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Disabled communication Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, January 14, 2011
"I get tired of listing all of the buildings and all of the problems there are and saying to people that things need to be changed." "We need more than the funding we already get." These were just a few of the words Yellowknifer used to hear from the NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities on a regular basis. Alas, the council hasn't had much of a profile of late, which is a shame because despite the group's silence there remains many outstanding issues facing people with disabilities in this territory. A story in last Friday's Yellowknifer reports there are only 21 employees out of a workforce of 4,615 for the territorial government who self-identify as persons with disabilities, even though statistics show 10 per cent of NWT residents have some form of disability. This discrepancy would suggest that despite warm and fuzzy platitudes about inclusiveness and preferential hiring, employees with disabilities still aren't comfortable broaching it with their GNWT bosses. That would appear to be a critical issue concerning the NWT Council for Persons with Disabilities, but Michelle Gillis, the group's executive director, refuses to comment on it. Another story in the same edition reports on the shameful lack of progress in getting a wheelchair ramp built in the upper level of Centre Square Mall. For two years now wheelchair users - as well as mothers with strollers and seniors with walkers - have had to endure the indignity of pressing a buzzer and waiting for Yellowknife Inn staff to let them through a glass partition door because that's the only entrance into the mall accessible by wheelchair ramp. The NWT fire marshal issued an order to build an entrance ramp at the Franklin Avenue in February of last year, but for one reason or another it hasn't been built yet. Gillis didn't return phone calls for that story. In fact, the last time Yellowknifer heard from Gillis or anyone else at the council was for her to say that its 31st annual Celebrity Auction fundraiser - usually scheduled for mid-November - was being delayed until this spring. As well, it appears to have been some time since the council's website was last updated; it's still advertising the Celebrity Auction for 2009. Gillis's aversion toward the media is nothing new, in fact it's much the same as what reporters experienced during her time as mayor of Cambridge Bay. Whatever her misgivings are toward the media, we would remind her that ignoring or avoiding it is not an effective means of getting the council's message across to the public. People like the GNWT worker, who, on an anonymous basis, alerted Yellowknifer to the territorial government's disporportionate employment statistics, surely expect the disabilities council to lobby on their behalf, or at least ask some tough questions. Where is the board of directors? Perhaps there is much good work the council does behind the scenes. Whatever the case, most people haven't a clue what it's doing right now.
On the long road Editorial Comment Roxanna Thompson Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, January 13, 2011
In 2009, only 44 per cent of aboriginal students in the territory graduated from high school. This compared to 70 per cent of non-aboriginal students, according to the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. Absenteeism is one reason for the gap. It's estimated that the average aboriginal student in the NWT misses more than 41 days of school each year. By the end of Grade 9 this adds up to two years of missed classes. Non-aboriginal students miss half as much school. There are also educational achievement gaps. Alberta Achievement Tests show that 55 per cent of aboriginal students in Grade 3 are achieving an acceptable standard in English language arts compared to 85 per cent of non-aboriginal students. The difference widens to 33 per cent versus 81 in Grade 9. It's results like these that have led the department to create the Aboriginal Student Achievement Education Plan. The purpose of the plan is to eliminate the achievement gap between students in the NWT. The preliminary plan has four priorities, including early childhood and childcare, student and family support, literacy and aboriginal language curriculum and resource development. These topics were discussed in detail during a regional forum in Fort Simpson last week. Most of the forum's participants had suggestions about what was lacking as well as strategies to improve these areas. After two days of discussion the conclusion, which was touched upon by Jackson Lafferty, the minister of education, is there's a lot of work to do. Lafferty said the plan is for the long term and will require numerous government departments, educators, leaders, elders, parents and even students' support in order to succeed. This is certainly no easy task. Will this ambitious plan lead to visible results in the timeframe the average resident would like to see? No, not likely. As Lafferty stated, this is a long-term plan. And it's precisely its time span that will make the plan hard to sustain. It's easy to become disenchanted with something that isn't producing immediate results. It will be a testament to the importance that the people of the territory place on youths and education if the strategies that are chosen are carried out and continue to be adhered to. Everyone wants the youths of the NWT to grow up strong and well-educated. The Aboriginal Student Achievement Education Plan may be a tool to further this goal, but it will require dedication, patience and partnerships in order to see results.
