Monday, November 07, 2005
Major projects including Tahera's Jericho mine, the Lupin mine clean-up and exploration campaigns are being threatened because a number of boards are short staffed.
The Nunavut Water Board is short five members and can't muster a quorum, which means many decisions on water use, management and regulation within the territory aren't being made.
The Nunavut Impact Review Board is down two members, the Wildlife Management Board is short one member and the Nunavut Planning Commission is also short of members.
While the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development is essentially in charge of appointing members, in almost all these examples, it needs two other groups to nominate people to the boards: the territorial government and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
The boards are an important part of ensuring Nunavut doesn't get taken advantage of by companies whose sole purpose is profit.
That said, NTI and the territorial government need to start finding qualified people to fill these boards.
The economic opportunities may turn into missed opportunities if that doesn't happen, or worse yet, corners will be cut and then the territory will really have lost.
You may need to be 18 to vote, but you don't have to be an adult to still be heard.
Youth in Gjoa Haven weren't allowed to cast a ballot in a recent plebiscite on whether to allow alcohol in the community or not, but that didn't stop them from campaigning.
They made posters and spread the message: "Keep our community dry."
And voters heeded their calls. More than 70 per cent of voters said keep Gjoa Haven dry. The mayor and some residents made it clear that the students' message was with them when they went to the polls.
"As the mayor and a parent, I have to support those kids," said Mayor Uriash Puqiqnak.
"There was a lot of meaning in (the students') words," said Ida Porter.
In the end, the voters supported their kids, and showed them that even though they are young, their voice is strong.
For every 10 Northerners needing government services, there is more than one government employee waiting for them to call.
There are 42,982 Northerners and 4,686 people working for government.
The Union of Northern Workers may well scold MLAs who have the common sense to question the need for so many government workers, but we have to ask: When is enough enough? Should there be one government worker for every five Northerners or should we all just work for government?
The UNW has little to worry about. The present GNWT leadership equates action to hiring. A problem is identified, a consultant is contracted, a plan is devised, staff are hired but, sadly, there is no money left to really solve the problem. That's when the premier and ministers blame Ottawa.
They do so because when creating the budget, they imagine how much corporate tax they have coming. They imagine themselves cutting spending. They imagine a bigger slice of national programs. They fancy themselves in a position to influence the American government and multinational oil companies that make far more in profits than the GNWT spends every year.
They tell themselves: You have to spend money to make money, so it's all justified.
"We set a target of reducing spending by $10 million in 2004-05, $20 million in 2005-06 and a further $20 million in 2006-07.
"Today I am able to report we have exceeded our reduction goals for 2004-05 and 2005-06 by $5 million in each year."
That's what Finance Minister Floyd Roland said in his 2004-05 budget address. In the last legislative session, he announced the government spent $31 million over its budget.
At the same time, he was proposing $60 million in new spending while MLAs were shooting down a plan to add 11 new positions to the public service payroll.
We have no doubt cabinet will be contracting a consultant to devise a plan for additional staff to determine exactly where the feds shortchanged us.
In the meantime, ministers will pull out their empty pockets in response to cries from people needing drug and alcohol treatment, proper daycare and cost of living relief.
Government is large enough. It's time to make it focus on serving the people.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
The police in Nunavut are no different than other public figures when it comes to what they say on the record and behind closed doors.
Nunavut's rising crime rate has transcended alarming and become downright scary.
We have people leaving some communities because they either don't feel safe or want a quieter lifestyle in a smaller community.
And we're not just talking southern transplants here.
People born and raised, or who have lived decades, in our bigger communities are relocating to smaller towns.
The police say their job is to make the arrests and the role of handing down justice falls on the courts.
However, too often they see behind closed doors when all-too-lenient sentences are handed down to repeat offenders and those found guilty of violent crimes.
Many Nunavut communities have a small group of habitual thieves who steal everything that isn't bolted down.
And, as was the case of a would-be bank heist in Rankin a few months back, even a solid steel safe embedded in the wall won't stop some from trying.
While criminals seem to have lots of money for booze and drugs, they never have any for fines levied against them and the last thing we want to do is lock them up as a deterrent.
These days, jail time for thieves seems to have become some sort of cruel-and-unusual punishment.
There's been a lot of fingers pointed at alcohol the past few months as the cause of all our criminal problems.
But go to any, and we mean any, municipality in Canada and alcohol is going to be involved in a high percentage of its crimes.
After that, drugs come into play.
Once past drugs and alcohol, it's time to lay the mental instability, emotionally challenged, underprivileged and unloved-in-their-childhood cards on the table.
Heck, it's almost enough to make you feel sorry for these people.
There are no criminals anymore, just a large group of misunderstood people with deep-rooted social scars from one reason or another.
We've become a society in which blame has to be found at the root of almost every action.
In short, precious few are held accountable for their actions anymore. My mom couldn't afford cable when I was young, so that's why I broke into your home to steal your colour TV.
There are no easy answers to curbing the escalating crime in Nunavut.
