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News Briefs: Monday, March 18, 2013
Swimming pool closed for maintenance
The Fort Smith swimming pool and both of its change rooms will be closed for maintenance for a part of this week.
According to the Town of Fort Smith, the facility was to close on March 17 and is scheduled to reopen on March 21.
- Paul Bickford
Enterprise council to finalize budgets
The Hamlet of Enterprise is nearing the final decision on its municipal budget for the upcoming fiscal year from April 1, 2013, to March 31, 2014.
A community meeting will be held on March 19, beginning at 6 p.m. in the community hall, to review a five-year capital plan with residents.
A special council meeting is set for March 25 to approve the 2013-2014 capital budget, and the operations and maintenance
budget.
- Paul Bickford
NTPC and union reach tentative agreements
The Northwest Territories Power Corporation and the Union of Northern Workers have come to a tentative settlement on a new contract for 140 unionized employees.
The terms of the proposed three-year agreement, include wage increases of 1.5 in each of the first two years and 2.5 in the final year as well as some improvements in benefits.
Emanuel DaRosa, NTPC president and CEO, said he is pleased with the proposed deal, which hasn't yet been ratified.
"The agreement strikes a fair and reasonable balance between investing in our employees with that of financial responsibility and good governance," DaRosa said in a press release.
The workers' last contract expired December 31, 2011.
- Miranda Scotland
Facility named after former NWT premier to open
A new Arctic research facility named after former NWT premier Nellie Cournoyea is set to open its doors today.
The $15-million facility, built for the University of Manitoba's faculty of Environment, Earth and Resource, features 60,000-square-feet of specialized laboratories, state-of-the-art instruments and classrooms.
It will also be home to one of the largest and most well-funded sea ice research teams on the globe.
Cournoyea and other dignitaries will unveil the building today at 10:30 a.m.
- Miranda Scotland
Owl survey planned in Wood Buffalo
Thebacha/Fort Smith
An annual survey of nocturnal owls will begin this week in Wood Buffalo National Park.
There will be 10 nightly surveys conducted between
March 20 and May 5.
The survey will involve park staff, and volunteers from Fort Smith are also invited to take part. Participants will listen for owl calls, count how many different owls are heard and try to determine their species.
The survey identifies trends in owl populations in both the NWT and Alberta sections of the park as part of an Alberta-wide study involving Environment Canada, the province's Ministry of Sustainable Resource Development and the Beaverhill Bird Observatory.
Anyone interested in participating can sign up by contacting Wood Buffalo National Park.
- Paul Bickford
Season for science
Aklavik
Science fair season in the Beaufort Delta kicked off with students from Moose Kerr School in Aklavik presenting their projects to the public on March 12.
"Pretty much every grade level participates," said Bobbie Joe Greenland, administrative assistant at the school. She added the judging was scheduled to take place later that day and the winner will advance to the regional science fair.
The regional fair takes place in Inuvik in April.
- Danielle Sachs
Elders give input on wellness plan
Tetlit'Zheh/Fort McPherson
Elders in Fort McPherson were invited to come out and share their ideas and opinions on what they would like to see in the community that would have a positive impact on their lives and others in the community.
Participants were invited to a workshop for a community wellness plan in the hamlet council chambers on March 12.
"It's so elders can gather and give their concerns," said Nina Francis, the band office receptionist.
The workshop, sponsored by the Gwich'in Tribal Council, is about what the council can do to support the elders and make their lives better, said Francis.
"It's about what they think would better their lives and how we could help them do that," she said.
- Danielle Sachs
Gearing up for Arctic sports
Tuktoyaktuk
Students from Mangilaluk School in Tuktoyaktuk have been preparing for the Arctic Sports Summit in Inuvik for at least a month.
Involving all the Beaufort Delta Education Council schools, students from the different communities started travelling to Inuvik on March 13 to compete in different traditional events like the one-foot and two-foot high kick, the wrist hang and stick pull.
"It's got a bit of competitive flavour but it also has an opportunity for bonding," said principal Agnes Cudmore. "Our kids have been preparing for these events for the last month in phys-ed and after school programs. They've learned these and others so they have a good understanding of the sports."
- Danielle Sachs
Annual muskox hunt begins
Ulukhaktok/Holman
Weather permitting, the annual high school muskox hunt was scheduled for March 13.
