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Women need transitional home Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, October 22, 2010
Scott Landry, the co-ordinator of the men's transitional home, reported earlier this month that 14 men have voluntarily moved out of the house and into their own homes since the facility opened last January. That's 14 men who are no longer needing care workers and taxpayers' funds. No doubt even this seemingly modest number will have a big impact in a city as small as Yellowknife. Bailey House is the love child of several government agencies and private and non-profit donors. It took a tremendous amount of co-ordination and co-operation to get the project off the ground. It didn't come without some headaches and red tape, but all the players involved, including the city, territorial and federal governments, and patron donors like Diavik Diamond Mines, knew it was critical that the city provide such a service as soon as possible. But the work is only half complete. The city still awaits a women's transitional home, which has been hindered in recent months by inflexible funding options and the inability of the Yellowknife Homelessness Coalition to find a suitable location. City council set aside four lots on 54 Street for this purpose last March but it remains unclear whether this site is suitable. The coalition was forced to pass up on the old Kitikmeot boarding home, which required $1.78 million in renovations to bring it up to code. Beyond that, the group may still have been ineligible for funding from the NWT Housing Corporation because the building didn't have individual bathrooms for apartment units. This project has lost a bit of steam. It's time for the funding partners to get together with the homelessness coalition and get the transitional home back on track. We've built a men's transitional home, and a day shelter. A transitional home for women should be no less of a priority.
Eat your free lunch, but not behind closed doors Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, October 22, 2010 You know politicians have reached the pinnacle of banality when they spend a half hour at a public meeting debating when they should hold said meetings, and whether they will continue receiving a free lunch during those meetings. Councillor Bob Brooks took the weekly Priorities, Policies and Budget committee meeting to a lofty new height last week with his less than time-honoured insistence that getting a free lunch, a working lunch, whatever you will, is not a "perk." We wholeheartedly agree. City councillors put in a lot of time to earn their relatively modest part-time salaries of about $22,000 a year. On top of near weekly meetings, there are a number of other committees that take up a councillor's time, not to mention background reading and the hours required dealing with the concerns of residents. "A sandwich, sometimes with a salad, never any dessert, fruit, vegetables, or milk or juice," seems a small price to pay for their public service. However, we will remind our elected city representatives of Coun. David Wind's warning - also from last week - of taking city business behind closed doors during these meetings, as they recently did with an undisclosed planning matter. Past councils had a history of nudging the door closed because mayor and council don't have to worry about their accountability to voters in a shuttered room. It will ultimately haunt them, however, when they have to answer to voters over unpopular direction and decisions, often drafted and pushed by administrators. Memo for future council committee meetings: Less talk about lunch and more food for thought on city issues.
A little recognition can go a long way Editorial Comment Kassina Ryder Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, October 21, 2010
Although neither of them cured a disease or jumped in front of a moving vehicle to save a wayward baby carriage, their accomplishments significantly affected the day-to-day lives of people in their communities. When most people are faced with a dangerous situation, they do the right thing. Every day we hear about heroes who have risked their lives to save others. But the people who spend each day doing the little things that make our lives better also deserve recognition. While there is no denying the thought of saving someone from a burning building would be a difficult thing to do, sometimes the thought of giving it your all every day can be just as hard. Sometimes it takes a lot to stay motivated. A fire chief in Fort Liard co-operated with the village to ensure every home in the community had a working smoke detector. He also made sure every household that wanted a fire inspection would receive one. This initiative was his own, he thought it up and made sure it happened. Not only did this program help to ensure his community was well prepared when it came to fire safety, his motivation inspired other firefighters in the region. A fellow firefighter nominated him for a merit award, which he was presented with last week. As fire marshal Steve Moss said, "it's always nice to get recognition for things, and it's pretty special when it comes from your peers." A Fort Simpson resident was also recognized this week for her work at the John Tsetso Memorial Library. She will soon be leaving the village and will reside in another community, so villagers decided to present her with an award to appreciate her 10 years of service with the library. Again, her work and dedication earned her the respect of her community, which they made sure they acknowledged before she left. She didn't receive a million-dollar cheque, but she was all smiles when she received a simple plaque and a handshake from the mayor. Maybe this simple gesture will inspire others to do what they can for their communities and maybe not. But the message is simple. Good works come in all shapes and sizes and all should be appreciated.
