Let's stop exporting talent Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, March 6, 2015
Leaving home to pursue higher education is a rite of passage for many students but in the case of the NWT it is often not a choice.
Aurora College is trying to stem the tide with plans to offer a post-secondary Bachelor of Education in the North Slave region.
This would allow Northerners who already have a bachelor degree in arts and science to take a two-year Bachelor of Education course at Aurora College and qualify for a teaching position. Right now, they would have to go south to take such a program or enter a full four-year program in Yellowknife.
The idea is already generating interest. Two dozen people attended an information session earlier this month. Dave Porter, chair of the college's school of education, said staff is researching the viability of the two-year post-secondary program in the North.
Many students, especially those seeking post-degree studies, are older with families and jobs in the North. They face either missing out on their education goals or having to quit their jobs and move south.
Chelsea Mason, 30, born and raised in Yellowknife, is getting her diploma in social work from the college but if she wants to go further she will have to complete her degree online or go the University of Regina, where Aurora College has academic connections. Others simply want to stay near their home, like Kristine Kraft, 19, a nursing student. She is seeking a specialist degree but with few options she may have to leave.
Having more specialist degrees available in Northern schools can be considered part of the GNWT's plan to stop out-migration. Even if students stay for only a few years, they will still be contributing to the local economy and help boost the population, not to mention transfer payments.
We applaud Aurora College for listening to their students and taking steps to expand programming as solution to filling the education gap.
We hope this is the beginning of more post-degree programming, allowing the college to not only retain Northern students, but to attract more from other parts of the nation.
Abernethy comes through at Stanton Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, March 6, 2015
During the past few months, we expect Health Minister Glen Abernethy has taken heat for a painfully inadequate Stanton hospital policy defining the role of security staff at the hospital.
Last week, he announced in the legislature that hospital security staff can now respond immediately to violent situations.
We have been told that at least one guard with appropriate training has been stationed in the emergency ward, with the intention that all security staff receive the appropriate training in short order. Abernethy has also agreed to MLA Bob Bromley's request that a territory-wide security review be done and reported back on within 120 days.
Bromley has been a leader in the crusade to improve security at the hospital and he should be considered a co-author of any improvements.
As health minister, Abernethy inherited this situation from the previous government which chose not to implement the full range of recommendations contained in the 2011 security review after a patient near-fatally stabbed himself in the hospital cafeteria. At first, despite an outcry from hospital staff and the public, Abernethy was slow to react and may not have acted as quickly as he did without a few stern warnings from Bromley. He should now be commended for moving forward with immediate and concrete action to improve security at the hospital.
Abernethy's recent actions show he meant it when he said: "We want safe, secure (hospital) facilities where a patient can receive the best care and our staff are safe."
We are now on the right track to achieving that safety and security for hospital staff and patients.
Thanks to those who enrich our communitiesDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, March 5, 2015
When reflecting on the news of the week in the region, it can be easy to find fault and point to issues that need to be addressed.
Instead this week I'm going to point out a few examples of what's going well.
As I've written in the past, Fort Simpson has a fairly strong and welcoming sense of community.
Part of that comes from the variety of events and activities available to village residents.
One big annual community organized event is nearly upon us. The Beavertail Jamboree will kick off this weekend in Fort Simpson.
The jamboree is a highly anticipated event based on conversations I've had with community members in the village.
There's an eight-person committee that ensures the event takes place, though many of the numerous activities planned for the week have been held in previous years so there isn't too much new to organize.
But there is fundraising as well as securing venues and performers.
Without people contributing time, the event wouldn't be as highly regarded as it is among residents.
Another example this week comes from those who are in the early stages of restarting a gun club in Fort Simpson. The group plans to formally organize and aims to raise money to improve the rifle range.
Ian Coates also has said he'd like the club to provide a venue for people to learn safe firearms practices.
While not in the village, another example to be applauded comes from Fort Liard.
After funding ran out, the youth centre was expected to close its doors until April.
However, another notice was later posted in the community that said it will stay open on Fridays. Sharon McLeod has volunteered to keep it open.
That deserves praise.
These are the kind of people who strengthen our communities.
So here's to the volunteers that give up some of their time so others can have activities that make this a good community to live in.
For those who coach sports, sit on festival committees, organize club or host community events, thank you.
Great man lostInuvik Drum - Thursday, March 5, 2015
One moment someone is here. The next they are gone.
I sat in town council chambers with councillor Terry Halifax last Wednesday night. The meeting was going to be cancelled because not enough councillors were available to meet quorum. However, they had to wait 15 minutes after the scheduled start time before they could officially cancel it. Halifax, Alana Mero, Jim McDonald and Grant Hood sat around with myself and a few others talking to pass the time. We joked, and laughed and talked about council issues.
I left before the councillors did, as they waited to briefly discuss an in-camera issue. Terry shot me a smile and nodded as I left. I said goodbye and headed to my car.
It was the last time I'd see him alive.
