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Fighting the flu NWT News/North - Monday, August 17, 2009 If we're lucky, it's a mild cold that will pose a nuisance and cost us a great number of tissues, but it will pass after a week or so.
The swine flu has changed the equation as the symptoms are nothing short of nasty: body aches, a high fever, a nagging cough. Some who have contracted it say it is worse than any flu they've ever suffered.
It is a dangerous virus, no doubt. A pregnant woman in Nunavut perished from swine flu in July.
What's mystifying is that close to 500 people in the neighbouring territory to our east have been diagnosed with the flu while here in the NWT there were only 29 documented cases as of Aug. 7.
The explanation from acting chief medical health officer Dr. Richard Nuttall is that the Department of Health has done a good job of forewarning the public of the virus. The department has held a press conference and has done some advertising advising people to see a doctor if they have swine flu symptoms, to cough into their arm, wash hands frequently and to stay home if they become sick.
But the same message went out in Nunavut.
Are we to believe that NWT residents are much more receptive to such advice?
There are a number of parallels between the two territories: overcrowded housing persists (although it's widely accepted as a worse problem in Nunavut) and people commonly fly from community to community, spending hours in the confined space of an airplane, where germs can easily be passed.
It would seem that Nunavut's extensive testing for the virus is another major factor in the substantially higher number of documented cases there.
In the NWT, we've obviously enjoyed a stroke of luck, but we can't rely on that luck continuing. Numerous scientists and medical experts are predicting that a second, more potent wave of the swine flu will strike this fall.
The NWT Department of Health has ordered 80,000 doses of flu vaccine, which is in high demand across the country. It's expected to arrive in November or December. That may not be in time and nobody can afford to be complacent.
If this flu spreads like wildfire, then the delivery of essential services will be vulnerable and businesses will be hurt.
A comprehensive strategy would help counter that. Stanton Territorial Hospital just issued a request for proposals for an updated pandemic plan. There's no time to waste on getting this plan in place. It must be rolled out quickly and efficiently.
Swine flu's effects could be crippling to communities, services and the economy.
The Department of Health is going to have to be as sharp as a needle in tackling this virus and we should be prepared to get a few needles ourselves: the ones that will help keep us healthy.
Cruise ship passengers have become a seasonal resource in Nunavut, like geese or caribou. They flock north in the brief summer window of open water and flee at the first sign of ice.
Exploiting this new yet valuable resource is something Nunavummiut are getting better at, season after season.
Besides the economic benefits of passengers flooding communities and spending money on art, clothing and other souvenirs, the visits provide opportunities for Nunavummiut to take on the role of teacher to educate tourists about Inuit, their history, their culture and their modern-day lives.
The guide program of Cambridge Bay's visitors' centre is one example of how to take advantage of these chances. The training helps guides gain confidence in their presentations, and helps visitors get the most information from their walks around the settlement. Communities on the cruise paths also often send artists, performers and storytellers and interpreters on board the ships to meet and greet visitors, and, in the words of Cambridge Bay guide Melynda Minilgak, talk about "what it's like to be us."
Like other seasonal resources, the visits are unpredictable. They're subject to economic ups and downs and the whims of the weather.
But they are excellent chances for Nunavummiut to talk face-to-face with hundreds of people from all over Europe and North America, who will go home and pass on what they have learned to their family and friends all over the world.
Providing visitors with more knowledge of Inuit than they came with can only help build bridges between Nunavut and the wider world.
Though Nunavut's handling of the swine flu pandemic so far has not been perfect, it's not fair for the NWT to crow over having so many fewer confirmed cases.
Nunavut responded initially to the H1N1 outbreak by lab testing every person reporting symptoms to their health centre. This enabled the department to track the flu's spread most effectively, though the department refused to share this information with the public, instead issuing numbers of cases by region.
But this high level of testing on Nunavut's part meant the number of lab confirmed cases of H1N1 was higher here than anywhere else in the North.
The NWT has not been conducting such strict testing. That territory's acting chief medical health officer says he believes the "slow spread" of H1N1 in the NWT is due to his department's public awareness campaign.
But there are outbreaks happening in NWT communities, just as in Nunavut's. The only difference is the NWT is only testing hospitalized cases and people with moderate to severe symptoms.
Had Nunavut done that, it would have had much fewer than the 500-plus cases it has reported.
Both territories can learn from each other's experiences - NWT on the testing side, and Nunavut on the public information side - and these lessons can be applied to the second wave of flu expected this fall.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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