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Hold your MLA's feet to the campfire Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, May 13, 2011
"We've got an election coming up so I guess what we would do is work with the government to see what their priorities are," said Tracy St. Denis.
It's a bold statement, one we can only presume is aimed at the seven MLAs representing Yellowknife. Residents have been complaining to them for years about escalating campground costs and the dwindling availability of approved campsites near Yellowknife, but to no avail.
To hear a senior GNWT bureaucrat suggest it be made a campaign issue is welcome news, and we will add
our voice to that goal.
Yellowknife camping enthusiasts have been taken for granted for far too long. Confronted with growing demand at Fred Henne - which accounted for nearly 30 per cent of the 8,422 NWT campsite permits handed out in 2009 - the government's solution is to push Yellowknife campers 60 km out of town to Reid Lake where 18 new sites were added in 2009, or divide four-month ballot draw campsites into two month blocks for the same $500 price.
With the price of gas pushing $1.40 a litre, going to Reid Lake and spending double for a ballot draw campsite won't be an option for some. Nor is it an alternative to build a cabin while the two-year moratorium is in place. Meanwhile, the GNWT's plan to build an RV park near Yellowknife for visiting tourists, which would have relieved some of the pressure on Fred Henne, has disappeared into the ether.
We've said it before, and we'll say it again: the obvious solution is to take the proposed Giant Mine bypass and put it by Fred Henne. That way the park can be expanded eastward while the government re-routes the Ingraham Trail away from the clean-up zone at Giant.
There's been no action on that front for years, and it's unacceptable.
We suggest Yellowknifers take St. Denis' advice and get commitments from their MLA candidates to make sure this happens.
A program recently introduced by the NWT's power companies allows customers to pump energy from renewable sources - like solar and wind- into the power grid in return for cash.
It's a commendable step toward cheaper power and sustainability, but only a handful of people may benefit from it.
The Northwest Territories Power Corporation and Northland Utilities recently started the net billing pilot program, though no customers have signed up yet. The program allows 5 kilowatt solar or wind energy systems, to a maximum load of 50 kilowatts for the entire territory, on a first-come, first-served basis. This means if 10 people buy 5 kilowatt systems, which are on the low-end of what's available nationally, they will be the only ones who can take advantage of the pilot program until it ends in 2013.
Right now each 5 kilowatt system could produce at least 10,000 to 12,000 kWh per year in Yellowknife, according to Matthew Brost, general manager of Ventek Enterprises, an alternative energy system retailer in Yellowknife and Behchoko.
The power will be bought back at 14.97 cents per kWh, compared to the roughly 19 cents customers pay Northland Utilities for power, which included infrastructure maintenance costs, according to Kevin Lailey, operations superintendent at Northland Utilities.
That could equal a payback of $1,796 per year if 12,000 kWh is produced, which is a decent amount. However, the payoff would be restricted to a small number of Northerners.
Yellowknifers could benefit greatly from tapping into renewable resources in the wake of high electricity and gas prices, but this pilot program is too limited to make much of a dent.
At the time I wrote the August editorial North America was still reeling from the after-effects of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico that began gushing oil following an explosion in April.
Misgivings about what can happen with oil contamination compounded when approximately 19,500 barrels of crude oil escaped from one of Enbridge Inc.'s pipelines in Michigan, U.S., in late July. The oil entered the Kalamazoo River and images of the clean-up efforts were broadcast on TV for nights.
These events combined with covering Enbridge Pipeline (NW) Inc.'s annual oil spill exercise in Fort Simpson led me to write about whether an oil spill associated with a local company operating a pipeline that runs through the Deh Cho would give anyone pause. I argued that if a spill could happen on an Enbridge line in Michigan what's to stop it happening on the Mackenzie River.
This editorial almost seemed prophetic on Tuesday when I received confirmation from Enbridge that there had been a spill on their line approximately 50 km south of Wrigley the day before. The good news in this case, if there can be good news, is that it's relatively small and contained. Enbridge seemingly responded promptly and a cleanup is underway.
There are, however, a lot of unanswered questions.
