Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

No one will ever really know why Air Tindi pilot Matthew Bromley chose to ignore his training Oct. 4, 2011 and fly his doomed plane under visual flight rules in marginal weather.

Toxicology reports showed Bromley was 10 times above the minimum threshold for cannabis impairment the day of the crash. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says this caused him to make poor decisions during his fatal flight to Lutsel K'e that killed him and passenger Timothy Harris, plus injured two passengers, Bernice Marlowe and Sheldon Catholique.

It's not unreasonable to conclude that some young people - Bromley was 28 - are a little too casual in dismissing the potential dangers of "light" recreational drugs such as marijuana. It's easy to see why they would. People have been talking about decriminalizing marijuana for decades.

But as the safety board's report alludes, smoking pot and flying planes don't mix. Experiments on individuals involved in complex machine-related tasks, such as flying planes, show significant impairment up to 24 hours after a moderate dose of inhaled cannabis, even though they have ceased to be aware they are the under the influence.

As Bromley's family states in their response to the safety report: "Many people who use it simply do not have knowledge of the impairing influence that cannabis can have on personal and professional judgment."

That said, pilots don't need to be on drugs to make mistakes.

Anyone who has read the safety board's report on the Arctic Sunwest crash in Old Town two weeks prior to the Air Tindi accident, or the First Air tragedy that killed 12 people the month before that, know pilots, even in tip-top shape, occasionally fly into tragic circumstances. This is no less true in the North where flights can go from routine to frightening in a hurry.

What ultimately makes the Air Tindi accident even sadder is that had events leading up to the incident been moved up by a few years Bromley may have had the tools on board to avoid the crash, even if he was flying too low. Last year, Transport Canada ordered private and commercial air carriers operating under instrument flight rules to install terrain awareness and warning systems (TAWS) on board all planes with a capacity of six or more passenger seats within two years. The Cessna 200B Caravan Bromley was flying had seating for up to 14.

It's a wonder it has taken this long. Airplane maintenance in Canada is second to none with basic inspections occurring every 500 to 800 hours of flight. Yet, in the North dozens of airplanes have been allowed to operate without ground detection devices over some of the most hostile flying conditions in the world.

Some airlines have complained about the cost of installing TAWS - up to $100,000 per plane in some cases - but given the tragedies of 2011, installation of this safety technology will go a long way to restoring passenger confidence in Northern air travel.

Discovery Air, which owns Air Tindi, announced in December 2011 that it was investing $2.2 million to install TAWS on 22 planes. Meanwhile, random drug tests and instrument flight rules for all scheduled flights have also been implemented.

The Air Tindi crash follows a long list of Northern air tragedies. It's likely too much to hope that it will be the last but if Northerners can gain anything from it, it's the hope that air travel is getting safer.

What does it take to keep a language alive?

It's a pertinent question. Around the world, thousands of languages are slipping into obscurity.

Young people aren't learning the languages spoken by their grandparents or parents and as the remaining speakers begin to die, their languages go with them.

If people in the Deh Cho want to avoid that possible future scenario, more aggressive steps will have to be taken. Things are already looking grim.

If a survey was taken of all the students in elementary and high schools in the region the findings would likely show that only a small percentage can speak Dene Zhatie, Slavey, with any degree of fluency. Some students may know a few words and others may be able to understand basic conversations in Dene Zhatie, but few could carry on a prolonged conversation.

It's easy to see why. English has become the predominant language in the region. Almost all of the music, television, movies and Internet content that youth see, hear and read is in English.

English is also almost all they hear at home. Partially as a result of the legacy of residential schools, youth have few people they could speak Dene Zhatie to. Their grandparents or great-grandparents may be the last bastion of the language in their family.

And yes, losing a language is a bad thing. Language and culture are inextricably tied together. If Dene Zhatie died out as a spoken language, it would take a portion of the Deh Cho culture with it.

We Are Speaking the Dene Way, a DVD-ROM, website and now an app created by Anyes Fabre-Dimsdale and the Deh Cho Friendship Centre, is one example of how the Deh Cho can choose to fight back against language loss. The program uses the very technology that is contributing to the loss of Dene Zhatie to help turn the tide.

