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Judging the judge Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, March 11, 2011
The system is even murkier in the Northwest Territories where, as the NWT's top judge, Justice John Vertes, pointed out last week, most people filling our jail cells are young, uneducated and aboriginal. Sure, courtrooms are "public" but most people hardly have any inkling of what goes on in them. Lawyers and judges are separated from citizens-at-large by an invisible line, and not just because the legalese boils over to confound those of us lesser versed in the law. It's the aloofness of this institution that creates this divide. That's why it's a welcome occurrence for Vertes to take off his robe and mix it up, to engage the public and open a dialogue on the social and legal issues affecting our territory. Vertes broke the judiciary's silence after Kam Lake MLA Dave Ramsay expressed outrage in the legislative assembly over some of the jail sentences handed down in court, particularly those given to offenders with long criminal records. The most egregious example is that of Claude Harry, an Inuvik man sentenced earlier this year to five years in prison for beating Angus Kikoak to death after a night of heavy drinking. The judge in the case, Rene Foisy, awarded Harry a two-for-one credit for the time he had spent in jail waiting to be sentenced, which meant he only had three years left to serve in his sentence despite having a lengthy criminal record that included 19 prior convictions for violent assaults. Vertes is right to emphasize that there is much more to consider than the punishments handed out to offenders. The root of many crimes committed in the NWT is directly related to socio-economics, addiction, and a lack of opportunities -- and if governments don't do enough to address these issues, the criminal cycle is bound to continue unabated and unreformed. As Vertes observes, this affects our community as a whole. Businesses are fleeing downtown rather than putting up with the steady onslaught of crime borne out of homelessness and addiction. The closure of Yellowknife's halfway house and Dettah Treatment Centre add to the difficulties our community faces. But in his desire to point the finger at politicians and the parole board, Vertes avoids the introspection the public would like to see more often from the courts. He can talk about the "many factors" that go into a judge's decision all he wants but people still won't understand why a killer - even a drunken one - is jailed for only four years. Or how a Crown prosecutor can proceed with only a summary charge, involving a lighter sentence, for assault causing bodily harm - as was the case recently with a Yellowknife offender named George Koe, even though he sought a longer sentence in Alberta, where there are better rehabilitation programs. The judge declined the man's request in that case. Caroline Wawzonek, chair of the criminal law section of the NWT branch of the Canadian Bar Association, wrote in a letter to the editor in Monday's News/North stating judges can't respond to criticism for fear their statements would appear politically motivated. We can understand the sensitive nature of their jobs but it's a cop-out to suggest the courts are above the fray. Ramsay's statements in the legislative assembly have clearly left the judiciary rattled, and for good reason. If it was Vertes' aim to generate greater public support by his commentary of late, we suggest he climb down from his high bench a little more often.
A new route to change Editorial Comment Roxanna Thompson Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, March 10, 2011
The department is using an organization from Vancouver to lead a series of workshops in three communities, including Fort Simpson, teaching how to make a video from scratch beginning with idea conceptualization and ending with final editing. The initiative ties to the department's mandate because all of the videos that will be produced during the workshops will be about drug and alcohol awareness. What happened to the days of the slogan "just say no" and talks in schools by public health nurses on the evils of drinking and doing drugs? The answer is that the department and other concerned groups and individuals are battling against some stark statistics. The recently released NWT Addictions Report, which contains the results of the 2009 addictions survey, paints a dark picture of drug and alcohol use in the territory. On average NWT residents report having their first drink at the age of 16, three years before they can legally drink. Although the percentage of people between the ages of 15 and 24 who drink decreased to 75 per cent in 2009 from 87 per cent in 1996, the drinking is not just casual. Among current drinkers in 2009, 64 per cent in that age group reported consuming five or more drinks in a single occasion and one in four drank heavily at least once a week. All that drinking is having an effect. In 2009, 23 per cent of current drinkers aged 15 and over reported at least one type of harm from their drinking including harmful effects on friendships and social life, physical health and home-life or marriage. Education about drugs and alcohol has to start at an early age, and anything that could have a positive effect should be tried. As one of the workshop facilitators pointed out, youths love digital media and enjoy making videos and posting them on sites such as YouTube for people to see. If youths can learn video production skills while absorbing a message about making positive choices, it's a win-win situation. At first glance running a video-making workshop to send out a preventative message about drug and alcohol abuse looks excessive. These initiatives, however, have to meet youth on their own grounds and capture their interest in any way possible if a positive change in the statistics is to be achieved.