Credit where it's due Editorial Comment Andrew Rankin Inuvik Drum - Thursday, October 21, 2010
But to the NWT Power Corp.'s credit, officials seemed to pinpoint the problem to two distribution lines. The company agreed to fix broken electronic devices and pay for the equipment that couldn't be fixed. The following Monday extra staff were brought on board to deal with the claims. That's a reasonable approach to the problem. The all-day blackout on Sept. 28 was a pain for many. For a few hours people had no choice but to interact with each other. To our knowledge nobody died and some people were a little uncomfortable for a while. Stuff like this happens from time to time. To be fair the power corp. does a reasonable job maintaining electricity in this community. Whether its rates are fair or if the company is doing enough to reduce power generation costs or customer costs is another story. One that has been hotly debated. The power corp. has been transparent about what went wrong over those few weeks. Mike Bradshaw, spokesperson for the corporation, came out and said it was a total system failure. You can't get any more blatant than that. Yes, basic questions need to be asked. How could both the primary power producing plant break down and the back up diesel plant collapse at the same time? Shouldn't regular maintenance prevent something like this from happening? But those questions will seemingly be answered by an independent engineering company that the power corp., to its credit, hired to do an investigation to find out what went wrong with the electricity system. Bradshaw will present the report to town council at Wednesday's regular meeting. Residents can attend that meeting or participate in a public meeting the next day, on Thursday at 7 p.m. Bradshaw will attend the meeting with the review in hand so the public can see it and ask questions. Both occasions would be an ideal time to ask town officials about Inuvik's emergency response plan. What plan does the town have if there's is an extended black out in January? What should town residents do if something like this happens again? Where do they go? But it will be interesting to see just how many people show up and what sort of questions they ask. As far as how the power corp. officials have conducted themselves on this one, they've done a pretty good job. Intent to offend Yellowknifer - Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Somebody saw fit to do that earlier this month. Doing so isn't a crime, but it is unacceptable in our society. Muslims consider depicting the prophet blasphemous, and their views should be respected, providing they don't infringe on anyone else. Many residents of our city do not practise religion, but they do practise tolerance of other people's beliefs, which is not only a basic courtesy, it is enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Section two of the charter states citizens are granted the right to practise their religion without prejudice. The charter also gives people freedom of expression, but the act of putting up this poster, downloaded from the Internet, was done with a malicious motive - it is not a great approach to expressing one's opinion. Muslims have the right to worship in peace and not be persecuted for their belief system, just like Christians, Buddhists, Jehovah's Witnesses or anybody else. The incident has sparked a flurry of comments on media websites and blogs. While some public statements have endorsed tolerance of religion and disdain for the aforementioned provocative act, there are many disturbing and anonymous posts screaming of outright bigotry toward Muslims and their faith. Yellowknife, rich in diversity and culture, prides itself on being a tolerant and accepting community, regardless of race, religion or creed. We encourage residents to continue down this positive path and work to prevent a recurrence of an incident like the one at the Yellowknife mosque earlier this month. Tolerance and education are the route to eliminating fear and ignorance, and make for a more healthy community.
