Friday, August 5, 2005
Case for new courtroom lacks facts, figures
We say "hearsay" because the case for a new courthouse lacks any figures whatsoever as to historic caseloads and staffing levels.
In fact, Yellowknifer is told, based upon different "hearsay," courtrooms are often empty and shifting staff to a new courthouse will only create vacancies in the old one.
Based upon this shaky evidence, any reasonable judge would tell the prosecution and defence to do their homework. Don't come back into the courtroom without solid facts to back up their arguments.
The latest move by court administrators to schedule small courtrooms when lots of people are expected and reserving large courtrooms for smaller cases is an abuse of power. The end result is to keep the public from attending to affairs that have a huge impact on their lives. We have to ask how prudent our jurists are being.
These actions also indicate the judges and bureaucrats are determined to get their way on a new state-of-the-art courthouse: justified or not, hang the expense. That's where politicians are to come in and protect the public interest.
What's needed is the kind of unbiased scrutiny we trust judges to practise in their courtroom every day.
We're getting older - not just individually, but on average as a population.
That's what makes the announcement of the $14 million, 24-bed dementia centre timely.
"Dementia" is what a generation ago we called "getting old." We now know more about the more severe symptoms affecting the brain that identify dementia. At some point, a person can't "make do" for themselves as they used to.
Losing memory, language skills and the ability to do certain tasks shouldn't force Yellowknife's seniors to pull up stakes in a community they've committed to for years, maybe decades, of their productive lives.
The Yellowknife Association of Concerned Citizens for Seniors has been working at least 20 years to build a dementia facility.
They should be congratulated for their persistence. The facility will be one more thing to keep Yellowknife a vibrant community.
Editorial Comment
Brent Reaney
Kivalliq News
It's always seemed a little strange to me that our territory's largest single employer, the Government of Nunavut, rarely if ever shows up in the media.
There are definitely weeks when you could read this newspaper without realizing the GN even exists.
Now some people, in some departments can be very helpful. But often, interview requests go days or weeks without fetching so much as a response.
Other times, people call back, but seem to fear losing their job for talking with a reporter about even the most straightforward of topics.
What will it take to break down the wall that exists between the government and the media?
A degree of tension between the two parties is healthy, but somehow this tension seems to have grown into a quiet animosity.
As I travel to communities, I talk with people who feel disconnected from their government.
And considering that many people may not even have access to e-mail, communicating in Nunavut can be a difficult and expensive process.
But there is one thing which everyone has access to: newspapers.
Yes, these pages are printed every week and flown all over Nunavut.
Poor weather can lengthen the time to delivery, but as I had one man tell me, no matter when the issue arrives, "it's still news to me."
And fridges across the territory are adorned with numerous yellowed story and photo clippings.
If I were heading up a government, I would see this vehicle as a perfect way to deliver a message to people.
Maybe to let people know that yes, the territory has problems, but that we have some people, and they are working on them.
But for some reason, it is often difficult to get the GN's side of an issue into the paper.
It shouldn't be this way.
Granted, we can't have every disgruntled government employee blowing off steam in the media.
But we do need the people who are accountable for programs and services to be able to respond to questions they can answer.
Whether this idea of getting fired for giving an unauthorized interview is real or imagined, we need to extinguish it.
Allow me to point out some of the benefits to our government of communicating through the media.
First, the entire edition of Kivalliq News is translated, which means it can be used to inform the entire family.
More importantly, we the media are the only way to talk to the entire territory at little or no cost.
This is not a limited time offer, but for the sake of having informed constituents when the next election comes around, we need you to take advantage of it and return our next call as soon as possible.
Now that that's out of the way, I want to thank everyone who helped me out during my brief stint at the Kivalliq News.
Though my time here would add up to less than a drop in the bucket of life, I've learned a lot.
As you read this, Darrell Greer is likely back in the editor's chair putting together this week's issue.
Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
Those interested in the goings-on of space shuttle Discovery - currently floating in orbit - will know that a mission is underway to repair the vehicle for safe re-entry into earth's atmosphere.
This past week, astronauts have been attempting to fix problems on the craft's underbelly hoping to avert a disaster similar to the one that destroyed Discovery's sister-ship Columbia in 2003.
For a novice space watcher like myself, the events reminded me of a simple fact concerning most astronauts and their credentials.
