Features

Does an election clean the slate for politicians? It does in Premier Floyd Roland's book.

Hay River MLA Jane Groenewegen and Kam Lake MLA Dave Ramsay questioned Roland about the signing of a concession agreement with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation for the Deh Cho Bridge project, three days before the October territorial election.

Roland brushed off the question, saying he didn't want to dig into the decisions of the past government. "What would that accomplish for us?" he asked.

The agreement outlines the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation's responsibilities for the project. However, details of the signing were not revealed to non-cabinet members until the November session.

Ramsay said the deal was pushed through during the election to "force the hand of this government." He called for a public inquiry.

Roland asked what benefit a public inquiry would have. Well, the answer is simple. Considering the cost of project is now estimated at $165 million, it would ensure that millions worth of taxpayers' dollars are being spent properly. It would also ensure that decisions made by cabinet are subject to appropriate scrutiny.

How can Roland separate himself from the decisions made by the previous government? He was the finance minister then and he still is now. He was a prominent member of the cabinet that pushed through the agreement.

What is Premier Roland afraid of? What does he have to hide? Why have the details not been made public?

Responsibility for a decision made in the past is not erased by an election, especially when key decision makers retained their old posts.

A public inquiry is only necessary if Roland persists in playing cynical political games.

If nothing else, it will teach cabinet hasty deals done behind closed doors are unacceptable.

Why has Colville Lake been waiting 14 months to have the lights turned on at its new water treatment plant? It's a question no one wants to answer.

According to the NWT Power Corporation, the work order to connect the plant to the grid didn't arrive until Dec. 3. The GNWT department of Public Works and Services, however, said the work contract was signed back in September, but cannot explain the delay.

Even if September is accurate, it's hard to understand why the facility remained without power for more than a year.

Until it's up and running, residents have to get their water out of the lake. The delay reflects badly on the government and the Power Corp.'s ability to provide essential services to the people of the NWT.

Perhaps if the bureaucrats and Power Corp. executives had to haul water from the lake to their 2,000 square foot homes, they would be more sympathetic.

Right now, it seems they couldn't care less.

The Government of Nunavut is showing signs it's serious about holding on to Nunavut's nurses, and making the territory more attractive to others.

Contract negotiations are underway for all government employees. Nurses, whose services are in great demand across North America, are among the angriest of the lot. They have marched in the streets with signs, demanding better pay, benefits and workplace safety. Some are threatening to leave.

The government has little choice but to act. The nursing vacancy rate in Nunavut hovers between 30 and 40 per cent.

New hospitals in the Kitikmeot and Baffin regions, as well as one in the Kivalliq, are nicely equipped with modern diagnostic equipment, but can't offer full services due to a lack of qualified staff.

While money isn't everything, it is, of course, a major component of these negotiations. As it stands, registered nurses in Nunavut make a base salary of $65,000-$74,000. That's topped up by a Northern Benefits Allowance of $12,109 in Iqaluit (the amount is greater in communities farther north).

The GN's initial offer includes an 8.5 per cent wage hike over the next three years and an annual special allowance of $9,000-$19,500, depending on working conditions.

There are also signing bonuses of $5,000 to $20,000 and continuous service bonuses of $375-$550 per month, the larger sums coming with longer terms of service.

Under this arrangement, nurses would make a minimum of $91,000 a year, not counting overtime.

A nurse who puts in 20 years in Pond Inlet would be pulling in more than $125,000 annually, again, without overtime pay.

By comparison, the salary range among Ontario's registered nurses is $47,794-$73,359.

Granted, the cost of living in Nunavut is substantially higher and the loss of subsidized housing is something that is taking a bite out of government employees' salaries.

The government has room to move on housing. Once it does, the nurses should take a long, hard look at the offer sheet.

They should not be blinded by calculating how much agency nurses have been costing Nunavut over the past few years.

The GN has been shelling out as much as $750 per day to fill gaps in nursing staff. That works out to a whopping $180,000 for the equivalent of a full year of service, an exorbitant rate has helped run Nunavut's health budget into a deficit.

It cannot continue.

The government is gradually grooming made-at-home nurses. They are not going to fill the enormous vacancy rate anytime soon, but there's been some progress.

There are also nurses who come up from the south and fall in love with the work, not only for "the adventure," but because of the good people they come to know and expanded responsibilities they eagerly tackle.

The government has taken a meaningful first step in contract negotiations. While the GN may have farther to go, Nunavut's nurses have reason to believe their services are valued.

Call me old-fashioned but I have no desire to own a cell phone.

Some people may find this shocking but I have resisted the idea of having a cell phone, a Blackberry or any of those other palm-sized communications devices that are supposed to make your life easier.

Living in Fort Simpson I was certain I was off the hook as far as cell phones go. Because the village didn't have cell phone service there was no need to own one. This, however, is all changing.

Popping out of my office in Fort Simpson to make a grocery store run on Dec. 5 I was surprised to see a tall tower being erected on the skyline. In a flash I was back to my office for my camera and off to discover what was happening. Little did I know that the tower signalled the end of my cell phone-free existence.

Fort Simpson is now home to a 46-metre high cellular communications tower. Erected for Northwestel Wireless Inc. the tower will deliver their Latitude Wireless service.

