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Who can make heads or tails of the newest day shelter fiasco?

Without trying to unravel last week's confounding statements from everyone involved, here's a list of the players: territorial government, Yellowknife Health and Social Service Authority, City of Yellowknife, NWT branch of the John Howard Society and its front-line workers.

It's impossible to determine for certain who is responsible for the day shelter's imminent demise, as people pass the buck, cite irregularities or engage in pathetic moral apprehension.

The purpose of a day shelter is to protect the vulnerable and to reduce their impact on the community. The vulnerable may or may not be inebriated and may or may not be violent. Many are homeless.

What is absolutely certain is that they are not turned away.

Lydia Bardak, executive director for the John Howard Society, has been running the place for four years. She says the majority of the staff working at the shelter are people who were previously homeless or who have struggled with the law. That, in itself, is an accomplishment to be celebrated. As Bardak rightly states, government workers would turn away clients who are intoxicated or rude. There are very, very few skilled professional people who are willing to do the work, she said.

But the work is being done - on a shoestring with very little support.

And, yet, this success story is fraught with failure due to political moralizing and maneuvering. Much of it came from Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins last year, when, for two days in the legislative assembly, he called for new leadership.

If Bardak, under the aegis of the John Howard Society, isn't going to run the shelter, who will? No one but the society has answered requests for proposals in the past - only to be refused the actual contract. Does the health authority believe a magical fairy will step in and do the dirty work no one but Bardak seems willing to do?

Michael Keohane, president of the local John Howard Society, may be in the hot seat for saying it was time for his board to pull the plug, but he's correct. Without the basic infrastructure and financial support, the entire project is a failure. As he said, "It is the collective view of our board that the time has come to realize that we have done all that we can do."

Agreed. The John Howard Society is not responsible for this travesty. They have lent their support via Bardak for four years. The battle is not with the street people they help, but with an asinine government unwilling to descend from its ossified ivory tower.

If the GNWT wants to see better accounting, it should assign a government accountant. Root problems are not the business of the day shelter - those would go to the non-existent treatment centres.

How is it possible to decry the state of city streets due to homeless and broken people, and not step up? How is it possible to complain about people urinating on the streets if you take away their only available toilet? How is it possible to be human and not take responsibility?

And lest anyone consider this a city problem - the city, incidentally, stands by its $50,000 allocation - keep in mind that many homeless people in Yellowknife are from the outlying communities. The GNWT's annual allowance of $250,000 should be increased and made permanent.

Every day the day shelter remains closed will be a shameful reminder of government failure. Every day Bardak has to waste her considerable passion and energy defending herself, other workers, and the day shelter is a travesty.

Fort Providence has become the dog mushing capital of the Deh Cho.

The third annual Dehcho Sled Dog Championships were held in the hamlet from March 7 to 8. The event drew 23 mushers from across the NWT, as well as Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Hamlet residents have come to embrace the event. A number of residents volunteer to help on the race days and many people participate as spectators.

Residents parked their vehicles across from the rallying area beside the Snowshoe Inn where they could watch the dogs being harnessed and attached to their sleds just before the races. As the teams set off people followed in their vehicles to watch the races as they progressed.

The trails have been thoughtfully laid out so spectators can watch the races from start to finish as the teams run beside the Fort Providence access road and Highway 3. And its quite the sight.

At the starting area, the dogs make a cacophony of barking and howls in their excitement to start their race. They clearly know what is coming next.

At the starting line a number of people have to hold each team to keep them in place as the dogs strain and jump forward in their harnesses in their eagerness, but once on the trail the dogs are all business. There is no more barking and yelping, just the sound of the sled skis sliding over the snow and the musher calling out the occasional words of praise or instruction.

The championships and their sister event, the Deh Gah Christmas Sled Dog Fun Race, clearly have a number of benefits for the hamlet. They are a great tourist attraction that could easily be marketed. They already draw additional business to the hamlet because the mushers need food, places to stay and gas.

Additionally, they are just fun for the residents to watch.

The two races illustrate how quickly, with the right work, planning and people, a great event can be held in a Deh Cho community. Neither of the races existed three years ago. They are the result of the hard work of the Deh Gah Dog Mushers Club, particularly Danny Beaulieu and Susan Fleck.

Hopefully the races will continue for many years and will keep growing and attracting more mushers, as well as more spectators. The races may even encourage people in other Deh Cho communities to take up dog sled racing.

