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Con project needs public support
Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, April 22, 2011

It's good news that the city hasn't given up on the Con energy project despite losing a referendum last month to backstop the project with taxpayer dollars.

Even though voters rejected the city's plan to borrow up to $49 million, most residents seem to like the district energy concept, even those with the hard questions. If the referendum question had been: Do you support tapping geothermal heat from Con Mine and supplementing it with wood pellet boilers to heat downtown, the "yes" side surely would have triumphed.

People voted 'no' because too much of the project was poorly defined or kept under wraps plus the enormous amount money involved. City council swore they had three potential partners from the private sector interested in the project, but because of the lack of information on what was being put on the table, residents withheld support for the project.

The fear was that the city might ultimately go it alone and take on all the risk itself. People don't trust the municipality to manage the project by itself because it lacks expertise in running a utility and has a spotty track record when it comes to large scale development.

City councillor Bob Brooks says the city is still negotiating with the three potential mystery partners. An announcement on the progress of those negotiations will likely come next month, he said.

It was Yes We Con or bust before the referendum. But now that voters have resoundingly rejected the city's plan to borrow the money, it seems the goal is for a private sector utility to take over the project completely.

But the city could still be an active partner. If the private partner is willing to invest a substantial amount of money in the business plan, what's stopping the city from seeking voter approval to put up money for the project a second time?

Unfortunately, despite repeated requests, the city won't say how much the last referendum cost, so it's hard to determine the worth of going down that road again. Administration's failed attempt to kill referendums a week after the vote is an indication they want to avoid public involvement, which would be bad move. If city officials sense distrust from residents now, it will be a lot worse with a private sector agreement signed behind closed doors and streets being torn up to lay the pipes.

With apparently $71 million needed to close the city's infrastructure gap, now is not the time for the city to give up on seeking support from residents.

Mistakes were made in the initial roll out of the geothermal project.

Those on council who sincerely support the project on the basis of sound environmental and economic principles must ensure there are no further mistakes to shake public confidence.


Another election?
Editorial Comment
Herb Mathisen
Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, April 21, 2011

Have you ever been walking along outside, trying to clear your head with some fresh air, when one of those clouds of bugs sneaks up on you and, before you know it, you're doubled-over because you're choking on the lousy things?

I imagine that's probably how a lot of us feel about our latest federal election.

Sure, we have some new faces in the race, but we can't be blamed if we're getting a little fed up with these things. I mean, I have a tough enough time deciding what toppings to order on my pizza. Choosing a leader? No, thanks.

And these federal candidates start working us up with talk about plotting coalitions and dictatorial regimes. I'm about tapped out on anxiety - or at least I feel that way until my new VISA statement arrives in the mail.

Fort Simpson residents - or at least 30 of them - were willing to hear out our MP hopefuls at a Western Arctic some-candidates forum last Sunday.

I use the term 'some' because Conservative candidate Sandy Lee cancelled her appearance when Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced he was jetting to Yellowknife that evening. As well, neither Green Candidate Eli Purchase nor Bonnie Dawson, candidate for the Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada, could attend.

From questions volleyed forward, it was apparent the highway, health care costs, housing, jobs and the cost of living were issues on the minds of residents.

But there are other issues.

In its defeated budget, the Conservatives included $150 million -- $30 million for five years, starting in 2012 - for an all-weather road connecting Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk. This fueled excitement about the possible future construction of a Mackenzie Valley Highway.

What would $150 million in the Beaufort Delta do for the Deh Cho region?

In a jurisdiction as large and as diverse as the NWT, handing out money to one region won't trickle down to others necessarily. Do you vote for prosperity in the NWT or just your region?

Do you vote for the Conservative candidate - and maybe take home something from her party's swell goodie bag - or elect a candidate who might not be in power, but who can - hopefully - stand up for Northern priorities and not have to toe a party line?

With the probability of another minority government though, the sad fact is no matter what promises are made, an absence of action and accountability can always be blamed on a lack of support by whoever becomes the opposition in the end.

And maybe that's why us voters are so bummed out: We know we'll likely be coerced back into this song and dance all over again in 16 months if another minority government fails.

In spite of my apparent cynicism though, I'm pledging to pull that bug out of my eye and perform my civic duty.

At the very least, I know my vote will have one positive effect: It will keep the bugs away for a while.


The value of traditional knowledge
Editorial Comment
Samantha Stokell
Inuvik Drum - Thursday, April 21, 2011

Researching the North is important. Everyone can agree on that.

Climate change is affecting all factors of life in the North. Temperatures rise, shorelines shrink, plant growth evolves and animals - humans included - adapt however they can.

While science is paying more attention to the North, the research focuses on singular aspects: the effects of melting permafrost on infrastructure, observation of birds and marine mammals or the impact of climate change on land and water quality.

