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MLAs' bank-breaking idea
NWT News/North - Monday, June 8, 2009

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Kevin Menicoche's approach to language services in the territory is at best impractical and at worst irresponsible.

Creating a system with the capacity to deliver government, court and legislative assembly services in each of the NWT's official languages is not realistic.

Not only would the cost be prohibitive but the move wouldn't result in stronger languages, merely greater recognition of further declining tongues.

Considering that 99.2 per cent of the population in the NWT reported speaking either French or English - according to the 2006 federal census -- having 11 languages represented on government documents and in government institutions is unnecessary.

It is difficult to advocate for more aboriginal language services when the 2006 census further indicates fewer than 10 per cent of people in the NWT speak an aboriginal language at home.

A more logical approach would be to first strengthen the languages to a point where enough people are using them to justify the service. It makes no sense to have interpreters sitting twiddling their thumbs or documents laying about that no one will -- or even can -- read.

What the NWT needs is stronger languages. School and community-based programs are a good start. Parents and grandparents using their traditional language at home is also vital.

Language is integral to a strong cultural identity.

In turn, a strong cultural identity is an essential contributor to self-worth.

Between 1989 and 2004, aboriginal languages were on a continuous decline, according to the NWT bureau of Statistics survey. In the Sahtu, those able to carry on a conversation in an aboriginal language dropped from 85.6 per cent to 58.4 per cent during that period. In the Deh Cho the decline has been less drastic, 78.6 per cent to 61.7 per cent.

Most other regions report that less than 35 per cent of the population speaks an aboriginal language well enough to carry on a conversation.

There is no doubt there is a need to strengthen aboriginal languages, but setting up government services for languages that have declined to nearly beginner levels would essentially be futile.

Perhaps lessons can be learned from the one region bucking the trend: in the Tlicho region, statistics show an almost stable population of aboriginal language speakers since 1989. In 2004, 94.6 per cent of people in the Tlicho spoke an aboriginal language, compared in 96.1 per cent in 1984.

Surely Tlicho speakers have some insight they can provide the rest of us. The GNWT should seek some answers there before breaking the bank.

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Sealing a place in our hearts
Nunavut News/North - Monday, June 8, 2009

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As a small and remote territory we've grown used to being made fun of, insulted or just ignored by the rest of the country.

Then Canada's ceremonial head of state came North and gave Nunavut a warm embrace.

Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean came to our territory, in the words of her official blog, in "a spirit of sharing and solidarity."

By all reports, she engaged Nunavummiut in a way few Ottawa-based government officials have ever done.

Who is this woman who lifted spirits everywhere she went last month?

She was born in 1957 in Haiti, an impoverished Caribbean country prone to political turmoil, with one of the lowest literacy rates in the western hemisphere.

Her family moved to Canada when she was 11. She studied hard, earning scholarships and eventually working her way to a master's degree and fluency in five languages. She became a nationally-recognized journalist and in 2005 was appointed Governor General.

Jean has said her mission as Governor General is to "give a voice to people who are voiceless, people who are not heard from enough, people who are excluded." It's a job she takes seriously and doing it well requires treating everyone with equal attention and graciousness - something at which she apparently excels.

Students especially warmed to Jean. She is living proof that your destiny is not determined by the circumstances into which you are born, but by your attitude and how hard you are willing to work.

Jean has said her mother placed a high value on education, telling her children, "Education is the key to freedom," and Jean relayed that message as often as she could during her visit through Nunavut.

She wrote on her website that Nunavut's greatest untapped resource is its people and human development, through education, should be a priority.

Oh, and she ate some seal.

That small gesture, and the way she defended it despite the firestorm of criticism it spawned, also endeared her to Nunavummiut.

If one of those youth who met Jean becomes a future governor general, we hope they make her their role model, because she was the epitome of a gracious guest.

She's welcome back for a cup of tea and some seal meat anytime.

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Just go it alone
Yellowknifer - Friday, June 5, 2009

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So we are back where we started -- to the long unfulfilled dream that if only the territorial government hopped on board, a 911 emergency phone service would be just around the corner.

That's the first step, according to yet another report outlining what the city needs to do to get the ball rolling, namely, request funding from the territorial government.

The city has spent more than $100,000 and dithered for years studying 911, and yet again, all hinges on the GNWT.

Good luck on that front. When prodded by Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro - a former city councillor and chair of the city's 911 committee - Robert McLeod, minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, placed the broken record back on the turntable, reiterating the government's position last week that 911 must benefit all 33 NWT communities.

He did offer a throwaway line about how he would consult cabinet to see whether they're willing to cough up money to set up 911 in six larger centres outside of Yellowknife - as recommended in the Planetworks report handed to city council last month -- but the fact that the GNWT is still insisting places like Kakisa and Ulukhaktok must be included in 911 plans should be a red flag for city council.

That the territorial government continues to use these communities - many which number less than a couple of hundred and have no street signs or addresses - to drive a stake into the heart of the city's 911 plans indicates that the government is not all that serious about implementing the service anywhere and never was.