Give some motivation Editorial Comment Kira Curtis Inuvik Drum - Thursday, March 10, 2011
This is not something unknown, as I have heard many of you in town say the same thing - this community is generous and helpful. So, listening to superintendent Roy Cole speak the other night about attendance and how much education is lost to a child that misses even as little as 20 to 40 minutes a day - one full year by the time they finish Grade 9 - the question was: how can we help? The care in this community is obviously there, so how do we motivate children to go to school and care about it? Cole is faced with these questions and takes them to heart. He puts the hours in to meet with principals, teachers and parents, discussing how to get kids to absorb a quality education. His plan is addressing the root: the parents, the caregivers and the families. I agree with his tactic. It is up to us as the adults in these children's lives to be firm and give no other option but to show up and get educated. To be fair, and not labelled a hypocrite by those who knew me in high school, I was never that academic. I got bored easily and I couldn't spell if I was dangling over a pool full of sinister sharks and it was the only thing that could save me. (You can laugh that I'm now a writer - I do.) But the programs offered in the Inuvik schools range through all sorts of trades and languages and crafts. All we have to do is get kids interested and get them there. It's not for the certification. I only have a diploma that I got eight years after high school, but as Mr. Cole said: "We can only teach them when they're there." Whatever you can get them interested in in school is almost always better than what they'll get up to not going. We were all teenagers once, we should know. As such a giving and caring community we should be able to focus some non-monetary energy towards the kids we know. That type of giving could be priceless.
Energized to vote Yellowknifer - Wednesday, March 9, 2011
So as we draw closer to Monday's referendum on the proposed Con Mine community energy system, it's unsettling that the city does not have a business partner in place as residents are being asked to vote on whether to borrow up to $49 million. That's asking for big leap of faith when the richest project in the city's history is on the line. Robert Long, the city's senior administrator, has argued that a private partner - of which the city is supposedly reviewing three suitors whom we've been told nothing about - won't come aboard until it knows the funds to get the $60 million project off the ground are in place. But that's no guarantee a partner will ultimately sign on, and the prospect of the city going it alone is daunting. City hall, we must remember, is not a business. There is a degree of optimism among some landlords of the 39 downtown buildings that will be eligible to be hooked up to the district energy system - be it geothermal heat from beneath Con Mine, heat generated by wood-pellet boilers, or a combination of both. The landlords that spoke to Yellowknifer would like to avoid remaining at the mercy of the volatile fluctuation in oil prices and the fuel's dirty carbon emissions byproduct. That idea certainly does sound appealing. Nevertheless, at least a couple of those landlords, including Northern Property, the largest private real estate holder in Yellowknife, are reluctant to sign any long-term contracts with the city for what should be cheap heat. Ray Decorby, who owns two residential high-rises, summed up the sense of hesitation quite succinctly: "The big concern is you're really tied into their (the city's) good management or mismanagement of the operation," he said. We don't have to cast back that far for an example of the city getting in over its head. Its construction of the Multiplex in 2004 turned into an exercise in frustration. Costs for the $13 million project ballooned to more than $2 million over budget and it was well past its deadline when the city finally turned the recreational facility over to Diavik to complete. The hulking private sector diamond mine, with some assistance from Yellowknife contractors, used its corporate muscle and engineering know-how to put the second ice rink in place under-budget and finished earlier than anyone had expected. That's the advantage of well-run companies: they are more nimble than political bodies. Decisions can be made quickly from the top down. By contrast, even in a well-run city, the city administrator is accountable to mayor and council who are accountable to the people. Accountability to mayor and council is more important than cutting expenses and saving money. The Deh Cho Bridge shows how badly the most solid business case can go off the rails. Not only is the one-kilometre span over the Mackenzie River going to open at least a year later than predicted, its price tag has risen to $182 million from $160 million when the government took it over. Auditor general Sheila Fraser has criticized the territorial government for its handling of the bridge and has warned us that costs could continue to rise yet. Fired bridge officials have forced the government to settle out of court. It would be a shame if Mayor Gord Van Tighem is left in the same predicament someday - pointing out that oil prices have hit a devastating $200 a barrel, meanwhile Yellowknifers are still awaiting the promise of a now $100 million district energy system that is years behind schedule. If the city pushes on by itself, that is, unfortunately, a potential scenario.
