Editorial

Premier Joe Handley's comments last week about the agreement in principal on devolution signed by the Gwich'in, Inuvialuit, Sahtu and NWT Metis Nation are disturbing.

With the Dehcho, Akaitcho and Tlicho still not on side Handley was quoted saying: "It's really in their hands (and) if they choose to do it on their own, that's their call." The premier added that Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Jim Prentice said it's not necessary to have 100 per cent on side to strike the AIP.

That attitude is one of the reasons the devolution agreement has been slow in coming.

Dehcho Grand Chief Herb Norwegian called the agreement "an insult to the North" and "a territorial wide peanut scramble that everyone is trying to get involved in," adding that the deal did not offer enough for the Dehcho First Nation to sustain itself.

Handley has promised to resolve the issue of devolution, but it's hard to fathom how he will accomplish that when he continues to ignore the voices of opposition and rely on the support of those he has already converted to his cause.

It is the job of our premier to represent the best interests of everyone in the NWT and in that role he must commit to negotiating a deal that will be acceptable to all the aboriginal governments involved.

The key word here is "negotiate."

He must offer some incentive beyond promises because promises don't work any more.

The problem is, with only half of the aboriginal governments on side, Handley is leaving the door wide open for the federal government to reject any proposal on devolution.

As the old saying goes, united we stand and divided we fall. Handley must not allow the federal government to divide and conquer or the NWT will lose all control when finalizing any deal on resource revenue sharing and the extension of legislative powers to the territory.

Handley has all the skills and legislative power to broker a deal with dissenting aboriginal governments. But does he have the will?

'Did anything happen to my children?'

With all the horror stories, lawsuits and documented trauma caused by residential schools, it was shocking to read in last week's News/North the comments of a very worried mother in Gameti.

"My heart just shook, it's frightening , asking myself, 'did anything happen to my children?"

That's Mary-Adele Chocolate who has been forced to send three of her children to school in Behchoko and now will need to send two more.

Her children are not with her.What mother wouldn't worry? Chocolate has to part with her children because the commitment made by the territorial government two decades ago to put high school grades into all communities has yet to be met.

In the same story, bureaucrats trotted out old excuses as to why the necessary renovations for the school extensions in Gameti won't be met, even calling it a common problem .

Where is the minister? Where are the MLAs? Why are such poor excuses good enough?

Obviously, the residential school system is being perpetrated by the same old thinking; diminishing the long term social consequences of separating Dene parents and their children while holding sacred the paper shuffling woes of highly paid professionals.

Looks like another round of lawsuits in 20 years, naming the territorial government staffed by the people making the same old bad decisions now.

Cash needed, not talk

Let's work together.

That was Premier Paul Okalik's repeated message to mayors at the Nunavut Association of Municipalities meeting in Iqaluit on May 10. They had him on the hot seat and were pressing him for a share of future resource revenues generated in Nunavut.

Mines, the mayors argue, are going to have a major impact on their respective communities so they need to plan, prepare and bulk up their services.

The 25 community leaders have a plan to dip into their Community Capacity Building Fund, to the tune of $10,000 apiece. They will use the funds for a strategic plan to prepare for mines and will attempt to recoup that money from the GN later.

We have only seen the beginning of what promises to be enormous effects from the mining industry in Nunavut, positive and negative. Mineral exploration was worth more than $200 million in 2006. One diamond mine, Jericho, is up and running. A gold mine, Doris North, is edging closer to production. Several other mines may launch over the next five years.

Agreements between mining companies and regional Inuit associations ensure local benefits, but they don't include hamlets. The mines mean a strain on hamlet water, sewage, airports and more.

The premier should make a commitment that hamlets will get a fraction of a future resource revenue deal.

Working together means more than turning Nunavut's community leaders away with empty motherhood statements.

Seven Nation Army

A Seven Nation Army couldn't hold them back, and now with the city of iqaluit coming onside, the White Stripes concert looks more like a sure thing.

When the White Stripes announced they were going to play every province and territory in Canada, there was much happiness on the part of fans but the city was faced with the more practical task of where to put all the people.

