The federal government has decreed every airport above a certain size must use very expensive bomb detection equipment. Dutifully, bureaucrats all the way up and down the chain between Yellowknife and Ottawa are ready to make it so.
For us, that means moving the airport restaurant to make room for explosives-sniffing security gadgets. Taxpayers, already contributing $4.6 million in federal money, will likely have to cough up at least $6.6 million more in user fees.
If air travellers do have to pay, will that fee last until the cost is covered, or will we pay forever? Knowing how government operates, you know the answer.
If the idea is to stop international terrorism, bomb-proofing Yellowknife airport is a silly way to do it. Why not leave that to airports that have a direct international link?
Any aircraft leaving Yellowknife must stop at Edmonton or Calgary; or at Ottawa by way of other stops if flying east. If there's any bomb detecting to do, do it when passengers board connecting flights.
For flights going to Yellowknife, do the sniffing in Calgary, Edmonton or Ottawa.
The government would save $11.2 million of our money, which would be a nice switch from its usual spend-crazy ways for "special projects" like this.
Just think of the mining, construction and highway blasting that goes on in the North. It's a safe bet many miners and other workers will have explosives residue clinging to their work boots, tools, gloves, hard hats and overalls.
Is the idea to hold up everyone every time a particle of explosive is discovered?
Canada has gone a little security mad since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. A security upgrade for an airport of no real international significance is evidence of how mad.
We can imagine those in favour of these security measures will tell us that, well, terrorists could strike anywhere!
Yes, anything's possible. As a child, we saw a 1950s-era movie serial that had evil Communists hiding a nuclear missile in a cave in the Yukon. A Mountie and his dog team saved the day.
That wasn't real.
Neither is any serious terrorist threat originating here.
Yellowknife airport doesn't need $11.2 million worth of security improvements.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
The recent arson attempt at Tusarvik school in Repulse Bay is further proof our youth just aren't getting the message when it comes to the consequences of their actions.
We here at Kivalliq News have to admit we don't understand the logic behind these senseless acts any more than the next person.
Not only do the schools represent hope for a better life in the future for a large number of our young people, they are also the lifeblood of many, many communities.
School gymnasiums are the focal point of sporting events and community gatherings in many hamlets.
As well, most Nunavut schools go above and beyond the call of duty in trying to make space available for a wide variety of activities, both for their student bodies and the community at large.
A number of schools also house offices for people from the medical and dental professions, family and career counsellors, sporting teams and/or organizations and, in some cases, community radio.
Still, the wilful damage persists.
While we, as adults, realize the tremendous financial strain these vindictive acts place upon our territorial government, that particular line of reasoning falls upon deaf ears when it comes to the youth causing the damage.
And, while we respect the efforts of our volunteer firefighters in going into our schools and interacting with the students, maybe it's time for a harsher approach.
Instead of explaining how hoses and breathing apparatus' work, a more graphic approach might help produce the desired effect.
Videos and other visual aids that show what happens to people who don't escape the flames may make some of these kids pause to reflect upon their actions.
Yes, such images can be quite disturbing, especially among our more sensitive youth.
That being said, arson is a dangerous business that often produces tragic results.
As long as youth keep lighting fires at Nunavut schools, they're playing a game of arson roulette that, sooner or later, is going to produce deadly results.
One of these nights, a firefighter, ambulance attendant, police officer or an innocent person simply in the wrong place at the wrong time is going to pay dearly for the striking of a match by a wayward youth.
It's time for our youth to turn on their receivers and get the message that this type of behaviour has to stop.
If the only road to that conclusion must wind from the pits of their stomachs to the back of their minds and result in the loss of a few lunches, so be it.
The bottom line is we must do whatever it takes to get the message across.
Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
When the Justice of the Peace court judge called the policy of the NWT Legal Services Board "borderline contempt of court" this week, we journalists in the gallery were licking our lips.
Potential funding shortfalls in the legal services department was what the entire kerfuffle appeared to be about -- no more lawyers for clients headed before the justice of the peace in Inuvik.
The injustice of it all.
Then a phone call to Minister of Justice Charles Dent revealed that somebody wasn't following policy.