These are all important studies, but something they generally don't take into account is how each of those research topics affect each other. The melting permafrost will likely have an impact on land and water quality, which of course affects the animals living off the land.

This is where traditional knowledge comes into play. Local hunters and trappers spend countless hours on the land each year. Even younger hunters, who may use snowmobiles and wear GoreTex, have more knowledge on the land compared to researchers who come North to do their studies. They arrive once change has already happened.

Hunters can provide that crucial baseline information that researchers crave, but only anecdotally. What is needed is a standardized monitoring program so that those on the land can note when change happens and alert someone locally to those changes who can then start researching.

Two days of workshops held last week at the Midnight Sun Complex worked on just that - a community-based monitoring program, designed by the community members themselves. They'll decide how information is gathered, where it's stored and what's researched. In other words, they'll own information about where they live and the land they use.

This will give Beaufort Delta hunters and trappers so much power. When exploration companies come exploring and consulting with their information on environmental impacts, communities in our region will already have research on what will be affected. There will be less dependence on outsiders for "approved" knowledge of Inuvialuit and Gwich'in land. The ball will be in their court.

It's another form of self-governance that could provide pride in traditional knowledge, an opportunity to reconnect with the land and even jobs for the next generation.

The consultations by the Fisheries Joint Management Committee for the community-based monitoring programs are the first steps toward a program that can change the way the rest of the world sees the North and may even lead to a university dedicated to Northern studies. That would truly be revolutionary.


Empty seat makes sense
Yellowknifer - Wednesday, April 20, 2011

In the interest of saving money in an already debt-laden government, the choice to not fill Sandy Lee's vacant cabinet seat was a good one - as long as it does not set a precedent to steal a cabinet seat away from Yellowknife. Costs for filling the seat include staff hours to bring a new minister up to date on the portfolio(s), not to mention the learning curve with less than six months to go until the next territorial election.

The legislative assembly also recently approved a year of transition pay for outgoing cabinet members, helping them ease back into the work world.

As MLA Wendy Bisaro pointed out, there's also letterhead and business cards.

All in all, we're talking about more than $100,000 for a temporary fix.

On the other hand, Yellowknife's sole MLA on cabinet now is Bob McLeod, which leaves half the territory's population underrepresented.

Traditionally, two Yellowknife MLAs sit among the six in cabinet to represent the interests of the city. How effective they are in doing so is questionable.

When Yellowknife residents rallied against the proposed merger of education, health and housing boards in late 2008 and into early 2009, McLeod kept quiet, saying he had to "take the government line." Lee, Yk's other cabinet minister at the time, also kept her head down.

Come fall, we need two Yellowknife MLAs named to cabinet, and we'd much prefer they be ones who are willing to speak up in the best interests of city residents, not just bowing to cabinet's decree.


Stanton put in a tough spot
Yellowknifer - Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Staff at Stanton Territorial Hospital sometimes find themselves having to stomach criticism over the treatment of patients without having their side of the story told publicly.

Unlike other government departments that periodically hide behind policy, the health department is handcuffed by privacy legislation and therefore cannot delve into a patient's personal details.

Yellowknifer featured a personal account from a psych ward patient on April 8 ("It's like I'm sane and I'm going to leave insane"). He said he feels his freedom of movement within and outside the hospital is inconsistent and staff there are not pleasant in their interaction with him.

That is, admittedly, one side of the story.

Many of us also know people who have been treated with tremendous care and compassion at Stanton. Doctors and nurses operate under high-stress conditions at times and, at some points, have to manage with critical positions unfilled.

With limited space in the hospital and social problems plaguing the North, it seems certain that much demand is put on the mental health ward. The RCMP may occasionally be taken away from other investigations to look for psych patients who wander off, but the police should be understanding in dealing with the hospital. Medical staff, who are not jailers, have to walk a fine line between treating their patients and respecting their patients' rights.


Can good things come in small (nuclear) packages?
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Many people have been discussing nuclear reactors and uranium mining since Japan's brush with disaster, and rightly so.

And, arguably, at no point in Nunavut history has nuclear discussion been more relevant than today.

Areva Resource's proposed uranium mine near Baker Lake is the lightning rod for the debate, but Kiggavik is but one small piece in a much larger and complicated puzzle.

Broken down to its most rudimentary point, people need to be able to afford power to live in Nunavut.

And only so much of a household's net income can be allotted to a power bill.

People still need to eat, heat their homes, provide for their kids, clothe the family and, heaven forbid, maybe own a vehicle and be able to spend a few dollars a month on recreational activities.

That doesn't scratch the surface of mortgage payments, land leases, life, home and property insurance, and the proper maintenance of one's home and/or vehicle.

And, all the while, those of us with no government or private pensions to look forward to are expected to also sock enough away in savings, RRSPs or other investments to take care of our golden years.

