Features

According to Chief Keyna Norwegian, some residents and the RCMP, a number of recent deaths in Fort Simpson can be attributed to alcohol abuse that is being fuelled by residential school compensation payments. Depending on who you talk to either all four of the deaths that have occurred in the village between Dec. 20 and Jan. 17, or just three of them, are the result of this combination.

Regardless of whether the true number is three or four the equation still reaches the same conclusion -- tragedy.

Money that was meant to serve as a recognition of suffering caused by the residential school system has created even more heartbreak.

There are a few points that need to be drawn from these senseless deaths.

Although Fort Simpson has been singled out as a community that has recently had a high number of alcohol-related deaths, this does not mean we are alone.

Whispers from across the Deh Cho and maybe even across the territory have suggested that residential school payments are funding the increased use of alcohol.

It also needs to be pointed out that although the recent spate of deaths related to alcohol abuse can plausibly be linked to residential school payments, it does not mean that everyone who has received a payment is abusing alcohol.

As a number of people have pointed out, the majority of those receiving the money are making wise choices with it. Some people are paying off debts, others are putting some away in savings and a large number are treating themselves to new vehicles and snowmobiles.

Residential school compensation payments are not necessarily the cause of alcohol abuse and deaths.

A number of people have said that for the segment of the population that is at risk of alcohol abuse, an influx of money is dangerous because it gives them increased buying power.

Normally, a run of heavy drinking would stop when the money came to an end. Any increase in money allows for a longer drinking binge and, therefore, increases the chance of self-harm and death.

The argument that follows is that residential school payments just happen to be the source of increased personal wealth and, therefore, alcohol-related deaths. Winning the lottery or coming into an inheritance could lead to the same result for people at risk.

So while the recent deaths could be a rallying cry for better use of the residential school payments, they scream more loudly about a need to rethink attitudes towards the use of alcohol.

Although people have right to use their money however they see fit, at times they are not making healthy choices. Steps need to be taken so that any future influx of money, whether from other payments or increased employment, won't lead to the same tragic results.

Warm weather and a shining sun can play tricks with your mind.

A few days of balmy goodness and bright skies was all we needed to get outside and bask in our lovely countryside.

We're definitely blessed to have such a great landscape on which to build our community and, most importantly, play.

As Northerners we're supposed to indulge in the lifestyle. Grab a snowmachine and spend the day working on your wind-tan.

Playing around is fun, but it should go without saying that we need to be smart and safe.

Take a lesson from the Canadian Rangers. They live their lives responsibly and make sure that everyone is safe.

They recently returned from an exercise on the land and were out there for a few days. Hopefully they were able to do some fishing while they were in the bush.

While joining the ranks of the local Rangers would be the best way to get acquainted with on-the-land safety, I think we can all just live a little smarter.

Call this pre-empting an accident, but it's been quiet around here lately. Maybe people around town have learned to be safe when going outdoors. Oh, hang on. Was that kid on that snowmobile wearing a helmet? Nope.

Sorry junior, but your knit toque will not help you here. Get properly fitted for a helmet and gear.

In Fort Smith, a teenage girl is comatose because of an accident involving a Ski-Doo pulling an inner-tube. Wham. It can all become horribly real within seconds of an accident. Nobody cares whose fault it was, all they care about is the victim.

If people would take just a few moments to think things through before acting, a lot of harm could be saved in the world. Please, wear a helmet.

I see so many people on their snowmobiles, cruising around and speeding down the river bank.

I'm not even just referring to young people.

I see old men bombing around with hundreds of pounds of wood in the back of their sled, but no helmet!

What sort of example are we setting for our youth, if even the elders don't look after their own skulls?

All it takes is one good roll to crush it. Maybe even just a strong whip to one side.

Life changes when you wind up in a hospital. Some people experience that pain and get to walk away.

Then there are those who are permanently seated because of accidents.

Nobody is to blame in an accident, right? Wrong. Someone is always to blame, most of the time for being careless.

I have caught myself driving without a seatbelt before. (I don't have access to a sled, so I drive a truck.)

The same question always runs through my head: Would it be worth it if I was to get maimed or worse for lack of a simple precaution?

Of course the answer is always no. Taking that second to secure a seatbelt or a helmet can mean the difference between being shaken up after a close call and being carried out of a church in a casket.

We don't need to add to the list.

Don't be a fool, follow the rules and stay safe when you're out on that souped up Bravo.

I'm sure you'd much rather tell your own stories about being on the land rather than have your best friend talk about them during your funeral.

Montreal wanted it, Vancouver tried to lay claim to it, but Yellowknife has undisputed ownership with two Northern diamond mines producing 15 percent of the world's diamonds.

It is written right under the giant diamond on the city's logo: DIAMOND CAPITAL of NORTH AMERICA.

