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Power review zaps Yk
Wednesday, December 2, 2009

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As a city with a high cost of living, Yellowknife, home to half the territory's population, needs power rates that are reasonable and competitive.

Yet, in its most recent electricity assessment, the territorial government's review panel has shown it does not understand this. Fortunately the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce and city council have been quick to point out why.

The review's key sticking points for Yellowknife are a proposed 10 per cent hike to the city's power rate, and that the Northwest Territories Power Corporation be the sole distributor of energy in the territory.

In essence, this increase in the city's power costs would help offset cheaper rates in the outlying diesel and natural gas communities for businesses and households which surpass the monthly subsidized rate of 700 kW/h. So the GNWT may force us to support the commercial users who burn up plenty of energy in the NWT's hamlets while our own residents and businesses pay more.

The government claims that assigning the power corporation as sole distributor in the territory would keep rates low, yet the power corp. has a poor track record of creating efficiencies, particularly at a managerial level.

Competition, as Yk Chamber of Commerce president Patrick Doyle remarked, will best ensure that rates are kept within reason.

The government must hear out the concerns of the city's chamber and city council.

So long as Yellowknife, the territory's economic heartbeat, stays strong, then benefits will flow to the extremities.

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More incentives needed for film
Wednesday, December 2, 2009

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Another TV show set in Yellowknife made its debut in November.

Ice Pilots NWT is an entertaining reality show following Yellowknife-based Buffalo Airways' staff and crew. The show, which airs on History Television, which is also home to Ice Road Truckers, highlights increasing interest in the North from the film and television industry.

One disappointment in the NWT's growing TV fame is that it's not leading to job creation for Northerners.

Rather than employing our residents, southern companies bring up crews to do the filming and then they pack up and head back to Vancouver or Toronto.

We're compelled to ask the GNWT: where are the financial incentives for NWT filmmakers? How is it the Yukon is capitalizing on film and growing the industry in their territory while the NWT sits idly by?

Investing in a homegrown film industry would not only create jobs but further promote tourism for the NWT.

It's long overdue for the territorial government to take its cue on this missed opportunity.

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Golden future for Rankin?
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, December 2, 2009

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It didn't take a few communities long to question a plan for a new arena complex for Rankin Inlet being in the Government of Nunavut's capital budget.

After all, Rankin is Community and Government Services Minister Lorne Kusugak's hometown.

Anyone who pays attention to such things knows Kusugak was instrumental in bringing artificial ice to Rankin while serving as hamlet mayor, and is a staunch supporter of local minor and senior hockey.

He has also lobbied for a new community hall for his community for a number of years, and has proven himself to be nothing short of a pure pit bull of determination when he sets his sights on obtaining something for Rankin.

So what does this all mean.

Well, first of all, it means Rankin constituents are fortunate to have had Kusugak work on behalf of their community for as long as he has – and for as long as he continues to do so.

That also means nobody in Rankin should feel the urge to apologize to anyone for the developments Kusugak brings their way.

Now let's be straightforward about this.

Many communities did not get the projects on their wish list, and we would like to see every one receive the infrastructure they so desperately require.

But that does not change the fact Rankin needs, and deserves, a new arena complex.

Anyone who has spent any amount of time in Rankin knows how much the old existing structure is used, and how many times people have to be turned away due to a lack of space.

They also know how hard a dedicated group of volunteers, hamlet and government workers, minor and senior league executives and the people, themselves, have worked to make hockey such a major part of life in Rankin.

Nowhere else in the North do you see such support for our nation's favourite pastime, and that's one of the things that makes Rankin such a very special place to live.

But there may be a great deal more to the story.

Kusugak has almost always been able to get his ducks in a row and be ready for developments before they happen.

And the new arena complex just may be another example of that.

Let's say, for example, Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. was about to make a major announcement on the Meliadine gold project.

Pure speculation and conjecture on our part, agreed, but the timing is certainly right.

With Meadowbank complete in Baker Lake, barges would only be needed for resupply and Agnico could divert its attention to Rankin.

And, what better time than the hoopla surrounding the first gold brick out of Meadowbank for Agnico to announce it has taken full control of Meliadine and will start construction immediately?

The timelines are almost too good to be true for Rankin.

At the same time the first gold brick comes out of Meliadine, a brand-new arena complex would be casting its own glow over the hamlet.

The future just may be so bright, folks in Rankin will have to wear shades.

And who can really argue with that?

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Strange politics
NWT News/North - Monday, November 30, 2009

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Usually when politicians depart from their party's position it is in an effort to support their constituents. However, Senator Nick Sibbeston's latest proclamation has baffled many Northerners.

In his best impersonation of a neo-conservative, the Liberal senator stood up at a chamber of commerce luncheon in Yellowknife a few weeks ago and revealed a pro-business, anti-social-program manifesto.

Sibbeston recommended that money used for social programming and government social work positions be cut and funneled into business development.

Perhaps our senator has been spending so much time in Ottawa he has forgotten the realities of the North.

