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Diavik shows commitment to the North
Wednesday, November 25, 2009

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Diavik diamond mine's recent announcement to hire 150 employees sends a promising signal to Yellowknife on two counts – not only that the territory's main industry can withstand a recession, but more importantly, that this particular mine has made a commitment to the development of the territory at large.

The new hires are part of a plan to develop an underground mine at the site, located 300 km northeast of Yellowknife.

To Yellowknife's benefit, Diavik announced it wants its employees to be living in the North. At least 40 new jobs at the site will be entry-level, with priority given to aboriginal and Northern workers. Many others will come from the south.

From Yellowknife the employees will be transported to the mine to work their shifts, rather than flown in from Edmonton at the company's expense.

Diavik's commitment to hire and train Northern workers is an important step, as is encouraging them to live here through the flight arrangement. It shows the company is responding to calls from our elected officials that workers must live here, and bolster the development of the NWT. The territory is more than just a repository of natural resources for the south.

The city and the territory's future hinges on residents who call this place home, buy local goods, use local services and pay local taxes.

Other mining and resource companies should recognize they too have a stake in the development of the North, and follow Diavik's example.

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Zoning bylaws discourage builders
Wednesday, November 25, 2009

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The city's zoning bylaws continue to discourage home builders, as Niels Konge of Konge Construction reminded city council earlier this month.

The builder said stipulations on grading and height requirements have increased costs of his projects in Niven Lake. He also made it clear that other specifications on materials, size, location and appearance can add tens of thousands of dollars to projects.

Recurring complaints from developers show that city hall's bylaws do not adequately take the city's unique landscape into account. Overblown bylaws complicate matters – they discourage building, and put up barriers to construction of affordable housing.

The city must consider the problems specific landscapes pose to developers, and the best way to do this is to take Konge and other developers up on their invitation to visit sites to see how bylaws can be better adapted to apply.

At a city council meeting on Nov. 16, city councillor Bob Brooks acknowledged that restrictions on Phase 7 of the Niven Lake subdivision are making the area unattractive for development – a point reinforced by the slow sales of lots.

Jeffery Humble, the city's director of planning and lands, suggested that city administration meet with contractors to devise changes that make sense.

These are needed steps. City councillors and administrators cannot be too far removed from the realities of those who build the homes, and those who want to buy them.

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No time for making assurances
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, November 25, 2009

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While we all hope things work out for the best, all is not well in the world of high finance in Nunavut.

While some wage the good fight to keep program funding flowing into our territory, others are playing the role of financial fortune tellers at a time when such an approach is deeply disturbing.

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) recently announced a projected deficit of $4.4 million this year.

While we applaud NTI president Paul Kaludjak's determination to cut spending and not "significantly" reduce programs and services to Inuit beneficiaries, we hope he has a rather large knife because he's probably going to need it.

Nunavut Trust, NTI's chief source of funding, took a beating on the world markets during the recent downturn in the global economy.

In fact, Nunavut Trust funds have lost $150 million worth of their value since 2008.

Add the fact NTI still has an outstanding $4-million loan to Nunavut Trust, and the big picture is far from rosy.

We were nothing short of flabbergasted to learn of Kaludjak's contention that NTI, presumably by Nunavut Trust, were "assured" the millions lost in market value can be recovered as the market rebounds.

A brave prediction, indeed!

Much of the economic recovery we've seen has been the direct result of government stimulus spending.

Even the gains realized in the housing markets have come mostly from tax incentives which may, or may not, be renewed.

Job loss has, at least, levelled off after months and months of tens of thousands of North American workers receiving their pink slips, but nowhere are we seeing a dramatic rise in hiring in the all-important private sector.

The feds are rattling their financial sabre over cutting many programs that have benefited not only Inuit, but aboriginal people across the country.

And, behind it all, lurks a potentially devastating threat created by our aging population.

More than nine million Canadians will be aged 65 or over by the year 2031.

Closer to home, it's estimated more than 40 per cent of the federal civil service will retire between 2010-2011.

When you add in the fact Canadians are having fewer babies than ever before, and most people are living considerably longer these days, you quickly realize it won't be long before the federal government has to make some tough decisions in order to care for an aging population.