It's times like these the word 'infrastructure' and what it really means to a community becomes clear. When 'infrastructure' is crumbling, it means there's only so much a community can do.

It means there's not a big enough building to have everyone gather together safely for special occasions.

Here "safely" is another key word. It's easy to forget about safety in all the excitement but city and other government officials would be crucified if anything went wrong.

A good start was the decision by the city to open the show to all ages. There was no need for alcohol to be served at this event, especially since it meant a majority of White Stripes fans would have missed out on the show.

Now the decision has been made, let's give the White Stripes a warm Northern welcome.

The more the merrier

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Wednesday, May 16, 2007

The cynicism of some people in today's world never ceases to amaze me.

And that, valued readers, comes from a journalist with more than a few years at the keyboard.

A day or two after the May 9 edition of Kivalliq News hit the streets containing a feature story on an award-winning gym teacher, I was told in-no-uncertain terms that these awards have become meaningless because there are too many of them on the go.

Believe it or not, other than cynical (which really doesn't do it justice), I don't have a word to describe the combination of tone, facial expression and eye-roll used when the person actually spoke the word "awards."

It was definitely a time for a, "No, tell me what you really think," type of rebuttal, and I wish I had thought of it at the moment.

The person then, of course, went on to suggest maybe it was time I stopped dedicating so much space to these namby-pamby (I kid you not) tributes.

Not the best of timing when you realize the school awards are just around the corner, but, I digress.

Now, let's be honest. If the person was speaking strictly about the number of Commissioner's Awards handed out each year, there may have been the tiniest grain of truth in their contention.

And, we've all been to sporting events where whoever selected the award winners seemed more worried about geographic location than athletic ability.

But, they are what they are and we accept them.

To find fault with a relative handful of educators, volunteers and youth being publicly recognized for their accomplishments borders on asinine.

We are fortunate to live in a country where we enjoy many freedoms.

And among those freedoms, is the choice to watch and listen to whatever type of news we find relevant.

If you want nothing but gloom, doom and despair, coupled with an endless stream of the sky-is-falling rhetoric, there are plenty of numbers on your radio dial and TV remote to accommodate you.

Likewise, the Internet gives you access to plenty of written news (most even have pictures) that focuses predominately on everything that is wrong with the world.

The key to the equation is balance. It's not all doom, gloom and despair, nor is it all love, luck and lollipops.

Let's not waste our time playing down the importance of having people among us who strive to do the best they can.

We should be happy we have so many teachers in our region who care about our kids' educations.

Ditto the volunteers (written here many times and not about to change) who work so hard to make programming available in our region.

In short, these awards are good things no matter how many of them are handed out.

When it comes to people in the Kivalliq being named as award winners, the more the merrier.

Would you rather the Kivalliq have no award-winning teachers?

Wouldn't that be great fodder for filling the pages of Kivalliq News?

Not!!

Skipping school is stupid

Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik Drum
Friday, May 18, 2007

I am getting sick and tired of kids who skip school.

Each day, dozens of youth are on the streets during the day with nothing to do but linger like so many cigarette butts discarded on the sidewalk.

Parents need to instill some accountability and self-respect in those kids who choose to skip class. I understand that some parents might not know their kid is out on the streets in the middle of the day, but I am concerned about those parents who are aware of their children's activity and choose not to act on it.

Be strong with the youth and they will be strong in the end. I want to know what happened to the old adage 'tough love'.

I still remember the days of the willow switch and the metre stick. Luckily I was a little young to be struck in school, but I remember the principle of the action.

Society has changed to the point of what seems like no return.

Somewhere between the past generations, parents have given all control to their kids.

Any sort of child abuse is unacceptable, but there must be some way to get through to the youth.

If you don't properly discipline your kid and teach them about responsibility, they become a burden to other people in the community.

Every week we here at the Inuvik Drum deal with kids who are skipping school. I've heard it all, from "School is out," to "My mom said I could skip if I think it's boring."

I saw one mother bust her daughter for skipping school last week to sell newspapers. Talk about a priceless moment. I think the girl tried to hide behind a car.

