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NWT on rocky ground NWT News/North - Monday, Aug 6, 2012
In 2019, a year after the projected closure of Ekati Diamond Mine and when Diavik Diamond Mine will be at the tail end of operations, the NWT's gross domestic product (GDP) will begin to nosedive, according to projections in the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment's latest economic outlook report. That same report hangs our hopes of economic growth on the launching of Gahcho Kue, Prairie Creek, NICO, Tyhee and Avalon mining projects. If each of those mines comes on stream on schedule, the GNWT is predicting our GDP will hit a record high of $4.236 billion in 2017. If they fail to enter the production stage, our GDP could plummet to $2.022 billion. Territorial government figures state oil and mining account for 33 per cent of the NWT's GDP. The public sector finishes a distant second at 12 per cent of GDP. Ekati, Diavik and Snap Lake, according to their respective websites, employ a combined 1,365 Northerners of the 2,700 employees working on all three sites. In comparison, if all five of the aforementioned planned mines go forward they would create 1,266 jobs. Not only does that create a deficit in employment, it is very optimistic to assume all of those projects will reach the production stage. Balancing an economy on non-renewable resources and the volatile commodity market is risky business, especially in a jurisdiction where investor confidence has been shaken by regulatory problems and the high cost of getting products to market. Proof of that can be seen in the near collapse of the NWT's manufacturing industry. In 2007 it contributed $45.8 million to the economy but was down to $9.3 million last year due to the collapse of the diamond cutting and polishing plants. Construction, which contributed $380 million to the economy in 2007, fell to $167 million in 2010. On the bright side, with a few major projects on the horizon, such as the Hay River Health Centre and fire hall, the NWT is seeing a modest rebound in construction. Unfortunately, even at 2007 levels that is only 10 per cent of our GDP. The question is what has the potential to replace or match the economic output of mining in the NWT? That is a hard question to answer but part of the solution might be more homegrown businesses providing services to Northerners. Manufacturing wood pellets to support the GNWT's green plan, other forestry products, growing Northern food for Northern markets and enhancing our tourism with improved infrastructure could be part of the answer. If more of our income can be generated from stable industries the spinoffs could add to our economy in other areas, such as more homes being built, more services and stabilizing or even growing populations in smaller communities. Our government must get to work on a solid plan to broaden our economy and find solutions that don't leave us constantly praying for the next big mine.
Safe RCMP mean safe community Nunavut News/North - Monday, Aug 6, 2012 Is drug and alcohol abuse to blame? Is it the transition from being a dry community to allowing alcohol legally into the hamlet? Are there generations of residents who harbour so much anger toward the RCMP that the only answer is to shoot? There isn't one answer or solution to the serious rash of attacks targeted at RCMP in Kimmirut. But the issues have to come out in the open first, through public talks, before any headway can be made in healing what is so obviously hurt in the hamlet. Although some individuals go against the grain, having seemingly nowhere else to turn that they act out in rage, it is thankfully not the mindset of the majority of the community. One brave woman forewarned Kimmirut Mounties that they were in danger on July 28. Ten courageous residents of the hamlet got out of their beds in the early morning hours when they heard the gunshots outside the detachment, and they subdued the individual. In March, the homes of two RCMP officers in the same community were the targets of shots fired. A resident of the community informed the members of the gunman's location, helping the police and their families move to a safe location. In 2007, 20-year-old Const. Douglas Scott was shot and killed in Kimmirut. Pingoatuk Kolola was convicted of first-degree murder in that case. These incidents keep happening. RCMP can take solace in the fact that the hamlet cares. The community shows it respects the police that serve and protect by coming to their aid. The police are stationed there and in other communities to keep the peace and ensure safety. If they can't do their job, the community is left to fend for itself, which puts everyone in danger.
