 |
|
|
|
|
Subscriber pages
 News Desk
Columnists
Editorial
Readers comment
Tenders
Demo pages Here's a sample of what only subscribers see Subscribe now Subscribe to both hardcopy or internet editions of NNSL publications |
Pre-kindergarten clash Yellowknifer - Wednesday, May 26, 2010
What could possibly be wrong with that? It is robbing daycares of pint-sized clients, that's the problem. Some parents may argue that it's a free market and they should be able to enrol their toddler wherever they want. The difference, of course, is that the Yk 1 school board is using $150,000 in public money to pay for its latest educational venture. Surely the public school board means well. It has set out to attract three to five-year-olds who could benefit from a structured learning environment - getting a grasp of their colours and letters - before they start kindergarten. Even more enticing for parents, there will be no charge to send their child to the summer school from June through August. Linda Benedict, executive director of the Yellowknife Day Care Association, argues that existing daycares and day homes already offer basic lessons. She also says some may perceive the Yk 1 summer school as self-serving because it may land more students in public schools by fall. Whether that was part of the motive or not, there should have been some discussion with existing daycares and day homes. The public school board should have given first priority to low-income families and then charged fees to those who can afford it. That revenue should then have been turned over to daycares as compensation for kids who were pulled from their businesses. Parents seeking childcare in our city have gone through some lean times while trying to find openings for their youngsters. Benedict predicted the public school board's summer program - pitched as a one-time initiative - won't force her daycare to close. We hope this holds true for the other operations. Northern Tikes and Kid's First Child Development Centre are already history. We can't afford to lose more.
Courting a better relationship Yellowknifer - Wednesday, May 26, 2010 The GNWT has finally exercised better judgement and withdrawn its request to have the courts decide whether the territorial government has the right to impose a caribou hunting ban on aboriginal hunters. Last week, Premier Floyd Roland said the Feb. 12 legal motion isn't necessary because the GNWT has chosen instead to work with aboriginal governments on a political solution. It's about time. Who came up with the idea of a court challenge anyway? Roland hails from Inuvik while deputy premier and Environment Minister Michael Miltenberger comes from Fort Smith. They've both been MLAs since 1995 and have had plenty of interaction with aboriginal governments. Justice Minister Jackson Lafferty, who filed the question in the courts, comes from Behchoko and is in his second term in the legislative assembly. These politicians obviously forgot the way to build government-to-government relations is not through the courts. This issue is about not only preserving the dwindling Bathurst caribou herd, but fostering co-operation and understanding between the GNWT and the First Nations and Metis. That's done through respectful words exchanged and hands outreached, not clutching court documents in an attempted power play.
New program should have more than shareholders smiling Editorial Comment Darrell Greer Kivalliq News - Wednesday, May 26, 2010 Much of the outrage over premature reports on how the new food mail program would look should quell after it was officially unveiled this past Friday in Iqaluit. In an interview with Kivalliq News a few months back, Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq said Nunavummiut had spoken, and were quite adamant they did not want to see individual food mail orders eliminated. She also said she was lobbying hard to have some form of country food included in the new program. And, if the new Nutrition North Canada program rolls out the way it's been indicated, Aglukkaq was true to her word and delivered on both counts. A refreshing change of pace for a Conservative government which, all too often, adopts the attitude of knowing what's best for Northerners, no matter what they actually say on matters. Contrary to the popular belief running rampant before this past Friday's announcement, individual retailers have not been excluded from the new Nutrition North Canada program. This is a solid move on behalf of consumer interests, and will allow smaller retailers at least the chance to compete with the buying power of large operations such as the Northern store and local Co-ops. There are still some very bright red flags in the new program, however. The biggest of which is the government's contention a system will be devised to ensure our largest retailers do, in fact, pass on savings to the consumer. In fact, the majority of Nunavummiut do not trust the larger stores to pass the savings along, and worry the new program will simply allow them to earn even bigger profits. And, in the case of the Northern store, we're talking about an entity (North West Co.) that made $81.8 million in profits from $1.4 billion in sales this past year. A large percentage of profit in anyone's books. That being said, let's not forget the fact the Northern store and the Co-ops are here, supplying goods and employing a respectable number of people in our territory. They are also near the top of the business community's list of frequent donors to a wide variety of events throughout the year. However, it would be wise for the feds to remember they are businesses, and the program has to be completely transparent if it is not to be abused. Taking for granted the feds will actually listen to it once it's established, we also applaud the choice of Elizabeth Copland to head an advisory board to give Northerners a direct voice in the program and provide advice to its management and effectiveness. The decision to offer a higher rate of subsidy to nutritious perishable foods such as fruits, vegetables, bread, fresh meats, milk and eggs is also a solid one. If the feds stick to their word and implement the new program the way it's been laid out, it's a solid plan that should benefit the vast majority of people in Nunavut, and put a smile on the face of a lot more folks than just shareholders in the Northern store and Co-op operations.
