Wednesday, February 1, 2006
The report includes common-sense recommendations that will improve and streamline liquor laws and bring the Territories' act up to date with the rest of Canada.
It's likely most people will focus on the possibility bars could open Sundays, but this shouldn't be a primary concern. First of all, if this recommendation is ever adopted - and whether or not MLAs will ever go for this remains to be seen - Sunday opening will still be up to individual communities.
For the handful of communities that have bars, the updated act must require a referendum to see if the majority of voters, not a handful of councillors, believe the time is right for seven-day-a-week drinking.
The most glaring failure of the report is the fact it contains no recommendations on training standards for liquor inspectors.
Remember back to the infamous wine-into-water fiasco from early 2004 and the problem is clear. It was one of a number of cases that led to accusations of political interference and a major shake-up of the liquor licensing board.
In that incident, an inspector charged a bar for serving alcohol to an intoxicated patron. When the hearing was held, there was no evidence to support the charge because no evidence was collected by the inspector.
As well, while the report recommends authority for liquor inspectors be shifted from the liquor board to the Minister of Finance, a more logical step would see authority for inspectors transferred to the justice department. They should also become full-time employees, not part-time contractors who only get paid for the inspections they carry out, and not for the paperwork that comes after laying a charge.
The report also makes it clear that dedicating liquor tax profits to drug and alcohol treatment is not a good option. Lawmakers must know that people proposed this tie-in because of the government's lousy record of addictions treatment.
So while this might be the "final report" of the committee struck to investigate Liquor Act changes, it's now up to MLAs to finish the job. That must include proper training for inspectors and the means to ensure updating the Liquor Act doesn't throw the door open to more widespread abuse of alcohol.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Only time will tell if the Rankin Inlet Minor Hockey Association (RIMHA) files an official complaint over its assertion that about $10,000 is missing from commissions it should have received from ticket sales at the lottery booth in the Northern store.
One thing is for sure, it should.
With the costs of running an efficient hockey program continuing to rise, and government coffers growing increasingly smaller for funding sports in our region, $10,000 is a lot of money.
But the problem runs deeper than that.
The amount of money gone unaccounted for from various committees and organizations in Rankin during the past few years has passed the alarming stage.
It's time for residents to speak up and demand those who handle money in the community be held accountable for where it goes.
In fact, it's rather ironic one of the issues raised at a public meeting in Rankin this past month was the question of where the hamlet spends the money it receives from bingo games.
Of course, the impetus for the query seemed to be bigger prizes during the Christmas Games and Hamlet Days celebrations.
Still, for the public to question the hamlet's integrity in allocating funds it raises, while turning a blind eye to the tens of thousands of dollars going missing from other organizations, defies description.
In the case of the RIMHA situation, every young player, parent, coach and volunteer who keep hockey going deserve an answer.
And, the Northern store deserves to know whether this money went missing or not.
The store deserves a great deal of credit for looking after the lottery booth during the past nine years.
Yes, there's no doubt having the booth there brings extra business to the store, but the Northern will survive quite nicely without the booth, thank you very much.
What is at stake, is the store's credibility and reputation.
It's fine for both Northern and Sport North Lotteries to say the onus is on the RIMHA to file an official complaint or, as far as they're concerned, there is no missing money.
But, let's be honest, even though competition in our hamlet is limited, shouldn't the store - viewed as the community's leading retailer - want to know if, indeed, money intended for young hockey players did go missing?
In fact, you would think Northern would take a lead role in solving the issue to lift the cloud of uncertainty in the public's mind.
There are many times retailers ask for our trust in believing they offer the best value they can, considering the cost of transportation involved.
This would seem like a golden opportunity for the store to earn a little of that trust by working in co-operation with the RIMHA to resolve this issue. If not, we can only hope the local minor hockey executive has the wherewithal to file that official complaint.
If not, it may be time for those who are continually asked to support both the store and the hockey program to raise an official complaint of their own.
Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
Looking back at deposed Prime Minister Paul Martin's 2004 Northern tour, which brought the leader to this region for a brief meet-and-greet, I recall being impressed by the man's ability to work a room.
During the now-concluded election campaign, facing a potential overthrow from power, as far as one could notice from watching several of Martin's television appearances, he was not the same person who held Inuvik residents in the palm of his hand that day.
In fact, during the election campaign, I don't remember hearing a single speech in which Martin didn't stumble over his words, or show body language telling of a man who perhaps could see the Jan. 23 writing on the wall.
