Editorial

Recently in Fort Liard, two teachers left the hamlet when a member of the public, presumably a parent, reportedly made threats serious enough to raise safety concerns.

We can't say whether the person had cause to be that angry, but their actions cannot be justified. Whatever complaint the person had was overshadowed by their bad behaviour. School boards have avenues to express complaints about school staff and if an issue is serious enough the RCMP can be involved.

Threatening school staff in any way is not just an attack on the teachers, it is an attack on the good reputation of the entire community. Attracting teaching staff to the North is a struggle. Many people shy away from the isolation, way of life and distance. Adding fear for personal safety to the list will make it that much more difficult for Fort Liard to attract teaching staff.

It is a sure bet those teachers returned home to tell the tale of how they were railroaded out of town and that casts a poor light on the NWT.

Unfortunately, the damage is done and now all we can do is wait and see what the investigation into the incident reveals. Regardless of who was at fault, it's imperative the school board ensures parents are made aware of the correct way to air grievances. Teachers must be feel completely safe both in the schools and, just as important, in the community they serve.

Common sense checks

Pedophiles aren't hiding in every closet, but there are enough of them around that it makes sense to do everything we can to protect our children from the trauma of sexual abuse.

After seeing a convicted pedophile move to Hay River and be accused of sexual assault in recent weeks, sex abuse survivor Terry Rideout wants everyone who works or volunteers with groups that work with youth to have to undergo a criminal records check.

He has caught the attention of MLAs, who are preparing legislation requiring such checks for government agencies and any groups that receive GNWT funding.

This is not a witch-hunt or a case of "Big Brother" watching everyone. It's a common sense idea that lets pedophiles know that they're not welcome in the NWT. The checks can be done through any RCMP detachment, cost $25, although it is free to non-profit groups and the government. It takes 15 business days to complete.

Would-be volunteers who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear. It's also not a panacea, because a predator who has no criminal record won't be caught in this web. Legislators must strike a balance that protects children and gives groups flexibility to recruit and retain volunteers.

Don't send killer back too soon

On the night of Dec. 5, 2002, Mark King Jeffrey attacked 13 year old Jennifer Naglingniq in her own home. He stabbed her more than 30 times. He broke a knife in his frenzy, took the time to find another one, then continued stabbing the girl to death.

Nicotye Naglingniq returned home after midnight to find her daughter dead, and called the RCMP for help, setting the wheels in motion of what would be an excruciatingly slow journey to justice.

The community lived in fear as Jennifer's killer roamed Iqaluit for four months before his mother ratted him out to police.

His preliminary hearing was delayed because Nunavut's court system was incapable of handling two first degree murder cases at the same time.

Then Jeffrey's trial was delayed a full year because his defence lawyers said they needed more time to prepare.

The trial finally began in September 2006, and last month King pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum of 14 years to serve before eligibility for parole.

The four years he had already spent in custody was credited towards his sentence.

Now King is in the hands of the federal corrections system, which has a less than stellar record when it comes to rehabilitating violent Inuit offenders.

The Canadian justice system emphasizes rehabilitation over punishment. However, language and cultural barriers reduce the effectiveness of standard corrections programs for Inuit inmates.

Programs specifically aimed at aboriginal offenders are often based on First Nations cultures as foreign to Inuit as white-run therapies.

Sometimes, the system decides the best way to rehabilitate an Inuk convict is by returning him to his Northern community as soon as possible.

After a parolee raped and murdered his parole officer in Yellowknife in 2004, the Correctional Service of Canada and the National Parole Board made a number of recommendations on how to improve rehabilitation of Inuit inmates and monitoring of parolees in remote regions, including establishing culturally appropriate programs for offenders and educating staff who make parole decisions about the North and the realities of life in small, remote communities.

The system has 10 long years to make sure these changes have been made and are working before Mark King Jeffrey becomes eligible for parole. Given the snail's pace of justice in these parts, they will likely need every minute.

When Jeffrey's case comes before the parole board, someone will need to stand up and demand proof that Jeffrey is no longer a danger to society before he is allowed to go free.

The rehabilitation through reintegration argument should not go unchallenged.

Sending him back as much a threat to the community as when he left is not acceptable. The safety of Nunavut's children - and the memory of Jennifer Naglingniq - must be put first.

Time to help our region grow

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Denise Malliki's stunning victory at the 2007 Nunavut Quest dog race this past week was but the latest in a series of accomplishments by Kivalliq youth.

In fact, the impressive and ever-growing list of accomplishments by our youth bodes well for our region's future.

Whether it is a Skills Canada competition in Iqaluit, numerous sporting events, award-winning science projects or a record number of post-secondary graduates, Kivalliq youth have had a banner year.

Further fanning the flames of future success is the number of Kivalliq youth swamping post-secondary institutions with applications to further their education.

As Nunavut Arctic College campus director Mike Shouldice alluded to earlier this month, Kivalliq youth are leading the way among students seeking spots at college, trade schools and programs such as Northern Youth Abroad and the Nunavut Sivuniksavut in Ottawa.

Do not underestimate the significance of this development.

Our hopes are high that all Nunavut youth will realize the benefit of being involved with extracurricular programming while in school, and then continuing on with their post-secondary education after completing Grade 12.

That said, we're tickled pink many Kivalliq youth got the message and are striving for future success.

And, make no mistake about it, winning a gruelling race such as the Nunavut Quest, completing the cadet national star program or taking top spot at a Skills Canada event are all building blocks towards future success.

Those of us who eat, drink and sleep the Kivalliq are finding it increasingly difficult to be humble these days when talk centres on Nunavut youth.

That goes double for those of us involved with programs in the region ranging from sports to science activities, traditional learning and shop-and-trades training.

We're all pieces to the puzzle and that's the rub.

