Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Yes, councillors get paid, but that should only balance out the time away from family and employment.
It should never be seen as a "job."
However, the hundreds of hours spent at dozens of council meetings, talking with constituents, researching issues and representing the community now pays $14,742.61.
The council remuneration committee did some research and recommended councillors receive $20,000 a year in base pay and tax-free allowance, as well as a $2,000 computer allowance and $2,000 a year for child care expenses. If councillors work 15 hours a week on city issues, a reasonable estimate taken over 52 weeks, the increase takes them from $18.90 an hour to over $25.60 an hour.
Whatever views are held on the appropriateness of the raise, council members deserve congratulations for resisting the recommendation to give themselves a raise in January. Instead, they voted to delay any increase until after the next election in the fall of 2006.
The only recommendation that should not be approved is one that links future council pay to wage increases for city workers.
If that's adopted, city councillors would be in a conflict of interest every time they vote on a new collective agreement. Where would the incentive be to hold the line on spending?
Instead, future pay reviews should be done on a regular basis by an independent committee, preferably in the months before a civic election. That takes control over pay out of councillors' hands.
While the remuneration bylaw has yet to become law and members of the public can still register their opinions for or against, the real test will come in October 2006 when councillors go to the polls.
Come next year, it's unlikely Yellowknifer will be alone in asking which candidates for council support the increase.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
There is grumbling in some corners over the way Nunavut's Health Department handled the discovery of the HTLV-1 virus this past month.
Some believe the department was far too slow in releasing a public warning on the virus and making testing available in the territory.
In fact, some say the department gambled with people's lives by being so slow to react to the positive tests.
They claim every day the information was not public knowledge was another day people were needlessly put at risk.
Unfortunately, the only point raised we can sympathize with concerns expectant mothers who may test positive for the virus and become afraid of passing it along to their unborn child.
If any pregnant women do, indeed, test positive, they should discuss breastfeeding with their doctor before the baby is born.
The HTLV-1 virus infects the blood and can cause cancer of the blood and disease of the nervous symptom.
However, only about four per cent of those who test positive for the virus will ever get sick.
There is no known treatment or cure.
The virus is transmitted the same way a more well-known and far more deadly virus, HIV, is spread - through unprotected sex and the sharing of needles.
In short, blood-to-blood contact or unprotected sexual intercourse.
Now, we don't mean to be insensitive, but just about everybody these days knows the fate awaiting people with the HIV virus who develop full-blown acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
While a number of drugs have been developed which improve the quality of life for those infected with AIDS, it's still one of the scariest afflictions known to mankind.
Like cancer, the mere mention of AIDS sends a shiver through the most well grounded among us.
Yet, for all the pain caused by HIV infection, people still have unprotected sex and share needles when doing drugs.
We would ask those so quick to damn the health department; if the spectre of AIDS is not enough to make some people change their behaviour and live smart, what makes them think the threat of the HTLV-1 virus will?
Let's be honest, next to AIDS - and a few other most unpleasant sexually-transmitted diseases - the HTLV-1 virus amounts to little more than an afterthought.
The best way to combat these types of diseases remains education and awareness.
Unfortunately, some people refuse to get the message.
As long as humanity has free will there will always be those who will engage in unprotected sex and share needles while injecting drugs, no matter what the dangers.
The most we can ask from our territorial and federal health departments is to keep sending out the message.
Hopefully, with a heavy focus on our youth, more will turn on their receivers in the future.
In the meantime, talk to your children.
That will accomplish far more than talking about blame.
Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
This week's editorial was going to be about "federal waste" in the form of Volunteer NWT; about free trips and volunteering and who wouldn't want to volunteer for a free trip to Inuvik.
Anyways, I thought about what I had written and about the fact I didn't want to give the impression I was down on volunteering or volunteers.
Then, I thought about Thanksgiving and about how we should think about the positives and then Cindy Cardinal, a homeless woman in the south came on television.
She appeared to be a person suffering from an addiction but regardless, her grim synopsis of the situation was pretty much on target.
The money's out there but it goes toward people's bad habits rather than things like food, was how Cindy summed it up during her 15 seconds of fame.
Then I thought about Inuvik.
