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Fire marshal needs to show teeth Yellowknifer - Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Centre Square Mall, both its upper and lower levels, has been failing to meet accessibility standards in more ways than one for several years. The upper level of the mall remains without a ramp for people in wheelchairs or mothers with strollers to access the shopping centre. Derek Carmody, manager of the mall's upper level, said last fall he wanted the ramp built "before the snow flies." With winter once again looming, the mall is still without a ramp. The previous excuse of not being able to find a contractor to do the work loses credibility with every passing day. Wheelchair user Cor Van Dyke pointed out that the lower portion of the mall, although it does have a ramp, does not have push button doors, leaving Van Dyke, and anyone in a similar predicament, waiting for someone to open the doors. Fire marshal Steve Moss said push button doors will be included in an order to the lower mall to ensure 50 per cent of its entrances are wheelchair accessible. We'd like to believe this will spur mall management to take action, but based on the upper mall's reluctance to comply with Moss' ramp order, issued last February, there is nothing to indicate he's being taken seriously. It's the job of the fire marshal to make sure buildings follow national building code standards. When those responsible for managing the buildings clearly disregard timelines he imposes, he should be exercising his authority and related penalties, otherwise his role is diminished, if not rendered meaningless. Waterfront access a priority Yellowknifer - Wednesday, August 25, 2010 Debate is heating up over whether the owner of a residence on Ragged Ass Road should be allowed to expand his property to have room to park his vehicles. Land on the property owned by Hendrik Falck was lost after the city expanded the adjacent road in 1997. The space the Falcks are looking to gain is in the area of a walking path leading to the waterfront. Falck told city council he was hoping to find a solution that is satisfactory to all parties. Cutting off access to the trail is certainly not it. Falck deserves compensation for the land lost due to the widening of the road, either monetary or land elsewhere, but the arrangement must not cut off a route to the waterfront. City council should also ensure public access to waterfront through the purchase of the "government dock" from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Council discussed on Aug. 16 whether to buy the wharf for $1. As city administrator Robert Long pointed out, if the purchase becomes open to private buyers, public access could be restricted or lost all together. The city should take the offer, especially if it means Yellowknifers could have better parking and better management of the property.
Un-Canadian yes, but definitely Nunavut Editorial Comment Darrell Greer Kivalliq News - Wednesday, August 25, 2010 By the time you're reading this, I will be on vacation in Cape Breton, N.S. It's an important break for my wife and I, as we're spending it with my mom, who's now well into her eighth decade and very excited about our visit. I leave Kivalliq News in the very capable hands of Erika Sherk in my absence. Erika comes to us from Alberta and has spent time in Iqaluit, as well as Yellowknife, and will do a fine job at the helm during the next six weeks, I'm sure. I look forward to returning in the first week of October for another year in the best little region in Canada. See you then. While I had hoped my last week on the job before vacation would be relatively angst free, the Nunavut government sent my blood pressure through the roof, once again, with its maddening habit of openly defying almost every notion this great nation of ours was founded upon. To our government's way of thinking, the public only has the right to know what it wants to tell them, and individual rights are to be trampled at every opportunity. There have been a few people willing to talk behind the scenes about Tom Faess's past business practices. But, whether a businessman is always fair in the way he deals with other companies has absolutely nothing to do with the action taken against Faess recently. Truly scary is the fact what happened to Faess, apparently, can happen to any business owner in Nunavut as far as this government is concerned. Imagine a government rep walking into your place of business and telling you to lock your doors because a customer has complained against you. After it looks into the complaint, the government will then let you know if you can operate your business again. In other words, you're guilty until proven innocent. Even if the government does have a smoking gun to legitimately shut Faess's operations down in Nunavut, that in no way, shape or form justifies its handling of the matter. Taking Faess at his word as to how things played out, the way Economic Development and Transportation's Robert Connelly was instructed to handle the matter was pure bush league. And, if true, all Nunavummiut should be embarrassed and outraged by the actions taken against Faess. How would you feel if police officers were to pick you up tomorrow, throw you in jail without explanation, not tell you who you accuser is or what you're accused of, and let you sit there until they finished their investigation? That's the type of behaviour hundreds of thousands of men and women gave their lives to protect this country against! American photographer Lee Mann was bang on when he said such behaviour is un-Canadian. Unfortunately, while being terribly un-Canadian, this government continually goes out of its way to make it typical Nunavut behaviour. No matter what the end result, this is a huge black eye on our territory, self-inflicted by our own government.