While it's hard to argue that the introduction of the personal support worker program at the Aurora Campus is anything but good news, it does provide some food for thought.

The question that springs immediately to mind is whether the campus – and the parent college – is providing enough options for education in the Beaufort Delta region and the NWT as a whole.

As Aurora president Jane Arychuk said during a visit to Aklavik recently to recognize college graduates working there, it's a delicate balancing act as to what courses will be in demand, can be funded and will provide reasonable options for employment.

It would be a very interesting exercise to look back and see what program the college once offered that are now only memories. Two that come immediately to mind illustrate what Arychuk said perfectly.

The materials and equipment for both a journalism program and an early childhood education (ECE) program are still in storage at the college. For that matter, so were most of the resources needed to offer the personal support worker (PSW) program.

The PSW program had been offered previously at the campus, before fading away in the face of program adjustments and funding changes. Now, with a demand for personal support workers rising, the college has cleaned the dust off those resources, which is a very practical way of looking at the needs of the region and the employment market.

There's an easy argument to be made that a similar demand exists for early childhood education, particularly in Inuvik.

It would seem the Children First Centre is a logical candidate for putting some pressure on the college to bring that program back. There's room for approximately 30 staff at the centre, and virtually all of them could benefit from such a course. There is currently no way to be certified to work in such a daycare in the NWT at the moment, something that is taken for granted and expected in similar facilities in the south.

It seems that unofficial daycares are beginning to spring up for those who choose not to send their children to Children First, or who perhaps can't afford to. Those workers would likely also welcome such a course, and I feel fairly confident that the parents would also be happy about it.

The journalism program represents the other side of the spectrum. There's currently not enough demand for it in the region, nor the employment prospects, to make it viable to spend resources. That's quite unfortunate, since it would be good to see more suitable NWT residents, particularly from the community, be able to make a successful transition into the business and more importantly, build a sustainable and successful career.

Perhaps it's time for an intensive public discussion and consultation with the college and the communities about what education here should look like. That could be a very valuable conversation.

"Two days of so-called consultation is a sham. Why the rush?"

It's a good question - raised by a constituent of Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro - after Jane Groenewegen, MLA for Hay River South, forwarded a motion that would breach the implicit agreement made when she was voted into office - that she would serve a four-year term in the legislative assembly and no longer.

The push comes from her constituents, claims Groenewegen, but fellow Hay River MLA Robert Bouchard must be speaking to different people because he didn't see it that way at all when he voted against the motion. Nor did neighbouring MLA for the Deh Cho, Michael Nadli.

"I'm incredulous of the timing of this proposal," said Nadli.

Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley quoted constituent after constituent criticizing the move, briefly interrupted when Groenewegen tried to stop him on a point of order that was wisely dismissed by Speaker Jackie Jacobson.

Those who are proud of a stance they've taken will typically have a lot to say, while those who are ashamed tend to be silent. Cabinet, including Yellowknife MLAs David Ramsay, Glen Abernethy, and Premier Bob McLeod, was mostly silent during the debate save for the motion's seconder, Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger.

That's the stoney face cabinet displayed as they voted in favour of a motion that potentially awards them another year with a cabinet-sized salary, free from having to face the voters.

Pleas from Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro for cabinet to speak up as individual representatives of their constituents instead of as a voting block went unheeded. This wasn't a vote of confidence toward the government so it boggles the mind how not a single Yellowknife MLA on cabinet could find the courage to speak up and justify their 'yea' vote in the legislative assembly.

Given time to digest the claim that prudence demands a year extension because holding federal, territorial and municipal elections all within the same month is too taxing on voters, some of the actual voters they claim to represent might have agreed.

But ramming through a motion only four days after it was introduced by the legislative assembly's two longest serving MLAs - Jane Groenewegen and Michael Miltenberger, who will reach their maximum pension level if the election is pushed back a year - is terrible optics. It will only feed a cynical view that once in the legislative assembly, and especially after getting into cabinet, job number one for MLAs is to take care of themselves.

Devolution is coming to the Northwest Territories, but this latest stunt has done nothing to make people believe they're getting better government.

The tiny house movement is the latest fad in real estate right now as people seek to reduce the high cost of housing and better utilize their properties by building secondary homes on them.