New mayor must carry on the conversation Nunavut News/North - Monday, Aug 6, 2012 Madeleine Redfern, Iqaluit's mayor for the past 20 months, recently announced that she is not running for a second term in the municipal election this October. It's obvious she'll be missed. Councillors say she led a strong ship, exhibiting pride and passion in the job. The public is also having their say: sending well wishes via the social media sites Redfern has employed as her avenue of direct communication to the city's residents and those beyond Iqaluit's borders. And Redfern, as always, is responding to the individuals. She has raised the bar when it comes to a transparent, open municipal government. She posted information in real time when citizens of the city were craving immediate news and city updates. She was also accountable, providing responses to queries via Facebook and Twitter. Whoever takes up the post as next mayor of Iqaluit should follow suit.
Make grieving parents' wish come true Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, Aug 3, 2012
Josh Hardy, 18, had a wide circle of friends from his time as a student and track star at St. Patrick High School, his involvement as the lead singer in the rock band Cherry Valance, his work as a prep cook at Coyote's Bar and Grill, and through his passion for riding a longboard on the streets and trails around the city.
Hardy crashed on the longboard while riding on the McMahon Frame Lake Trail on July 23. The fall caused a severe brain injury and, ultimately, his death.
His fatal accident had a profound impact on many people. In conversations about the tragedy, one theme seems to reoccur. People wonder why, in the days following Hardy's death, they are still seeing skateboarders riding around the city without helmets.
Jackie Hardy, Josh's mother, had the courage through her grief to draw attention to the need for people to learn from Josh's mistake and protect themselves from a head injury.
Ed Hardy, his father, said he had urged his son to wear a helmet.
There was a time when hockey players didn't wear helmets. Now, it's mandatory. There was a time when a majority of cyclists didn't wear helmets. Now, most of them do, voluntarily.
Politicians, including Range Lake MLA Daryl Dolynny, are calling for laws to make helmets mandatory in the wake of Josh's death. Such laws are difficult to enforce, however.
As Josh's mother wishes, something good can come from his death. Josh's friends could set an example and wear helmets while they ride their skateboards and longboards. The practice can build from there until helmets become as commonplace on the heads of skateboarders as they are on the heads of hockey players and cyclists.
The ongoing saga between NorthwesTel and Internet provider SSI Micro got a whole lot more interesting last month with NorthwesTel's announcement that it plans to spend $273 million over five years to upgrade its broadband capabilities.
A long-entrenched former monopoly, NorthwesTel got its knuckles wrapped by the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) last fall for not providing services on par to southern Canada. However, NorthwesTel boasts that its modernization plan means it will be able to provide smartphone-capable networks to every Northern community. To help pay for these upgrades, NorthwesTel is requesting the CRTC allow it to take $40 million that parent company Bell Canada was supposed to set aside for a "public benefit" with the purchase of broadcast entity Astral Media, and put it toward the modernization plan instead.
SSI Micro and Ice-Iristel - the latter a partnership between two companies that plan to bring landline phone competition to Yellowknife this fall - sense some subterfuge at work. SSI says NorthwesTel's plan will attempt to stifle competition by using subsidies to prop up its upgrades.
Of course, the plan also means NorthwesTel will be honing in on territory already occupied by SSI, which provides satellite-based broadband to Northern communities not patched in by fibre optic cable.
This will require, once again, careful consideration by the CRTC. We're confident the national telecommunications body will make an appropriate and fair decision. For Northerners, there are two matters of concern: one, that meaningful competition continues, and secondly, that at long last every NWT community will have cellphone service. Universal cellphone service will mean Yellowknife MLAs can press forward with demands for 911 emergency phone service, which cabinet denied in 2009 because smaller communities weren't on par.
The summer sun that used to seemingly stay up forever is now setting a bit earlier each day. Before we know it we'll be raking leaves and then in a blink of an eye we'll be up to our knees in snow. When it comes to the seasons it seems that nothing is ever quite good enough. In winter, what many people wish for the most is the sunny days of summer, or at least a vacation somewhere warm.
