Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Board trustees voted last week to search for a new superintendent, putting present superintendent Judith Knapp out of the job next June.
Because this is a personnel issue, trustees won't comment on their reasons.
The vote seemed to catch Knapp by surprise. Common sense suggests that if you're about to dump a top official in public, you should let them know the reasons beforehand.
The real damage is to the reputation of the school district.
The person Knapp replaced was fired and the two parties just reached an out of court settlement after five years of costly legal battles.
Only a public revolt in October 2003 stopped Knapp from being fired by the previous school board. Fourteen months later, the board that defended her has made an about face. We recognize the right of the board to take the board in new direction.
That may require new people. But the decision to fire Knapp is curious when you consider the district has made a huge financial turnaround, going from a $1 million deficit in 2001 to having a nice surplus. This decision adds to the reputation that Yk No. 1 lurches from crisis to crisis.
Expect any person who wants Knapp's job to ask why that's the case.
Those bells you hear around town are not on Santa's sleigh. They're cash registers ringing up a busy Christmas season as shoppers rush around for their treasures.
Walk into almost any store and you'll be greeted by lineups of gift-toting shoppers, stock clerks rushing to keep up with demand and the smiling faces of friends and family.
While many of us grumble about the crowds of shoppers, think about the impact your dollars are having.
Apart from the joy of giving gifts to loved ones, money spent in city businesses goes a long way to making Yellowknife's economy healthy.
It's income for entrepreneurs who provide the sustainable jobs we need. It's work for teens saving for university. The money is spread to other businesses, creating even more jobs and wealth for your friends and neighbours.
According to the NWT Bureau of Statistics, every dollar spent in a retail outlet generates 57 cents in additional labour income. For every $71,000 worth of retail sales, an additional job is created.
That's getting a bang for our bucks.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Yes, valued readers, it's that time of year again.
It's time for our annual Kivalliq Christmas gift list, as we send a little holiday cheer to Nunavut's top personalities.
And what better place to start than the top?
To Premier Paul Okalik, we send one official placement card for the next national gathering of premiers.
The card allows Mr. Okalik one seat of his choice - hopefully in the front row.
To House Speaker Jubie Nutarak, we send a complete set of Employment Insurance claim forms and a Lone Ranger mask.
Based on the track record of former House Speakers, he will eventually need one or the other.
To Arviat MLA David Alagalak, we send one coupon good for a hotline to be installed in the government office of Darren Flynn, just in case Alagalak needs some advice on an exotic vacation destination.
To CG&S assistant deputy minister Shawn Maley, who has an office across the hall from Flynn, we send a building blueprint for him to hang facing Flynn's office.
The map reads: You are there. I'm here, in the much larger office!
Bluesman
To Iqaluit Central MLA Hunter Tootoo, we send a state-of-the-art karaoke machine so he may continue to sing the blues for many years to come.
To Baker Lake MLA and Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, David Simailak, we send an instructional video cassette that explains the link between Web sites and tourist attraction.
To Health Minister Levinia Brown, we send a cassette of the things she listed as top priorities for Rankin Inlet during her time as the hamlet's deputy mayor - just to refresh her memory!
To Quttiktuq MLA Levi Barnabas, we send a deluxe edition of the Monopoly board game.
The deluxe version comes complete with an extra large Second Chance card. We hope he uses it well.
Official status
To Education Minister Ed Picco, we send a framed certificate granting him official "Townie" status.
We also send Mr. Picco a copy of How to Make Friends and Influence People, signed by the book's former owner, Baker Lake Coun. Glenn McLean.
And, finally, to McLean, we send a framed 16 x 20 colour photo of the Rankin Inlet Petroleum Products Division building.
The photo is personally autographed by Rankin Mayor Lorne Kusugak and bears the inscription: The premier giveth, and the premier taketh away.
May these gifts be received in the spirit for which they were intended.
Merry Christmas to everyone and our hopes for peace in the new year.
Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
In its lofty mission statement, The Canada Unity Council - re: another big fat sponge for your tax dollars - claims that by giving Canadians a better understanding of "Canadian institutions," it increases citizens' attachment to the nation.
Personally, I've found that the more Canadians understand their institutions, the more disillusioned, helpless and fed up they tend to feel.
But getting back to lambasting yet another government-funded let's-feel-good-about-ourselves organization, an easy place to begin is with its recent "Portraits of Canada" survey, which presumably was intended to get the pulse of what people on the street actually think.
In a recent news release following the survey, the council felt it necessary to hit media outlets with the "news" that Canadians don't believe improving the quality of life for aboriginal people to be very important. It ranked 10th out of 11 items those surveyed thought should be "top priority" for the federal government.