The following day I spent hours on the phone talking to the people who knew the four-term councillor. He had collapsed unexpectedly outside town hall, a building where he spent many days and nights fighting to make Inuvik a better place. He died at the hospital after being rushed for medical attention. He was 54.
A photographer, fearless muckraking journalist, selfless friend, admirable colleague, and firm believer in making Inuvik a great place to life. This was Terry, a man devoted to the people of this town - the ones he knew and the ones he didn't. Regardless of whether you knew him or not, he cared for each person and their well-being.
His partner Elizabeth Fraser told me Terry would give his heart and soul to whatever cause he believed in. He was fiery and outspoken. People didn't always see eye to eye with him. However, his friends and colleagues said he had the utmost respect for their point of view, even if it wasn't the same as his. He respected the people he worked with, a symbol of the type of person Terry was.
He genuinely cared about the future of this town, and dedicated his time to helping make it a better place. He was involved in countless youth workshops on photography, worked with Children's First Society to get the new daycare building finished. He dedicated his time to finding better ways to bring affordable energy to residents being strangled by high rates. He wanted to make a difference because he believed in this town.
Fraser said he wanted to bring the town to the glory it deserved. He worked hard during his four terms on council to achieve that. Sadly, he won't get to see the work he's done in recent years come to fruition.
As a teacher, he saw the struggles youth experienced and wanted to help them find success in their lives. He dedicated his time to making Inuvik a place where youth were happy to live and felt they had options to have a bright future. As former mayor Peter Clarkson said, he fought for the vulnerable, the little guy who didn't have a voice.
Terry embodied what it meant to be a member of a community -- bold, dedicated, and forward-thinking.
You will truly be missed.
Tough call a good moveYellowknifer - Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Asking children to go to to high school a year early has the potential to alarm students, faculty and parents alike -- which makes it all the more admirable that the Yellowknife Catholic School board decided to do it.
Yellowknife Catholic Schools student numbers show that St. Joseph School is at 90 per cent capacity.
"If we didn't move St. Joe's (students) we would have to take the kitchen area, close it off and make it a classroom," said Janet Toner, assistant superintendent for Yellowknife Catholic School board. "We would have to take the computer lab, close it off and make it a classroom, and we would probably have to use the stage of the gym and make it a classroom and that's what we've done before,"
So, next year, four classes and their teachers from St. Joe's will be transferred to four vacant classrooms in Weledeh. They will be joining other Grade 8s moved from overcrowded classrooms already in Weledeh. All the Grade 8s will then become part of the St. Patrick High School student body.
Previously, Catholic school board chair Simon Taylor suggested enrolment will keep growing as devolution draws more people to Yellowknife.
"Are we overloaded? We are. Are we able to accommodate it? We are, but we are starting to get squeezed," said Taylor in January 2014.
Shifting students from St. Joe's in Frame Lake to downtown may not have been the most popular decision. Back in November, Yellowknife Education District No. 1 consulted parents on the possibility of closing one of three district schools, mainly J.H. Sissons or William McDonald, due to declining enrolment. Parents turned out in force to fight for maintaining the status quo and won - no schools would close.
The public board decided to absorb any cash costs associated with maintaining schools at low capacity rather than pay the political price for doing something similar to what the Catholic board is now doing.
Should Yellowknife's population remain stagnant along with enrolment, public school parents may have to follow the practical example of Catholic school parents.
Adapting to change is healthy. Hanging onto a decaying status quo is not.
Modern magic takes back seat to traditional art
Editorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Kudos this week to those placing the spotlight back on visual art in the Kivalliq.
Visual art has been under fire for decades in this country.
More and more programs focused on art are being cut in our nation's schools and funding dollars have been slashed for artistic programs at an alarming rate.
As with so many things in this modern era, a part of the reason for the shift is technology's invasion into our everyday lives.
We listen to the music of so-called artists whose main musical instrument is computer software.
Even the voice coming from your stereo speakers or headphones is, more likely than not, as smooth as it is thanks to a sound engineer or producer's skill with the Auto-Tune program.
The program corrects the pitch of a vocal performance and allows so-so singers to become hitmakers, taking for granted you don't notice, or mind, a sprinkling of that Mr. Roboto sound in an increasing number of hit songs.
Others gifted on the mouse and keyboard can produce an array of modern magic in video, photography, graphic design and a host of other mediums, but, despite being known as electronic or digital art, is it truly art?
Inuit art, indeed Northern art in general, is beautiful to behold.
From the personal touch brought to an amauti, parka or pair of kamiik, to wall hangings, jewelry, carvings, ceramics and prints done by professional artisans, the vast majority are done in the most traditional of manners — by hand.
And their beauty is often stunning.
Another form of artistic beauty has been finding its way into our communities during the past few years and it's exciting because it's been primarily produced by youth.
A growing number of communities are adding colour and style to their daily backdrop with the creation of murals on both the inside and outside of various buildings.
Repulse Bay joined the growing list this past week with the help of a southern artist, joining Arviat, Rankin Inlet and Baker Lake in featuring youthful expression through artistic creation.