The junior high and high school students from Helen Kalvak School were taken out on the land for one day to take part in the traditional hunt, said principal Chip Bryant.
Also at the school, the annual science fair was scheduled to start March 15, and any community members interested in viewing the projects developed by students from kindergarten through to Grade 9 were invited to come to the school.
"Judging happens at the same time and there's a chance they can go to the regionals in Inuvik," said Bryant.
- Danielle Sachs
Deninu School hosts hockey challenge
Deninu Ku'e/Fort Resolution
The annual Deninu School Winter Classic Staff/Student Hockey Challenge is set for March 18 in Fort Resolution.
This will be the seventh year for the event.
Admission will be free for the games at Lakeview Arena, beginning at about 1 p.m.
- Paul Bickford
Curl for an iPad
Tetlit'Zheh/Fort McPherson
The Francis J. Francis Open Bonspiel was scheduled to run from March 15 to 17.
Each team needed to have two women and two men to compete for prizes ranging from iPads to meat packages.
The bonspiel was only open to the first 16 teams to register and took place at the Francis J. Francis Curling Rink in Fort McPherson.
- Danielle Sachs
Mental health first aid course offered
Deninu Ku'e/Fort Resolution
A course in basic Mental Health First Aid will be offered in Fort Resolution this week.
The two-day course will be offered twice - on March 19 and 20 and again on March 21 and 22 - at Antoine Beaulieu Memorial Hall.
A wide variety of mental health issues will be covered, including mood and anxiety disorders, psychosis and substance abuse. The course will also discuss crisis situations, such as suicidal behaviour, overdoses, reactions to traumatic events, panic attacks and psychotic episodes.
The instructor will be Genevieve Piercey of the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority.
There is no cost to register for the course.
- Paul Bickford
SIN card applications can be mailed
After implementing a no-mail-in policy in December, Service Canada has reversed its in-person-only position on acquiring social insurance number (SIN) cards, according to Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq.
Late last month, High Arctic MLA Ron Elliott raised the issue in the legislature. Elliott said Service Canada's policy change created a "needless barrier" for his constituents for whom the nearest office was in Iqaluit - a week's trip, and as much as $6,000 in travel, away.
In a letter regarding the application process for SIN cards dated Mar 12, Aglukkaq stated special measures were in place to accommodate anyone who could not make it to a Service Canada office.
"These measures include submitting applications via Service Canada Outreach services, having a third-party to submit the application on their behalf and sending the application via mail to a local Service Canada Centre," stated Aglukkaq.
- Peter Worden
Suspect charged in Iqaluit fire
Iqaluit
Police have laid charges in connection with a suspicious early-morning January fire.
A 25-year-old male has been charged with arson and mischief after a unit went up in flames in the 600 block of Iqaluit's White Row apartment shortly after midnight on Jan. 5.
Residents of the apartment were evacuated while firefighters extinguished the blaze, which they managed to contain to one unit. No injuries were reported and residents returned to their homes later that night.
- Peter Worden
RCMP superintendent leaving Nunavut
Nunavut
RCMP Supt. Hilton Smee is leaving Iqaluit March 21 to start a new role with the national police force in British Columbia.
Smee said he decided to accept a job offer to work in the strategic planning department of E Division in Surrey, B.C., the division's headquarters, he confirmed.
"I'm very excited to go to this new role. It's going to be something I have never done before," he said, adding it's totally different from operations. "So, it's going to be interesting to learn the strategic side of the organization and be a part of the planning for the future of policing in B.C."
Smee, who arrived in Iqaluit a year ago, said working in Nunavut has been a "great experience" but a challenging one at times.
- Jeanne Gagnon
Traditional games
Iglulik
Elders, along with junior and high school students in Iglulik, spent an afternoon playing Inuit traditional games earlier this month.
The half-day event on March 7 had students playing games such as ajagaq and inugaq, according to Ataguttaaluk High School vice-principal Patricia Tidd. She said the day ended with students listening to an elder telling a story about the games they used to play when they were the students' age, followed by a feast featuring char, bannock, caribou and soup.
- Jeanne Gagnon
Volunteers to check prices
Nunavut
The Government of Nunavut (GN) will begin monitoring food prices at Nunavut retailers before the end of this month.
The monitoring will be launched as a GN pilot project with monitoring taking place in 10 communities.
The GN has announced volunteers will be used to check prices at retail stores in an effort to determine the cost of living in the participating communities.
