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Time to redevelop Giant Mine
Yellowknifer - Friday, August 14, 2009

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Yellowknife has all the potential to create a mining museum, but simply establishing one at the Giant Mine site, as the NWT Mine Heritage Society is doing, will not work until the entire area is transformed into a place people want to visit.

The city knows this well. It hopes to build a residential subdivision in the area, and has been approached by a local business with plans to build a marina at the dock.

Still, more must be done. Plans for the mining museum and interest from private investors will only take flight once the city - which holds the lease on the housing site and the dock - takes action, namely a cleanup of the site followed by the establishment of walking trails. The docks are also an ideal place to set up a commercial harbourfront, one that could help relieve the crowded government dock in Old Town.

Such steps are needed to attract visitors, investment, and future residents to the area. They would also accelerate funding for the mining museum, which, as Mining Heritage Society director Ryan Silke told Yellowknifer last week, has been slow in coming.

Uncertainty over Giant Mine's clean-up plan is not the ultimate reason why the museum is not attracting funds, as Silke has suggested. The site will only show promise once the city demonstrates it is not just a washed-out, abandoned remnant of Yellowknife's past - but an avenue of development for the future.

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Harper's love of the North not mutual yet
Yellowknifer - Friday, August 14, 2009

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Stephen Harper's love affair with the North continues as the prime minister prepares for his fourth consecutive summer trip to the territories next week, including a visit to Yellowknife.

Undoubtedly, purse strings will be loosened as Harper makes stops in all three territorial capitals, although where the big prize - the headquarters for the newly created Northern Economic Development Agency - goes will likely be a big factor in determining how NWT residents receive him and his Conservative government.

If the agency goes to distant Nunavut, home of Harper's star MP Leona Aglukkaq, it will signal to Yellowknife and the rest of the territory that the Conservatives are more inclined to crass political appeasement rather than common sense.

That said, up to this point, Yellowknife has been done well by the Conservatives, taking the lion's share of a $9.3 million territorial crime prevention funds, plus million in infrastructure money.

The expansion of Nahanni National Park, favourable noises about the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline, and creation of a Yellowknife army reserve unit are moves that are also being viewed positively, for the most part.

Displeasure over a decision to place the new development agency in Iqaluit could change that. It could be argued that the NWT's loss of the agency will hurt Western Arctic MP Dennis Bevington's chances at re-election, as his NDP is far removed from power, but Harper wades into a delicate situation. Wary of his tenuous support nationally, particularly in Quebec, every MP could very well count come the next election, maybe as early as this fall.

Much remains to be seen.

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Gathering as one
Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, August 13, 2009

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I have to admit that when I drove into the site of the Petitot Gathering on Aug. 7 I didn't know what to expect.

I'd driven to Fort Liard that day to cover a totally different event but everyone I met asked if I was going to the gathering. It hadn't really been part of my plans but because half of the population of Fort Liard seemed to be there already I decided that I'd better join them and find out what all the excitement was about.

After leaving my truck in the makeshift parking lot and walking towards the collection of tents and awnings, the draw that the gathering has on people was quickly apparent. I immediately felt what people I talked with later during the afternoon pointed out as their favourite part of the gathering: the atmosphere and the people were noticeably positive and friendly.

Everywhere I turned there were groups of people smiling, laughing, talking and clearly catching up on what they'd missed since they'd last met. The gathering draws in people from across the NWT, B.C., Alberta and even Saskatchewan.

For some of the participants the only time they see each other is at the Petitot.

For those who didn't want to just talk there were a variety of activities offered including a session on knapping arrowheads, a watermelon carving competition and a birchbark basket making workshop, just to name a few.

Now, summer gatherings are nothing new in the Deh Cho. Around the region people have the pick of the Open Sky Festival in Fort Simpson, Mackenzie Days in Fort Providence and the Pehdzeh Ki First Nation Annual Gathering in Wrigley. All of these events are unique and worthy of merit in their own ways but the Petitot Gathering provides something that those festivals would do well to accomplish.