I've been fortunate enough to have seen three of the works in person and the others in high-resolution photos and all are quite impressive to behold.
The murals differ in design and presentation, but the majority share one thing in common.
The works nicely combine elements of traditional Inuit design and display with modern abstraction and flare, some of which would not look out of place in the environment of inner city street art.
A significant accomplishment, really, even taking into consideration the influence of the southern artists involved with many of the works in an instructional capacity.
The youths behind the art are deeply, if not entirely, rooted in Northern culture, yet, their instincts and artistic vision reach out to bridge the creative gap with their city-dwelling counterparts in the south.
Hopefully, this trend continues and more youth-inspired murals continue to be displayed in our communities.
It's a form of expression that lends itself to allowing our youthful artists to take the best of both worlds and apply it to their work.
And it truly is art!
Blind criticismNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, March 2, 2015
Last month, Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro stood up in legislative assembly to criticize the relocation of government positions out of Yellowknife.
Since embarking on decentralization, the government has moved a total of 150 positions.
Bisaro, speaking for constituents in her Yellowknife riding, used words of doom and gloom, claiming the GNWT is uprooting and sending families into turmoil. She also raised the risk of losing talented employees if they opt out of moving with their positions.
Her statement caused Inuvik Boot Lake MLA Alfred Moses to abandon his planned member's statement to defend decentralization. "I honestly couldn't bite my tongue on this one," he said.
"I do have to speak up for the people in the regions, speak up for the people in the small communities and speak up for people that need the programs, need the services, need the jobs so they too can have a lifestyle."
There is no question the NWT economy is driven by its own public sector. Twenty-two per cent of NWT's workforce is employed by the GNWT. Unemployment rates in the communities hover at 50 per cent. Decentralization brings more jobs - and services - to these communities.
Bisaro's statement is interesting because it seems as though she is ringing an alarm without first checking to see if there is a fire. Instead of providing evidence to support her criticism of the GNWT's implementation of the policy, she asked Premier Bob McLeod to explain how it works.
McLeod touted the government's "measured and conservative approach" and added "we're not moving entire departments holus-bolus from Yellowknife to small, isolated communities."
He said the GNWT's decentralization policy is coupled with a retention policy that gives priority hiring status to people who choose not to follow their position if it is decentralized.
The NWT has a unique set of demographics - 43,641 people live spread out over a 1.18 million square km area - and this reality creates problems calling for creative solutions.
While the GNWT does have to consider the good of its own employees, it and those employees must work for the good of the territory's population at large and this policy helps do that.
The next time Bisaro stands up to criticize a policy that improves services in remote and isolated communities, we hope she will keep in mind the greater good.
Victims of sexual abuse desperately need helpNunavut/News North - Monday, March 2, 2015
The prevalence of sexual abuse in Nunavut has been troubling for years, no matter who the perpetrator, and there are many.
High-profile cases involving dozens of victims, such as what was chronicled in the drawn-out court process for former Oblate priest Eric Dejaeger, left hundreds of people in an altered state. His evil actions didn't affect just the person whose personal rights were violated in some of the most degrading actions known to mankind
Time and again we have heard about victims robbed of the ability to be a good parent for their own children, who are fearful of leaving their child alone with an adult male, even someone they know and trust, as a result of Dejaeger's crimes.
As society is unable to prevent the abuse in the first place, more must be done to ease the minds of victims right after the abuse occurs. To regain life in a meaningful and productive way, they need counselling to help them process their feelings, assuring them it is not their fault.
The issue has caught the attention of people at the highest level of authority in Nunavut. Justice Robert Kilpatrick at the Nunavut Court of Justice made note of statistics which "starkly demonstrate the alarming incidence of sexual violence generally and sexual violence against children in Nunavut" during his sentencing of Dejaeger.
RCMP V Division Chief Supt. Mike Jeffrey wants to use the Dejaeger case as an opportunity to prevent sexual abuse and educate Nunavummiut about the need to speak out if they are a victim or know of others who are being victimized. He observed that speaking up takes a lot of courage because, in many cases, there is a lot of guilt and shame attached. It is made more difficult too because, as statistics suggest, a vast majority of sexual abuse crimes are committed by people known by the victim.
The key is finding the right people to talk to — elders, school teachers, guidance counsellors, police officers, nurses, social workers, parents and the parents of friends.
A child abuse investigations program has prepared more than 100 people to handle cases and is expanding as more people are trained in three communities per year.
Establishment of the Umingmak Child and Youth Protection Centre is in its early stages but will specialize in easing the trauma for victims of physical or sexual abuse.
As it stands, many victims of abuse do not tell anyone and live with the consequences for years.
A victim needs support to realize they have value as an individual, that their intellect, physical abilities, opinions, desires and dreams are important and deserve protection.
It is encouraging that people in high places are identifying a greater need for attention to the issue of sexual abuse against children. Meaningful action cannot come soon enough.
