Go back
  Search

Friday, January 14, 2005
Wanted: champion for the underdogs

One has to wonder: when government bureaucrats walk into their offices each day, do they hang their humanity on the door like they do their winter parkas?

Two recent cases force us to ask that question.

The week before Christmas, four disabled people were rescued by $600 from the YWCA when Shell Canada cut off delivery of heating oil.

Seems the GNWT wasn't paying the bills on time, something YWCA executive director Lyda Fuller says has been a problem for the past eight years. Shell said enough was enough and cut off oil and delivery to 13 other homes of income support recipients, too.

At the time, Education, Culture and Employment Minister Charles Dent buried his head in the bureaucracy. He said his officials "aren't convinced that there is" an outstanding bill.

This from a government that took more than nine months to process cheques for back pay owed to 13 prison guards. On Wednesday, Yellowknifer introduced another victim of the red-tape shuffle: Jennifer Moss.

The 25-year-old single mom of two young boys had her education plans sidelined because she needs a heart transplant. Bed-ridden in Edmonton after life-saving surgery, she had to complain to her MLA, Dent, to get funding that was promised but never came through. Her paperwork was lost in Yellowknife.

Now back home, she continues to fight the bureaucracy, saying she wants to live and raise her sons.

Disability payments came through in September and October, but stopped in November after procedural changes delayed cheques for nearly a month.

This is government bungling at its worst.

How many others like Moss are out there? How many people who depend on government are afraid to speak out, fearing some bureaucrat will "lose" their files?

People expect better of highly-paid professionals whose job it is to serve the public, not hide incompetence behind rules, regulations and red tape.

To those who are having trouble, we say speak up. Complain to your MLA or give Yellowknifer a call.

Ordinary MLAs need to start speaking out, too. Cabinet ministers had better remind their staff that they're not dealing with pieces of paper.

Each file that gets lost or shuffled from one department to another represents a person or a family in need.

If our elected officials aren't up to the task, maybe it's time to appoint an ombudsman, a tireless champion of the underdog who could stand up to an apparently heartless bureaucracy.


Arguments starting to heat up

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News


Not all that long ago, former Kivalliq News columnist Bill Gawor was sharply criticized in a number of corners for a piece he penned on the whole climate change and global warming scenario unfolding in the North.

Gawor, known by his readers to almost always write with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek, didn't quite buy into all the gloom, doom and despair being tossed around by so many on the subject.

Quite the contrary.

Gawor took the approach that a little bit of global warming might not be such a bad thing after all, and depending on who you listen to these days, he might not have been so far off base with his contentions.

While some experts in the field are predicting the polar bear to become extinct during the next few decades, a number of areas in Nunavut are seeing an unprecedented increase in their numbers.

In fact, it is estimated the polar bear population has risen about 25 per cent during the past decade. This despite a four-degree rise in the average temperature in some areas during the past 50 years.

Polar bear quotas are actually being increased in areas with a sound population management plan for the future.

Gawor pointed out the amazing adaptability of the polar bear and, who knows, he may be proven right during the next four decades.

And, that's just the point. Without the benefit of a crystal ball, most of what we hear is nothing more than simple conjecture, dressed up with a lot of numbers floating around the laws of probability.

Economic opportunity

But there's another side to the global warming equation we don't hear much about - and we also don't know what its impact will be if it ever reaches fruition.

Shipping companies are already looking ahead to the possibility of trade lanes opening up with this slight increase in average temperature.

In fact, representatives of a Manitoba-based company are off to Russia to pitch their plans for a new trade route between the Port of Churchill and Murmansk later this month.

OmniTrax (Port of Churchill, Hudson Bay Railway), are hoping to find a number of Russian businesses that would be quite interested in accessing the North American market through the Churchill port.

Of course, if this plan starts to move forward, there will be plenty of cries of dissension and worries over spills and the possible effects on the ecosystem, which are all valid concerns, but certainly not impregnable barriers.

Only time will tell if Gawor hit a bulls-eye or missed the boat entirely with his vision of the Kivalliq in the year 2050.

As cautious as we must be over our environment and things that affect it - we should also remember seal lovers are still detested by those who used to fish for a living.


Thinking locally, acting globally

Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum


Sir Alexander Mackenzie school (SAMS) students and staff should be commended for raising nearly $3,000 for victims of the tsunami that devastated Southeast Asia and parts of Africa over the holidays.

