Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

Order classified ad

There aren't many campaign signs to be found around the Deh Cho but the federal election is fast approaching.

On Thursday there were 19 days left until voters go to the polls to choose Canada's next government.

Cartoons

If following politics at a national level isn't something that interests you the impending election might have barely registered in your consciousness. Ottawa is, after all, a long way away and the party leaders don't make a lot of house calls around the Deh Cho.

Candidates in the Western Arctic, however, are making their ways to as many places as possible in the territory before the polling day. While on the election trail every candidate will be explaining their parties' platforms to anyone who's willing to listen.

Most of the points will be broad and apply to changes they'd like to make across the territory. It will be up to voters to ask pointed questions and find out what a party has to offer the Deh Cho.

There are a few areas that candidates should be quizzed about. Near the top of the list is what will their party do, if elected, with regards to the Dehcho Process.

The Dehcho First Nations has been in long-standing negotiations with Canadian government. Deh Cho voters need to know if other parties have considered the Dehcho Process and whether or not they would expedite the negotiations. Also, if re-elected, does the Conservative government have any concrete timelines for how they'll move forward with the process?

Part and parcel with the Dehcho Process is the Dehcho Land Use Plan. Candidates should also know where their party stands on conservation levels for the area.

On the subject of conservation, the Nahanni National Park Reserve is also an issue some people will want to raise. Residents who are concerned about the amount of land that may or may not be included within the park's final boundary will want to direct candidates' attention to that area.

All of those issues, however, are things that won't effect daily life for most residents. Many people want to know what a political party is promising to do for them.

Ideas for how to lower the price of living in the North are something every candidate should have. The Deh Cho isn't exactly a hotbed of economic opportunity and with rising costs many people are feeling the pinch.

Concrete plans, however, instead of vague ideas and half-mumbled promises are what will get candidates the support from the people in Deh Cho.

By questioning candidates about local issues residents can make the federal election more personal. Even if playing 20 questions doesn't inspire more people to vote it will at least keep the candidates on their toes.

No matter what political candidate you support or how many posters you put up outside your house, none of it matters unless you vote.

That's right Inuvik, it's election time again, but now we're looking at a broad campaign for the member of parliament for the NWT.

Now, we have familiar faces and an incumbent looking to continue his work on Parliament Hill.

In the past weeks, we have heard all sorts of new regulations for our voting process.

The powers-that-be decided all voters across the country should provide photo identification at the polls to prevent voter fraud.

Preventing voter fraud is a horrible excuse for this regulation.

Some I have spoken to are claiming it's about controlling who gets elected.

While it all sounds like a plot for a lazy movie about conspiracy theories, the issue raises questions.

With many people in the NWT living their lives in smaller communities with reduced services, one has to wonder if they will have problems voting.

I just logged onto the Elections Canada website and it tells me people living in the Western Arctic riding have three options to vote.

The first choice is to bring in a piece of government-issued ID with a photo on it, like your driver's licence.

The second choice would be to bring two pieces of non-photo ID which prove your identity and residence. That includes a power bill or health care card.

The third and final option for those of us up North who want to vote is to swear an oath and be vouched for by someone in the community who is on the voters' list in your polling division. That person needs to provide ID as well.

If there was ever a way to reduce the number of Northern voters, I think this is it.

People I know don't like voting but they do it anyways. They go into the polling station, check in with the clerk and mark their ballot.

From what I can see, all the new regulations will do is deter people - sending them back home to search for power bills or a neighbour to vouch for them. How many will bother to return to the polling station?

I'm glad the people of the region were at least given this brief window to get their affairs in order.

By that, I mean they have some time to rifle through their belongings to find enough paperwork to vote.

It's going to be interesting to see the numbers once the dust settles on this October election.

I hope Elections Canada is doing everything it possibly can to inform people in remote communities about the changes to the voting system.

What about the people who don't have any ID or don't have any utilities in their name?

I don't think there is enough time to cut through the bureaucratic red tape and fill out forms to get a suitable ID before then.

Maybe the best solution is to sign up for a power bill, if only to have your name on file.

What we need to remember is this: no matter what obstacles are put in our way, we need to vote.

Read the notices and be prepared to prove who you are on voting day.

A good turnout by remote voters could sway the decision away from bigger centres like Yellowknife.

"If my daughter is trapped in a burning building, I don't really care why there's a delayed response."

That's what city councillor Paul Falvo said this past April when the Yellowknife Fire Department was under fire for not providing the city with statistics on response times.