Dog mushing rules Editorial Comment Aaron Beswick Inuvik Drum - Thursday, January 13, 2011
Not just because the sun came back, thank God, or the fireworks or the free community breakfast or the massive bonfire. What made Inuvik's Sunrise Festival unique was the dog team race, a spectacle few places in the world are blessed with.
Forty dogs and five mushers struggling to get animals mad with excitement into harnesses creates a wild and impressive scene on an ice-road. Then they're off, 45 beating hearts and quirky personalities flying across the snow at nearly 20 kilometres an hour as the sun rises on one of the world's great rivers. About 30 people showed up to take it in. Now, something's wrong here. Consider that thousands will turn out to NASCAR events to watch a bunch of cars drive in a circle for a few hours, stuffing their gobs with hotdogs and crossing their fingers that someone screws up and the cars smash into a mad circus of decals, twisted metal and mangled flesh. Consider that much of North America will tune into ESPN to watch two guys pummel the living daylights out of one another, glorying in a few minutes of blood before returning to lives as cropped and pruned as any suburban lawn. The world series of poker draws millions of viewers to watch some guys play cards, for crying out loud. More people show up at Shivers to watch a hockey game than turned out to watch Inuvik's dog team race, the only one the community will see before the Muskrat Jamboree. The mushers, Delta residents who feed, clean up after and see to the health and socialization of up to 30 dogs apiece, would be glad to race more often if they could find sponsors. This race needed only a $1,000 sponsorship from First Air. The mushers organized a band of volunteers to make the eight-mile trail - a laborious process, advertised for the event and turned out with all their animals and gear to compete for a relatively small jackpot compared to the costs of maintaining their teams. It's understandable that considering the huge amount of effort and money to maintain these teams that the numbers of mushers has declined over recent decades. Those that remain say more races would promote the sport and act as an incentive to keep it alive. It wouldn't take much for Inuvik businesses and the town to host a few more events which would promote the area to the world while keeping alive an ancient tradition that has reached the brink of extinction. The first step is for everyone to show up and cheer on the mushers in the next race. You won't regret it. NWT not generous? Humbug to that Yellowknifer - Wednesday, January 12, 2011
These are just some amounts Yellowknifers donated toward charity last year.
It therefore may stick in the craw for some people to learn that the NWT ranks near the bottom of the list of provinces and territories comparing each jurisdiction's generosity, according to a recent report by the Vancouver-based Fraser Institute.
"My impression is generally people in the North are generous," said Wayne Balanoff of the Yellowknife Association for Community Living, who said he was surprised by the report's conclusion.
The Fraser Institute stated the NWT has the second smallest percentage of people making charitable donations out of 13 provinces and territories. Prince Edward Island is the most generous; Nunavut is the least.
The institute's findings are based on the number of people who reported making donations on their tax filings. The NWT is third last in terms of the amount given to charity by percentage of income.
The report naturally flies in the face of conventional wisdom. This newspaper encounters stories of great generosity almost weekly - like the outpouring of support for the Westman family, whose house was badly damaged in a fire two days before Christmas. Residents and businesses donated furnishings, food for their dogs and a huge turkey dinner. They would have been given a place to stay if they had needed it.
In today's Yellowknifer we have a story on page 3 describing how members of a local church continue to help people in Haiti rebuild their lives following a devastating earthquake one year ago.
It's no secret that NWT residents, especially here in Yellowknife, are generally well-off. In fact, at $98,000 per household according to Statistics Canada, NWT residents have the highest incomes in Canada - $12,000 higher than Alberta, fifth on the generosity list.
