Monday, January 9, 2006
Everything short of chartering a plane themselves and and flying them to Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife, that is.
The community has no nurse, only a "lay dispenser" who didn't see anything wrong and sent the girls home. The girls, 10 and 9, remained in bed for the next four days until the nurse from Fort Simpson arrived in town. Only then, and with Simpson's X-ray machine broken, were the girls flown to Yellowknife where each was diagnosed with stable fractures.
According to the parents, the girls were in pain the entire time and their father is upset that their daughters' injuries were not taken seriously.
A health department investigation conveniently overlooks the fact the girls were brought to the highest level of care available and were told nothing was wrong.
Is the health department suggesting it was a mistake for the parents to believe what they were told?
And when the girls' mother called the nurse in Simpson to say the girls were still in pain, they were told to wait, that the nurse was flying in the next day and would see them then. Despite this promise the girls weren't examined by the nurse until the day after that.
Common sense suggests that there should have been a greater sense of urgency by health practitioners. After all, a snowmobile weighing hundreds of kilograms had rolled onto the girls' legs.
By blaming the parents, health officials don't appear to have learned anything from this incident.
They ought to use this experience to find ways to improve health services in communities like Wrigley.
We dare anyone from Canada Post to visit Sanikiluaq and talk about the Crown corporation's delivery successes.
That person would likely get jeers because for members of the small Hudson
Bay community, mail service has been nothing short of frustrating.
But then again, a visit by a top postal official to apologize to residents for months of mail heartache might open Canada Post's eyes to why on-time delivery is so important. In this community of 800 there are few jobs and government cheques are needed to fill the pantry and pay the bills.
After months of important mail being delayed or misdirected to other communities, Canada Post chartered a plane to get December cheques to Sanikiluaq on time. A costly remedy that doesn't fix the problem.
Even so, 30 families went without cash when their child tax credit cheques didn't arrive.
It was only thanks to the generosity of the Northern store and Co-op were those 30 families able to scrape by this Christmas.
Direct deposit of cheques would ensure the money is in people's accounts on time, but there's no bank in Sanikiluaq.
Canada Post says it has solved the misdirection problem by re-routing the community's mail to its "Northern services team" in Kuujjuaq, but that shouldn't be necessary.
Surely professional mail sorters in Montreal can do just as good a job.
Everyone will be watching later this month when the next round of cheques are due to see if these new promises are kept or broken.
Women are increasingly playing an important role in politics in the territory.
Two young women were elected as mayor of their communities before the holidays and one was re-elected, bringing the number of female mayors in the territory to six.
There were also a number of women councillors elected to office across the territory.
It is encouraging to see more women take an interest in how their communities are run. It is even more encouraging to see them start at a young age.
In Cambridge Bay and in Arctic Bay, the two women elected mayor - Michelle Gillis and Darlene Willie - are 26 and 25 respectively.
Being in charge of a hamlet is a lot of responsibility, but these young women are confident they can make a difference, and their communities have given them that opportunity.
The scales between women and men aren't balanced yet, but if Gillis and Willie are any indication, that is in the process of changing.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
As we look ahead to a promising new year, we'd like to take a moment to thank all those who have helped Kivalliq News grow right along with our territory.
First and foremost, we'd like to thank all our readers for your continued support because without you, there'd be no need for us.
The efforts of associate editor Mikle Langenhan must also be acknowledged. It's thanks to her that readers are able to enjoy the news in their native Inuktitut.
Being a regional newspaper in the Kivalliq has its fair share of challenges, especially when it comes to highlighting accomplishments in every community.
We simply wouldn't be able to do it if not for the good folks who pass along tips and photos of those who strive to improve quality of life in their communities.
That list of people includes Gord Billard in Arviat, whose photos from various school and community events, as well as the efforts of the Qitiqliq Music and Drama Club, have brought a smile to the face and a tear to the eye of many people across the region.
Words sometimes don't seem adequate enough to properly thank Leonie Aissaoui of Repulse Bay for all her contributions to the Kivalliq News during the past decade.
There's rarely news in Repulse that Leonie doesn't pass along to us, and for that we are eternally grateful.
For the past year or so, we have been fortunate enough to receive photos and news items from students in the Jonah Amitnaaq Multi-Media Club in Baker Lake.
These kids do a wonderful job in their community and we appreciate them sharing their budding talents with our readers.
While we're dealing with Baker, we'd also like to tip our pens to Tania Marsh, Bill Cooper and Jim Kreuger for taking the time to highlight your community's traditional artists, developing athletes, and young students and scientists.
To Glen Brocklebank and his significant other, Anna, as well as RCMP Const. Allan Nickerson in Chesterfield Inlet - thanks for all the great items of the past year and we look forward to more.
To Noel Kaludjak and Bruce and Leonie McKitrick in Coral Harbour, thanks for everything and all the best in the new year.
Lest we leave the impression only folks outside of Rankin Inlet lend us a hand, we have a few thank yous to pass along here too.
