A fork in the roadYellowknifer - Wednesday, December 16, 2015
These early days of Liberal government suggest it intends to keep promises made on the campaign trail - at least those that contrast most with positions taken by its seemingly hard-hearted Conservative predecessor.
The promise to launch an inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women is case and point. Canadians have long called for one in light of more than 1,000 homicides and 164 missing women as of 2013. That former prime minister Stephen Harper refused to undertake an inquiry in all his nearly 10 years in power is an inexplicable failure of duty for him and his government.
That said, there is a fork in the road awaiting our newly minted prime minister Justin Trudeau - one that will lead this inquiry to either failure or success.
The first model is the royal commission, a politically expedient procedure famous for diverting attention from the present and punting it safely out of harm's way into the future. Royal commissions guarantee reams and reams of information will be gathered and stuffed into a book bound for some lonely corner of a dusty shelf in the National Archives in Ottawa. It will recommend much but affect nothing. In other words, it will be a complete waste of time.
What exactly has been improved by the Romanow Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada?
The future of public health care remains as uncertain as ever despite the federal government's pledge to cough up an extra $40 billion for it.
Or what about the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples that concluded 20 years ago, chaired by the NWT's Georges Erasmus? Many of the pledges offered then had no realistic chance of getting off the ground. Where is the aboriginal parliament or the aboriginal peoples' university?
The more successful and indeed, most responsive model, is the recent truth and reconciliation commission.
While royal commissions tend to be top down - experts talking to experts preparing reports for experts - the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Residential Schools was successful because of its attempts to reach grassroots organizations and regular people.
These interactions gave this commission a sort of legitimacy and critical momentum never enjoyed by previous royal commissions, which never traveled as far and in seeking truth and practical solutions.
This was abundantly clear in the Northwest Territories, which the TRC visited widely and often, whereas royal commissions largely stayed clear.
There is much to be learned about the truly appalling figures on missing and murdered aboriginal women and the more grassroots voices are heard, the clearer the picture will be.
Setting up a new Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women will be an arduous process but one deserving of its aim if Trudeau and the Liberals are truly serious about stemming the tide of death and sorrow so many aboriginal families in this country have experienced.
Format change a good one in RankinEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, December 16, 2015
A wise person once said you can't please all the people all of the time, and nothing rings truer with the way the new format in the Rankin Inlet Senior Men's Hockey League has been going this year.
As a hockey official, I have a bird's-eye view of what happens on the ice during hockey season.
And I have the added advantage of viewing the situation with no worries over who wins.
With, perhaps, the small exception of one 'B' team not being able to ice as many players as the other two squads on a regular basis, the league's move to an A and B Division this year has been a great success so far.
I really would have thought the success of adding a recreational division to the Calm Air Cup mixed slo-pitch tournament this past summer would have opened more minds to the benefits of having a B Division in Nunavut's best senior men's hockey league.
First off, it has done this old zebra's hockey heart a world of good to see some guys I haven't seen for years out on the ice playing, competing and having a blast.
Many guys in the B Division now get a heck of a lot more ice time than they did as a third- or fourth-line player in one combined league.
There can be no arguing the fact the hockey in the B Division is not as "good" as that being played in the A Division.
But the B Division's hockey has, in its own right, been every bit as competitive as that of the A Division.
It may not be as smooth or as fast, but who cares? That's not the point.
The division has guys on three teams giving it their all game in and game out and the majority of the matches are darn close on the scoreboard.
Crowds for the B Division have also been every bit as big as those for the higher group, so far, and most players, who were miserable over their lack of ice time this past season, are having a blast.
And that is the point: a competitive division of players having fun, showing up almost every night and staying physically active.
On the other side of the ledger, the A Division has the vast majority of Rankin Inlet's best hockey players spread over just three teams.
The hockey is fast, uber-competitive and highly entertaining on most nights.