When people ask me what I think of Inuvik, I say it's got its problems. I say this because it's true, like it's true for anywhere else in the world. The one thing I know for sure is that the landfill is getting bigger.
What I think of Inuvik's potential
I think the future for Inuvik and the region could be very bright. There are plenty of opportunities if people are willing to make the effort.
What I think of Inuvik if there is no pipeline
We can expect nothing more than the problems that are already here, ones we're already dealing with. Self-government is coming, but don't forget there's no new money coming in - from government at least - and we are still where we were yesterday.
One thing that I know for sure is that whenever a decision is made about the pipeline, the landfill will have gotten a little bit more full.
What I think if there is a pipeline
If it is seen through to completion then say goodbye to status quo because there's going to be more money and the subsequent impacts will be plenty, some positive, others downright negative. There will be more (insert consultant's fee/opportunity for building-capacity initiative here), of course. But that is not necessarily a negative thing.
As for the state of the landfill, its size will most definitely be increasing more rapidly and perhaps others will have to be dug.
Which brings me to Volunteer NWT
Funded by the federal government there are capable people who are members of this organization. The trip to Inuvik could easily be charged to Ottawa as an exercise in building capacity, that wonderful government speak for throwing money at something with the hopes of that action having a positive impact.
In this case the only discernable impact is that everybody got together and bonded. Sounds like fun. However, that should not be the sole reason to spend money.
Now think of all the channels this information generated by boards and all those other handy government instruments has to travel through until a person in Cindy's situation or anybody else who could really benefit from having their "capacity built," actually gets the help they need.
Hey, I hear they shot a bear that wandered into town from the direction of the dump.
Was it looking to volunteer or was it because the dump just keeps getting bigger? What do you think?
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
Mining companies and conservation groups rarely see eye to eye.
We saw a prime example of that at last week's public hearings for Canadian Zinc Corporation. Dan O'Rourke, a spokesperson for the mining company, said a major misinformation campaign has been launched against Prairie Creek mine. He later confirmed that he was referring to the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS).
It's no secret that there's tension between the two parties. Canadian Zinc has gone so far as to attempt to have CPAWS removed as an intervenor from the environmental assessment process. The company was not successful in that regard.
Yes, CPAWS does raise many concerns about the mine. Some people accuse the pro-environment organization of scare tactics. In essence, it boils down to the fact that as long as there is a mine, there is potential for damage to the environment. You can't get around that. If the mine site did not exist, there would be no contaminants in the area; there would be no vehicles transporting hazardous materials; there would be less disturbance to wildlife and vegetation.
A substantial oil spill occurred at the CanTung mine in 2002. Was it catastrophic? No, but it was a reminder that no matter how tightly industry is regulated, accidents will happen. The best we can do is ensure the mining company follows stringent guidelines, posts an environmental damage deposit early and cleans up any mess to the highest standards.
There are those, on the other hand, who see greater benefit from Prairie Creek mine than drawbacks. Fort Simpson Mayor Raymond Michaud is one of them. He has spoken in favour of the hundreds of long-term jobs that the project can bring.
What price do we pay for those jobs? Is noise a legitimate concern?
At one point during last week's hearings, Gabrielle Mackenzie-Scott, chair of the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board, spoke of the cultural significance of wildlife. She asked several questions about how the company's helicopter flights may distress the nearby animals.
Michaud later retorted that it's getting to the point that someone going into the bush to cut firewood with a chainsaw will be referred to an environmental assessment because of noise issues.
Even if the racket created by industrial machinery isn't a critical factor, we must keep in mind that this is still an early stage of the mine's overall plan. Remember, a drilling program, if fruitful, will inevitably lead to a greater desire to have an all-weather road. How much of an impact will that and the associated traffic have?
We know humans and animals must co-exist.
We also know we need base metals. They have to come from somewhere.
We have to strike a balance, but it seems that defining balance poses the greatest challenge.
Yellowknifer is committed to getting it right, either facts or names. With that goes a commitment to acknowledge mistakes and run corrections. If you spot an error in Yellowknifer, call 873-4031 and ask to speak to an editor, or e-mail editorial@nnsl.com. We'll get a correction or clarification in as soon as we can.