Monday, September 19, 2005
They're called nurse practitioners and a course has been offered by Aurora College since 2001. They are trained to prescribe some medications, make early diagnoses, order tests and do minor surgeries like sewing some wounds.
But it's only this past August that the NWT government passed regulations authorizing nurse practitioners to carry out their duties.
As a result, there are only two nurse practitioners in Yellowknife and one each in Hay River and Fort Smith.
Nurse practitioners were to be, and still can be, the health care solution for many NWT communities.
Communities too small for a doctor still need a higher level of care than a registered nurse can provide.
Right now patients are flown to Yellowknife or Inuvik when they could be treated in their local nursing station.
Medevacs are a costly drain when services are being cut due to low staffing levels and tight budgets. Government departments responsible for creating and carrying out training that would put Northerners to work to solve a Northern health problem did their jobs well.
But their colleagues and political leaders dropped the ball for four years.
Now that the regulations are in place and the value of nurse practitioners proven, the seven students enroled in Aurora College's program should have jobs waiting for them upon graduation. It's up to government to see that happens.
A lawsuit on behalf of hundreds of Inuvialuit survivors of residential schools has been launched by the Inuvialuit Regional Corp. On hearing the news, Lawrence Thrasher of Tuktoyaktuk asked the most relevant question: "Why is this only happening now?" The short answer is that Inuvialuit were not included in a lawsuit the Assembly of First Nations filed last August on behalf of thousands of native claimants across Canada.
The long answer is that the Inuvialuit, like all other residential school claimants, have been victimized again by the federal government's foot-dragging on the file.
The federal government has acknowledged the damage done. But despite hundreds of millions spent - most of it on government bureaucrats and lawyers - it seems it will be left to the victims to prove their claims in court. How many more years will pass before the issue is laid to rest and the shameful chapter in Canada's history is closed?
Mosesee Nowdlak's rap sheet is four pages long. This sterile document doesn't come close to describing the havoc that has followed the man nicknamed "Cowboy." Unwritten are assaults and offences that were never prosecuted, including an attack on his own father.
Nowdlak's sister testified that members of his own family are afraid of him. He lived with a woman for three months in 1997 and Crown attorney Christine Gagnon said "the offender managed to wreck her life and left scars that are still apparent today."
Even when he was in custody, Nowdlak "did what he had to do to get what he wanted regardless of the consequences."
In his most recent run-in with the law, in 2001, Nowdlak traded stolen goods for booze, then torched an Iqaluit apartment because someone stole some of his alcohol. A day later, he smashed a man's head with a hammer.
He's been in custody ever since and there he will remain for up to eight more years.
But he will get out, after Justice Earl Johnson rejected an application to have Nowdlak declared a dangerous offender.
Instead, Nowdlak was named a long-term offender, meaning that once released he will be under court-ordered supervision for up to 10 years.
Justice Johnson agreed Nowdlak meets all criteria for being named a dangerous offender, including a substantial risk to re-offend. But the judge said he was bound by a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that long-term monitoring must be imposed if there is a chance for rehabilitation.
"If the offender opens his heart and mind to altering his behaviour, there may come a point in time when he can be restored to the community," ruled Justice Johnson.
That's a big if. The ruling bends over backward to give a lifetime criminal another opportunity in a string of second-chances.
Nowdlak has never shown remorse for his crimes and has made no effort to seek help in controlling his violent behaviour during the 15 years this 40-year-old has already spent in jail.
The Crown should appeal. A dangerous offender ruling with its indeterminate jail sentence is the only way to protect the public. It's not the same as putting him in jail and throwing away the key.
Nowdlak would have opportunities to prove to a parole board that he has sought help to change and get his dangerous offender status reduced.
Instead, all he has to do is bide his time in prison and wait for mandatory release. Treatment cannot be imposed by the court.
We hope Nowdlak seeks help because the alternative is pain and suffering for more innocent victims.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
It's no secret to those who follow such matters in Rankin Inlet that hamlet senior administrative officer John Hodgson and works superintendent Arnie Brown are catching a lot of heat these days.
In fact, the thinly veiled sniping at the two by a number of hamlet councillors during the past two months has reached an all-time high - or low, depending on one's perspective.
A number of debates erupted during the Sept. 6 regular council meeting, including a lively discussion over the hamlet's use, or lack thereof, of the maintenance management operating system (MMOS).
The computer program, with the proper inputting of data, manages assets by recording tools, vehicles, houses, maintenance, etc.
During the debate, Coun. Robert Janes went so far as to insinuate he understood Brown's past experience with the MMOS was one of the main reasons he was hired by the hamlet.
And, should Brown not have the time to input data on the system, if a full-time data processor has to be hired for the MMOS, council may want to consider taking another look at the works superintendent position.
Hodgson is in the unenviable position of being the SAO for a municipality which has two former SAOs as elected councillors.
The forum for second guessing is an obvious one. A number of councillors have also raised concerns about the manner in which municipal decisions have been made recently, not the least of which are the request for proposals that went out for the Dianne River Trail and the decision to proceed with the airport dredging project.
Make no mistake about it, hamlet council is a divided group right now.
Mayor Lorne Kusugak has always provided a consistent voice of reason while trying to steer the hamlet in the right direction.
However, the mayor may soon have to put his foot down to quash the infighting before the problems facing the hamlet grow beyond control.
There is a serious communication problem within the municipality.
It has eroded to the point where the supposed sending and non-receipt of e-mails and the recanting of personal conversations are being presented as facts in substantiating a party's claims in a dispute.
There is also concern in some corners that personal agendas are being pursued at the expense of the community.