The comment came in response to a statement by Craig Halifax, then-president of the local firefighters' union: "... The community needs to be aware that because of staff levels, you might have to wait for an ambulance or a fire truck."

The response times, which only met the city's target time of five minutes and nine seconds 46 per cent of the time in 2006, left Falvo, among others, dissatisfied.

Since then, fire department staff has been keeping track of their data, including the number of false alarms, rescues and more. Such statistics will help them be more informed and prepared when the time comes to expand again, but in their month-end reports given to council last week, no mention of response times is included.

The fire department statistics should be appearing on the city's website, as suggested by Coun. Dave McCann last week. This way, residents can have easy access to information that directly affects their community's well-being.

But McCann didn't stop there - he said he also wants more information regarding medevac call durations and response times.

The fire department has a responsibility to keep council and, by extension, the public informed of response times. This is crucial information in assessing performance.

A lack of such information is unacceptable.

Many Yellowknifers are wincing at the thought of a 9.5 per cent power rate hike over the next three years. Citing the rising cost of diesel fuel, labour and construction, Northland Utilities is going hat in hand to the Public Utilities Board for a 4.3 per cent increase this year, a 2.9 per cent jump next year and 2.3 per cent increase in 2010.

This comes at a time when gasoline has hit $1.57 at the pumps. There's a major difference between the two situations, however. Consumers who chose to cycle, walk or get on the bus can realize a savings.

It's not the same story at home. Yellowknifers can insulate their hot water tanks, they can dim the lights or turn them off, they can use timers to limit the use of their energy-sucking appliances.

Unfortunately these energy-saving measures don't ultimately equate to a major savings. That's because a decrease in usage means the power company isn't generating the revenue it needs to pay its own bills.

That means they'll still come after us for extra money, no matter how hard we try to conserve energy and save money.

So motorists can avoid that $100 tank of gas, but we can't dodge a 9.5 per cent power hike despite our best efforts.

There has to be a better way.

The most recent sitting of Nunavut's legislative assembly should have closed out on a high note this past week with the passage of Bill 7 - the Inuit Language Protection Act - and members gearing up to file their candidacy this week for the upcoming territorial elections.

But it was simply not to be as, once again, Nunavut's version of the political Soprano family just couldn't keep from shooting themselves in the foot with outrageous statements.

The upcoming election held the promise of diverting the public's attention away from the Soprano's performance of the past year, which included the usual legal troubles, gag orders, bullying tactics against those who would dare criticize them, public apologies and numerous incidents of embarrassing behaviour on the part of a number of family members.

Missing, yet again, was a sense of acceptance that elected politicians must adhere to the rules and laws governing their positions, no matter what their cultural background.

It was astonishing to hear Hudson Bay MLA Peter Kattuk vote against accepting Integrity Commissioner Norman Pickell's report sanctioning Baker Lake MLA David Simailak for his conduct while a cabinet minister.

Pickell ruled Simailak had repeatedly violated Nunavut's Integrity Act while minister of Economic Development and Finance between 2005 and 2007 in connection to his private business interests.

Kattuk claimed the report and sanctions do not conform with traditional Inuit values.

Admitting your mistake, apologizing and making restitution for your actions do not conform to Inuit values?

We certainly look forward to having Mr. Kattuk explain that one to us.

Equally outrageous was Rankin North MLA Tagak Curley's notion that science should be thrown out the window and only Inuit Qaujiniajatuqangit (IQ) used in determining the strength of wildlife numbers in Nunavut.

The contention was a blight on what was otherwise a fairly solid year for Curley in the assembly.

Science and traditional Inuit knowledge have to learn to work together to protect wildlife resources.

Currently, science finds itself in an adversarial position with hunters and numerous Inuit organizations concerning wildlife conservation practices.

However, to insinuate IQ holds all the answers and needs little or no input from modern science parallels Russian claims they invented pizza (and just about everything else) during the days of the Cold War.

Surely our legislative assembly, as a whole, realizes the importance of modern science in preserving our precious wildlife numbers.

And, surely our politicians realize the best approach in ensuring we sustain those numbers is through complete co-operation between science and IQ?

While it remains to be seen what Nunavummiut will have to say come election day, surely many voters will have had enough of what has emanated from Iqaluit during the government's past term and that voice will speak of change.

Too much of what has come from the capital during this government's past term would turn Nunavut green, if we could only figure out how to get it in bags and spread it properly.