---

Dial 911 for stupidity
Yellowknifer - Friday, October 23, 2009

---

Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro blames the territorial government's reluctance to adopt a 911 emergency phone service on its bias against Yellowknife.

Based on what was said in the legislative assembly last week by Municipal and Community Affairs Minister Robert McLeod, however, it would seem the bias extends much farther than our fair city.

In fact, it would seem to include any community in the territory that has more than a few homes and a school.

"We have to also ensure that this service or any basic service is available to a lot of remote communities we have out there," McLeod said Oct. 15.

We have to ask what the minister means by basic services because if the GNWT intends to play the great equalizer role it has a lot of catching up to do. It's been a couple years since the GNWT of Bureau of Statistics has updated its community infrastructure profiles, but we doubt the situation on the ground has changed a whole lot since then.

In 2003, only 20 NWT communities had so much as a nursing station, five didn't have recreational facilities, and 17 are without all-weather roads.

Despite these deficiencies, the NWT Association of Communities - representing 27 out of 33 NWT communities - were gracious enough to pass a resolution in 2007 calling on the territorial government to begin setting up 911, even if it had to be phased in to larger communities first, such as Yellowknife, Hay River, and Inuvik. The association has reaffirmed this resolution twice since then.

Not only that, but the former chief coroner of the NWT recommended 911 service after a life was lost in a snowmobile accident on Prosperous Lake in 2000. Almost 10 years has passed with no real progress. For shame.

Implementing 911 would cost $1 million to start up and $1.2 million annually to maintain. It can be done in the territory's seven largest communities, representing 77 per cent of the territory's population. That was the conclusion reached in a reported funded jointly by Yellowknife and the GNWT.

It seems like a small price to pay to ensure three-quarters of the territory's residents have an easy-to-remember number to call when their lives are in danger.

But for some unfathomable reason, the territorial government won't go there.

It might be tempting to label this as just another crass, political decision by MLAs to beat up Yellowknife while currying favour with folks back in their home ridings, but since both McLeod and Premier Floyd Roland are from Inuvik, where residents could benefit from 911 immediately, we'll just have to settle for calling it reckless, and stupid.

Another item of curiosity - how long do Yellowknife's two MLAs on cabinet - Bob McLeod and Sandy Lee - intend to sit in silence, collecting their rich cabinet salaries while letting this nonsense continue?

---

Shiny new promises
Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, October 22, 2009

---

There are wins at the polls and then there are landslide wins.

What voters in Fort Simpson handed Sean Whelly on Oct. 19 was a landslide. With 269 votes Whelly had more than three times the number of votes garnered by incumbent Duncan Canvin.

Speaking with the Deh Cho Drum on Tuesday evening, Whelly said the results of the mayoral race demonstrated voters wanted a change. There is little room to argue with that.

More interesting is to examine what sort of a change residents want. While Whelly was elected decisively, the rest of the council remained virtually unchanged. All but two of the eight councillors are back in the seats they have occupied for at least one previous term.

It seems that voters saw fit to keep the collective experience of the council but change the person steering the ship. Based on Whelly's electoral platform, it appears one thing residents want is more open avenues of communication with village leadership.

Whelly has promised to respectfully listen to all residents' concerns and is making plans for town hall-style meetings to give residents the chance to voice their opinions on proposed plans for the village.

Like every other meeting of this sort, it will probably be hard to get people to actually attend but the fact they have the opportunity to speak their minds is what really matters. While members of the previous council often raised issues their constituents brought forward, there were very few cases over the past three years where dedicated meetings were held to gather public opinion on village matters.

Also tempting is Whelly's promise to focus on the "small things" as much as the larger issues. Often referred to as dogs, ditches and dumps - it is the basic services the village is responsible for and ones residents notice the most, Whelly correctly acknowledged.

The test will be to see how much change the new council will be able to bring about in the delivery of these services. While the campaign promise of painting the crosswalks should be relatively simple to accomplish, solving the safety issue posed by loose dogs is a matter that has bedeviled every council.

One of Whelly's other plans is to create both one-year and three-year action plans for the council to outline its mandate. Whelly said he wants the village to be in a position where it can be proactive and address issues before they've reached emergency proportions.

