Editorial

Poor reading and comprehension skills have serious affects on a person's ability to function in society. Career, schooling, entertainment, going for groceries, even reading this editorial can become a frustrating chore if literacy skills have not been properly developed.

As of 2005, according to the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey, 40 per cent of Canadians struggle with low literacy. Of those statistics, 15 per cent have difficulty dealing with any written material.

That same survey revealed that 69 per cent of aboriginal people in the NWT have what are considered lower than average English or French literacy skills.

This is why a program, which has been offered at Deninu school in Fort Resolution, should be encouraged, supported and perhaps modeled elsewhere in the territory.

For the past three years, 'Balanced Literacy' has helped increase literacy skills for students.

According to principal Moh Odeen, students meeting Alberta literacy achievement testing standards in Fort Resolution rose from a dismal 40 per cent in 2004 to an impressive 80 per cent in 2006.

It's even more remarkable considering the international literacy survey gave Alberta one of the highest scores among all provinces.

The Deninu school program began with students between Grade 1 and 3 and was extended this year to Grade 4 to 6 students.

One student in Grade 4 is reportedly reading at a Grade 6 level and other students in the primary grades are devouring words, reading more than 100 books a year. That is a stark contrast to an atmosphere where interest in reading and books was previously weak.

Other schools in the NWT should learn from Deninu school's example and model the Balanced Literacy program.

Increasing rates of literacy will have life long benefits for students in the NWT. Improved reading and comprehension will make it easier to enter, and be successful, in a post secondary education program, hold down a job, and conduct tasks common in everyday life.

Studies have shown that children with low literacy skills also have more behavioural problems. Teaching children to read better and achieve at a higher level will mean fewer instances of violence, abuse and acting out in NWT schools.

Everyone wins when a child learns to read.

Don't short change Inuktitut

The proposed Inuktitut Language Protection bill is up for public discussion across the territory.

Although it's not as strong as Quebec's language laws to preserve and promote French, Nunavut's draft language legislation contains some significant measures. It will force businesses and organizations to put up Inuktitut signs and offer customer service in Inuktitut. Schools will have to offer subjects in Inuktitut at all levels. Government jobs will be entitled to managers who can communicate in Inuktitut.

These are strong initiatives, but they won't be in place and enforced for several years. Languages commissioner Johnny Kusugak has been openly critical of the lengthy lag. While the government shouldn't set itself up for a fall by trying to immediately implement measures before it's truly prepared, there ought to be a willingness to adopt earlier deadlines.

The role of judge and enforcement officer will, as proposed, lie with the languages commissioner. Kusugak has expressed dismay over losing his advocacy duties and essentially being designated as a language cop. While these changes in job description were apparently made without his input, the duties of promotion and advocacy, at least, are still a responsibility of the regional Inuit associations. As well, a new body known as the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit will deal with the important issues of Inuktitut usage, development and standardization.

Such decisions are better left in the hands of a collective rather than at the discretion of one individual, no matter how well-meaning.

Inuktitut, English and French are recognized as Nunavut's official languages. Inuit comprise about 85 per cent of the territory's population. Although many of them can converse in Inuktitut, study after study has shown that the language is in decline - weakening with each successive generation. Some aggressive moves are going to have to be made to reinforce it.

The government has started down that path. It must go all the way, because if this legislation doesn't bolster Inuktitut, the language will remain on its own course, one towards extinction.

Ultimately, Nunavummiut will have the final say. The government is offering supports, but people must practise Inuktitut in public and at home if they are going to preserve the language. This cannot be legislated. It will be a choice; a crucial choice.

Time to slam lid on sex crime loophole

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Wednesday, April 11, 2007

With the high rate of sexual activity among teenagers in Nunavut, we should all be concerned with a recent ruling in a Saskatchewan court.

The case saw Jeffrey Kindrat acquitted by a jury in a sexual-assault case involving a 12 year old Aboriginal girl who accepted a ride with three men in a truck, leading to a sexual encounter.

One of the three men was found guilty in 2003 and given two years house arrest.

The third will be retried in October after being found not guilty with Kindrat in a 2003 trial.

An appeals court overturned that decision and ordered both re-tried.

The jury deliberated for 150 minutes before acquitting Kindrat based on his honest-and-reasonable-belief defence, which left the jurors with a reasonable doubt as to whether the man realized the girl was only 12 at the time.

There are many who fear the verdict could have a serious impact on future cases.

The matter was further fuelled by defence attorney Morris Bodnar's statement that he never gets demonstrations when he has an aboriginal client and a white victim, only when his client is white and the victim is aboriginal.

Although our legal system is one of the best in the world, it's not perfect and we accept that.

Sometimes innocent people get convicted and guilty people walk away free.

However we find it strange for a jury to be convinced that a man could not tell that a 12-year-old girl was not old enough to give her consent to sex, even if it would be unreasonable to expect him to know her exact age.

And, despite Bodnar's remarks, this issue has nothing to do with the colour of one's skin.

This is about trying to protect our youth from the sexual predators who are out there and, in the case of those too promiscuous for their own good, from themselves.

The Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) is calling on the honest-and-reasonable-belief defence to be stricken from the Criminal Code and we support the group's stance.

We find it nothing short of incredulous that the onus of ascertaining the age of someone buying cigarettes in a corner store or ordering alcohol at a restaurant falls squarely on the shoulders of the proprietor.

Yet, in a time when sexually-transmitted diseases are rampant and often deadly, one can have a sexual encounter with a pre-teen under some sort of honest-and-reasonable belief as to their age and consent?

