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Diamond Capital of North America
Yellowknifer - Wednesday, January 23, 2013

What ever happened to the Diamond Capital of North America?

Well it's still here. Where else on the continent will you find three diamond mines producing millions of carats worth billions of dollars annually with another mine to come on line within a few short years?

The closest contender is the Attawapiskat First Nation, which is approximately 90 kilometres away from Victor Mine in Ontario and, coincidentally, where aboriginal rights crusader Chief Theresa Spence is from.

As the jumping off point to Canada's first diamond mines - Ekati, Diavik and Snap Lake - Yellowknife's claim to Diamond Capital of North America is pretty solid. But who calls it that?

Many people did back in 2006 when four cutting and polishing plants employed 200 workers. Yellowknifer reported the peak was reached with an offer to the presenters of the Golden Globe awards to fly from Edmonton to Yellowknife, pick out a diamond, choose a setting designed by a local artist, spend a few days getting pampered in a hotel, then pick up the ring and head home - all expenses paid. Apparently no celebrities accepted the offer but the idea of it all created substantial buzz.

At the same time, the Polar Bear diamond, certified as dug up, cut and polished in the NWT, was being promoted as a politically correct alternative to the blood diamonds dramatized in the 2006 movie of the same name starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Since then, despite the best efforts of the City of Yellowknife to burn the Diamond Capital brand into the minds of North Americans and the rest of the world, our diamond dreams turned quickly into coal.

If we compare the linkage between Whitehorse, Yukon, and the gold rush days of 1896-1899, it's pretty clear what the NWT's diamond rush lacked was romance; a bit ironic since diamonds themselves live or die depending on the romance factor.

If only Ekati founders Chuck Fipke and Stewart Blusson had made their last stand on a kimberlite pipe fighting off hordes of diamond hunters, we might have had enough drama to carry the day. Sadly, prospecting and mining is far too scientific and business oriented to accomplish much more than produce dazzling profits, good for the Northern economy but death for myth-making.

By 2010, Diamond Row cutting and polishing plants out by the airport were put up for sale. Arslanian and the Polar Bear diamond was out of business, leaving Crossworks Manufacturing downtown the last plant standing.

Now we have a new player striding forth in the form of Deepak International. It bought the two buildings on Diamond Row and is pledging to revive the cutting and polishing industry with local hires and a new push on the Polar Bear Diamond.

In the meantime, Crossworks Manufacturing has repeated its commitment, first mentioned in 2008, to open a diamond tourism exhibit attached to its downtown plant.

Is all of this enough to put wind in the sails of a Diamond Capital branding campaign? Possibly, but that won't happen without the energy and participation of the people who live the dream every day.

How many Yellowknifers either work at the diamond mines or have a relative or a friend who does? How many Yellowknife homeowners have imagined what their properties might be worth had not Fipke and Blussom made their diamond discovery?

Every non-profit event supported by the mines in the last two decades should attempt to weave the romance of diamonds into their next event.

While initial attempts at branding didn't produce sparkling results, we hope the city retakes a lead in reminding the world we are still the Diamond Capital of North America.


Money not only way to enrich life
Editorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, January 23, 2013

While there's no arguing the story is getting old, the fact remains, sooner or later, a price has to be paid if the trend continues.

It doesn't seem to matter what extracurricular activity you're talking about, a precious handful of people continue to carry the load when it comes to keeping these invaluable programs running.

And far too many of them say it's almost impossible to get enough volunteers to run a program effectively unless you have enough funding to be able to pay them.

Let's be honest here and point out one little irrefutable fact.

You don't pay volunteers!

The term to volunteer, in and of itself, means exactly that.

You give up some of your spare time, with no expectation of remuneration, in order to support a program that benefits your community.

And, the vast majority of the time, said programs benefit one of the most important aspects of our communities - our youth!

I don't want to come across as condescending, but this is a problem I'll never understand no matter how long I call the Kivalliq home.

And, unless my company knows something I don't, I plan to continue calling the Kivalliq home for a good many years yet.

Whether you're talking our various sports, regional chapters of national programs like the cadets or Girl Guides, or culturally-specific endeavours aimed at putting more Inuit youth in touch with their history and traditions, why do so many folks insist on being paid before they'll give some time to help out?

What really irks me is when I hear someone talking about the social problems our region faces and what has to be done to overcome them.