Kivalliq youth are doing their part to brighten the future of Nunavut.

It's now more important than ever for adults to step up and help our youth continue to flourish.

Solid foundation

A solid foundation has been laid and the framework put in place, but we must continue to build if our youth are to continue honing their skills.

There is still a relatively small group of people doing the lion's share of work with regional programs.

As more and more youth choose healthy lifestyles and want to be involved in positive programming, the demand for adults to get involved will continue to grow.

And, when you look at the results of the past few years, more adults should want to get involved with programs that help develop our youth.

We've been fortunate to have a number of award-winning teachers the past few years who contribute as much to extracurricular programming as they do to classroom work.

But our educators and a small group of dedicated volunteers can't continue to carry the load alone.

The time has arrived for everyone to do their part in helping our region grow.

Taking pride in the accomplishments of others is a feeling one only truly gets to know by being involved.

The system works

Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik Drum
Friday, May 11, 2007

If you look at the current animal control by-law, it was dated in 1998 with an amendment in 2001. It's time for an update, I'd say.

Updating town by-laws must be a challenging task.

After talking with one of the by-law committee members I can understand the urgency of the matter.

Apparently we're using by-laws that might be as old as I am.

It's good to see our municipal system at work. Someone was complaining to me about how no organizations are included during the by-law review process. Well, this is the perfect time to have your voice heard.

The by-law committee makes the document, council sees it and passes it for first and second readings during their meetings.

After that second reading, the document becomes public and then we can see it.

Once that by-law is in this stage, we can take it down, tear it apart or re-work it to our needs.

Councillors have held the animal control issue until their meeting on June 11. Anyone in town with a beef on the animal control issue should be at that meeting to voice their concerns.

The most important thing to remember is that this will affect us all.

Even if you don't own a dog, the animal control by-law could limit your rights to own more than three pets.

If you haven't read the draft of the new animal control document, I suggest you call town hall and have them make you a copy.

A few residents came to me about their concerns with the new draft, saying the by-law was "copied and pasted" from other communities in Canada and might even conflict with the territorial and federal acts for animal control.

Now, I agree we have an animal control problem in this town and we always have.

I read some old papers from back in 2003, when the town was up in arms about building a new dog shelter.

Well, we built it and we still have problems with pets in this town. The problem lies with the people who bring pets into their homes without proper preparation.

My girlfriend just got a puppy from one of her friends.

Apparently her friend couldn't keep the dog anymore, big surprise.

If I had a dime for every time a girl gave away her puppy I'd have enough for more than a few KFC combos from across the street.

So now this poor little dog with big bright eyes is being passed around like lip gloss.

While I may not agree with some by-laws in town, every one of them is in place for the safety and comfort of everyone in town.

If council can't come to a decision on the June 11 meeting, they'll hold it off until everyone has put in their two cents.

If you think the proposed animal control by-law is bloated, grab the knife and help trim the fat.

Let your councillors know your concerns and talk to people who are on the by-law committee.

I think this is one of the hotter issues in town because the nay-sayers are having their voices heard by the people in charge.

I'm glad the people who feel passionate about this are coming forward and not just griping to the person next to them in line at the grocery store.

Spring cleaning outdoors

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum
Friday, May 11, 2007

Pop cans, broken glass, empty chip bags, pieces of unidentifiable plastic, empty paper coffee cups.

These used to be things that were a common sight during any walk in Fort Simpson. On Main Street, side streets and even in grassy fields it was hard to go more than two steps without finding some piece of litter.

Since May 3 things have been much better. The change is the result of the more than 80 people who came out to participate in the community cleanup organized by the Northern Store.

It was fantastic to see so many people put a pair of gloves on, roll up their sleeves, grab a handful of garbage bags and head out with a determined look on their faces. All around the village people of all ages could be seen picking up scraps of garbage and placing them in their sacks before moving on to the next area.

Some people went high tech in their garbage clean-up, coming prepared with fancy contraptions with claws on the end allowing you to pick-up litter without bending over. Others took it down a notch by using a stick with a nail on the end. Even more people simply spent a lot of time bent over reaching towards the ground.

While it was great to see the community pull together and take ownership of the village there was also a disturbing side to the cleanup.

Where did all this garbage and litter come from?

A Rowe's Construction employee was kept busy during the cleanup driving a loader around town to pick up all of the full or heavy bags of garbage and bring them back to the Northern Store where they were deposited in a waiting dump truck. While it was satisfying to see loader after loader of bags being dropped off it was hard not to think of where the garbage came from.

Over a full dump truck load of garbage was picked up during the two hours of the cleanup. It's likely that some litter was missed meaning that even more is lurking around.

Litter is like tangled metal clothes hangers or dust bunnies. Both of these things multiply when left to their own devices in dark closets or under beds.

It's easy to see how litter happens.

Many pieces of litter can be traced back to food products like beverages and snacks. People buy a snack or carry it out of their home while on their way somewhere. After finishing the food or drink, not wanting to be bothered to drag along an empty package, people let it slip out of their hands.

Few people are blameless and Fort Simpson isn't the only place with people who litter.

Once litter is on the ground there's not much you can do about it except have a cleanup. It's after a cleanup is held that people really have a chance to make a difference.

While dropping another plastic straw onto a piece of ground that is already covered in bits of stray plastic doesn't seem like such a big deal, being the first to drop that straw is another matter.

Spring is a time of new beginnings for many things. It also provides a chance for residents of the Dehcho to show that they support their communities by respecting them and keeping them clean.

Corrections

A photo caption in the May 7 News/North contained incorrect information. At the Aurora College convocation in Fort Smith on April 28, Western Arctic MP Dennis Bevington did not help present college certificates and diplomas. Instead, the MP presented congratulatory certificates to graduates from himself and the House of Commons.