You can believe me or not, but, the truth is, the amount of perspiration on my referee's uniform as it hits the washing machine following every 'A' game tells me a lot more about the level of hockey being played than it does about how long I've been officiating this great game.
The few guys who still complain about the new structure of Rankin's senior league are, in reality, putting their own wants and beliefs over what works for the game.
And that's one of the biggest problems with team sports today.
There's too many people involved who put themselves above the game.
The truth be told, our region's biggest senior men's hockey tournament of the year, the Avataq Cup, would benefit in a big way from adopting the same format as the Rankin senior league.
The vast majority of mercy games would be gone, the fans would get a lot more competitive games for their money and, set-up correctly, both divisions would have plenty to play for.
Sounds like a win-win situation to me.
Transparency half measureNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, December 14, 2015
In the interest of transparency, the new pack of MLAs have changed the process by which they will choose their premier, speaker and cabinet.
No, they will not be blowing open the doors to their secret enclave so the public can hold them accountable for who they choose for these positions. Instead, MLAs decided to host a public event at legislative assembly Dec. 9 where the two politicians interested in the premier's chair - Bob McLeod and Glen Abernethy -- could promote themselves to their colleagues. (Incidentally, in their speeches they both touted themselves as purveyors of transparency.)
The MLAs will have a week to consult the issue with constituents and then retreat back into their enclave to cast their votes in a secret ballot.
This way, constituents can still feel like they've had a say and MLAs can still make a choice without actually being accountable to anybody.
Members of the 18th Legislative Assembly can be forgiven for their reluctance to open the floodgates but what they are doing instead is a classic bait-and-switch: while they proclaim a step toward accountability, they are actually taking no steps at all.
In comments to News/North, newly re-elected MLA Glen Abernethy said he was opposed to an open ballot because he doesn't know any other situation where a group of people would employ an open vote to choose a person, using the process by which boards and committees traditionally choose their heads as an example. The idea is that keeping votes secret allows members to vote without peer pressure or the fear of hurt feelings.
These are fine points but the thing about boards and committees is that they are not governments. Those elected to run governments should be held to the highest of standards. If one politician holds a grudge against his colleagues over being passed over for premier, and this influences his or her assembly votes, wouldn't voters want to know this?
Last month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau picked his cabinet of 30 from among 184 MPs and will remain accountable for those he chose. The new members of Parliament who have been passed over for cabinet positions are still expected to work with Prime Minister Trudeau, despite the fact their egos might have been bruised.
Putting one's ego aside for the sake of the group and handling disappointment with grace is a sign of maturity and good leadership.
Should we be worried our territorial politicians don't think they can handle this?
To give them an opportunity to prove their dedication to transparency, News/North will be contacting each MLA this week to ask them how they voted. Stay tuned for next week's newspaper for their answers.
Journey Through Heartache demands immediate actionNunavut/News North - Monday, December 14, 2015
There is criticism so harsh, so based in fact and so heartbreaking in the report resulting from lawyer Katherine Peterson's review into the 2012 death of an infant in Cape Dorset that it would be beyond belief if it does not spark change.
The 82-page report details a litany of breakdowns by staff and managers within the Department of Health. Included are details of failures to conduct a timely investigation after the death, failure by bureaucrats to properly report the death, communication breakdowns between supervisors and a failure to respond to known difficulties in the operation of the health centre.
The report is tough reading. The mother of the three-month-old Baby Makibi called the health centre on April 4, 2012 for help with her baby who was not breathing normally, was crying and would not eat.
The mother was allegedly told to give the baby a bath and bring him to the health centre in the morning if he did not improve. The baby's parents found him non-responsive at 3 a.m. and rushed him to the health centre, where he was declared dead.
The report's title, A Journey Through Heartache, is appropriate because of the emotions it sparks in the reader -- anger, frustration, rage and incomprehension.
Peterson spoke to dozens of people and should be commended for her thoroughness. But her report poses more questions than it answers.
There are various versions of events, leaving a situation of conflicting facts.
