Vigilance should be measuredYellowknifer - Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Not everything is a matter of right or wrong. In the case of a child sitting alone in a car that led to the police being called, no one was at fault.
A woman, who's name was not published, told Yellowknifer she was shopping at the Independent Grocer on Old Airport Road last week and left her eight-year-old son in the car. She returned 30 minutes later to learn a security guard had been watching the car and called the RCMP. An officer arrived, asked her a few questions and ran her driver's licence. The woman said she was treated like a criminal and didn't think it was a major concern because her son wanted to stay in the car and she has taught him to "stay put."
This was an embarrassing situation for the mother but thankfully that's all it was. We can't blame anyone for being concerned for this boy's welfare. Violence against children, abandonment and abduction is a sad reality. Police and security did the right thing to check up on the boy and talk to the mother. It may have been uncomfortable for her but it was the police's job to ensure that the child was safe.
The mother's actions were also in the right: she taught her son to obey her instructions, and the boy was old enough that he could get out of the car if there was a problem. What she did was not illegal. Child and Family Services does not set guidelines as to when a child can be left alone, that is up to parents.
Parents are more engaged in their children's lives now than they were a generation ago. There have been many high-profile cases of the fatal consequences of children left unattended. Almost every year there are stories of young children dying in hot cars and more recently, wandering outdoors during freezing conditions.
However, some parents take their involvement to the extreme -- cases such as one unfolding in Maryland, U.S., where police have been called twice to look in on a family after their two children, aged six and 10, walked to a park without an adult.
There has to be a balance, as seen in Yellowknife's case. Asking questions may have inconvenienced a mother but it's never wrong to ask.
This city runs on volunteersYellowknifer - Wednesday, April 29, 2015
April 12 to 18 was National Volunteer Week - celebrating the men and women who offer up their time, free of charge, to hold a whole slew of positions that keep the city functioning. Not only functioning but thriving.
Volunteers are the people who allow underfunded social services to continue important work.
They are the people who stand at the doors of arts events, to let the show go on. They are the people who sit on various service boards across the city, offering input and guidance to the organizations that we benefit from every day. They are also so many more things than this.
A 2010 Statistics Canada study - Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating - suggested rates of volunteerism across the country were lowest in the NWT, with 37 per cent of people over the age of 15 donating their time - on par only with Quebec. In Nunavut, this number was slightly higher at 41 per cent, and in the Yukon, 49 per cent. Saskatchewan took the volunteer cake, with 58 per cent. The negative statistics are hard to believe in a city where there are countless organizations with volunteers are the core. More likely, Stats Canada's count was incomplete as its NWT population survey was in 2001 when it missed 3,000 people.
Although, while volunteer efforts are conspicuous, so are callouts for new people to fill vacant roles.
Following a week of recognizing volunteers, perhaps this is something to consider.
The fact is, any day, of any week, of any month, the work of a volunteer has likely contributed to your day. Remember that. Appreciate that. Maybe even go a step further and volunteer your own time.
Celebrate the power of musicEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, April 29, 2015
This coming Monday, May 4, marks a wonderful day in Canada.
The day is dedicated to music education and -- once you get past the irony of art programs taking some of the biggest budget cuts of the past decade -- it can be a wonderful salute to budding creativity.
Maani Ulujuk Ilinniarvik (MUI) in Rankin Inlet will join the rest of the nation in celebrating Music Monday and, if you're able, it's an event well worth the effort to take in.
I attended most of the 2014 event at MUI and was blown away by much of what I heard, and saw, while there.
The musical talent exhibited by many who took to the stage was quite pleasing to both the ears and the soul.
And to say the music performed during the afternoon was an eclectic mix, would be to make the understatement of the school year.
But it was the atmosphere of pure exuberance and joyfulness that was most impressive.
The MUI gym that afternoon was gripped in the moment of pure musical magic.
Every generation has its own music or "sound."
And, chances are fairly high anyone who spent their adolescence cruising to classic rock, sneering to punk, crooning to country and western or shaking their tail feathers to disco aren't going to "get" gangsta rock, thrash metal, hip hop or European techno music.
Well, OK, maybe the mom and dad disco generation find some common ground with an electro house dance mix because of the seemingly non-ending, nerve destroying and nausea inducing looped beats, but that's really about it.
