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Editorial
Northern News Services Online

Wednesday, September 5, 2007


Three-minute rule unenforceable

City councillor Shelagh Montgomery's desire to clamp down on errant idlers is appreciated but for the most part, unenforceable.

The rookie councillor wants to beef up the city's idling bylaw so drivers would no longer be allowed to run their vehicles unattended for up to 20 minutes.

If she has it her way, this would be reduced to three minutes maximum.

No doubt, there are drivers in this town who think nothing of leaving their vehicles running for hours at a time, summer or winter.

However, ticketing people for idling over the three-minute maximum in the dead of winter is simply unrealistic.

Any parent trying to load a van full of children at -30C could tell you that.

The fact is, people may have very legitimate reasons for leaving their vehicles running for a few minutes during winter.

The present bylaw is rarely enforced because bylaw officers likely don't have the time to sit and watch an idling vehicle for 20 minutes at more than -20C.

Not only that, but the vehicle must be unlocked for them to issue a ticket anyway.

If there is any way to make the idling bylaw more meaningful, then the focus should be on the temperature requirement, which should be lowered.

If an empty vehicle is seen running locked or otherwise and the temperature is warmer than -10C, the officer should be automatically allowed to write a ticket.

Montgomery's goal is to cut back automobile carbon emissions.

The -10C rule would be far easier for the public to swallow than having bylaw chase down old ladies because they don't want to hop into a freezing vehicle before driving away.

In any event, the real deterrent to idling in this city is going to be the rising price of gas - the highest in the country the last time we checked.


Best of both worlds can still be had
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Wednesday, September 5, 2007

While some readers may feel language cops would be more effective in building a brighter future for Nunavut than training and education, it's good to see an ever-growing number of Kivalliq youth are appreciating the advantages of finishing high school and continuing on with their post-secondary education.

During the past few weeks, we've seen Maani Ulujuk High in Rankin Inlet and Tusarvik school in Repulse Bay celebrate a record number of grads, while Victor Sammurtok school in Chesterfield Inlet tied its previous record set just two short years ago.

And while the increasing number of grads is encouraging, even more so are their plans to continue on with post-secondary education.

I've made a point of talking to high school grads - and those who finish management studies and business-administration courses at Nunavut Arctic College - since arriving in the Kivalliq in 1998.

It was a habit I got into while writing on the East Coast, which is also an economically-challenged area.

The answers revealed a lot about how grads viewed the work environment, and how they saw the future unfolding in terms of what trades and vocations would be in demand.

Sadly, many answers back East revolved more around where they were moving to seek employment.

I continued the habit in the Kivalliq and found the answers even more illuminating as to how our graduates saw their futures unfolding. And, while they haven't reached the point where they feel the need to wear shades, they do see their future as being a lot brighter in 2007 than they did in 1998.

What stands out the most when talking to many of today's grads is how much higher they've set the bar for themselves, and the value they place upon continuing their education in order to realize their goals and ambitions - and that's a key to a brighter future for our region.

We're not knocking anyone's desire to work with their local hamlet, but there's only so many people each municipality can employ.

And, you would probably agree, the thought of someone like Premier Paul Okalik working on a municipal garbage truck is somewhat unsettling.

Not that many years ago, working for the hamlet or a local retail operation were among the top responses I would receive from grads.

That has changed dramatically today.

Now I hear about plans to attend the Northern Teacher's Education program, highly demanding trades-training programs, art-and-design courses, computer-based courses of all descriptions, health-field work, police work and university programs for many different fields of study.

Another thing many of these grads have in common is that while they are fiercely proud and protective of their culture and language, they are also grateful for having received an education that allowed them to master the English language to the point where they can attend the university, college or trade school of their choice.

The opportunity to benefit from what the best of both worlds has to offer still very much exists for those Nunavut youth willing to work for it - in either language THEY choose to speak.


Cultural education important
Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Across the Deh Cho the school year is starting.

Students are heading back to school some with a smile on their faces and a bounce in their step and others with long faces and dragging feet. They will be met by teachers, some familiar and some new, and assigned a desk where they will receive their lessons.

