Election questions can't go unansweredNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, August 3, 2015
When it comes to elections, if everything is not above board the only thing to follow is acrimony and conflict. And very little gets done.
We've seen examples of this with the Salt River First Nation and Deninu Ku'e First Nation in Fort Resolution. The controversy that surrounds an election does not disappear after the vote - although, in the re-election of Gwichya Gwich'in Chief Phillip Blake, no votes were ever cast.
Blake was acclaimed to the position under an unratified election code, after filing an appeal toward his only challenger's submission to run. Grace Blake, a former Gwichya chief, threw her name in the hat despite not being on the band's membership list - a point on which Chief Blake took issue.
Whether or not a non-member should be eligible to run for chief is a fair question. Unfortunately, before an objective-seeming answer could be given, the band's chief election officer Graeme Drew resigned, citing a lack of official laws to govern the election process since ratification had not yet happened. Along with Drew went the election committee.
The band was left with a one-person election committee appointed by council, consisting of the community's director of finance. At this point, Grace Blake was deemed ineligible to run and Chief Blake, along with three councillors, was acclaimed.
It is not Chief Blake's suitability for the position that needs to be challenged but the process that has left members crying foul.
Calls from band members for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, and the federal department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada to intervene in the process went unanswered.
The members are not happy and as a result, this will not be the last we hear of this issue.
Whether or not there were nefarious dealings, the perception of the process carries a heavy weight that will continue to bear down on the band.
Time and money will be wasted to clarify the murky areas of the election process and these are resources that will be taken away from community projects. A chief appointed under steep criticism with band members questioning the outcome heralds a difficult fight ahead.
Based solely on his own merits, it's quite likely that Chief Blake could very well have been re-elected. But with so many twists and turns along his path to acclamation, those merits are no longer the focus.
Crucial need for better connectionsNunavut/News North - Monday, August 3, 2015
Tens of millions of dollars are being spent for marginal increases in Internet speeds for residential and business customers in Nunavut communities at a time when computer connectivity has become vital.
The federal government's Connecting Canadians program has earmarked $305 million to bring high-speed Internet services to households in rural and remote regions of the country. From that fund, Northern telecom service provider SSi Micro will receive $35 million to extend and enhance satellite Internet service for approximately 8,600 homes in Nunavut after being selected through a request-for-proposals contract selection process. The company will need to contribute $15 million of its own money as part of the project. SSi company officials said that money will be applied to new hardware and facilities to upgrade infrastructure in all 25 Nunavut communities.
The problem is that, despite this significant outpouring of money, the actual increase in speed for Internet users to stream video, post on Facebook, check e-mail accounts, monitor online banking and Skype with relatives in other communities, will be nowhere near what customers in southern Canada enjoy. Certainly, southern communities are served with fibre-optic services while remote Nunavut communities rely on fixed satellite services for their connection to the World Wide Web.
SSi Micro purchases satellite connectivity from satellite operator Telesat, which falls woefully short of its target mandated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which in 2011 set a nationwide minimum speed of five megabits per second for downloading and one megabits per second for uploading (Megabits refers to download speed, whereas megabytes and gigabytes refers to the size of files).
Nunavut customers now buy a maximum speed of 1.5 megabits per second, which is set to increase to three megabits per second with the new funding. That's well below the CRTC target and woefully short of the 29.7 megabits per second download available to people in the rest of the country, according to the Ookla Net Index.
The Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation was quick to criticize the anticipated result of the new funding, with its executive director saying the small increase will make little difference for Nunavut Internet users while the gap between the North and the rest of Canada gets bigger and bigger.
Another part of the problem is the fee Telesat charges SSi, which is significantly higher for Northern customers than southern customers, according to an October 2014 Satellite Inquiry Report by the CRTC.
A good Internet connection has become vital for education, health-care delivery, jobs training, employment applications and everyday life.
The CRTC is undertaking a review of the fees Telesat charges for satellite access. It is crucial that the need for higher Internet speed also be addressed so Nunavummiut are not left behind.
Don't play games with the Games Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, July 31, 2015
The amount of unknowns shrouding the City of Yellowknife's Canada Winter Games bid is unnerving.