In the Deh Cho the bulk of the participants in any of the summer gatherings are always residents of the host communities. Sure a handful of people come in from surrounding communities but they're usually only there because of a large bingo, a handgames tournament, a dance or some other special event. The focus is generally on the events and less on personal interactions.

The Petitot Gathering seems to be more about people from different communities coming together and enjoying each other's company than it is about the events that go on throughout the day. Maybe the secret is in holding the gathering away from all communities so everyone feels equally comfortable joining in.

However they managed it, the organizers of the Petitot Gathering and the Acho Dene Koe First Nation and the Fort Nelson First Nation, who co-host it, deserve a round of applause for creating such a positive event. The Petitot Gathering is a reminder that people from different backgrounds and communities can come together and blend into a seamless whole.

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Joining in the games
Editorial Comment
Andrew Rankin
Inuvik Drum - Thursday, August 13, 2009

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There were probably two mom-ents during the four-day Circumpolar Northern Games that help define at least for me the importance of this long standing tradition.

The first incident occurred when 66-year-old Mary Kudlak of Ulukhaktok walked off the stage Saturday afternoon with three gold medals around her neck for her efforts in the tea boiling, bannock-making and best-tasting bannock events.

After I took her picture and recorded her name, she freely told me how this event had gone a long way in helping her cope after the death of her husband last month.

"People here have really helped me. I'm so glad I came," she said with a smile.

For a few weeks she had contemplated whether she should travel and participate in the event, but family and friends pushed her to come.

While covering the Games, I experienced a range of reactions to the events, from awe at the two-foot and one-foot high jump, to shock at the knuckle hop.

All along participants were saying that it was the energy of the crowd and the support of fellow competitors that made the event meaningful, as well as the fact that they were carrying on an aspect of their culture.

Those sentiments seemed to be captured most profoundly in that statement made by Kudlak.

It seems to me this tradition is about more than celebrating sport and tradition; it's about bringing people together and being part of something greater than oneself. Perhaps it's especially timely to celebrate such an event when you consider the arrival of technologies such as Facebook and text messaging that find many of us socializing from a distance rather than face to face.

So that brings me to my favourite moment of the games. It occurred Saturday evening during the performance of the Barrow Drummers from Alaska. Judging by the packed audience's reaction, I wasn't the only one mesmerized by their performance.

I don't pretend to know anything about the finer points of the art of drumming and dancing, or anything at all about it for that matter. But I was impressed by the quality of voice, the range and the pitch.

It was the first time I sat through an entire drum dancing session and though I wasn't familiar with the movements and what they meant, I recognized the grace and rhythm. You couldn't help but want to be a part of it, and dance yourself.

The atmosphere was electric and after an invitation, a crowd from the audience quickly filled the dance floor. It was the one time where I felt a part of the Games.

The music went on till the early morning hours of Sunday and it didn't bother me at all to stay until 2 a.m.

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Lost in the shuffle
Yellowknifer - Wednesday, August 12, 2009

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A Dettah man has been lingering in jail for months awaiting a mental health assessment. This is pathetic.

It is clear more resources are needed in the NWT for potentially mentally ill individuals who end up before the courts.

This is far from the first time a person charged with a crime has been left in a cell awaiting proper mental health care, although the Dettah man's case was complicated by his court order getting lost in the system.

Currently anyone in need of a mental health assessment, to determine if they are fit to stand trial or can be criminally held responsible for their actions, must wait in the North Slave Correctional Facility until a bed becomes available in an Alberta hospital, which sometimes takes months. Therefore individuals suffering from serious illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are being penalized even before they are tried.

As Lydia Bardak, a social justice advocate with the John Howard Society, points out, jail is not an appropriate place for those suffering mental illness. What is needed is counselling and appropriate care from trained health-care providers.