But at the school level, it's all about discovery and creativity.
Most take musical education to mean learning to play an instrument, either in the schooled sense of reading and writing music and understanding the units of time and how they're emphasized in a piece of music, or the street method, especially with rock guitarists, who, basically, give up their teenage years to learn by ear and bleed their fingers raw until they're the badest string bender in town.
But give a group of 10-year-old girls a popular song and tell them to come up with a routine, and you'll often see an incredible display of fun, frolic and unbridled enthusiasm, even if they're only miming the song's video or the artist's concert performance.
And surprises sometimes leave you grinning foolishly in appreciation.
Which is what I did at MUI when a young man quietly took to the stage and then rocked out the gym to the strains of Guns and Roses' Paradise City, or the young fellow who held his own in a pickin'-and-a-grinnin' session with a teacher.
Music Monday is not a recital, nor is it any form of musical test or measuring stick of talent.
It is a celebration of music and the joy it brings to the majority of the more than 35-million who call Canada home.
And it is a celebration of innocence -- of allowing something to jiggle your tush and excite your spirit without truly understanding, or caring, why.
Music programs do, in fact, shape many young lives, but the thought of millions of Canadians enjoying music at the same time is, by itself, reason to celebrate.
Join the celebration on May 4, as chances are you'll be glad that you did.
To frack or not to frackNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, April 27, 2015
Hydraulic fracturing has once again become the f-word of the day as the territorial government journeys from community to community to explain how it will regulate the controversial oil and gas extraction method.
Fracking, as it is more casually termed, is the process of injecting water that has been mixed with a number of chemicals at high pressure into bedrock in order to release oil or natural gas. It has earned a bad rap for a number of reasons: the process contaminates fresh water with unknown chemicals; there is evidence this chemical-laden water has led to the contamination of ground water and there is growing evidence it causes earthquakes.
On the other hand, fracking has helped to revitalize economies in areas where it happens. Industry, Tourism and Development Minister David Ramsay certainly regards this benefit as key for the economic future of the Sahtu, where the Canol field holds untold barrels of oil locked in shale rock. He told Alberta Oil Magazine in May 2013, "We have to understand this. If there is no fracking, there is no development. It's that simple."
No doubt a fracking project in the Sahtu would jumpstart both local and NWT economies. But many people in the territory are uncomfortable with it and have asked the GNWT to consider a moratorium until social and environmental cost and benefit analyses can be done. Ramsay told News/North last week a moratorium on fracking has never been a question for the government. Fracking has indeed been a question, albeit a question Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley forced his colleagues to debate through his motion for a moratorium last spring.
Maybe Ramsay thought it didn't count.
MLAs voted to defeat the moratorium but judging by the prickly response bureaucrats received at an Inuvik information session about newly-adopted fracking regulations last week, the question of whether to frack is still an open one for the people of the Northwest Territories.
It's fair for people to question fracking because it's hard to get good information on it. Most pro-fracking information comes from industry and it's easy to get mired in rhetoric and fear mongering when researching the potential dangers of fracking.
In June 2012 the Pacific Institute, a research and policy non-profit based in California, released a paper that explores the impact
of fracking on water supplies.
In it, the report's two authors say the risks simply aren't known yet.
"Most significantly, a lack of credible and comprehensive data and information is a major impediment to identify or clearly assess the key water-related risks associated with hydraulic fracturing and to develop sound policies to minimize those risks," states the report.
Granted, Environment and Natural Resources Minister Michael Miltenberger has pointed to $4 million the government has spent on baseline studies, so hopefully these studies will be able to tell us after the fact whether fracking has had any unwanted effects on NWT groundwater.
Nevertheless, there are clearly people uncomfortable with the Sahtu playing the guinea pig in the first place.
The government in charge has made up its mind on fracking. Last year's debate revealed only four MLAs - Bob Bromley, Wendy Bisaro, Robert Hawkins and Michael Nadli - were in support of the moratorium.
Elections are often decided on issues and the territorial election this fall will likely be no exception. If today's government is moving forward on fracking deaf to the concerns of constituents, in mere months these same constituents have the chance to go to the ballot box and tell their elected government how they feel about not being heard.
Rid communities of environmental wasteNunavut/News North - Monday, April 27, 2015
The advent of a warmer season brings joy to many people in Nunavut communities.