Capital expenditures by the territory and the federal government - as outlined in the Games funding formula - reach a ceiling at $3 million each but for the city, one can look up and see the infinite universe. All extraneous capital costs fall onto the city and, as it stands, $9 million is not going to cut it.
Aside from work that has to be undertaken to upgrade existing miscellaneous facilities, there are major capital upgrades required to host the Games, which come with a seemingly unrealistic early-estimation price tag of $35 million. It's hard to imagine how an estimated $30 million for an upgraded pool and an estimated $23 million for an athletes village factors within the confines of this figure.
The pool is already slated for replacement in the year of the Games but in order for it to become a suitable facility, completion would have to be bumped up a few years. Mayor Mark Heyck told Yellowknifer in January getting the pool up to snuff for the Games won't cost the city any more than the original plan.
The athlete's village remains the wild card.
There have been murmurings of the GNWT's intention to foot the bill to simultaneously meet the needs of seniors' housing in the city - a need that grows more dire by the day. The plan would be to build housing, use it for the athletes, then after the Games, pass it along to seniors.
In November, Jeff Renaud, chief executive officer for Avens Community for Seniors, told Yellowknifer, "We're in a crisis pretty much as far as housing options for seniors."
Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley told Yellowknifer in April the seniors population is growing by six or seven per cent per year. Renaud said, also in May, the waiting list for a permanent bed for seniors ranges from 20 to 40 people.
All the while, an Avens project aimed at alleviating the "crisis" through added beds has been stalled after the blasting stage because a private partner pulled out and the GNWT has been hesitant on committing the funds.
Is the GNWT going to commit $23 million - or more - to athletes' housing that could become seniors' housing in more than eight years but fail to back the proponent of an already planned development? Could these two needs be combined?
Will new seniors' housing stay in a holding pattern for at least eight years while waiting for the Canada Winter Games?
Unfortunately, the answers to these questions don't exist yet because whatever the GNWT intends to do, it will not commit to doing until the city commits to making the bid.
One need only recall the new water treatment plant, which put the city on the hook for $31 million after the territorial government transformed federal guidelines into regulation the city must adhere to.
These two levels of government should not rush to link arms and twirl.
The city should demand a commitment from the GNWT or not commit to the Games. The GNWT should offer a solution, if possible, but not to the detriment of the seniors population. Major scrutiny is required here.
Should preliminary investigation into the feasibility of the Games reveal they are not, in fact, feasible, both levels of government should be ready to halt the parade and go home.
Failing that, this is an election year for both levels of government.
Variety is the spice of democracyDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, July 30, 2015
It's that wonderful time of year again, when election signs are on the verge of popping up around communities and prospective politicians anticipate the start of their campaigns.
The writ will be issued on Oct. 26 and nominations will close on Oct. 30. That is when we will know exactly who is in the running to represent us.
From there, it will only be a few short weeks until election day on Nov. 23.
The Deh Cho is not yet quite in the dog days of summer. October still feels a long way off and no one wants to think about colder weather yet. However, with July at an end, there is truly no better time to start thinking about running a campaign.
Politics is often dismissed as a dirty business. Politicians have a bad reputation - sometimes rightfully so - for not following through on their promises or trying to put a spin on any given situation.
Elections showcase the very best and absolute worst democracy has to offer.
However, while many of us complain that our representatives are not doing enough or are not properly representing our interests, few desire to take on the burden of running for public office themselves.
In the 2011 territorial election, incumbent Deh Cho MLA Michael McLeod was beaten by current MLA Michael Nadli - the only other contender for that riding. Meanwhile, in the Nahendeh riding, MLA Kevin Menicoche was challenged by Bertha Norwegian and won. Norwegian was the only candidate to run against him.
Neither the Deh Cho nor the Nahendeh are small ridings. The Deh Cho riding includes Fort Providence, Kakisa, Hay River Dene Reserve and Enterprise. The Nahendeh riding, meanwhile, includes Wrigley, Trout Lake, Fort Liard, Jean Marie River, Nahanni Butte and Fort Simpson.
This is an area of the Northwest Territories that is, as far as the North is concerned, very well populated.
To have only one or two challengers - or, as has been the case in some elections, none - for a seat in the legislature is unfortunate.
