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Monday, January 1, 2007
Tradespeople are in such short supply, people from other provinces and even abroad are being brought in. Our health care system is facing financial disaster due to the need to hire short-term southern nurses and doctors.
Ironically, Aurora College was forced to suspend its nursing program this year due to a lack of qualified Northern candidates.
The solution, as always, is obvious: more Northern youth graduating from community schools.
That's why it is disturbing that in Paulatuk, 75 per cent of students are not showing up for classes.
Truancy happens across the North. Paulatuk has made an important first step by hiring a counsellor to encourage students and educate parents about the importance of being in class.
But nothing destroys the credibility of an education system more than low graduation rates or graduates who find they need upgrading to get into university or college.
What is there to motivate students to attend classes if they feel the experience is a waste of time?
Karen Balanuik, who served on the Sahtu Divisional Board of Education for 10 years, part of that time as chair, decided not to run for re-election this year out of frustration.
She has four children in school at various levels. This year she decided to send one of them to school in Edmonton after seeing the course schedule in Norman Wells.
In many communities, single classes are split between three different grade levels, as well as different streams of the same subject.
How is it possible to teach effectively when one teacher delivers six different levels of curriculum?
To make matters worse, she said there have been times when core classes were not offered because qualified teachers were not available.
So what is the solution? More teachers in the communities is an obvious start. A quality education that will engage and challenge students will go a long way to get them back into their desks.
But is that feasible? Does the territory have the money to support enough full-time teachers in each of the smaller communities?
The alternative is to return to the controversial concept of regional high schools. That would allow all students access to the curriculum and resources necessary for a solid education. But at what cost to families?
With the sordid history of residential schools issue so imprinted on people's minds, the subject is almost taboo.
Something has to be done and fast. The North is growing and self-government is the hottest topic on the agenda. The North is going to need leaders as much as it is going to need nurses and tradespeople.
If our youth do not have the skills to fill those positions, we will continue to have to look south for people who do or we will go without.
The creation of Nunavut was an important step for Inuit to take back control over their lives and land.
It was greeted with much optimism and it remains the key to a bright future.
Even so, 13 years since the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement was signed by Parliament and seven years since this territory was established, much is still to be done.
Hamstrung by sub-standard housing, an education system that needs a drastic overhaul and high unemployment, Nunavut remains a welfare state. Some say its people are living in third world conditions.
As Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Paul Kaludjak said in announcing a $1 billion lawsuit against the federal government in early December, Inuit are in a state of "financial and emotional despair."
Negotiations on implementation of the land claim stalled in 2004 and former Justice Thomas Berger was hired as a conciliator. His report calling for transformation of education and training systems has gone unanswered by Ottawa for nine months.
NTI sees no other choice but to take Ottawa to court to force the federal government to live up to important clauses in the land claim agreement.
Among them are promises to help Inuit get government jobs, provisions for training, and a say over how wildlife and the land is managed.
According to NTI, Inuit have lost out on nearly $1 billion in salaries and benefits since the land claim was signed because the federal government has failed to live up to its promises.
Under the land claim, Nunavut's territorial and federal government workforces are to equal the number of Inuit living in the territory: 85 per cent.
In June 2006, 48 per cent of territorial government jobs were filled by beneficiaries. With Inuit employment highest in lower level jobs, the biggest growth can only come in management levels and that will take education and training. That won't be easy considering only 25 per cent of Inuit students graduate from high school.
Likewise, Nunavut's environmental boards and hunters and trappers organizations need sufficient funding to do their jobs quickly and efficiently during a time of climate change and mineral development.
It will take a lot of money, perhaps more than $1 billion, to build education and training programs and environmental institutions to where they need to be. And it will take time.
NTI's lawsuit is a desperate move because it could mean years of hearings during which lawyers get rich while Inuit languish.
Perhaps it's the only way to make Ottawa stand up and take notice.
Let's hope it works. This year.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Yes indeed, valued readers, it's time to send a few special gifts along to those who have caught our attention during the past year.
And, as always, there's no better place to start than at the top.
To Premier Paul Okalik, we send a stack of flash cards to make his life a little easier.
Hopefully, the cards will prove themselves to be time savers for the premier.
Okalik can simply hold up cards such as "New jail to Rankin Inlet" when he sees Cambridge Bay MLA Keith Peterson headed his way, "And you are?" when Iqaluit Centre MLA Hunter Tootoo is in the mood to chat, and "1-800-LAWYER" for those rare times when NTI president Paul Kaludjak is in the House.
To Peterson, who is always complaining about not being informed, we send a subscription to Kivalliq News.
To Rankin Inlet Mayor Lorne Kusugak, we send a life-sized Canada Post doll that speaks his language.
With the push of a button, the mayor can listen to "Postage Due," "I don't know why your tracking number doesn't work," and "Six weeks from Toronto sounds right to me," spoken in Inuktitut to his heart's content.
To Community and Government Services assistant deputy minister Shawn Maley, we send a Rolodex containing every number he seems to have lost since his promotion.
Maley is allowed to share the Rolodex once a week with his director of community development, Darren Flynn.
To Arviat Mayor Johnny Mamgark, we send his original nomination papers for framing.
