Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

The recent commitment by the GNWT to the Mackenzie Valley fibre optic line is welcome news.

Construction of the 1,255-kilometre link between Checkpoint Junction south of Fort Simpson and Tuktoyaktuk is to begin late next year with completion by 2016.

The fibre optic technology should create a stronger, more reliable and expandable Internet connection throughout the NWT, improving health services and enhancing education programs with online access to distant physicians, teachers and other experts .

While the line comes with a hefty price tag of $60 to $70 million, the benefit to the Inuvik Satellite Station Facility is significant. The centre is getting noticed internationally due to its location above the Arctic Circle which allows for tracking satellites in a polar orbit and acquiring data.

There are currently two antennae at the site; one owned by the German Space Agency and the other by the Swedish Space Corporation. The Canadian government is to develop its own station this summer.

Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger, NWT aboriginal business representatives, as well as Town of Inuvik staff recently journeyed to Munich, Germany, and Kiruna, Sweden. The delegates wanted to show the territory means business and to see with their own eyes the far-reaching benefits of investing in a fast, reliable satellite ground station.

If the line is developed in the time frame presented by the GNWT, there could be five antennae by 2016 and 10 by 2020.

Right now, resource development dominates the Northern economy.

Diversifying into advanced technology can act as a buffer to the boom and bust Northerners know so well, and bring the tangible benefits of state of the art Internet connectivity.

For an event that ranks as one of the biggest in the country, a strong foundation of organizers, volunteers and participating communities are essential ingredients for success.

The recipe was just right during the 23rd-annual NWT Track and Field Championships in Hay River earlier this month. More than 1,100 athletes participated, making up 33 teams from 16 communities.

While the spotlight is on the ground in Hay River, the event wouldn't be nearly as impressive without the participation of the athletes from across the territory. Behind the scenes, this is only possible due to supportive families and committed coaches. It all starts with the dedication of the athletes.

With more than 400 Hay Riverites offering up hours of their time, it is obvious the town and other NWT communities take this three-day meet seriously.

Hay River mayor Andrew Cassia said the work doesn't stop. The organizing committee was already looking toward the 2014 meet immediately after this year's event came to an end.

We hope the championships maintains its growth and continues to highlight the strong athletic competition this territory has to offer.

Cape Dorset has a lot to be proud of. Surrounded by the majestic scenery Baffin Island is renowned for, the community of approximately 1,200 people is famed for its art.

Situated only a stone's throw from Mallikjuaq Territorial Park, which is rich with archeological evidence of the ancient Thule and Dorset people, Cape Dorset also offers would-be adventurers an opportunity to explore the Arctic landscape while learning about the region's ancient past.

Last week the community did two things to recognize important features of Cape Dorset. One will live on in the community as a symbol residents can take pride in while the other will hopefully draw more attention to the amazing features the hamlet has to offer to the outside world.

Dedicating the art room at Peter Pitseolak High School to Kenojuak Ashevak, likely the world's best known Inuit artist and the jewel of Cape Dorset, does more than recognize the achievements and talents of this amazing woman. Immortalizing Ashevak, who died earlier this year, will allow her memory to act as a muse for future artists in the community. Her example of what hard work, dedication and passion can achieve will also inspire students to reach for their dreams.

Aside from recognizing Ashevak's achievements - which include being named as an Officer of the Order of Canada; her art was featured on a Canada Post stamp; and a recipient of the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts from the Canada Council of the Arts - she is also a role model and a symbol the community can be proud of.

Cape Dorset's newly-built Dorset Suites is a new development in the community that will hopefully draw more tourists to the community and also help build on the Government of Nunavut's tourism strategy, which identifies the hamlet as a possible future location for a heritage or interpretation centre.

Attracting more tourists to Cape Dorset would create a much-needed boost to the local economy. More tours would mean more jobs for guides and outfitters. It would also mean more money for the many people who sell art, supplies and other services.

With the level of artistic talent in Cape Dorset, its proximity to one of Canada's most remote national parks and ancient archeological sites, and access to a variety of Arctic wildlife, the community, with a little work, can be a world class eco- and adventure-tourism destination.

Although, Cape Dorset is not without its problems - many similar to other remote communities across the territory - it has a lot to be proud of. By focusing on the good and the potential it offers, we hope community members create an atmosphere where people can thrive and one that attracts visitors.

Dry eyes were likely few among those reading Michele LeTourneau's article in last Friday's Yellowknifer, reliving the horrors of watching her child suffer the ravages of chemotherapy to treat her leukemia.

A mother's personal story will drive the point home more than a government or NGO's news release ever can, and LeTourneau's, a well-seasoned journalist, is particularly galvanizing. Her admitted reluctance to take part in the annual Relay for Life is probably something many people can relate to, and not because they don't care or feel they don't have time.

As LeTourneau explains, dealing with such personal crisis and the potential loss of a loved one is not something most people want to relive. Even if the cancer is beaten, it might be easier to pretend its occurrence was a one-off and put it out of mind, rather than participate in cancer fundraisers and yield to the possibility that illness can strike again.

