Monday, August 22, 2005
People have an almost casual relationship with firearms in the North. Police know better than anyone that in the wrong hands a loaded rifle can be much more sinister than something used to chase away bears or a bag a moose.
Yet, the Canadian Firearms Act never had much support up here. Community leaders either panned it outright or deemed it something best ignored. Our last premier, Stephen Kakfwi, called the new law "draconian," and said his government wouldn't spend one penny to help Ottawa enforce it.
Such powerful views, aided by poor public relations from the federal government, galvanized public opinion into believing that the gun law didn't belong in the Northwest Territories.
No wonder Hagen had an arsenal full of unregistered guns in his cabin. Sadly, the next time police need to use someone's cabin, otherwise law-abiding people may not offer their's for fear of being charged themselves.
The RCMP are instructed to use "discretion" when applying the gun law.
The lack of it in Hagen's case will only hinder efforts to build good relations with Northerners.
A simple warning might have done more to encourage other errant gun owners to do the same, rather than the public relations disaster police have now.
Now that communities have shares of $35 million in Northern Strategy dollars, it's time to figure out how to spend that money.
It has the potential to do good, but spending decisions must involve everyone and benefit entire communities. If we simply trade one back room for another, this money could be squandered quite quickly.
Instead, people in each community must voice their desires. And now is not the time for new ideas.
Focus on those ongoing items that have been on wish lists for far too many years. Fort Simpson's long-standing desire for a year-round swimming pool comes to mind as the ideal type of project to consider.
It would give youth the opportunity to enjoy a range of activities where many have complained they have nothing to do during certain times of the year. The money won't solve all community woes, but it's enough to do something that will have lasting, tangible impact.
But if people don't speak up and hold their leaders accountable for how to spend this windfall, it could become an opportunity missed that likely won't come around again for a very long time.
In a time of me-first attitudes, it's nice to see people put others first. That's what Eric McNair-Landry, with help from Mike Mifflin, did in Iqaluit recently when he paddled out onto Frobisher Bay to pluck an eight-year-old boy from the water.
The two young men grabbed a canoe and McNair-Landry set out to the rescue of the unknown child, only later realizing the boat he was in wasn't the most stable vessel around.
Nunavummiut have shown more than once their willingness to put themselves at risk for others.
The young boy likely learned a few important lessons, one about water safety and the other about the selflessness of others.
They are lessons every one of us should heed.
The Canada Summer Games came and went and Team Nunavut didn't climb the medal podium.
It would be easy to boo-hoo this. There are some who would say Nunavut shouldn't send teams to these athletic events unless returning North of 60 with at least one bronze medal can be guaranteed.
But participation counts.
There may not be much Nunavut can do when facing monied and population-rich provinces like Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.
But we're part of Canada. Showing up for the Summer Games is a little like voting: we shouldn't vote with the expectation of being part of the winning team. We should be voting to participate in a democratic right. As part of Canada, our tiny teams and under-trained athletes had as much right to be in Regina these past two weeks as golden provincial athletes coming from a talent pool of millions and developed from a cornucopia of sports facilities and top coaches.
Team Nunavut members are giving their all.
Doing your best. Taking part. That's all that should matter.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
As a journalist, I learned a long time ago that human attitudes and behaviour will always be constant sources of amazement.
So, I thought I had taken it completely in stride this past week when I was stopped by a local resident and criticized for writing far too many good-news-type articles in the newspaper.
I had to stop ignoring all the bad news, I was politely told, and start being more critical of the system.
I can honestly say this was the first time I was ever accused of being a love, luck and lollipops type of writer.
However, I didn't really find the criticism as peculiar as its timing.
During my first 10 days back in Rankin after my vacation, I was actually feeling a little overwhelmed by what felt like a steady stream of bad-news-type stories.
Accidental deaths, dog attacks, crime sprees and violent acts are not pleasant stories to cover when they all involve or affect people you know personally.
And, c'mon, I've been known to take the odd swipe or two at the "system," yet, I found the person's words still bugging me two days later.
Then I realized what was bugging me was the idea of letting the bad guys win.
To me, filling the newspaper week after week with nothing but gloom, doom and despair, while ignoring those in our communities who work so hard to make things better, would be doing exactly that -- letting the bad guys win.
News is news, and must be reported, good or bad.
However, although there are times we all have moments of doubt, the good things in our lives still heavily outweigh the bad.
Yes, there is bad news again in this week's paper.
But there are also stories of heroism, of community leaders fighting to improve the quality of life in our hamlets, and of graduates receiving their diplomas in a school for the very first time.
You will also find a rising hockey star, from right here in our region, talking about the excitement of the upcoming NHL year, the hopes of a group of wrestlers battling adversity as they get set to compete on a national stage, and a local athlete who may have to choose between two sports he loves to play this coming year.
The one thing bad news and good news have in common, is that they are both part of life.