Bridge failure reflects poorly on NWT NWT News/North - Monday, May 24, 2010
Despite many questions about the need for a bridge, the project held significant potential for the territory. If it had been done properly, the bridge's construction could have demonstrated our ability to manage and complete a major infrastructure project in a public/private partnership. Building a bridge requires tremendous expertise in engineering, trades work, fiscal management and logistics. Showcasing those skills in our communities could have been a boon if and when the GNWT argues our need for the Mackenzie Valley Highway, a project that will dwarf the Deh Cho Bridge. Instead of promoting NWT business and industry, the GNWT put us on the national stage cast as Jacques Clouseau of bridge building. Work began before a final design was even in place, costs have climbed more than $20 million; the GNWT has been forced to take over the bridge's entire debt or lose investors; delays were caused by the loss of the main supplier; construction errors, etc. Unfortunately no one outside the NWT will know that the fault isn't with the investors, or the engineers, not even the project managers. No, the fault lies squarely on the shoulders of GNWT and the legacy of zero oversight created by Handley when he and his cabinet unilaterally pushed the project through. There might, however, be a light at the end of this collapsing tunnel. An audit is being planned to uncover what went wrong from the inception to semi-erection of the bridge. Hopefully, the audit will uncover the mistakes. One thing is certain: the GNWT misled the public on the risk to taxpayers inherent in its rushed and poorly conceived management plan. From start to middle, due diligence was not done to ensure the bridge project ran smoothly. Now all we can do is watch as the GNWT tries to salvage the operation and pray it doesn't cost any more than it already has. We predict a $200 million price tag by the time the first vehicle drives over the Mackenzie River.
Oil spill kits useless without the know-how Nunavut News/North - Monday, May 24, 2010 Back in 1989 the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on a reef near the Alaskan coastline, spilling 42 million litres of oil. The spill killed an estimate 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbour seals, 247 bald eagles and 22 orca whales. Years after the spill, chronic exposure to oil was still resulting in salmon eggs not hatching at rates higher than normal, and marine mammals and ducks still had high death rates due to eating oil-contaminated prey. Drilling for oil in the Beaufort Sea may begin in the next few years. Drilling for oil off the coast of Greenland in the Davis Strait is set to begin this summer. Ship traffic through the Northwest Passage is increasing, and so is the unpredictability of ice conditions. The steadily increasing risk of a spill in Arctic waters is far outpacing the preparations to deal with them. Oil spill clean-up kits have been shipped to communities but only Resolute is scheduled to receive training this summer on how to use them, and that's only because the military and coast guard happen to be conducting exercises in the area. The coast guard says new training materials are in development, but there's no estimate yet when they will be ready. In the meantime, these kits are essentially useless without instruction on their deployment. Inuit still rely heavily on the land and the sea for food. Nunavummiut need assurance from the federal and territorial governments that we will have the expertise along with the tools to combat an oil spill, if and when a slick soils our seas, and that the crisis response will be a lot quicker than these snail-pace preparations.
Doctors for all? Nunavut News/North - Monday, May 24, 2010 Recently the federal government announced an additional $7 million in funding to the University of Manitoba Northern and Remote Family Medicine Residency Program to create 15 new residency positions. One of those positions will be in Nunavut, presumably in the Kivalliq region. Sandy Macdonald, the Department of Health and Social Services' director of medical affairs, said the department's goal is to eventually have a full-time family doctor stationed in every community. Residency programs are good fishing spots from which to recruit new doctors. What new doctors lack in experience they often make up for by being versed in the newest guidelines and practices. Many new doctors, as well as older doctors seeking new challenges, look for opportunities where their skills cannot only help individuals but aid the well-being of a community - and often they look overseas. Communities in Nunavut are just as desperate for medical care, and even more isolated. Nunavut's current recruitment strategy is to encourage doctors to take a short-term position in the territory to see whether working here suits them. Family practice residents typically spend up to a year in their chosen posting - giving those posted to the North a more comprehensive idea of what's involved. The day where there is a doctor in every community is a long way off, since until we have an Akitsiraq-type program to train Nunavummiut as doctors, we'll have to keep relying on southern recruitment efforts. One extra residency post is just a drop in the bucket, but at least it's still another drop.