Although classrooms are designed as centres of learning where children are expected to pick up a variety of skills they will need over the course of their lifetimes, the process of learning doesn't end when they leave the classroom.

Just because you don't have a degree in education it doesn't mean you can't read to your children or help them with their homework.

But education isn't always about your ABC's, literacy or mathematics.

In the Deh Cho an important part of most of the schools and the curriculum is the local culture. Cultural teachings and language are woven into more modern subjects.

But cultural teachings are another thing that doesn't have to stop outside of the classroom walls.

At many meetings and gatherings between leaders in the Deh Cho elders come to the microphones and comment on how youth are losing touch with their culture and language. They talk about all the things such as a strong grasp of Slavey and cultural teachings that are falling by the wayside.

Often passing this information can be as simple as making the subject interesting and providing an opportunity for the exchange to occur. A perfect example of this took place at the annual gathering in Wrigley over the weekend.

While waiting for the handgames tournament to begin young boys from Wrigley and visiting communities struck up their own impromptu handgames session. Some of the boys formed the two teams while others took up drums and provided the beat.

They played back and forth with both sides showing just as much skill and finesse as many of the men who've been playing for years.

When the teams for the proper handgames tournament finally arrived the youth weren't relegated to the sidelines to watch. As Tim Lennie explained to the crowd before the competition began, the purpose of the tournament wasn't for one team to walk away with the large cash prize. It was a chance for young people to learn the intricacies of the game.

So the teams of young players were pitted against grown men, most of them more than double their size. Although play had to be paused a few times while the officials pointed out various rules relating to calls, the young players hung in through their games.

The tournament was a fantastic learning experience and one that didn't happen within a classroom.

A similar opportunity for passing on teachings will soon arrive with the beginning of the fall hunt. Although the hunt empties many classrooms, it also provides knowledge that no amount of books could.

You don't need a fancy degree to be a teacher, you just need to keep an eye open for opportunities where children and youth of all ages can be involved

Finishing the task might take a little more patience and time but in the end the effort will be worth it.


Community must learn from tragedy
Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik News
Thursday, August 30, 2007

With summer becoming a memory, we all look toward the coming months and the changes they will bring.

It's the time of year when people settle back from their vacations and prepare for school, work or other responsibilities.

Youth are going to be filling our schools and another class enters Grade 12 looking to complete a milestone in their lives.

It is those teens that are finishing or continuing their education that are truly making steps in the right direction and making a positive impact on our community.

We need to keep our stable of youth strong and safe. We're all aware of the tragedy this past weekend when we lost one of our promising youth in the Mackenzie River.

A group of young people gathered near the east channel of the Mackenzie and now a family mourns the loss of their daughter.

It seems like we're losing the battle to poor decisions and without stepping on anyone's toes, being near the river without proper equipment is always a bad decision.

We need to support our youth and assist them in making healthy choices in life.

We have a new breed of youth that are determined to succeed. They will not settle for less and need to take advantage of every opportunity.

Our graduation rates are increasing year-to-year and so are our successful youth who attempt post-secondary education.

Who knows what possibilities were in store for that young woman who lost her life in that river. She had plans for her life and for those around her. Instead of taking, she gave back to those who knew her.

And now, we'll never know the extent of her potential.

With younger graduates and higher successes comes deeper consequences. There are more temptations now than ever before. Peer pressure is running rampant and nobody is to blame but ourselves.

We're the ones setting the examples, we're the ones who pay the price when we have to band together to search for another person lost in the water.

This past weekend was scheduled to be fun-filled and packed with community involvement and events. Instead, the community came together in a worst case scenario.

We need to stop stunting our growth as a community and as a society. There is so much anger and hurt in this town because of this loss, it's hard to know where to start. All we can see is that something needs to change.

We don't need to post signs, or railings or fences around the river, we need to enforce responsibility. We need to make an honest effort to change who we are and embrace the future that our youth have the key to.

My deepest condolences go out to the family of the victim and those friends she left behind. The hardest lessons in life demand the highest toll.

Let's learn from this and keep our friends and family safe.