One does not have to be a member of the NWAC or any other organization to be outraged by that logic, simply having morals and/or being a parent will do that.

In an age when so much emphasis is placed on physical attractiveness and youth often appear older than they truly are, it should be paramount within the law for anyone about to engage in sexuality activity to know the person they're with is old enough to give their consent.

The NWAC has correctly referred to the honest-and-reasonable-belief defence as a loophole.

It's a loophole our justice system should move quickly to close in all communities; Inuit, First Nation, caucasian and all shades in-between.

A time to be with family

Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik Drum
Friday, April 13, 2007

I have a message for people in town who indulge in binge drinking.

Please, all of you adults out there who wish to spend hard-earned money at the bar, keep it reasonable. Have some restraint when you go drinking.

I was out for a drive on Sunday afternoon, just after 12 noon. I drove past the bank and noticed two people staggering drunk in the street. Then a little farther down the road were two more people walking funny.

At first I laughed, thinking about how sad it was, resorting to drinking on a sunny afternoon. Then it dawned on me. This was Easter Sunday!

I had always thought of Easter as a time to be with the family and to share the gifts we have been given.

Some may think I am being harsh to people under the grip of the bottle, but I think I'm on the right path.

The situation in this town regarding alcohol needs to be re-examined carefully.

Liquor has a tight grip on people in the North. For as long as I have known this world, alcohol has been a part of it. Family members, friends and complete strangers have all affected me while they were drunk.

It seems that now we live in an age where it's politically incorrect to make fun of someone's ailments, even if they are self-inflicted.

I thought it worked though, because after being humiliated in a public place, maybe people would take cabs home from the bar.

Drinking isn't the problem. Drinking to excess is. I know. I have been to the other side of the pool and have gone overboard, but I don't have kids to go home to.

Youth look up to older people; role models are important. Come on, people, keep some things under wraps. We all know you drink, but we don't want to see you drunk all the time.

I saw that a local pub was open on Easter Sunday.

Great for business, I'm sure. I drove by a few times and saw a lot of people in the front of the bar. I chuckled to a friend in the vehicle with me, because the bar crowd could rival both the church-goers and the jamboree river crowd.

I also noticed a lot of police activity outside the bar over the weekend.

Good to see that our jamboree could bring in so many more people to party. I think the liquor store should have been closed all weekend as well as the bars.I do understand that alcoholism is serious and that people struggle with their demons. I hope they make it through and can find some control in their lives.

It sounds cliche, but I found some pretty good answers in the church.

Yeah, I said church.

After spending Tuesday morning with Minister Parsons of the Anglican church, I can say that my eyes have been opened a little wider into a life I know nothing about.

I don't want to get preachy and no, I did not get on the religious bandwagon. I just admire what the church is doing now and the message they spread to people in the region.

Be with your families, learn to curb some temptation and move along. Life is too short to spend it stumbling across Mackenzie Road.

Spring traditions

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum
Friday, April 13, 2007

With temperatures breaking records in Fort Simpson on Easter Day, water has been running down the streets as piles of snow disappear like retreating glaciers.

Streets that were once icy and white are now grey and brown and dotted with large puddles that I've seen a number of children with and without rubber boots taking advantage of.

Spring is a great time of the year.

With the warmer temperatures, people shake off the lethargy of the winter and can be seen strolling up and down the streets of many communities or coming out to take part in events.

Spring is also a time when you can catch up on news, with all the people it seems like you haven't seen since the snow started to fall.

Of course there's a chance that you may have seen these people and just didn't recognize them thanks to the layers of clothes they were wearing. Bundle a person in a large parka, some snow pants, a pair of Sorel boots, a scarf, a furry hat and thick gloves and it's hard to tell who you are looking at some days. Throw in some watery eyes caused by a biting wind or driving snow and you could walk past your best friend and not realize it.

Spring has arrived, hopefully for good, to take care of all this.

Spring in the Deh Cho brings with it a number of things: wet footwear, lighter coats, returning birds and a rise in betting tendencies.

If there is one topic that is sure to start up a conversation at this time of year. it's breakup. All the communities in the Deh Cho live by some body of water that people can keep a close eye on and spend quality time discussing.

Who can resist putting in their two cents about when breakup is likely to happen?

This is where the rise of betting comes in. You don't necessarily have to lay money down, but lots of people use the phrase "I bet" to state when they think the river will start to move.

Making an informed statement on this matter takes a complex series of calculations. You need to be able to factor in a wide range of variables from the weather patterns farther upstream to the local conditions.

Serious thought also has to be given to the type of winter it was. Did the ice form a thick layer to begin with? Was ice formation hampered by any factors like a heavy, insulating layer of snow or a number of thawing periods?

If you want to sound like you're savvy with the latest hot topics you also need to factor in global warming. Are temperatures getting warmer and will this lead to an earlier breakup?

Of course, a lot of the calculation involves guesswork and factoring in personal knowledge from past years. Weather patterns may change leading to a cold snap that could delay breakup or a warm spell could do just the opposite. Conditions might mirror a breakup that happened a few years ago.

Forget about betting on horse races, sports games or online gambling sites, betting on breakup is more challenging and also a fair bit more wholesome.

For added difficulty, side bets can be wagered on when the ice crossings will close and when the ferries will open. If you really want to tempt fate you can add in whether or not this will be the year that a serious flood occurs.

Gazing out at the Mackenzie from Fort Simpson the river's ice is still looking pretty solid, but don't be shy about being among the first to state your predictions.

Let the spring tradition begin.