While council must always ensure it treats everyone in the community fairly, that rings especially true when the awarding of contracts and the passing of money is involved.
While it goes without saying there will always be differences of opinion in the running of a municipality, the environment council finds itself in now is not a healthy one.
It is time for Kusugak to tap into the exemplary leadership skills he has shown during his past two terms and bring his council and municipal administrators back on the same page.
It is not an understatement to say the direction the community takes in the foreseeable future depends upon it.
Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
Having listened to leadership from around the territories speak in the past about the importance of education - and in light of the closure of Samuel Hearne secondary school and the territorial government's response - one would have to be a blind optimist not to question the sincerity of the GNWT's commitment in this regard.
Forget about the roles and responsibilities of actually educating the students and focus on the fact that teachers and staff now lack a building from which to do so.
By last Thursday, nearly a week after the order was given to lock down Samuel Hearne, the District Education Authority's options were scant at best: either double-shift Sir Alexander Mackenzie school or run classes from multiple locations around town.
If you can believe the DEA was actually waiting on a decision from the curling club about the use of its ice pad before deciding what to do next, then you have a pretty good picture of the government nincompoopery that has surrounded this unfortunate set of circumstances.
In fact, the GNWT's handling of this affair has been a complete joke.
"We'll give the DEA anything it needs," was the word from Education Culture and Employment in Yellowknife. As the DEA waited for the curling club to make a decision, perhaps they should have been baking muffins for the teachers, who went well beyond the call of their usual duties by moving countless boxes.
And since we're on the subject of baking, why not fashion a gingerbread school house, as ECE can't seem to have come up with a better alternative. Furthermore, according to the minister of that department, there is not even a contingency plan in place to deal with the aftermath of a school burning down, falling down or just plain closing down.
But this tragic comedy begins even before Samuel Hearne was closed, when public works decided to spend upwards of a million bucks on a new foyer for a building that apparently lacked the structural integrity to be safely occupied. Unfortunately, the foyer cannot accommodate 400 staff and students so the DEA and Beaufort Delta Education Council were left scrambling for alternatives. Tuesday was day five and there were still no classes for secondary school students in Inuvik. Enter the Midnight Sun Rec Complex scenario, where at first glance it appeared the town offered up use of only part of the facility, then seemingly put the onus on the curling club to pony up its ice pad instead of offering use of the town's hockey rink on the other side of the building.
The club initially balked at giving up its rink, but relented after learning the town decided during an emergency meeting to give the entire recreation facility over to the high school, including the hockey rink.
According to the mayor, it was all a big misunderstanding. As well, it was the DEA that favoured the curling pad over the hockey rink in the first place.
Regardless, thinking of all the stories floating around town by Sunday afternoon about what was supposedly happening - as opposed to what actually was going to happen - and you'll get a pretty good idea about how signals became crossed and why confusion seemed to prevail.
So for now, the students have the space they require and with help from the town, curling club, college and SAMS things will hopefully return to some kind of normal routine for students.
However, anyone looking forward to a season of speedskating, hockey, figure skating, broomball and curling are now going to be waiting on the sidelines either for the restoration of Samuel Hearne or for the clouds to open and a school to magically drop from the heavens.
Better get baking.
Editorial Comment
Andrew Raven
Deh Cho Drum
Last month, five territorial politicians criss-crossed the Dehcho asking citizens how the government should spend its bloated $1 billion annual budget.
That fantastic total amounts to about $23,800 for each resident of the Northwest Territories - four times more than Ontario spends per capita.
While the territories face some monumental geographical challenges - including a patchwork road system that only partially connects its far-flung communities - the government should have no problem administering 42,000 people with $1 billion.
Griping about federal transfer payments has become sport in the legislative assembly, where Ottawa, like an obese, over-the-hill boxer, is the perfect target for politicians looking to score points.
What the territorial government really should do though, is look itself in the mirror and trim some fat.
First on the chopping block: the proposed Yellowknife Courthouse. For $41-million dollars, the government wants to build this white elephant in the marshland beside the legislative assembly.
The only problem? The rate of violent crime here is seven times the national average. Several remote communities still do not have police stations. And the civil legal aid system is jammed up the yin-yang.
While a lavish courthouse would be an excellent locale for some judicial robe-hanging, it would be absolutely useless for those citizens who are bashed senseless on a weekly basis.
Item number two: cut back on the swag. The sheer number of pens, notepads, baseball caps and key chains emblazoned with the logos of the territorial government and its associated boards is astounding. A newsroom favourite: a mesh-backed baseball cap touting the NWT Protected Areas Strategy - a program designed to restrict industrial development in some areas. Kitchy? Yes. Necessary? Hardly.
And if the government really feels like thinking outside the box, it should re-evaluate its ownership of the NWT Liquor Commission.
The commission, which supplies the entire Northwest Territories with booze, generated more than $35 million in revenues last year. While that total is impressive, tens of millions more were probably spent dealing with problems caused by alcohol. (Nearly 9 in 10 cases that pass through the court system are alcohol-related.)
As an inmate at the North Slave Correctional Centre once said: the system is designed to feed off itself. Yellowknife sells alcohol and then employs a massive number of people to deal with the fallout, the bureaucratic version of the circle of life.
In the end, there are dozens of ways a motivated government could save money. Hopefully, by travelling across the Dehcho and the rest of the Northwest Territories, that will become apparent to our leaders.
In last week's News/North, Jack Kruger was incorrectly identified as a sergeant with the RCMP ("Search for Inuvik teen called off," Sept. 12). Kruger is a retired staff sergeant, but still works for the RCMP as a search and rescue co-ordinator.