Features

The year 2007 is about to enter the history books and residents of the NWT have a lot to reflect on when looking forward into 2008.

It was a big year for Northerners. One of the most notable achievements was the payout of the residential school settlement to aboriginals who suffered under that flawed system.

The important aspect of the settlement is not the money, amounting to approximately $160 million in the NWT. What is important is the recognition by the federal government of the injustices done during that time period, which began in 1874 and ended when the final government run school closed in 1996.

We would be naive to believe that money will be the miracle salve to cure the pains and social ills caused by time spent in the residential school system, however. There is a lot of healing that still needs to be done and it is the responsibility of individuals, communities and all levels of government to provide the necessary resources to aid in that process.

While the settlement is a good first step to repairing the problems caused by one school system it's time to look at solutions to a present Northern education system that is ailing.

Violence, non-attendance and abysmal graduation rates are robbing Northern students of an opportunity to make the most of their schooling and their eventual potential to contribute to the local economy.

Although there has been a significant rise in graduation rates across the NWT - 52 per cent in 2005, up from 42 per cent in 1999 - the rates still fall well below the national average of 78 per cent. The improving numbers in the communities have been impressive, rising to 55 per cent in 2005 from 17 per cent in 2000

But are graduates actually meeting a level of achievement that reflects a high standard of education? The stats release by the GNWT in 2005 say no. Across the board, 13-year-olds and 16-year-olds - the benchmark study groups - are achieving at a rate far below their Canadian counterparts and well below the national expectations. Thirteen-year-olds were 21 per cent lower than the acceptable level of average achievement while 16-year-olds were 16 per cent below the acceptable level of achievement. No stats exist for Grade 12, which only receive an indicator of pass or fail, but we are sure they are not closing the gap in two years of schooling.

One teacher spoke out late in 2007 saying the the education system's social pass policy - pushing students through grade levels so they don't fall behind their peers - is causing serious problems with education. Students who are trying to learn well above their grade levels are becoming frustrated, creating behaviour problems, increased drop-out rates and are overburdening staff.

It is time to recognize the Northern education system is flawed. Perhaps it is time to stop modeling after southern jurisdictions, where cultural and social realities are far different. The NWT needs a tailored system that takes into account Northern realities of isolation, cultural diversity and a shortage of resources. The first step may be to find ways to include members of the community in the schools, which will create a sense of ownership from adults to students. It's time to stop lowering the bar to create a false sense of achievement and start pushing people to succeed.

As we welcome a new year, Ottawa continues to hold the reins of power in many regards.

While the federal government made sovereignty commitments in 2007 - a military training centre for Resolute, a port for Nansivik and several Arctic patrol vessels - there's still too little being done for the people of Nunavut.

A federal housing commitment of $200 million in 2006 only scratches the surface of a problem that has deep-rooted effects throughout the territory.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl have yet to acknowledge the tens of millions more in dire need for education, as identified in the 2006 Berger report on that topic.

Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated president Paul Kaludjak has left the door open to Ottawa to avoid furthering the organization's $1 billion lawsuit by fulfilling terms of the land claim. Harper would be well advised to take action on all those fronts in 2008.

A resource revenue sharing deal can't come too soon either. While Nunavut's only operational mine, Tahera's Jericho diamond mine, is facing the possibility of a shutdown unless it receives a large injection of cash, there is so much more on the horizon.

After the Kitikmeot Inuit Association gave the Nunavut Water Board some strong direction, Doris North gold mine received its water licence in the fall, and global giant Newmont Mining Corporation is taking controlling interest in the project.

Other Nunavut mineral and metal prospects are also coveted, as evidenced by Agnico-Eagle's purchase of Cumberland Resources' Doris North gold project and Zinifex Ltd.'s buyout of Wolfden's copper, silver, zinc and gold deposits.

The Baker Lake area remains a hotbed of exploration activity, including Areva's uranium deposit.

These ventures, and others, are spurring education and training opportunities as well as high-paying jobs and lucrative contracts.

Outside of these initiatives, the communities have been largely reliant on the territorial government for jobs, which is why decentralization is so vital.

Even in light of the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation mismanagement, the GN should not pull the credit corp. out of Cape Dorset.

With high-speed Internet, e-mail and teleconferencing, there's no reason why such institutions cannot be successfully run with proper guidance from afar.

To force Nunavummiut to relocate to Iqaluit to climb the ladder would be a step backwards.

An engaging job brings a sense of purpose, so to does a connection to the land. Social and traditional aspects of life in Nunavut cannot be overlooked.

While despair sometimes seems to be lurking only around the corner, there are people working hard to boost others' self-esteem and cultural awareness - be it social workers, recreation directors, elders or caring neighbours.

A good life comes from balance. We wish that for all Nunavummiut in 2008.

The leadership of the Dehcho First Nations have a difficult decision ahead of them.

The decision concerns the future of Grand Chief Herb Norwegian's role in the Dehcho First Nations (DFN).

Norwegian pleaded guilty to a charge of assault in territorial court on Dec. 11 and was subsequently convicted.

The charge arose from an incident on Nov. 11, 2007, and involved a woman. According to court records the assault involved a backhanded slap across the victim's face.

When Norwegian appeared in court in Fort Simpson he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one day in jail, 50 hours of community service and six months of probation.

While Norwegian's court case has finished, the ramifications of the conviction are just beginning to ripple out across the Deh Cho.

On Dec. 13 a teleconference call was held where chiefs and elders of the Dehcho First Nations discussed what their next step would be. A subsequent teleconference call on Dec. 17 has lead to the calling of a special assembly to discuss and review Norwegian's leadership.