Given the trouble the previous council had with the sewage treatment plant, the housing of the John Tsetso Memorial Library and other issues, it's no surprise voters like the idea of having potential trouble spots identified and dealt with far in advance.

Days after the election, however, all of these items are still just election promises. Residents of Fort Simpson voted with a clear voice for a new mayor to lead the village. Now community members must see to it that Whelley lives up to the challenge.

---

A fresh slate
Editorial Comment
Andrew Rankin
Inuvik Drum - Thursday, October 22, 2009

---

In my brief career as a reporter I've had the opportunity to report on a couple of elections. But I didn't have the opportunity to watch the last election I covered in Nova Scotia unfold vote by vote in a polling station.

I sat at the Midnight Sun Complex polling station on Saturday for more than four and a half hours, right up until the last ballot was counted. By times it was a trying experience watching the painfully slow process of vote tallying unfold. But I was impressed with how focused and good humoured the ballot counters and scrutineers remained throughout, even well past midnight.

I got a little insight into just how much work goes into preparing for an election and carrying out one for that matter.

But that effort was complemented by the number of people who actually came out to exercise their most fundamental right. Almost 200 more mayoral votes were cast in Monday's election, which drew 956 voters, compared to the last town election in 2006, which saw a total of only 777 votes staked - that's a pretty impressive increase. With a new mayor elected along with four new councillors it looks like residents here are seeking for a bit of a change. And a change they got.

Most surprising for me was the victory Denny Rodgers scored over Derek Lindsay for the mayoral seat.

Everyone who I talked to figured it would be a much tighter race. Both candidates brought a different, but interesting skill set to the table. That can also be said of the new council, which is impressive in its diversity.

Above an abundance of business experience and a pretty impressive educational background, the mix of new councillors bring with them proven passion and commitment for Inuvik.

It will be intriguing to see how Rodgers is able to work with the newly elected council, since he has promised that ensuring members gel as a team will be one of his main priorities. One of his other campaign promises is to ensure the lines of communication between the town and community will remain open. Soon he plans to host a meeting with local business owners to find ways to stimulate the economy. That's a good start.

Inuvik probably needs more public forums to discuss any number of issues affecting the town, excluding council meetings.

I've always thought that people should be more interested in political discourse no matter on what level. I also think the foundation lies at grass roots politics. But it also falls on councillors to make people care about getting involved. There's always plenty of work to be done in that area.

It will be interesting to see how council approaches that challenge, to make itself more relevant in the lives of Inuvik's residents over the next three years.

---

Yellowknifers win
Wednesday, October 21, 2009

---

The people of Yellowknife have spoken. The latest municipal election brought some new faces to city council and the school boards, with a healthy number of incumbents returning to public office.

Congratulations are in order for all those who ran for election. Given the number of signs around the city and the effort put into going door to door and debating at candidates' forums, the majority of candidates appear to have fought hard for votes.

Unlike previous years, this election saw real competition without any acclamations.

Even though Mayor Gord Van Tighem beat his competitors with more than 70 per cent of the vote - it was the first time he was challenged since becoming mayor in 2000 - it was refreshing for Yellowknifers to have a choice.

The large number of council candidates who chose to run this year also added interest in this year's election. There were 16 candidates vying for eight city council seats.

It is disappointing that more Yellowknifers did not vote. Forty-nine per cent of registered voters came out to cast their ballot. That's up from 29 per cent from the last municipal election - definitely a better turnout, but leaving plenty of room for improvement.

This council should waste no time in rolling up its sleeves and tackling the issues raised during the campaign like downtown crime, homelessness, creating and improving green spaces and building the economy - simply, making Yellowknife an even better place to live.

---

Bring back full season campsites
Wednesday, October 21, 2009

---

It shouldn't be any surprise that people used territorial campgrounds near the city less this summer than they did last year.

Not only was the weather awful, but the department that oversees campgrounds, Industry, Tourism and Investment, introduced fee hikes at the start of the season and stirred up a hornet's nest by cutting full season campsites used by Yellowknifers down to two months from four for the same $500 price.

