A territory of catch 22sNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, November 9, 2015
Something every single one of the 60 MLA hopefuls need to start thinking about as they campaign for a turn in power is that when it comes to governing in the Northwest Territories, the woes are many and complex.
Cost of living is high, the mineral-dependent economy is slow to grow, unemployment in communities is widespread, the population continues to stagnate, substance addiction is pervasive and energy infrastructure is outdated, just to name a few problems.
If all of these problems existed on their own, that would be one thing. But all of these problems are tangled together.
That's the thing about leadership in the Northwest Territories. It is costly to build and maintain infrastructure up here and costly for an economy to flourish in a place where there is no infrastructure - a catch 22.
Consider the Sahtu, which has billions of barrels of oil underneath it, according to a National Energy Board and GNWT study published in May. The region is sitting on top of a proverbial goldmine but it's going to be difficult to get oil companies to develop there without an all-weather road and it will be difficult to justify an all-weather road to the area without the guarantee of development.
Another problem the next group of MLAs will have to deal with is the stagnating NWT population. The government needs people. People bring in about $30,000 a head in transfer payments from the federal government. The government needs that money to invest in programs and services that make life more attractive to the people who do choose to live here. But if the population doesn't grow, the government can't make investments in people.
And then there is the NWT's energy situation. Drought conditions have increased the North Slave region's reliance on more expensive diesel over hydro power, which has resulted in the territorial government allocating $50 million over the past year to avoid rate hikes. It would seem like the obvious solution to this problem would be to build power connections to southern grids, which would allow the territorial government to sell off excess power as well as supplement its own power generation when needed. But the same old problem rears its head - the government would need to invest $1 billion or more to rectify this, money it does not have. The government will not get this money unless the economy and population start booming.
The simple fact that 60 people are running for MLA over last election's 47 and only one - Jackson Lafferty in Monfwi - will be acclaimed, says something about the attitude NWT residents have toward these issues. There is an eagerness across the territory to take them on and make the NWT a better place.
It's one heck of a challenge but no doubt one that can be taken on.
Hunter Tootoo has hands fullNunavut/News North - Monday, November 9, 2015
Hunter Tootoo did Nunavut proud on Nov. 4, accepting a cabinet appointment from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Parliament Hill while wearing a sealskin red tie and sealskin wristband.
It was a heady moment for the new minister of Fisheries and Oceans, who was an executive for the airline Canadian North in Iqaluit just weeks ago.
No matter who you are or how you look at it, the learning curve will be steep. Just becoming a member of Parliament and learning the ways of working and living in Ottawa requires a major adjustment, regardless of your roots in Canada.
Tootoo not only brings significant experience in business and municipal and territorial government to his new role but has the confidence of Trudeau, who made a point of warmly welcoming each of the 30 cabinet appointees after they took the oath of office and before they were greeted by Gov. Gen. David Johnston on behalf of the Queen.
Tootoo is one of 136 rookie Liberal MPs, among the 184 Liberals to win a seat in the Oct. 23 federal election and, although he served as a cabinet minister and Speaker during his 14-year tenure in the Nunavut legislative assembly, there will be much work ahead to get accustomed to a new office, new staff, new responsibilities and many questions.
Among the list of action items waiting in the Fisheries and Oceans portfolio is a promised review of changes to the Fisheries Act, a promise to increase the amount of protected coastal and marine areas to five per cent by 2017 and 10 per cent by 2020, a promise to restore $1.5 million in freshwater research funding and a promise to invest $200 million in natural resource technology.
Then there are his duties as Nunavut MP, which, pardon the pun, are an entirely different kettle of fish. There was much talk during the election about action on improving public housing, fixing Nutrition North, federal help on suicide prevention, assistance with the high cost of transportation and investment in new infrastructure.
The Harper government made much noise about its investments in the North, including a small craft harbour in Pangnirtung and the Canadian High Arctic Research Station in Cambridge Bay. On the eve of the writ being dropped, signalling the beginning of the election campaign, announcements of more federal funding were announced, particularly for projects in partnership with the Government of Nunavut for a deep water port in Iqaluit and a small craft harbour in Pond Inlet.
