A good plan today better than perfect plan tomorrowNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, July 20, 2015
While fires roared outside Fort Simpson last week, News/North asked Mayor Sean Whelly about the community's emergency evacuation procedures.
The mayor said he was "not that aware" of what would happen between the territorial government and municipality to carry out an evacuation.
This is after the village council voted to defer to Department of Municipal and Community Services best practices rather than coming up with its own community evacuation plan.
No doubt the smell of smoke from the 100-square-kilometre fire burning on the other side of Antoine Lake was palpable while council debated this.
Fort Simpson is essentially an island in the Mackenzie River inhabited by 1,200 people. It is surrounded by forest. The territory is in the midst of an unprecedented drought and scientists have warned this summer could be as bad, if not worse, for fires than last summer. Forest fires are unpredictable and can burn out of control faster than fire fighters can react.
Taking all of this knowledge together, it probably would have been prudent for Fort Simpson's leaders to have discussed an evacuation plan last winter.
Now, community leaders are caught unable to answer questions with much confidence.
Just as the GNWT advises individual property owners to fire smart their properties, it's equally fair for northerners to expect their municipal governments to work with the GNWT on clearly laid out emergency evacuation plans in case of forest fires.
At the very least, community leaders such as Whelly need to familiarize themselves with the territorial government's community evacuation plans.
Better ask now then have the answers forced upon them when forest fire flames lick at the hamlet's boundaries.
Road to Whati tied to Fortune's futureNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, July 20, 2015
Last week, Fortune Minerals announced it would give up a silver mine in Colorado in order to absolve itself of almost $60 million of debt.
Fortune is spinning this as good news, saying it can now focus on its Canadian exploration projects, including its NICO gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper project north of Whati.
The announcement doesn't bode well for those who want to see the GNWT add a 113.5 kilometre all-weather road from Highway 3 to Whati, population 490, to its list of capital projects. As it stands, the GNWT is waiting for Fortune to raise approximately $600 million needed to begin construction on the mine. Fortune is hoping for the guarantee of a road before it commits.
The North is an expensive place and mineral exploration companies need all the help they can get. And without mincing words, mineral development is the largest private sector contributor to the Northern economy and will remain so until diversification happens, which is not very likely in the short term if not the long term.
But the real rub comes when the cost of the road is factored into the equation - $130 to $150 million.
How likely is it a lender will invest in Fortune right now, after the company has defaulted with creditors, mineral prices are volatile, even with a commitment to an all-weather road?
Not too likely.
Is there a business case for extending the road to Whati without the mine? Doubtful.
It's unfortunate, but the future of a road to Whati is tied to Fortune's future.
Next step for Baffinland allows public involvementNunavut/News North - Monday, July 20, 2015
Tongues are wagging across the territory and beyond after Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister Bernard Valcourt decided in favour of Baffinland Iron Mines, granting an exemption to a decision by the Nunavut Planning Commission.
The planning commission rejected Baffinland's Phase 2 production plan for its Mary River mine, which calls for shipping of barges loaded with iron ore from Milne Inlet for 10 months per year.
The Qikiqtani Inuit Association and Nunavut Tunngavik are opposed to the exemption and the hamlet of Pond Inlet and Premier Peter Taptuna support it.
Baffinland's original plan was to build a rail line for shipping from a less sensitive area. The current plan calls for a longer shipping season from Milne Inlet, an area prized by Nunavummiut for its whale and fish resources. Icebreakers would be used to keep water open for the barges to operate, moving as much as 12 million metric tonnes per year, up from 4.2 million metric tonnes in the original plan.
Baffinland changed its plans because the global price for iron ore has dropped significantly, forcing the company to cut costs and increase production to make money. Profit is what the company's parent, ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel producer based in Luxembourg, wants from Baffinland.
What Nunavut wants is jobs. An independent labour force analysis completed last fall, after many Nunavummiut were employed during the construction phase, concludes most of the Mary River mine jobs will go south because of a lack of skilled Nunavummiut to fill most of the positions during the mine's operation life.
There is expected to be 365 jobs at Milne Inlet and Mary River with 41 low-skill positions expected to be filled by Inuit or local non-Inuit workers. Remaining jobs require a high school diploma, occupation specific training, college education or apprenticeship training. The analysis predicts an estimated 260 positions will go to a non-resident fly-in-fly-out labour pool.