If all goes well, by the end of the week customers will be able to get a signal on their cell phones in the village. They will also be able to access a mobile internet service.

I'm all for progress and for giving people in the North access to everything that our southern counterparts have, but this is one southern technology that I'm not overjoyed about.

Imagine driving down the streets of Fort Simpson and seeing every second person behind the wheel of their vehicle holding a cell phone to their ear with their hand or shoulder.

While walking around the village the ringing of cell phones will be everywhere with no escape from some of the more annoying ring tones.

About to hold a meeting? You'd better tell everyone to turn off their cell phones now.

Even coffee at the Nahanni Inn won't be the same when the regulars start breaking off conversations mid-sentence when they have to check to see who's phoning.

To top it all off, parents will also never hear the end of cleverly-crafted requests from their children telling them about how their life will be over if they don't have a cell phone.

This isn't to say, however, that the world is about to end.

There will be some benefits such as increased communication between people and a greater ease of tracking where your family members, especially teenagers, are.

Those who already own a cell phone will also be able to use it as more than a flimsy paperweight while in the village.

Residents of Fort Simpson could realize that you don't know what you have until it's gone or it could be the dawning of a brave new world.

Either way, welcome to the age of cell phones Fort Simpson.

In a fast changing world with new technologies being introduced all the time, it's good to see that the Inuvialuit are keeping up with the times.

Last week, a group of dedicated language teachers, specialists and elders gathered in town to add some new words and terms to the Inuvialuit language.

Everyday items such as the computer keyboard I'm typing this on, the desk I'm leaning on and even the fax machine I ignore are relatively new to the people of this region.

Now, in an effort to bridge the gap that separates traditional life from the modern world, these items are now identified in Inuvialuktun.

It seems that throughout the years, language teachers in the region have had to use some English to explain things to their classes.

It could be confusing, because a few of the people I talked to said they don't know how to respond when a student asks why a word doesn't exist.

According to a linguist from Nunavut, the last gathering like this one was nearly 20 years ago, in Tuktoyaktuk.

One day soon, students of the language will be fully immersed in their culture.

I applaud those people who joined forces to work a few new phrases and words into the Inuvialuit culture. It goes to show that there are people who want to keep traditions alive.

I can only imagine how challenging it will be to integrate the new terms into the daily conversations of those who can speak it, but I've been assured that most Inuvialuktun-speaking people will be able to identify the terms.

These words will fit in nicely with the new curriculum that has been in place for over a year.

It was a wise decision by the language committees to focus on teaching young students useful phrases that will help them carry on conversations with others who know the slang.

Luckily, we have many people in town and in the Beaufort Delta who are still fighting the good fight for tradition.

With teachers such as Rosie Albert out encouraging others to speak the native tongue, we could see even more language teachers in the future.

Without the help of the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre, I don't know how this language update could have become a reality. A lot of hard working people really came through and hosted a week-long workshop that left everyone involved feeling proud.

The hosts of the event said that the new words won't be listed in the dictionary because it would mean re-publishing it, which would be a large feat in itself.

I guess those new words are going to have to spread like every other bit of information in this town, by word of mouth.

The holiday season is almost upon us and that means it's time to send out a komatiq full of Christmas cheer to those most deserving of our attention, and we're feeling particularly generous this year.

To Repulse Bay Mayor Johnny Tagornak we send a sealskin umbrella and Jose Kusugak's 10 tips to better hockey announcing to help him during his weekend in the timekeepers bench for the next Arctic Circle Cup.

Both the umbrella and tip No. 4 - don't stand under the melting snow - should keep the mayor from becoming all wet once again.

To Education Minister Ed Picco, who has been known to refer to himself as the political Muffin Man because he keeps popping up (we're not going there), we send his very own Pillsbury Doughboy doll.

To remind himself of how Nunavut reacted to the last Education Act tabled in the legislative assembly, the minister simply has to gently poke his new doll in the belly.

We also send Picco a get-out-of-Paul's-jail-free card, just in case the Health minister portfolio becomes vacant again.

To Rankin Inlet Mayor Lorne Kusugak we send the Harry Potter collection so he may properly prepare for the next territorial election.

But, just to keep things balanced, we've also sent his private phone number to every anti-witchcraft zealot in Nunavut.

To Baker Lake Mayor David Aksawnee we send a ton of respect for his comments on barge orders to his community this past year.

We also send the mayor the biggest set of luggage we can find, because that's the only way he'll get his own cargo into Baker next year.

To Baker's Peter Tapatai we send the darkest pair of sunglasses we can find, as we wouldn't want all that glitter to harm his eyes.

To Iqaluit MLA Hunter Tootoo we send a new copy of How to Make Friends and Influence People because he obviously misplaced the last copy we sent him.

To a certain female country singer we send an urban myth: If you play a country record backwards, you can get back your house, car, dog, boyfriend and dignity.

To Finance Minister David Simailak we send our apologies, as the list of things needed was just too darn big.

To Community and Government Services assistant deputy minister Shawn Maley - who once returned a Rolodex we sent - we send a limited supply of grandma's honey nuggets for the cabin, treasured by bears the world over.

To community-development director Darren Flynn we send our best wishes and a tip to play nice in 2008, as someone has just enough of grandma's honey nuggets to blaze a trail to his cabin from their own.

May these gifts be received in the spirit for which they were intended.