Editorial

After sitting on the sidelines for several years, the territorial government has served notice that it will no longer tolerate illegal cabins on Commissioner's Land around the city.

The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is supposed to be a steward of public lands, an especially important job in the North where some land claims remain undecided.

These cabins were allowed to sprout because the department says it didn't have the personnel to enforce the rules. Given how much the government workforce has grown over the years, that's a difficult argument to swallow.

With the absence of enforcement, it seems some people figure it was okay to build cabins without having a lease to the land.

Now, according to the department, there are about 65 cabins without leases, while about 60 cabins are legally leased to individuals and organizations. It's clear that Yellowknifers love to spend time in the bush, experiencing the best the North has to offer. It's one of the reasons people come to live and stay.

Rather than storming in and filing trespass charges, the government is taking an even-handed approach. It is flying over the area to spot illegal cabins. Then, notices are posted, asking cabin owners to respond. Any cabins that don't get claimed will be declared abandoned and cleaned up.

Noone is saying these so-called squatter cabins must be removed, but something must be done to address other issues, such as how a road to one cabin was plowed over public land. An aerial photo shows one such road off the Ingraham Trail.

Building a cabin is one thing; plowing a road across public land is something completely different. Mining companies are forced to go through environmental impact hearings in order to build roads.

Complicating the situation is the fact much of this area is under claim by the Yellowknives Dene. Anyone with a good memory may recall Fred Sangris complaining in 2004 about how people abused the land around the Ingraham Trail, especially the Cameron River. He threatened to restrict access. Sangris is now chief of the Ndilo Yellowknives and asserted the First Nation's authority earlier this year when he demanded a say over the route for the Rock and Ice Ultra marathon.

The easiest approach would be to forbid any more cottages until land claims are finished. A better option would be to catch up on the regulatory job that has been ignored to date and work with the future owners - the Yellowknives Dene - to eliminate squatters for good.

It would be sad if the option of further developing "cottage country" outside of Yellowknife was lost. Aboriginal groups in the South have made such development on their wilderness areas an economic opportunity that brings income to band membership. Why not here?

Women harassed by obscene caller

Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik News
Thursday, June 28, 2007

Some women in town have been harassed by an unknown caller and think the problem started online.

For safety reasons, the women interviewed for this story wished to stay anonymous. Jean (not her real name) said the phone calls started for her a few weeks ago.

"I can't even count how many time I've been called," she said.

"The calls happen all night, ranging from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m."

Jean said the calls start off with a male voice, followed by a moaning woman.

"The first call was for my mother. I told him she wasn't at home," recalled Jean.

"Then he told me it was okay for me to hear his message. That's when he started playing porn noises."

Jean said the call was obscene and made her feel uncomfortable, but she chalked it up to a friend joking around.

"The tape he played sounded like it was looped to repeat itself," said Jean.

"The call lasted a few minutes, I asked who it was. The more I talked, the more annoyed his voice sounded."

It was after the first few calls that Jean called the RCMP.

"I asked the RCMP about any other incidences, but they said they had no clue what it was about," said Jean.

"The police asked what was said and how they said it."

Jean said the last call she received was in the early morning, when she yelled at the caller.

"The last time he called, I freaked out at him," said Jean.

The police told her they would look into the matter.

"The RCMP told me to watch what I say, so I don't make this guy think I enjoy this or anything," she said.

Jean said she thinks that being a part of a big social circle is a possible reason for being targeted.

"He's been calling my friends. We all know each other and it's kind of weird," said Jean.

"I feel pretty invaded, but I don't really feel scared. It does make me think twice about going out with my friends though."

Jean said she believes the man responsible for the calls is local and could be watching them from a distance.

Jean added that the calls might stem from the website Bebo.

"We're all on Bebo and talk to each other a lot," she said.

Jean said she thinks the guy is being entertained by the obscene calls.

"I think he's getting off on this," she said.

"It was scary at first, now it's just disgusting."

Jean has a warning for other women who could be targets of the caller.

"Just be smart about what you put out there online," she said.

Jean said she feels that people reveal too much on websites like Bebo.

"I know some people who drag out way too much on those sites. There are all kinds of people reading those profiles," she said.

Another victim of the calls, Beth, said the calls are shaking her trust in the people of Inuvik.

"This definitely takes away from that whole 'we live in a small town where everybody knows everybody and we all take care of each other' mentality," said Beth.

Beth wants people to know about this caller because she felt vulnerable and wants other victims of the harassment to come forward.

"Its a good idea for people to talk about this. It's not just happening to one person. It's a whole bunch," said Beth.

"If we acknowledge that we are connected, then there is kind of that safety in numbers."

RCMP Const. Kile Pharis said the Inuvik RCMP are investigating the matter and are looking for anyone else who may have information about the caller or other related incidents.

"We are in the initial stages of the investigation and we need the help from others who have been called," said Pharis.