With all the financing the Harper government has invested in crime prevention it would be logical to think some of that federal money could go toward aiding for those in need of psychiatric or mental health treatments. Help now could mean getting to people before they risk committing crimes or getting caught up in the court system.

A group home or treatment facility is exactly what the NWT needs.

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The rich get richer
Wednesday, August 12, 2009

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A small group of people will soon analyze whether our next crop of MLAs and ministers should get a raise.

The independent commission will likely, at the very least, adjust the $94,331 base salaries to match or, more likely, surpass inflation.

Ministers make another $50,000 on top of that. The premier pockets an additional $75,000, before taxes.

There are also housing allowances, travel allowances and even entertainment budgets.

It all seems so rich, especially when one considers Arlene Hache's words.

Hache, executive director with the Centre for Northern Families, pointed out that families on income support receive a mere $5 a day per child to feed their youngsters. That's certainly not enough to purchase nutritious food.

Where is the independent commission reviewing that outrageously low sum?

It's time our well-paid MLAs demand a thorough review of what income support provides to those in need.

Better yet, let's see some of our territorial politicians voluntarily live on income support for at least a week. That would surely bring an eye-opening dose of reality.

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Golden boy needs true grit
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, August 12, 2009

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Well, here we are, almost at the midway point of August, and we haven't had a national election this year.

We're on a roll.

Of course, odds are good we'll be going back to the polls this October, but the worm has definitely turned as to who may lead the way.

I've written in this space a number of times that, like him or lump him, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is a tough, good old Western boy who doesn't back down from a fight.

And, as new Liberal golden boy party leader Michael Ignatieff is learning the hard way, if you decide to take Harper on, you had better be prepared to go all the way and be able to back up your words with action.

Pointing out the fact Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt should have lost her sexy government paycheque after her assistant's digital recorder fiasco, and Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq has had more shields around her during the swine flu breakout than a Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader encounter just doesn't cut it.

Don't get me wrong. Both of those Liberal claims are true.

But, in the blood sport of federal politics, they amount to nothing more than slight dents in Harper's forged-in-battle armour.

Ignatieff made the mistake of putting the prime minister on "budgetary-update probation," while demanding more accountability from the government and the answers to four of the biggest questions facing the nation today - EI reform, stimulus money, the deficit, and the isotope crisis created by the failure of the Chalk River reactor.

Of course, he was quick to add, he didn't, necessarily, need those answers right away. Yeesh!

Harper declined to answer Ignatieff in any detail on the last three queries, but did agree to meet concerning Employment Insurance.

Ignatieff has been saying for months the Liberals don't want another election, they want more co-operation in order to make Parliament work.

Well, welcome to Stephen Harper's version of co-operation, Mr. Ignatieff. Would you like the role of Tin Man or Cowardly Lion in the next production of The Wizard of Oz?

Ignatieff had better do some reading up on Harper during his summer vacation.

He would also be well-advised to find some sandpaper to add to that glossy golden-boy image he brought back to Canada, if the Liberals are to have any chance of swaying public opinion against the Tories this fall.

The Tories master plan for their platform in the next federal election calls for the elimination of public funding to political parties, which would have a devastating effect on Harper's competition.

It's a tough, bold move, and one with far-reaching ramifications if successful.

It remains to be seen if Ignatieff can circle the Liberal wagons and find the type of true grit he needs to instil confidence in his leadership and overthrow the experienced political gunfighter who leads the Tories.

If not: well, pilgrim, it's just about time for a return to majority rule in this country anyway.

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Ignorance is the real threat
NWT News/North - Monday, August 10, 2009

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One of the simplest things to do in life is label somebody.

Political science professor Tom Flanagan of the University of Calgary, did just that last month by referring to First Nations as a threat to oil sands expansion.

For an academic, Flanagan shouldn't be so quick to throw around an inflammatory word like "threat." By dictionary definition, threat means "a menace" or someone who poses a harm or danger.