The papers turned up under the issues-we've-dealt-with pile following the Kivalliq mayors' meeting in Rankin, although we have no idea how they got there.
To the Northern Transportation Company Ltd., we send a book on Kivalliq winters and a brand new, and very large, ice chisel.
We've sent the chisel directly to Baker Lake to avoid any problems with shipping.
To Cumberland Resources Ltd., which owns and operates the Meadowbank gold project, we send a rare map identifying every secret fishing hole surrounding the community of Baker Lake.
We expect the holes to still be there long after the mine is gone.
To members of the Baker Lake Youth Athletics Association, we send a box of silent cheering towels with "Go Rankin" sewn on one side.
To the group in Coral Harbour who spent an evening calling in reports of strange, glowing objects in the sky, we send a box of silver helmets so no alien may get in your mind.
We've sent the helmet straps to the aliens.
To the Chesterfield Inlet Fishing Derby Committee, we send a copy of the hit movie, We Know What You Did Last Winter.
We also send a ruler with numbers on it and a story book on how deadlines work.
To Finance Minister David Simailak, we send a $2-million cheque on behalf of the territory's smokers, and those who go to work every day.
It comes with a card that reads, "You can always count on us to fix your mistakes."
May these gifts be received in the spirit for which they were intended.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik Drum
This is the time of year when people like to reflect on themselves, dig deep and work on ways to improve their lives.
I am talking, of course, of the New Year's resolution.
That little promise we all make in an effort to feel better about being ourselves.
I'm sure that some of you make resolutions that only last as long as the party, or maybe a few weeks into January.
I've heard lots of them, such as how badly someone wants to quit smoking or drinking pop.
It's always good to keep motivating yourself, so I hope you stick to your guns and make a reasonable resolution.
I haven't really given much thought to what I will pledge on New Year's Eve.
Maybe I'll cut down on video games. Maybe not.
All I know is that, looking back at the last year in Inuvik, we did pretty good.
We elected a strong, honest town council and a new mayor with the promise of keeping transparency in council, and a vow to keep the interest of the public in mind and to make good decisions.
Community gatherings were at an all-time high, with the music festival, the Gwich'in gathering, the arts festival and the strongly-inspiring residential school gathering as well.
I saw this past year as a great one for strengthening the community as a whole. I met a lot of new people with my new career choice. I've been on the Drum beat since April.
Believe me, if you think there is a lack of activity in town, you're just lazy.
With the good must come the bad, of course. It seemed like we had a break-in every week.
The RCMP were busy throughout the summer months, chasing little crooks.
When the smoke clears on 2006 and we find ourselves looking January in the face, we should be ready for the next step.
An important gathering is brewing for the region, with the caribou summit happening in late January.
Being a strong community takes effort from all of us, and I can tell you all that we did okay. You deserve to relax over the next few weeks.
So, cheers to you Inuvik, let's keep the momentum going into 2007 and maybe we'll even get some substantial news on this fantasy pipeline I've been writing so much about.
Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum
With Christmas just around the corner it's the time of year when hope, optimism and good will towards your fellow man (or woman) is supposed to reign.
While this can be difficult if you still have gifts left to purchase and wrap or large Christmas dinners to plan there seems to be a fair bit of optimism appearing recently in the events affecting the Deh Cho.
The award for highest recent optimism levels goes to Jim Prentice, the minister of Indian and Northern Affairs.
Prentice was recorded as saying that he hoped Dehcho First Nations would accept the federal government's land claims offer at meetings in Edmonton this week.
While it never hurts to hope, this is certainly a case where there seems to be little hard evidence to pin the hope upon. It was only a few weeks ago when Deh Cho leaders, after much debate, decided to allow negotiators to even talk about land selection.
It's wishful thinking to imagine that enough has happened since the special assembly held from Nov. 28 to 30 for a deal to be signed. Prentice might have been hoping for a signed deal as a stocking stuffer, but he's just going to have to wait at least a while longer.
High hopes were also recently displayed by the members of the 2860 Royal Army Cadet Corp Fort Simpson who participated in the Northern Region Cadet Biathlon Championship in Whitehorse.
Hard work and determination paid off for the six cadets who all had positive experiences and brought back six medals between them.
Hopes will continue to remain high for Brandon Norris, Jordin Snider and Josh Baton who have been chosen as members of the Northern regional team that will compete in the National Cadet Biathlon Championships in March in Whitehorse. Charlene Deneyoua is also an alternate for that team.
Having a goal is important, but through training and preparation the cadets have taken the steps needed to make a dream become reality.
Florence Brown just made one of her dreams come true by launching her first book.
While Brown had dabbled in writing before as a tool for language teaching, this was her first attempt at creating a whole children's book. Brown is hopeful that by recording elders' stories she can help keep their knowledge alive.
Although this step will help to achieve the goal, Brown isn't content with just one book under her belt. She's aiming high with the goal of producing a story from each of the larger families in Fort Simpson. This is an example of someone working to achieve something they believe in.
While stories of hope can probably be found in all Deh Cho communities this time of year, it's Trout Lake will be finishing the year off with a final note of optimism.
The marriage of Rebecca Jumbo and Robert Murdock on Dec. 30 will help send the year off on the right foot and hopefully act as a example for the things to come in 2007.