And, the job of a community newspaper is to tell the stories of the people in our towns who make life so interesting.
That being said, it is only logical that the good news stories occupy the vast majority of our pages, because we have so many good, interesting and determined-to-succeed people living in our communities.
At the risk of being somewhat philosophical (hey, it's an opinion piece, I'm allowed) - to accept the bad, is simply to accept the inevitable.
But, to celebrate the good surrounding us every day, that, valued readers, is to celebrate life itself.
Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
"(September) is the month when the great fish come. Anyone can be a fisherman in May." - Santiago from Ernest Hemmingway's novel, Old Man and the Sea
Judging by the variety of reactions to last week's access and benefits summit in Inuvik between pipeline proponents and aboriginal leadership, one wonders if everybody was attending the same meeting.
While one group continues to harp on about Imperial's socio-economic impact obligations, another expresses concern about securing lucrative contracts inside its settlement region. That's if the pipeline project ever sees the light of day.
That said, progress is being made.
At the beginning of the year things were looking bleak before the Deh Cho and the feds patched things up.
Then, four months later Imperial announces it's halting work on the project, citing unreasonable demands from the communities in terms of socio-economic compensation.
The company, which is the lead proponent in the pipeline project, stated its intentions to continue talks, even while some aboriginal negotiators were saying the access and benefits package put forward by Imperial last week in Inuvik was miles from making the grade.
Like Santiago, the persistent fisherman in Hemmingway's story, nobody is backing away from the mother-of-all-fish waiting to be landed, if and when the project gets the go-ahead.
With Joint Review Panel and National Energy Board hearings still to take place, issues regarding the preferential contract awarding processes are as distant as the harbour seems to Santiago the moment the old fisherman hooks his prize marlin, only to have it drag him out further to sea before being completely devoured by sharks.
I suppose this entire Hemmingway metaphor is not so much a case of casting pipeline players into various roles in the tale, rather the idea that, as in the story, each player - the sea, the fish and the fisherman - relies on the others.
Put another way, without the gas, or the proponents or those who will be affected - for good or ill - along the pipeline corridor, the Mackenzie Gas Project would not exist in its current state.
Since everybody appears ready to continue negotiating, the pipeline is far from dead in the water. And so the players will meet again this September in Calgary.
The question that remains is whether they will land the big one or continue to chase what seems to move further away with each passing day.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
Essential (adjective): Necessary, indispensable.
That's the Oxford Dictionary's definition of the word.
The debate rages on as to whether the Lafferty ferry should be designated an "essential service" to keep it running should crew members go on strike.
Twice each year, during freeze-up and break-up, people in Fort Simpson, like those in Wrigley, have to pay more for produce and dairy.
Those goods and others are transported by helicopter across the Liard River (or the Mackenzie River in Wrigley's case). For three to four weeks in spring and again in late fall, vehicles are unable to get from one side of the waterway to the other. That's a fact, and we've lived with it for many years.
The only way to change it would be to build a bridge as is planned in Fort Providence. So, being faced with the prospect of having no river shuttle during the summer is highly unusual and it would most certainly be a huge inconvenience. But can we say the ferry is absolutely necessary? There appears to be at least one argument that makes the case. Although traffic would be greatly reduced, anyone who gets into an accident on the opposite side of the Liard River from Fort Simpson is exposed to greater risk.
Paying an extra buck for two litres of milk or an additional 50 cents for carrots isn't life threatening. Lying in the ditch with internal bleeding, perhaps unconscious, following a serious car accident, now that is a matter of life or death.
Yes, a helicopter can often be used a substitute for emergency purposes - it's even faster than the ambulance. However, as one astute Fort Simpson resident pointed out, helicopters are subject to grounding due to low cloud cover or heavy smoke. Then there is a possibility that no helicopters are immediately available.
It may be quite an unlikely scenario, but if you or your family members were the ones severely injured in a crumpled truck and a helicopter could not be dispatched to come to your aid, then you would probably be convinced that the ferry is an essential service. It's the only way the ambulance could arrive. That would seem to make the vessel necessary, indispensable.
The legislation pertaining to the matter states that the service must be maintained "to the extent necessary to prevent an immediate and serious danger to the safety or health of the public."
Would that mean it's permissible for the ferry crew to picket so long as they get the vessel going should an ambulance need to make a crossing? That's a grey area.
Then there is the fact that the ferry currently doesn't run after midnight or start until 8 a.m. Because there are fewer vehicles on the road at those hours, accidents are pretty well unheard of at those times, but still possible. So that's another grey area.
The "essential service" label is going to be a tough call for the Canada Labour Relations Board. Practically everyone in Fort Simpson and Wrigley is waiting with bated breath for their decision.
A front page headline in last week's paper was incorrect. It should have read "Two people charged with sexual assault in Rankin Inlet." Nunavut News/North apologizes for the error.