Finally, heavy coats can be shed in favour of lighter clothing, lakes are cleared to open an ice surface for outdoor skating and mounds of snow are melting to reveal the landscape underneath.
What is under some mounds of snow in many remote communities is not so pleasant, however. The heat of the sun melts the snow to reveal aging, rusting vehicles which are leaching motor oil, antifreeze, automatic transmission fluid and other contaminants into the environment.
Ironically, some of the abandoned vehicles, including a Ford pickup in Gjoa Haven, have the Government of Nunavut's logo on the door.
Vehicles are shipped to many coastal communities by barge, at huge expense, and are used by government employees and company workers until they no longer work. Now, dotting the otherwise pristine landscape, hundreds of rusting hulks are a blight on the land.
Arviat's senior administrative officer estimates that every vehicle ever shipped to the Kivalliq community was sitting in a makeshift metal dump a half-kilometre long and a couple of hundred metres wide.
That was the situation until Summerhill, a non-profit organization, brought its Tundra Take-Back pilot project to the community. It took advantage of the fact that the barge which delivers sea cans of supplies to the community in the open-water season goes back south empty.
The non-profit partnered with Nunavut hamlets, the Co-op and other companies, including Nunavut Sealink and Supply Inc., to remove 31 tonnes of waste and recyclables from Arviat and Gjoa Haven.
Eight sea cans of hazardous materials left Arviat, including car batteries, tires and switches that contain mercury.
Nunavut is fortunate to have an organization like Summerhill willing to undertake this monumental task. The details about the pilot project are contained in a report which is being used to request funding from government to expand the project to other Nunavut communities.
Environment Canada contributed $100,000 last year but it costs more than $120,000 to clean up just one community. The federal government has not committed more money and the Government of Nunavut has been silent on requests for funding.
Certainly, there are pressing issues, such as housing, education and mental wellness, where government money is required. However, governments and industry need to recognize they have contributed to the problem and must accept ownership of some of the abandoned vehicles.
Just as the vehicles have sat for years, it will take time for this initiative to spread to more Nunavut communities.
Government support is crucial for that to happen.
Northern advantage in GNWT's court Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, April 24, 2015
The territorial government is in a stalemate when it comes to attracting new residents to the North.
The government's stated goal is to increase the population by 2,000 people within five years. To put this ambitious number in context consider that over the past 15 years or so the NWT's population has only increased by 2,500. Since cracking 43,000 in 2004 it has not managed to break 44,000.
Last week, the Dominion Diamond Corporation announced it would no longer be flying workers out of Edmonton into Yellowknife for their work rotations. Dominion Diamond owns approximately 90 per cent of the Ekati diamond mine and is a 40 per cent owner of the Diavik diamond mine.
The company did not disclose the number of workers who would be affected by the change in policy but a 2013 document showed Ekati mine operations alone employed 1,200 workers on site with almost half living outside the Northwest Territories.
Elliot Holland, Dominion Diamond vice-president of projects, said the move was made to fulfill part of the company's stated obligation to support the North, its economy and its people.
"We have been assessing our policies to make enhancements to retain Northern-resident workers and to entice others to move north by promoting NWT as a great place to work, live and raise families," Holland stated in an e-mail.
Depending on the availability of seat sales, return flights from Edmonton to Yellowknife can cost anywhere between $400 and $700. Over the course of year, that adds up to a lot of good reasons for a current out-of-territory worker to consider a move north.
Dominion Diamond is walking the walk on promoting the North, and doing so at its own expense. Workers likely won't appreciate the change in policy and the move is bound to complicate ongoing contract negotiations with the Union of Northern Workers at Ekati.
But this isn't a walk Dominion Diamond should be expected to take alone.
Now is the time for the GNWT to step up and show affected workers and their families the advantages to living in the North amount to more than avoiding the financial penalty of paying for their own flights out of Edmonton.
For example, NWT residents and their children have access to what may be the most generous post-secondary financial assistance program in Canada. A student who completed grades one through 12 in the NWT could receive up to six years worth of grants and remissible loans toward his or her post-secondary education.
Northern workers also enjoy, according to Statistics Canada, some of the lowest personal income tax rates in the country.
Government leaders have said they support Dominion Diamond's corporate strategy. But they need to be doing more than that now that there are probably at least 600 people and their families considering their options.
