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INUVIK
Inuvik was bustling with activity last week as the premier, all the cabinet ministers, some deputy ministers and senior staff converged on Inuvik for a deluge of leadership and strategic planning meetings with members of the Beaufort Delta region.

From Jan. 9 to Jan. 11, the GNWT attended government-to-government meetings with the Beaufort-Delta Regional Council, including the communities of Inuvik, Fort McPherson, Tsiigehtchic, Sachs Harbour, Paulatuk, Ulukhaktok, Aklavik and Tuktoyaktuk. About 50 people were at Ingamo Hall at any given time to discuss devolution, energy initiatives, education, housing and health and social services.

Mayor Denny Rodgers said it was a great opportunity for the town to host the annual meetings and gather with the surrounding community leadership. He said issues close to the town included the development of the Inuvik-Tuk Highway project as well as garnering future support for the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Project and to ensure there is funding earmarked for the fibre optic link planned, which he said will have a “big impact for this community.”

He said he believes the construction phase of the highway is scheduled to start next year – but a lot hinges on the borrowing limit the territorial government hopes to increase. Rodgers said another project waiting for aid from the GNWT is the Children’s First Centre, which the community has put $2.4 million toward.

“That is still not enough … there is a huge gap there for capital funding,” said Rodgers.

More doctors needed

Rodgers said the meeting allowed the town to tell the Minister of Health and Social Services that having one full-time doctor in Inuvik is not good enough.

“There’s an allocation for 26 doctors in Inuvik and the regions outside of Yellowknife and there's 30 doctor positions in Yellowknife and all are filled,” he said.

“Out of the 26, we have one. There’s an issue here and we need to deal with it. Why aren’t we retaining doctors?”

MLA for Inuvik Boot Lake Alfred Moses said this shortage of health care resources is an issue – even more so after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's project this past year, which opened the door for people to openly speak about their experiences in residential schools.

“There’s more demand for counselling services and we need to get that addressed,” he said.

The Beaufort Delta Health and Social Services Authority was able to benefit from the visitors as it scheduled a strategic planning session on Jan. 11 with leaders from the surrounding communities still in town. The authority’s accumulated deficit is at a five-year high of about $8.5 million.

Next step

Moses said the next step is to get the resolutions put forward by the regional groups addressed in the next sitting of the legislative assembly starting on Feb. 7.

“We need more joint leadership meetings, more efforts from all the leaders in the community working together and seeing what are those commonalities of issues that all groups can work on … Strategize ways we can work together so we’re not all coming from different directions to try to find the same solutions for problems.”

Meetings held with the Gwich'in Tribal Council last week embraced subjects such as land claims implementation, infrastructure projects, building the economy and devolution.

“They did want more consultation and more work for a better, stronger relationship with the territorial government and that the Gwich’in want it to be recognized that the town is built on their land,” said Moses.

“Having such a diverse community, you have to look at what’s the best interests of all living here and take care of everybody and not look at it as private-to-public or group-to-group.”

Richard Nerysoo, president of the Gwich’in Tribal Council, said the council recognizes the fiscal challenges faced by both the federal and territorial governments and realizes everyone must work together to use all resources available to work on the priorities at hand.

“Repairing relations, rebuilding trust and developing a collaborative working relationship are all necessary to improve the lives of the Gwich’in and all peoples of the NWT," he said at the end of the meeting.

Items raised throughout the council included moving away from a government-supported economy, creating a draft agreement-in-principle on Gwich'in self government by Dec. 31, 2012, as well as stimulating the private sector and creating more jobs.

Robert C. McLeod, MLA for Inuvik Twin Lakes, said a lot of concerns in both the BDRC and the Gwich’in Tribal Council meetings was ensuring people are able to secure jobs.

“People just want to get out there and earn a living,” he said.

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