Yellowknife is definitely the diamond capital but the title has come despite the yawning indifference of the federal government and the shortsighted timidity of the territorial government.

Since the early 1990s, when it came to diamond mining, Ottawa was only interested in pulling out their royalty calculator, content to skim off the profits raked in by the mines. No thought was given to local benefits, such as the potential of diamond processing plants in particular, while the notion of diamond tourism for Yellowknife was dismissed out of hand.

But the city of Yellowknife saw the potential spin-offs very early on. As the little government on the block, with the full support of the business community, the city hollered the loudest for big government to wake up.

That is why in 1998, then Mayor Dave Lovell got together with the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce to form a diamond task force. Made up of vocal volunteers, the task force included representatives of city council, local businesses, the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, NWT Power Corporation, Yellowknives Dene and the territorial government.

Back then, led by fiery Finance Minister John Todd, the territorial government was in step with the city on the task force and in a rare moment of unity, all Northerners were speaking to Ottawa with one voice.

The territorial government has since abandoned any grand vision for diamond spin-offs but the city continues to soldier on. That's why today, the claim to Diamond Capital of North America is still worth fighting for.

Hurdles remain of course, major ones. The diamond processing plants are not set up for regular tours. The mine owners are in the mining business, not tourism. They do not want mine tours and even the lure of Hollywood on the heels of the wildly successful Ice Road Truckers television series does not excite them. Quite the opposite in fact.

But Hollywood does point the way, turning a long tedious truck ride into the barrens into some kind of knightly adventure. Just as with the lure of the Yukon's Gold Rush, Yellowknife must tap into the romance of diamonds, a powerful attraction. A new $700,000 display at the Northern Frontier Visitor's Centre will help and the NWT Mining Heritage Society's continuing efforts will pay off.

As for the call to make diamonds available at a discounted price to attract diamond tourists, we agree asking that of our retailers is too much.

The logical ones to accomplish such a lofty goal would be the federal government, by declaring Yellowknife a Royalty-free zone; rebating royalties for locally purchased diamonds and collecting it back via increased revenue from the tourism industry.

A pipe dream perhaps, but a goal worthy of the Diamond Capital of North America.

An important battle will begin in an Iqaluit courtroom on Jan. 25 to cap a busy month for Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) and its president, Paul Kaludjak.

Nunavut Justice Earle Johnson is expected to hear arguments on whether NTI must include the Government of Nunavut (GN) on its lawsuit against the federal government.

NTI launched the $1-billion suit in December 2006, claiming the feds have failed to live up to their part of the bargain in implementing the Land Claims Agreement.

Federal lawyers quickly filed a defence against NTI's contention that the feds breached their contract, and followed that up with a motion to the Nunavut Court of Justice to name the GN as a co-defendant in the suit.

Their reasoning is simple enough: since the federal and territorial governments are partners who share the responsibility of properly implementing the Land Claims Agreement, they should both be named in any breach-of-contract suit involving the failure to do so.

Should the courts agree and order NTI to serve the GN with a statement of claim, it would be suing its own government.

Messy business to be sure, even though NTI claims it has no intention of seeking damages from the GN.

This lawsuit is rapidly shaping up to be a winner-take-all affair that, should it turn even more ugly, could drive a huge wedge between Iqaluit and Ottawa.

NTI got its wish on another front this month when the feds announced they would be aggressively recruiting Inuit employees in Nunavut.

About 33 per cent of the roughly 300 federal jobs in Nunavut are held by Inuit.

While we were pleased to hear Indian and Northern Affairs Canada regional director Michael Nadler talk about training and professional-development opportunities for Inuit, he did so under the banner of employee retention.

That, given relatively few Inuit possess the technical skills many federal jobs require in Nunavut, raises the spectre of headhunting to increase the federal government's percentage of Inuit employees.

Should that prove to be the case, it would be great for Inuit hired by the feds -- salary, benefits and lucrative pension -- but not necessarily so good for the territory.

Unless plans are in the works to train Inuit who don't possess the needed technical skills, the feds will lure away qualified individuals from the Nunavut government, regional Inuit associations and, possibly, NTI itself (wouldn't that be ironic).

The feds must be wondering which Paul is in charge of shaping Nunavut, Okalik or Kaludjak?

If not for the stakes being so high, it would almost be humorous to envision a courtroom with Premier Okalik sitting next to his federal co-defendant, staring across at Kaludjak and his southern lawyers at the NTI table.

Of course, should this legal battle last for an extended period of time, neither Paul may be around for a final verdict once Nunavut voters pass their own.

And, as the gap between Iqaluit and Ottawa continues to widen, former director of devolution John Lamb could find himself anywhere in the GN, back at NTI or heading up the next federal task force on cultural sensitivity in the workplace.

Talk about irony!