Welcome to Yellow-nice Yellowknifer - Wednesday, October 20, 2010 One person's video, recently posted on YouTube, in which a supposedly helpful individual takes potshots at the city's restaurants and residents while talking to a tourist, caused a flurry of people to rush to the city's defence. The computer animated video is critical of service and costs at local establishments, pokes fun at houseboaters and transplanted Newfoundlanders, and refers disparagingly to those suffering from addictions. While we should never take ourselves too seriously - laughter is, after all, the best medicine - it does cost a lot of money to run a business in our remote city, entry-level staff are hard to find and keep, and there are many complicated reasons for people with dysfunctions. People having difficulty coping, of course, exist in every city and town. On the other hand, Yellowknifers are generous, known for donating time and money to charitable causes. The environment is, in many ways, beautiful and there is plenty to do outdoors and indoors. These things become more evident the longer you live here. The person who created the cynical YouTube video might want to take time for a little self-reflection as he or she chose to devote time to poking fun at the city when he or she could have been out volunteering to make Yellowknife an even better place to live.
Communication a key to season's success Darrell Greer Kivalliq News - Wednesday, October 20, 2010 If you play them all, you'll lose it all. That's a phrase (some would say warning) coaches of many team sports are aware of, especially those involved with the game of hockey. With a new season ready to go in Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit - and waiting on Mother Nature in the rest of Nunavut - it's also a dilemma a number of territorial coaches will face this year. In fact, the past few years have seen coaches reprimanded for shortening their benches in the heat of a playoff or tournament game. Parents, you see, don't like it when their kids don't get to play as much as the others. A complaint to their local minor hockey association soon follows and, except in the rarest of cases, the coach who made the decision to shorten their bench takes a fall. The reason behind shortening one's bench is, of course, winning. During playoff and tournament games, it's a common practice across Canada for coaches to only use their top six forwards and four defencemen in the late going. Just as common is the argument all kids should play equally, even if that means losing the big game. The key to avoiding confrontation is the same as it is in many facets of life - proper communication. In house leagues, just-for-fun setups and lower levels of hockey, every kid should receive an equal amount of ice time in every game. After all, it's all about having fun at that level and every parent pays the same amount in annual fees for their child to play. The same can be said for special tournaments held to promote participation, not championship glory. But when the kids enter higher levels of hockey, or play in prestigious events, the puck begins to flip. You would have a hard time convincing a coach at a territorial championship or the Polar Bear Plate event, to cite two examples, that their 17th and 18th best players should play as much as their stars in the big game. It's just not going to happen the vast majority of the time. That's why the onus is on our minor hockey associations to get the message out to parents and coaches alike before an event happens. It's far better in these situations for hockey reps to be proactive and save everyone a ton of grief, including themselves. For lower levels and participation events, coaches should teach the skills of the game and let the kids have fun. Winning and losing in those situations should never become their main focus. Let the kids play and have fun, and most hockey moms and dads will be just as happy as their children. At higher levels of Nunavut hockey, winning is as important as it is anywhere else in Canada. Players often practise all year for one or two events they want to win, and that's the simple truth of the matter. In those situations, coaches should make the decisions they believe will result in victory. From coaches and players to minor hockey reps and parents, communication is a key to ensuring everyone has a fun-filled and productive hockey season.