April 1 looks like bad omen for new federal program Darrell Greer Kivalliq News - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 Doubts over whether the new Nutrition North program will actually cut food costs for Nunavut residents continue to rise as its April 1 launch looms ever closer. Nutrition North replaces the old federal food mail program administered through Canada Post. The new program removes the transportation subsidy and gives it to the retailers, who must work out their own freight deals and pass the savings onto consumers. The date selected to officially launch the program aside, Nunavummiut seem to be increasingly adamant over the fact they won't be fooled again by a government program that caters more to the needs of business than local consumers. And we give kudos to people like Iqaluit's Tony Rose, who launched a website for people to list the price of food items in their community. We strongly encourage people in Kivalliq communities to take the time to keep food prices in our region up-to-date on Rose's website during the next two months. Like everyone else, I'm hoping for the best, but early indications on the program's effectiveness are worrisome to say the least. Since the feds started axing subsidies on the old program this past October, some retailers have reported freight increases of more than 600 per cent on items that didn't make the feds' list. Put that next to the subsidy you can expect on accepted items with the new program, and don't expect your grocery bill to drop unless you're buying nothing but items from that accepted list. It's like getting 10 per cent off the price of your rims, while 40 per cent is added to the cost of your tires. Not good math on the wrong side of the checkout. One major southern retailer has already announced it won't use the new program for individual ordering because of the amount of paperwork involved, and the rumour mill has another making the same decision in the near future. Smaller retailers in the Kivalliq are also saying they don't have a chance to compete with the bigger stores under the new system, which doesn't bode well for the feds' contention that competition will keep the retailers in line with their prices. And, as you're reading this, we challenge you to name more than one person on the program's so-called advisory board. We also ask you to name one piece of advice the board has stated publicly since being put in place. The airlines and major retailers are here to make money, not partner with the feds as nutrition cops. And they're going to crank their prices as high as they can on everything not on the Nutrition North OK list. If you're willing to pay $3.19 for a small shot of Red Bull, you'll find cases of it at your local retailer. The way it's looking right now; what you save on healthy or essential items, you're going to give right back on those not on the list and heaven forbid your kids may enjoy a Cheez Whiz sandwich every now and then. At the end of day, it looks like you're going to pay the same for those six bags of groceries (oops, we mean three reusable cloth bags), in April as you're paying right now. Maybe there's something to that April 1 start date after all.
