Features

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

By Yellowknifer's count, there are more than 750 homes and businesses on Latham Island, in Old Town, Kam Lake Road, Con/Rycon trailer parks and Old Airport Road that don't have hydrants.

Lack of water was a problem on June 2, when the fire department fought a blaze that destroyed a duplex on Morrison Drive. During that incident, firefighters ran out of water. A combination of dumping 1,000 gallons a minute onto the inferno and spectators jamming Latham's narrow streets, snarling tankers trying to shuttle water back and forth, caused the problem.

Police and municipal enforcement response to the traffic jam was less than adequate.

We hope they have a plan for clearing traffic out of key routes on Latham that goes beyond a roadblock on Franklin Avenue at School Draw.

The fact the meeting was held was amazing and very welcome, given department assurances to city council in June that firefighters have enough equipment to fight any fire.

Chief Reid Douglas reiterated that position in a series of interviews with Yellowknifer editors, but it now appears he's softening his tune.

At the July 17 meeting, he told the residents that the department was willing to purchase a portable water tank large enough to hold all 2,500 gallons its tankers carry. Right now, the portable tanks can only hold 1,500 gallons, meaning the tanker must wait around for the tank to drain before going back for a refill.

Also being considered is the possibility of tapping into residential surface lines to supplement water supply on Latham; it's a matter of having the right adapters.

Douglas' idea of requiring buildings be equipped with special foam sprinklers is interesting, but does nothing to solve the immediate problem. That would take years to implement through building code changes.

He also promised that repairs to the department's newest pumper, Engine 8, would be done soon. Why it takes six weeks or longer to replace a filter on this critical piece of firefighting equipment is mind-boggling.

We still believe the fire department should investigate adding new tankers because if there were two fires in non-hydrant areas at the same time, the department would be hard pressed to meet insurance standards for shuttling water.

It wouldn't be cheap, but the Yukon government bought a 1,200-gallon tanker for the Tagish volunteer fire department early this year for $152,000.

Most important is that people understand the power they have to force change. While our fire department is professional and capable, it's taxpayers who must determine the level of fire protection.

Given the public interest, council should direct Chief Douglas to prepare a list of options to beef up water supply by a certain date, say Oct. 1.

Then those options and the costs associated with each could be presented to the public so they can weigh in.

It was no shock to hear Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) president Paul Kaludjak express his dissatisfaction with the proposed language bills which have received first and second reading in the Nunavut legislature.

There's not much NTI seems to agree with these days, except its own projects and initiatives.

Kaludjak said NTI supports Bill 6 (proposed official languages act) and Bill 7 (proposed Inuit languages protection act) in general, but he's concerned they're not tough enough, especially Bill 7.

It seems NTI envisions the Nunavut language commissioner's office becoming the equivalent of Quebec's old language cops, who met mostly with disdain from the general populace even during the height of the separatist movement.

NTI would also like the commissioner to have full deputy-minister powers and be appointed and/or removed by a committee that would include NTI participation.

While we fully support both bill proposals and believe as much as possible must be done to protect Inuit language, we must all work to ensure the initiatives stay within the realms of possibility.

And that's where NTI falls ridiculously short of the mark with its incessant ramblings about Inuktitut having to be available almost immediately in every conceivable way in Nunavut.

Having signs up in Inuktitut in every store and government office is a rather simple task, as long as the private sector is willing to foot its share of the bill.

But when it comes to having Inuktitut available in every stream at this stage, NTI is asking the impossible.

It's a simple matter of numbers.

Our government has never operated near capacity, even with the number of southerners it employs.

We had about 50 teacher vacancies in the Kivalliq alone at the close of this past school semester, and we all know the state of our number of Inuktitut-speaking doctors, nurses, lawyers and other like professionals.

Positive steps are being made thanks to the efforts of Nunavut Arctic College's teacher and business-management programs, RCMP recruiting, the Municipal Training Organization and the attention being given to encouraging our high school students to continue on with post-secondary education.

But the transformation isn't going to happen overnight due to one inescapable fact -- numbers.

Almost 60 per cent of Nunavut's 31,000 residents are under the age of 25, with about 10,500 being 14 or younger.

We simply don't have the bodies, qualified or not, to be delivering Inuktitut in every avenue at this time.

In fact, headhunting is still rampant for qualified Inuktitut-speaking employees.

I could give a dozen names off the top of my head of people who were trained by a particular department (usually government) and then lured away by either the private sector or an Inuit organization.

Nunavut needs Bill 6 and 7. It doesn't need Language Commissioner Johnny Kusugak being forced to hire a bunch of language cops to cause resentment across the territory.

If NTI believes the weekly pickle special being posted in Inuktitut at the local Northern store is the key to preserving the language, fine.

We know the key lies in proper planning, training, education, co-operation, willingness and, just as importantly, time and patience.

There's an old saying that one person's junk is another person's treasure but this sentiment only goes so far.

On July 14, there was a fire in Fort Simpson in a vehicle being stored on a property along the main street. The fire was lit by a seven-year-old who was likely just experimenting with a lighter.

The result was car in flames and a plume of black smoke that could be seen anywhere on the island and also from locations on the hill. Fourteen members of the volunteer fire department lost a few hours of their weekend, a derelict vehicle looks a bit worse off and a young boy learned a lesson about playing with fire.