Seeing so many young people give up their allowances and empty their piggy banks to donate to the cause gives pessimists a glimmer of hope. There is still good in this world that seems more chaotic with each passing day.

However, the fear many relief agencies share is that the overwhelming influx of tsunami donations could hurt future fundraising efforts as people decline to donate to other causes because they "already gave to the tsunami victims."

Disastrous as the tsunami was, let's not forget that more than a million people in the Sudan are in danger of starving and have been in that situation, to varying degrees, for more than 10 years. So as the entertainment business begins to line up to take part in "tsunami charity concerts," let us go back to 1985's Live Aid concert for the starving masses in Ethiopia. Twenty years later, the people are still in dire need. Not to worry, though, the commemorative DVD is here to carry on this bogus charity exercise. If anything, Live Aid and the recent events in Asia - both world-wide televised events - point to the power of television and how that magic box can distort our view of the world.

Day in and day out since Dec. 26, we have been bombarded with tsunami footage and stories of survival, followed by a bunch of talking heads arguing about whether our government reacted fast enough and with enough, shall we say, charitable gusto. As these messages travel into the living rooms of Canadians, surely people are asking themselves the same questions, either questioning a donation already given or perhaps feeling guilty they have yet to give.

While the collective consciousness of the nation frets over this issue, we cannot become blinded to the here and now. After remarking that the disaster in Southeast Asia was very sad indeed, a friend made the point that sadness was no match for the power of Mother Nature, which cares not for the feelings of those who inhabit her realm. However, the difference between Mother Nature and us sentient beings is that we have the ability, through our own actions, to directly affect the lives of those around us. Unlike the blowing snow that can make everybody miserable, the simple act of holding a door open for an elder or saying hello to a stranger can make the darkest of days a little brighter.

Cliche as it may sound, it's the little acts of kindness that make the world go round. While we can't forget about those less fortunate than ourselves a world away, we should also remember our neighbours only a stone's throw away down the block.


Hoops and more

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh cho Drum


Those who took a quick peek inside the Fort Simpson recreation centre gymnasium over the weekend saw some teenage players running up and down the court, dribbling and passing a basketball and taking shots.

There was indeed plenty of sporting action, but there was also an abundance of interesting side stories.

For one, the Rae squad had only five players. Except for their coach, their bench was empty. That left no room for injury and surely meant the Rae players were the most fatigued by the time they reached the championship game (that's not an attempt to make an excuse for their loss as the champion Fort Nelson Huskies were talented indeed). When Rae did experience an injury in a round-robin game versus Fort Smith, coach Michael Botermans - a man in his 40s with a full beard - was allowed to make his tournament debut for a few plays.

The good sportsmanship carried over into the championship game. When Rae's Tyron Fish fouled out in the third quarter, Fort Nelson allowed their opponents to keep all five players on the court.

The only stipulation was that all Rae fouls against Fort Nelson would count as shooting fouls. In the fourth quarter, when Rusty Mantla was forced to leave the game with a sore shoulder, the Huskies also pulled a player from the court to make things even. It was a virtuous gesture.

Rae didn't have a monopoly on tournament highlights, mind you. Here are some of the others:

* There was the Huskies' Bryan Camozzi, a four-foot-something dynamo who quickly became a fan favourite for his hustle.

* Jessie Loutit, of Fort Simpson, was the only female player to suit up for the tournament and she held her own against the boys.

* Yellowknife's Emmanuel Ramos was given an award for dedication when he made nary a fuss after having his forehead split open (it's usually not that violent a game, really!).

* The skills competition was a nice touch. The players and the fans were really into it.

* For the love of the game, Fort Simpson and Tulita played their scheduled match-up after the championship showdown. Tulita failed to make it in time for Friday's tilt.

* Fort Nelson's coach publicly credited his Thomas Simpson school counterpart, Jeff Cressmen, for reviving basketball in Fort Simpson.

* Not that it was anything new, but no less worthy of mention, teachers Robert and Teresa Byatt, as well as Freda Blyth and several students, worked in the recreation centre kitchen all weekend to raise money for the school's athletic association.

* Finally, the tournament produced some exulted winners and some disappointed losers as does every competition. Losing is hard to take, but the key is to be graceful and allow it to build character. Getting blown out every game could break a team's spirit, so it's best to strive for attainable goals: score a few more points or prevent a few more baskets, improve a set play or win the battle on the boards more often. Life is chock full of analogous lessons - it's best to grasp them early.