What this, in all probability, is going to mean for Nunavut is that many federally-funded programs are going to disappear.

We're just seeing the tip of that particular iceberg right now.

Yes, many people will work longer and Freedom 55 is nothing but an illusion, but there will be very difficult times ahead for Canada.

It may not be insurmountable, but it's certainly going to hurt.

One thing we do know for sure: this is not the time to be making assurances for recouping hundreds of millions of dollars unless one has the blueprint to H.G. Wells's Time Machine – and that puppy's been missing since 1895!

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MLAs new clothes
NWT News/North - Monday, November 23, 2009

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It sounds like a story written by Hans Christian Anderson.

One of the Danish author's most notable fairy tales - the Emperor's New Clothes - is about how swindlers con an arrogant emperor into buying clothes made of invisible thread, explaining only those who are incompetent can't see them.

Our government is weaving its own invisible clothes by trying to sell an $86,000 government trip to Europe in the name of climate change. Premier Floyd Roland, Minister Michael Miltenberger, MLAs David Krutko, Bob Bromley, Glen Abernethy and two staffers are travelling to Copenhagen next month to attend a global conference.

Just as human rights took a hit for 9/11, it seems climate change is being used to justify blank-cheque spending. Does anyone believe a 11-day trip to Copenhagen costs $12,000 a person? Miltenberger said the trip was purposefully over budgeted. He promises what is not spent will be put back into government coffers. We all know how often government under spends budgets and politicians keep their promises.

Only our government is arrogant enough to think it can sell the illusion that sending seven people to a climate change conference halfway around the world helps anyone.

Abernethy admitted members of the NWT contingent are going as observers, meaning they will have zero power to influence. Will there be ideas presented at the conference that can be applied in the NWT? Likely. But Alaska, which has 10 times the population as the NWT and similar environmental concerns, is only sending one person.

We have a few suggestions how the MLAs can spend their time on climate change related activities.

They can get down with reggae star Shaggy and other celebrities during the Dance For Climate Change. They should then head over to the Fashion Summit on ethical clothing, an ideal spot for our MLAs to support Northern clothiers. Don't forget your sealskin gloves! Oh, those are banned in Denmark. For those homesick moments, they can head over to the Arctic Venue put on by the same Danes who banned the sealskin.

While MLAs dance away the night, Northerners suffering the effects of the present economic crunch may wonder where MLAs get the nerve to take off on a ritzy holiday.

The legislative assembly must believe they deserve a break. For months they have been under siege. After protests over health benefits, board mergers and student funding cuts, combined with our premier's affair and subsequent conflict of interest hearing, they must be tired.

What better way to escape the woes of this do-nothing assembly than to flee to one of the most expensive cities in the world?

In 2007, when the GNWT released its greenhouse gas emission reduction strategy, its most notable point was that without a devolution agreement the NWT has little power to control its largest contributors to climate change - industry and transportation. We doubt the Copenhagen conference will have any advice on how to negotiate a devolution agreement.

If climate change activists want something to protest, they can start with our government's contribution to global warming by burning more than 80 grand of climate change money on gas-guzzling jet planes and caviar.

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Net profit
Nunavut News/North - Monday, November 23, 2009

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Sometimes a message has to be repeated to a politician over and over again before it sinks in.

To the Conservative government's credit, it finally seems to understand that the turbot fishery in the Davis Strait belongs primarily to Nunavummiut.

Gail Shea, federal Fisheries minister, announced a 1,500 tonne increase in Canada's turbot quota on Nov. 9 and Nunavut was awarded 90 per cent of that.

Jerry Ward, CEO of the Baffin Fisheries Coalition, called the increase "a good start."

And he's right. With the hike in the catch, Nunavut's portion of the zone 0B turbot fishery, located off the southeast shore of Baffin Island - rises to 41 per cent from 27 per cent.

The increase certainly shows progress from last year when the federal government rubber-stamped the transfer of 1,900 tonnes of the zone 0B turbot catch from one Atlantic fishing company to another. Nunavut fisheries groups were up in arms over the thoughtless move and the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board went to court in an attempt to get the decision overturned.