Tootoo seems perfectly poised in his portfolio to see those projects to fruition. However, we think given the pace of recent events, patience rather than pressure is the preferred tactic.
Canada is brimming with optimism since the federal election results put Trudeau to a majority government and the excitement for many Canadians has only grown with the cabinet appointments.
Nunavut is fortunate to have a second Inuk in cabinet. Now is the time to offer Tootoo our congratulations and let him become familiar with the job.
Sex ed today Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, November 6, 2015
A lot can happen in 17 years.
Aside from revolutionary advancements to technology and ways in which information is shared, people will retire, die, have babies, start new careers, get married, get divorced and so much more.
All the while, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment's sex-ed curriculum has remained almost wholly unchanged - stagnant while the world zips by it like a special-effects timelapse in a movie.
But that is due to change.
The territorial education department is knee-deep into a 10-year education renewal - a sliver of which means an updated sex-ed curriculum. The wheels on this began turning a year ago, according to John Stewart, director of early childhood and school services, who told Yellowknifer this week students between grades 4 and 9 may be seeing the first hints of change over the next 18 months.
It's crucial a curriculum update takes into account the world as it is today - most youth have smartphones in their holsters and unbridled access to the Internet and its unfiltered dirty underbelly.
If one were to ask Yellowknife Education District No. 1 trustee Jay Butler his thoughts on the curriculum as it stands, he would likely repeat what he has already said: sex-ed is "woefully, dreadfully inadequate."
Elaborating on his conviction, the recently re-elected board member told Yellowknifer the curriculum that deals with the birds and the bees in the city's public schools is nearly 20-years out of date.
"Everything we are teaching is (from an era) before smartphones, let alone Facebook," said Butler.
While students are wandering around untethered in a digital world, they must have an internal framework in place from which to process what they may come across.
Right now, the curriculum touches on important topics such as STIs, AIDS, safe sex and homosexuality but it must go further in addressing the life students lead online.
The school system is just as responsible for comprehensively educating students about sex through the context of the digital world as it is about Shakespeare or multiplication.
But not all see it that way.
Much of Ontario went into an uproar this school year over what appear to be reasonable and necessary changes to its sex-ed curriculum, which itself hadn't been updated since 1998.
According to national media outlets, aside from educating students about the dangers of sharing explicit images through text messages or social media, sex-ed begins in Grade 1, with teaching the correct names of body parts. In Grade 2, students learn about the broad concept of consent; by Grade 8 they will have learned about intercourse, puberty, gender expression, contraception, STIs and anal and oral sex.
While the NWT's curriculum, when fully updated, won't necessarily be a reflection of Ontario's, the education department intends to borrow best practices from jurisdictions across the country and the world.
One must trust those 'best practices' will evolve into students having access to a sex-ed curriculum that serves them and their place in the world at this time.
Beyond that, there are the tools - the curriculum - and how they're used - the method in which sex-education is disseminated in classrooms. Here, it's up to educators to ensure the messages truly reach students.
In the meantime, as Butler inferred, there is FOXY - an independent sexual-health organization offering programming aimed at empowering youth in making decisions about their own sexuality - which both his daughters have been through.
There is undeniably a gap that needs to be filled, whether that's by FOXY, parents or, eventually, a curriculum that is reflective of the age we live in.
Councillor quits with integrityDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, November 5, 2015
Last week, recently re-elected village councillor Larry Campbell announced he is stepping away from the position.
Campbell would have begun his second term on council Nov. 2.
In resigning, he cited his personal conviction that doing business with the village as a contractor could be construed as a conflict of interest.
It is no secret that councillors have done business with the village in the past while serving on council. But while being a councillor does not preclude one from contracting with Fort Simpson, Campbell's actions are certainly admirable.
The village will now be going to a by-election.
With Campbell out, only two incumbents remain, meaning all other councillors are new.
On Nov. 2, those councillors spoke of their intent to set a new tone at the village and to not do things the way they have always been done.
