Editorial

Niven Lake is Yellowknife's most exclusive residential area and it seems some of the people who live there think the trail around the lake belongs to them, too.

Thanks to Sean Kollee, who lives on Niven Drive, the public alarm has been raised over people cutting down trees on the Niven nature preserve in order to build gravelled walkways to the trail.

As well, Coun. Shelagh Montgomery said she has heard complaints that she planned to bring to council and administration.

The Niven development has always been controversial. Whether it was to preserve the area as wild space with room for the ski club trails or the troubled public-private partnership that put taxpayers on the hook for $3 million in 1990, the words Niven Lake have always been a touchstone for trouble.

The trail around the lake has become a favorite for folks out for a relaxing stroll. Unfortunately, some folks who live at Niven think it's okay to cut down trees on public land and build trails across the five-metre nature preserve buffer zone.

Montgomery is outraged, rightfully suggesting that if the city doesn't act decisively, others will think the city's silence is a licence to hack and slash on the nature preserve.

Last year, a homeowner was ordered to replant trees after cutting a private path, and we hope there's the will to make this happen again.

According to the city's director of planning and lands, letters will go out reminding people that they're not supposed to cut in the nature preserve. That's not enough.

Making people replace trees they've cut on private land is a start.

Everyone's who lives along nature preserve - of which there are plenty in Yellowknife - must be informed of the law.

Anyone convicted of breaking this part of the public parks and recreation bylaw can be fined up to $2,000.

It's also time the city took a proactive step to check the rest of the Niven trail and other areas, whether it be Frame Lake or Range Lake trails, to see if anyone else has encroached on public land.

Anyone who has must be held accountable.

The bottom line is the city must do a better job enforcing this bylaw, and others.

For example, the same parks bylaw says no one shall walk a dog in a park unless that dog is on a leash not exceeding 2.5 metres in length, yet we see dogs running loose all the time.

The zoning bylaw says no wrecked or partially dismantled vehicle shall be on a residential property for more than seven days.

There are plenty of partially dismantled vehicles on lots all over town, some on public streets.

We're not saying there's a need to impose a draconian crackdown on every city bylaw, because common sense must prevail.

The challenge is ensuring that the city keeps the situation under control and doesn't allow violations to mushroom.

Nuclear reaction

Editorial Comment
Christine Grimard
Kivalliq News
Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Those able to attend meetings in Baker Lake two weeks ago, have likely heard enough about what uranium is and what development of this resource can bring to Nunavut.

I had a chance to speak with two Baker Lake residents who pointed out to me that people there are just learning now about what uranium is. Since uranium is primarily used to produce nuclear power, I thought I would take a chance this week to talk a bit about the subject.

When nuclear power first came out in the 1950s and 1960s, it was seen as a miracle power source, where all the world's problems would be solved with this seemingly endless supply of energy.

Since 1945 Canada has denounced any intention to build atomic weapons and has concentrated all its efforts in developing technology for nuclear power.

Nuclear power has been associated with "clean energy" because, in comparison with fossil fuels, it is one of the world's most abundant and effective energy sources if, and this is a key point, safety measures are carefully followed and nuclear waste is disposed of properly.

The myth of the "miracle" energy source was dissuaded after the disasters of Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979 and the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, a power plant near Pripyat, Ukraine. Up to 146,000 square kilometres of land around the plant was contaminated by radioactivity and 350,000 people had to move.

But Canada does not carry the dysfunctions of a communist country, and modern technologies have minimized, and arguably altogether abolished the likelihood of a similar disaster. Canada has taken a leading position on nuclear power. This country has 20 nuclear reactors, and is a world leader in nuclear technologies. Countries such as China and India use Canadian CANDU reactors. Nuclear power provides half of Ontario's electricity.

At this month's G-8 Summit, climate change was on everyone's lips, and is one of the leading issues businesses and governments face. Al Gore's documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, popularized the issue that scientists and activists have been pushing for years, sending out the message that our production and consumption habits are slowly killing this planet.

Nuclear power does not produce soot or greenhouse gases, the primary triggers Gore so clearly linked to climate change.

Mining, however, does produce waste and this is an important point to consider in allowing mining development in the area.

It's also important to recognize that the North's past and present connection with uranium hasn't been good. It was mined in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s near Great Bear Lake in the NWT, and the community of Deline continues to deal with the after-effects.

A proposal to explore for uranium in the Thelon River area east of Lutsel K'e was recently denied by an NWT regulatory agency, citing environmental and cultural concerns.

Leaving the conservation issues linked with uranium development aside, giving uranium development the go ahead is also a vote for nuclear power, and this is something I strongly support.

Even Patrick Moore, one of the founders of Greenpeace, has put himself behind nuclear energy, as he wrote in an op-ed piece for the Washington Post: "my views have changed, and the rest of the environmental movement needs to update its views, too, because nuclear energy may just be the energy source that can save our planet from another possible disaster: catastrophic climate change."