In 2003, Ottawa announced a 2,000 tonne increase to the shrimp catch near Qikiqtarjuaq, but only 51 per cent of it went to Nunavut while the remainder was granted to Atlantic Canada.

The value of Nunavut's turbot catch in 2008 was $42 million while the shrimp fishery rang in at $15.4 million.

Since 2005, the Nunavut Fisheries Training Consortium has trained close to 350 Nunavummiut to work in the fishery.

When you put the revenues and the employment opportunities together, you arrive at an avenue to self-reliance in a territory that lacks jobs, other than government positions and the burgeoning mining industry.

Fortunately the federal government saw fit earlier this year to provide the bulk of the fisheries training consortium's $6 million in funding to keep the organization afloat until 2012.

Over the past two years, Stephen Harper's Conservative government has committed $25 million to create a small craft harbour in Pangnirtung, which is welcome by fishers from the community. But it still won't be enough for Pang's fish plant to accommodate large commercial fishing vessels.

In addition, Pond Inlet, Repulse Bay, Qikiqtarjuaq, Clyde River, Chesterfield Inlet and Kugaaruk have a solid case for a small craft harbour.

The feds clearly have more work to do.

This new turbot allocation should ease some of the competition among the groups with an interest in the Nunavut fishery: Arctic Fishery Alliance, the Baffin Fisheries Coalition, Cumberland Sound Fisheries, Qikiqtaaluk Corporation and Pangnirtung Fisheries and the Nunavut Development Corporation.

It's difficult for the smaller organizations to invest in boats when they are only entitled to a small portion of the catch.

There's plenty of interest and still not enough fish to go around. Ottawa must keep looking North to foster greater independence in a young but promising territory.

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Cabinet paycheques trump safety
Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, November 20, 2009

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If there is anyone who still believes it benefits the city to have Yellowknife MLAs serving in cabinet then the Nov. 4 vote on a motion to ban cell phone use while driving should dispel that.

The motion, tabled by Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro, was defeated by a single vote from Speaker Paul Delorey, who broke a five-all tie among regular MLAs. Sitting on the sidelines were the seven cabinet members, including Yellowknife MLAs Sandy Lee and Bob McLeod, who could have passed the motion had they chosen to vote.

Drivers talking on cell phones are four times more likely to get into a crash, according to the Canada Safety Council, while those who text while behind the wheel are 23 times more likely to get into a collision.

Talking and texting on hand-held cellphones while driving has already been banned in Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan are all poised to do the same.

There is a growing consensus across the country that cellphones and vehicles don't mix, yet a majority of MLAs in the NWT refuse to act. Some, like Mackenzie-Delta MLA David Krutko, insist all 33 NWT communities should have access to cell service before considering a ban. And exactly when will tiny communities like Colville Lake or Sachs Harbour ever get cellphone service?

Seventy-five per cent of NWT residents have access to cell phone service today, but like 911, most of our MLAs feel that's not a good enough reason to make legislation that would save lives in our larger communities, including Yellowknife.

Dr. Anna Reid, president of the NWT Medical Association, points to the hypocrisy of Transportation Minister Michael McLeod in a letter to the editor in today's Yellowknifer. The minister issued a press release Wednesday, marking National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims, in which he is quoted saying: "This Day of Remembrance is an opportunity for people across Canada to pause and consider how we can reduce the number of collisions, injuries, and deaths on our roads."

His way of honouring those victims was to abstain on the cellphone vote.

This inaction is even more frustrating when we look at our Yellowknife MLAs on cabinet.

McLeod and Lee's refusal to vote shows they favour cabinet solidarity and their hefty paycheques over the safety of the voters they claim to represent. What a disgusting display.

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A hill of dreams
Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, November 12, 2009

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In my time in the Deh Cho I've had the privilege of writing about a lot of great homegrown initiatives.

There's something reaffirming in hearing about someone who's started a positive project, not for their own personal gain but for a group of people or a whole community. The Deh Cho seems to be blessed with more than its share of residents who are willing to go the extra mile for others.

The Pehdzeh Ki Snowboard Resort in Wrigley is a perfect example of one of these projects. While the name seems a little fancy for what's really a cleared hill, it's not grand enough to describe the work and effort that went into the project. The resort is not quite a field of dreams as seen in the 1989 baseball movie of that name but rather a hill of dreams.