Councillors looking for an ethical role model should weigh Campbell's decision to resign and make sure they fully understand the burden of the position they have taken on.
Not only will they be making decisions on behalf of the hundreds of people who live within Fort Simpson, but they also must be the face of the village.
If they venture into territory -- personally or professionally -- that could be considered "shady," they damage the entire image of the municipal corporation of Fort Simpson.
Alternatively, as Campbell has done, an ethical decision rooted in personal conviction truly boosts Fort Simpson's image.
In a place as small, population-wise, as the NWT it can be difficult to avoid perceptions of bias or conflict of interest.
That is in part because so many people know each other, and municipally speaking, Fort Simpson has the same issue.
Councillors already have a fine line to walk when it comes to making fair decisions on behalf of residents.
When they run their own businesses, fairness may become a touch more difficult.
I do not think I am alone in hoping the newly elected council will be more like Campbell and less like the stereotypical politicians everyone dreads.
With a mayor who ran on a platform of transparency and accountability, and considering Campbell's actions, village council is already off on the right foot.
Councillors should work to ensure their strong start lasts an entire term.
Other side of tourismInuvik Drum - Thursday, November 5, 2015
There has been some talk around town about an online travel blog by Mike Arkus about Inuvik, posted last week about his travels this past summer.
While it's great to see the town's name on an international platform, the tone and conclusions of the articles have left a bad taste in some people's mouths.
The first, which sarcastically lambasted the town for listing the welcome sign as its best attraction, had a multitude of photos with no people in them. Most of the images were of flowers and outdoor scenes of areas surrounding the town, sprinkled with a few street scenes.
While it is somewhat disappointing there were no pictures of any substance, it is easy to dismiss the writer as someone who perhaps failed to see Inuvik's very best quality -- its people.
A subsequent instalment, however, could hardly claim the same. It detailed the writer's experience at Aboriginal Day events, which he apparently didn't really enjoy. After a brief description of the drummers and dancers at Jim Koe Park, he billed them as "rather boring" and "tedious."
The thing is, although Aboriginal Day is a fun-filled festival, it is not designed for the benefit or edification of cultural tourists. Tourists are certainly welcome and the venue can certainly be seen as ideal for tourism. But it is far more than that.
Aboriginal Day is a celebration of aboriginal culture and is an opportunity for aboriginal people and others to enjoy their traditional activities. It is more about the participants and less about the spectators.
This is the trouble with tourism, this much-vaunted solution to all our economic problems, if municipal leaders are to be believed. The people coming for a visit will have their own opinions of this community, opinions that people who live here may not agree with. That in itself is fine, it's to be expected. It's a bit of a tougher thing to grapple with, however, when people, their traditions, and culture become part of the exhibit.
It's worth considering, if only for a moment, that when the community opens its doors and calls in the world, visitors may not like what they see and have the bad manners to share their shallow opinion with others.
Fortunately, most people who read the drivel on this particular individual's travel blog are intelligent enough to recognize what it is, and isn't.
A Homeful hopeYellowknifer - Wednesday, November 4, 2015
It seems highly unlikely that society will ever truly rid itself of homelessness but that doesn't mean it shouldn't try.
Enter the Yellowknife Homeful Partnership - a group of Yellowknife businesses who have bandied together with the stated aim of ending homelessness in Yellowknife by providing housing to the city's less fortunate.
A number of the partnership's members are property owners - people who know a thing or two about putting roofs over heads.
The group has already pointed out that a lot of office spaces in the city are former homes and could be converted back now that they are vacant.
And if some landlords are willing to donate apartments to the cause as suggested by Kelly Hayden, vice-president of Northern Properties REIT, so much the better.
The immediate hope is to work with government agencies, as well as the city's Community Advisory Board on Homelessness and NGOs to find housing for 10 people by winter.
Hayden, who is part of the partnership, said there is "enough money in the system" to address homelessness but setting up a one-stop shop for people facing homelessness includes some upfront costs.
Many people are homeless because they have serious mental health and addictions issues.