As leaders prepare for the assembly that will be held at the end of January they have to dwell on some heavy topics. The question for the leadership is how his conviction affects Norwegian's position as grand chief. Should Norwegian be allowed to continue in his role?

At the core of this issue is the question of what criteria a chief or grand chief has to be measured against.

Everyone knows that being a leader can be a difficult role.

The difficulties of the position narrow down the number of people who want to hold it.

What standards should the remaining candidates be held to? If Norwegian is allowed to continue as grand chief what kind of message will be sent out to the membership? Is assaulting someone permissible behaviour?

If an example is not set in this case what other actions will the leadership be willing to accept in a grand chief? Where will the line be drawn?

The same question will arise if the leadership punishes Norwegian. If assault isn't all right what other crimes will bar a person from being a leader?

There is then the question of how many people will be left with clean enough histories if a list is created.

In making their decision the leadership will have to be very aware of the precedent they are setting. Once they open the door on the behaviour and history of chiefs they'd better know how far it will be allowed to swing either way.

Setting out a clear set of criteria for both chiefs and grand chiefs across the Deh Cho would be beneficial. The criteria would serve to warn people about the actions that would bar their advancement in leadership and may make potential candidates think twice in the future.

I walked into Samuel Hearne on Friday afternoon only expecting a good entertaining hockey game. Instead, I got a lot more from my visit.

A group of Grade 10 students were in the library with the Turtle Concepts group. I eased my way into the corner of the room so I could watch what was going on.

From the first few minutes, I could recognize that something unique was going on.

A complete stranger to our school and community was encouraging our youth to speak to one another about compliments.

At first, the compliments seemed to fall on deaf ears, but once the trust was built, it wasn't too long before people were laughing with each other and smiling.

Seeing all this positive re-enforcement of these students was different for me. They all broke character and showed this writer that there is hope for the young people in our town.

If the older generations of our community had workshops like this one, I'm sure that things would be different.

Not to say that the school was an overly-negative place to begin with, but we can't deny a problem when it looks us right in the face and asks for our lunch money.

Bullying isn't limited to the confines of the school yard. Each and every day we are faced with challenges from our peers. Peer pressure is one of the simplest forms of bullying.

Students released their inner-most emotions and shared their common fears with each other.

Even the staff were given a lecture about youth in society today. After talking with a few members of the faculty, I'd say that whole school took a good lesson from their guests last week.

The week-long battery of discussions and presentations paid off in ways that we won't recognize until years from now.

With each session, more and more youth were able to break free of the chains of limited emotions that have held down generations of people in this community.

Turtle Concepts really showed Samuel Hearne a thing or two about self healing.

You can only be healthy from within, once you can let go of the hate you have for the people around you.

Students were urged to talk with each other about their negative emotions. Somehow, that man and his concepts about a healthy life changed the usual library into a room of change.

I've been through that school and remember some of the past troubles I had with my peers there.

Granted I probably didn't make it easy for some to like me, but there was always someone who felt the need to pick on me for some reason.

I grew to resent some of the people in my life. Having bad feelings like that is not something that is easy to admit, but I have learned to let go and take them at face value.

Like Dave told me, you have to accept people for what they are, not for what they have done.

If a bully has made your life miserable, don't hold that against them, instead, embrace the good things going for them.

Demonstrate that it's worth it to change your life in a positive way.

While we dislike ending the year on an off note, the situation at the Nunavut Business Credit Corp. has become so surreal, it's simply impossible to ignore.

In fact, the debacle has transcended being an embarrassment to the Government of Nunavut (GN) to become a downright threat to its credibility.

Who would have thought we'd ever see the day when former prime minister Brian Mulroney and former Nunavut finance minister David Simailak would have so much in common?

Yet here we are, listening to them claim ignorance and serious errors of judgment concerning large amounts of money they were both responsible for overseeing.

At least Simailak wasn't receiving large amounts of money in a gym bag from a shady character in a cheap motel room.

That was probably small consolation to Simailak as he tendered his resignation to Premier Paul Okalik this past week – a move the former minister had little choice in making.

But the script to this dime-store novel doesn't end there.

Nunavummiut can prepare themselves for more excuses, I mean explanations from the powers that be, when the acting chief-executive officer (CEO) of the Nunavut Business Credit Corp. steps up to face fraud charges levied against him during his time working with Eskimo Point Lumber Supply in Arviat.

In fact, Allan McDowell was hired to his position as acting CEO of the credit corp. despite the fact the Arviat charges were already on the books against him.

After a few adjournments and a failure to appear, McDowell will finally stand before the bench in Arviat on Jan. 28.

You can't mop floors for the GN if you have a criminal record, but that same standard doesn't seem to apply to being a member of the assembly or being put in charge of millions of dollars.

So, the GN's crack Human Resources department hires a CEO who allegedly defrauded Eskimo Point Lumber Supply, and stole cheques and a laptop from his Arviat employer in 2005.

Now, make no mistake about it, everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

But is this the kind of resume that usually lands a person a CEO's position in a Crown corporation?

Do high-powered executives not have to supply references like those of us who work for a living?

More to the point, does anyone in this government actually read resumes or bother to check references?

It couldn't possibly be the same person in charge of reading the credit corp.'s monthly financial statements for the past few years, could it?

The job of cleaning up the mess exposed by auditor general Sheila Fraser now falls to new Finance Minister Louis Tapardjuk, and we don't envy him the task.

But, on the bright side, if countless hours in the office working on the matter begin to bring him down, Tapardjuk can always go home and watch reruns of the Brian and David Show to brighten up his dreary days.

And he even has a new episode to look forward to on Jan. 28.

Now, heeerrrre's Allan!