Monday, February 28, 2005
This is apparent in the debate over the 500 metre no-shooting corridor along the Dempster Highway.
In Yukon, the corridor is enforced for public safety by territorial law which a Dawson band is challenging in court. In NWT, the corridor is voluntary.
Some individual Gwich'in hunters insist they can hunt as they please on Gwich'in land. Considering how land and hunting rights have been trampled in the past by wildlife regulations, their hardline attitude is understandable.
But Gwich'in Tribal official Norman Snowshoe and Gwich'in Chief Charlie Furlong are urging education and caution, in that order, balancing Gwich'in rights and public safety.
Gwich'in have a right to do what they wish on their land but they also observe speed limits and stop signs because it makes sense to drive safely. The no-shooting corridor is one of those situations.
A few decades ago, it was common for mining exploration companies to go anywhere they wished and do whatever they wished in pursuit of mineral riches.
They consulted Ottawa and that was it. Northerners know that's not the way it works now, yet here we have a mining company walking into Pine Point without notifying Fort Resolution and plowing up two traplines.
The community was angry and now the company, Timberlane Ventures Inc., is talking to Fort Resolution Dene and Metis, promising to halt the $800,000 project until a mutually beneficial approach to resurrecting the Pine Point mine can be worked out.
It's also necessary that Timberlane make good on its promise to "look at compensation" for trappers who lost dozens of traps and snares.
Doing business in the North means not just co-existing with aboriginal people, but accepting the reality that they own traditional lands.
If Tamerlane can't work within this reality, the company will soon find its attempt to breathe new life into Pine Point mine being blocked.
Broken equipment can be repaired or replaced, broken relationships aren't so easily fixed.
The Government of Nunavut and Shell Canada are conducting tests on the territories gas supply.
It's about time.
A number of snowmachine owners in both the Kivalliq and Baffin regions have been complaining their spark plugs have been fouling at an alarming rate. Their machines are also spewing thick black smoke.
Shell and the government have been working to ensure similar problems don't occur in the future.
But this work should have come about when people began complaining in November.
Gas is important to our way of life and Nunavut consumers have no choice as to which brand they buy. Once gas is shipped North, we're stuck with it.
Both Shell and the GN say the gas is tested twice before it is delivered to the communities, but not for cold weather starting or for effectiveness in snow machines.
Who cares if the gas we're being delivered would work fine in a hatchback in Edmonton? We're living in the Arctic.
Territorial standards for gasoline are also said to be more stringent.
But aside from nobody confirming exactly what this means, it seems we should reconsider those standards to incorporate factors such as the cold weather starting of snow machines.
And why has no one from the Department of Community and Government Services responded to Pangnirtung Mayor Jack Maniapik's complaints?
The government sent out a sample from Pangnirtung to be tested, but we are sure he would like to hear for himself what is being done.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
The cold Kivalliq nights seem a little longer since commissioner Gary Bettman announced the cancellation of the 2004-05 NHL season this past week.
Kivallimmiut, like millions of other Canadians, were glued to their TV sets on Feb. 16, which, like it or not, was an historic day in Canada.
NHLPA director Bob Goodenow has managed to do what even two world wars could not -- cancel an entire NHL season.
Yes, we point the blame squarely at Goodenow and 700-plus NHL players who think they've become bigger than the game.
There are two good things to come from last week's announcement.
First, we won't have to listen to the insanity NHLers have been trying to pass off as fact during the past five months.
They can't agree to a salary cap because an average career only lasts five years.
Forget that during a five-year span they make more money than an average Canadian, their parents and grandparents (pro-rated, of course) make in their lifetimes combined. Poor guys.
Oh, don't forget the 24 per cent roll-back offer that had Philadelphia goaltender Sean Burke joking about feeding his family on a paltry $2.9 million per year.
We won't have to stare in disbelief for a while as Glen Healey looks into the TV camera and asks what other union ever offered to roll back 24 per cent of its salaries?
You know, like most unions have a membership with an average salary of $1.5 million per year.
They also like to point out how many different teams have made the semi-finals during the past six years, claiming that shows just how even the league's competitive balance is.
Of course, they don't point how many of those teams never made the playoffs the following year, or how long it had been (seven years in Calgary's case) since they were at the dance before their magical run.
And, finally, Chris Chelios may finally take his bobsled and slide ruefully into the sunset, never to be heard from again.
The other good thing to come from Bettman's announcement is that the owners didn't back down.
Hopefully, he has them united enough to see this through to its conclusion.
Don't forget, the players want to maintain a much-higher percentage of the league's revenues than the owners, even though they don't take on any of the risk.
When this began, Bettman promised NHL fans the league would get a deal that makes sense, no matter how long it takes.