Yes, First Nations have raised concerns about the real and considerable impacts of the enormous oil sands development in Alberta. Water levels in the Athabaska River, for example, have been under enormous strain because of the growing needs of oil and gas companies. The Alberta government actually had to order the companies to cut back their consumption from the river earlier this year as it was depleted to a level considered alarming.

In 2006, a year of high production, oil sands projects required twice the amount of water - 359 million cubic metres - as used by the entire city of Calgary.

In addition, it was initially reported this year that hundreds of ducks died in toxic sludge at one oil sands site. It was later revealed that close to 1,600 of the birds perished.

The real threat here is obvious: the oil sands are a means of incredible wealth, but also pose a worrisome danger to the ecology.

Aboriginal people have every right to oppose development that fails to involve them and harms the environment.

That doesn't make them a threat. Instead it proves what many First Nations people have said all along: they are the true stewards of the land.

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No 'lucky' leaders
NWT News/North - Monday, August 10, 2009

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A game of poker; rock, paper, scissors; rolling dice.

These games of chance are fine pastimes, but none of them is a way to choose a leader.

As hard as it is to believe, Fort Good Hope's chief was decided July 20 by having his name drawn from a box.

It was permitted because it's actually in the election code.

Arthur Tobac was the lucky winner of the draw, beating Ron Pierrot, despite the fact that both men each received 64 votes from band members. Can you imagine if the same tie-breaking formula were applied at the Assembly of First Nations' election for national chief three days later in Calgary?

It would have rightfully been described as a mockery. Instead, delegates in Calgary endured runoff election after runoff election until a new leader was finally decided on the eighth ballot. The process took close to 24 hours of voting.

"This is a very small effort when it compares to the plight of our people and what our people go through every single day," said Shawn Atleo in the midst of the voting.

Atleo went on to triumph.

It's clear that the community must amend its election act to remove the element of chance from the selection of a leader, and all communities would be wise to follow suit.

Voters deserve better.

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More hotdogs not the answer
Nunavut News/North - Monday, August 10, 2009

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Nunavut offers challenges in policing not found anywhere else in Canada.

The new commander of V Division, Steve McVarnock, knows this and he has a number of proposals to try and alleviate some of the major issues.

The biggest is the lack of connection between officers from the south, who are posted to Northern detachments for brief stints, and the communities they serve.

The history of RCMP as agents of the federal government in the North and recent acts of violence against RCMP officers in the territory have created a deep divide between communities and the men and women sent there to enforce the law.

McVarnock believes the current two-year length of a Mountie's term in Nunavut makes it difficult for officers to develop a strong relationship with the people they serve.

The short timeframe of the current tours of duty means that by the time an officer has learned the layout, culture and characters of a community, enabling him or her to perform their duties most effectively, it's time to go.

And no matter how committed or gregarious the officer, or how many hotdogs they serve up, communities are understandably reluctant to invest in a bond with a worker who will be replaced in a matter of months.

A posting longer than two years, paired with a financial incentive for longer stays, would hopefully reduce turnover among officers.

In recent years, the RCMP has focused on recruiting more Inuit into the regular force, with some success.

But for many Nunavummiut interested in careers in law enforcement, the prospect of being posted far from home is unattractive.

McVarnock's proposal to reintroduce the special constable program is another idea worth looking at. In the past, special constables acted as bridges between a community and the RCMP detachment, using their knowledge of language, culture and logistics to help officers perform their duties.

Special constables, though not receiving all the training and benefits of a regular RCMP member, remained in their home communities and provided some continuity in the detachment amid the ever-changing roster of officers.

So it seems the new V Division commander has good ideas to address the issues of Northern policing and is already moving to implement them. He is off to Ottawa this week to discuss restoring the special constable program nationwide.

We wish him well and support his efforts to improve relations between Nunavut's RCMP detachments and their communities.