"We're trying to find out who this guy is."

A tip of the hat to teachers

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum
Thursday, June 28 2007

The end of June heralds a number of things; among them is the end of the school year.

As the hours of sunlight reach their peak and the temperatures turn nicer, students start to count down the days until they are released from the classroom and allowed to spend their summer days of freedom.

Linked to the yearly release of school is the release of the teachers. For them the summer can be just as much an anticipated event as it is for the students. And as the teachers walk out through school doors across the Deh Cho, some will not return.

The spectre of the one-year teacher is something that all Deh Cho communities have seen and many long-term locals both with and without children in schools have come to regard with disdain.

When a new crop of teachers arrives each fall, many community members seem to eye them up to try and judge how long they will stay in the community. This distrust created by years of experience makes it hard for both the community members to accept the newcomers and for the teachers to integrate into the community.

As the school year ends, the focus should be taken away from who is leaving and instead placed on the good that teachers have done throughout the year.

Children are a blessing but sometimes they are best taken in small doses. Parents would be the first to confess that it's just nice to know that someone else is looking after their children.

Many people without children can also relate to this feeling. While it's nice to have some interaction with a child every once in a while, it's also great to be able to give them back to their parents after the visit is over.

Teachers are the ones that have to interact with children five days a week and for more face to face hours than most parents have the luxury of spending with their offspring.

This also isn't a matter of one or two children, but groups ranging into the 20s depending on class sizes and the school situation. How teachers make it through just one week of this, let alone an entire school year is a source of amazement to many people.

Some teachers only spend a year in a community and while this may disrupt the sense of continuity for other staff and students alike, the teachers should be thanked. They took on the challenge of moving somewhere that is likely far from their home and family and taught the community's youth.

Even more deserving of praise are the teachers who have decided to stay in one community, or the North for an extended period of time.

This year, a number of communities in the Deh Cho are losing teachers and educators who have been in their schools for years.

Some of these teachers only lived in communities half the year and spent their summer months elsewhere while others moved in lock, stock and barrel, but they all devoted more than a year of their career and life to children in the North.

This is one of the times when people need to look at the silver lining hiding behind the cloud and thank teachers for their dedication to education no matter how long they've been in a community.

Trekking out to the Tootoos

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

Finding a job that's right for you is not an easy task. I've been a booking agent, in the armed forces and tried my hand at several secretarial jobs before I got into journalism.

I must say, since I've been back in this field I tell people all the time how much I love my job. I bring this up, because Monday night was another reminder why I love it so much.

My new found Rankin Inlet kindred spirit, a journalist replacing someone for a brief stint here at CBC, and I thought we would ask Jordin Tootoo if we could tag along for anything "Northern" to give the interview with he and his American Idol girlfriend a little spice. Just as we were discussing the issue over coffee, Jordin walked into the Sugar Rush. We approached him, and he happily invited us up to his cabin that night where he and his girlfriend, country singer Kellie Pickler, would be hanging out.

So that night, the two of us, hopped in a 4x4 and tried to make our way out to the cabin with the simple directions of "turn right after the bridge."

The trip up the road to the tundra was a little nerve-wracking. Nevertheless, we found the bridge, made a right, and travelled along what we hoped was the right beaten track to a scattering of cabins along a hill.

We were reassured only with the knowledge that in places like this, you can actually ask pretty much anyone you come across where so-and-so lives and there is a good chance they'll know who you're talking about. So when we reached the first sign of activity, I hopped out and knocked on the door find two people that I knew inside, Joe Kaludjak and Mary Irkootee. They happily pointed me in the right direction. One look at the road ahead and we decided we weren't going to risk getting stuck in the mud, so we decided to walk the rest of the way. About 20 minutes later, covered in mud, with nothing but tundra and some empty cabins around us, we both had to reflect this was definitely the most we've ever done to get an interview.

Our efforts were rewarded, as we were warmly welcomed to the cabin by Jordin, his mom Rose, and Kellie. I'd like to take a minute here to talk about my impressions of Kellie, in light of some jokes I heard about her calling Jordin an Eskimo and wanting to build an iglu.

To begin with, having never been to the North, there is no way for Kellie to know that there wouldn't be enough snow here this time of year. I have American relatives, and even when I was living in Ottawa they were clueless about how we lived. Even my European friends don't believe me when I tell them we get -20C in Ottawa, they tell me it's impossible and no one could survive.

I wouldn't expect Kellie to know any more than the average American or European. As for calling Jordin an Eskimo, I've had a chance to interview another Inuk living in the United States who sometimes tells people she is Eskimo, just because it's easier than giving the whole story every time.

I'd like to congratulate Kellie for making the trek up here, experiencing Inuk life and getting to know her boyfriend's culture a lot better.

She took a week off her concert tour to come up here, where she ate whale and caribou, went Skidooing and anything else Jordin dragged her to. She probably knows more now than the average Canadian does about Inuit culture.

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