The only thing worse than sparse competition is acclamation. While some may view an acclamation as a sign an incumbent has been doing their job well, it still removes the choice of who to vote for from constituents. As well, having only one or two candidates for a riding can discourage voting.
Everyone knows it is their civic right, and arguably their duty, to vote. But to take that a step further, members of the public also have a duty to run for office. It is their ideas and fresh perspectives that lead to change, and without them the political system stagnates.
Often when elections roll around, we hear how candidates are "more of the same" or how we will be voting for "the least worst option." But if all current options are bad, then the only democratic thing to do is throw your name in the hat and provide a better alternative.
Previous elections have seen far more challengers than 2011 did. It would be nice to see a return to those times.
Children are the futureInuvik Drum - Thursday, July 30, 2015
When former first lady Hillary Clinton published the book It Takes a Village back in 1996, it sparked a debate over who, in fact, raises a child. The book's title was attributed to a supposed African saying, "It takes a village to raise a child."
After the release of Clinton's book, the Republican Party presidential candidate Bob Dole said: "... it does not take a village to raise a child. It takes a family to raise a child."
Although the exact definition of what a 'family' is can be parsed, the notion that a child is best raised solely within the nuclear family is new.
We entrust our schools to educate, protect and socialize children. But are they really properly suited to create a full human being? It can be argued that the one thing that cannot be taught in school - the one thing that until recently, was not seriously considered an important tool for humans to have - is empathy.
Unlike sympathy, which requires a person to have experienced the feeling another person is going through before it can be triggered, empathy is a whole other level of consciousness. Empathy requires a person to be able to, in effect, have an out-of-body type of association with another person. Having empathy requires being able to put oneself into another person's shoes and understand what they are feeling without having first-hand knowledge of the experience.
Anthropologist Gwen Dewar argues that a child's ability to perceive empathy is blunted by seeing expressions of violence, a kind of desensitization.
The question becomes not if children can be raised within the modern concept of family, but if they can be raised in a standardized, theorized, and in some cases sanitized, system.
Dewar argues that the top requirements for a child to learn empathy are - among other things - ensuring the child's emotional needs are met, that they see themselves as individuals with unique emotions, and that they can see what they have in common with others.
Schools and teachers, no matter how caring and supportive they are with their wards, are not specifically mandated to meet these requirements. In fact, it can be argued that through intense competition, a child's sense of empathy is dulled.
There are many influences in society. Children are bombarded with information, images, opinions in social and mainstream media. Children get the truest understanding of what is expected of them as human beings through example.
They are getting the government's version of what is expected of them. They are getting the media's version of what is expected of them. Who is giving them the village's version of what is expected of them?
Fair Elections Act anything butYellowknifer - Wednesday, July 29, 2015
If a federal politicians were trying to think of a way to disenfranchise Northern voters under the auspices of fairness, it wouldn't look too different from the Fair Elections Act.
The legislation was enacted to eliminate voter fraud, something that has not been substantiated in any meaningful way. What we are more likely to hear about post-election are many instances of people who had no previous problems voting being denied at the polling booth.
The new rules tighten ID requirements and all but do away with the practice of vouching. The practice once allowed registered voters to vouch for people who couldn't prove their address. That's still the case in territorial elections.
But with federal elections, a voucher may only vouch for a single voter, and only if the person being vouched for has two pieces of paper with his or her name on it such as a credit card or an employee card - items many in Yellowknife's homeless community would certainly be without, and difficult items to put together in many other households.
Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley says as many as 50 per cent of potential NWT voters in some smaller communities are without two pieces of ID. It is easier to obtain photo ID in larger centre such as Yellowknife but it remains a struggle for smaller communities that lack specialized camera equipment needed to take the photos. There are 12 driver and vehicle licensing offices in the territory where photo ID can be procured but more than 30 communities. Not to mention the fact that territorial health cards have no photos accompanying them as several other jurisdictions do. This so-called "fair" elections act will discourage many voters in Yellowknife, Ndilo and Dettah and many other smaller communities come next election.
Readers can be forgiven if they suspect the Conservative government enacted this legislation with an aim to eliminate voters from remote communities and with low incomes who don't typically vote Conservative.
Union of Southern Workers?Yellowknifer - Wednesday, July 29, 2015
If you work at Dominion Diamonds' Ekati mine, the company will make sure you can get to work -- on their own dime -- from 11 communities within the NWT and Nunavut, including Yellowknife.
