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A failing grade on education
NWT News/North - Monday, July 29, 2013

The annual report that determines where NWT students stand when it comes to education and attendance was released earlier this month and the results weren't stellar. The numbers weren't a surprise either, which was bad news in itself.

The report gives a historic snapshot of how students in the NWT fared over the years. The proportion of students at or above grade level has stayed quite consistent since 2006/07, falling or rising by a per cent or two over the school years. The lowest figures, in the smaller communities, were hard to swallow.

Thirty-eight per cent of Grade 9 students in the communities were performing at or above grade level in 2011/12. More than half are slipping through the cracks of the education system, and have three more years to go before they are supposed to graduate.

Attendance rates didn't bring anything to celebrate, either. The average attendance for NWT students is 84.4 per cent. The report puts the numbers into perspective.

A student with 80 per cent attendance means they might have missed one day a week for the entire year, and adding that up, miss one year of schooling over five years.

There might be a silver lining. The kinks are being looked at under a microscope. The government's Education Renewal Initiative is currently attempting to revamp the education system in the territory through research and analysis of what must be improved or changed all together. And at the rate grades and attendance are going, major improvements are needed. This project will hopefully shed light on how the NWT's young academics can perform better. The students are our future and without a good education, the ripple effect is far reaching.

As the Department of Health and Social Services did with the recent Minister's Forum on Addictions and Community Wellness, the department of education should act quickly on recommendations that will come from the renewal initiative. Money is constantly being pumped into the structures that hold the students, such as Inuvik's East Three School and its whopping $126-million price tag. It's time to invest in who is inside these buildings - the young residents of the NWT bettering themselves for a successful future.


A chance to swing in the big leagues
NWT News/North - Monday, July 29, 2013

It wasn't all about scores when it came to picking the NWT boys golf team for the upcoming Canada Summer Games. This factor allowed all participants to be on more common ground when competing for spots on the team during the Golf NT Championships in Fort Smith.

Jake Roche of Deline, Jeffrey Groenheyde of Hay River, and Brandon Tuckey of Fort Smith are now practising their swings harder than ever before heading to Sherbrooke, Que., next month.

If the team had been formed based on scores alone, Gray said it would have given the Fort Smith players an advantage, since they know the course better than the other NWT golfers.

Instead, Gray looked at each athlete's development, how they performed on the golf course, and how close they came to attain a number Gray wanted them to shoot.

Gray isn't setting athletes up for failure by not choosing the top scorers for the boys team.

He looked at their progress and their game, fair and square. It's a refreshing system that will hopefully be used again.

Gray knows what he's looking for in the team and the boys he's chosen have a right to be there. The boys heading to Sherbrooke are ready for the experience of a lifetime, seeing the best junior golfers in the country compete and being a part of the action.


Balance corporate interests with traditional Inuit values
Nunavut News/North - Monday, July 29, 2013

Diametrically opposed forces are butting heads in an Ellesmere Island community in a battle that smacks of David vs. Goliath kind of controversy.

On one side is the tiny Inuit community of Grise Fiord, home to about 130 residents, according to the 2001 federal census. On the other is Canada Coal, a Vancouver, B.C.-based company which is publicly traded on the TSX Venture Exchange and whose president and CEO is a chartered accountant with training in South Africa, England and Wales, and 17 years of corporate finance experience, much of it in the mining industry.

At issue is the company's 75 exploration licences on the Fosheim Peninsula, located on Ellesmere Island not far from the Eureka Weather Station, and on Alix Heiberg Island. Both locations are within traditional Inuit hunting areas. That's why residents of Grise Fiord, the closest community to the exploration area are up in arms. Beginning with a community consultation meeting in October 2011 and continuing to meetings in June 2012, the message from community leaders was clear -- resource exploration would not be allowed or tolerated in the area.

The problem for residents of Grise Fiord is that as long as the well-financed company does everything by the book, it will likely get the authorization it needs to proceed with exploration drilling, the next step on the property.

There is no question that an abundance of coal exists, with at least 21 billion tonnes of inferred resource in the licence area, which spans an incredible 2.4 million acres.

