Monday, March 6, 2006
According to court testimony, it began in Yellowknife late at night in October 2004. A woman was seen slapping a man in the face outside the Gold Range as a police car drove by.
Accompanied by a city bylaw officer, Const. Scot Newberry stopped and confronted the couple. After angry words, there was an arrest. The man who had been slapped in the face ended up unconscious on the ground with a broken leg.
The injured man was charged with assault and resisting arrest. During his trial, Judge Brian Bruser heard the testimony of Const. Newberry, the bylaw officer, the girlfriend and the accused man. Judge Bruser found the accused man innocent and accused Newberry of attacking the civilian.
Weeks later, RCMP brass acted on the judge's comments, the same day News/North began chasing the story. RCMP investigated the case and gave all the information to the Justice Canada office in Whitehorse.
This office was chosen because Yellowknife lawyers work with RCMP all the time and are friends and colleagues. There was a potential for bias.
Nine months later, Whitehorse decided there was enough evidence to lay charges. They added a recommendation of "restorative justice." That's when the guilty person and the victim get together to exchange confessions for forgiveness and move on with their lives.
Problem is, no charges were ever laid. Worse, the Crown and RCMP jumped on the restorative justice solution without the agreement of both parties and it fell apart.
The situation has become so publicly dysfunctional, Justice Minister Brendan Bell and Thebacha MLA Michael Miltenberger have said that Justice Canada and the RCMP must set the record straight.
On the heels of those statements, Justice Canada issued a hasty press release last Thursday, acknowledging the restorative justice solution wasn't going to work. The bad news is, Justice Canada is shopping for yet another legal opinion with Alberta's justice department.
Aside from perverting the process for well over a year, Justice Canada's inaction puts huge pressure on the young man whom the officer is accused of attacking.
Does he pretend nothing happened and keep his mouth shut until the publicity goes away? Or does he take on the RCMP and Crown until the system does what it is supposed to do?
Justice Canada must either lay charges or clear the officer of any wrongdoing. Const. Newberry's reputation has been severely damaged, yet and he's been given no opportunity to defend himself.
Justice Minister Bell must ensure legal protection for citizens and police in the North. He may lack federal powers but he has the moral authority and duty to ensure fair treatment for all.
While it's still three years away from reality, the trade school announced for Rankin Inlet last week will fill a big gap in Nunavut education.
Mining, exploration and construction work abound in the territory, but Nunavummiut have been at a disadvantage in reaping the benefits.
Most of the jobs associated with these industries - heavy-duty mechanics, heavy equipment operators, carpenters, plumbers and electricians - require special training that isn't available to Northerners.
By bringing a trade school to central Nunavut, it will make it easier for all Nunavummiut to access the schooling they need.
For a territory with a high unemployment rate - some hamlets say their rate is as high as 60 per cent, if not higher - this trade school could mean a big change in its economy.
Sports have a way to get kids out of trouble and teaching them how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
It also has a way to make them feel better about their lives. But not everyone enjoys sports. Music sometimes gets a bad rap, but it can also provide a healthy alternative.
Last month in Iqaluit, about 100 youth were able to take their love of hip hop and translate it into something tangible.
The group, including young people from out of town like Quentin Crockatt of Cambridge Bay, learned basic hip hop moves. The idea is to provide them with an outlet away from drugs and alcohol.
Crockatt hopes to bring what he learned back to his home and get something organized there.
Hip hop is pop culture, and it's no different in Nunavut.
Inuit traditions lend themselves to hip hop. One instructor during the workshop said some Inuit games have moves similar those made by hip hop artists.
By embracing hip hop and incorporating the Inuit lifestyle, a new brand of music can be created.
Editorial Comment
It's fine for the Government of Nunavut (GN) to say it's not interested in revisiting its new staff-housing policy at this time.
And we see the logic in the GN's stance that the policy has only been in place for a few months (September 2005), which isn't nearly long enough for any conclusions on its overall impact on the ranks of government workers.
That being said, we hope the GN plans to closely monitor the situation given the results of a survey among 237 government employees.
We're not surprised the vast majority of those surveyed don't like the policy.
We are, however, surprised by how strong some of the responses are.
Many of the survey respondents stated emphatically they are prepared to leave Nunavut before the new policy affects them.
The policy will see the GN end staff housing in the major centres of Rankin Inlet, Iqaluit and Cambridge Bay, while increasing the rent for staff housing in every other Nunavut community.
The GN points to other areas, such as our Northern neighbours to the west, that adopted such a plan without any significant fallout.
It also maintains the policy will stimulate growth in the private sector and make Nunavut less reliant on federal monies.
The survey, however, points in another direction - one of mass exodus.
The GN is still badly understaffed, and 60 per cent of the respondents saying the policy will force them to leave (17 per cent within the year) is cause for concern.
We know behind closed doors in Iqaluit, government heads are thinking the responses are what you'd expect from employees about to lose a benefit they've become accustomed to.
And there's truth in that.
There are also some MLAs who don't view a mass exodus of southern workers as a completely bad thing.
In their minds, such an exodus would open the door for more Nunavummiut to obtain government jobs.
However, the GN still has to be a working government capable of delivering programs and meeting the needs of its people.
It has to provide proper education and health care to our territory's youth so they may have the tools necessary to keep Nunavut moving forward in the future.
And, the fact no less than 35 per cent of the survey respondents were Inuit, shows it's not just southerners who are threatening to leave.