Dent said lawyers were not supposed to be doing duty in the JP circuit. So what's going on in Inuvik?
With the usual tight lips all around -- many government employees apparently are forbidden to speak to the media -- the media is forwarded to the usual mouthpieces for the territorial government. In this case, it was the policy advisor for the legal services board.
This particular individual was not able to answer my questions or provide the information I sought. He said he'd get back to me but I'm still waiting for that call.
And this type of "communication" from the territorial government, though rare, was not an isolated incident.
On another occasion, I called the health ministry looking for some statistics. The person on the other end of the telephone started to tell me the address of a Web site where I could obtain the information I was looking for.
Wait a minute. If I wanted to sift through a myriad of Web sites searching for information, I wouldn't have called you.
Basically, I'd come straight to the horse's mouth only to be sent off. It's the equivalent of being sent to Telehealth when you're standing right in the bleedin' hospital.
The Government of the Northwest Territories talks about cost cutting and belt tightening. How about losing all of the superfluous staff at the legislature?
The GNWT could just replace everyone whose purposes could be more easily served -- at a fraction the cost -- by a series of informative Web pages.
Will Power Corp. throw in towel on generators?
Power Corporation president Leon Courneya appeared before town council to report on the effectiveness of the microturbine combined heat and power units currently in use at the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex.
According to the power company, the experiment was a near failure, due mainly to substandard servicing of the units.
Something doesn't make sense here. Call me crazy, but I interpreted the analysis in this fashion: if there had been prompt and competent servicing of the units, then perhaps they may have performed better.
This apart from the fact that the town saved $40,000 from employing the microturbines in 2002/2003.
Though it should be noted that the Power Corp. flipped the bill for the turbines, the tune it was singing at council Monday sounded as though it is not very enthusiastic about energy alternatives that cut into its bottom line.
Is anybody surprised about that?
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
The clash between First Nations and big-game outfitters in the Deh Cho is a philosophical mind-bender.
As Liidlii Kue Chief Keyna Norwegian explains, the concept of sport hunting doesn't complement the traditional Dene lifestyle.
For some people, the mind-set of the hunter is an important factor. If the individual toting a rifle is simply on the prowl for an impressive rack, that's a disrespectful reason to kill an animal.
When a creature is taken for sustenance and most or all of its carcass is eaten or used -- and thanks are given to the land and the Creator -- then that, by some people's beliefs, is spiritually fulfilling.
Big-game hunting operations claim they do try to make use of every bit of meat, so as not to be wasteful. In that effort, donations have been offered to First Nations. Norwegian pointed out that some band members would not accept meat not knowing how it was procured. Again, the spiritual aspect of a hunt is crucial here. Anybody who holds such convictions is to be respected.
Of course, not every Dene person feels so strongly that they would turn down complementary meat given in good will. There are many members of the Dene community who regularly purchase cuts of meat from the grocery store. The animals which provide that meat are usually raised in cramped conditions, overfed and slaughtered mindlessly by industrial machines. The spiritual component of this process, it could be argued, is virtually non-existent.
In making a moral argument, consistency is vital. When Norwegian was asked whether it would be permissible for a band member to start his or her own big-game hunting operation, she said it would still be frowned upon. As a matter of fact, she said a band member did express interest in such a venture earlier this year, but band council encouraged the individual to pursue eco-tourism instead.
So how can First Nations and big-game hunters co-exist? It seems they will have to, at least in the case of the outfitters already licensed.
Having a Dene person employed as part of an outfitter's hunting group to explain First Nations' traditions may be a good start. It's possible such discussions around a campfire would, at the very least, enrich the hunters' perspective.
Could some outdoorsmen from Texas or Alberta seeking a trophy in the NWT's Nahanni Mountains be fundamentally changed by such an encounter?
It's worth a shot.
In last Wednesday's paper, Lynn Wilke was incorrectly identified in the cover photo.
The results for the Grade 7 (12A) boys division of Spike It should have read PWK placed second.
A correction run in Friday's Yellowknifer noted the misidentification of Nora Martin and Marie-Rose Sangris in Wednesday's paper. The correction noted Martin was on the left and Sangris was on the right, however, Martin was on the right and Sangris on the left.