On the other side of the equation are the animals the Inuit use during their traditional hunting and trapping activities, including Peary caribou, muskox, Arctic wolves, Arctic foxes, lemming and ptarmigan.

Although the hamlet of Grise Fiord is perched on the southern tip of the island, and the exploration area is close to the Eureka weather station in the northern region, Inuit travel far and wide during their hunting trips and migration patterns could put herds at risk. With that in mind, there are legitimate concerns about the impact of further exploration.

Despite the opposition, Canada Coal was granted its exploration licences and its chief executive officer is confident the company will be able to proceed. The next step, he told News/North last week, is in regards to minimizing the impact on wildlife. A followup meeting is being planned with mayors and local representatives to deal with their concerns.

Given that Canada Coal's exploration is intended to eventually result in a mine, it would be well advised to listen carefully to the concerns of the people in Grise Fiord and make a sincere effort to develop a relationship with people in the interest of meeting its corporate goals while embracing the Inuit traditions of caring for and respecting the land and all its inhabitants.

The people of Grise Fiord must also ensure they make their voices heard and ensure any development does not do more harm than good. Jobs are great, but you can't eat coal.


Come North, young Canadians
Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, July 26, 2013

"Go North, young Canadians ... It's where the money is."

So read posters plastered around downtown Vancouver and other major Canadian cities earlier this year.

This recruitment campaign by the GNWT highlights an increasingly popular adage: the Canadian North is full of high-paying jobs that are ripe for the taking.

But just how well does this clever slogan play on manifest destiny - the idea that opened up the American west in the nineteenth century - stand up to the realities of living in Yellowknife?

According to the most recent employment numbers, pretty well.

In June, 81.9 per cent of the Yellowknife labour force held jobs, an increase of 600 jobs since April, when roughly 12,500 Yellowknifers were gainfully employed.

Compared to the rest of the country, where effects from the 2008 recession drags on and the average employment rate was 62.3 per cent in June, Yellowknifers have a much greater chance of landing a job - and our jobs really do pay more.

Territory-wide, the average worker earned $1,260 per week in May, while the average employed Canadian earned $912 weekly.

Adding to this rosy economic outlook are promises of even more well-paying jobs on the horizon. Six new development projects surrounding Yellowknife predict more than 1,600 jobs and $2 billion in investment.

Two proposed projects would have Yellowknife return to its golden years - Tyhee Gold Corps' Yellowknife Gold Project, currently before the Mackenzie Valley Impact Review Board, is expected to open two mines roughly 50 km north of the city and create about 200 jobs.

TerraX Minerals Inc.'s Yellowknife Gold project, located 15 km north of Yellowknife, is approximately 10 years away from development. TerraX promises to keep more secondary jobs in the North by establishing its operations base here, instead of shipping core samples south for analysis.

But (and here's the but), as any true Northerner already knows, a high salary does not equal riches.

Perhaps this is why, despite the availability of well-paying jobs, Yellowknife's population dropped by roughly 500 people in 2012.

While living in Yellowknife is far cheaper than living in smaller Northern communities, housing and goods continue to cost much more than they do in the south and this gap continues to grow. The June 2013 NWT consumer price index shows a 1.6 per cent increase in the cost of basic goods since the same month last year, compared to a 1.2 per cent national increase.

As of October 2012, the average two-bedroom apartment cost $1,641 per month, compared to the national average of $901. And renting is pretty much all the average Yellowknifer can afford to do as the cost of real estate continues to balloon.

On a more positive note, the draw of well-paying jobs should attract new people to the North but it will take getting the cost of living under control to keep the best and the brightest here. More importantly, those who already live here should have no trouble securing a job, although they may have to re-train to get it. Barring another global crash, it looks like our economy has recovered - and that makes us the lucky ones.


After the polls close
Editorial Comment by Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, July 25, 2013

The new chief of Deh Gah Got'ie First Nation made an interesting point while speaking to the Deh Cho Drum about his Fort Providence election victory.