Thanks to Doug and Karen McLarty for the great paper carriers of the past 10 years, and for realizing even the local editor can't be everywhere all the time.
Many a great McLarty photo has graced the pages of our newspaper.
A personal thank you to Sarah Ayaruak for always having the time to put a name to the faces who escape me.
Sarah has helped many a photo appear on our pages by knowing almost everyone who has ever lived in the region.
Thanks to all the teachers, recreation co-ordinators, SAOs and everyone else who took the time to send a photo or answer one of my seemingly endless questions.
And finally, to all those who advertised with the Kivalliq News during the past year, thanks for helping us keep the lights on.
It's been a great year, and we look forward to informing and entertaining you again in 2006.
Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
Local fans of the Simpsons television series can now take pride in the fact that like Springfield - the cartoon homeland of Bart and Lisa - Inuvik has its very own landfill fire.
Though true that Springfield's is a tire fire (not a landfill roast), with no restrictions on dumping for much of the nearly three decades that Inuvik's landfill has been in operation, it's a pretty fair bet that there's more than a few tires sizzling in our burning heap of trash smouldering outside of town.
By the outgoing landfill contractor's estimate, 80 per cent of what's buried in the dump is cardboard and paper - both recyclable - which makes marvellous fuel for fire.
Before the environmental movement hit its stride and citizens of the developed world started to realize the impact their packaged lifestyles were having on Mother Nature, the bury and forget mentality ruled the day when it came to dump management.
As municipalities started to understand seepage and ground water contamination, dumps were required to have liners to mitigate this.
People were prohibited from tossing batteries, old paint cans and used motor oil into the regular landfill and these items were separated at the door, so to speak.
Enter Inuvik's landfill, where before AB Salvage took it over in 2000, it was a throw-away free-for-all.
Think about landfills around the territory employing this same game plan and it paints a grim picture.
For the past five years, AB Salvage has been working hard to sort through this colossal mess of everyday trash mixed with batteries, washing machines and tires.
AB Salvage even set up a recycling station at the dump entrance to encourage people to sort their own garbage.
Despite best intentions, the landfill contractor says people still managed to sneak in oil hidden in other containers, and so on.
Though the contractor's efforts to pull out caustic contaminants perhaps decades earlier, the place remains "years away from being anywhere like landfills down south."
Apart from the fact that Inuvik's dump lacks a liner - which to anybody who believes in gravity means that come spring thaw all the landfill run-off spills downhill towards Boot Lake - when the town had the chance to get behind AB Salvage's recycling efforts, it balked.
Even knowing that by awarding AB Salvage the next three-year landfill contract would mean continued efforts - at the very least - to pull the bad stuff out from the rubbish heap, the town awarded the contract to another business.
Whether the new contract holder will continue AB Salvage's sorting efforts remains to be seen.
While all of these things have nothing to do with the fire itself, if you've smelled something rich in the air this holiday season, keep in mind it's the landfill giving a little something back to the community for all its efforts in filling the place up. What a wonderful Christmas present!
Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum
Out with the old and in with the new. That's the saying heard from many lips at this time of the year.
Gazing into the crystal ball for 2006, it's more likely the saying "the more things change, the more they stay the same" will prove to be a better fit.
You don't have to be Nostradamus to foresee events that have dragged on over the past few years will continue to make news in the coming year.
High on the list of things to watch is the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline. With hearings scheduled for communities around the NWT, speculation about the future of this mega-project is sure to be a hot topic of conversation.
In Fort Providence, work on the long-awaited Mackenzie River bridge might begin.
In communities around the Deh Cho, health care will remain a concern. With doctors, nurses and other health workers in high demand and short supply, issues are sure to arise. Hopefully it won't take a serious accident for people to take notice.
As always, situations relating to the weather and a variety of animals from bison to loose dogs will continue. These stories are as predicable as death and taxes.
In the near future, candidates for the federal election will be out in the communities making a variety of platform promises.
On Jan. 23 voters will be at the polls to choose a leader. In Fort Simpson, residents will also be voting on a plebiscite to remove restrictions on alcohol.
The crystal ball's answer is a bit murky on whether either vote will have any affect on changing the status quo.
Predictions aside, there are some things it would be great to see more of in the new year.
Last January, students at Deh Gah school in Fort Providence raised $2,500 and their counterparts at Thomas Simpson school in Fort Simpson raised $1,150 in support of victims of the tsunami.
We should all take a lesson from them.
It's heart-warming to see communities pull together in times of need even if they don't personally know the people they are helping.
On the other side of that coin, it's heart-wrenching to see communities pull themselves apart through arguments and family feuds.
The Deh Cho is approaching a crossroads and the choices made will affect almost every aspect of the future. Communities will need to speak with a united voice to ensure their message is heard.
Exciting times are just ahead and no matter what happens it's sure to be an interesting year in the Deh Cho.