While it doesn't hurt for us to step back and examine how we might be able to give a little more, it seems likely that NWT residents aren't all that careful about filing away their charity receipts, or just don't bother. Getting a small portion back, after all, usually isn't their motivation for giving.
For decades Yellowknife was known for its two booming gold mines - Con and Giant were pillars in the foundation of this city's prosperity and growth.
The history of gold mining is forever rooted in Yellowknife and the move by the city's heritage committee to preserve it is worthwhile.
The committee is seeking original art inspired by the historic Con Mine site for the 2011 Heritage Week Celebrations art show next month.
Planting the seed in the arts community, as committee chair and city councillor Mark Heyck put it, is a sure-fire way to document Con Mine's history.
Yellowknife has a vibrant and passionate arts community that encapsulates the city through painting, music - like Pat Braden's ode to the defunct Mine, Hangin' with the Con Kids - and theatre. It's through this creative flow that Yellowknife lives on in a visually appealing manner, creating lasting memories and teaching future generations where they came from.
Longtime resident Bill Braden said the opportunity this call for submissions brings has the potential to be better than gold.
The arts community has a big task ahead, and we look forward to the imaginative sounds and images that will emerge.
The fallout from Team Canada's epic meltdown in the third period of the world junior championship against Russia this past week has been somewhere between incredible and downright unbelievable.
Russia storming back from a 3-0 deficit after two periods to claim gold was the talk around almost every coffee machine in the Kivalliq for days after the defeat, not to mention on most of the local radio airwaves as well.
There was the odd voice of reason trying to reassure everyone that once we win three or four straight gold medals again these dark days will melt into hockey obscurity, but not many were buying it.
The problem in Canada is too many fans truly believe it's our God-given right to win every international tournament we play in.
To these folks, winning is paramount and the game, itself, a distant second.
Compounding the problem is our hockey nation's penchant for making like chicken little every time we lose a major championship and screaming for change in the face of the falling sky.
After the Americans beat us on home ice in 2010 and the Russians showed us why the games are played for 60 minutes this year, you can almost hear speed dials being hit across the nation calling for the next hockey summit to fix our ailing Canadian game.
The truth of the matter is, the days of the U.S.S.R.'s big red machine and Team Canada steamrolling over everyone in their paths on the way to hockey glory are gone forever.
The playing field has been levelled and the formats in today's biggest tournaments are designed for high drama, with no second chances.
At the highest level, goaltenders such as Henrik Lundqvist (Sweden), Roberto Luongo (Canada), Ryan Miller (U.S.A.), Miikka Kiprusoff (Finland) and Tomas Vokoun (Czech Republic) can send any team home almost single-handedly in a one-game showdown.
Anyone remember a certain Dominik Hasek with the Czech Republic at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano?
Hasek put on one of the most dazzling displays of goaltending ever seen to lead his team to gold.
Yet Hasek's goaltending wasn't why Team Canada finished a disappointing fourth.
It was coach Marc Crawford's decision to use Ray Bourque in the semifinal shootout against Hasek with a certain Wayne Gretzky sitting dejectedly on the bench.
And that's the problem with being the type of fan who sees anything less than victory as absolute failure.
Everything becomes an excuse and a never-ending string of could have, would have and should have.
You rob yourself of truly enjoying the beauty, power and heart-stopping emotion of the world's greatest game while you scamper around looking for a little cheese to go with your never-ending whine.
Canada will win plenty of gold medals, at every level, in the years to come. And it will also lose its share.
That's the beauty of the game and what keeps us coming back. Anything can happen and often does.
The Canadian game is doing just fine.
It's a large number of our fans who could use a little work.
Budgets are presented and approved annually at council meetings, but the number of residents who attend those meetings is sparse and few could probably say if budget items are truly reflective of the costs.
Watchdog groups such as the newly-formed Hay River Ratepayer's Society are an excellent way to police municipal spending. That's not to say that communities are being unscrupulous when it comes to taxing their citizens -- although mismanagement and mistakes are not unheard of. But, members of the public generally have short memories. Many may recall last year's tax increase, but not the year before.