At the end of the interview, Joachim Bonnetrouge said the community needs to stand behind the decisions made by voters during the election. Sometimes, people get divided by politics, but the band members have to strive to continue working together and do what is best for the members and the whole community, he said.

Bonnetrouge has a good point. Elections in communities of any size can divide residents.

People get behind different candidates for different reasons and once the election results are made public, the supporters of the person or people who didn't win can often feel disappointed or angry with the results. In less stable countries around the world, violence often breaks out before, during and after elections as backers of different candidates and parties clash.

Things aren't as volatile here, but elections can still be divisive.

One of the factors leading to division is that most First Nations in the Deh Cho have small memberships, many of whom have close family ties. Oftentimes, support for candidates for the position of chief or band council are made along family lines. That can leave whole family groups feeling badly if their relative isn't elected.

There can also be issues if the vote is close. If only a few votes separate the new chief from their closest competitor, it doesn't paint a picture of a community united under one leader.

After the election results are announced, the people whose choice for chief or band councillors didn't get elected need to decide how to proceed. Feeling upset for awhile is understandable, but those feelings shouldn't be allowed to linger.

Like Bonnetrouge said, regardless of how band members vote, they should ultimately respect the decision made by the majority of the people and support the chief and council who are selected. It is only with the majority of the community's support that First Nations can make positive progress during each new leadership term.


Darkness finally falls
Editorial Comment by T. Shawn Giilck
Inuvik Drum - Thursday, July 25, 2013

Odd things can happen to a person under the glare of the midnight sun.

That's why I found myself Saturday morning at 2:30 a.m. eagerly rising from bed in anticipation of the first sunset in two months.

I freely admit I've had some monumental problems getting used to the midnight sun. I've been sleep-deprived, disoriented and sometimes outright grouchy over my first experience with the 24-hour sunshine.

There's a long list of things I've missed, including sunrises and sunsets, watching the stars and the moon, looking for the aurora, the sounds of crickets and so on.

Even one of my favourite summer traditions fell by the wayside here. For years it's been my habit to linger outside on the first day of summer, the longest day of the year, and soak up every last drop of sunshine. The midnight sun takes all the fun out of that one, let me tell you.

The worst part of the midnight sun here, though, is trying to sleep and adhere to some kind of a normal work and life schedule around it. It's problematic to convince myself to sleep when the non-rational part of my brain is whispering (or maybe shrieking), "Let's go play!"

Maybe I should have given in but that's a hard sell in a profession dominated by the need to meet deadlines. I'm not sure my bosses would be very sympathetic to me "phoning in tired."

In fact, I know they wouldn't, although they might understand it.

So on Saturday morning I sat perched at my window in my pyjamas watching as the sun sank lower and lower in the sky, camera clutched tightly in one hand.

I don't know if I expected some grand epiphany or not, or just some sense of relief to see even a hint of darkness.

I won't say I was disappointed, but there was some sense of "huh, that was hardly worth it" thoughts floating through my head as the sky barely darkened to even a twilight before the sun popped up again.

Monday morning I was awake again around 3 a.m. and was considerably more satisfied to see something approaching twilight. My comfort zone, it seems, falls somewhere along the lines of long days with the sun setting around midnight or so.

I'm left with the uneasy sensation, though, that I've missed out on a lot of fun over the last two months under the midnight sun.

So I've resolved next year, when the opportunity presents itself, I'm going to follow an old cliche.

"When in Inuvik, do as the Inuvikites do."

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to a long winter's nap ... or at least a late-summer one.


No room for error
Yellowknifer - Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Remediation work at the Giant Mine site, which is heavily contaminated with arsenic trioxide has, understandably, left many uneasy.

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) have set up air monitoring systems around the mine site and in town to watch for toxic dust, a byproduct from the site's days as an operational gold mine.

Arsenic trioxide, to put it bluntly, is dangerous.

According to the United States Environment Protection Agency (EPA), a dose of inhaled arsenic of 600 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day can result in death. To put this in perspective, a fatal dose for an average Canadian male would be approximately 48,000 micrograms per day. It takes one million micrograms to make one gram, so a fatal dose of inhaled arsenic is very tiny.