Devolution snafu NWT News/North - Monday, March 7, 2011
With billions of dollars at stake, now is not the time for infighting. Unfortunately, that is what we have. In one corner we have the cabinet of the legislative assembly hiding behind the glass doors of their Yellowknife palace refusing to bend on the issue. The Dene First Nations find that attitude inexcusable and have gone as far as to demand the resignation of aboriginal MLAs who support devolution. Akaitcho's anger is understandable. As Dettah Chief Ed Sangris said, 51 per cent of the territory's gross domestic product comes out of the Akaitcho territory, mostly as a result of the Snap Lake, Ekati and Diavik mines. With more mineral potential being explored in the region, it is likely the Akaitcho territory will produce the majority of the NWT's wealth well into the future. The Dehcho First Nations and the Tlicho both have expressed opposition or hesitation over the devolution agreement-in-principle. Both groups are represented by cabinet MLAs -- Jackson Lafferty and Michael McLeod -- who are refusing to speak publicly about their positions on devolution. Is it reason enough to call for their resignations? That is up to their constituents to decide. The next time they go to the polls, voters should send a message to ministers who put their bigger pay cheques and misplaced power trips over the needs of their people. Voters should no longer accept cabinet solidarity as an excuse for MLAs to sell out. However, their elected representatives' failure to uphold their democratic duty aside, Akaitcho's stonewalling approach to devolution is a mistake. Akaitcho leaders estimate their lands accounted for more than $1.6 billion of the territory's $3.2 billion GDP in 2009. Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger projected in his 2010 budget address that 2010 and 2011 will show growth in the territory's GDP of four per cent -- 2.8 per cent in 2010 and 1.2 per cent in 2011. That is nearly $5 billion the Akaitcho have no control over despite it being generated on their lands. Aboriginal leaders have to face facts: the GNWT and Ottawa are moving ahead with devolution. The question isn't if anymore but when. With that in mind, petulant opposition and inaction will no longer achieve results. The Akaitcho are faced with losing control of billions of dollars. The best thing they can do now is pull up to the table and push the governments into a deal that is fair and equitable. If they don't, they will be forced to settle with the scraps from the GNWT's table, which is little more than history repeating itself. Perhaps the chiefs responsible for letting their peoples' wealth slip away should call for their own resignations.
No easy answers Nunavut News/North - Monday, March 7, 2011 Members of the Liquor Act task force have a tough job ahead of them to compile and assess the input provided by Nunavummiut all across the territory. There is no question that alcohol abuse tears families apart and is behind the bulk of crimes in Northern communities. It's also true that those who like a glass of wine with dinner or a bottle of champagne for a celebration resent being treated like criminals. Some people who have spoken to the task force want communities to have more licence to make and enforce liquor restrictions. Others want a reduction in the amount of red tape required for legal liquor orders and an end to the absurdity of Iqalummiut having to order from the Rankin Inlet warehouse, and vice versa. Some want the RCMP to keep track of how much liquor people order. Others want bars and liquor stores in their communities so bootlegging is less enticing. There is no one right solution to the alcohol dilemma, and different communities require different approaches. The next version of the Liquor Act will need to have enough flexibility so hamlets can choose what works for their community. One suggestion that communities appear to agree on is the need for substance abuse treatment in Nunavut, closer to home and more culturally relevant than programs in the south. Fortunately, that is going to happen. Treatment centres are being established in Cambridge Bay and Iqaluit, scheduled to be open by spring. The task force will be collecting feedback until June or July, and there is plenty to consider. We look forward to its report and hope the legislative assembly reviews it with great care.
Winning spirit Nunavut News/North - Monday, March 7, 2011 There may have been no medals, but Team Nunavut's trip to the Canada Winter Games was still rewarding for the athletes and coaches involved. Our judo, table tennis and badminton teams showed a winning attitude in their appreciation of the opportunity to travel and play against some of the best athletes in the country. They set realistic goals and returned with pride, their performances having exceeded their own expectations. Louis Nutarariaq of Iqaluit in particular showed bravery by continuing to compete despite a shoulder injury sustained in his judo matches. Despite the adversity, he finished in fourth place in the men's plus-100 kilogram category. Congratulations to all the athletes who competed in Halifax, and we urge others to aim to compete in the 2013 Canada Summer Games in Sherbrooke, Que.
Corrections Two errors appeared in Wednesday's edition of Yellowknifer (March 9). In the story "Councillor unhappy over missed meetings," Dana Heide is the assistant deputy minister of the Department of Health and Social Services. Also in "Councillors go head-to-head on energy plan," the debate was organized by the NWT Construction Association. The Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce withdrew its participation. Yellowknifer apologizes for any confusion these may have caused.
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