Until recently, Dominion would also fly you from Edmonton to Yellowknife to make your shift. As of June 1, those Edmonton flights were discontinued as part of the company's commitment to encourage Northern residency among its employees.
This may not be best for Dominion's bottom line - southern workers are easier to find and are likely better trained - but the company's move to eliminate the flights certainly puts the union representing its workers in a sticky situation.
Dominion has filed a "failure to bargain" complaint against the Union of Northern Workers (UNW) with the Canada Industrial Relations Board, citing the union's reluctance to state its position on the cancelled flights.
Northern worker residency is important. People who live and work in the North pay taxes in the North and support our Northern economy. It wouldn't look good for the UNW to be pushing for free flights for southern-based workers while the territorial government - its employees also represented by the UNW - is desperately trying to persuade people to move here.
After all, it's this much larger group of workers who have paid the lion's share of the cost -- through their union dues -- for the UNW's new multi-million dollar headquarters being built downtown.
The vast majority of the union's membership base live and work in the North and clearly benefit from a strong Northern economy.
The UNW should be encouraged by Dominion Diamond's decision to make good on its commitment to the North, not fight behind closed doors and through parsed policy statements to protect the interests of workers who might love the money they make here but don't love the North enough to live here.
Review board made right call for KiggavikEditorial Comment by Michele LeTourneau
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, July 29, 2015
The Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) - in the time leading up to the public hearing and during the hearing itself in March in Baker Lake - clearly listened to interveners on the proposed Kiggavik uranium project. A mine that has no project start date in should not receive a project certificate.
The company admitted a start date could be as far away as 20 years.
That's how NIRB called it. That's the decision it submitted to Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister Bernard Valcourt. "The Kiggavik Project as presented has no definite start date or development schedule. The board found that this adversely affected the weight and confidence which it could give to assessments of future ecosystemic and socio-economic effects," stated Elizabeth Copland, the board's chairperson.
I think it's fair to say that anyone alive today with 20 years to look back on can conclude it's not possible to know what will be happening in the world in 10 years, never mind in 20 years.
Nuclear energy is not enjoying its moment in the sun. In fact, French parent company Areva is experiencing all sorts of woes. The company has a lot at stake.
Because of that, perhaps it can be forgiven for heading straight to Valcourt with its plea that he reject the board's decision. But I think not. The fact is, as Baker Lake Hunters and Trappers Organization chairperson Richard Aksawnee notes in his own letter to Valcourt, the impact review board is a child of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.
This will become a trend, of course. As Nunavut Inuit demonstrate that they are absolutely capable of making yes or no decisions on development in their territory, and make occasional no decisions on perfectly valid grounds, industry is going to push back and play dirty.
In its letter to Valcourt, Areva gave examples of projects they've had approved without project start dates. But they did not present this information prior to the public hearing or at the hearing, despite being in full possession of the knowledge that this was the main sticking point for interveners. As Aksawnee rightly points out, with the hearing process concluded, interveners cannot even respond to this new information
Fair play? Good faith? I think not.
But the most egregious issue here is one of principle: the blatant attempt to circumvent made-in-Nunavut decisions. Baffinland is attempting the same thing. In that case, the company is saying it doesn't like the Nunavut Planning Commission's decision on Mary River, so it asked Valcourt to send it to the review board instead.
What's at issue there? Ice breaking activity to ship ore 10 months of the year. I cannot even imagine the repercussions for the ecosystem.
In an interview with Premier Peter Taptuna last December, I clearly heard him say to me that he trusts the Nunavut regulatory system. He said he trusts the Nunavut Planning Commission, the Nunavut Impact Review Board, the Nunavut Water Board and the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board. So let's see some of that trust.
As Aksawnee has said, "We're not against the proposed Kiggavik mine, we just want to make sure our land and wildlife (are) protected for our hunters." That sounds balanced to me.
I recently learned the Inuktitut word for uranium: nunguijuituq. I'm told this means "it never goes away, it never dies." Uranium mining is not like other mining.
There's no way a decision of such great import should be made quickly for a mine that may never come to be. More importantly, if it does come to be far in the future, it's in the future the decision should be made - with all the best possible information available at that time.
