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Features
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Wednesday, April 25, 2007 Bag ban worth trying
Not only are the plastic bags unsightly, they blow into trees, lakes and streams and foul wildlife habitat.
Those single-use bags that don't wind up blowing down the street inevitably find a home in the city landfill or clutter up kitchen cabinets in households across the city.
Last week, Yellowknifer invited readers to share their thoughts about a possible ban - after Tales from the Dump columnist Walt Humphries wrote about how the town council in Leaf Rapids, Man. decided to do just that.
Of 110 respondents, 89 said they would support a ban - about 80 per cent.
Last week, Westfair's Extra Foods announced that it had sold nearly 1,000 re-usable plastic grocery bags for 99 cents each in just a few days.
The Yellowknife Direct Charge Co-op has been selling re-useable canvas bags for several years.
Clearly, there is at least some appetite out there to move away from single-use bags, and the good news is that such a move wouldn't be that painful at all.
The big retail stores won't mind a ban because they can sell reusable bags for a profit.
As long as the re-usable bags stay cheap, as they should since they're already supplied using recyclable material, consumers shouldn't mind either.
Besides, there's nothing stopping shoppers from taking the re-useable bags purchased at Extra Foods or the Co-op and using them to shop at smaller stores that might be less inclined to buy them.
Some people might initially balk if city council enacted a ban, which it hasn't yet nor have councillors even discussed it. Yet, experience shows that at least some prohibitive measures passed by council in recent years have done the city quite well.
Some people complained when the city imposed a three-bag limit on curbside garbage last year, but residents adjusted and now there is 500 tonnes less in residential trash going to the dump.
Bar owners complained when council passed the anti-smoking bylaw in 2003, but the bars are still open and patrons don't come home smelling like tobacco.
A number of current city councillors are gaining reputations as activist legislators, which has made some residents uneasy.
Council's recent decision to make driveways optional at Phase VII of Niven Lake comes to mind.
A grocery bag ban would be an easier sell and would open the door to more environmentally-friendly initiatives, such as banning cardboard from the dump.
One can never really know for sure why a voter casts their ballot for a particular candidate.
But, one thing we do know for certain, the one true bit of power everyone shares is contained in that small window of time when an X is marked next to the candidate of choice during elections.
We've written numerous times in this space that elections are when people truly get to voice their satisfaction, or dissatisfaction, with those in elected office.
The wheels of change are put in motion when the people of a community, territory, province or nation are unhappy with the decisions being made that affect their quality of life.
And, the decisions being made in a small Kivalliq community are every bit as important to its residents as those being made by the big city dwellers in the south.
There have been numerous times during my years in the Kivalliq that I've heard the power of the vote questioned by certain people, almost as if the democratic system works differently here than in the rest of the country.
It does not.
Unless our extra-sensory perception increases dramatically in the next little while, we'll never know for sure what turned the tide of voters in Arviat's 2006 municipal election.
But, the time leading up to the election and the actions of the current mayor and council in that community show the spirit of democracy is very much alive in the region.
Former mayor Elizabeth Copland was known as being fairly progressive and had a solid track record during her time in office.
In fact, a number of projects just now coming to fruition in Arviat were spearheaded by her.
Copland would have been viewed by many as a solid bet to be re-elected in the final few months leading up to December of 2006.
But then bingo, an important topic to Kivalliq residents, raised its head.
The council changed its way of administering bingo funds and a significant portion of Arviat's population, namely those involved with adult hockey, found themselves shut out from the proceeds of the then twice-a-week games.
While we admire Copland's decision to take a stand for what she perceived as the right direction for the hamlet to go with bingo revenues, as a politician seeking re-election, she should have seen trouble brewing.
Hockey players are like everyone else in that they have one vote per person.
But they're also like everyone else in that they have friends and family members who support them and they will naturally gravitate towards a leader who appears sympathetic to their plight.
Enter the new mayor and his promise to do all he could to get the adult players a slice of the bingo pie and bring artificial ice to his community.
Now, we're not suggesting everyone who voted for Johnny Mamgark did so because of this one issue.
But to think that issue didn't carry the voting day in Arviat is naive at best.
And, judging by the current council's decisions in the new year, they read the score sheet the same way.
Something to ponder the next time you think your vote can't make a difference.
"What about the children? Won't somebody think of the children?" asks cartoon character Maude Flanders during a classic episode of The Simpsons.
It's a funny scene, but it serves as a nagging reminder of a situation that Inuvik has been in for a long time.
Inuvik lacks proper care for young children.
Early childhood development has been a hot topic for parents and caregivers for decades.
Right now there are three organizations that are fighting for the rights of those who are still learning to walk and talk.