This could be a case of no harm, no foul, but it really isn't.

Fear mongering seldom serves a purpose, but the truth is that this fire could have had a much worse ending.

One of the main factors in the other potential outcomes of the fire is the location of the vehicle.

Anyone who has visited Fort Simpson has likely noticed the closed Esso station and garage located across the street from the Liidlii Kue First Nation's band office and the post office. Despite its prominent location in the community, the property is unlikely to make a list of village's highlights any time soon.

The yard of the garage is the resting place for more than 25 vehicles. There are a variety of car models, a number of trucks, some vans of different sizes and one small, yellow school bus. Put together, the collection of vehicles doesn't sound bad, but judgment has to be tempered by the state they're in.

Most of the vehicles have had their windows and windshields smashed in. Broken safety glass can be found in scattered collections on the ground. Some vehicles have hoods and trunks open and others are missing doors or other parts. Many of the vehicles have odds and ends stored in them.

Everyone is welcomed to his or her own idea of aesthetics, but if the property had a mother, she would probably be the only person to find it attractive.

Being unattractive or unsightly, however, isn't the main problem in this situation. It comes down to a matter of safety.

It's fortunate that there weren't any more flammable materials in the car that caught on fire or it's possible that the fire could have spread to the surrounding derelict vehicles and given the volunteer fire fighters a run for their money, as well as threatening their safety.

As Fire Chief Pat Rowe pointed out, it's hard to tell what you are dealing with in the event of a trash fire.

For example, some of the other vehicles in the lot have propane tanks sitting in them.

The fire has brought to a head a long-standing concern about the property that has been voiced in a number of arenas by a number of people.

Youth do use this area as a playground, as Sgt. Cliff McKay noted, and it's hard to watch it all the time to keep them out. One popular activity is to use material found in the area to create jumps for bikes.

The truth is that this property should have been cleaned up a long time ago to make it safer for the whole community. The changes could have been made by the property owner, who is understandably upset that people keep vandalizing his vehicles, or by those with the power to press for change such as the village council.

When something is unsafe, it shouldn't take a fire or an accident to move people into action.

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Keep traditions alive

Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik News
Thursday, July 19, 2007

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As Inuvik grows, I see many changes and developments. There are new buildings and more people seem to flock to our piece of heaven.

As I walk down the street I can almost hear our little burg getting bigger. We can see stretch marks everywhere. New lots are being flattened, waiting for a big house to fill the void.

Every kid is wearing an iPod and knows how to use the Internet. Everyone is learning new skills and embracing a new way of life.

This lifestyle is something that has been growing for many years.

I want to flash back to a simpler time, before the water can of growth sprinkled over Inuvik. Do you remember the first few gatherings at the Inuvialuit Community building?

I remember walking into that big new building and being amazed at the simplicity of the Great Northern Arts Festival.

The whole first floor was one big open area and there would be drummers and dancers doing their thing right there.

I don't know about the rest of you, but somewhere between that first time I saw the arts festival and today, something changed inside me. I grew throughout the years and so has the show. The evolution of the arts festival has been a glorious thing to see.

You know, I almost became a carver. It was during one of my trips to Tuk while I was younger. I saw a few of the older guys doing it and figured I should try it.

The thing about carving is that you need to be dedicated to the art. I remember making a polar bear and when one of the legs was uneven, I unceremoniously resigned from my soapstone carving pastime.

The venue has changed over the years and the show has fluctuated from many artists to only a few.

But no matter what the circumstance, visiting artists knew what to do. Carry on and keep culture alive.

These artists deserve our recognition. The painters, the carvers and anyone else who works with their chosen medium deserve to be showcased.

Hours and hours of work come to a head during that week in July.

People come together and enjoy each other's company. Friendships are born and some are re-kindled.

This year seems to be one of those to remember. It's like one of those instances when you know to bring an extra memory card for your camera.

After spending a few years in the communications biz, I have covered my share of arts festivals. What always keeps me drawn in is the openness of the artists and their ambition.

I can't wait to walk through the workshop area and watch the masters at their best. I think it helps the festival to have artists on display as well as their work.

The gallery opens on Friday night for viewing and for the opening ceremony.

Seeing that whalebone being carried into the gallery and placed on the mantle is awe inspiring.

While you're out enjoying the festival, be sure to watch for me and my camera. I'll be the guy snapping photos with his jaw slack in awe.

So make the most of the next 10 days.

Before you know it, we'll just be standing in a cloud of soapstone dust, waiting for next year's show.

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Corrections

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An error appeared in Friday's edition of Yellowknifer ("Fire Chief challenged on Latham response," July 20). Acting director of public works Dennis Kefalas's name was misspelled. Also a headline appearing in the July 18 Yellowknifer contained incorrect information ("Man gets two years for rape"). Shane West was convicted of sexual assault not rape. As well, a jail sentence of two years less a day factored in two drug charges. Additionally, Brad Baker was incorrectly identified as a business partner for the Diamond Grill ("Reincarnated restaurants, July 18). Yellowknifer apologizes for any embarrassment or confusion caused by these errors.