Children enjoy using computers and tablets so it only makes sense to create digital resources that promote learning the language of the Deh Cho region. Children can use the program at home and at school. Even parents who want to brush up on Dene Zhatie can learn a thing or two.

If people see the value in Dene Zhatie and are willing to fight for it, promote it and create inventive ways to teach it, there is no reason why it can't continue as a strong and vibrant language that is a core part of the identity of the Deh Cho region.

Sometimes when you're out for a walk, humorous things can happen.

Last week, the late evening sunshine proved to be irresistible. I bundled up and worked my way down to the ice road.

I headed north, walking briskly for maybe a couple of kilometres in the -17 C temperature.

For me, bundling up means protecting my airways. I'm extremely prone to bronchitis, but I've dodged it in the two months I've been in Inuvik. Evidently the climate agrees with me.

My facemask of choice is a Cold Avenger, which bears a striking resemblance to a Darth Vader mask. I always enjoy the novelty of the looks it attracts as I walk around town, and it's a good conversation starter.

I had turned around after walking for perhaps 15 or 20 minutes, having worked up a bit of a sweat by then, and headed back.

A young woman driving a snowmobile roared by me suddenly. I didn't think much of it until I noticed she had slammed the brakes on and turned around.

She pulled up beside me and asked if I was all right and where I was going. Baffled, I said I was fine and I had walked from downtown.

"Are you (expletive deleted) kidding?" she asked. "It's too (expletive deleted) cold out here to be walking. I'm (expletive deleted) freezing!"

Coming from a resident of Inuvik, I thought that was a bit of a compliment.

We chatted for another few minutes, and then she roared off again, leaving me to ponder her questions.

I'm not sure which she thought was more baffling, that I was walking, walking that far, or walking in the cold. Maybe it was all of the above.

I've noticed there's a good chunk of the population here that doesn't seem to do a lot of walking. That's unfortunate, since Inuvik is a very walkable community. In fact, it's one of the best I've seen anywhere.

After years of driving, I'm appreciating the chance to walk more. It's a good way to learn my way around and meet people, and it's reducing my mid-section a bit.

I've also noticed something I didn't expect: many people here seem to hibernate through the worst of the winter months. That's understandable in a way, but I was surprised to see it. I've been out in every kind of weather since my arrival, treasuring the chance to experience an Arctic winter.

It would be nice if there were more people to join me.

Last week, city council grappled over possible locations for bike lanes in the city. Councillor Dan Wong proposed seasonal lanes from Latham Island to the Multiplex, along Franklin Avenue - the city's main drag.

However, other councillors took issue with lanes going on the busy street, pointing to the potential cost of removing parking meter areas to allow space for the bike paths. The cut to parking on Franklin Avenue would add yet another nail in the coffin of the deteriorating downtown shopping district, where business after business have been closing their doors -- many moving uptown away from loiterers and towards bountiful parking spaces.

This isn't the first time bike lanes have been brought forward at council. Last summer, Ecology North brought forward a pilot project for bike lanes on Franklin Avenue which was shot down. There were also reports in 2007 and 2008 recommending more bike lanes in the city.

Cycling as a mode of transportation has grown in popularity. It has environment benefits through reduced emissions and economic benefits to the commuter when the car is parked at home, not too mention it is good exercise.

Top reasons people opt not to bike is because they feel it is unsafe or the distance to travel is too far, according to a 2008 Montreal transportation plan. In this city, distance is rarely a deterrent when it comes to cycling. However, Franklin is an often intimidating road to bike on and that won't change with bike lanes.

City council should avoid Franklin Avenue in its plans for a more bike-friendly city. The thoroughfare was not built to accommodate this type of traffic, and the focus should be on the side streets. Councillors point to 52 Avenue and Veterans Memorial Drive, which leads to McMahon Frame Lake Trail, as possible bike lane areas. This option would provide a cycling link from one end of the city to the other.

While Wong argued cyclists use the city's main artery to get around, balancing the needs of motorists, cyclists and the revitalization of downtown - which includes a need to continue to allow parking on main street - means bike lanes off Franklin would benefit everyone.

Second chances are rare in business and politics but the GNWT has a shot at redemption with the impending re-emergence of Yellowknife's secondary diamond industry.