But in summer, it seems people can't help but wish it was a little cooler.
There's little way to win.
What people can and should do, however, is take the Deh Cho summer in while it lasts. In many ways, summertime is the best season in the region.
With greenery abounding the Deh Cho is undeniably scenic in the summer. Even life-long residents can't be immune to its beauty.
The warm weather also broadens the array of available activities. If you're tired of the same daily routine in your community or your children have run out of ways to amuse themselves, escape to the outdoors. The Deh Cho is a veritable summer playground with many of the attractions just minutes away.
One of the most obvious destinations is the region's waterways. It's hard to beat a meandering boat trip with no specific destination in mind. With a breeze to keep the bugs down and a fishing pole in hand, a boat trip would be many people's idea of a slice of heaven.
If boats aren't for you, however, there's always dry land. The Deh Cho has an abundance of parks where people can camp close to amenities such as running water. Short hiking trails are also close at hand.
If you don't feel like sleeping outside, why not just go for a day trip? Every community has a nearby location where residents like to go for picnic lunches and outings.
Those residents who are more fortunate can head out to their families' cabin or camp and really enjoy life on the land.
Summer in the Deh Cho also brings with it a host of activities to participate in. While many are already past, Mackenzie Days in Fort Providence is gearing up this weekend.
Sometimes it's hard for residents of an area to see just how lucky they are because they are too close to and too used to their environs. Residents of the Deh Cho have it made in the summer time.
Everyone should apply some bugspray and rediscover what the Deh Cho has to offer. Just remember, before you know it winter boots will be replacing sandals and parkas will be replacing T-shirts. Enjoy it while you can.
Where is it that has an ever-changing waterway, with shifting sand bars and swirling currents?
Where do tourists drive over pothole after pothole, risking multiple flats and empty gas tanks just to say they visited?
The answer: the Town of Inuvik.
It's a beautiful place and it truly feels like one of the last great frontiers.
It's full of quirks and surprises, and yes, there are social issues. Sure, some people don't stay that long and there can be a sense of impermanence. But there's something compelling about being on the doorstep of vast wilderness.
So why do we treat it with such disrespect?
Outside doorways, along roads and in parking lots there are piles of cigarette butts.
Sure, you see one or two and who cares? But when drivers start dumping their full car ashtrays right out the window onto the ground, it's time to get angry.
It only takes one butt to start the chain reaction. So far, the only public ashtray seems to be the one outside the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex.
More ashtrays located around town would encourage people to not just toss their cigarettes on the ground.
People need to respect where they live but the needs of residents – and visitors – should also be respected.
If people smoke, and they always will, there needs to be somewhere to put out cigarettes, somewhere that isn't a garden, ball diamond, playground or nature trail.
It shouldn't be hard to find a garbage or ashtray. There are bins in the park.
Would ashtrays solve the problem? No, honestly they wouldn't. But ashtrays would at least make one out of every few people think before carelessly throwing things onto the street.
And hey, even one out of 20 would make a difference.
There's a beautiful tourist centre set up to welcome visitors to Inuvik.
That welcome should continue all the way down the Mackenzie, for residents and tourists alike.
A couple from B.C. were not impressed during their recent visit North, according to their son Al Cook, a Yellowknife resident. The Wildcat Cafe wasn't open, tourism sites were difficult to find, and museum exhibits weren't up to snuff, by their standards.
This is a shame, and the mixed messages offered by Mayor Gord Van Tighem and the Department of Transportation over signage indicates that poor communication is part of the problem.
The mayor suggests the department is not always receptive to the call for more and better signage to help direct tourists to places like the museum and the legislative assembly; a Transportation spokesperson insists that the department will assist with whatever signage is needed to help direct tourists as long it doesn't distract drivers.
Well good then, the two levels of government should have no problem sorting things out and putting more signs in place.