One of those options includes moving to the NWT. Let's see the GNWT seize the opportunity to remind people of the tangible Northern advantages that already exist.
Landfill a future messDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, April 23, 2015
The state of the Fort Simpson landfill is a mess the current council has inherited after years of neglect by past councils to properly deal with the issue.
A report completed on the landfill for the village and delivered earlier this year highlights a number of issues. While some are minor, like building fences to keep scavenging bears and other animals out, other issues are serious - and pressing.
Testing to determine whether there has been groundwater contamination has never been done. The landfill was built in the 1980s. Think about that for a minute. Mayor Sean Whelly said the council plans to start monitoring water in the landfill, but the chance the damage has been done is a reality.
In a territory and community that prides itself on protecting the land and the pristine water systems, this is a failure.
It's not the current council's fault. The plans to test groundwater can be applauded, but the years of negligence is unacceptable. Doing the bare minimum required to maintain the landfill for the decades prior was a lapse in judgement of previous councils, many of which included current councillors.
But this isn't even the biggest environmental issue highlighted in the report. The landfill is nearing the end of its life. Unless the village finds the funds, the dump will reach maximum capacity in 4.5 years. And if council can find the money to build a new cell for waste storage at the facility it can extend the life of the dump for another decade.
The report indicates that in order to properly close the facility, the village needs to find approximately $1 million in funds over the next 13 years to cover the cost of closure and long-term maintenance of the site. The scariest thing is, in order to pay for this down the road, the village needs to start putting approximately $90,000 away annually to make sure the council who inherits this mess - literally - can pay for it. With little to no money to complete basic infrastructure projects in the village like much-needed road work and building renovations, this is a big issue.
The territorial government is working on a new community funding formula that will allocate desperately-needed money for the village, but that's not coming for a few years.
Unless the village can find a way to increase revenues, the landfill is going to be a major problem when it comes time to shut it down.
Taking a gamble on pro-industry stanceInuvik Drum - Thursday, April 23, 2015
In an election year, when promises by politicians have a tendency to become improbably large, the GNWT cabinet and members seem to have had an outbreak of honesty when it comes to fracking.
After the first few public meetings on the proposed new regulations, government representatives have taken a pounding. It's clear the public doesn't want to debate how fracking should be governed. Instead, it's been made perfectly clear the important question is to discuss whether NWT residents want fracking at all.
It's also perfectly clear the GNWT, having put most of its economic eggs in the resource industry basket, doesn't want to have that debate, period.
That would be a noteworthy clash of perspectives at any time but, coming as it does in an election year, there's bound to be fireworks, especially when the election has already been pushed back a month or so after discussions of delaying it for as long as a year.
It's rather difficult to say just what the cabinet is thinking embarking on this strategy under the circumstances, but it is refreshing.
Generally, as an election draws nigh, politicians frequently display a flexibility that would be a credit to a Cirque de Soleil performer as they scent the electoral winds like a salivating bloodhound.
Industry, Tourism and Investment Minister David Ramsay made that perspective perfectly clear during a recent visit to Inuvik.
An obviously well-scripted Ramsay said the government had never seriously considered a moratorium on fracking. Instead, since it's already been used here in the NWT, which means there are some regulations in place, and there are considerable reserves of oil and gas suitable for fracking, the GNWT simply wants to localize the regulations.
Ramsay and his cabinet cohorts deserve some props for at least being that honest, but it could be politically costly.
There's no room in that stance to consider whether the GNWT is putting the cart before the horse when it comes to fracking regulations, which was the overwhelming public response here in Inuvik.
That means there's a proverbial dialogue of the deaf going on, which doesn't bode well in an election year.
It's also the reason why the presenters have been government bureaucrats, rather than the decision makers. It allows the cabinet, which is in the driver's seat on the issue, to dodge the moratorium issue while the civil servants respond, rather feebly, with the standard claim of "we're not the political decision-makers" as they're used as cannon fodder.
That's a strategy that, understandably, is going to infuriate the public attending the meetings. It also does nothing to settle the issue.
It's not a good sign, that, with the election looming, the elected government representatives are coming across as either deaf, uncaring or arrogant.
They play this game at their peril, and they will likely have to pay the ferryman come this fall.