Diamond cutting and polishing factories tumbled like dominoes earlier this decade. The city went from four plants employing about 200 workers and contributing approximately 65 per cent of the NWT's manufacturing exports in 2006, to merely one operation - HRA Group's Crossworks International, in 2009.

Now that Deepak International Ltd. is preparing to open two diamond cutting and polishing plants in buildings formerly occupied by Arslanian Cutting Works and Polar Ice Diamonds at the Yellowknife Airport, the territory and the capital have an opportunity to rebuild the secondary diamond industry in combination with the still-operating Crossworks facility.

Range Lake MLA Daryl Dolynny's call for the GNWT to expedite its economic strategy to help reboot the industry should be heeded. Dolynny's motion, supported by a majority of regular members, seeks to keep rough diamonds, and thus sorting and polishing jobs, in the North while improving the marketing of the revived NWT's Polar Bear Diamond brand.

Diamonds from the NWT make up roughly 15 per cent of diamonds on the world market, and many of them are shipped to Europe for processing, which represents lost potential revenue for the territory.

The diamond mines, meanwhile, seem by reputation to be in a strong position to fuel the economic benefits of a Northern cutting and polishing industry. A recent report released by the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines characterizes the contribution of Ekati, Diavik and Snap Lake mines to Northern employment and aboriginal business development as well beyond expectations.

Under these conditions, and with the wisdom of its past failure, the GNWT should be prepared to articulate its vision for the continued growth and strengthening of NWT's cutting and polishing plants.

I've said before it's only a matter of time until another target is identified as the golden goose of tax revenues with tobacco products being at the tipping point of taxation on a legal product.

I've also suggested obesity and its related illnesses are the true number one drain on the Canadian healthcare system, and fast food or sugar would likely be the taxman's next target.

It's now reached the point where sugar lovers had better brace themselves for one heck of a rise in prices on the foods they love, coming in the notsodistant future.

And, let's be honest, we here in the Kivalliq love our sugar.

A growing number of scientists (they need funding from somewhere, right?) are jumping on the bandwagon to suggest it's time for sugar to be regulated like alcohol and tobacco and taxed accordingly.

Once that begins, it won't be long before said tax more closely resembles that of tobacco than alcohol.

If you're thinking of sugar substitutes as a way to beat the coming tax, you may not be adding a healthier choice into the mix.

If you decide to go this route, research before buying those pretty packets.

Many researchers advise consumers to stay away from the few remaining products with the original artificial sweetener, saccharin, and its highly controversial past that once saw it banned or sold with warning stickers, only to be reinstated with the stickers taken off (conflicting science, go figure!).

Many researchers also give aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal, etc.) thumbs down, while ranking sucralose (Splenda) as the best choice.

While it must be said scientific studies to date appear inconclusive, aspartame accounts for about 70 per cent of all complaints concerning artificial sweeteners.

Critics of the sweetener, which has two amino acids, have grave concerns about these amino acids because, on their own, they enter the central nervous system in very high concentrations, unlike the many amino acids naturally consumed in food that cancel out negative effects.

And a full 10 per cent of aspartame is absorbed into the blood stream as wood alcohol. The recommended daily limit of wood alcohol (methanol) is about 7.8 milligrams. A onelitre beverage containing aspartame has about eight times the recommended amount.

Sucralose is 600 times as sweet as sugar, calorie free, doesn't increase one's blood sugar nor promote tooth decay, and it's safe to use during pregnancy.

As a bonus, unlike the vast majority of artificial sweeteners, you can even bake nicely with it.

And, to date, there are far fewer concerns linked to sucralose than its rivals.

Artificial sweeteners are complex subjects.

In a study done at Purdue University in the U.S., lab animals given foods with an artificial sweetener gained more weight than those that consumed sugar.

As any addicted smoker will tell you, our body learns to expect certain things, including a blast of calories when it tastes something sweet.

When the blast isn't there, the body makes you hungry to get you to eat more.

At the end of the day, while the product Kivalliqmiut choose may be artificial, you can bet your doughnut the tax looming ahead won't be.

The newly-developed Northern Farm Training Institute is something sorely needed in the territory and has been delivered thanks to the passionate work of the Territorial Farmers' Association.

