Features

Once again a community in the NWT is on the defensive due to the way the GNWT is managing caribou herds.

Colville Lake's Behdzi Ahda First Nation is protesting surveys done to assess the population of the Bluenose-West caribou herd.

Under direction from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources the Sahtu Renewable Resource Boards is trying to establish management actions for the Bluenose West herd. The management practices are to be based on a survey commissioned by the department of Environment and Natural Resources. Included in those possible actions are limiting the allowable harvest.

Like other first nations, the band is calling the government's position on the declining population in the herd exaggerated. They feel so strongly about that position they have put up their own money, more than $50,00, to try and counter the GNWT's numbers.

This isn't the first time the GNWT has faced controversy concerning caribou numbers. Some NWT outfitters have taken the government to court over the count and reduced hunting restrictions on the Bathurst herd. The outfitters believe over the years the government has split the Bathurst herd into several herds and has skewed the count.

Although scientific opinions and methods are vital to proper management practices, the government must stop ignoring traditional knowledge. Most importantly, involving aboriginal groups in the process from the beginning will go a long way in establishing trust and may prevent angry hearings and protests.

Joseph Kochon, band manager and SAO from Colville Lake, wants the government to take his people seriously and we agree. The caribou have been, and will continue to be, a vital resource for the people of the Sahtu and they deserve to have a say in the management of the herds.

It seems absurd that these arguments keep popping up when it comes to discussions about caribou population and caribou management. When will the government learn it can't simply call a few Southern scientists up, have them do a count and expect to impose the results on the people in the communities.

The concept isn't difficult to grasp. Create a consultation process that gives communities and first nation groups an opportunity to share the wealth of knowledge they possess and come to conclusions based on those joint discussions. Simply, the Behdzi Ahda Band should have been allowed to take part in the count, which would have at least given them some confidence in the process. As it stands they have no confidence in the process and for good reason.

If the Government of Nunavut truly has a will to see recycling succeed, it hasn't given any such signals.

A pilot project for recycling has been extended in Nunavut's two largest communities, but the government minister in charge of the initiative has all but declared it unfeasible to proceed with a permanent recycling program.

Environment Minister Patterk Netser told Nunavut News/North that it's not likely to be sustainable long-term because shipping costs are too high while the volume of recyclables isn't high enough.

In Rankin Inlet the response to the pilot project has been outstanding. More than 146,000 plastic and aluminum beverage containers were returned within a few months.

Netser described Iqaluit's results as disappointing, however. He neglected to mention that the test recycling program was poorly advertised in the capital and the deposit centre was located in an out-of-the-way location.

Also disappointing is Netser's proclamation that recycling isn't viable in Nunavut.

It wasn't cost effective for the City of Iqaluit several years ago, but the city didn't have much clout with barging companies - a key part of the equation.

The Government of Nunavut, on the other hand, issues contracts for sealift that are highly coveted. It's a very competitive process. Why not include a clause in the next contract indicating preference for a barging company that can offer minimum rates for shipping recyclables south?

The government has nothing to lose by trying it, other than massive mounds of recyclable material that are clogging up landfills throughout the territory.

The voices of everyday Inuit can sometimes be drowned out by those recognized as experts on various Nunavut issues.

Bureaucrats, lawyers and even southern academics are all too often given prominence in addressing topics that matter to the people of our territory, be it Arctic sovereignty, crime, the land claim, devolution, even Inuit culture and language.

It doesn't have to be this way. Nunavummiut like Sipporah Peterloosie should be applauded for stepping up and making their opinions known. Peterloosie, through a column in last week's News/North, expressed her views on historical hardships that Inuit have encountered such as assimilation through residential schools, destruction of sled dogs and the relocation of families.

She also recommended a focus on healing through the promotion of traditional culture.

"Learn to be yourself - not the person that was forced on you," she advised.

Powerful words from someone who is living the experience. That's what we'd like to hear more frequently.

A marijuana grow-operation has been uncovered in Fort Simpson.

This discovery, and subsequent seizure by the RCMP, provides a perfect opportunity for residents of the village to examine their stance against drugs.

With the news of the discovery spreading across the village how are people responding? The telling question will be how many people are shocked by this news.

Hopefully many people will be surprised to learn that cannabis plants were being grown in the village. It would be best if this feeling sprung more from a disbelief that this could happen in Fort Simpson rather than a general naivety.

While marijuana has been embroiled in debates over legalization and medicinal uses, these are not the questions at hand. What has to be examined is where people want to draw the line.

If the news of a marijuana grow-op isn't shocking and instead elicits a sense of acceptance rather than outrage what does that mean about the community?

If people weren't shocked it suggests either they knew about that grow-op or similar operations or that they just accept marijuana use as being so prevalent that they think the plants are bound to wind up even here.

But if homegrown cannabis is all right, what other illegal substances are you willing to accept?

Sure marijuana is on the bottom of the illegal drug list when judged by overall negative effect, but that doesn't give people the green light to grow it. Marijuana is, after all, considered a gateway drug. If you use it the argument is that you're more likely to pick up another, harder drug next.