To be fair, it had been nearly 10 years since overnight campsite fees had increased, but doubling the price on full season campsites while cutting them in half wasn't a very good idea.

Kevin Todd, regional superintendent, said the department is considering whether to establish a mix of two-month extended stay sites while offering some of the old full season sites as well.

We say get rid of the two-month sites altogether, and bring in more full season sites if there weren't enough of them in the first place. The problem with the two-month sites is that summers here are short. It just about guarantees ballot draw purchasers at least a month of crappy weather, whether one ballot lot begins May 15 or the other ends Sept. 15. That's not much of an incentive to sign up for the ballot draw - only 30 people bid for 80 available sites this year after years of sellouts.

The department is building an extra loop at Reid Lake which is, by far, the least used of the three campgrounds around Yellowknife.

Park officials should definitely consider putting aside more sites there for full-season users.

---

Laughing at the turkeys
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, October 21, 2009

---

Oh, the irony of it all.

A $200 turkey is let loose from the Northern store's barnyard in Arctic Bay just when the feds are looking at taking away the individual's right to use the food mail program.

If it wasn't so sad, it would be hilarious.

Of course, once the frozen bird was let loose over the Internet, a turkey of a different kind was quick to step up and explain to all of us Northern sheep that it was all just a labelling error.

Labelling errors seem to happen a lot at Northern retailers.

I often tell people new to the Kivalliq to stop talking while in line, and keep an eye on the tally when their groceries are being rung up.

It's amazing, actually, how many times items on sale are rung up at their regular price.

Now, in fairness to the stores, bring your receipt to the office like a good little sheep and the difference in price will be refunded.

I mean, hey, mistakes happen, right? And if six or seven people out of 10 don't notice the mistake, well, you do the math over the course of a fiscal year.

Now, in fairness to the Northern consumer, I, personally, have caught such mistakes while being rung out, and was left to wonder why the mistake was repeated the very next day when I purchased the same item, still on sale, and it rang through at its regular price again.

I'm not saying mistakes don't happen, but I will go on the record and say I don't ever want the wolf entering the data there to ever be in charge of doing my taxes!

And that's what makes me very afraid of the dodo birds in Ottawa who will decide whether we can keep using individual food mail.

Forget the fact that one of the head dodos is a former longtime member of the aforementioned wolf pack.

Even if we believe any loyalties to the Northern pack have long since vanished, these birds have shown in the past they're quick to buy into the mistake explanation.

But, hey, the food mail program cost the feds $50 million last year and that's a lot of lamb chops, right?

The strange part in all this, however, is we constantly hear community after community claim they're not seeing any of the food mail program benefits local retailers.

The same message came from Arctic Bay earlier this month after the great turkey caper.

Are all these people loony birds, or could there be something to their claims?

Recently, there has been plenty of chatter about people protesting outside local retail outlets should individual ordering be taken from the food mail program.

Only time will tell if that particular dog has any bite behind its bark, or if it's just so much idle squawking from the chicken coop.

Hopefully, this time around, the dodo birds will decide to side with the sheep instead of the wolves and we'll never have to find out.

But, in all likelihood, the dodo birds will decide the sheep really don't know what's best for them, and put the food mail program into the hands of the wolves.

Then the wolves get to snicker all the way to the bank, howling at the fact the dodo birds turned out to be the biggest turkeys of all!

---

Gasping for air
NWT News/North - Monday, October 19, 2009

---

In the United States, people's lives are destroyed when bills associated with health care take their cars, savings and then their homes.

In Canada, we should be safe from those traumatic expenses - extreme costs that cause stress, which is detrimental to the healing process.

However, one Colville Lake elder is fearing for the stability of her household. Her power bills have steadily increased to more than $4,000 due to an oxygen machine she needs to prolong her life, and those bills are bound to climb even higher with the cold winter months approaching.

Elder Simone Kochon's situation is a travesty. For the NWT health system to send Kochon home with an expensive piece of medical technology and not provide the financial assistance necessary for its operation is irresponsible.

On top of saddling the 72-year-old pensioner with the oxygen tank's massive power usage in a community with one of the highest electricity rates in the territory, the department has also failed to make good on its promise to deliver a cheaper alternative.