The Nunavut Bureau of Statistics and the AntiPoverty Secretariat will work together to collect the information.
- Darrell Greer
$500,000 for new hamlet office
Kugaaruk/Pelly Bay
A new hamlet office and community hall for Kugaaruk is in the works as the territorial government has set aside money for the planning stage.
Akulliq MLA John Ningark asked the project's progress.
"The Kugaaruk hamlet office is quite old and further, I was informed, it is becoming harder to maintain," said Ningark on Feb. 27 at the legislative assembly.
Community and Government Services Minister Lorne Kusugak said the territorial government has earmarked funding during this fiscal year for the planning process, namely choose a site and start the design. The GN has $500,000 set aside for the planning and design of this project.
As for a new community hall, Kusugak said he will see whether the plans for both buildings can be reviewed simultaneously during the planning process.
Mayor Stephan Inaksajak said the hamlet building, a two-storey structure with basement built in the 1980s, does not have enough space to accommodate all staff.
"I'm really happy because we badly need a new hamlet building," he said, in response to the news the planning stage for a new building has started.
- Jeanne Gagnon
Senator presents jubilee medal
Qamanittuaq/Baker Lake
Elder Jean Simailak of Baker Lake was presented with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal during a special presentation in Baker Lake on March 2.
Nunavut Senator Dennis Patterson presided over the ceremony.
Simailak was honoured with the medal for her contributions as a nurse's assistant in Fort Churchill, for starting a breakfast program in Baker Lake, and for being a respected kindergarten teacher and retired minister at St. Aidan's Anglican Church.
- Darrell Greer
Celebrating women
Sanirajak/Hall Beach
The struggles women face and their achievements were discussed during International Women's Day activities at Arnaqjuaq School in Hall Beach on March 8.
Principal John Sarapnickas said the manager at the DEW line site and a Baffinland employee spoke of the importance of considering everyone equal and the struggles women have had in the traditionally male-dominated world.
The idea of considering women for higher positions because they are just as, or even more, capable of doing the top jobs as men are was also discussed, he added. Both women brought up the need for more respect for women is needed in Nunavut, said Sarapnickas.
"To make the students aware they can change the future, the way they behave and the perception of men and women," he said. "If we can bring both men and women to the best of their abilities, it can become a better world, a better territory."
- Jeanne Gagnon
Sun celebrations in Grise Fiord
Ausuittuq/Grise Fiord
While sunlight officially returned to Grise Fiord in mid-February after four long months of 24-hour darkness, the hamlet's annual sun celebration had to wait a few weeks longer.
Finally, on March 15, students at Umimmak School and the community officially welcomed back the sun with the usual fanfare of songs, games and treats in the school gymnasium.
"Kids will perform, there will be snacks and everyone will get together," said principal Leslie Turpin before the slate of fun-in-the-sun festivities such as poems and songs about the sun, kids wearing wear sun masks and old-style Inuit sunglasses.
With teachers out of town and other activities at the school, Turpin said the organizers decided to postpone the party, which turned out to be a good thing because it's been overcast the last little while anyway.
"Temperatures have been nice and warm," she said, "We've gotten out of that deep freeze. Hopefully we get some sun now."
- Peter Worden
Airport work yet to take off
Kimmirut/Lake Harbour
Runway repairs and a possible airport relocation in Kimmirut are now in a holding pattern as hamlet council and the area's MLA await the go-ahead from the GN.
A flash flood washed away the ground at the foot of the runway and damaged a public housing unit during last spring breakup.
The building was renovated and the site inspected to ensure it was safe to live near, but there haven't been any major upgrades at the airport in a couple of years.
"If it's not addressed it could happen again," said senior administration officer Saqiqtaq Temela, who explained the geography of the area in question is mountainous and rugged.
The Kimmirut airport has been a top priority for many years, according to South Baffin MLA Fred Schell, who brought up the topic of runway repairs and airport relocation March 11 in the legislature.
He stated "the department (of Economic Development and Transportation) would consider allocating funds to a preliminary study on the feasibility of relocating the airport after it had completed the required resurfacing of the runway."
Temela confirmed an inspector had come to look at the site and make recommendations on what measures could be taken in order to follow up with the department.
"That issue needs to make sure that there are safety measures met here," he said. "There hasn't been any followup yet as far as I know."
- Peter Worden
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