The matter is now in the hands of the Nunavut Impact Review Board, which will request comments from the public. Those with opinions -- for and against -- are advised to prepare presentations and take full advantage of the process.
There is much to consider. The effect icebreakers will have on the ecosystem, the environment and traditional activities.
The economic boost anticipated by approval, or the cost to the territory from saying no. It has been years since Baffinland began efforts to open Mary River and it's not over yet. The next stage is crucial for Pond Inlet and the North Baffin region.
A tale of two P3s Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, July 17, 2015
Learn from your mistakes - we've all heard it before, yet so often we forget to do just this. As the GNWT ventures into a public-private partnership on the Stanton Territorial Hospital renewal project, this sentiment offers important advice.
The government and subsequently taxpayers have been burned before by a P3 project, with deadlines pushed back and costs inflating far beyond initial projections. Already the forecasted $300-million hospital project has increased from an "upwards of $200 million" estimate in 2011.
And the shovels aren't even in the ground.
What sort of final costs are we looking at when this project is actually completed? Let's not just cross that bridge when we get to it.
And, herein lies the lesson.
Bridges: that one-kilometre-long steel structure that spans the Mackenzie River near Fort Providence, in particular.
The Deh Cho Bridge, a $202-million project the sordid history of which has been well-documented, opened two years late with some final touches still being made. The total cost increased by 367 per cent from the original $55 million estimate.
Let's take stock in that number for a minute.
If history has taught us anything, even an increase of 100 per cent - modest compared to the bridge project - would bring the hospital tab up to $600 million.
This is a frightening number considering awarding the contract to one of three companies vying for the job has been pushed back to the fall - with groundbreaking occurring sometime after this.
The numbers the GNWT is working with today are early estimates, just as the $55-million original estimate for the bridge project was in 2002, followed by a $167-million estimate in 2007.
And at this point, the legislative assembly has pretty-well signed off on the project.
Short of the selection committee refusing all three contract bids, the assembly will be notified of the successful bidder, but not asked for any final say.
It's happening, folks. The P3 is moving forward and we're one of the partners, the one in the crosshairs for the crippling volley of cost overruns.
So, as the road signs that mark zones hampered by costly and long-standing construction projects warn, may we all proceed with caution, if not fear.
Money better spent elsewhere Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, July 17, 2015
Nobody can fault Ecology North for going after federal money to study the potential consequences to local health during the kind of wildfire season we saw last year.
But what is the value of directing $130,000 worth of taxpayer money - federal or otherwise - toward a problem with no solution?
We can't control the conditions that set the stage for a bad wildfire season; we can't control the costs related to forest fire-fighting; and we can't control the health costs associated with treating those affected by poor air quality. Short of letting it all burn, we're going to foot the bill whatever it turns out to be.
Parsing out the cost of hospital visits thanks to smoke-related poor air quality from the cost of the regular volume of hospital visits has some inherent interest, at least to a university professor looking for a journal publication or a grad student who needs to crank out a masters thesis.
This is an academic study that should be left to those with time and money to spare. Researching workable solutions to the high cost of energy - to both Northerners and the environment - would seem a more fitting tribute to environmental crusader Doug Ritchie's legacy.
Whatever the health-care cost of smoky discomfort during wildfire season, it will disappear in the shadow of the extra cost the GNWT faces in protecting person and property.
Spend money on research that can help Northerners cope with climate change rather than pointing out known correlations between human lungs and smoky fires.
A new low for water managementDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, July 16, 2015
Water levels in the Deh Cho portion of the Mackenzie and Liard rivers are low - and what that means, nobody knows.
Or rather, the people who do know don't appear to be at liberty to explain.
Low water levels could be having a negligible impact on the environment - that is entirely possible.
They could also be having a larger impact than anyone in the Deh Cho is aware of because the people responsible for monitoring the effects are being kept quiet.
In the Deh Cho, there are already widespread concerns over years of drought-like conditions. Elders are watching the riverbeds dry up. Each year, the fish die-off in Kakisa Lake seems a little bit worse.