For example, most everyone in Fort Smith knows taxes will be increasing five per cent this year. But how many remember what last year's tax increase was? Would you be shocked to know Fort Smith has increased taxes by nearly 13 per cent over the past two years?
Tax increases are not necessarily a negative. Small Northern communities generally experience very little population growth while their citizens continue to demand additional services.
Perhaps the most poignant example is in the NWT capital: Yellowknife's taxes have increased by a combined 24 per cent in seven years. In comparison, the city's population as risen by a mere three per cent over those seven years, according to Statistics Canada.
So where is additional tax money spent? Municipalities point to the increased cost of doing business, such as staff salaries and utilities as major components of their budgets. With each new service or building a community adds to its assets, both those areas of the budget increase -- not to mention the natural increases caused by inflation and cost of living. Unfortunately if costs rise but populations don't, then rising expenses are spread across a stagnant population and a tax hike results.
Councils are in a tough spot. While people abhor tax increases they are constantly demanding additional services, new facilities and their sidewalks fixed.
A public oversight group, like the Hay River Ratepayer's Society, could act in an advisory capacity to help councils determine their spending priorities.
Traditionally, we tell elected governments how we feel about their performance and their spending choices at the polls. But choosing to deny a councillor re-election doesn't negate the choices that might have you paying more on your tax bills. It's easy to complain. Instead, we should all take a more active role in our municipal governments. Electing the right people for the job is one thing, ensuring they stay on track is quite another.
A new year is a new opportunity to make things better, and the past year brought to the fore a number of problems that have plagued Nunavut for a decade.
The GN's housing survey compiled hard numbers on the extent of overcrowding and disrepair of the territory's units, and it was revealed the government had allowed severe cost overruns in its housing construction projects through lack of oversight. Canada's auditor general also found the Government of Nunavut was falling behind on its Inuit employment goals, which are outlined in Article 23 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.
Also among the unfortunate news from 2010, the territory recorded its highest number of new tuberculosis cases since 1999.
A few new worries emerged as well. Two tankers and a cruise ship ran aground in Arctic waters, raising concerns about our capacity to handle maritime emergencies.
The federal government did not renew funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, forcing many community programs for residential school survivors to cut back or seek alternative sources of money.
However, there were also a few bright spots this past year. Nunavut made a splash at the Vancouver Olympics; not only was the Games' symbol an inuksuk, Northern House - the showcase for all three territories -- had lineups around the block.
We brought home 49 uluit from the Arctic Winter Games in Grande Prairie, Alta., -- nine gold, 16 silver and 24 bronze, continuing to excel in Arctic games, table tennis, wrestling.
The federal government apologized for relocating families from Pond Inlet and Inukjuaq, Que., to the High Arctic in the 1950s with little support and breaking the promise to take them home after a year or two. Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated unveiled monuments commemorating the trying relocation.
Nunavummiut also demonstrated their characteristic generosity, starting the year by raising money for relief efforts in Haiti, ending it by donating food, clothes and gifts to those in need in their communities, and spending the rest of the year contributing to the usual array of community feasts, loonie/toonie sales, craft and bake sales, raffles, bingos and radio appeals.
There are a number of developments expected this year. The new correctional centre is scheduled to open in Rankin Inlet, easing perennial overcrowding at the Baffin Correctional Centre; and Pangnirtung's small craft harbour is expected to be completed, a beacon of hope for Nunavut's emerging fishing industry.
Production at the Meadowbank gold mine should increase to 362,000 ounces, and interest and spending in mineral exploration continues to increase. The new Nutrition North program that replaces Food Mail takes full effect April 1, though it remains to be seen whether it will bring down the cost of food. Athletes will soon be heading down to compete in the Canada Winter Games, and we wish them all the best.
Here's hoping Nunavut makes progress this year on its challenges and problems while maintaining the values we hold dear.
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