The Inuvik Child Development Centre, the Inuvik Aboriginal Head Start program and the Inuvik Pre-school Society are all in talks about constructing a facility to house their programs.
The group, collectively known as the Children First Society, is looking to partner with the new super school.
This would mean that Inuvik could have all their education needs under one roof, excluding the college. But even that is right across the street.
Community leaders need to back this project to ensure the children's group is included in the construction of the new school building.
Each of the three organizations have had their share of troubles in the past.
The existing child development centre is successful but could use more resources. They are currently licensed to care for 45 children and still have a long list of hopeful families. The aboriginal head start program is in its third year. At first, they had housing in the former group home on Tuma Drive.
Because they could not stay there permanently, they recently made the move to a donated residence on Inuit Road.
The Inuvik Pre-school society has had their home behind Sir Alexander Mackenzie school since the 1970s. With the inevitable demolition of the school, this group will be without a home as well.
I don't know how all these organizations have held together so well without complete backing from the community, but we need to band together and show these fine people that we are more than just a cool town with great walking trails. We're a community.
I love the old cliché, "It takes a village to raise a child."
I fully support and endorse anyone who takes the time to become involved in early childhood development.
Without strong, healthy and educated youth, this region doesn't stand much of a chance.
The Children First Society is holding their annual general meeting next Wednesday, April 25. Come on out and show your support and listen to what other things they've been working on.
With the news of the group receiving money from the community capacity building fund, things seem like they're on the move.
To acknowledge the efforts of the group and their cause, I am going to start a slow clap, hoping you all will join in and make this a round of applause they can hear at Shell Lake.
They might seem cute and innocent but recently in Fort Simpson they've been back in the spotlight receiving the kind of attention that is usually reserved for persistent, but not overly dangerous criminals.
There are, in fact, a number of striking similarities between the issue of stray dogs in Fort Simpson and questions that often arise about the criminal element.
To begin with, when there is a rash of petty thefts, people, including officials in positions of power and community members, start to discuss what can be done.
Stray dogs have been a discussion topic raised at the past three village council meetings in Fort Simpson.
The topic was brought to light again after two letters were submitted for the meeting on March 19. In one case both members of a couple were injured in separate incidents by dogs. One person received a twisted ankle after being pushed over by a dog and the other had a dog bite and break the skin on their calf.
The second letter raised concerns over the number of loose dogs at Wild Rose and the threat to the safety of children and adults alike.
Council members voiced their continued support for measures to deal with loose dogs including temporarily increasing the hours of the bylaw officer.
The increased presence of enforcement officials like the RCMP is a common response to fight rising crime numbers. People, however, sometimes question the effectiveness of this step. Arguments include the fact that there are a limited number of RCMP officers to go around and criminals are likely to figure out which times are still best to commit offences.
The same concerns have been raised in the case of the loose dogs.
Some council members have argued that dog owners purposefully let their dogs loose when they know the bylaw officer is off duty. Changing the bylaw officer's hours will only be met by a change in when dogs are set loose, they say.
To help deter people from letting their dogs roam, this week council amended a bylaw to increase the fines for the seizure and impoundment of dogs. The move is similar to making sentences longer for criminals.
In this midst of all this talk about ways to fight the symptoms of the problem, people also start to discuss what factors led to the mess to begin with.
What makes people turn to crime? What turns dogs into aimless rovers?
In both cases people look to the individuals' formative years and family situations. Common questions include: were they loved enough, were there problems in their homes and did they receive enough supervision and guidance.
Many people believe that the answer to problems later in life can be found in the early years.
When enough people are concerned about an issue whether it is loose dogs or anything else, they often find the strength to band together.
This is what is needed in Fort Simpson and probably in a number of other Deh Cho communities that have problems with loose dogs.
More than just a handful of people need to say enough is enough. When this happens, people will start to put pressure on their neighbours who are letting dogs loose and the dogs that are homeless will be identified and rounded up.
Until this groundswell breaking point has been reached, discussions will continue to circle around the same point with little progress being made.
An error appeared in an article in Friday's Yellowknifer ("No Money for Volunteer Week," April 20). The GNWT did not and does not provide Volunteer NWT with $20,000 in annual funding. However, Volunteer NWT is currently receiving temporary funding, totaling $50,000, from the territorial government. Yellowknifer apologizes for any embarrassment or confusion caused by the error. Also, in "Yk1 spends savings to offset deficit," the article states that the number of students in the district increased by 2.4 per cent. In actuality, the percentage of students enrolled in Yk 1 over Yellowknife Catholic Schools increased by 2.4 per cent to 57.9 per cent from 55.5 per cent. Yellowknifer apologizes for any embarrassment or confusion caused by the errors.
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