But nobody seems to know who is responsible for talking about water. The territorial Department of Environment and Natural Resources refers questions on river levels to the Water Survey of Canada, whose scientists can only be reached through Environment Canada. However, the federal department passes the buck back to the GNWT.
Now, current data is available on the Water Survey of Canada's website, except for data from 2014. The available data shows the Mackenzie River, measured at Fort Simpson, a full metre lower than the same date range in 2013, while the Liard River - measured at Fort Liard - is 0.8 metres lower.
Those numbers are probably not shocking to those in the Deh Cho who have watched water levels inch down and who noticed the absence of the usual June surge.
But interpreting that data proves more difficult.
What are the factors involved in low water levels? What creatures might this affect - positively or negatively?
We can only speculate because the government's experts are inaccessible.
At what point, if ever, does a low water level become unsustainable?
Why can we get all the information in the world about raging forest fires but no information at all about the impacts of our low water levels?
Most of us are not experts. We rely on those who are to answer these questions for us.
Further, governments are stewards of natural resources. They hold those resources in trust for the Canadian people. They are supposed to answer to their citizens.
And to be fair, the data is there. But the fact that Canadians cannot access the people they pay to put that data into perspective should have everyone concerned.
The road to sustainabilityInuvik Drum - Thursday, July 16, 2015
The announcement that exploration in the Beaufort Sea has ceased indefinitely is a double-edged sword.
Though it probably does not signal the end of exploratory drilling for oil and gas in the Mackenzie Delta and Beaufort Sea area, it certainly is a sobering development in the saga. A lot of people in the Inuvik area are pinning their hopes on that exploration, and the pipeline that will come with it.
But it is well known that petroleum exploration is a fleeting and unstable industry and not well-suited for creating a long-term sustainable economy.
Inuvik is perfectly located for resource development, and current trends show it is poised to become a player in the telecommunications sector. It is a focus that the Town of Inuvik is getting ready to take advantage of. The only problem is that these types of projects provide few jobs, and usually the jobs are also temporary.
There must be an awareness of the need for all of Inuvik's residents to gain from these new opportunities, not just let companies fly in, build and leave. There has to be an understanding that for the community to benefit, everyone must have a role in permanent economic development.
The indigenous community makes up over 60 per cent of the population of Inuvik.
We have all heard the rhetoric from corporations that there is not a large enough pool of skilled labourers in the North. They want people who are willing to practically enslave themselves to their corporate culture of long hours and hard manual labour for good pay but very little job security. One can make good money for a few months out of the year, as long as they are willing to sacrifice their family life, their health and sometimes their very lives.
We are entering a new world when it comes to how we look at work. People are no longer willing to give up their freedom just to get a job. People want to be able to enjoy how they make their livelihood.
Why should the people of the North have give up their culture and traditional ways just to make money? Money is nothing but paper, or in today's reality, nothing but electronic ones and zeroes being transferred across phone lines.
It is no secret that the people of this region love their connection to the land.
Eyes light up at the thought of hunting or fishing or just being out in the wilderness. There is no reason in this new economy that is being created, the people of the North cannot find their own niche.
But it will be a long process. Petroleum, mineral exploitation and satellite dishes are only a stopgap - a means to an end. In order for everyone to get there, new ideas for future employment have to be looked at.
Silence on NorthlandYellowknifer - Wednesday, July 15, 2015
A failure to answer questions about the city's project at the Northland Trailer Park casts a shadow and only sunlight and transparency will remove it.
Just a few years ago, before the city took on the $15.8 million task of replacing the park's sewage system, the old sewage system was more than a decade past its due date and running the risk of condemning the entire area.
It's actually quite reasonable that Northland resident Chris Thorne should be concerned.
The example he cited was that house cats could explore the unsealed pipes, bringing contaminants into the homes of their owners.
If he's completely off the mark, the city should simply say so and explain why the pipes are being left behind.
Failing to respond to that concern, as the city's director of public works and engineering did, helps no one. "I have no comment on this, other than complaints are dealt with immediately when we are aware of them," said Chris Greencorn.
Greencorn was responding to an enquiry from Yellowknifer asking him to confirm whether the city is, as stated in a June 30 e-mail from the condo board to its members, "OK" with leaving the old pipes in the Northland Trailer Park.