Sandy Lee's losing battle Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, May 21, 2010
According to the minister, extending the program would provide benefits to 1,700 to 2,300 non-aboriginal residents, many of them children, who are currently not covered by third-party insurance to pay for items such as prescriptions, eyeglasses, and dental care. Currently, only seniors over 60, persons with certain chronic illnesses or their caregivers, and those residents on income support are eligible for supplementary health benefits. Lee argues many residents currently without coverage are the "working poor" who pay for prescriptions out-of-pocket - if and when they can. Her department would like those who can afford it, including seniors who currently get extended health benefits for free, to pay a portion. That way, she argues, everyone gets coverage and the government, which pays about $6.1 million a year for the benefits, can afford to deliver them. For her troubles, Lee has been accused of wanting to put a "tax on the sick and elderly," and deepening divisions between non-aboriginals and aboriginal residents whose extended health coverage is paid for by the federal government. Questioning the government's morals on this issue, as Kam Lake MLA Dave Ramsay did last week, is questionable in itself. The intent is to aid those who cannot afford some health basics. That's an honourable objective. But as we've said before, Lee is her own worst enemy, and for the second time in two years, she has allowed the opposition to her proposed changes to frame the debate. Where are her rebuttals to the multiple letters and guests columns in our paper condemning the changes? Why does she insist on allowing her departmental bureaucrats to make the arguments for her? A politician should know she's in trouble when there's a picture of Jan Stirling - the NWT's Governor General's Award-winning nurse - in the newspaper picketing against her proposed health care changes. Then again, that would explain why Lee keeps stalling, as she did Wednesday when she extended the implementation date to Nov. 1. We still believe this issue would be best settled during the territorial election next year, but if given a choice between co-payments and some other form of taxation to cover expanded supplementary health benefits we, and many others, would choose the latter. How about a small payroll tax increase? The list of revenue options unveiled by the territorial government in 2008 proposes $20 million can be made if the payroll tax was increased by just one per cent to three per cent total. One thing is for sure, Lee and her department are losing the public image war, and it's unlikely they will ever be able to convince anybody that co-payments are the way to go. Certainly, some seniors can afford to pay 20 per cent, but even if they're well-heeled it's not in the territory's interest to risk driving them out by shaking them down to pay for their heart medication.
Power users can't refuse this gift Editorial Comment Roxanna Thompson Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, May 20, 2010
It's hard not to be excited about the money savings that will start in October. To begin with in the winter months of September to March the Territorial Power Subsidy Program will subsidize all residential customers for the first 1,000 kilowatt hours to the Yellowknife rate of approximately 26 cents per kW-h. This is an increase from the previous 700 kW-h. The current subsidy is enough to cover 55 per cent of residents in the Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC) Thermal Zone during the winter. An additional 25 per cent of residents, however, use between 700 to 1,000 kW-h. Those additional hours will now be subsidized. A final 15 per cent use more than 1,000. Residents in the Deh Cho communities of Fort Simpson, Wrigley, Jean Marie River, Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte will now only pay 49 cents per kW-h when they go over the subsidy limit in the winter. For the other five months the new subsidy limit will be 600 kW-h. Forty-nine cents is a pittance compared to the 166.40 cents per kW-h that's currently paid in Nahanni Butte, the 148.70 in Jean Marie River, and even the 73.45 in Fort Simpson. Residents in the zone should rejoice. Businesses have also hit a break. In the communities of the NTCP Thermal Zone, they will only pay 42 cents per kW-h. In Nahanni Butte the commercial rate is currently 214.65. That's a decrease of 80.4 per cent - the largest in the territory. It seems with the changes to the electricity rates, the territorial government has finally done something concrete that reduces the cost of living and cost of business in the territory. The rates might not be as low as some people had hoped, but they are certainly a step in the right direction. All these reductions, however, seem almost too good to be true. A lot of people won't be convinced that there isn't some hidden clause or catch until the first electricity bills are delivered at the end of October. The doubters are right in some ways. Businesses will be paying less for electricity, but it remains to be seen if those savings will be passed on to customers. There's also the question of what the rates will be for Northland Utilities' thermal customers. The territorial government is still in discussions with the company - which are expected to last until the fall, at least. Finally, many will be watching to see if the low electricity rate dream ends in two years when NTPC will be able to submit a new general rate application. Yes, with the announced changes the territorial government has seemingly done a lot to help residents and businesses, but the real proof will only come with time.
Hope in the face of suffering Editorial Comment Andrew Rankin Inuvik Drum - Thursday, May 20, 2010 We know Eskimo Inn won't be opening up any time soon. It's expected Dowland Contracting will now be using the space to house and feed its employees who are involved in construction projects in town. That's a positive or a negative depending on how you want to look at it. It was probably a wise business move by hotel management given the sky-high overhead costs they're likely dealing with. Yes, there a few lucrative construction projects happening in town but how long will they last and what are we left with afterwards -- several government-owned buildings, none of which will provide the kind of revenue the town needs, especially considering how many here have overextended themselves financially in the hopes that the pipeline will arrive sooner rather than later. It's anybody's guess when and if approval might come. The federal government doesn't appear to be too interested in pouring significant money into the project, which is needed if it's to go ahead. It's also sad to see that a member of the local business community, Caribou Cafe, will be without a home at the end of the month. The restaurant with the best food in town will have to set up shop somewhere else now that the Eskimo is closing. Who knows when that will happen. And who knows what will happen to the Eskimo Inn once the contract between Dowland and the Mackenzie Group expires. But then there's some good news. Two businesswomen, Debbie Karl and Moe Grant, have decided to resurrect the town's coffee shop that was closed last November. It's refreshing to see how much energy and passion they're putting into the project, which they hope to have completed and open for business during the first week of June. They've given the old Cafe Gallery a complete facelift and have purchased all-new equipment to go inside. They're determined to make it work. No doubt they'll get plenty of support from residents. I like that they want it to be a kind of entertainment venue where residents can showcase their talent. There's a lot to showcase. Personally I've missed having a coffee shop in town and I know when it was here I took it for granted. Like Karl and Grant, I think a coffeehouse is essential to any community. Luckily we have a few entrepreneurial types who are willing to do what it takes to make it happen.
|