If it does, the league will, eventually, return more competitive than ever. And, if that scenario includes a hard cap in the range of $30 to $35 million, hockey may be able to return to Winnipeg and Quebec City if non-traditional U.S. markets such as Raleigh, Phoenix and Nashville continue to flounder.
Just think, a few years from now the Tootoo Train could be parked in downtown Winnipeg.
Dare we dream?
Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
Today I decided to buy a new car, probably a pickup truck. Why? Because a pickup is more useful in these parts and my old car is sitting in Fort Smith with about four grand in repairs pending, not to mention a busted tape player.
But before I lament the passing of a great automobile that delivered me to the threshold of the North and all that sentimental stuff, I'm forced to think of practicality... and my pocketbook.
If I could get another season out of her, it would make practical sense to keep the old girl around another year because I know how she drives and it's a joy to bomb down the open highways of the territory together.
After witnessing the show of support for elementary school principal Bernie MacLean at Monday evening's District Education Authority (DEA) meeting, I can't help but think of the parallels between the two situations.
Of course, comparing MacLean's contribution to Sir Alexander Mackenzie school (SAMS) over his eight-years working there with my 15-year-old car would be an insult to him and those who have worked alongside him. That is not the intention of this editorial.
It is, however, a good segue to highlight the practicality of keeping a known and respected entity around for another year, if possible. Why? Because SAMS teachers seem to get along swimmingly with the man, respect his guidance and, judging from the text of the letter written to the DEA (printed below right), love to work for him.
The DEA's position is that it wants a long-term commitment of three to five years and therefore tendered the principal's position at SAMS for "competition."
Again, citing the text of the SAMS staff letter, it would appear that there really is no competition for the job MacLean has done at SAMS - something DEA chair Judy Harder all but admitted at the meeting when she noted that MacLean, "leaves big shoes to fill."
So the really big question is, why try to fill them if they don't need filling?
To go from cars to a baseball analogy, the staff's letter is a big, juicy, hanging knuckleball that the DEA could belt into the cheap seats.
If the DEA lets it drop into the catcher's mitt, next season could be jeopardized with unhappy teachers anxious at who the new slugger batting cleanup is going to be.
Or what about those experienced teachers who will contemplate moving elsewhere; as several have noted it was MacLean's leadership which kept them around longer than they'd planned in the first place.
Interpret the signs coming in from the third base coach and one will see "swing away," invite MacLean back for a ninth season and keep the hometeam happy.
Because the best teachers are those who are satisfied and it is quite evident the elementary school staff is a happy bunch under MacLean's watch.
This is a moment for the DEA to seize. A positive outcome in the eyes of SAMS staff would keep the well-tuned engine that is the elementary school humming for another important year.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh cho Drum
Does a youth conference held over a couple of days make any difference?
For some students it does.
Let's face it, kids being kids, many of the participants in last week's Mackenzie Regional Youth Conference in Fort Providence were preoccupied with members of the opposite sex.
Anyone listening (not necessarily eavesdropping) could easily have overheard:
"He's hot."
"Do you think she likes me?"
No surprise, these are the sorts of things that most teens and pre-teens are constantly pondering.
Outside of that, if you ask students what they learned from the conference, you're bound to get some shrugging shoulders and "I don't know" responses. That's an almost automatic reply from adolescents.
Others were brimming with confidence, clearly buoyed by new skills. Some of the youths, gratified by their own efforts, proudly showed off their woodworking projects or became rather animated in relating how they can break dance, act or give a manicure.
There were students practising these new skills after the sessions ended, which confirms that some of them weren't just putting in time, they were learning with enthusiasm.
An annual conference such as the one held last week won't solve existing educational woes (some of which are only as woeful as people make them out to be), but if it helps build self-esteem, then it was well worth the couple of days. Remember, too, these sorts of small victories take place in schools practically every weekday without much fanfare. Half the battle is getting the students to come to school regularly.
Staying in school, as Fort Liard's Lisa Bertrand has proven, is a means to a better future (see her story in this issue). She doesn't want the label "role model" applied, but her example is one to follow. Those who have given up on their education should really think twice.
There are success stories without diplomas in today's world, but few of them.
Continuing on a positive note, the Community Action Team deserves an enormous birthday cake for its endeavours to offer healthy choices in Fort Liard.
More often than not, groups like this one take shape with the best of intentions but peter out after a short while.
The volunteers in Fort Liard have reached the one year mark, a significant milestone, but hopefully it's the first of many years of philanthropy. Undoubtedly, their birthday wish is that their ranks swell over the next year.
Finally, we had some great hockey in Fort Providence last weekend and more to come in Fort Simpson this weekend. Sports and recreation is another healthy pastime. Get involved as a player or a fan (there's no NHL on the tube anyway). So there you have it, a whole bunch of positive stories - and there will be no apologies for that.