Time for MLAs to grow upNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, December 7, 2015
How much is the legislative assembly like high school?
Hopefully, the only real similarity is the four-year terms they serve with their colleagues. But MLAs actually have another special privilege that seems to exist under the assumption that if it didn't they would act like teenagers. This is the secrecy of the process by which MLAs pick the premier, Speaker and cabinet.
While the process has opened up a bit over the years -- it's no longer the papal enclave legislative assembly clerk Tim Mercer jokingly described for News/North in the Nov. 30 story "Pros and cons of secret ballot" -- the public still does not know who individual MLAs will elect to these positions.
The reason? Making the vote public could "open the door to intimidation," according to Mercer.
In fact, Mercer goes on to describe high school-esque cliques of "minister classes," if the votes were to be made public. What could happen, he warns, is one MLA selected for cabinet who got seven votes could turn to another minister and say, "I got more votes than you" as an argument for being a more "legitimate" member of cabinet.
There is also the idea that MLAs won't be able to handle the pressure of choosing the person they feel is fittest for the job. MLAs, warn Mercer, might be intimidated into voting a certain way by their peers.
Yes, these are actual adults we are talking about and not schoolyard scruffians in short pants.
Rather than acting like adults who favour an open, accountable system, MLAs, over time, have kept alive a tradition of selecting cabinet by secret ballot on the assumption those elected to run the territory will intimidate and lord their votes over their peers.
The thing is, it doesn't have to be this way. If the new group of MLAs decide to make their votes public later this month when they choose their premier, Speaker and cabinet, they can.
By doing so, they can make themselves fully accountable to their constituents by publicly naming those they feel will best take on these responsibilities and at the same time, consciously make the choice not to degrade themselves - or let themselves be degraded - to the level of schoolyard bullying.
They say sunshine is the best disinfectant.
This is an appropriate saying, because as many teenagers turn into full-fledged adults, concerns about peer pressure tend to fade, replaced by other, more grown-up concerns - which literally include finding the best disinfectant.
Inuit artists show they have a voiceNunavut/News North - Monday, December 7, 2015
Inuit art and culture has cache in southern Canada.
Although Montreal filmmaker Dominic Gagnon tells southern media he has never visited Northern Canada, he seems to have attempted to cash in on it.
The controversy surrounding Gagnon's 2015 film Of the North - a 74-minute collection of amateur online videos, set in part to music recorded by Inuit artists used without their consent - has brought the filmmaker more publicity than his art ever has.
The film features clips of people who appear intoxicated and other footage some viewers have described as demeaning, including nudity, interspersed with images of Nunavut's industry and landscape.
A group of Inuit artists have described the film as a parade of racist stereotypes. Festival organizers defended their decision to show Of the North, claiming it offered "a critical discourse on colonialism."
Colonialism - an unequal relationship in which a dominant power from another region exploits and steals from an indigenous population - was indeed at play here.
No outreach was done to involve the Inuit community, which numbered 900 in Montreal as of the 2011 census, and the filmmaker has said he did not consult with any Inuit in the making of his film.
"We should have provided a better forum for conversation about this work to ensure an inclusive and respectful space for everyone to express their point of view on the film," the festival organizers stated in a news release issued late last month after the controversy raged online and echoed through the Northern and national press.
Inuit artists have made Gagnon's video collage into a public debate, defending their home, their people, their culture and their intellectual property admirably.
Juno-winning recording artist Tanya Tagaq condemned Gagnon's film as disgusting and offensive on social media and in interviews, threatening legal action.
Rather than stand behind his work like any great artist would, Gagnon deferred to the Cambridge Bay throatsinger's criticism by agreeing to erase her music from Of the North's soundtrack.
"I'm thrilled to report that my music is being removed from that lowbrow film and will never appear in it again," Tagaq tweeted on Nov. 26.
Southern news reports suggest another film festival pulled the film from its program over concerns the filmmaker used recordings without permission.
Distributor Videographe has suspended promotion and circulation of the film and Gagnon removes the work by Tagaq and one other artist.
The filmmaker has told southern media that he plans to remove all clips that pose a copyright problem, replacing the footage with blackness and silence even if it means transforming it into 74-minutes of image-less silence.