The cause of the leak isn't known and there's a big question mark hanging over how much larger the leak could have been if the pipeline hadn't already been closed at the time of the incident. The leak possibly could have been much worse.
Enbridge is in an unenviable position. The company's image of being a good, safe corporate citizen has been tarnished. Even a quick and thorough cleanup won't be enough to assure everyone that a leak won't happen again in the Deh Cho.
And people will be right to question the company. Recent events, including a 28,000 barrel spill of crude oil on April 29 from the Rainbow Pipeline owned by Plains Midstream Canada near Peace River, Alta., have shown that pipelines are not foolproof.
Residents need and deserve answers. Enbridge needs to be held responsible for what happened, however small it may be. A full accounting of what went wrong will be in order and residents must push for stringent monitoring and preventative measures from Enbridge.
This incident will also serve as a benchmark for the region when judging any future industrial developments. Even companies with clean track records can have things go wrong and both the people and the environment of the Deh Cho will be the ones who pay the price.
With love and attention, food and shelter, encouragement and strength, children will flourish. A stable home life where they can explore their future, learn how to read and do homework, have enough food and sleep will do wonders for growing up into a happy, well-adjusted person.
The key to all of this is the mothers. If the mothers are unemployed, single or too young to take care of their children, how can the children succeed? The real question, however, is how to create these good, strong and brave mothers.
The answer could lay with the Taiga Adventure Camp. The camp, now in its fourth year, vows to inspire and empower young women in the Northwest Territories between the ages of 11 and 17 – undoubtedly tough years.
The first two years took place in Fort Smith and offered the young women all sorts of activities, such as kayaking, self-defence, song-writing, computer skills and arts and crafts. The third year took place in Yellowknife and the camp also expanded to include a river trip.
The camp differs from others for its emphasis on inspiring a generation of young women leaders. Camp counsellors come from a variety of backgrounds and from across Canada to help these young women find the potential within them. It opens doors and shows the opportunities available. Want to be a rock star? A journalist? A scientist? A teacher? It's all possible, and this camp gives the girls the tools they need.
The values of the camp include leadership as a chance to discover personal potential; the natural environment as a source of knowledge, tradition and adventure; confidence to allow the campers a chance to discover individual skills and talents; contribution through participation; respect for themselves and others; and learning through curiosity, positive risk-taking moving past a failure.
It's a positive atmosphere where the campers can explore who they are and who they can be when they're away from home and the distractions or abuses they may face.
These are values that anyone can use. If the camp is successful, maybe in 20 years these young girls from across the territory will be the leaders of businesses, communities and families. Hopefully the values they learn here will help them turn into the type of mothers that will help this territory grow and succeed.
Not stopping with Betty House last week, mining company BHP Billiton also recently donated $100,000 toward to the construction of the NWT SPCA's animal shelter. BHP Billiton's generosity proves yet again how critically important the mining community is to this city, from its early days as a gold mining boom town to the present with diamond mines on the tundra.
Some may recall a few years back when, faced with cost overruns at the yet-to-be completed Shorty Brown rink of the Multiplex arena, Diavik Diamond Mines stepped in to offer a $50,000 donation to Facilities for Kids and agreed to manage the project, which saved the city close to $2 million. More recently, Diavik led the charge in revamping cleanup efforts with the Polishing the Gem campaign in hopes of attracting more of its employees to come live here.
There have also been numerous sparkling gems donated to various fundraising causes in our city.
All three diamond mining companies operating in the NWT have valuable contributions to Yellowknife many times over, although it could be argued De Beers has the lower profile to date. The diamond giant handed out $3.8 million in cash, in-kind and staff time contributions in 2009 but it's hard to think of a community project in Yellowknife that has De Beers' stamp of generosity on it, the way Diavik and BHP have put their brand on their projects.
Surely, such an initiative is just around the corner.
Home businesses relying on cellphones need reliable service to operate, and entrepreneurs should not have to forego the best available technology in the NWT because they can't rely on the system.
There have been complaints in the North about cellphone customers on the 3G network losing calls and being frustrated by slow Internet browser service during peak hours. With little competition on the cellphone market, and none for smartphones, only Bell Canada's customers can hold the company accountable for better service.