Children are our future and we should prepare them for what challenges lie ahead.

While sleeping in and skipping school may seem comfortable to those students who miss class habitually, it will not help them in the years to come. Unless you want to leave school forever and live off mom and dad for the rest of your life, you need to learn some responsibility.

Take it from someone who recently had to adjust to the "real world" of employment and deadlines. The earlier you learn these important life lessons, the better off you will be and the happier your bosses will be in turn.

As a community we need to stay together, like a pack of wolves. Since we are not nomadic and we have settled in an area, we can't just leave our weak behind. They stay with us and poison the rest of the pack with temptations.

Those who wish to stay at home during the day will soon be faced with a sobering fact: the school won't let you skip. That's right, Samuel Hearne has had enough.

Miss enough school and you'll get warnings. Your parents will get letters and hopefully those will not fall on deaf ears. Sooner than later, you'll be kicked out for the rest of the semester.

Wow, what a bad situation. Being kicked out of school for missing too many classes. I know many people have had to come back and repeat courses because they didn't want to miss out on an education.

Missing school is not excusable. If you don't agree with the schedule and curriculum, then move to another jurisdiction. The times are set for your benefit. Your teachers have to get up even earlier. They seem to do fine.

Maybe if you're sitting in the classroom you'll be less likely to end up picking up butts from under Northmart.

A guiding hand

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum
Friday, May 18, 2007

There's nothing like the death of a teenager to cover a community in a dark pall.

Although every death is mourned, the death of a young person is especially hard on a community because there's a sense that a future has been lost. The matter is only made worse if more than one young person has their life cut short.

After such a death things are never quite the same. At graduations and special gatherings their absence always leaves an empty space.

No one wants to see a young person die, so it only makes sense to take pre-emptive steps to help ensure it doesn't happen.

The death of a local teenager is something that Robert Byatt, the principal of Thomas Simpson school, worries will happen as a result of unchecked drinking by minors and young adults.

The issue of underage drinking was raised in Fort Simpson in relation to a recent increase in crimes by youth in the village. Members of the RCMP and Byatt both point to alcohol and underage drinking as contributing factors to this problem.

This isn't the first time that the issue of underage drinking has been raised in the village.

In October, Byatt sounded the alarm about the number of underage people, including some as young as 12 and 13, who were drinking over the summer. At the time RCMP Sgt. Cliff McKay said underage drinking has been a consistent problem in the village.

The continued excessive drinking is behind the recent increase in crime, said McKay.

While it's easy to become alarmed by the joint spectres of underage drinking, crime by youth and possible serious accidents resulting in death, some perspective is needed.

The teens in Fort Simpson haven't reinvented the wheel when it comes to underage drinking and the things it can lead to. Drinking by minors can probably be found across the communities in the Deh Cho, the North and undoubtedly the rest of Canada and beyond.

Drinking is almost seen as a rite of passage in modern Western culture and there are few who don't try it out before they are legally able to do so.

It's also important to point out that not every teenager is an underage drinker.

Some may never do it, some may do it once or every once in a while. Also, not all youth that drink will end up committing crimes or putting lives in danger.

But in a community that can now see one of the effects of underage drinking, the question that needs to be asked is what can be done to prevent a tragedy.

Every time this issue is raised it always seems to come back to the same two answers - cutting off the flow of alcohol, and parental guidance.

While cutting off the flow of alcohol sounds like the best plan, teens will always be able to find alcohol if they really want it.

So it falls on parents and the broader community to set guidelines for what constitutes acceptable drinking practices until wisdom and experience temper young age.

Everyone was a teenager once and can remember what it was like to experiment with alcohol, make mistakes and learn from them.

A supportive environment and guidelines can help ensure that youth can make their mistakes and still have the chance to learn from them.

Corrections

An error appeared in the News/North supplement Degrees of Success ("Hay River invests in future doctors" March 12). Lance Crook is currently enrolled in medicine at the University of British Columbia. Crook is also not certain he would apply. News/North apologizes for any embarrassment or confusion caused by the errors.