Shawn Alli, the community's recreation co-ordinator, didn't hear a voice while walking down the hill telling him "if you build it, he will come." Instead, while learning how to snowboard himself he saw that youth in Wrigley were also drawn to the sport.

Alli suggested a snowboard hill should be developed for the next season. Young people agreed and the project grew. The best part of the story is the youth involvement in the hill.

Alli, unlike Ray Kinsella, Kevin Costner's character in Field of Dreams, wasn't left on his own to build the dream facility. For two and a half months as Alli laboured to clear the hill by hand he was joined by youth from the community. Together they sweated it out, chopping down trees with axes and ripping out root systems with their hands. The kids stuck it out through thorns, scrapes, cuts and blisters.

Their involvement in the hill was crucial because it shows they have bought into the project. It's one thing to launch a project and hope youth get involved. It's quite another to have youth involved from the beginning so they develop a sense of ownership in the initiative.

Not only did the young people of Wrigley believe in this project, some unlikely sources did too. Thanks to a letter-writing campaign launched by Alli, the burgeoning snowboarders in Wrigley are outfitted in some top-quality gear. Organizations and companies like Quiksilver Canada, York University and Transworld Snowboarding also believed in the dream and donated.

With snow now on the ground, Wrigley has not a baseball field but a snowboard hill. The result is the same.

In a small community with few recreation options, the hill is a major development. This will keep youth physically active and busy all winter. The creation of the hill is also something that they can take a lot of pride in.

The hill is also fostering dreams. There is already talk among some kids about trying out for future Arctic Winter Games. The hill could lead to Wrigley producing some competitive snowboarders.

Alli and his youth partners deserve to be recognized for their vision and determination. They saw past all the obstacles and achieved their dream.

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The magic of the torch
Editorial Comment
Andrew Rankin
Inuvik Drum - Thursday, November 12, 2009

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Frankly I wasn't looking forward to Wednesday's Olympic Torch rally at all. I've always been a little cynical of the Olympic Games, figuring a whole lot of money is spent on celebrations that can be put to better use. I also look at the playing field and realize a whole lot of countries are shut out of the world event because they do not have the resources to develop their athletes. But Wednesday's event did a lot to make me more appreciative of the games.

I played witness to a lot of very moving moments throughout the evening event. Some of which include when torchbearer Nellie Cournoyea veered off her route to greet a couple of elders through the hospital window. There was nothing particularly earth shattering about it, just an exchange of smiles and that to me was a tender moment. Then there was the surprise of seeing torch bearer Mark Orbell, a wheelchair user, being carried in a snow grooming machine. It was also a special moment for me to see a subtle smile appear on his face as he looked up at the torch's flame.

Near equal to that was when the first time torchbearer, Sharon Firth of Aklavik, who's also a former Olympian, reached up to light her torch from Orbell. She couldn't contain her joy. The biggest highlight for me - and I would think a lot of people - took place when Abel Tingmiak, the last torch bearer, made it to the stage in Jim Koe Park and lit the Olympic cauldron in front of hundreds of spectators. It was just an outpouring of real emotion as he danced around the stage hoisting the torch high overhead.

His actions backed up his words when asked to respond to how he felt to be given the honour of lighting the cauldron, Tingmiak said he was simply proud to represent his people.

It was fascinating to me to see just how much happiness and pride this Olympic Torch Relay produced in the community and how it alone was able to move hundreds of people to come together in peaceful, joyful way in -30 C temperatures.

I'm still not entirely sold on the Olympics and if I was the one organizing the Inuvik Torch Relay I would have done some things differently; namely I would have invited all the torch bearers on stage with Tingmiak for the lighting of the cauldron instead of whisking them away to the Midnight Sun Complex in a bus.

With the risk of being too sentimental, Wednesday's torch relay to me it offered a small model of what the Olympics are supposed to be like. Despite our differences, it's still vitally important for countries and people to come together to share our similarities and all the good we have in common. What better way to bring those qualities out than through sport.

Maybe some things are worth holding on to and fighting for, no matter the cost.