As for the Wildcat, we're sure it will be great once the renovations are complete, even though they are a year behind. And the exhibits at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre? We expect after seven years of developing new ones the museum will have a wonderfully complete collection - hopefully very soon.
At the end of the day, we have to remember where we are. This isn't Toronto, Orlando or Rome. We don't have the money, infrastructure or critical mass to compete with any of those places, let alone Banff or Summerside, P.E.I.
Most tourists visiting Yellowknife aren't coming for the museum or so they can stroll through the legislative assembly, although a few may make a trip here for special events (see editorial below).
However, our ace in the hole is the lack of crowds and the vast wilderness that surrounds us.
Seven thousand Japanese visited our city last year just so they could enjoy the Northern lights with a minimum of light pollution. Sure, we can use a few more signs, but most of all we want those who appreciate the great outdoors to keep coming back.
The 32nd annual Folk on the Rocks music festival entertained a huge crowd of Yellowknife residents, tourists and travellers of all ages late last month. Based on comments from festival-goers who shared their opinions with Yellowknifer, audiences were very impressed.
The city's signature summer event - which spans two days, or three if Warm the Rocks is included - puts the spotlight on talented local performers alongside professional and award-winning entertainers from across the North and elsewhere in Canada.
As organizers gather to debrief about what worked and what can be improved for next year, residents should also take a moment to reflect on their collective role in making this year's festival a success.
Regardless of who's on stage, one of the factors that makes Folk on the Rocks so fun for residents and visitors alike is the people who volunteer or buy tickets to attend. It's a great chance to meet new people and greet old friends and neighbours under the summer sun.
By supporting this year's Folk on the Rocks with their attendance, Yellowknife residents helped organizers pull off what seems to have been one of the more successful festivals in recent years.
Although Folk is now history for another year, summer is not over and neither is festival season.
On Friday, the sixth annual Old Town Ramble and Ride neighbourhood festival is scheduled to kick off, ushering in a weekend filled with more live music, workshops and family entertainment.
Once again, one of the variables that can help make this community festival a success is the people who choose to join in the fun by supporting festival organizers with their enthusiastic participation.
Justin Bieber made a gaffe in a recent issue of Rolling Stone Magazine, which speaks volumes about not only the dearth of public education on aboriginal peoples, but to the type of person that is idolized today.
"I'm actually part Indian," Bieber told Rolling Stone. "I think Inuit or something? I'm enough per cent that in Canada I can get free gas."
Whether or not there is any validity to his claim of ancestry - it would only be more aggravating if there was - that comment offers a clear picture of the understanding between aboriginals, especially those from the North, and many non-aboriginals.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has just in the last few years made an official apology from the Government of Canada to victims of abuse at residential schools, and the conversation is just starting on educating Canada's children on that dark period in the country's history. Education will really be the key to fostering understanding between peoples.
Students in Canada, no matter what province or territory, should at the very least be able to distinguish between major groups of indigenous peoples, so they're not left guessing if someone is "Indian ... Inuit or something" or left assuming without base that aboriginal people get free gas.
Education will also help defeat the racist misconception that aboriginal peoples are just recipients of handouts - people need to know about the ambitious Inuit starting up businesses across the North, and the Inuit hunters who go out and bring food back to their families and communities.
It's hard to reach young people in the south today. The pervading culture throughout most of Canada is pop culture, where it matters more to kids to catch a teaser for the new Bieber music video, or find out with whom Twilight's Kristen Stewart is cheating on her boyfriend, than it does for them to actually look at their country and how its people are living.
I could rail on and on about how distressing it is that people such as Bieber - young, insulated celebrities - are put on a pedestal while benevolent and wise people trying hard to make positive change on the community and national levels are hardly noticed, but I'll leave it at that.
Until education about Canada's peoples is given more than just lip service, the sort of ignorance, bordering on racism, that Bieber spouted to Rolling Stone will continue to be spouted - and distressed editors will continue to have their face in their palm realizing they've actually written an editorial about Justin Bieber.
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