A matter of life or death NWT News/North - Monday, August 23, 2010
The quicker operations can be initiated and the longer rescuers can search from the air without having to refuel, the better chance of survival. With that in mind, stationing search and rescue aircraft in the North is an obvious and necessary choice. Jack Kruger, the RCMP's search and rescue co-ordinator in the North, recommends the versatile Cormorant helicopter as the ideal Northern rescue vehicle. Basing the helicopter in Norman Wells would also make sense. Such a central Northern location would reduce response times in much of Nunavut and the NWT by between 30 minutes and eight hours. For someone on the ground fighting for life, every hour counts. The added benefit of a Northern military search aircraft would be an increase in search times. An aircraft beginning its operation in the North could search longer before having to stop and refuel. Factor in less fuel and the costs of search and rescue operations also decrease. If the ability to save those in distress isn't enough to make our government respond - and by its lack of action it obviously isn't - then we can always emphasize that having military search and rescue aircraft in the North will increase our presence and reinforce Arctic sovereignty. One additional spinoff benefit would be having personnel living in Norman Wells contributing the community's economy. Our MP, premier and aboriginal leaders should make sure the need for a military search and rescue aircraft in the North resounds in Ottawa. Sadly, it seems the federal government has yet to be convinced to save Northern lives.
Accountability should apply everywhere NWT News/North - Monday, August 23, 2010 Accountability should be a pillar of all governments. John Mantla, a Tlicho beneficiary, has strong criticism of the way his government conducts business. A 400-name petition calling for the resignation of the four Tlicho chiefs suggests he is not alone in that opinion. Unfortunately we cannot confirm whether the petition has merit as Tlicho government leaders would not speak to the issue, nor did they accept it as an item of business at the Tlicho Assembly in July. Mantla suggests that people in the Tlicho region are afraid to speak out against the government for fear of losing their jobs or being singled out in their small, tight-knit communities. If these fears are founded, the people in the region should feel free to speak their minds. Aboriginal governments will, and should have, distinct features. However, all systems of leadership should be accountable to their constituents. Measures must be in place to ensure governments that are not accountable face consequences. If not, leaders become dictators. The Tlicho government has a responsibility to acknowledge the petition and treat it seriously until it can be verified as meeting the test of law. Residents also have a responsibility to hold their government to account. If you signed this petition and truly believe in its intent then it is time for you to speak up.
Living at work Nunavut News/North - Monday, August 23, 2010 In the past, mining companies built towns to house their workers and their families during the life of the deposits. Now, of course, the current model is to fly workers in to the mine site and house them in camps for a set number of weeks before flying them back to their homes. But the townsite option is one that could still be considered for long-term mining projects in Nunavut. In Nanisivik's later years, one of its executives reflected that having a town site had been good for the mine. On the practice of fly-in, fly-out contracts at NWT's diamond mines John McConnell said, "They could have built a town rather than rotate workers. Many are missing the experience of seeing their kids grow up." The social effects of rotational shifts have been cited as one of their main drawbacks. Workers are away from their families during holidays, birthdays, graduations and other celebrations. It's a heavy burden on those left minding the home and the kids for weeks at a time without a break, and schools in places like Baker Lake report that absenteeism and behavioural issues with kids and teens often turn out to be linked to a lack of supervision at home as parents are away at a mine. But would mine towns attract more Inuit employees? Housing is certainly scarce in many communities and the promise of a brand new home may be an attractive lure. Past mining towns, prior to the emphasis on training Nunavummuit that exists today, tended to consist mostly of southerners living a replica of the southern lifestyle. In the example of Nanisivik, the town of about 350 was a fully-functional community complete with a school, nursing station, church, RCMP detachment, library, recreation centre, arena and pool, but despite its proximity to Arctic Bay, only a fraction of the mine's employees - about 30 -- were Inuit. A third of them were from Quebec, a third from Newfoundland and the rest from elsewhere, though the average tenure of a Nanisivik employee was a lengthy 15 years. When the mine shut down in the fall of 2002, these families boarded planes and left. Most of the buildings - including housing units that Arctic Bay had hoped to salvage -- were declared contaminated and destroyed. And as Hal Timar, president of the Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce, once observed in regards to establishing mining towns, "The whole idea of resettlement is a bit of a touchy subject with the Inuit." Proponents point to communities such as Rankin Inlet and Yellowknife as examples of mining towns that not only persisted after the mines closed, but thrived, developing other economic bases. But for every Rankin Inlet, there's a Nanisivik. Which approach is better - flying workers in and out or building a town? The answer may be different depending on your perspective, but the option of "taking your family to work" is still a valid one that companies should consider.
Crying racism Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, August 20, 2010
Earlier this month, a couple of family members camping at Fred Henne Park suggested their eviction was motivated by racist attitudes among park officials and RCMP officers. Those officials came to the family's campsite after quiet hours Aug. 2 to tell them they were being too noisy.
Ruth Casaway, a resident of Medicine Hat, Alta. who was in Yellowknife to attend her niece's funeral, said she planned to lodge a formal complaint. Parks officials and police would have handled the situation differently had she and her family not been of aboriginal descent, she said.
But her admission that her group - numbering up to 10 -- had been drinking and partying that night seriously harmed any chance that her cry of racism would be taken seriously.
If officers were rude and confrontational - an assertion that was disputed by another family member in a letter to the editor published in Yellowknifer Aug. 13 - it doesn't mean they were racist.
The fact is, whether you are aboriginal or not, if you're going to party and drink in a public campground after quiet hours, you stand a good chance of getting the boot and you shouldn't expect authorities to be entirely polite while they're doing their jobs.