Tiny houses are nothing new to Yellowknife. Anyone who has strolled through certain quarters of Old Town will recognize that they have been long established in places like Peace River Flats and the Woodyard. City council approval would merely legitimize a building tradition dating back to the first prospectors who built shacks on the shore of Yellowknife Bay.

The city's recent proposal to eliminate minimum floor space will make it easier for developers and residents to build and sell these mini dwellings, with the hope of giving people more options to purchase real estate, or allow property owners to build a smaller detached dwelling and rent it out.

Not everyone wants to buy a 3,000-square-foot home. These tiny houses, which can be 500 square feet or less, will appeal to people who want a starter home that can be expanded as the need requires.

But council should be wary of extending this scheme to apartment builders. With Yellowknife's rental vacancy rate at less than four per cent it doesn't take much to imagine landlords building closet-sized apartments and renting them out for the same hyper-expensive prices they charge right now.

What matters when council contemplates tiny houses is how they help the little guy, not fat cat, super-sized property managers.

Difficult topics divide people, and they can sure lead to strange situations.

I loudly applauded Liberal MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell for supporting Bill C-38 in 2005.

The Civil Marriage Act made Canada the fourth country in the entire world to legalize same sex marriage.

I backed Lindell's stance on my beliefs of equality and human rights.

It was not an easy decision for me.

Although I have little to no use for the church, I am Christian and those beliefs trump all others.

But not this time.

I do not 'support' homosexuality, nor do I have anything against it.

In fact, every gay person I've known in my life has been a solid person who respected my heterosexuality and who I'd have as a friend and neighbour any time.

And, I snicker at the claims of homosexuality leading to total sexual deviancy almost as hard as I snicker at the claim of marijuana leading straight to heroin.

That being said, homosexuality is a very difficult topic for many people, enlightened or otherwise.

And it constantly finds itself in the cross-hairs of haters, fanatics and zealots.

For that reason alone -- but among many others -- we should be able to find it within ourselves to transcend tolerance and arrive at acceptance.

If the word "judge" is to be used at all, it should only be in whether an individual is a nice person or a total idiot.

We heterosexuals have our share of both.

And, to top it all off, we live in the greatest country in the world where, most of the time, democracy rules.

But that's our nation.

Bill C-38 received Royal Assent on July 20, 2005.

We would have been very upset if Russia had started picking events in Canada the rest of the year and protesting our decision on the grounds of their beliefs.

That's why no one should be upset by Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Cathy Towtongie praising an Iqaluit councillor for speaking out against having a rainbow flag flying over city hall during the Sochi Olympics.

If you, like Mr. Paul Okalik, want to wear a gay pride necktie (whatever that is), by all means do so.

That's an individual statement and, no offense to Mr. Okalik, sometimes a cover can disguise the true contents of a book.

When our leaders start taking it upon themselves to raise flags in support of any issue, we're sticking our noses in another nation's business and crossing dangerous lines.

I am Christian, but I am not about to fly to Tehran and start converting people.

The immediate, and expected, attacks on Towtongie for her comments arrived, of course, and included words such as prejudice and hate.

There's a strong possibility Towtongie's thoughts on the matter differ greatly from my own, but she was still right in what she said.

Passing Bill C-38 back in 2005 was a no-brainer for this country, but that does not give us the right to inflict our will upon a nation that may not share our views on sexual orientation.

To do so makes a mockery of the acceptance we profess to have for others.

I hope, like our big brother to the south, we haven't become so aggressive in promoting our own beliefs that we no longer understand that simple truth?

Earlier this month Catholic bishops in Alberta and the NWT joined forces to issue an apology to the survivors of residential schools.

Although the Catholic Diocese in the NWT had already extended such a gesture two years ago, it lent its support to Alberta which became the last Catholic jurisdiction in Canada to issue such a sentiment. The apology came in advance to the finale of a national series of Residential School Truth and Reconciliation conferences to be held in Edmonton.

As far as apologies go, Canadian bishops have gone so far as to admit their part in the horrors that some aboriginal people experienced while attending the church-run government institutions. The public letter expresses regret, sympathy and accountability for the actions of the church.

That is a good first step and residential school survivors such as David Poitras said for many that goes a long way toward healing. The validation that the hurt survivors are feeling is a burden lifted.

However, there are still those who suffer and will continue to suffer because they have become trapped in a cycle of hurt, often involving addictions and mental illness. Many of these people have found themselves living on the streets unable to support themselves.