But cancer is not something that can be ignored. According to the 2013 cancer statistics from Statistics Canada, men have a one and 3.6 chance of dying from cancer in their lifetime; for women it's a one in 4.2 chance.

Some 75,500 people are expected to die from cancer this year. The leading cause of death among men and women - 27.2 and 26.3 per cent respectively -is lung cancer. The death rate has been declining - thanks mainly to a reduction in the number of smokers - but cancer rates overall are climbing as our population ages. The cancer rate for females has risen 0.3 per cent per year from 1998 to 2007.

Relay for Life not only raises money for cancer research, healthy lifestyle promotion and support services for cancer patients, it reminds all of us of the need to remain vigilant in this fight.

Considering the number of lives cancer effects, perhaps it's not all that remarkable Relay teams in Yellowknife raise in excess of $200,000 every year. What is remarkable is the dedication of those who take part. As LeTourneau states in her article, cancer is not a war for cowards.

Det'on Cho Corporation ranked 276 on PROFIT magazine's 25th annual list of Canada's top 500 fastest growing companies last week.

While the distinction is a feather in the cap for directors and employees of the economic arm of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, the success of the corporation and its fast-growing stable of subsidiaries, four of which it wholly-owns, comes as no surprise to observers.

Since launching with a $15,000 grant in 1988, Det'on Cho has expanded to achieve annual earnings of $40 million. In the past five years, the company's revenues have quadrupled.

Having begun at the end of the gold-mining era and adapted to the diamond era, the corporation has demonstrated forward vision and hard work by successfully straddling the latest recession. Now the corporation is poised to lead the way for other Northern companies as it looks ahead to more economic opportunities in the oil and gas sector and other mineral sectors. When it comes time to search for subcontractors from beyond its own holdings, Det'on Cho will hopefully hire locally to provide other emerging companies with a chance for the kind of prosperity and long-term success the Yellowknives Dene's business leaders enjoy today.

Trout Lake is not a place where you want to have a serious accident or injury.

Neither, apparently, is Nahanni Butte or Jean Marie River. These communities don't have runways long enough to accommodate the type of airplane that is normally used for medevacs in the territory. Instead a Twin Otter must be equipped with supplies whenever a medevac is needed in those three communities. The need for a different plane can create longer wait times for people in serious need of medical attention.

The Department of Health and Social Services clearly needs to review its medevac policies and make some changes. The need for a revised system was highlighted by the amount of time it took a medevac to reach Trout Lake on May 22 following a serious boating accident.

The accident occurred around 4:30 p.m. and the first calls to the Fort Simpson Health Centre were made by 5 p.m. Difficulties with communications along with the need for a Twin Otter compounded the problem and according to one source, the medevac plane didn't arrive in the community until just before 11 p.m., almost six hours from the first call. Six hours is an unacceptable amount of time for anyone to wait in the case of a medical emergency.

Trout Lake may be an isolated community, but its citizens deserve more from the territory's health-care system. The long waiting time for a medevac in Trout Lake has become such a concern that approximately a week later, a man called an airline in Fort Simpson to charter a plane rather than wait for a medevac to be approved after his wife's arm was cut with a saw.

It says a lot about the level of confidence Trout Lake residents have with the medevac service if they are willing to potentially take on the cost of chartering a plane themselves, rather than risk a long wait.

The community of Trout Lake has sent a letter to the Department of Health and Social Services requesting answers to a number of questions related to the delays that occurred on May 22. The department is also conducting an investigation into the response to the accident.

Hopefully, the department will return with some meaningful answers and follow through with solutions that will prevent similar incidents from happening again in Trout Lake or from occurring in the future in either Nahanni Butte or Jean Marie River.

NWT residents who want to live in smaller, more isolated communities should not have to risk their health in the case of an emergency to do so.

It's time to talk a little trash, Inuvik.

I've been impressed over the last week or so at the efforts to clean up the town prior to the start of the Inuvik Petroleum Show. However, it seems to me that it would be a less-arduous task to keep the trash off the streets and ditches to begin with.

I was unpleasantly surprised to see the amount of garbage in our streets as the snow melted, despite the warnings of several people, including Mayor Floyd Roland and Coun. Clarence Wood.

Wood said the situation has improved quite a bit since the town implemented a fee on plastic bags. He added that a few years ago he counted more than 100 of the bags while he was walking from his nearby home to a council meeting.

I'll take his word for it, since I haven't been here long enough to judge that. However, the amount of trash on our streets is still far from desirable and it appears the current approach isn't working.

Residents here seem to have bought wholeheartedly into the disposable lifestyle. If something breaks, throw it out.

Newton Grey, the president of the Inuvik Chamber of Commerce, says he thinks there are more than enough garbage receptacles supplied by the town. However, he said there needs to be a cultural shift toward people being more environmentally aware, which will take some time to develop.

Tony Devlin, the former director of community services, suggested the town, which has a well-intended policy of offering money to organizations to clean up sectors in the town, should re-think its ideas.