National Dene Chief Bill Erasmus says aboriginal people in the city tend to face more racism than immigrants because of stereotypes associated with aboriginals, such as being drunk and homelessness, while immigrants are seen as hard-working and productive.
The existence of these perceptions is hard to dispute, even if held by only a minority of our population.
Three years ago, a senior federal government bureaucrat in Yellowknife was caught red-handed passing around a racist e-mail insulting to aboriginal women.
This bureaucrat's poor judgment showed that it's not just knuckle-dragging Neanderthals living in beaten up old trailers who harbour racist attitudes toward aboriginal people. Sadly, these attitudes still occur in the highest levels of government where one would expect to find more enlightened minds and a higher degree of sophistication.
By the same token, it does nothing to promote harmony and understanding to cry racism every time one has been challenged or feels abused. People are quite capable of being nasty to each other regardless of one's race.
Last month, a rural youth educator from the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights in Edmonton, Alta., visited Yellowknife and before her visit was complete, she expressed dismay at how poorly Yellowknife fared in a human rights test she administered to 10 young residents of the city.
Considering the small sample size of her group, and the questions asked - one prodded for their views on the presence of slavery in the city -- it would hardly seem an accurate reflection of how our city and territory have made serious efforts to help downtrodden citizens. A transition home for men and a day shelter for the homeless speak to that effort.
Racism and prejudice must be combatted on every level, but those who are quick to complain should be sure they are not levelling accusations without merit.
This, of course, isn't the case. Rivers, lakes, creeks and streams all have a level of interconnectivity and decisions that are made thousands of kilometres away can end up affecting the water that is within a stones throw of many Deh Cho houses.
This level of connectivity makes water stewardship and management all the more important and, therefore, programs that support it. One example of this kind of initiative is the Aboriginal Aquatic Resource and Oceans Management program (AAROM).
The program provides funding to aboriginal groups to allow them to acquire the administrative capacity and scientific expertise to participate in aquatic resource and oceans management.
The Dehcho First Nations' is overseeing the program while the communities establish individualized programs.
Participation in AAROM is important for Deh Cho communities. It's allowing them to reinforce traditional knowledge with scientific data.
The communities with established programs such as Trout Lake are gathering baseline data that will allow them to track any changes that take place in their traditional waterways. The data will provide quantifiable proof of the changes.
In each community, however, there have to be individuals who are interested in gathering the data and making the observations. The Youth Ecology Camp that was held at Ekhali Lake last week provided the atmosphere for fostering that interest in the younger generation.
Through interesting, hands on activities the eight youth participants learned more than they every realized there was to know about the ecology of the lake. Students examined everything from the lake as a whole unit down to its smallest microscopic zooplankton parts. The camp, unsurprisingly, was partially funded by AAROM.
As the industrialization of Canada and the world moves forward access to clean, fresh water will become increasingly important. By taking the right steps now and installing an interest in the youth the Deh Cho can position itself in an enviable position to protect its pristine water resources.
That's what a group of local residents are striving for as they organize Inuvik's upcoming soon-to-be annual multicultural heritage festival, calling on all groups - from here and from away - to cook up a traditional dish and get involved in the town's celebration of its own localized cultural mosaic.
As former mayor Peter Clarkson put it, "any time people can get out and socialize and celebrate as a community, it's a healthy, good thing to do." Few people would disagree with that, especially since Inuvik's population - according to the 2006 census - includes sizeable Arab, African, Chinese, Filipino and South Asian communities for a town its size, as well as a good mix of folks from Gwich'in, Inuvialuit, Metis, Dene and European descents. Inuvik has attracted people from across Canada and all over the world - a fact worth celebrating.
But that fact alone is not enough for Inuvik to claim to be a truly diverse community. We have to reflect that diversity not just on our census forms but in our attitudes and actions toward others, particularly those who are different from us.
Ours is a generally open and accepting community, it's true. But as I walked into the library last Friday afternoon to cover Inuvik's first-ever gay pride event to find five other people in a mostly empty room - the same room where only a week earlier nearly double the number of residents had sat during the first planning session for the multicultural heritage day - it struck me just how much work we still have left to do when it comes to promoting acceptance of all types of diversity in our town. I'm not suggesting the lack of bodies in the room equates a local lack of support for human rights, nor does it necessarily mean that homophobic attitudes are prevalent in town. But it does mean we as a community need to work harder to visibly show our support for equality and take a stand against discrimination on all levels - in our homes, our schools, our workplaces and on our public streets. The upcoming heritage day on Sept. 18, as well as next year's planned gay pride event, are prime opportunities to demonstrate that kind of support, and, ideally, gain a greater understanding of what it means to be a truly diverse community.
Katie May is interim editor of Inuvik Drum. Andrew Rankin will return in September.
Corrections In the Aug, 18 edition of Yellowknifer, a business brief erroneously stated the wrong location for the upcoming Prospects North conference. The event will occur at The Explorer Hotel. Yellowknifer apologizes for the confusion.
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