The statistics for drug and alcohol use are staggering. In 2006 the NWT addictions survey revealed that 55 per cent of territorial residents had experienced harm caused by another person's drinking.

The RCMP consistently reports that many of its calls, especially those to do with domestic assault, involve drugs and alcohol.

Yet, our senator believes that social workers and others working to combat those issues "don't produce a great deal."

Sibbeston idealistically thinks if the NWT invests more in jobs and training, addicts will simply sober up, get clean and become hardworking, productive members of society.

He quotes Osoyoos Chief Clarence Louie saying, "Sometimes the best social program is a job," to support his remarks. However, he conveniently omitted that Louie, who has been credited for turning the Osoyoos First Nation into an economic powerhouse and improving the living conditions of his people, also once said that "a healthy person wants to work."

In fact, Louie, who Sibbeston cites as an inspiration, has expressed his full support of social funding as long as that programming is funded adequately and built by his own people.

In an article on the website of New Relationship Trust - a First Nations' advocacy group -- Louie's perspective is presented as follows: "He encourages an economic development focus with the ultimate goal of funding social programs such as healing and culture through business profits."

Louis is quoted saying, "Everything is underfunded ... (and) everything is a priority."

If Sibbeston was serious about improving social conditions through employment, he would fight to create a population that is ready to work.

Job training, education, programs to combat addictions and other counselling services are vital to developing an employable population and ensuring it remains working. Instrumental in that process are the 160 social workers in the NWT.

Aboriginal groups in the NWT have shown they disagree with Sibbeston's position. Mackenzie Valley Pipeline negotiations have included a demand for funding to help reduce resulting social impacts. In response, the federal government committed $500 million for just that. Aboriginal groups and communities along the proposed pipeline route welcomed the news, but some argued that more than $500 million was needed.

We'd all dearly love to transform everyone with an addiction or anger management problem into a successful entrepreneur by putting them in a suit and giving them a business licence, but, realistically, that's just not going to happen. Those people need professional help to address their deep-rooted problems.

Sibbeston shouldn't be faulted for pushing for a stronger base for NWT business, but he was out of bounds in calling for that money to come out of much needed social programming.

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Expanding abroad
Nunavut News/North - Monday, November 30, 2009

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There's always a deal to be had.

The global recession has made a dent in Nunavut's seal skin sales - fashion designers don't spend big bucks when they're losing lots of money - but it was the European Union's ban on commercial seal imports that dealt a serious blow to the sealing industry in the territory.

The 27 European countries that supported the decision argued that the Canadian seal hunt is cruel. Although the door to trade was theoretically left open a crack for Nunavummiut hunters who kill the animals for traditional purposes, it's widely understood that shutting out the commercial hunt is going to harm Inuit harvesters.

That evidence has been mounting already, even over the past few years when the European Union was merely contemplating a seal ban. Out of 11,000 skins available, not one Nunavut seal pelt was sold through the Fur Harvester's Auction in North Bay, Ont., earlier this year.

Last year only 500 seal skins were sold at an average price of $55. Compare that to 2004, when the auction resulted in 7,800 seal pelts sold at $67.02 on average.

There are nearly 1,200 sealers in Nunavut, so the steep sales decline was bound to have an effect.

Sensing the pinch that households relying on sales were bound to feel from the crash, the Government of Nunavut stepped in and snapped up thousands of seal skins from territorial hunters. That left the GN sitting on a stockpile of nearly 12,000 pelts. Nearly 4,000 have already been sold to businesses and individuals within Nunavut over the past year and a half which makes the territorial market an important one.

This can only be viewed as a temporary solution. The longer-term goal should be to entice overseas customers like China and Russia to pick up the slack in sales. This is promising.

China hasn't been immune to the global economic collapse since the third quarter of 2008, but it's largely viewed as the world's future financial powerhouse.

While China had already been one of the largest consumers of seal pelts prior to the European Union's dismissal of the commercial hunt, there is room to make further inroads in the Chinese market.

Yet the GN should also be looking to countries like Japan, Korea and Norway, rather than depending solely on the rebounding Chinese and Russian marketplaces.

It's going to take some crafty marketing and smooth sales work, but Nunavut's seal industry can become profitable again.

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Hard-hearted bureaucracy
Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, November 27, 2009

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The plight of Timothee and Helen Caisse is a cautionary tale for all bureaucrats who deal with the public.

We must presume that not even the hardest-hearted members of the public service would wish the sort of week the Caisses endured earlier this month.

The elderly couple drove into town on a near-empty gas tank, with all their belongings, presuming there would be keys waiting for them to their new apartment supplied by the Yellowknife Housing Authority.

The Caisses, who for 16 years lived in a shack off Highway 3, were expecting Income Security with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, to cover their damage deposit. The couple, both of whom are physically disabled, live off of Timothee's Canada Pension Plan disability payments - amounting to less than $800 a month. But there was a mix up at Income Security, and the housing authority wasn't assured the damage deposit was covered. The housing agency consequently refused to let the couple move into their publicly-subsidized apartment.