It's reprehensible. The GNWT won't offer 911 to 75 per cent of the territory's population even though it's perfectly willing to dish out $247 million for capital projects this fiscal year, which Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger calls the biggest capital plan in the history of the NWT.

It's also troubling that the RCMP, and other federal agencies for that matter, won't step in to help either. When the city received another 911 report five years ago - deemed "complete" by the city - much hinged on the RCMP to staff the 911 dispatch. The RCMP has since balked at co-operating, which is very unfortunate considering it has a dispatch call-in centre that operates territory-wide while the city fire hall and its off-hours water plant dispatch doesn't.

We recommend the city revisit the advice given in the 2004 report if all else fails: go it alone.

Yes, 911 will be expensive but so are fieldhouses, new libraries and water treatment plants. Planetworks says 911 will cost $958,000 for initial setup and $570,000 annually to run if implemented in Yellowknife alone.

Is that too great a cost to ensure our residents get help when needed?

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Making the right choice
Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, June 4, 2009

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During this time of the year I enjoy going for walks in Fort Simpson around the papal site, campground and along the riverbank.

It's the perfect time, the weather's beautiful, not too hot or too cold, and the bug population is still minimal. It's also apparently the perfect time for someone like me, out for a stroll, to inadvertently bump into a black bear.

The chances of actually crossing paths with a bear are probably minimal, but after interviewing Carl Lafferty, the manager of wildlife and environment with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, about bear safety, I always end up with more than a healthy dose of nervousness about bears.

As I walk trying to make a lot of noise to give any nearby bears a forewarning of my presence I wonder if most people follow the bear precautions that Lafferty suggests. The answer is probably not.

When people grow up around a possible danger, like bears, they tend to take their presence for granted and not something to actively worry about. There's also the comforting idea that something like a bear mauling happens in other places to other people, not in the Deh Cho to friends or family.

While bears may seem to be an unlikely danger to life and limb, a popular summer pastime does pose a real danger.

Last week Bernice Hardisty, a health promotion officer with Dehcho Health and Social Services, gave boat safety presentations in both Fort Simpson and Wrigley. An additional presentation is planned for Jean Marie River next week.

The presentations are definitely a timely initiative on the part of Dehcho Health and Social Services. Just like bears it's easy to take safe passage on the numerous lakes and rivers around the Deh Cho for granted.

Hardisty was quick to point out that everyone, even experienced boaters, can benefit from a refresher on boat safety. Poor planning and missed precautions can prove deadly on the water.

The Liard River did claim a life last year. Jim Paul Klondike was operating the outboard motor on a homemade skiff on July 13 when he went missing. It's presumed that he fell overboard.

Klondike was the only boating fatality of the year, but given the number of boaters in the Deh Cho it's surprising there weren't more.

Boat safety, like bear safety, is something that's easily brushed aside. Familiarity with boats gives people a false sense of security that they can cut corners and nothing will happen to them.

Each summer there are probably lots of close calls, cases where people did skip safety precautions and barely avoided disasters as a result.

While safety precautions, whether with bears or boats, come down to personal choices, the people and organizations that continue to provide information and stress the importance of making the right decision should be recognized for their efforts. Without their work, fatalities would undoubtedly be more common.

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For our children's sake
Editorial Comment
Andrew Rankin
Inuvik Drum - Thursday, June 4, 2009

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For the longest time I've debated the merits of daycare, thinking all along it's ultimately the parents' responsibility to care for their child - at least until they reach elementary school. After all, that was what my mother did with me and my four siblings. Then again, my mother was fully equipped for the role, being a high school home economics teacher who made a living teaching students how to cook and sew. Obviously I was a pretty lucky kid. That is, until I reached kindergarten and I was left to fend for myself.

So this week I got to thinking about the dire need for more childcare development programs here in Inuvik. The director of the Inuvik Child Care Development Centre said there are 50 children on its waiting list. Consider that fact and that right now in Inuvik there's virtually no opportunity for infants under the age of two to be cared for.

This is a point of concern given the number of single parents in this town. There's an obvious problem. Kendra Tigmiak, 23, is a perfect example to illustrate the problem. This year's Learning Centre Completion Ceremony valedictorian couldn't stay in school because she was unable to find reliable child care for her son Jason, 6. When he entered kindergarten last September, she was then able to find time to go back to school. She plans to attend university where she'll study to be a biologist. Tigmiak said she has several friends who are single mothers and need an extra push to go back to school. But there are real barriers in front of them.

How can Inuvik lure young professional families here if the necessary child care services aren't in place? What can they do if the town's preschool, Aboriginal Head Start program and Inuvik Child Care Development Centre are all booked up, which is currently the case?

The scenario raises questions about who's ultimately responsible for ensuring children have access to proper child care programs. If the community isn't doing enough to solve the problem, shouldn't our government be taking a stand? I'm not of the opinion that all of our problems should be solved by our elected members, but when our children are pretty much powerless to fight for themselves, someone should take the reins.

Currently, several dedicated volunteers belonging to the Childrens' First Society are fundraising and well into the planning stages of a new $6-million child development facility by 2013. The proposed two-story building will house professionally-trained child care staff and of particular interest a child interventionist who will work with children held back by intellectual or behavioural problems, for example. That way, the idea is that children can get the help they need before they enter school system. Just talk to some of your local elementary school teachers about how many children enter school thoroughly unprepared to learn.