Kitchen table factor NWT News/North - Monday, October 18, 2010 For at least the next three years, Tlicho and Yellowknives Dene communities will have to find a way to adjust to a caribou harvesting limit significantly lower than historical hunts. The Wek'eezhii Renewable Resources Board's recommendations on managing the NWT's declining caribou herds have identified key areas aiming to restore the NWT caribou population. At the heart of the recommendations is a hunting limit of 300 caribou from the Bathurst herd. Other recommendations outline consequences should the harvest exceed 300 animals or the cow to bull ratio by 10 per cent. The consequences include banning hunting or implementing a total allowable harvest. Traditionally, the aboriginal harvest of the Bathurst herd is between 7,000 and 10,000 animals, according to Minister Michael Miltenberger. At first glance it may seem like a large kill, but when considering the population numbers, the food supply starts to get scarce. Between the Tlicho and Yellowknives Dene communities, there are around 886 households, according to the NWT bureau of statistics. At the high end, that would equal just over 11 caribou per household. According to the NWT Bureau of Statistics, 50 per cent of households in Yellowknives and Tlicho communities have four or more people. If those people eat caribou meat on a weekly basis, even 11 caribou might not last the entire year. We all agree conservation is essential but is it enforceable? In this case we're talking about limiting a community's primary food source. Some may dispute that fact, but consider the average income in the Tlicho communities of Behchoko, Gameti and Whati -- $30,000 for a single person and $66,000 for a family. Factor in the cost of living and food prices in those communities and it's not unreasonable that people would be relying on caribou as a primary food source. The Wek'eezhii report calls for mandatory monitoring and reporting of the harvest and suggests the GNWT and Tlicho boost enforcement staff and encourage hunt reporting by hunters. But the Wek'eezhii region is massive. Tracking all hunters and all kills will be difficult without complete co-operation from hunters. We are not suggesting the Tlicho and Yellowknives Dene people won't co-operate, but when faced with the choice between feeding a family and killing a few extra caribou, most people would not hesitate to pull the trigger. Punishing people for gathering food is inhumane and the government needs to understand the restrictions might be taking food out of some family's mouths. The recommendations do make provisions to support alternative game hunts and fish camps, but making up the losses from other sources such as bison and moose herds will put considerable pressure on those populations. Protecting our caribou herds is vital, but we must practise conservation with the health and well being of NWT families in mind.
Nunavut riches Nunavut News/North - Monday, October 18, 2010 "There is hope for the future." Those were Jose Kusugak's words upon visiting Baker Lake in June. The Kivalliq Inuit Association's president may well have been speaking of Hall Beach, which is pondering the consequences of a $1 billion investment in a huge iron ore deposit southwest of the community. Kusugak was in Baker Lake earlier this year as part of a large delegation visiting the Meadowbank gold mine, 70 km north of the community. Kusugak said he remembered when there was a sense of frustration and despair in Baker Lake many years earlier, largely due to a high unemployment rate. The mine, which entailed $710 million in spending to get it into production, has brought prosperity to the community. Close to 550 jobs were created, with Nunavummiut filling more than 150 of those positions. Of course all that wealth and opportunity does not come without some drawbacks. Police say crime has been on the rise in Baker Lake. Surely the influx of money has led to more spending on drugs and alcohol by some, and that means more episodes of violence and domestic disputes. As well, there was a recent reminder of the environmental risk associated with having industry as a neighbour. Just a couple of weeks ago, approximately 40,000 litres of diesel spilled on the 110 km road connecting the mine site and the community. There is a fuel tank farm at the mine designed to supply up to 40 million litres, so the potential for spills is substantial. Over in Hall Beach, there are questions about what effect massive cargo ships navigating in and out of Roche Bay to transport iron ore in the future may have on seals, a staple in residents' diets. That situation is going to have to be monitored closely. As has been suggested by some, compensation for any disruption to wildlife habitat will be a requirement. Hall Beach is also in the midst of investing $5.1 million in renovating its community hall and constructing an addition to the building. There is the opportunity for "legacy projects" that the companies proposing to extract the iron ore - Advanced Explorations Inc. and Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes Co. Ltd. - could help to fund, whether it's a swimming pool, a new school or a better health centre. While the two companies do not represent a bank that will provide money for any cause, they are proposing to sink up to $1 billion in the Roche Bay project, a staggering amount of money. By comparison, the GN has proposed a $1.3 billion budget for all of its spending in Nunavut in 2010-2011. There are many other glimmering opportunities on Nunavut's horizon. Baffinland's enormous iron ore project south of Pond Inlet recently attracted a buyout offer from an Australian company. Other prospects hold tremendous promise in the Kitikmeot, like Newmont's gold projects and the Sabina Gold and Silver sites. Nunavummiut are going to have to sharpen their negotiating skills and focus more on training opportunities as these prospective mines advance.
Corrections Funding received from the federal government for Old Airport Road last week means the city will spend $110,000 on the project instead of the budgeted $500,000 ("Million dollar revamp," Yellowknifer, Oct. 20). The remaining $390,000 from the city will be added to the 2011 budget for the second stage of the project.
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