Landline phones are quickly becoming obsolete and, as is the case around the world, people in the NWT are hungry for the latest technology. If Bell did not have the foresight to envision the level of demand when it installed the network in late 2009, and if it failed to position itself to respond rapidly to the need for growth in the Yellowknife market, the telecommunications firm made a mistake and customers should demand it be rectified.
A Bell representative acknowledged "congestion" issues on the system. He told Yellowknifer that changes had been made to improve network service, and that the situation would be monitored. If customers are still experiencing problems, they must speak up and not let the company off the hook.
This year's NHL playoffs have been somewhat perplexing, to say the least.
After an opening round highlighted by a flurry of overtime games in closely-matched series, the second round's been a hodgepodge of blowouts marked, for the most part, by questionable officiating (it pains me to write that) and disinterested play by many supposed stars.
As I wrote this, Tampa Bay had ousted favoured Washington in straight games, with only Capitals star Alex Ovechkin looking and sounding like he really cared.
Boston was up 3-0 on a Philadelphia squad whose goaltending has resembled some form of twisted hockey production of the Keystone Kops meet Captain Hook.
San Jose was also up 3-0 on an aging Detroit team in a series that, save for one hit thrown at Dany Heatley by Wings D-man Niklas Kronwell, has to rate as one of the most polite Stanley Cup match-ups even played.
That leaves us with the agonizing Vancouver versus Nashville encounter.
With the Canucks up 3-1 heading back to Vancouver, this has been a series that could easily have gone either way.
Take away the ridiculous hooking call on Nashville's Shea Weber, and the series could easily have been notched at two.
Yet the hooking call, as questionable as it was, still takes a back seat to the 'clipping' penalty called earlier in the playoffs as the result of an old-fashioned hip check.
The dilemma for many fans watching the Vancouver versus Nashville series has been, of course, being torn between cheering for the Canadian team or the one with our very own Jordin Tootoo of Rankin Inlet.
To the casual observer, this may not seem like a big deal.
But, believe it or not, it's a very big deal to those in the Kivalliq who are true hockey lovers because there's a sense of guilt attached to cheering against Tootoo.
You may be a Canucks fan or a hockey nut who dearly wants a Canadian team to bring the Cup home, yet you can't help but feel bad when you see a dejected Tootoo leaving the ice after playing his heart out.
And, make no mistake about it, Tootoo has been playing his heart out since the playoffs began.
In fact, since Tootoo rejoined the Preds late in the regular season, he's been playing the best hockey of his NHL career by a Kivalliq mile.
And that's the silver lining for those who have been wearing their Canucks jersey at home with the window blinds pulled down tight.
Fans who know Tootoo are cheering for him to win on a far larger scale than becoming a Stanley Cup champion this year.
They're cheering for him to continue in the skating lane he's on to winning the game of life.
A number of Tootoo's friends have all said they can't remember ever seeing him so happy during the past few months.
Maybe it won't be this year, but if he continues with his success -- which we have every belief he will -- the day will come when Tootoo arrives on a scheduled flight to Rankin to share the Cup with people in his hometown for one unforgettable visit.
Make no mistake about it, the Tootoo Train is back on track and steaming in that direction!
Now that the Conservatives have surged to a decisive 167-seat majority government, the NWT will be looking for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to again include funding to help recruit doctors to the North along with his promise of a six per cent increase to health care transfer payments to the provinces and territories.
Before the government was defeated in a vote of non-confidence, the Conservatives budgeted $9 million per year to attract doctors and nurse practitioners to remote and rural regions of Canada. As part of the program, doctors would be eligible to transfer a portion of their student loans into non-repayable grants for up to five years -- $8,000 per year for doctors and $4,000 per year for nurse practitioners.
Up to $40,000 in savings on student loans is a huge incentive and would go a long way to attracting practitioners to the North, where 40 of 44 doctors are based in Yellowknife. The Sahtu, Deh Cho, Fort Smith and Hay River are all without a physician.
However, cash incentives can only do so much and is far from a long-term solution. The federal government must also help the NWT invest in its communities to improve living conditions, availability of services, reduce the cost of living and create an environment that compels doctors to stay and be part of the community once the cash lure runs out.