Should we be worried to see Martin and the Liberals out of power? Hardly. As resource revenue sharing and devolution has been touted as the great leap forward for the NWT, we are no closer to that objective than we were when Martin pledged to move on making the deal "as soon as possible" back during his 2004 tour. Remind you of any other unkept Liberal promises?
Those concerned that the Conservatives won't uphold the Kelowna deal that saw $5 billion pledged for improving the lives of aboriginal people need to look at the Liberal, NDP and Bloc seats stacked against Harper and his party in Ottawa. The same goes for the residential schools settlement deal, same-sex marriage and the abortion issue - the latter two, hot-button issues over the course of the campaign.
The Liberals, in another lame attempt to scare voters into holding their noses and giving Martin another mandate, wanted everyone to believe a Stephen Harper government would send our nation into backwoods chaos.
So where does the Western Arctic's newest Member of Parliament, NDP-er Dennis Bevington, fit into the equation?
Supporters of Richard Edjericon, the Western Arctic Conservative candidate, feel that with Harper in power, an NDP voice from the North isn't going to carry much weight in Ottawa.
A quick glance at Western Arctic voting results this time around compared to 2004's federal election results shows the Conservatives picked up about 1,200 more votes with Edjericon as their face-man, roughly the margin of victory for Bevington over Blondin-Andrew. Pundits from around the North saw this crucial vote split coming from a mile away, and after the spat between Edjericon and Blondin-Andrew on the radio last week, Bevington appears all the more a common-sense man for the job.
As Conservatives now control 124 seats, the Liberals 103, Bloc with 51 and 29 for the NDP and one independent, citizens can expect alliances of every combination to be made for key votes in the house.
How these alliances play out in the coming months is what will determine the amount of power Bevington will have to give Western Arctic residents a Northern voice - not merely which political stripes our man in Ottawa wears.
Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum
The votes are in and the tallies have been counted.
Canada is now home to a sparkling new minority Conservative government with Stephen Harper at the helm. This will certainly be a change after 12 years of Liberal rule.
In the Northwest Territories, the shift is even more striking with Liberal candidate Ethel Blondin-Andrew leaving her position as MP after five consecutive sessions starting in 1988.
But in the Deh Cho, the vote wasn't for change.
Of the 1,215 votes cast in the region, 539 of them were for Blondin-Andrew. NDP Dennis Bevington came in second with 460 votes, compared to 140 for Conservative Richard Edjericon.
In some communities, the race was close. In Wrigley, Blondin-Andrew only led by two points, with 17 votes compared to 15 for Bevington. The race was equally close in Nahanni Butte where the tally was 13 to 9.
Other communities stuck strongly with the Liberals. In Jean Marie River, the Liberal candidate won 24 to 5 against the NDP. Trout Lake was also solidly in the Liberal camp with the votes coming in at 24 to 3.
Only in Fort Simpson was the vote in favour of the NDP, with Bevington winning 221 votes against the Liberal's 204.
Change always comes as a surprise and given the voting statistics in the Deh Cho, the outcome of the election in the North is no exception. The question now is what to do with the result. What position will the people of the Deh Cho ask Bevington to take on issues that are important to them?
One group who are forming a clear answer are the youth. During the election campaign there were signs that young people have a far better grasp on regional issues than they often let on.
Speaking to the senior high class at Deh Gah school before the candidates forum in Fort Providence, Bevington asked the students if they thought the voting age should be dropped to 16. The question didn't elicit much response, but the students had many other issues they wanted answers to.
The Mackenzie Valley pipeline, an omnipresent issue, is also on the minds of the youth. The senior high class chose to use their question at the debate to enquire how the need for jobs to create a future will be balanced with the need for environmental protection of the land so there will be a future. Such a well-balanced question reflects a great deal of thoughtful debate.
Hours away in Fort Simpson at Thomas Simpson school, students also pondered the issues that are important to them. Leading up to their mock vote, the junior high students participated in a group activity where they created their own political parties, complete with platforms.
One of the striking similarities between the groups was that most didn't support tax cuts, said teacher Steve Nicoll.
The youth are the ones to watch and take the lead from in many issues. They have the advantage of being able to examine issues with minds free of cluttering distractions that adults pick up over time.
Many youth know the end goals they want to see, although they aren't sure what path to take to reach them.
Let's hope they find their way and that their youthful idealism isn't dulled by age during the journey.