He suggested the youth in town should be paid a dollar or two for every bag of garbage they turn in that is authenticated. That would instill some sense of civic pride, he said, suggesting that would also carry over into their families over time.

He said he had been told the town had once used such a policy successfully.

Since the current way of doing things is not working, I am all for trying it.

It should not take the spectre of the petroleum show to motivate people to clean up around our community. We should make more of an effort to keep the trash off the streets to begin with.

That is a more conscientious, environmentally-friendly way of life.

It is time to address the ongoing imbalances between Yellowknife's two school boards.

Recently, Yellowknife Catholic Schools (YCS) has been crying poor, saying without an increase in taxes to supplement funding provided by the territorial government, it may have to cut into program funding as early as 2014-15.

On the other hand, Yellowknife Education District No. 1 board members decided late last month not to support a school levy hike in the foreseeable future. Even though the public board is facing many of the same challenges as the Catholic schools - declining enrollment and funding cuts - it still has a healthy operating surplus of $1.6 million to draw from.

The issue here lies in the fact the two boards have an unwritten rule that one cannot increase their mill rate unless the other follows suit. Although YCS retains the right to apply for an increase on its own, board chair Simon Taylor told Yellowknifer it would be unfair if one district's mill rate was higher than the other.

Unfair may not be quite the right word. What would be unfair would be if both boards collaborate to gouge taxpayers for extra money, regardless of need.

The more compelling question is: Why should public school supporters have to pay more to balance the Catholic board's budget?

Ultimately, the decision on which board to support lies with Yellowknife taxpayers. They get to decide each year how much of their taxes will go to which board. YCS says it needs more funding to maintain the quality of education in their schools. However, if only its rate increases, more Yellowknifers may choose their own bottom line above the Catholic school board's and choose the less expensive option: Yk1.

The current system seems to dictate that the less successful one school board is, the more funding both receive. How is this fair?

There is a history of imbalance between the two boards, which have previously engaged in turf wars over school space. Back in 2007, YCS schools averaged 100 per cent capacity, while Yk 1 schools had an average capacity of a little more than 60 per cent. YCS responded by asking for an extra school, suggesting J. H. Sissons School become Catholic. After a parental uprising, the idea was abandoned.

The previous year, the Catholic board entered into an ill-advised court battle against allowing non-Catholics to serve on its board. The result of this suit may not have been only a legal loss for the board, but resulted in the loss of students. Ever since, both student numbers and tax support has been shifting towards the public board.

The argument that both boards must band together to increase tax levies undermines the idea that these are two sovereign entities.

Unless they are careful, these two boards could create an excuse by the territorial government to return to the debate over whether or not we should have only one publicly-funded board in Yellowknife.

Let it never be said we Northerners don't catch on fast.

But do we always have to catch onto far more illadvised activities than productive endeavours?

Bad enough our government wants to conduct its affairs like Stephen Harper on antitransparency steroids, but now we're ripping pages from one of the most damaging play books that ever was.

Only man can let his greed reach the point where he willing turns a renewable resource into a nonrenewable one, and is willing to break the law to do it.

It's a sucker's game of shortterm gain against the almost total annihilation of a species in the long term.

George Santayana, borrowing from a phrase by Edmund Burke, famously wrote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Over the years, Santayana's expression was edited by the common tongue to become more commonly known as those who ignore history are bound (or doomed) to repeat it.

Given the actions of our territory's fledgling fishing industry; time to bastardize Santayana's work once and for all and put it in terms even we here in the North can understand. Those who cannot remember the past are idiots!

One can only despair over the report of two Nunavut fishing vessels facing charges under the federal Fisheries Act earlier this month.

Capt. George Hudson has been accused of taking his vessel, The Suvak, to borrow from our neighbours before being charged with fishing in Greenland waters.

The second no-no comes to you courtesy of Capt. David Dempsey, who is charged with taking his crew for a little sail on the Sikuvuto to allegedly fill her pens with Greenland halibut.

Unfortunately, according to authorities, they happened to be in the narwhal overwinter area and the cold water coral zone off of Baffin Island.

Fishing is strictly prohibited in the area.

It comes as no surprise that both vessels are owned by Nunavut entities sporting the names of coalition and alliance.

In layman's terms those words often translate to too greedy and really too greedy.

The Suvak belongs to the Oujukoaq Fisheries Ltd., part of the Iqaluit-based Baffin Fisheries Coalition, while the owner of the Sikuvuto is the Qikiqtarjuaq-based Masiliit Corp., proud member of the Arctic Fishery Alliance.

Those working in the fisheries industry should be made to read every word ever written on illegal fishing and overfishing.

And they can start with an account of the East Coast ground fishery, which was also entrusted to coalitions, alliances and their draggers from hell.

Hopefully, Nunavut Minister of Environment James Arreak is paying close attention to the situation.

It will be interesting to see where our Department of Environment's Fisheries and Sealing Division is going with its priority on the Nunavut fisheries strategy.

The division prides itself on its work to maximize economic opportunities for Nunavummiut.

Let's hope it also prides itself on pushing for the proper punishment for those who refuse to uphold the principles of conservation and sustainability!

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