While cocaine, another popular drug in the North, is unlikely to be grown locally because it also comes from a plant, what about crystal meth?

Southern media is full of reports of the growing sway of crystal meth and the home-based meth labs where it's produced. One day you're living in a safe neighborhood and the next day the house beside you explodes in a ball of flames because it was an illegal meth lab filled with volatile chemicals. Worse yet, teenagers and adults alike are becoming addicted to the substance.

While this is an extreme example and Fort Simpson is unlikely to be home to a meth lab any time soon, it's still a possibility.

Following the laws of the market economy, where there's a demand, a supply will come to fill it.

With the revelation that there was a marijuana grow-op in the village, residents have a choice whether they accept it or work to ensure that there aren't any more. The village has been given a chance to decide where to draw the line on what is and isn't acceptable when it comes to illicit drugs.

Newspapers don't usually report suicides.

It's a convention of the industry, which is common to all Canadian newspapers.

As a reporter, I have come across many situations where suicide stories were considered unfit for publication - because they (allegedly) pose the risk of inspiring copycats.

I think this is wrong.

The Canadian aboriginal suicide rate is five to six times higher than the Canadian average.

Across Canada, suicide is the second highest cause of death for youth after injuries such as car accidents.

But when people take their own lives - acts which are tragic and preventable in most cases - they are not reported.

No effort is made to communicate their families' grief.

How easy it then becomes to sweep the problem under the rug; to pretend it doesn't exist.

I mention this topic today because of a powerful speech I heard on Nov. 23.

On that day - in front of a packed audience at Ingamo Hall - a brave woman took the stage and did what the media doesn't.

She spoke, as a mother, about her son's suicide.

And Grace Blake should be thanked for it.

Whether we are talking about suicide, alcoholism, drug abuse, sexual or spousal abuse, one rule is clear.

Talking always helps.

And while it might be difficult or painful to hear, it offers some comfort to those who endure the unendurable.

With the rate of suicide so high in this territory, I am sure many readers have stories about it; perhaps they have relatives who have taken their own lives.

Perhaps they have dark thoughts that keep recurring, after a night of drinking or some personal failure.

Why not talk about it? Suicide is often linked to addictions, alcoholism or abuse in some way.

It's real, it's preventable and if the media won't talk about it, people will have to do it themselves.

I applaud Grace Blake for speaking on Nov. 23. Hopefully more people will gain the courage to follow her example, and break the last great taboo.

- Inuvik Drum editor Dez Loreen is on vacation and will return in early December.

Next year is certainly going to prove itself to be an interesting one on a number of fronts, as far as the barge delivery of cargo to the Kivalliq region is concerned.

First and foremost will be to see how Northern Transportation Company Ltd. (NTCL) addresses some of the problems that hindered cargo delivery this year.

While we give Baker Lake Mayor David Aksawnee full marks for telling NTCL that people in the region have to be one of the company's top priorities (see story page 3), only time will tell if that mentality is put into play anytime soon.

Let's be honest. The facts speak for themselves.

It wasn't all that long ago that NTCL left the Kivalliq after losing the Government of Nunavut (GN) contract to service the region.

Community cargo wasn't enough to keep the company in the region then, and it's not now.

That's the harsh, cold, economic reality of the situation.

NTCL is a company and it's expected to turn a reasonable profit for its shareholders just like any other.

Delivering community cargo did not bring NTCL back to the Kivalliq.

The promise of supplying exploration and working mine sites with their cargo did.

None of us really knows how long the exploration, development and mining boom will last in our region, but most communities can be reasonably assured that NTCL will be around as long as it does.

After that, there's a good chance we'll find ourselves back at square one in regards to whether the company can win back the GN's contact for the Kivalliq.

In all likelihood, no mining, plus no GN contract, equals no NTCL in the Kivalliq.

And you would have a tough time blaming the company for that should it come to pass.

In these modern times, business is business and that's the end of the story.

However, as long as the NTCL is in the Kivalliq, its company heads have to understand this is the Eastern Arctic, and getting their cargo in a timely manner is a necessity to the residents of this region, not a game.

In fact, given its long history in the Kivalliq, NTCL should understand that better than anyone.

Winter supplies at wholesale prices is precious cargo to Kivalliq residents. We've heard the company talk about adding a purser in the Kivalliq, and utilizing a dual system of cargo delivery that would separate corporate expectations from community needs.

Both moves would rate as an excellent start to addressing the problems that plagued this year's sealift.

However, a dual system of thinking could also go a long way in addressing the matter.

Nobody knows what the future may hold in terms of NTCL's long-term viability in the Kivalliq.

But, we have no doubt if the gravy train runs its course, the company will, once again, be asking the people to understand why it's leaving.

So, it's fair, then, for the people to ask the NTCL to understand that while it is in the Kivalliq, the people of the region must come first.

Not only is turnabout fair play, when you're talking sealift in the Kivalliq, it's an absolute necessity.

Mary Ann Iqalukjuak and Mary Qayaq were misidentified in the Nov. 26 edition of Nunavut News/North.

As well, nurse Joanne Dignard recently dined at the prime minister's residence, but not with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

We apologize for the errors and any embarrassment they may have caused.