The pilot year of the project is taking off with seven three-day training workshops focusing on sustainable food production starting next month in Hay River - which has been a hub of food production through farmers' markets and, most recently, the launching of the Polar Eggs brand from Hay River Poultry Farms Ltd.

The hands-on training provided by the institute will allow people from all over the territory interested in prepping and maintaining gardens, planting, food harvest, storage and even breeding and raising livestock to share knowledge, acquire new skills and head back to their communities to experiment.

Similar to a good garden, the institute is being nurtured from a number of sources including resources from the farmer's association, classroom space from Aurora College and a funding commitment from the territorial government. With that kind of support it won't be long before growing sustainable food in the North will blossom from theory in a classroom to practice in the communities.

The stereotype of the North as a barren land has been quashed time and time again. From potato farms in the Sahtu to apple trees and grain in Fort Simpson, the Northern climate can support food production.

The Northern Farm Training Institute is helping students from across the territory attend the workshops by offering financial support for travel, accommodations and meals. There is no excuse why any Northerner itching to grow a green thumb wouldn't jump at the opportunity to learn.

Congratulations to the Territorial Farmers' Association for believing that this institute was possible and for building up a project that focuses on renewable resources and sustainable nutrition.

Earlier this month, another milestone toward the devolution destination was reached.

The territory announced the draft devolution final agreement was signed by all consenting parties, bringing an end to the negotiation process.

All that remains in the process are a couple of months for consultations with the public which includes meetings with aboriginal groups who have not yet signed the deal.

The Akaitcho and Dehcho are the final holdouts. The transfer of land and resource powers from the federal to the territorial government is coming and other aboriginal groups have seen the writing on the wall.

One by one they have observed the situation, conferred with their people, and decided to be a part of the process as it moves forward, not wait on the sidelines.

Between January 2011 and March 2013, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the NWT Metis Nation, the Sahtu Secretariat Inc., the Gwich'in and the Tlicho Government have come on board.

Now it is time to make a deal. Like it or not, devolution is moving forward and it's better to be a part of it and possibly influence improvements down the road than be on the sidelines.

To the Dehcho and Akaitcho: use the leverage that you have now because when the deal is done, you'll be on your own.

The resource revenue sharing agreement with the aboriginal government partnerships has not been finalized, Premier Bob McLeod has said, but there will be a time when the door will be closed.

Shear Diamonds Ltd. remains missing-in-action, the Jericho diamond mine sits at the mercy of the elements and, as it turns out, security payments for the project were never made.

It's situations such as this that breed cynicism and distrust of government. If government and industry are touting a new age of responsible resource development, how can mine owners skulk off leaving their mess behind?

The blame can be pointed in many directions. The Nunavut Impact Review Board is responsible for taking into account whether performance bonds have been posted when conducting its reviews, according to the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada should have been more forceful in collecting the securities. The Kitikmeot Inuit Association had the right, according to the NLCA, to take Shear to court over any unfulfilled requirements.

Of course, the blame for this mess is mostly on the shoulders of Shear, but the governments and agencies in charge of oversight should not have been caught unaware.

Obviously the system didn't work here, and must be improved. The responsibility for strengthening legislation sits with the federal government.

These payments must be collected before companies are allowed to start development.

The feds state that the project's status is still "temporarily closed for the winter" and shear remains responsible for safety at the site during its closure.

However, the company has taken down its website, cut its phone lines and effectively disappeared.

If the Shear doesn't conduct an inspection on the site before spring, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada will take control to prevent environmental harm, according to department spokesperson Genevieve Guibert. That would put maintaining this abandoned site on the backs of taxpayers.

Perhaps Shear returns from the abyss with bags of money, pays its securities and begins a successful mining operation with many Nunavummiut on staff. Perhaps the site stays empty and taxpayers have to foot the clean-up bill. The one thing we can say for sure is we shouldn't be caught in this limbo. Nunavummiut must demand strong legislation that holds industry accountable.

Natural resources are a key industry in Nunavut's quests for a viable, independent economy. No one wants the money earned from resource development spent on cleaning up after a company that decides to cut its losses and run.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.