Too often they'll talk about the need for additional programming to give our youth a constructive way to pass the hours and, hopefully, help keep them away from the darker temptations of life.

They'll talk of the importance of youth, often naming them our leaders of tomorrow.

And, without fail, they'll work catch phrases into their spiels such as healthy communities and lifestyles.

Yet far too many of these same folks are never seen anywhere near a youth program unless there's a photo-op involved, and they give nothing of their time to help run the very endeavours they list as being so important to the future of our communities.

Our youth aren't dumb. They know who the people are who walk the walk and they also know who only talks the talk.

From hockey, indoor soccer and Inuit games to drum dancing, skin working and tool making, our youth see the same faces week after week helping them enjoy themselves, learn new skills and mature as individuals.

Surely we've reached the point where it's time for more of us to take the words seriously and begin to practise what we preach.

It's a win-win situation for everyone.

Not only would you actually enjoy it if you gave it a shot, but you'd take a lot of pride in watching these kids mature, knowing you're doing your part to make your community a better place.

It may not swell your wallet or bank account, but volunteering will definitely enrich your life and those you spend time with!


Wisdom in many forms
NWT News/North -Monday, January 21, 2013

For two decades the NWT Status of Women Council has been recognizing the strength of women in the territory through its annual Wise Women Awards ceremony.

Whether it is through public leadership or serving as a role model, these women exemplify what it means to serve their people, their communities and, in some cases, their territory.

Grandmother, daughters, sisters, scholars, politicians and keepers of traditional knowledge, Wise Women Award recipients come from all walks of life and have demonstrated that strength comes in many forms.

Past award winners include people such as Deline's Gina Dolphus, Fort Resolution's Rosa Lafferty and Inuvik's Greta Sittichinli, to name a small few.

Each of those three women displays a different kind of strength. Dolphus, a former mayor, drug counsellor and social activist, demonstrates leadership in a very vocal and public fashion. She is among the long list of powerful community and territorial women leaders in the territory.

Lafferty, on the other hand, was not so outspoken. Her way of living, her connection to her culture and her desire to share that culture with those around her was an inspiration to many. A mother and a grandmother, her wisdom will be passed to future generations and a part of history will survive because of her choice to live a life true to herself.

Sittichinli is an example of perseverance. She began her family at a young age but did not let that stop her from pursuing an education. She was forced to deal with the deaths of the father of her children and eldest daughter.

Despite that pain, she chose to be a support for many people in her community.

There are numerous women in our territory who display traits similar to these. All are deserving of recognition, whether it is for political leadership, serving as a role model through a healthy and traditional way of life, or demonstrating strength during hardship.

We urge everyone to look around their communities and think about who inspires you. Who do you look up to? Who has helped make your community a better place? Make a list and nominate that person for a Wise Woman Award.


Welcome to a million more Indians
NWT News/North - Monday, January 21, 2013

"There are up to a million more Indians today than there were yesterday."

The line above was used in the opening of a Globe and Mail column shortly after the court decision ruling that Metis and non-status Indians should be treated the same as Indians by the federal government.

The columnist then shared his opinion about the "consequences" of the ruling, "such as greater access to health, education and social programs for aboriginal Canadians." He means the huge cost to Canadian taxpayers and the potential "watering down" of existing services because the government might not spend more money, just the same money for more people.

People lacking a solid legal education, which is most of us, may well scratch their head over the ruling, wondering what it will change and what good it is.

After all, considering the treatment so-called Indians suffer at the hands of the federal government and its bloated army of bureaucrats, we might ask who wants that? Isn't that what all the Idle No More movement is all about?

But for aboriginal organizations and leaders, in this case those representing Metis and non-status Indians, court rulings are worth their weight in gold. Lawyers can use them like crowbars to open up vaults full of federal cash, compensation and legal deeds to what used to be traditional lands.

Ottawa doesn't like putting such tools in the hands of aboriginal organizations, so we can expect the decision will be fought all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

In the meantime, Canadian Metis and non-status Indians can take some comfort their case is righteous and victory delayed is still a victory as they join their million Indian brother and sisters.


Baffinland project needs speedy green light
Nunavut News/North - Monday, January21, 2013

Baffinland's decision to downsize its plans at Mary River speaks to the high quality of the site's iron ore.

