Editorial

Last week the territorial government flip-flopped, announcing the Territorial Treatment Centre for children with behavioural problems would not be leaving Yellowknife for Hay River after all.

This capped off two years of political posturing from cabinet versus protests from the centre's employees.

In 2005, the government shut down Hay River's young offenders facility when a new facility opened in Yellowknife. Then the government announced the treatment centre would move to the renovated Hay River jail - a move that the deputy health minister at the time admitted was "political payback."

The treatment centre had been in operation in Yellowknife for 15 years and employed 17 full-time and six part-time employees, and treated eight children at a time - all of whom would be either uprooted or looking for a new job.

"This is a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul," said Range Lake MLA Sandy Lee.

"The government should not use people's lives for payoffs and paybacks."

Everyone whose lives have been hung up in limbo for two years because of this political fiasco deserves an apology from cabinet and a promise that all future decisions on health facilities will be based on need and not politics.

Caribou culture

Like children following the Pied Piper, Dene drummers drew hundreds into the handgames tent during last weekend's Caribou Carnival.

Inside the tent, people were treated to many entertaining games and were able to get a taste of the rich Dene culture. When not in the tent, folks wandered around the ice, lining up for food, gooey maple syrup on a stick or cheered on the roaring machines at the snowmobile races across the lake.

Most of all, people just wandered and there were more than a few folks asking the age-old question: what is there to do?

This year's Carnival tried some new and old things: a few folks tried tea boiling, log sawing and other competitions on the snow stage, snow volleyball returned and T-Bo organized a terrific snow carving event that should grow next year.

It's time to give Carnival something new and make it even more special. Perhaps Caribou Capers could be moved onto the ice under a big tent, which could then host a dance or casino night.

A bigger draw could be to expand the cultural component by drawing upon the Dene and Inuit residents of our city. Surely there are more than a few southerners who'd to test their athletic abilities in finger pull, snowsnake, pole push, sledge jump, knuckle hop or high kick.

Nunavut officials need to be protected before it's too late

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Wednesday, March 28, 2007

After years of moving in the right direction, respect for hockey officials took a big step backwards this season.

There's no doubt at the start of the year, some of the frustration aimed at officials was the result of Hockey Canada's new standard of officiating, which closely resembles that of the NHL.

The hooking, clutching and grabbing of years past are gone forever, and interfering with those in pursuit of the puck is also called much more frequently.

However, many of the hockey players in Nunavut, especially in the Kivalliq, adapted remarkably well to the new rule emphasis and standard of officiating.

In fact, they adapted far quicker than most officials thought entering the season.

So, blaming the new standard for the increase in abuse towards officials rings a little on the hollow side.

In Rankin Inlet, the executive of the most successful adult recreational league in the North showed the good sense to adopt a suspension system for players who got personal with their remarks to the officials.

The move did not totally address the problem, however, as was seen during the Avataq Memorial tourney when an official left the ice after incurring more verbal abuse than he could take.

It has been especially disheartening this year when players who also coach or officiate themselves have been involved with such behaviour.

While their dedication to the game in different capacities is admirable, they, among all others, should realize the damage done when officials are abused by players.

The damage is threefold, the least of which being the high attrition rate among officials who don't return the following year.

Even more damaging - especially in areas where large crowds at games are the norm, not the exception - is that would-be officials who witness the abuse immediately lose their desire to become hockey referees.

Nunavut has a perilously low number of certified hockey officials.

If those numbers continue to drop the territory's entire hockey program will be at risk, and we're closer to that point than many people care to admit right now.

However, the biggest impact the abuse has is reserved for those playing minor hockey, especially when the abuse comes from a player who the kids may look up to.

Abuse of officials in minor hockey is parallel to domestic violence and the family unit in that both are where the cycle begins.

Minor hockey players, who see their role models abuse officials, get it in their head that this type of behaviour is acceptable.

And, in many cases, they continue that behaviour as they progress to higher age brackets of hockey, thus perpetuating the cycle of abuse to the point where it remains a problem on a yearly basis.

Nunavut hockey cannot afford to allow the abuse of officials to continue.

It's time for our hockey associations and league executives to increase the penalties for such infractions to, once again, make it clear to players of all ages that such behaviour will not be tolerated.

It's our game. Let's work together to protect it.

Higher expectations

Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik Drum
Friday, March 30, 2007

We all have responsibilities with our jobs. It's no secret that some jobs expect more from you than others. A lawyer has more on his plate than the Quickstop clerk and so forth.

No matter what your career is, you still need to follow the rules and proper procedures if you want to last long. It's simple really. Do the job properly and you will be rewarded.

This brings me to Wednesday morning. I was at home on my day off when my phone rang. Seems someone I know got a traffic ticket from a by-law officer.

You could say the by-law officer has one of the highest profile jobs in town. People see him in the red truck and put their seat belts on. It's common knowledge that he is out on the road to enforce the rules. I have an incredible amount of respect for him and his work for the community.

So, on that sunny morning, Rory Gordon made an illegal left turn across a lane of traffic into the Eskimo Inn. We all know the manoeuvre of which I speak. You probably did it twice today without even thinking about it.