Regardless of whether the new, cheaper machine arrives or not the power bills should not be Kochon's responsibility.

Fortunately, the Power Corp. has not decided to shut off Kochon's power even though she's struggling to pay her bills. As well, according to a Power Corp. spokesperson, as long as Kochon pays a little each month she is at least safe from suffocating in the dark, something it seems the NWT health care system could not care less about.

An ailing Kochon is forced to choose between breathing and paying her bills. It's a choice no Canadian should face, and one the government must rectify now.

---

Development shouldn't trump health
NWT News/North - Monday, October 19, 2009

---

A recent Edmonton city council decision will put the future development of the Alberta capital above the safety of emergency medical patients from the North.

The impending closure of the Edmonton Municipal Airport will mean that patients being medevaced from Yellowknife will fly into Edmonton International, on the outskirts of the city, which will increase travel time to the hospital.

In an emergency situation, minutes can mean the difference between life and death and increasing travel times by up to half an hour for medevac patients is unacceptable.

A planned ring road scheduled for completion by 2015 will reduce travel times, but at what cost? How many lives will be lost or permanent medical issues caused in the meantime?

Obviously, Edmonton aims to serve its own needs and unfortunately this latest move comes at the expense of Northerners. At the very least Alberta's Health department, which didn't object to the plan, should commit to having helicopters waiting at the airport to transfer Northern patients to hospital.

Time is of the essence. If a Northern patient dies or is left permanently debilitated because of the City of Edmonton's decision to put development before people, Edmonton should face the full wrath of families and the GNWT in a civil court room.

---

Inquest a good start
Nunavut News/North - Monday, October 19, 2009

---

The announcement that a coroner's inquest will look into the death of Elisapee Michael is a welcome development.

Michael's family has questions they want answered and so do we, but they also want a public inquiry in addition to the inquest. We feel an inquiry may be justified, if the inquest fails to answer the questions satisfactorily.

Michael, 52, fell down the stairs of the Nova Inn in Iqaluit in the middle of the night on Aug. 9. She was taken to Qikiqtani General Hospital, where she reportedly caused a disturbance and staff turned her over to RCMP officers who happened to be there on another matter. The hospital workers told the officers to bring her back when she was sober.

The next afternoon, the RCMP called the hospital's emergency room and asked to bring her back in. Hospital staff said they were too busy to take her. A few hours later Michael was in medical distress. She was taken back to the hospital, medevaced to Ottawa, and died a few days later on Aug. 14.

Was she examined by a doctor before being arrested and taken to the RCMP detachment? Is it common practice to turn patients over to the RCMP because they're intoxicated? How busy was the emergency room the next day that it could not accept a patient with a head injury?

As pointed out by the family's lawyer, these questions and the doubts they raise are causing Nunavummiut to lose confidence in the quality of care delivered by Qikiqtani General Hospital.

A coroner's inquest involves witness testimony and determines the manner of death - for example accident, suicide, homicide or undetermined. An inquest also results in recommendations to prevent such a death from happening again. These recommendations, however, are not binding.

Neither are the recommendations of a public inquiry, but an inquiry can issue a notice of misconduct to a person or organization - something an inquest cannot do.

Public inquiries are expensive and can be lengthy. But if, after the coroner's inquest is completed, pressing questions still remain, the premier should order a public inquiry to get to the bottom of the matter.

---

Distance learning a valuable resource
Nunavut News/North - Monday, October 19, 2009

---

The development of distance education is a necessity for Nunavut, if higher Grade 12 graduation and post-secondary education benchmarks are ever to be met.

Leaving home is a hurdle to higher education many Nunavummiut students are unwilling to overcome. But even though numerous universities and colleges across Canada already offer distance, Internet-based courses, Nunavut's Internet connections are not up to par, making it difficult for students to take advantage of what's out there.

Nunavut Arctic College also has the potential to expand its offerings to smaller communities.

What will make this possible is better communications infrastructure - including satellite Internet bandwidth that will support videoconferencing - at the territory's community learning centres.

With enough funding and political will, perhaps someday soon students will be able to pursue their post-secondary dreams, all from the comfort of their home community.