This can be problematic for landlords willing to donate. Some type of enforcement will be necessary to address this to avoid property damage and conflict with neighbours. The one-stop shop pitched by partnership participants Hayden and architect Gino Pin, may be an ideal place to direct people to the treatment they need in order to go about their lives.
It's making progress in Medicine Hat, Alta., where the Housing First model has delivered a 76 per cent success rate. If the same technique is as successful here, imagine what it would mean to the Yellowknife homeless population, not to mention the state of commerce downtown, where loitering and homelessness has driven shoppers and business away. A 100 per cent success rate in ending homelessness is perhaps a little ambitious.
Not everyone, after all, wants to be helped but if the partnership can produce numbers anywhere close to those in Medicine Hat the outcome would be nothing short of miraculous.
Plan for power should be a GNWT priorityYellowknifer - Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Last month during the municipal election, discussion turned to the option of nuclear power as an alternative power for the city.
In other years it might seem like an outlandish idea but not when hydro-producing rivers are literally running dry and the cost of diesel to supplement this failing energy sector costs $30,000 minimum per day.
This has been the case over the last year and appears likely scenario for some time to come.
The NWT is not a place that takes chances. As the proverbial Northern middle child, it looks left then right - waiting for someone else to make the first move.
The City of Whitehorse is reducing its reliance on diesel by replacing two generators with a new system fueled by liquified natural gas, cutting costs by approximately $2.2 million per year, while the NWT Power Corporation crosses its fingers and remains "cautiously optimistic" that water levels will rise.
Thanks for the wake-up call Mr. HarperEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, November 4, 2015
I was contemplating my own personal viewpoint on Stephen Harper's fall from grace this past week, and realized what had turned me so absolutely against our former prime minister was his willingness to bend almost any rule to get what he wanted.
Harper's heavy-handedness, and his cone-of-silence approach to governance that muzzled almost the entire scientific community, took me back to the years just before my father's death, and how, in our quickly changing society, he would often remark this wasn't the type of freedom he had gone to war for.
Alarm bells sounded for me when Harper asked the Governor General to prorogue Parliament so he could escape a vote of confidence.
Harper actually pulled the stunt twice, once in 2008 and again in 2009.
Some would even argue that he did it a third time, when, in 2007, he asked to push back parliamentary business to allow the Tories to prepare a new throne speech.
The one angle of this I had not explored, however, was that I should be grateful to Mr. Harper for reminding me how easily our parliamentary system can be manipulated.
That hit me over the head after reading a column distributed by Troy Media that was written by Doreen Barrie, a professor of political science at the University of Calgary.
Barrie wrote of five reasons to thank Harper for often seeing himself as a supreme ruler, rather than an elected prime minister.
All five issues she touched upon (increased voter turnout, forcing Canadians to contemplate existential questions, alerting us to the dangers that lurk in our parliamentary system, awakening two sleeping giants and making us realize just how fragile democracy is) impact Northerners on one level or another, but awaking the sleeping giants of aboriginals and youth strike us most directly.
With one Inuk and 10 First Nations candidates being elected on Oct. 19, one would be compelled to agree the giants won't be back to sleep anytime soon.
First Nations and Inuit share many concerns, and there is now a substantial aboriginal voice to be dealt with, especially in areas of health, education, exploration and the environment.
In the Kivalliq, more youth were aware of the issues and took part in the process than any other time I can remember in the past 17 years.
The combination of being aware of the issues and wanting a change in direction going forward resulted in the youths adding their voices to those who wanted the Tories out in Nunavut and who didn't want a new MP already past the best-before date.
Harper overstepped the boundaries Canadians feel comfortable within. And his actions, truth be told, do show the American system has far more checks and balances than an existing Canadian system inherited from Britain, like it or not.
So, in retrospect, I agree Mr. Harper inadvertently did a great deal of good for Canada during his decade-long reign of almost absolute power.
Going forward I expect Canadians to be far less complacent about the freedoms so often taken for granted, and I expect the voices of aboriginals and youth to grow stronger and be heard louder and more clearly.
So, in the spirit of back-handed compliments, thank you very much for a job well done, Uncle Stephen!!