However, there are easy answers for those who want to explain the whole thing away by simply blaming it on a bunch of drunks.
Alcohol is but one part of the problem. Larger concerns are an overly lenient judicial system and too many communities where the people stay silent out of fear or misguided loyalty.
Hardship is tough for anyone to endure, but it's not a licence to break the law.
And, contrary to what some would have you believe, the vast majority of people who have a beer on the weekend don't break into your home on the way to theirs.
Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
With the new family centre swimming pool in operation, regional trials coming up for a host of winter indoor and outdoor sports, as well as minor hockey, speedskating and figure skating programs available, the often-heard comment "there's nothing for youth to do" doesn't really fly in Inuvik.
However, it will be the typical refrain - more like a lame excuse - when snowmobile season kicks into high gear this winter. One can only hope Inuvik will make it through this season without anyone being seriously injured or killed blasting around town in the middle of the night.
The worst part is, the sleds are often stolen from unsuspecting owners so the thieves can take a joyride.
Idle hands are the devil's tool, or so the old saying goes, and some kids who don't take the opportunity to get involved in the many constructive activities available will no doubt dabble in activities that are not constructive and sometimes downright dangerous.
Ripping off sleds is bad enough, but it's a sad day indeed when elementary school children turn to the cheap thrill of sniffing solvents. It's a far cry from the days when sneaking a cigarette behind the school was considered the mark of rebellion.
These are the times Inuvik finds itself in and while most parents do keep a watchful eye on the extracurricular activities of their children, it is apparent that some do not.
What are we to do with this situation? You'd like to think they would want to keep their kids safe, but you can't force parents to take an active interest in their children.
Time after time, when issues of wayward youth come to the fore, it is the parents who are scrutinized since they are the ones expected to look out for the welfare of their kids.
Obviously the courts are doing little to deter youth from straying down the wrong path. I remember sitting in the courthouse last spring and witnessing a case in which a youth was given a slap on the wrist for damaging two sleds (both stolen) to the tune of about $1,400. No fines, no financial restitution to the owners, hardly the kind of punishment to deter this individual from engaging in the activity again.
So if we can't depend on the parents, the courts or just plain common sense to keep kids out of trouble, then who or what can we depend on?
If we're waiting for God to step in, we could be waiting until Judgement Day and by that time it won't really matter anyways. Judgement Day for Inuvik might look something like this: a pile of burned out snowmobiles with St. Peter sitting atop holding a jerry can of gasoline in one hand and a pack of Players Light in the other. Now try bumming a smoke from that guy!
Sure the town can make a 'snowmobile bylaw' and its officers and the local RCMP can try to enforce it, but that will do little good if parents don't step up to the plate and do their share.
For the love of God, remember the children!
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
It's difficult to know the truth at times.
When one or more community members accuse elected leaders of some sort of injustice, sometimes all a reporter can do is seek the other side of the story.
There is, all too often, precious little tangible evidence (i.e. paperwork) to back up the allegations. Often it's a matter of one person's word against another's.
Family allegiances seem to play a central role in small communities.
When a member of one family is elected, that person's friends and relatives may thrive, or are, at least, perceived to be better off.
There are many tales of preferential treatment: jobs, housing, trips and other benefits are supposedly handed to people closest to those wielding power. We've all heard it one hundred times, or more.
There may also be a legitimate reason why certain individuals make gains: they're the most qualified or the hardest and most reliable workers!
On other occasions, those in authority do play fast and loose with the rules.
One might expect the community to rise up, but some people remain silent for fear of repercussions.
When only one person sounds the alarm, it may indicate there's simply a personality clash at work.
On the other hand, it could be that the outspoken individual is the only one with the courage to make a stand.
These charges of favouritism or corruption certainly aren't unique to the NWT.
Governments everywhere are accused of "cronyism" or "pork-barrelling" (the federal Liberals' "Ad Scam" sponsorship scandal immediately comes to mind).
So why would things be much different at the community level?
But that still doesn't mean every accusation has merit.
There will always be people who step up and criticize those in power, and there will always be media to give them publicity.
That is their right and, to some degree, their duty (so long as it doesn't become libelous).
Sometimes being an elected leader is more trouble than it's worth. But when faced with tough questions from member(s) of the electorate (or a reporter on their behalf), it's best to provide straightforward answers.
It doesn't have to deteriorate into public name calling or "mudslinging."
If you have a valid defence, then spell it out.
If your reasoning is sound, then the accuser will wind up looking petty or absurd.
In the end, it all comes down to credibility - and it's up to each person to decide for himself or herself who is to be believed.
The new Mackenzie Hotel in Inuvik was not built with any government loans from the Northwest Territories Business Development Corp. Incorrect information appeared in the Oct. 31, 2005 issue of News/North in a story headlined: Loan fund names released. The loan listed in connection with the Mackenzie Hotel was related to a previous owner, not the present owner. News/North apologizes for any confusion or embarrassment resulting from the error.