Ironic, given the fact that the reaction of Inuit critics to Of the North have proven themselves to be anything but invisible and far from silent.
Changing of the MLA guard Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, December 4, 2015
With Daryl Dolynny's final bid to remain MLA dashed at Monday's recount, it seems appropriate to reflect on what Yellowknife lost and what it stands to gain after voters chose change in last week's territorial election.
Dolynny had a rocky start entering the legislative assembly four years ago but eventually became one of its most ablest speakers. His health-care knowledge will be sorely missed as the GNWT embarks on one of the biggest capital projects in NWT history - the $350-million-plus rebuild of Stanton Territorial Hospital.
The defeat of David Ramsay in Kam Lake removes a champion for resource development at a time when the North needs one most, with the NWT economy floundering and diamond mines contemplating a long and painful exit.
Yellowknife Centre's Robert Hawkins, questionable election shenanigans aside, was the most aggressive prosecutor of the GNWT's tendency toward waste and secrecy during the last term of the legislative assembly.
These are roles, well-suited or otherwise, Yellowknife's new MLAs will have to assume as they get set to be sworn in on Tuesday.
The general consensus is that the city is putting forward a more progressive, environmentally-attuned slate of MLAs since the last election with Julie Green taking over at Yellowknife Centre and Kevin O'Reilly at Frame Lake.
This may be true but the reality of the NWT as a resource-based economy dependent on mining for wealth and jobs is as inescapable as the inconvenient truth that solar panels and windmills are nowhere near capable of replacing diesel to satisfy the territory's energy needs.
A carbon tax could be a good idea if it goes directly toward helping Northerners upgrade their home heating needs with more environmentally-sustainable fuel sources, such as wood pellets boiler but it will be just another burden on top of an endless pile of cost burdens if shovelled into the maw of the NWT Power Corporation.
We hope for a pragmatic approach as MLAs prepare to take their seats at the table.
One area in need of definite improvement is the city's relationship with MLAs. Meetings with Yellowknife MLAs and city council must be scheduled regularly, transparent and on the record if citizens are to have any measure of how effectively our politicians are working with each other and for us at the territorial level.
There have been too many instances of items being foisted on the city: The $30-million obligation to build a new water treatment plant, an unfair demand that our elected city school boards to pay for other communities' junior kindergarten, the repeated failure to fund a 911 emergency number for the city.
That needs to stop if Yellowknife-rs are to be rewarded for changing the MLA guard.
Cantung buy needs second look from new MLAsDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, December 3, 2015
With Cantung Mine closed down save for a handful of maintenance staff, the sale of the mine and NATCL's Mactung property were fairly routine.
In fact, the entire creditor process the company is in the midst of has gone as expected - with the exception of one little surprise.
On Nov. 19, just days before the territorial election was set to end, the GNWT announced it had purchased leasehold interests for Mactung for $4.9 million and that Cantung Mine was now the responsibility of the federal government.
The nice thing about big-ticket items is that, usually, there is a legislative assembly around to question them.
MLAs ask the tough questions required in order to ensure large purchases are in the best interests of the GNWT and its residents.
The government's acquisition of Mactung came as a surprise, and not necessarily a pleasant one.
First of all, there is the question of whether a cabinet that is in the midst of an election should have the power to sign off on spending of this magnitude, at a time when the Northwest Territories' budget belt has already been tightened a few notches.
Currently, they do have that power. Moving forward, MLAs may want to take a second look at that.
There is also the question of who is now responsible for what, in relation to Cantung. A letter from the federal government to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board states the mine is still the property of the GNWT, although it is the responsibility of the federal government.
Likewise, the government has said that shelling out the money for Mactung should help to ensure Cantung passes over to federal responsibility.
Discussion over the mine's upcoming water licence renewal has consistently referred to the threat of leaving the mine on the backs of Mackenzie Valley taxpayers -- that is, the people of the GNWT.
Both NATCL and the federal government have told the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board that denying a new water licence would not be in the interests of residents and could even result in NATCL pulling its token crew of staff from the site.
In fact, the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada went so far as to tell the board a renewed licence would "increase the likelihood that the site will not become a burden on the taxpayers of the Mackenzie Valley and Canada."
Therefore, if the board decides not to renew the mine's licence, taxpayers can expect to shoulder the burden of the mine.