Maybe the GN has a perk in mind that will act as a balance to the new staff-housing policy.
Or, maybe, the policy was simply ill-conceived to begin with.
To us it's a good policy, but initiated too early in our territory's development.
In short, the GN has nothing to fall back on if the promised exodus does occur.
We can only hope if this doesn't go the way the GN planned, it won't stubbornly dig in its heels and allow its staff-housing policy to drag the territory down.
Economies of scale will be the least of the GN's worries if there's nobody here to tip the scales in its favour!
Editorial Comment
If turning a bunch of converted pipeline employee barracks into low-income housing is the best idea the GNWT braintrust can come up with, it's time to clean house in the legislative assembly.
Too bad the electoral boundaries commission is nearly finished its tour of communities for input, because downsizing the government is the best idea I can come up with. (Come to think of it, NWT residents have until March 7 to submit a written statement regarding the matter, so get your pencils sharpened.)
If the territories were hosting the next Olympic Games, housing issues would be addressed in the wake of the event by a bunch of sweet condos built for visiting athletes and ready for any future occupancy. But instead, we're on the threshold of building a pipeline, so lo' and behold, why not house people in the remaining tin shacks after the construction workforce returns south?
Not only will this idea of converting trailers to "suitable" housing serve to stigmatize their occupants, but this future solution to the ongoing housing problems plaguing the territories will become available somewhere after 2010 - the earliest case scenario for completing the pipeline.
Honestly, it makes you thankful the territory isn't hosting a travelling circus or they'd probably corral low-income qualifiers into the leftover big top tent. Send in the clowns!
I think if I have to hear the phrase "working together" one more time, perhaps I'll puke. At a recent meeting in town (not the electoral one), this particular political-speak was uttered more than a dozen times. And you can bet those doing the uttering weren't talking about the elder in Tsiigehtchic whose house was in danger of being washed onto the frozen Arctic Red River by overflow spilling from a Dempster Highway culvert. (News/North, Feb. 20)
The Department of Transportation (DOT) said it was the housing authority's problem - despite the fact the overflow source was coming from a highway culvert - but in the end, DOT fixed it and billed housing for the work.
But just think if these government departments hadn't decided to "work together" when they did: the home in question could've been floating down the river come breakup.
The electoral boundaries commission says its parameters, in terms of recommending the addition or subtraction of seats in the legislative assembly - already with 19 members - is between 15 and 25.
I say drop the number of MLAs to 15. Then go through each department and clear out the redundant positions. With regional self-government throughout the NWT in various stages of reaching fruition, the last thing the GNWT needs is more politicians.
Judging from the recent culvert controversy, it would appear to some the government can't even fix an overflow problem without stirring up an internal hullabaloo.
Editorial Comment
Something struck me while I was talking to Yvonne Haist, one of the instructors at the trauma workshop offered this week in Fort Simpson.
Haist commented that she was impressed by the number of resources available in the community for dealing with trauma.
This recognition is something to be proud of, since it comes from a professional who is accustomed to the larger centres in British Columbia.
The resources Haist mentioned are not just programs - they also have a human element.
She stated that there is a lot of strength in the community to help people work through trauma. This points to both the inner strength of those who are suffering, but also to the strength that people have to help them.
It's unfortunate that so many resources, including a workshop, are needed for trauma because it shows that many people are traumatized by events in their lives. But it's also comforting to know that the community stands ready to help those who need assistance.
Someone with an outside perspective like Haist is often able to look at a community and notice strong points that may go unnoticed or taken for granted in daily life. But outsiders can also look in and point out deficiencies.
On Feb. 27, another workshop was offered in Fort Simpson. This session focussed on helping people understand disabilities and the issues that the disabled face.
The message coming from the workshop is that a lot of work is still needed in this area. Many people still have misconceptions and need to be educated about disabilities, said Cecily Hewitt, the executive director for the NWT Council for Persons with Disabilities.
Even disabilities that seem reasonably straightforward, like hearing loss, remain surrounded by false information. Hearing loss is often mistaken for senility, said Hewitt.
People also need to understand what it's like to live with a physical disability.
One exercise at the workshop involved oven gloves wrapped in tape. Participants had to wear the gloves while trying to complete simple tasks like taking the lid off a tube of toothpaste, squeezing some paste out and brushing their teeth. They were also asked to brush their hair with a comb.
The purpose of the exercise was to illustrate the frustration of living with a form of limited mobility. It also provided an experience of not being independent and having to ask for help.
In communities, the biggest barrier for people with physical disabilities remains the lack of accessible buildings. Disabled people can be barred from completing tasks and errands that others take for granted because they cannot enter certain buildings.
With the communities showing success in pooling together and creating the resources necessary to help people cope with trauma, maybe the next project should be to meet the needs of those living with disabilities.
In last Monday's edition of Nunavut News/North, in the story "Nunavut singers can't crack Idol line-up," it should have mentioned that Kaila Anawak-Gamble did not audition, she was there to support a friend. News/North apologizes for the error.
In the Feb. 13 edition of News/North, there was incorrect information in the Around the NWT brief entitled, "Eat traditional food." The Tl'oondih Healing Society in Fort McPherson is conducting a study to incorporate traditional foods such as caribou, not muskox. Also, Harriet Kuhnlein's name was misspelled. News/North apologizes for the error.
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum