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Shine light on premier's affair
Yellowknifer - Wednesday, July 1, 2009

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That a closed-door inquiry into Premier Floyd Roland's affair with a legislative assembly clerk is even being considered is unacceptable.

Ted Hughes, the sole adjudicator picked by conflict of interest commissioner Gerard Gerrand to conduct a preliminary hearing into the affair, will decide whether the inquiry should be public or private following the hearing July 16.

At issue is whether Patricia Russell, the former legislative assembly clerk who sat in on private meetings with regular MLAs, passed on sensitive information to the premier while still in the job and while their relationship remained a secret during the summer and fall of last year.

Roland understandably would rather the inquiry be held behind closed doors. A public inquiry with witness testimony and cross-examination by lawyers, all under the glare of the media spotlight, would exponentially increase the potential for embarrassment in an already cringe-worthy debacle.

But aside from the sordid details likely to emerge from a public inquiry, the central question remains to be answered: Did the premier take advantage of his relationship with Russell for his own political benefit?

To have done so would have been a violation of the trust given to him when MLAs made him premier in October 2007. Some MLAs have complained that Roland boasted he knew "everything that's said in that room" where the MLAs met in the presence of the premier's mistress to vent about cabinet and devise opposition strategy.

Roland insists there was no pillow talk between him and Russell about the goings-on inside regular MLA meetings, but the air has not been cleared yet.

Only a full and public inquiry can accomplish that. To close the door now would only darken the shadows on an already murky and scandalous episode.

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Nominee program essential for new citizens
Wednesday, July 1, 2009

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Attracting employees to the North has never been easy, yet Yellowknife needs a stable, reliable workforce in order to prosper.

This is not easy to establish in view of our high cost of living. The current recession certainly doesn't help matters.

The territory must do everything it can to attract employees - particularly immigrants, who have the most to gain from taking on work here.

Many newcomers to Canada arrive in search of better opportunities in a prosperous, stable country, as well as a more secure future for their children.

They are ready to take on jobs that will fill existing shortages in Yellowknife.

The GNWT's recently-announced immigrant employment nominee program was a long time in coming. It is astonishing that the territory is just about the last jurisdiction in Canada (just ahead of Nunavut) to implement a program that helps see to it that labour shortages are filled -- particularly since it is the only jurisdiction to see its population decline in recent years.

Starting this month, the program will allow employers to nominate employees who are on work visas for residency within a much shorter time frame - approximately a year and a half instead of several years.

This gives employers a chance to retain some of their best workers, and it adds some incentive for immigrants to come to our city.

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Lost in translation
Editorial Comment
Kassina Ryder
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, July 1, 2009

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The Nunavut Language Act is now official and businesses and organizations in the territory are going to have to improve services to make sure Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun, along with French and English, are represented.

The intention is undeniably good; the question now is how exactly will it be implemented and what will the exemptions be?

Louis Tapardjuk, minister of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth, has stated publicly that incorporating the act will take time.

He pointed out that there are not yet any Inuktitut-speaking judges or doctors, although he expressed optimism that the future promises to bring such professionals.

I've often thought that living in Nunavut and ignoring Inuktitut is kind of like living in France and completely ignoring French. Learning the language of Nunavut is important and everyone should at least try.

Whenever I think about Inuktitut and my own shortcomings, my mind always wanders back to a few years ago when I used to visit with the late Kanayok Kablalik, or Little Granny as she was known to her family. She spoke little English and I spoke even less Inuktitut. Our visits always involved a certain amount of time spent staring at each other blankly and me using a crude form of sign language to try to explain myself. Luckily for me, her patience for my ignorance never wavered and she found my attempts at communication hilarious.

Once, she asked me where someone was and I said "annigit," which I thought meant "outside." Turns out I had, in fact, told her to "get out."

Even though I often said ridiculous things to an elder whom I loved very much, my efforts were always appreciated.

Another example is when she was trying to teach me to sew. I wanted to learn how to sew kamikpaks, so I went out and bought all the material we would need for the project. I went to her house to drop it off and explained, or so I thought, that I would leave the material with her and I would come back on Monday to start the job.

"Uvagu miqsiq," I said to her. "Uvanga qigi Monday." Or "You and I sew, I'll come back Monday."

To this day I don't know exactly what I said, but I returned to her house on Monday to find a beautiful pair of black kamikpaks completely sewn and ready to wear.

I panicked. I had intended to sew them with her but instead I had inadvertently created my own Little Granny sweatshop. She must have sewn all weekend to get them ready for Monday.

I thanked her profusely then called her daughter Cecelia so she could explain what I had actually meant and we all had a good laugh.

But I often wonder what happens at an elder's doctor's appointments if no family member is available to translate. Or when mining companies do presentations in communities and talk about things like "thermosyphons" and other technical concepts. How do they translate exactly? Or do they at all?

And how will the territory ensure that the needs of Inuktitut speakers will be met?

Incorporating Inuktitut into all aspects of the territory is going to take real effort and it's up to every one of us to make sure the legislation succeeds.

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Slow and hesitant loses the race
NWT News/North - Monday, June 29, 2009

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Americans have hit the accelerator on the development of a multi-billion dollar pipeline which has the potential to deliver 4.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to the south - quadruple the volume the proposed Mackenzie Valley Pipeline can bring to market.

It's making some Northerners jittery, and for good reason.

There has been heated debate about the effect the Alaska pipeline would have on the Mackenzie Valley project.

Fueling the concern are reports that the American government is prepared to back the project with up to $40 billion in loan guarantees and the security of a regulatory process shorter than the bureaucratic swamp the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline faces.

Exxon Mobil Corp. recently announced it will work with TransCanada Corp. in hopes of building the Alaskan project. That means there's competition within Alaska to build a pipeline as oil giants BP and ConocoPhillips are also vying to build a line through the northernmost U.S. state.

All said, the Alaskan project is expected to begin production by 2018. That is compared to the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline's predicted start-up date of 2014 or 2016 -- depending on which analyst you chose - up to 12 years after talks began.

If the $16-billion Mackenzie Valley project is stalled by any further delays, a possibility exists the Alaskan project could catch up and begin production first. The scenario seems so plausible Exxon is now backing projects in both areas - it is the parent company of Imperial Oil, so it has one foot in Alaska, the other foot in the NWT.

Some analysts believe the volume of the Alaskan natural gas supply is enough to quench the southern need for natural gas, making a Mackenzie pipeline unnecessary; others say the nearly insatiable appetite for gas can only be met with the combined volumes of both pipelines.

If the latter is true, the NWT's stake in pipeline development is secured. However, even if both lines are needed it can be surmised that if Alaska goes first the NWT will see longer delays and likely won't begin construction until 2018 or later. It is hard to believe there is a sufficient supply of skilled labour and materials to work on both projects in unison.

The Canadian government has made clear it is not about to offer loan guarantees as the U.S. is doing. However, it should offer tax breaks, which it can make up for through increasing royalties once the pipeline companies pay off the bulk of their debt.

Dennis Bevington, MP for the NWT, should be demanding this sort of response. He should also be pressing the government for real action on streamlining the NWT's regulatory regime. While proper checks and balances must remain and Northerners' voices must not be drowned out, dramatic improvement is needed on the layers of red tape that exist.

The Joint Review Panel, which was formed in August 2004, is due to release its decision on the Mackenzie pipeline in December, after several very lengthy delays. From there the piles of paperwork will migrate to the National Energy Board.

All the while the race is on and the NWT can no longer afford to play the part of tortoise. The Alaskan Arctic hare is not going to take a nap while we work through the quagmire of our regulatory process.

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'What's an inuksuk?'
Nunavut News/North - Monday, June 29, 2009

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Baker Lake MLA Moses Aupaluktuq's observation to the legislative assembly that PETA's misuse of the 2010 Olympic logo showed "a gross misunderstanding of the seal hunt" is right on the mark.

When Nunavut News/North initially contacted People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals for comment on its version of the 2010 Olympic inuksuk, the PETA member who took our took our call was baffled.

"What's an inuksuk?" she asked.

PETA had taken the Vancouver Winter Olympic inuksuk logo, armed it with a hakapik and depicted it clubbing a seal over and over in an animation on its 2010 Olympic shame website, but knew nothing of Inuit, their lives or their culture.

Blinded by ignorance, this media-savvy animal rights Goliath with a $32 million annual budget stomps a ragged path across the lives and livelihoods of people far-removed from its Hollywood supporters.

Many people hate PETA.

Feminists and people fighting eating disorders decry its use of naked or scantily-clad female spokespersons, who occasionally urge people to become skinny like them by going vegetarian.

The group has angered human rights groups by comparing animal slaughter with the holocaust and other acts of genocide.

Other animal-loving organizations despise PETA for killing thousands of "rescued" animals instead of spending the money to care for them until they're adopted.

And many vegetarians and vegans hate PETA, blaming the organization and its bizarre campaigns for making the public think all vegetarians are crazy.

So Inuit are in good company when they shake their heads in disgust and wonder what they did to deserve this unprovoked - and apparently inadvertent - insult.

Yes, seals are cute, but so are little lambs and bunnies. And arguably, so are those are all animals Americans and Europeans eat regularly and which often live and die in much worse circumstances than a seal hunted and eaten by Inuit. But to make that PETA's major media focus would be to attack its funding base. Better to attack a culture far away it knows nothing about, then move on quickly to another victim.

Iqaluit resident Sue Idlout, has become fed up enough with PETA's tactics to start her own e-mail campaign urging Inuit to speak out.

Granted, her campaign won't be as crazy as PETA's attempt to bring the Canadian economy to its knees by boycotting maple syrup, but we hope there are more people out there who will be swayed by a voice of reason rather than a voice of ignorant fanaticism.

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Taxi licence freeze won't help
Yellowknifer - Friday, June 26, 2009

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Yet again, city council is being prodded into a debate over taxi numbers that shouldn't have been their business to decide in the first place.

We don't tell airlines how many planes they can put in the air, just as we don't regulate how many flower shops there can be in the city.

Capitalism might seem like a dirty word these days, but since we do conduct business in a free market society it doesn't make sense that a municipal government is at the controls when decisions are made about how many taxis are operating on our city streets.

City council seemed to have picked up on this point earlier this year when, despite a chorus of complaints from cab drivers, it rejected a call to freeze the number of licences the city issues.

That has yet to be written in stone. Council has continually delayed a vote on amending the city's livery bylaw, which would put deregulation of the number of licences into effect.

Now cabbies are threatening to go on strike, which in the heat of summer, is akin to threatening to hold your breath until you turn blue.

No doubt, with 140 cars on the road, there are too many cabbies in this city for each to make a decent living. Whitehorse, with 4,000 more people living in it, only has about 50 taxis.

A simple freeze to the existing number of licences likely wouldn't help much. In fact, drastic cuts would probably be needed in order for the remaining cabbies to thrive. It's better for competition to influence those decisions rather than a bureaucracy that is slow to react to the ebb and flow of demand.

Cab drivers are feeling the pinch, but alas, that's business. And in case not everyone has noticed, as of late business hasn't been all that great for a lot of people.

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Entrepreneur opens NWT to the world
Yellowknifer - Friday, June 26, 2009

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For a business to thrive and grow in Yellowknife, particularly in a time of recession, is no small feat. Entrepreneur Don Morin has done just that with Aurora Village, having expanded his clientele by more than five times over the past five years.

Yellowknife needs more entrepreneurs who are committed, as Morin is, to pinpointing unique attractions the territory offers, not just to other Canadians, but to international visitors as well.

In working to attract tourists to Aurora Village, with its northern lights tours and recently-launched Great Slave Lake cruises, Aurora Village opens the door to the NWT better than any embassy or trade mission can, much in the way innovator Bill Tait and Raven Tours did in the 1980s and '90s.

The city and the GNWT must help clear the way for entrepreneurs like Morin by helping to rebuild the aurora-viewing market, do more to support the tourism industry and showing the world the best of what the NWT has to offer.

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Equalizing the sexes
Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, June 25, 2009

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The Introduction to Heavy Equipment Operation Course held in Trout Lake recently was a resounding success and a model for future initiatives.

The course the first time such a trades program was offered to an all-female class.

Few, if any, jobs in this field in the Deh Cho are filled by women.

But that may change with the conclusion of the two-week course in Trout Lake. The 10 women from the community who completed the course were undeniably proud of their accomplishments.

They proved how much they learned with a driving display during a pre-graduation heavy equipment parade.

Nine of the 10 women started the course with no previous experience and now they are all comfortable operating a range of equipment.

The course was empowering.

Mavis Wasp-Colin said. She decided to take the course so she wouldn't have to find a man every time she needed a water delivery or snow removed from her driveway. The course proved women of the community can take care of these jobs by themselves, Wasp-Colin said.

In Trout Lake, one of the more traditional communities in the Deh Cho, the outcomes from the course might cause a shake-up of the established gender roles, said Rick Phaneuf, the general manager of the Sambaa K'e Development Corporation.

The men, who normally take the heavy equipment jobs, will now have competition, said Phaneuf.

Trout Lake has proven there is a demand for courses like this one and benefits to offering women-only sessions. Phaneuf said when the development corporation offered a similar course two years ago to anyone who was interested only men signed up. The women said they were intimidated.

With the women-only course everything changed. The attendance rate during the course was 100 per cent except for cases where a participant had a legitimate reason to be excused.

Across the Deh Cho, a variety of organizations regularly offer training courses for areas traditionally seen as men's domains such as heavy equipment. Unsurprisingly, men normally fill the spaces in the courses.

In the Deh Cho, there's a continual dialogue about the need to prepare residents for future opportunities in areas such as oil and gas, mining and other industries. Women, of course, need to be given equal opportunity to train for these jobs. The course in Trout Lake has conclusively shown female only courses will help make this possible.

The Status of Women Council of the NWT, the Sambaa K'e Development Corporation and the School of Community Government all deserve credit for making this course possible and for providing an example for the rest of the Deh Cho.

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Getting the shaft
Editorial Comment
Andrew Rankin
Inuvik Drum - Thursday, June 25, 2009

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Living in Inuvik, I go through phases where I lose track of the outside world and just accept certain things, good and bad, about living in a remote location.

For example, I had resigned myself to the fact that everything, including groceries, costs an arm and a leg. We live in the North and it comes with the territory. (Though, in truth, I've never been OK with paying $10 for a two-litre carton of milk.)

Which brings me to my awakening during my first trip out of here last week since arriving in Inuvik last January. Me and a couple of buddies made the journey to Whitehorse and Dawson City via the Dempster Highway. It was a great getaway and the landscape was stunning.

But what surprised me was that the fellas stocked the truck up with coolers so they could load up on meat and other groceries while in Whitehorse. Actually, that was one of the main reasons they wanted to go there in the first place.

I later found out that between the two of them they ended up spending about $2,500 on everything from ground beef to toilet paper, to deodorant, to toothbrushes. Initially I thought what they were doing was bizarre and not worth the time and effort involved, especially when it came to the annoying task of keeping the coolers iced. That was until I looked closer and realized that they bought everything at half of Inuvik's prices.

To my surprise, the price of groceries wasn't much different in Dawson as compared to Whitehorse, despite the 530-km distance between the towns. From what I could see, the quality of the produce was top-notch as well.

So that got me to wondering why prices for everything skyrocket as soon as the merchandise reaches Inuvik, which is another 750 km away. I also wondered why a lot of the produce that finally reaches here is suspect at best.

One odd note - the price in Inuvik of my favourite wine is the same price as it is in my hometown of Halifax, where groceries are a fraction of the cost compared to here.

It's understandable that prices will increase when the Dempster is closed and things have to be flown in. But how can $10 for a two-litre carton of milk be justified year-round?

It appears a few players in the industry are profiting and seem to be given free rein to pull prices from the clouds given the fact that we're so isolated and have no choice but to pay the prices.

While many are calling on the government for a milk subsidy program and the like to make healthy foods more affordable, it might be more important for some arms-length government body to be established to ensure the ones setting the prices are forced to justify them and customers aren't being shafted.