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Features
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Friday, July 27, 2007 The path to open civic society
Before 1998, weekly committee meetings - where councillors hash out their positions on issues and bylaws before taking it to a formal vote at council meetings - were conducted in secret. As former councillor Dick Peplow - who died earlier this month - put it, all too often council meetings were like "a little show for the folks." The real decisions were made in secrecy at committee meetings. Council's reluctance to hold committee meetings in public led to the formation of the Yellowknife Property Owners Association. The group was spearheaded by Yellowknife businessman Ken Pook. In 1998, the association was successful in its attempt to end secret meetings. NWT Supreme Court Justice Howard Irving ruled that such meetings were illegal. Recently, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down a landmark ruling that effectively puts an end to secret committee meetings. These days, the veil that hides council business has been mostly lifted. The openness of our city's municipal government, even without access to information legislation, shines well beyond say, the territorial government. Much of that has to do with the city's relative proximity to the people. Its smaller size and less formal politics contribute to that perception. The legislative assembly committees host many a meeting within the city, whether it be on electoral boundaries or changing the liquors laws but rarely do people show up in appreciable numbers. Hold a meeting on development on Niven Lake, however, and watch the people pour into the council chamber. The link between the public and council puts them on a shorter leash. Councillors know this and for the most part, respond accordingly. Problem areas remain, however. Given a choice between openness and the risk of being criticized or embarrassed in public, city administrators, councillors, and the people they appoint to serve on committees may be tempted to opt for secrecy. This occurred earlier this year when it was learned that minutes from the Policing Advisory committee were being kept from public scrutiny. This is untenable because the committee deals with public issues and concerns, which the public has a right to hear and ought to scrutinize. Troubles remain over the sale of public lands. The city has yet to disclose the details of the sale of Twin Pine Hill to Yellowknife River Resorts even though the sale has presumably been concluded and involves public funds. Last year, city council chose to plead not guilty to Workers' Compensation Board charges over the deaths of two firefighters in 2005. In that case, a recorded vote by council was never taken. Instead, consensus was gathered around the table behind closed doors. An open city council, particularly at the committee stage, helps council make better decisions. Open committee allows for immediate public input and reflection instead of facing the momentum already gathered at the council voting stage. Council is on the right path. A little farther would be better.
Community opportunity Editorial Comment Roxanna Thompson Deh Cho Drum Thursday, July 26, 2007 There's something about skateboarding that lends itself to a less than wholesome image in comparison to sports such as soccer or basketball. This could be the result of skateboarders on television being portrayed as belonging to a counter-culture group or maybe just because of the clothes they wear. In Fort Simpson the image likely has something to do with the fact that youth who skateboard don't have a dedicated area where they can practise and share moves. Skateboarders can generally be found being creative with concrete fixtures around the community. The skateboarders have to be given points for creativity. Some of the elements that they construct on the tennis court from time to time require ingenuity. Their determination also needs to be credited. In the past some have stated they they're often criticized or yelled at for practising in public places or rolling into the streets, yet they keep on doing it. One impractical but decisive solution to the matter would be to ban skateboards. The truth is, however, that not all youth are interested in basketball and soccer and some basketball and soccer players also skateboard. The community needs to address the needs of this segment of youth because ignoring them isn't practical. In the midst of this hour of need has come a seemingly miraculous proposal. An initiative called Let Them Be Kids is willing to support Fort Simpson with the goal of building a skatepark. If the community is truly behind the project, then the organization is willing to do whatever it takes to help make it happen. This could be the very opportunity that the village has been waiting for. Talks about skateboard parks are nothing new. The idea has been brought up a number of times and no progress ever seems to be made. The most recent push was attached to the Community Capacity Building Fund. The tri-council decided that some of the money would be put towards a skatepark along with a new pool and a concrete pad in the arena. The responsibility for the plans was left in part to a group of community members and while things seemed to progress for a while, the matter faded away. While many people, namely the skateboarders and their supporters, seem to want a park there appears to be a need for a driving force. As MACA recreation co-ordinator Shane Thompson put it, this offer could be the push to get the project over the hump. It's not every day that an organization comes forward that wants to split the cost of the project while also offering all the technical support needed. But even with the support the project requires the community to come together to work towards a goal. Village residents need to decide if they're committed towards a skateboard park. If they are, the community needs to say so. Now is not the time for hesitation. The opportunity to build a skateboard park is there and the community should grab it or risk regretting it later. Community policing Editorial Comment Dez Loreen Inuvik News Thursday, July 26, 2007 So there I was, driving down the main road, riding shotgun in a police cruiser. I don't have a gun and I wasn't on the job. I'm just a reporter looking for the facts and maybe some peace of mind. I was sitting beside one of our fine constables as he explained how bicycles are stolen, then recovered, but not always returned to the owner. While this matter is important to the well being of our community, I couldn't help but wonder what is being done about crack? We may have shut down a few pot dealers and bootleggers with recent arrests, but where are the crack busts? I know it seems like clockwork that I get on the case of crackheads in town, but they still exist. We need to eliminate this plague from our streets. Even the constable I talked to said he wishes the police could focus on some of the more insidious activity in town, not just ensuring helmet safety. The RCMP recently ended a long undercover investigation into street dealers. So far they have released information on three of the people involved in illegal-doings in town. On a side note, Project Gargoyle was probably one of the coolest names for an operation in the Territories since Gunship. I want to be in the room next time they name one of those ops. "Name it Operation Falcon's Egg," I'd say. Anyway, sure there are more people out there doing illegal activities. Hell, I just saw a guy jay-walk. Wait, is that illegal here? I see a few police officers on the street at night and during bar close, but where are the walking patrols? People are openly doing drugs and drinking on the streets because they know that the worst they will get is a slap on the wrist. We're a growing community with real problems. Every day another large batch of people come into the community and we don't know what their agenda is. I don't even have kids and I'm reluctant to do so. I mean, one day I'll have a family here in Inuvik and I want them to grow up right. That means I want to educate them about the goods and bads in the world. I was sitting in the office last week when my co-worker came in with some mini-pamphlets warning kids about crystal meth. I remember growing up here and reading my first marijuana pamphlet. Needless to say, I found some of the facts to be a bit misleading. Now we have generations of people who abuse drugs and alcohol. I blame it on the education system and how we bring this to our kids. If they watch movies about how funny pot is and how cool smoking up is, how can we chastise it? Just be real, tell the truth and help the police stop crack dealers in town. Just make them leave. I have a message for the person who wants to be the new Staff Sergeant of the Inuvik RCMP: Get crack out of our town and you'll be bigger than Conway Twitty in these parts. Wednesday, July 25, 2007 We don't need language cops
Editorial Comment Darrell Greer Kivalliq News Wednesday, July 18, 2007 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.
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