The rocky global financial market made it hard for Baffinland to find funding for the full scope of its original $4 billion project. The 149-km railway railroad and Steensby Inlet port are being shelved until the capital is raised to build them. Milne Inlet will be open seasonally to ship the 3.5 million tonnes of iron ore to overseas markets every year. The previous target had been 18 million tonnes.

The Nunavut Impact Review Board will be looking for the input of Nunavummiut on whether it should put the project back through the environmental process now that it's been, at least temporarily, reduced in size.

Is another review necessary? The project has already been studied comprehensively over the past several years. As long as the recommendations NIRB put forth remain in place, why go back through the process?

At stake are jobs for our heavy equipment operators and others who've undergone training to work at the project . While the company has said it will be hiring less workers for this phase, production looks to start sooner now that the project's downsized. Nunavut already lost a significant project in the Kitikmeot when then-owner Newmont Mining Corp. put the Hope Bay gold project into care and maintenance early last year. The costs of operating just weren't worth the profit potential.

This is just the nature of the industry. Now that the economic and environmental aspects of the Mary River mine have been studied and accepted, every effort should be made to ensure the territory's iron goose will still produce.


Where there's smoke, there tends to be fire
Nunavut News/North - Monday, January 21, 2013

Concerns of fire safety at the Baffin Correctional Centre have once again come to light.

It's difficult for anyone on the outside to know what the conditions are right now on the inside.

Last week in Nunavut News/North, Warden Ray Fast acknowledged overcrowding and the problems that causes, such as a lack of recreation options. On Nov. 12, 2012, two small fires were apparently set by bored inmates.

Previously, in May 2010, we heard concerns from former fire marshal Tony Noakes about overcrowding and a fundamentally unsafe building if a large fire were to erupt.

In April 2012, Fire Marshal Frederick Morrison cited 42 ways the jail did not meet the federal fire code.

Although the jail staff and the GN, maintain the place isn't a firetrap, hopefully they are taking these reports seriously. Fire safety is a critical issue when a jail designed for 66 inmates regularly holds more than 100.

An emergency relief structure to house 48 inmates is planned with a $14.5 million pricetag.

As soon as that is up and running, planning should begin on a new larger jail.

It may be difficult to fund such a project from the GN coffers alone, but if the current Government of Canada is so fixated on incarceration rather than rehabilitation, it should be opening its wallet to help Nunavut build a territorial jail designed to safely house what is unfortunately likely to be a growing territorial inmate population.


Local heroes
Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, January 18, 2013

Pilot error. Those two words carry so much weight for so many people when used to make a judgment on an aviation accident.

Airplane manufacturers breathe a sigh of relief that their airplane wasn't blamed, considering all the legal implications and potential damage to their business reputation. The owner of a downed aircraft can get some comfort their practices and maintenance were not called into question.

It's left to the pilot or pilots to bear the full weight of those words. If they were lucky enough to live through the ordeal, they may do so with the death or injuries of their passengers on their conscience and a gigantic black mark on their record for the rest of their career, if they still have a career.

If they weren't lucky enough to survive, their families have the judgment of others added to their loss and grief.

Considering the heavy implications of the term "pilot error," it's important its meaning be put into proper perspective.

It was not business as usual in the instance of the Arctic Sunwest Twin Otter charter that came down on an Old Town street on Sept. 22, 2011. There were 30-knot winds sweeping across the southern shore of Great Slave Lake, coming straight up the barrel of Yellowknife Bay, whipping the water up into a chaotic chop.

The Twin Otter's floats bounced off waves twice. Chief pilot Capt. Trevor Jonasson took over from first officer Nicole Stacey, aborting the landing to attempt another. In 10 seconds of roaring engines, high winds, powerlines, rock faces, two and three-storey homes and businesses and stressful flying, it was all over.

No one knows what the pilots were facing in the cockpit in those 10 seconds, not even the experts who had a year to dissect the moments in time and determine what should have happened in a perfect world.

Whatever happened, the pilots paid the ultimate price. That says a lot about the risks pilots accept when they climb into the cockpit day after day while flying thousands of feet in the air and when bringing the aircraft back to Earth.

Last year, there were 42,445 take-offs and landings at the Yellowknife airport. That there were no deaths or injuries in 42,444 is a glowing testament not only to the pilots but the aviation mechanics, administrators, and safety inspectors.

Jonasson's father Ray says his family wants to remember his son as a hero. If the definition of a hero is one who accepts the risk of death or injury to serve others and losing his life doing so, then his son and Stacey are indeed heroes.