A new study from the University of Manchester in England found that consuming rice with high levels of arsenic, which is still used as a pesticide in Asia, can lead to chromosomal damage. So, it's hardly a secret that arsenic is dangerous, and sitting on the edge of the city is a site containing 237,000 tonnes of the toxic dust and 16 million tonnes of arsenic-rich tailings.

And what's the plan if it can actually be determined a toxic arsenic cloud is heading toward a populated area?

Tell the city to institute its emergency plan.

That's it. The plan of AANDC, in the event of a potential disaster, is to put the problem on to the city instead.

To make things worse, air detectors have already been proven to be less than reliable, with a spike registered on July 1 and 2 as a result of smoke from forest fires blowing into town.

Also, if Kevin O'Reilly of Alternatives North is correct, the sensors, without additional analysis, are unable to differentiate between arsenic particulates and other kinds of pollution, such as smoke.

Long-term exposure to arsenic dust can lead to problems, as seen by the town of Takachiho, Japan. Over a five-decade period starting in the 1920s, the town saw an increase in skin and lung cancers as the result of arsenic production from the Toroku danborite mine.

Giant Mine is one of the most toxic sites in the country and among the most expensive to maintain, according to a 2012 report from the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development.

Despite that cost we can't help but share O'Reilly's unease when thinking about the safety response plans and monitoring system that AANDC has in place.

When dealing with a toxic substance such as arsenic trioxide there is no such thing as too stringent.

And, can you really put a price tag on the health and safety of more than 20,000 people?


Don't ever lose that small-town kindness
Editorial Comment by Miranda Scotland
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, July 24, 2013

As much as we like to think we have control over our lives, there are always those moments that remind us we don't.

At those times we are left feeling helpless, vulnerable and lost.

I have had two such moments during my time in the North and in each instance I was lucky enough to have been met with a helping hand.

During the first, my roommate and I had the brilliant idea to do a

70-kilometre bike ride down Yellowknife's Ingraham Trail.

It was a rather ambitious goal given that my idea of exercise at the time was walking to and from work.

Still, we made it through the first 35 kilometres and took a well-deserved snack break before turning back the way we came.

Unfortunately, that's when things started to go wrong for me.

With every pedal my right knee became more and more sore.

It came to the point where I told my roommate to just go ahead because I was going to need to take it slow.

He took off and I pushed through the pain until I made it to about five kilometres from the city limits.

I pulled my bike over to the side of the road and slumped down on the gravel, realizing even though the end was in sight my body was in no shape to make it.

After fishing my cellphone from my pocket, I called for a cab and told the operator I was on the Ingraham Trail by the Mining Heritage Society's building. Amazingly, the woman didn't even know about the Ingraham Trail.

I was thinking I was never going to make it home when a truck pulled over to the side of the road.

A woman rolled down the window and asked me if I was OK.

Relieved beyond belief, I explained what had happened and asked if they would drive me home. They quickly agreed.

I dare say I have never been more grateful for the kindness of a stranger.

My second reminder that I don't always have control over life happened more recently.

I had driven out to the elders' cabin to cover an event and when I got there, someone pointed out my vehicle had a flat tire.

When it comes to cars I know nothing, so my instinct was to call the local mechanic shops but that yielded nothing.

I was feeling pretty helpless when a local resident said her husband was coming and had a pump I could use to put air in the tire.

It turned out we couldn't use the pump but he and his friend were kind enough to put on my vehicle's spare tire.

I was once again moved by strangers' willingness to help out.

Having lived in a city where people won't even help you lift a suitcase up a couple of stairs, it meant a lot to me.

It is nice to know that when things get hectic, there are people around who will help.

Now I know the North is known for its generous and kind people, but it can't be said enough and it shouldn't be taken for granted.

If you have one of those moments as I have had, please take the time to show your appreciation.

  • Miranda Scotland is interim editor of Kivalliq News while editor Darrell Greer is on vacation

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