On April 11, 2012, the initial cause of death was determined by Nunavut's chief coroner to be sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). On July 24, 2012, based upon a pathologist report from Ottawa, that same chief coroner changed the cause of death to a treatable lung infection. Then, inexplicably, in October 2015, yet another pathologist's report, this one from Winnipeg, concluded the death was, again, SIDS. Peterson questions why such a report was even done so long after the fact.
The varying reports by the chief coroner have left Cape Dorset residents distrustful and angry, understandably so, according to Peterson.
She also makes 50 recommendations to the Department of Health for changes, not just in Cape Dorset but throughout the territory.
Most importantly she calls for an inquest into Baby Makibi's death.
The government must put a high priority on adopting the recommendations and holding an inquest, not only to regain some trust from the public but also to find out all the things that went wrong and prevent them from happening again.
Build all-weather road now Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, December 11, 2015
Last week's De Beers Canada announcement that Snap Lake would immediately cease production was a stark reminder that resource development in the North is a bottom-line driven industry.
Premier Bob McLeod was right to say the territory has seen this before and will survive.
But there are learning points to be taken from the closure of the Snap Lake mine, which will affect so many, so terribly.
Snap Lake had been a marginal mine from the beginning thanks to unexpected ground water problems that kept production below what De Beers had projected. Lowered global diamond prices over the past year added to the strain: what De Beers was able to get out of the ground had become worth even less.
The lesson here is that there is always a tipping point where resource extraction becomes uneconomical and project closures will inevitably follow.
The territorial government cannot do anything about commodity prices but it can do something about improving the odds to ensure Northern projects enjoy better resiliency against fluctuations in the global market.
The GNWT knows all this already. The Department of Transportation proposes an extension of the Tibbitt-to-Contwoyto road in its 25-year transportation strategy released earlier this year. Alas, it may be a day late and a dollar short if this winter's unseasonably mild weather continues.
The GNWT learned all too well the potential for disaster when the winter road to the diamond mines closed in 2006 after only 42 days due to warm weather. Diamond mines were forced to charter expensive, super-sized cargo planes to ship the rest of their supplies. That was before the 2008 global economic meltdown and falling diamond prices. Could the mines survive such a crisis today? It may very well be that we are about to find out.
Instead of immediately addressing the problem 10 years ago our territorial leaders decided regional politics trumped economic bulwarking, and built a $200-million Deh Cho Bridge and now, a $300-million highway connecting Tuktoyaktuk with Inuvik. Neither project invests in long-term economic benefits for the territory. At the end of the day, they will just be expenditures.
Foot dragging on building a road to our resources creates instability in the North. Winter roads are inherently risky ventures, even more so given the state of global warming.
For exploration and mining companies, risk exposure is a critical downside, especially when markets are soft and margins are tight. De Beers was quick to emphasize Gahcho Kue is in no danger but every project has a tipping point. At some intersection of low commodity prices and expense-sheet line items, Gahcho Kue will not be worth doing.
A road to resources would bring down the tipping point for active mines and increase the effectiveness of exploration dollars.
The territory is now being forced into a resource sector lull. The depth of the global commodity market slump is indicated by De Beers majority owner Anglo American's decision to lay off 85,000 workers -- approximately 60 per cent of its workforce -- earlier this week.
What to do while in this global slump? First, build that damn road. Second, empower aboriginal governments in the NWT to develop robust land claim positions so they are in a position to take advantage of the day when commodity pricing returns to levels that stimulate exploration and development.
These are the two most substantial stumbling blocks the territory faces to resource development in the North: resource infrastructure and unsettled land claims. Contrary to insinuations otherwise, there is nothing wrong with our robust and necessary regulatory system.
Now is the time to address both of these issues so the NWT is ready for the market rebound, and ready for a warming North.
Christmas spirit strong among residentsDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, December 10, 2015
Quite often, Christmastime brings out both the best and the worst in shoppers and gift-givers.
Some play the Grinch while others give freely in the pursuit of holiday spirit.