Other heroes stood up to be counted that day.

We don't know all their names, but there were Yellowknifers at the scene of the crash who ignored clear threats to their personal safety and charged in to the gas-soaked wreckage to help whoever they could get to safety.

They fit a different definition of hero and we hope they are acknowledged publicly, in some fashion, for their acts of courage.

Without such heroes in the skies and on the ground, our world simply wouldn't function as well as it does.

Even more than before, the high rocks at Pilot's Monument, towering over the very spot the Twin Otter came down so fatally hard, should serve as a fitting reminder of that enduring truth.


Striking while the iron is hot
Editorial Comment by Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, January 17, 2013

The Idle No More movement is still gaining momentum in Fort Simpson.

With students taking to the streets and people sharing information, it doesn't look like the movement will be slowing down anytime soon.

This is going to sound selfish and rather against the movement's principles, but it's time for the Deh Cho to see what it can get out of the movement. Dehcho First Nations Grand Chief Herb Norwegian, it seems, has already thought about this a bit.

The First Nations' goals for this year include making substantial progress on both the Dehcho Process and the Dehcho Land Use Plan. Both items have a long history and are currently making little to no headway.

When asked if Idle No More will make the federal government more willing to work with Dehcho First Nations (DFN) to make progress on and conclude these processes, Norwegian said there was a chance it would. If the federal government wants a positive story for the media to show it is willing to make changes to the way it deals with First Nations, the Dehcho Process could be it.

This is an angle that, quite frankly, DFN should be promoting for all it is worth. Let's face it, the process has been going on for a long time and given its current status it could go on for a lot longer.

Meanwhile, people are getting tired. There is almost a sense in the Deh Cho that residents, and perhaps even some leaders, had lost sight of what the Dehcho Process was fighting for in the first place.

This atmosphere created by Idle No More may be the best chance DFN has to see a real willingness from the federal government to get the Dehcho Process done.

The Deh Cho is going to have to pull together and get behind the process. First Nation and Metis leaders are going to have to find their second wind. They are going to have to forget how long and how complicated the path the Dehcho Process has followed has been and focus solely on the goal of completing the process.

If, in the end, it turns out the agreement isn't what the Deh Cho wants, that will be the time to turn it down. Every effort should be made to reach that endpoint, however, so Deh Cho residents have the option.

Idle No More is seeking Canada-wide change, but the Deh Cho shouldn't miss out on the opportunity to bring about change in the region.


Applause for some real superstars
Editorial Comment by Miranda Scotland
Inuvik Drum - Thursday, January 17, 2013

The town was abuzz this weekend as residents welcomed electro-rock singer Lights to Inuvik.

The artist did two shows while she was in town – one at East 3 High School and another at the Igloo church – and after each performance dozens of audience members lined up to get her autograph, snap a picture with her or even land a kiss on her cheek.

It was an exciting time.

But amid all the hype, a question came to mind. Why don't people get this excited about the superstars who already live in town?

Inuvik is home to a number of residents who go above and beyond to make this community a better place to live in. And it's their autographs people should be lining up for.

The stars are people such as teachers Lexi Winchester and Kelly Flexman.

Last year, Winchester and another teacher gave high school students a fun, safe place to go on Saturday nights when they started Lights On. The program continues to run today. On top of that, Winchester is also in charge of the art travel club, which is currently fundraising to go to London, England, over March break.

Meanwhile, Flexman coaches the girl's basketball team and volunteers for what seems like every organization in town. She's always ready to help.

Then there are our town councillors. They don't get paid much but they still put a lot of time, effort and care into making Inuvik a pleasant place to live. They'll spend 10, 15, 20 minutes focusing on one little detail, such as how the snow should be plowed so that when residents back out of their driveways they don't have a large bump or drop to go over.

It's people like our recent Diamond Jubilee medal winners -- Fred Church, Sam Lennie, Gerry Kisoun, Lance Raddi Gray, Don Craik, Mary Ann Ross, Margaret Miller, Sandra Ipana, Mary Ellen Binder, Delores Harley and Pippa Seccombe-Hett -- who make this a special place.

And this is just a snapshot of the wonderful residents who live here.

So the next time you see one of the many people in Inuvik who go above and beyond, give them a superstar welcome or at least a thank you, because this town wouldn't be what it is without them.

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