephen Kakfwi's support of the K'asho Got'ine Dene's revenue sharing plan.
Add to that Deh Cho Grand Chief Herb Norwegian's rumblings about court injunctions if he doesn't get his way -- two seats on the pipeline's joint review panel.
That's a lot of grumbling.
Unlike the premiers' bold conference theme, it would hardly seem that aboriginal leadership is working together.
As governors from several western American states, including Alaska, have been invited to the premiers' conference, it is a sure bet that the Alaskan pipeline is going to be discussed in the smaller, more informal gatherings.
While Carmichael sees the writing on the wall, warning Kakfwi that if he pushes too hard all of us "can kiss the pipeline goodbye," one wonders if there's anybody else out there in the wilderness who wants this project realized.
(At least on weekends Carmichael knows there is; somebody out in the wilderness, that is).
When Carmichael says that Northern leaders must recognize the cultural change in the North, perhaps he should add that though there was a time when grandstanding grabbed people's attention, these days it could well chase away billion dollar deals rather than seal them with a kiss.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
If someone doesn't agree with the Dehcho First Nations' position on an issue, the assumption is usually that the position must have come from "an advisor."
Advisor is a code word for lawyer. It's no secret that the Dehcho has two of them working on the self-government negotiations file: Georges Erasmus and Chris Reid.
Last week in Kakisa, MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew made an appearance and told the delegates that they are quite capable of doing things for themselves, they don't need advisors.
Perhaps Blondin-Andrew meant well, but that's poor advice. After all, Blondin-Andrew and every other federal and territorial politician have their own advisors. From executive assistants to legal teams to senior bureaucrats, they can get direction on any given issue at any time. Why should be Dehcho First Nation be any different?
It's true that nobody knows better what the Deh Cho Dene and Metis want to achieve through self-government than the Deh Cho Dene and Metis themselves. But there's nobody more qualified to achieve that on their behalf than a good advisor -- someone well schooled and experienced in the art of complex and tedious negotiations with the federal government. The process is laced with legal terminology and concepts.
As "outsiders," the lawyers are prone to attack, Reid in particular as he resides in Toronto. When Stephen Kakfwi was premier and he disagreed with the Dehcho First Nation on the pipeline, Kakfwi impugned the role of "this guy from Ontario."
Reid later moved over from chief negotiator to legal counsel, and his former position was advertised. If there was a Deh Cho Dene or Metis candidate best suited for the job, he or she must not have been available because it went to Erasmus, who has an impressive track record.
There are those who accuse the well-compensated advisors of dragging out the process for self-gain.
"The only ones who get rich from self-government are the lawyers," it has often been said.
To refute that, let's look at last week as a case in point. Chief negotiator Georges Erasmus asked the delegates at the Kakisa assembly to support the draft constitution so he could pursue an agreement-in-principle.
It was the delegates who said, "Whoa, not so fast."
You see, the advisors are only laying out options and providing expert advice. It's still the Dehcho delegates who rule the roost, and that's the way it should be.
Yes, advisors are costly, but if they are trusted and kept within their bounds, then they should be welcome guides in what ought to be an historic period in the Deh Cho.