Friday, April 22, 2005
According to the plan, 46 judges, law clerks and security staff will occupy 5,300 square metres in the new building overlooking Frame Lake.
When their new digs open in 2010, the judges will leave behind 53.5 justice ministry administrators in the old courthouse, who will have about 2,500 square metres to work in.
By contrast, government workers in the new federal building on Franklin Avenue. may feel crowded and claustrophobic, with 200 of them expected to share 7,000 square metres.
The new courthouse promises a $40 million investment in Yellowknife, always welcome news to residents of the capital. The price is a guess, an educated one, but subject to changes in labour and material costs. Public Works officials promise the project will not run over budget, like the North Slave Correctional Centre and young offender facility. It started life as a $35 million project and finished at $50 million.
Building new was held out as the least costly of three options, including a 20-year lease for $55 million, or $61 million to lease-to-own after 20 years. But at $7,500 a square metre, it will cost three times as much to build as a new school.
Justice officials promise the courthouse will not be "monumental" - but it will be "significant" as befits an important institution. Another description is extravagant, too extravagant. If cabinet expects to win support, or at least mute resistance, from the people outside Yellowknife who elected them, they should present a more reasonable plan.
People who live outside the capital have other priorities - like schools, medical centres or recreation centres for their children.
No-one enters a 150-mile dog sled race with any other motive than to test themselves and their dogs against the elements and other competitors.
Marcel Marin, a Yukon Quest veteran, and Jordee James-McQueen, a 17-year-old musher who ran the Canadian Championship Dog Derby in memory of her grandfather, were tangled in controversy after Marin and his family accused the teen of cheating.
After investigating the complaints, Dog Derby organizers found no evidence of any wrongdoing.
That may not have satisfied everyone, but it shows how seriously mushers take their sport.
They are not weekend athletes but a dedicated group who raise and train dogs to compete under harsh conditions, for very large prize purses.
It's also a reminder to everyone that knowing the rules, playing by the rules and defending yourself in the heat of competition goes hand in hand with professional sport, which is what dog-mushing is.
Editorial Comment
Shortly after our last federal election, I warned in this column that, historically, minority governments don't have a very long lifespan.
With the sponsorship scandal eating away at the Liberal Party's credibility on an almost daily basis, it won't be long before we're marching off to the polls to cast our votes once again.
If Liberal MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell plans on running again next time - and we have to believe she will, given the possible short time frame since her last win - she may not enjoy the same landslide victories as she did the past few times out.
While Lindell suffered very little political fallout for voting against Private Member's Bill C-263 (the Bill to amend the Canada Labour Code to ban replacement workers during a work stoppage was defeated again in Ottawa this past week), this time around may be a different story.
Unlike Bill C-263, we loudly applaud Lindell's decision to support Bill C-38, the legislation on same-sex civil marriage.
And, we also applaud her reasons for doing so.
However, Nunavut has a strong religious community and there will be negative fallout coming her way after supporting the bill.
Lindell is absolutely correct in her assertion that the church is protected from the legislation because it will not force any church to marry someone it doesn't want to.
So, what we're talking about is matrimony before the eyes of the government, not necessarily before the eyes of God.
Lindell felt voting against Bill C-38 would be akin to saying discrimination against a minority group is all right and we tend to agree with her.
To her, a vote against C-38 was saying she would not discriminate against people except for this particular group.
Bang on, again!
With her reasons for supporting the Bill put out for all to see, one comment stood out above the rest and made us here at Kivalliq News stand up and say, bravo!
Lindell pulled no punches while talking about the state of marriage in the North when she said, "If anything is threatening the sanctity of marriage, it is spousal assault and adultery in our communities."
Nunavut's MP produced an articulate, intelligent, sensitive and challenging set of reasons behind her decision to support Bill C-38.
However, the hardliners in the religious community will not approve of, nor care about, her reasoning.
Make no mistake about it, this decision will cost her votes.
Finest moment
But, in these days of seemingly never-ending political corruption, there are far worse ways for a politician to lose votes than by making a stand for equality.
Lindell felt the pressure from the religious community leading up to this decision, yet still had the courage to vote for what she believed to be right.
And while that may not win her any popularity contests in some corners, it may be her finest moment, to date, as a politician!
Editorial Comment
"It's all about the kids. It's so great to hear them laugh and give them a place to go. It's wonderful."
Since the moment Inuvik's Family Centre opened, sentiments like these have been heard many times, from many different Inuvik residents.
The countless times elders have said they couldn't have wished more for the kids, have not gone unrecorded by these ears.
The community, council planners, local businesses and designers came together with special effort to build a facility that would seem more likely for a large urban centre or beach-side resort.