In the Deh Cho, there is no end of goodwill going around this holiday season.
Fort Providence's Paschalina Nadli is one example of this. Nadli devoted months of her time to gathering presents for young people in the remote Northern community of Sachs Harbour.
Another example is Fort Liard's Kathie McLeod, who put her own money and an entire day toward preparing a community feast for more than 200 people.
These are people who do not want anything in return.
They do not want recognition and they are not seeking compensation.
They simply want to uplift their community and territory by giving from the heart.
That level of selflessness is not only commendable but very inspiring to see.
Often, we hear about the bad things happening all around us - stories of greed, spite and crime. But here in the Deh Cho, those stories dim in comparison to the kindnesses of residents such as McLeod and Nadli.
We all have things to be thankful for and there are many more unsung heroes in our communities whose acts of giving do not reach the ears of the media.
As the Christmas season creeps up on us, it would be wonderful if communities could focus on celebrating those heroes who live among us.
Christmas parades, floats and dinners are great but the true meaning of Christmas is the spirit of giving.
Anyone who gives freely of their time and money deserves recognition for keeping the season alive.
That includes not only McLeod and Nadli but everyone who volunteers their time or money for a cause.
This December, there is no end to the ways a single person can help their community. This is the season of Christmas Hampers and open houses. As the Deh Cho is plunged into an increasingly cold winter, it is also a season of great need for vulnerable community members, people without homes and those who are struggling to make ends meet.
Those people are not always visible but they exist nonetheless, often without the hope of a warm Christmas dinner or the ability to buy a special gift for their children or loved ones.
Giving back to the community is as simple as donating to the local friendship centre or food bank, volunteering some time at the soup kitchen or helping out someone in need.
You do not need to feed 200 people or bestow gifts upon an entire community's children to give back. Even feeding one person or giving one gift matters.
Grand gestures, such as those from Nadli and McLeod, are incredibly powerful because they show us how a little goodwill can go such a long way.
As a community, we have the power to make that goodwill go even further.
Remembrance is not enoughInuvik Drum - Thursday, December 3, 2015
There is something inherently troubling in marking a day of remembrance and action on violence against women in a place where it is more common than nearly anywhere else in the country.
There is also something horribly hypocritical in remembering and honouring the 14 women who died on Dec. 6, 1989 at Ecole Polytechnic in Montreal when a gunman rampaged through the school, targeting female students, then leave silent the names of hundreds of aboriginal women and girls who have been killed or are missing.
This is not to say that the day should not be marked. Fourteen women dying only because they were women is tragic and remains so, more than two decades after it happened. There should absolutely be a day to remember them. But calling it a day of action is disingenuous at best in light of the systematic suffering still faced by so many.
At worst, it is a negation of the importance of the lives of hundreds of aboriginal women.
According to the Native Women's Association of Canada, the number of missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls in Canada is disproportionately high.
The organization has found that between 2000 and 2008, 10 per cent of all female homicide victims in Canada were of First Nations, Inuit or Metis descent. Aboriginal women, however, only make up three per cent of the female population. The organization estimates that there are close to 600 indigenous women and girls who are missing or have been murdered, but also say that number in all likelihood is much higher.
While domestic violence is an issue across the country, incidences are much higher in the North. It is such an accepted thing that the Deh Cho region has re-elected a twice-convicted offender who wouldn't even have been able to run on account of still being in jail if it weren't for his early release.
For all the talk of taking violence against women seriously, that particular incident is an excellent example of the indifference present at every level, from the court system that let the convicted man serve a fraction of his already-miniscule sentence, to the 173 people who decided it was an acceptable enough crime to vote him back into office.
This inherent acceptance of violence against women is why this conversation needs to be broken wide open and addressed as a priority in the country as a whole, from federal government policies right down to interactions between individuals.
If 14 women in Montreal deserve a day devoted to remembering them, hundreds of indigenous women deserve action to prevent further acts of violence from being perpetuated against them.