This refusal to answer legitimate questions isn't an isolated incident when it comes to questions about Northland, it seems to be the rule. Greencorn previously declined an interview for a May 1 Yellowknifer article to clarify whether the project has remained on budget.
While the Northland residents are on the hook for $15.8 million, taxpayers have to foot the bill for any overruns and therefore have a clear interest in knowing its status.
The city does itself no service by being secretive, nor does it help mayor and councillors running for re-election. In fact, they should be asking these questions and sharing the answers with the voters.
Thorne has a legitimate concern, as do Yellowknifer readers who pay taxes.
The city should open itself up and respond. It's the best thing to do for all parties involved.
Twin Otter still has future in NorthYellowknifer - Wednesday, July 15, 2015
One plane more than any other is synonymous with the maverick spirit of the Canadian wilderness and the North -- the Twin Otter.
The iconic aircraft celebrated a half century of service around the world on July 8 at the Yellowknife airport, with a Viking Air Twin Otter on hand built specifically to mark the occasion.
An adaptable aircraft manufactured by de Havilland, the Twin Otter is designed for short takeoffs and landings on a wide variety of surfaces on either skis, tundra tires or floats, with equal safety and agility.
It started out as a feeder plane for larger airlines to take people to transport hubs, but quickly became indispensable for the pilots and companies that serviced distant settlements, bringing cargo and people to places other aircraft couldn't land
The Twin Otter could continue that long history in a similar capacity in the form of search and rescue. The 440 Transport Squadron has four CC-138s, but they will reach end of life as early as 2018 and a plan to replace them with the Utility Transport Aircraft project has been delayed, according to the Canadian American Strategic Review.
The Twin Otter has proved to be reliable, so the military should keep using these aircraft for future missions. The military often looks for the biggest, most technologically-advanced tools for operations, but for the North they should take note of the ones that were built for this land and have become synonymous with it.
Until a new breed of plane can match the unique features of the Twin Otter, we should stick with what works well.
Women's stories hold lessons for youthEditorial Comment by Michele LeTourneau
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, July 15, 2015
This edition of Kivalliq News features a handful of strong women who noticeably serve as role models, and their stories hold lessons for youth, indeed everyone, in their communities.
Dorothy Tootoo, Yvonne Niego and Sam Kavik are women who have a few qualities in common but, most obviously, they step up. They offer their gifts to their communities.
Tootoo received one of 10 freshly-minted Polar Medals for her dedication to the cadets in Rankin Inlet. In a 2009 interview with Jamie Bell of Nunavut Arctic College - Tootoo is the residence manager at Arctic College, for which she was also recognized - she said, "As an Inuk, a woman and a grandmother, I was deeply concerned about the potential loss of such a valuable program in our community. So I signed up, put myself through boot camp, earned my commission as an officer and I'm proud I did it. Eventually I was asked to take over as commanding officer."
She stepped up when the community was in danger of losing cadets altogether when the previous commanding officer left.
"But we have to ensure our culture, values and ways of life are preserved as well. We're bridging two worlds for a new generation," she said.
Yvonne Niego, who is leaving the RCMP for the Government of Nunavut, also steps up every day. Whether as a mother or an officer, and soon as an assistant deputy minister for the Department of Justice, her life energy is dedicated to ensuring that the good in people is seen and recognized. That's her starting point. But she goes further, recognizing there's a need to bridge cultures.
"It goes back to my reasons for joining ... recognizing the good in people who come here but also recognizing the community values and the good in the community and trying to bridge those," she said.
Sam Kavik, a young woman who has overcome a tragedy, seen past it to the greater role she might play in her community, also expressed a need to be actively involved. In her case she spoke of bridging the barriers among youth, recognizing that in helping young people feel a part of the community, the dismal statistics of drug and alcohol abuse and suicide can be beat.
Niego said of her RCMP career, "Yes, it is demanding. It is challenging."
Her statement speaks to the fact that stepping up is not easy, necessarily.
But rest assured, these three women are likely to tell you that they are ordinary, even though the rest of us hold them in the highest esteem. They care about themselves, and the people who occupy their lives - creating the necessary bridges for the rest of us to cross.
That's an invitation not to be ignored.