Prior to becoming space travellers - perhaps the ultimate in extreme professions - most if not all of them possessed training in another field. Biologists, chemists, doctors and engineers make up the bulk of NASA's contingent of astronauts.
When people talk about the opportunities a pipeline can provide, most are focused on the actual construction and the opportunities for Northern people to learn trades.
However, little is said about other types of work involved in building the pipeline and maintaining it once it is operational.
Not to mention the host of industries not directly associated with oil and gas that will benefit from the spin-offs of the pipeline.
Now what does all this have to do with space travel, I hear some of you asking? On the surface, not very much. But those with a vision of the future, those who subscribe to the notion of continuing education, might be able to see the link.
In addition to career opportunities in the sciences, learning a trade can be a gateway to future studies.
I'm not saying that the guy who welds struts for a pipeline river crossing is automatically going to be the next Neil Armstrong.
On the other hand, dreams are the first step to realizing one's potential. And who's to say that hypothetical welder doesn't have what it takes to become a rocket scientist?
Similar to when the Twin Lakes MLA talks of job opportunities for Northerners, he's not just speaking of people holding shovels for the big oil pharaohs. He's talking about potential careers in science, medicine and engineering - all of which are possibilities for anyone with the determination to see them through.
I was speaking with a local about higher education late one evening over beers.
My friend was a bit frustrated with the idea of paying for the education of people from this region when they may not return here to practice their profession.
"It's a big waste of money," was his position.
That's not an uncommon sentiment but it's not the right way to look at the situation.
The education of one's people, regardless of where they may end up working, is of great importance here. In Inuvik there are people from all corners of the globe working in a variety of fields - all of them ambassadors for their country of origin.
Fast forward a few years and picture an Inuvik where a healthy contingent of aboriginal people are leading environmental assessment teams, practising medicine at the regional hospital or working at any number of highly-skilled professional careers in our town.
Nothing outlandish about this possibility at all. And who knows? Maybe one day the Northwest Territories will boast its first home-grown astronaut.
When that day comes, my guess is nobody will be complaining because that person left the community in pursuit of a dream.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
The people of Fort Liard have never been more caught in the middle.
Two men who want to lead the Acho Dene Koe are locked in a bitter struggle for power. The fallout is crippling the community.
Harry Deneron won the July 14 election by 54 votes. In a community with fewer than 400 eligible voters, that is a substantial margin of victory.
Floyd Bertrand appealed the outcome of the election due to alleged coercion and intimidation of band members. Rita Cazon, the returning officer, said an appeal board could not be formed because community members were too fearful of repercussions if they took sides. Cazon consequently issued her own judgment based on written statements by band members. The problem is that Floyd Bertrand collected those statements. In a case like this, any statements, even if they are signed by the band members themselves, should have been taken by a police officer or a justice of the peace. It should have been done by somebody impartial, not by another candidate for chief!
In an open letter to band members, chief-elect Harry Deneron and four of the five new (and unofficial) band councillors state: "Our customary laws are unwritten and do not include any appeal process for challenging elections results."
That may have been the way it was done in the past, but it obviously poses a problem today. The Acho Dene Koe First Nation, like others in the North, has adopted democratic elections.
That's a departure from the bygone practice of having elders and designated family members come together to select a tribal chief or a "head man."
Because their method for choosing a leader has changed, the band needs to devise and ratify a written procedure for responding to appeals (or even borrow a workable precedent from another First Nation).
The democratic election process is not foolproof, unfortunately. There is potential for wrongdoing.
Therefore it is crucial to have an independent body that can objectively assess whether election guidelines were followed - even if some or all the members of that body have to come from another community to do it.
The question now is who is going to draft an updated election code? It is probably best left in the hands of a mediator, someone who can get both sides to agree on the rules and regulations.
Then it could be enacted in a closely-monitored election to be held as soon as possible.
Barring that, this big ball of wax could very well be headed to federal court. If that is the case, it could be months before a ruling is made.
In the meantime band members will be left shaking their heads in disbelief.
In the Aug.1 News/North front page story "Arson ruins shelter," it was the Nav Canada Flight Service Specialists at the airport who reported the fire at Fred Henne territorial park, not the Yellowknife Airport control tower.
In the Yellowknifer story "$14 million for dementia centre," July 27, the sentence "Canadian statistics show that 80 per cent of the population will at some point develop Alzheimer's," it should have read eight per cent.
Yellowknifer apologizes for any confusion.