Rory brings me the traffic ticket, which was issued for March 21, 2006. The year was filled in wrong, which is understandable, I caught myself writing the wrong year a few times. Then I noticed the officer's signature was also missing from the ticket in question. That lit some alerts in my head.

Was this ticket valid if it had the wrong date? Wouldn't the officer have to sign it to prove the authenticity of the fine? Should Rory pay the fine? Would I be able to enjoy my time off? All those questions were running through my head.

It seems that the officer's signature is needed on the ticket, so says SAO Tom Lie. But according to Lie, the by-law officer has the authority to change tickets after they have been handed out.

Rory didn't seem too interested in paying for a ticket that was incorrectly filled out.

The by-law officer has one duty, to uphold the municipal laws written by the town. On any given day that man could write a dozen tickets before stopping for some lunch.

Seems to me that someone who spends his time giving tickets should know how to fill one out correctly. Not to be super-blunt like that, but it's true.

A by-law officer has authority in town over us and our vehicles. He can appear in court cases and has legal accountability. That means we expect his knowledge of the date to be better than the random guy on the street looking for the time.

Some of the most important information on a traffic ticket is the date and authorizing signature. Without those on the paper, it may as well be used in the john as supplemental wipe material.

I hope someone will be accountable for this, because I am sure it's not the first time this has happened.

Yes, the traffic laws need to be respected and obeyed, they are in place for our safety, but at the same time, they should be enforced with some sort of protocol, instead of this "mulligan"-esque behaviour.

We all make mistakes and we are all human. I can forgive and excuse someone for their mistakes so long as they learn from them.

I think the ticket should have been ripped up and the officer should have shrugged it off instead of offering to re-issue the ticket.

Keeping us safe

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum
Friday, March 30, 2007

On the list of things that residents of the Deh Cho are concerned about a terrorist threat to the Enbridge pipeline probably doesn't rank very high.

Thanks to the recent trend in warmer weather more people are probably worried about being knocked in the head by melting snow sliding off of roofs or slipping on a patch of ice or polished snow.

For communities like Fort Simpson that are located along rivers there is the worry that the upcoming breakup might prove to be the big one that will flood buildings.

Across the Deh Cho people probably worry about vehicle accidents, bank statements and what to have for supper on a daily basis, but not terrorist threats.

Terrorist threats on the whole are, of course, things that need to be taken seriously. The Deh Cho, however, seems to be a world away from any likely terrorist activity.

The Deh Cho certainly isn't in the Middle East where most current terrorist threats are emerging, according to officials who are quoted almost nightly on news broadcasts.

Residents living here thankfully don't have to worry about whether they will encounter a suicide bomber on their next trip to the grocery store or if the car driving past them is carrying a bomb that might explode at any minute. It's also unlikely that anyone will hijack a plane and purposefully crash it into any of our local buildings to make a point.

These are all things to be grateful for.

There is, however, a practical need for the upcoming Operation Narwhal that will take place in both Fort Simpson and Norman Wells.

Although the likelihood of anything like the exercise's scenario of a terrorist threat to the pipeline actually happening may be low, it's comforting in a way to know that someone is considering the option and taking steps to ensure that it could be handled properly.

Few things are worse than having a disaster happen and realizing that no one has the training to address it. With officials from the Canadian Forces and Joint Task Force North running exercises concerning terrorist threats to the pipeline at least they will be more prepared if something did happen.

Really, the pipeline might be one of the most tempting terrorist targets in the Northwest Territories if a terrorist group was really looking to work in the area. Disabling a diamond mine would probably have far less of an effect than shutting down the flow of oil in the Enbridge pipeline or worse yet, creating an environmental disaster with it.

In the midst of all this serious consideration of terrorism, it's nice to know there is still one bit of levity surrounding the whole situation.

It's a bit amusing to think that the military personnel who are coming from Ontario to work in Fort Simpson during Operation Narwhal are concerned about our local bear population. Soldiers are always portrayed in popular culture as being macho and self-secure.

Bears aren't something you would think would faze them.

In the case of a real terrorist threat bears would likely be the least of the soldiers' worries but at the moment it's worth a chuckle.

They do, however, have a point because spring is a higher-risk time for bears. Some might not have had enough to eat before going into hibernation and will be waking up hungry.

While now keeping one wary eye open for suspicious terrorist activity, residents of the Deh Cho would be well-advised to keep the other open for hungry bears.

Corrections

An error appeared in an article in Wednesday's Yellowknifer ("Man gets three months for assault," March 28). A request for a sentence of two to four years probation for Colin Evaglok was not made by defence lawyer Daniel Rideout. The lawyer was reading the requested sentence on behalf of the victim in court. Yellowknifer apologizes for any embarrassment or confusion caused by the error.

An article in last Thursday's March 22 edition of Inuvik Drum contained wrong information. In the guest column by Audra Donison, a recipe attached to the column was not attributed to the Kraft Canada website. The Inuvik Drum apologizes for any embarrassment or confusion caused by the errors.