It is them, Poitras says, who are in the need of the most help and it will take more than an apology to free them from despair. Although Poitras said healing starts with an individual will, as his did, some of the most hurt and marginalized need more help to find the path.

Which is why the apology should come with more action. The Catholic Church has substantial resources at its disposal and those should be brought to bear on the residential school issue. Some money to support programs to help people enter healing programs, targeting the hard to reach population who are most in need would be a good start. Retreats have been held in the past by the church, but those are only effective for those who have begun the healing journey and choose to go.

There was a time when the Catholic Church was heavily involved in everyday life. Some of that involvement, one could argue, led to the residential school disaster. Now, perhaps, it is time for it to renew a portion of that involvement to directly help those it hurt in the past.

The community of Deline is on the verge of possibly making history. This week, community members and land claim beneficiaries will vote on whether to accept a land claim that would ratify the first such community-based agreement.

While previous land claims have been regionally based, Deline could be the first to gain a distinct level of autonomy to govern in its own affairs.

The move will come with a host of opportunities and challenges but could pave the way and serve as an example for other groups negotiating the same type of deal.

However, before history can be made, the votes must be cast. This might be the single most important ballot ever cast by the people of Deline.

Not only will it forge the foundation for the community's future, it also requires nearly all eligible voters to participate. Unlike other voting scenarios where majority of voters rule, this vote is formatted so everyone is counted, regardless of votes cast. If you don't vote, not only are you removing yourself from a chance to participate in history, you are being counted as opposed to the land claim.

We encourage all eligible voters to cast a ballot, whether that is for or against. Every voice in Deline deserves to be heard on this issue and the final results should not fall into question because of poor turnout.

Hunters and fishers becoming stranded while out on the land because of bad weather is nothing new to Nunavummiut. It is common that blizzards hit vast expanses of land across the Arctic, bringing heavy snowfall and fierce wind which results in almost zero visibility.

Traditionally, hunters will pack a qamutik with supplies adequate enough for a man to survive in bad weather for several days. The past reality, and still even today in many communities, is that hunters had to go out on the land to sustain themselves and their families. They were prepared to be stranded and self sufficient enough to survive should they have to burrow down with their dog team and wait out the storm. Friends and relatives left behind in the community could do little except wait, hope and pray for the hunter's safe return.

The new reality is hunters and fishers not only prepare the qamutik with all the necessary equipment and supplies, but they also leave a travel plan by telling friends and relatives where they are planning to go and when they expect to return. In the event of a severe storm, and after the hunter or hunters fail to return when expected, a search-and-rescue goes out to look, hoping to offer assistance and return those involved safely home.

The problem with this new reality is that hunters today rely on snowmobiles rather than dog teams. And, since snowmobiles are mechanical and require fuel, they break down. It is one thing to be stranded until a storm passes and quite another to be stranded with no means of transportation. Volunteer members of the search-and-rescue team are putting themselves at risk while they go out on the land to help others. Some may say that is part of their job and, by joining the team, they accept the risk. That would be acceptable if the risk can't be lessened.

That's where the life-saving modern technology can be put to use. A SPOT satellite messenger is a GPS (global positioning system) device which uses the Globalstar satellite network to detect its position and transmit the coordinates. If activated by a person stranded on the land, those coordinates show the location of the device with pinpoint accuracy, often within one metre.

Nunavut's Protection Services department is very concerned that the number of search-and-rescue operations is increasing at a rate of 10 to 15 per cent per year. An education campaign is being undertaken in an effort to decrease the number of operations. Search-and-rescue team members in places like Pond Inlet are going on community radio to educate young hunters. Also in Pond Inlet, the hamlet has 15 SPOT devices available for hunters to borrow and sometimes all of them are checked out.

It is vital that, in this day and age, hunters take a SPOT device with them every time they go out on the land. Avid hunters should consider buying their own. Hamlets and hunters and trappers associations in other communities should have SPOT devices available for hunters to borrow.

Because accidents happen, storms and blizzards occur and hunters face difficult weather conditions and terrain, why wouldn't they want to be as safe as possible?

At the end of the day it is a matter of survival not only for the person who is stranded, but also for the search-and-rescue volunteers who are risking their lives to help others. In a life-and-death situation, knowing that someone knows where you are makes all the difference.

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