-- Darrell Greer, the regular editor of the Kivalliq News, returns July 16.

Support your neighbours

Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik Drum
Friday, June 15, 2007

We've all been down and out in our lives, whether it be a bad day at work or just the blues.

The thing about feeling bad is that most of the time it can be fixed by performing a random act of kindness.

I feel the best way to do something good, is by affecting someone in a positive way.

I want Inuvik to extend a hand and help out the people who live here. We all chose to be here and we should do our best to strengthen our community from the inside.

There are plenty of good causes out there to give money to. You don't even need to give money, just your time.

I'm not advocating any specific charities or people. I just want to spread the word that there are people in the community who need our help.

Through whatever circumstances, we have people in this town who might need a hand making ends meet.

We have established a food bank and thrift store for those people who need assistance.

I think those services are great for aiding those who might not want everyone to know they need help.

There are also other groups of people raising money and resources. They might be a non-profit organization or the family of someone who was in some sort of accident.

The Inuvik Children First society is raising funds for their programming. This weekend they chose to bring in comedian Jimmy Flynn to entertain adults.

I like that because you get something from the donation. Not to say that you should always get something for giving, but I think it improves the chances of getting some cheddar from those penny-pinchers out there.

I will be in the audience for Flynn's performance. I commend the group for bringing someone who can turn a frown upside down.

Another good source of fundraising is unique events, like the upcoming "Wheels on Ice" challenge. Perform a task in a wheelchair. Sounds easy, but the smart money says looks are deceiving.

I'll also be in a wheelchair to prove I can step up. I hope I am joined by many well wishers for Chris Schab.

The Samuel Hearne sports teams have done a great job of fundraising as well.

While the track team chose to hold a car wash, other groups in the school have held in-house tournaments.

I took part in the volleyball tourney and it was a great time. Tons of people were out to support me (I think) and give for a worthy cause.

The best part of a tournament is that once you pay to get in, you have a full day of fun and exciting sports to watch. Perfect for those armchair athletes or parents.

I'm glad to live in a town where the people can band together and make things work for everybody.

Remember that your life can change forever in an instant.

Nobody asks for misfortune. Nobody asks for life-changing injuries. I wouldn't wish bad luck on anyone I know, and I don't want it to happen to me.

I hope I will never experience how it feels to lose something as precious as the ability to walk, and I support anyone who is struggling to make ends meet after an accident.

I hope that everyone reading this will take the time to give to a cause they find worthy because there are enough people in this community that we can make someone's life easier.

Local initiative on global problems

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum
Friday, June 15 2007

Participants at last week's Dehcho Climate Change workshop took on a challenging role.

When it comes to overwhelmingly broad topics, climate change is right in there. The term climate change covers a wide variety of changes that are being caused by an equally wide variety of sources.

Heading into the workshop, Doug Ritchie, the program director of Ecology North, the organization that held the event, was up front with the fact that the topic of climate change is so big that people often feel overwhelmed by it.

"With climate change it's easy to be overwhelmed by the negative and the doom and gloom," said Ritchie.

Participants gathered around the tables in Fort Providence for three days, however, didn't seem fazed by the enormity of the problem they were looking at.

Taking it all in stride, participants went right to the heart of the matter - how is climate change going to affect the Deh Cho?

Divided into groups, they came up with long lists written on flip-chart paper. Many of the problems were uniquely Northern.

While climate change is raising temperatures globally it won't be the much discussed ice melt and resulting water level increase that will be the big problem in the Deh Cho.

As temperatures rise there will be increased problems with ice crossings and winter roads. Both are important to many communities in the region, especially Nahanni Butte and Trout Lake. Participants pointed out that with warmer weather the season for winter roads will be shortened, effecting the community's chances to be resupplied. Other problems will include weakening of the ice crossings and less safety on ice in general.

Other changes will come in the form of loss of permafrost and changes in animal species.

Having identified what the Deh Cho has to lose if climate change continues unchecked, participants also did some hard thinking on what can be done locally to help fight the changes.

Recommendations from the workshop included increased use of alternative energy sources like the solar panels in Jean Marie River and for each community to develop a community energy plan so they can assess where their energy is coming from and if it's being used effectively.

These measures might not seem like much in the face of the enormity of the problem, but the key is that they are a start and, more importantly, they are things that can be done locally.

As Ritchie stated, it's easy to be overwhelmed by the negative news about the size of the problem, but that shouldn't be allowed to stop individual communities and people from taking it upon themselves to work towards a solution.

The recommendations from the workshop will now be presented to the delegates at the upcoming Dehcho Assembly, in Fort Simpson, at the end of the month. Leaders will have the chance to provide feedback on the short-term goals.

Although the recommendations will be fighting for space and attention amid a variety of pressing local issues, it can be hoped that leaders will take the time to give the issue some serious thought.