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Let's grasp the golden tourism ring Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, August 27, 2010
The north country has always held romantic appeal among southerners, but the NWT typically takes a backseat to the Yukon's Klondike fame and the polar bears and inukshuks of Nunavut. That has changed somewhat in recent years, due in no small part to the proliferation of reality TV shows filmed in the NWT, including Ice Road Truckers and more recently, Ice Pilots NWT. Many Yellowknifers have long considered Alex Debogorski and "Buffalo Joe" McBryan to be real characters but they're also big-time international stars now with fans from all around the world. Both men spent time in the U.S. this summer promoting their respective shows. McBryan represented Ice Pilots at an air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin last month where Buffalo Airways was the star attraction. More than a million people passed through the gates, many of them pumping him, he said, for information on the NWT. "These people want to come here," he told Yellowknifer, while chiding the territorial government for missing an opportunity to market the territory. Doug Doan, assistant deputy minister for programs and operations for the Department of Industry, Tourism, and Investment, said the government will definitely consider attending the air show next year. That's good news because, to borrow the GNWT's parlance, "we need to work together" to ensure we reach our tourism potential, which is vital to creating a diversified economy in the NWT. The number of visitors to the NWT had been climbing over the last seven years to 79,572 in 2008 from 64,251 in 2004. Visitors spent $137.9 million in 2008, but their number dropped to 73,419 and $130.3 million in spending last year - a drop that was largely attributed to the weakening global economy. Tough times will likely remain for some time yet, and competition for fewer tourism dollars will be furious. Surely with the rising popularity of TV shows featuring McBryan and Debogorski we can do better in getting the word out, but aside from a need for a more co-ordinated approach, there are other problems that must be addressed. The caribou crash has left hunting outfitters in the lurch and desperate to sell their businesses, and fishing lodges aren't doing much better either as younger generations tend to opt for other activities. That's why the territorial government would be wise to promote tourism activities that don't require a bank loan, but doing so will require more investments in roads and campgrounds to attract more highway traffic. And for those tempted to fly - to Yellowknife at least due to lower air fares - it's important to find more things for tourists to do here rather than expect people to hop on another plane for a $10,000 lodge trip. Rick Barry and his daughter Jennifer had the right idea when they re-opened the Prelude Lake Marina last summer, but the Yellowknives Dene should get on board too. Why not do interpretive boat tours of Great Slave Lake? Surely, tourists would line up for that. There is plenty of tourism potential in the NWT, bridging the gap between desire and capability will be the hardest part.
Taking a cultural impression Editorial Comment Roxanna Thompson Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, August 26, 2010
The Sambaa K'e Dene Band wants to build a cultural centre to house social programs within the community. But the band doesn't want a run-of-the-mill prefabricated building.
The leadership wants a building that will reflect their culture and the land they live on. The idea is the building itself should embody some of the values and lessons to be taught within it. To get to the end goal of a building the band is taking what may seem to be a rather circular route but it is one other Deh Cho communities should keep an eye on. On their way to the building Trout Lake is setting up a print studio. The two things, a cultural centre and a print studio, seem to have little link to each other. How can an etching press, ink, brushes and specialized paper be a stepping stone to the construction of a facility? The studio, however, is more about the process of designing the building and incorporating a sense of the locality and culture rather than getting four walls and a roof up as expeditiously as possible. Learning the skills of printmaking and the prints themselves are tools to engage residents in the design process. Through the prints residents will be providing hints of what's important to them in terms of culture. The sharing will also open verbal forms of communication. On one hand they will have what was desired in the first place, a building to hold programs in and pass on traditions. As an added bonus members of the community will have the skills needed to run a print studio. While it may be a little premature to envision Trout Lake as the Northwest Territories equivalent to Cape Dorset there is no reason why it couldn't be. As long as residents have the desire to learn the skills and use them the community could be on its way. So on its way to a cultural centre that will truly reflect their community Trout Lake is getting an additional tool to further promote and protect its culture. Preservation of culture is an important topic throughout the region. People in every community are concerned about the loss of language as well as traditional practices ranging from hunting and trapping skills to moosehide tanning to quill work. If Trout Lake succeeds in engaging the community and reaching the desired building it could be laying a path for other communities to follow. Using a print studio to develop a cultural centre seems counterintuitive right now but it could prove to be the best route. Mixed messages Editorial Comment Katie May Inuvik Drum - Thursday, August 26, 2010
I can't fulfil my duty as a reporter and provide Inuvik residents with an objective account - or even any account at all - of what went on during a supposedly public gathering of representatives from the Inuvik Interagency Committee, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, the Department of Health and Social Services, the Nihtat Gwich'in Council and the Anglican church as they decided how to run a service for the neediest of Inuvik residents, the homeless. Incidentally, since generously volunteering to take over the shelter last month, the advisory committee is also tasked with running the service in a town-owned and leased building that is operating thus far out of taxpayers' pockets - through municipal and territorial government coffers. I can't report on the meeting because I was asked to leave before it began. Government employees present at the meeting became very nervous upon learning there was a member of the media in their midst, because while they could speak during a meeting at which any Inuvik resident was welcome to sit and listen in, they did not have permission to speak to media. I was told that if I didn't leave, all of those presentations would be put "in camera" and in that case it would be a very short meeting indeed, at least for me, "the media." After confirming that members of the public were welcome at the committee's regular weekly meetings I reluctantly left, saddened by this display of an obvious misunderstanding of the democratic free press, or what was perhaps a simple disregard for it. As a way to get their message out without pesky journalistic interference, members of the Interagency Committee promised to write a letter to the editor, which, as always, The Drum welcomes. "There's no discrimination," said board member Mike Millen after the secret meeting. "Anybody who wants to see the homeless shelter stay open and move in a positive direction, sure, they're perfectly welcome to sit on the committee," he explained, emphasizing that if any of the information discussed at the meetings "got out to the public in a negative way, it would just spell disaster for the homeless shelter, so we don't want anything like that discussed in public." Arguably more disastrous for the homeless shelter's progress are these kinds of mixed messages. While the committee frets over which positive pieces of information it deems acceptable for public consumption versus which not-so-positive information it decides should remain hidden, rumours are circulating around town about when or if the shelter will suddenly shut down again. Inuvik residents are concerned and want to make absolutely certain that society's most vulnerable will have a place to go when it gets cold. Closed-door meetings on the state of Inuvik's homeless shelter are not only a tremendous insult to taxpayers and those who depend on the shelter, but - if they continue - will become a shameful deterrent to more residents who may be inclined to devote some of their own time and expertise to a good cause. Katie May is interim editor of Inuvik Drum. Andrew Rankin will return in September. 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.
Corrections Errors appeared in an article in Wednesday's Yellowknifer ("Jailed for sex assault on stepdaughter," Aug. 25). The affidavit mentioned in the article was from the aunt of the victim. In addition, the victim was 15 at the time. Yellowknifer apologizes for any confusion or embarrassment this may have caused.
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