It's hard to think of a more worthy project. But it involves real commitment, lobbying and perhaps opening up your own wallet.

What could be more important or basic than making sure our community's children have equal opportunity to thrive and be healthy?

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Shelter will improve quality of life
Yellowknifer - Wednesday, June 3, 2009

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A day shelter for the homeless is a finally on its way - and it's about time.

Slated to open as a pilot project this fall, the shelter is an obvious answer to numerous problems the city is faced with on a routine basis.

A lack of public washrooms tops the list. Providing shelter to those without means may also keep homeless away from factors that contribute to their predicament and make the city unsafe and costly to police - namely alcoholism and drug abuse.

Details of what the shelter will offer in terms of programs and services are not yet known. However funding lined up for the facility, amounting to more than $550,000 over the next three years, indicates that it has great potential. Contributors to the project include Health and Social Services, providing $375,00, BHP Billiton, providing $150,000, and the city.

BHP Billiton in particular must be applauded for conceiving the project early last year. Thankfully, the mining company recognizes that it is a key player in not only the development of the North, but in the well-being of our citizens. The city's vitality relies heavily on the diamond mines, which encourage private investment in the capital. As a private enterprise that reaps tremendous profits from the territory, BHP is showing that it is prepared to give back, and leave a positive legacy that may last beyond the lifetime of its mining operations.

Fortunately the city and territorial government are following their lead by providing this project with the funds it needs, to help make Yellowknife a city that is safe, where all - including those struggling in life - have a better chance to stay out of trouble.

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Sure-fire risk
Wednesday, June 3, 2009

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When a student at Mildred Hall School was shot in the back of the head by a peer with a pellet gun on May 22, it raised serious questions about pellet and replica gun regulation.

Following the Mildred Hall incident, and last year's arrest of four students near St. Pat's with replica guns, it's time for the City of Yellowknife to take matters into its own hands and pass a bylaw. If this city can have drug-free zones (which fall under the Criminal Code), it can certainly have gun-free zones, even if the guns aren't considered powerful firearms.

A police takedown of those carrying guns that look authentic or the possibility that someone gets shot in the eye means these weapons still pose a serious danger.

To prevent misuse of pellet guns, retailers say they don't sell them to people younger than 18. Yet somehow, at Mildred Hall School, a child had possession of a pellet gun in a schoolyard without parental supervision.

At the very least, schools should take action by banning replica and pellet guns on their grounds.

Parents must ensure if their kids are allowed to use the weapons, they are using them responsibly for activities such as supervised target shooting, in a safe environment, well outside the bounds of places of learning.

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The heart of the matter
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, June 3, 2009

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I have the highest praise for 95 per cent of Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean's visit to Rankin Inlet this past month.

She was eloquent without being presumptuous, warm, engaging and sincere.

And, she made an incredible impact on hundreds of our youth in a very short period of time.

That being said, with her experience in the limelight, anyone who believes she truly didn't realize to what extreme the southern media would manipulate the way in which she tried a piece of seal heart is a fool, plain and simple.

What angers me most about Jean's decision, is the fact there was precious little mention in any southern media about any of the positives Jean accomplished during her short stay.

You read, saw or heard nothing in southern outlets about how enamoured we here in Rankin were with her Excellency.

More important, you heard or read precious little about the positive impact she had on our students while Nunavut struggles with a drop-out rate of about 75 per cent.

Nor did you hear about her youth initiatives, or what she hopes to see in the field of educational development in our territory.

Instead, we were bombarded with fanatical comments from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and other similarly-minded organizations, and had to endure comic-book praise from capital hill referring to her as the new Braveheart.

We give full credit to Rankin Mayor John Hickes for telling southern media to take it somewhere else if they're looking for sensationalism.

We also give full marks to Kivalliq Inuit Association president Jose Kusugak for blasting the National Post for its use of a picture from the East Coast seal hunt in its story on Jean's culinary treat.

This wasn't about Inuit culture or tradition.

We all know the importance of the seal to Nunavut, and we wish people outside the North would get it through their thick heads how vastly different the situation here is from the East Coast.

In a perfect world, Inuit sharing a piece of their culture with a visiting dignitary would be a good thing.

But this isn't a perfect world and Jean's performance wasn't about nurturing solidarity between Canadians.

Surely the Governor General realized the zealots would never view it as such.

They took it exactly as it was intended – as a political statement.

Unfortunately it came from a person in an apolitical position who shouldn't be making such statements, despite her contentions to the contrary after the fact.

Having a documentary filmmaker as part of the visiting entourage raises additional red flags as to the true purpose behind the display.

Inuit have to protect their culture, tradition, values and way of life fiercely if these attributes are to survive.

But, we here in the North also have to better understand the nature of the southern beast and be smarter in how our ways are portrayed, no matter how warm the smile doing the asking.

For in this age of professional protesters and if-it-bleeds-it-leads media, that is the true heart of the matter.