In the long term, working to train Northerners to fill these positions will reduce our reliance on southerners. Staffing health care centres and hospitals with people invested in our communities will ensure better quality and consistency of care.
In conjunction with cash breaks to graduates, funding to reserve seats for Northerners at medical schools should also be considered. Consequently, improvements to our education system are essential if we are to ensure our students are prepared and qualified to fill those seats.
It's going to be an interesting four years in Canada. On May 2 the political landscape of our country was reshaped as the NDP 102 earned seats in Parliament and a place as the official opposition.
The NWT became the only province or territory without a Conservative representative and it will be interesting to see what that will mean for the territory's relationship with Ottawa.
Dennis Bevington, our Western Arctic MP, has proven his commitment to Northern issues in the past and now he will need to draw on his previous two terms of experience to ensure he makes the needs of the territory heard in the House of Commons.
The needs of the territory are many. Topping the list are revisions to the failing Nutrition North Canada program; improved housing and roads; the negotiation of a fair devolution agreement that includes the GNWT and aboriginal governments; the expedient and equitable resolution of outstanding land claims agreements; the protection of aboriginal land rights such as the Edehzhie region in the Deh Cho; and a commitment to find efficiencies in the regulatory process to attract investors and development to the North.
Diverse economic development is needed in the NWT -- be it more mining or tourism opportunities -- and Bevington must ensure all discussions include aboriginal governments and respect traditional and land claims rights. Fighting to reinstate sub-surface protection in the Edehzhie region will go a long way to rebuilding the trust of the aboriginal community and make future development discussion easier.
Although the Conservatives have a strong majority, the NDP must provide vocal opposition. Bevington’s voice, with support from many of the NWT’s aboriginal leaders, needs to be heard.
Last Monday, Leona Aglukkaq was re-elected MP for Nunavut with her winning margin increased to 1,751 from 466 in 2008, a vote of approval of her performance over the past two-and-a-half years.
Her increase in the vote share came at a cost to the NDP and the Green Party, which saw their number of votes drop substantially from 2008, while the Liberals' total stayed virtually the same. Paul Okalik earned just 11 votes more than Kirt Ejesiak did in 2008.
As federal Health minister, Aglukkaq was the first Inuk to hold a senior cabinet position and this translated into some benefits for Nunavut. The headquarters of CanNor was based in Iqaluit and a High Arctic Research Centre went to Cambridge Bay. Canada is fighting the EU decision to ban seal imports; the minister of INAC made a public apology to High Arctic relocatees. Perhaps these things would have happened without Aglukkaq in cabinet, but her presence there surely made some difference.
On the other hand, Food Mail was replaced with Nutrition North Canada, and the public is largely unhappy with the new program. The federal government attempted to proceed with seismic testing in Lancaster Sound, despite Inuit objections, but Inuit won a court injunction to stop it. During the election, the Conservative Party declined to provide responses to questions posed by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami on issues of concern to Inuit, referring the organization instead to the party's national platform.
Aglukkaq is now part of a Conservative majority government, with the certainty of at least four years before another election. Yet she may face an uphill battle to keep Nunavut's needs high on the priority list of Ottawa politicians and bureaucrats. For instance, the federal government has made a dent in the housing crunch by funding new homes, but demand remains high.
We wish Aglukkaq luck in keeping Nunavut's issues on the radar in Ottawa, and hope the confidence Nunavummiut have shown in her is rewarded.
Contractors working in Nunavut are unhappy with some aspects of the Nunavummi Nangminiqaqtunik Ikajuuti policy, according to the NWT and Nunavut Construction Association.
The policy is supposed to provide incentives for business to keep goods and services closer to home.
However, contractors say the rules on when they receive final payment for their work have become unclear, and smaller businesses are being hurt by the holdback of payments beyond when they were expecting to get paid.
They are also concerned about changes to what constitutes substantial completion of a project, and the issue of damaged or missing materials on labour-only contracts.
It's hard enough getting projects done in Nunavut - many tenders don't get any bids at all - that angering contractors by throwing more obstacles in their way is not constructive at all.
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