A daunting task, to say the least, and one that's going to become even more difficult if our complete dependency on fossil fuels doesn't end soon.

Projected shortfalls in the Qulliq Energy Corp.'s operating budget are downright scary, and that 19.3 per cent rate hike across the board is just the tip of the iceberg if we do remain dependent on fossil fuels to keep our lights on.

A number of Nunavut communities pay more than 10 times their southern counterparts for lights to come on when a switch is thrown.

And, higher power bills also mean higher prices at the checkout counter of every business in the territory, as they pass on the escalating cost of doing business to their customers.

That's the way it works in a capitalist system.

Harnessing the power of the wind, water and sun are being looked at as alternative ways to provide cost-effective power in Nunavut, but the chances of any of these methods being realized any time soon are slim at best.

Which brings us back to uranium and the possibility of mini-nuclear reactors providing power in Nunavut.

Those who support mini-reactors claim their design is safe, they could be put into every Nunavut community, and could save the Government of Nunavut (GN) a ton of money during the coming decades.

They claim the average consumer could save as much as 90 per cent from their current power bill.

Those who oppose mini-reactors even being built, would vehemently oppose that course being taken by the GN.

Of course, it would be left to the average citizen to filter fact from fiction in all the rhetoric that would surely spew from both sides regarding the matter.

But, at the end of the day, fuel costs are going to continue to rise dramatically in Nunavut as long as we're dependant on fossil fuels.

And, if these mini-reactors could solve that problem, they should be seriously - and thoroughly! - looked at.

When it comes to sound alternative choices, Nunavummiut shouldn't be left in the dark on any option.


Nutrition North hasn't fixed what was wrong
NWT News/North & Nunavut News/North - Monday, April 18, 2011

When the federal government announced it was launching a new plan to replace the Food Mail program, many were optimistic, hoping for more affordable nutritious foods in their communities.

Instead, on April 1 the price of many healthful perishable foods dropped by an unimpressive five to seven per cent. Many Northerners are finding the overall cost of their groceries has increased, and many no longer have the option of avoiding local retail prices by ordering their own food from southern stores as paperwork headaches are causing those grocers to opt out of the program in droves.

The old Food Mail program wasn't perfect. The same complaints people had about that program - the lack of transparency on the part of retailers and obstacles to personal orders - continue with Nutrition North.

More research should have been done to explain why prices are so high to begin with and that information should be used to fine tune the Food Mail program.

In Yellowknife, a shopper can pick up four litres of milk for $4.99. During the Food Mail era, Canada Post could ship that four litre jug of milk, weighing approximately four kilograms, for 80 cents per kilogram to Norman Wells. That cost about $3.20 for each jug. That brings the price to about $8.19. Keep in mind the shelf price of milk at a Yellowknife store already includes the mark-up for overhead.

But, shoppers in Norman Wells were paying $13.99 for that jug of milk. What was the reason for that extra $7.79 over and above the shipping cost? Is the cost of doing business in remote stores that high? Answer that question and you'd solve the dilemma of high food prices in the North.

In Norman Wells, that same quantity of milk is now $12.49 under Nutrition North Canada, a modest reduction. Pop and chips are still far more affordable.

Back when Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq was running for Nunavut MP in 2008, she campaigned on changing Food Mail. She told News/North, "Where's the subsidy? I don't see the subsidy. I'll use the pineapple as an example. It's bought for $3.39 or something in Yellowknife. By the time it hits the Taloyoak store, it's a $15 pineapple. So where is the subsidy going and how are the stores using that subsidy? I think they owe us an explanation."

They still do. And we're not getting it from Nutrition North.

Part of the hype of the new system was there would be greater accountability on the part of retailers. We hope that is so, but we have not seen it yet. Stores must be forced to show Northern consumers line-by-line the breakdown of product cost -- base price, shipping cost, stocking and overhead mark-up, and profit - on subsidized items. That information is vital to targeting the cause of high food prices and truly making basic staples affordable.

We asked the North West Company for this breakdown. The company wouldn't tell us, saying it was "competitive information."

Food security is at or near the top of the list of pressing social issues in the NWT, Nunavut and in other locations around the world as, we must also acknowledge, global food prices have been climbing steadily over the past several months.

Yet cheaper -- and less nutritious -- food options can lead to obesity, diabetes, rickets, and increase risk factors for some forms of cancer. The federal government has the choice of either investing in Northern nutrition now or paying more over the long term for our health-care bills.

We need a solution. The fact food prices remain a burden on Northern families is a black mark on the reputation of our nation and no government should allow the problem to persist.


Corrections

Incorrect information appeared in Wednesday's Yellowknifer. In "Land debate on 47 Street," the issue has been deferred back to administration and no date has been set for it to appear in council.

Yellowknifer apologizes for any confusion or embarrassment caused by the error.

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