Out of gas and out of money, the couple hunkered down in their Jeep. They spent the night there in subzero temperatures, and then another night because there was no one they could find to speak to on Nov. 11 - a statutory holiday.

Helen went to stay with family in Behchoko on Nov. 12 while Timothee endured one more night out in the cold. He was finally able to sort everything out on Nov. 13, a Friday, and move into the apartment. By then, both Timothee and Helen were sick.

Jim White, chief executive officer of the housing authority, said rules are rules in an attempt to excuse his agency's treatment of the couple. They couldn't guarantee they would have the money, so they weren't let in.

Its understandable that the agency is wary of people trying to scam the system, but next time, particularly if it's winter and they're dealing with clients who are elderly and sick, maybe they should ask them if they have a place to go before throwing them into the street.

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Caribou management
Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, November 26, 2009

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On Nov. 23 staff with Environment Canada held a community meeting in Fort Simpson to gather information from residents about boreal caribou. Boreal caribou have been listed as a threatened species under the federal Species at Risk Act. Because of their status a national recovery strategy is being developed to protect them.

Fort Simpson was the first of 26 communities in the territory that will be visited.

The purpose of the community meetings is to gather local knowledge about factors contributing to the caribou decline and what information to consider when a recovery strategy is written.

However, the real question is, who should be responsible for protecting boreal caribou in the Deh Cho? I

Who better to look after the future of a species like boreal caribou than the people who have a vested interest in its survival? The people who travel on the land for traditional activities like harvesting have decades of stored first hand experience and teachings that allows them to tell if things are changing for a species.

The people who have a history with the land and have successfully utilized a species for untold generations, like members of the first nations in the Deh Cho, naturally feel they should be the ones setting conservation guidelines for boreal caribou.

It rankles when another group, who may have never set foot on the land, lays out guidelines for how things ought to and will proceed.

In the Deh Cho a conversation about protecting boreal caribou can quickly turn into a conversation about settling land negotiations and implementing the Dehcho Land Use Plan.

The Dehcho First Nations and Acho Dene Koe First Nation are both negotiating with the federal and territorial governments. Neither group has a settled land claim and both are negotiating self-government powers.

Who will have control of and responsibility for the land and the animals that live on it is an important part of these discussions.

The Dehcho Land Use Plan also looms large on the discussion table. If the plan was implemented development could be restricted in certain areas. Decisions on possible development projects could be made keeping the best interest of boreal caribou in mind.

The argument goes that given the necessary tools and power the Dehcho First Nations and Acho Dene Koe First Nation are more than capable of managing boreal caribou with little to no outside influence.

Everyone can agree that boreal caribou need to be protected but until deeper, more political issues, in the Deh Cho are settled a conversation about what's best for boreal caribou will always be about a lot more than ungulates that like lichen.

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Celebrating CBQM
Editorial Comment
Andrew Rankin
Inuvik Drum - Thursday, November 26, 2009

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Arriving at the community centre on Friday to watch Dennis Allen's public showing of CBQM: The Biggest Little Radio Station in the North, I knew little about the man or the movie. I only knew that it centres on the Fort McPherson community radio station.

What I understood going in was that Allen was born and raised here, he's a pretty accomplished artist and people here, from what I gather, think a lot of him.

Frankly, I was mesmerized by the film. I don't think I was the only one who felt that way, judging by what I saw and heard that evening. I even saw a few tears shed.

It was a unique and impressively original glimpse into a community institution that is essentially a lifeline for its residents.

I'm not an expert on filmmaking but I have some experience with the difficulty of piecing together meaningful stories whether for radio or print. There were a lot of aspects of the film to marvel at. Refreshingly, there was nothing contrived about it. What comes immediately to mind are the characters introduced in the film, all ordinary citizens volunteering in one way or another at the station but each seemed to have humour and spirit in spades. Even more surprising was that they were unphazed by having a camera documenting their lives. It was as if they were all veteran actors. The imagery was stunning, notably the slow moving ice flowing down the river or the scene where an elderly couple are quietly going about their business at a camp on the land while the radio airs CBQM in the background.

The style with which Allen went about combining the images and scenes together in such a taut, near rapid fire way surely had to be an enormous challenge. Never mind the fact he shot 60 hours of film.

After the showing, Allen said he thought most people were drawn to the movie because it offers a community that viewers can almost feel a part of, especially at a time when many feel disconnected to their own. That statement resonated with me. I didn't grown up in Fort McPherson, but there were a lot of characters who I could identify with in the film.

Coincidentally, the next night, I arrived at the old-time dance at Ingamo Hall ready to take some photos for the Drum. I listened to the fiddle music and watched the dancers. Then I found myself reminded of the square dances back home in Cape Breton. I wanted to dance, so I did because it felt natural. Whether I looked natural is another story. I did feel a sense of commonality while I was there.

I think the magic of the film is its ability to not only show how people yearn to be part of something greater than themselves, but sometimes in such a setting it brings out the best in them. If many of us focused on what we have in common rather than what we don't, the world would likely be a better place.

I'd like to think that was, at least, one of Allen's themes.