Beaufort-Delta residents for generations to come have been given way more than just the resources to be healthy and fit. They will have vivid memories of howling laughter and children's smiles to look back on and cherish.
For this, I say kudos to you all!
This project came about through more than just effort and vision, it required some pretty big personal sacrifices by some pretty special people.
The pool would have been built without their donations, but many of the bells and whistles might be missing now without them.
"For the extras we tried to find extra sources of funding," said Jerry Veltman, Senior Administrative Officer.
Veltman and his wife Antje gave $10,000 to help purchase two chairlifts for the disabled and an aquatic wheelchair.
Longtime resident and businessman Danny Smith lobbed a weighty cheque at the town to the tune of $100,000.
Those are major bucks yet he seemed overjoyed to have been able to sign over the donation.
"The Family Centre is a really positive aspect for the Town of Inuvik," said Smith, who has lived here for 25 years.
Town council puts its sweat and tears into all the programs around the community, be it garbage or paving the streets, he noted.
"They get a lot of negative feedback and it's not always right. Peter and the rest of the council do a great job," Smith said.
Speaking modestly, Smith added that he just wanted to reward them with a little "boost."
All the dollars in that little boost will no doubt go far.
Perhaps the most touching tribute came from the Billingsley family.
The open-spaced foyer with grand mural and flowing walls came courtesy of a $50,000 donation in memory of Doug and Vicky Billingsley, who moved to the community with their family in 1973. Both have now passed on and a plaque near the front entrance explains why the donation was made: "In appreciation to the people of Inuvik for many good times."
The spectacular Playland may not have materialized without the help of Michael Fabijan, whose $20,000 donation went a long way towards the $60,000 cost of the play area.
"A lot more people gave more money than me," he said.
This attitude of dowplaying their contributions to the centre seems to be common among the donors. None of them wanted to make a big deal about their donations or see themselves in the spotlight but how could we simply ignore this amazing thing they've done for their community?
There has to be a way we can express our gratitude.
As I drive by the Family Centre daily and see the parking lot packed with cars and kids with beach towels amidst the falling snow, I can only think, this is exactly the thanks these quiet philanthropists want in return for their generosity.
Editorial Comment
This isn't a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. Nor is it a crazed concoction from the mind of Stephen King.
It is my experience on the Liard Trail in the wee hours of April 17.
With Dakota House and friends coming to town on the weekend, it was a prime opportunity to make a last trip to Fort Liard prior to the road blocks going up at the Liard River crossing.
I was on my way by 8 a.m. on Saturday. The drive was a slow one as the roads were in crappy condition due to the repeated thaw and snowfalls. After close to four hours, I pulled into Fort Liard. The day was eventful and very much worthwhile. The youth empowerment workshop seemed to be inspirational to the teens and pre-teens who got involved.
With a feast and traditional dance performance for the public on the agenda for the evening, I was hoping to head for home by around 8 p.m. Time slipped by and it was actually after 10 p.m. by the time I hit the road. Staying the night was an option, but there was plenty of work to do back in Fort Simpson on Sunday, so I wouldn't entertain the idea of bunking down.
Shortly after reaching the peak of the Liard access road and turning left towards the Mackenzie Highway, the truck's headlights illuminated some tracks in the freshly fallen snow. Being the farthest thing from an authority on wildlife, I couldn't tell what type of animal it was, but it had come up over the snow bank on the right-hand side of the road and it apparently trotted along the highway for several kilometres. As I drove I wondered if I would eventually catch up to this beast. At some point, the tracks disappeared and I never gave it any more thought.
After two-and-a-half uneventful hours, I came to a slight bend in the road about three kilometres from the Mackenzie Highway junction, near Checkpoint. Right there in the middle of the road were three caribou. Then all three of them starting running right toward the truck! Their eyes reflected bright red in the headlights, just like someone in a picture with red eye from the flash.
Let me tell you, it was quite a scene.
Because the roads were in horrendous condition, I was only doing around 80 km/h when I spotted the maniacal hoofed ones. I hit the brakes and got down to about 50 km/h as the distance between us closed fast. I actually slumped down in my seat, bracing for impact. I knew it wasn't likely that they'd turn out to be Dancer, Donner and Vixen and miraculously fly off into the night sky.
Nearly just as incredible, the caribou on the right veered off to the right. The other two broke to the left. The one on the inside was so close to the truck that I don't know how he avoided getting hit.
So it turns out this is a tale of a near miss. But I can guarantee you it's one that I will never forget.
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Chris Hunsley
Inuvik Drum
Derek Neary
Deh cho Drum