The reaction, of course, was the usual platitudes from some aboriginal leadership about how non-aboriginals don't care about aboriginals. Not much unity being created here.
Wasn't satisfied?
Perhaps the "unity council" wasn't satisfied with the coverage of its previous news releases about the same survey, which revealed that priority number one for respondents was to protect the environment, followed by a desire for the feds to spend more on health care.
As these issues affect everyone, I find it very difficult to understand how some can interpret aboriginal quality of life ranking lower than the environment or health care as an indication that people don't care about aboriginal people.
It would be nice for once if we could talk about improving anything without tacking on a race qualifier.
In the end, most of us want to improve our quality of life and of our communities.
Those who don't are either living in a zen state of satiated existential bliss, or are just feeling so darn hunky-dory already that things couldn't get any better. As for myself, improving the quality of my life is a constant "top priority."
If it is actually happening or not is another thing, but here's to wishful thinking.
Not surprisingly, strengthening the position of religion in our national conscience was absent from the survey. The unity guys had a separate survey for that one -- and probably a good thing, too. Imagine the ruckus if results showed that more people thought believing in God was of higher priority than improving the life of aboriginals. It begs the question, what would Jesus do?
Thinking a little closer to Inuvik, the homelessness situation comes to mind.
While it's commendable that the prevailing interests in town can all come together to talk about the issue, it's too bad that a lot of talk has happened, but not much has been accomplished.
Whether or not the pulse of the nation beats in favour of improving the quality of life for aboriginal people is not going to provide food and shelter for the guy shivering on the street tonight. That much is obvious.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
The worst-case scenario in the Fort Providence hamlet election has come to pass.
Michael Vandell, who decided he wanted no part of the mayor's office, was elected. Vandell wasted little time in resigning from the position. Unless there is acclamation the next time around, residents must return to the polls for a by-election (at least the community members who decide it's worth their time to cast a ballot).
Why? Because restrictive territorial legislation wouldn't permit Vandell to bow out of contention. He tried, but it was after the withdrawal period elapsed.
There are a couple of lessons to take from this fiasco: the election legislation needs to be modified and candidates must search their souls before agreeing to vie for elected office.
One problem is that nominees are currently given only 48 hours to withdraw. That's just not enough time, especially for those who travel often or encounter extenuating circumstances such as a family crisis.
Municipal elections have extremely lengthy campaign periods -- even though little campaigning is usually done in smaller communities. In the Fort Providence and Fort Liard hamlet elections, for example, nominations closed on Nov. 8. Election day didn't come until Dec. 13. That's a long stretch.
Why is it that nominees couldn't be given a full week to decline having their name on a ballot if they decide they cannot shoulder the load?
Whatever extra time may be allotted, it still might not be enough for some. If the legislation was amended to give a week, someday a candidate will undoubtedly try to back out on the eighth or ninth day. The line must be drawn somewhere. Therefore it's equally imperative that those who run in municipal elections -- or any election, for that matter -- should not do so whimsically.
Sometimes nominees mean well; they sincerely would like to help their community. They just don't have the time. It's best to be honest with oneself and others early rather than impulsively agreeing to jump in when approached by supporters at the eleventh hour, as so often happens.
When only one person decides to step up to the plate, it becomes a simple matter of acclamation. In a democracy, acclamation isn't ideal but sometimes it's a reality.
Also an unfortunate reality is how little interest the hamlet and district education authority elections generated in Fort Providence. A mere 155 of 506 eligible voters thought it was worthwhile to exercise their civic duty.
Wouldn't it be good to see a tremendous turnout at the polls? It would make a huge difference if people took a genuine interest in municipal politics, which truly does affect their day-to-day lives. It would also be fantastic if several candidates planned well in advance of an election and built a campaign with a ground swell of grassroots support.
More often than not, however, that's a little utopian.
In the real world, municipalities frequently point to empty coffers, turning to the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs for more money. It's really too bad that the Hamlet of Fort Providence will have to bear the costs of a second election. That money could surely be used for a better purpose.
In the Dec. 13 edition of News/North a cutline with the story Community hopes to heal itself on page A12 was wrong. It should have indicated the Fort Good Hope working group trying to arrange a one-year ban on alcohol has made an effort to talk to everyone in town. While there is an RCMP member in the group, the police have not been involved in this part of the process.
News/North apologizes for our error and any confusion it may have caused.
In the Dec. 13 edition of News/North, Aklavik SAO Eugene Pascal was incorrectly identified in the story, "How the communities crumble" (page A13). News/North apologizes for any confusion or embarrassment this may have caused.