Residents deserve to be assured they won't be paying out the nose at a future date to cover required remediation and other costs at the abandoned Cantung mine site.
Additionally, in purchasing Mactung, the territorial government has failed to assure NWT residents of the merits of that spending.
The government may indeed have done what it did with the best interests of the NWT people at heart. However, from here it looks like one last big purchase to sate the big-spending appetites of territorial officials.
Warming centre opens its doorsInuvik Drum - Thursday, December 3, 2015
No one deserves to die in a snowbank.
This is the foundational principle on which Inuvik's Emergency Warming Station has been built, and truly, it is needed. Every year there are stories about people dying from exposure somewhere in the territory; now those at risk will have a place to go, at least in Inuvik.
The centre is, however, just one piece of the overall puzzle that includes the homeless shelter, community counselling, and a multitude of other organizations -- not least of whom are the RCMP whose drunk tank often serves as a makeshift emergency warming station when all else fails. It's not about having one organization swoop in and solve all the problems. Everyone knows that is never a long-term solution. Instead, it's about having a spectrum of resources better equipped to handle the panoply of issues faced by those struggling in the community. The centre will fill a gap in services for the winter months when that gap most needs to be filled.
As excellent and commendable as that is, there is room for more. The centre's proponents have spoken about the difficulty of shutting down and having to re-open every year and the challenging logistics of getting the shelter up and running every fall. In an ideal world, there would be a way to stay open in the summer with a modified mandate to run some programs and in general provide services for people trying to break the cycle of addiction.
Such a plan would see the breaking of another cycle as well, one that sees hopes rise every winter when the centre opens and then fall to nothing when it has to close again. It would be lovely if many mental-health issues and crippling addictions could be addressed and cured in a single season but that is rarely possible in real life.
If the new territorial government is serious about the health of the people it serves -- all the people -- it will fund groups like the centre so they can stay open all year and provide a solid base on which people can build their recoveries. As expensive as that may be, healthy people living healthier lives cost the system less in the long run.
For now, the warming centre's Nov. 30 opening is in response to an emergency. In the future, it shouldn't have to take an emergency.
Gaping hole in city's recycling strategyYellowknifer - Wednesday, December 2, 2015
There is a huge discrepancy when it comes to recycling in Yellowknife, mainly between those who live in apartments and those who live in detached houses.
Yellowknifers living in houses are restricted to two bags of garbage a week, although they can buy additional tags from city hall for $1.50 each.
For many families to keep to that two-bag limit, they must separate out their plastics, refundable bottles and cardboard and cart it all off to the recycle bins around town regularly.
As the city rolls out its new compost collection in many sections of the city, home dwellers must also separate their food scraps and put them in small compost bins for the city to pick up.
For these folks, there is no limit to the bags they can put in a large green bin supplied by the city, beyond what the ravens would be able to get at should the top not be closed properly. The bins can take more than two bags but a certain amount of recycling with plastics and cardboard, etc. is still necessary to keep the volume of garbage down to allowable limits for delivery to the dump by the city.
Apartment dwellers, 40 percent of households in Yellowknife, don't have to do any of that. They can drop one bag or 50 of totally unseparated garbage into their garbage chutes or dumpsters.
That's a shame because it costs the same to dispose of whether it's coming from an apartment dweller or a homeowner -- historically $150 for every cubic metre -- and takes up precious space in the landfill.
Now the city is trying to get apartment buildings on board with compost collection. With a 2007 landfill audit showing 26 per cent of waste to be compost material, this promises to save a bigger bite of landfill space.
But there's still more to be done to get apartment and condo dwellers on board. Some buildings have recycling bins in the garbage chute rooms. That's a good idea on the part of responsible landlords. The territorial government's bottle deposit program helps as well. The easier it is to do the right thing, the more likely the right thing will be done.
A public relations campaign targeting both apartment dwellers and landlords could encourage more recycling. People generally understand the benefits but may not think of it during their day to day lives without easy options.
Aside from helping to keep the planet cleaner, the costs of not recycling also go the bottom line. Extra space in the landfill is expected to cost the city $3.5 million next year. That money could be used to cut down on taxes, service fees or add to the services available in the city. That's something all Yellowknifers can get behind.
If the stick won't work in this situation, perhaps the carrot will.
It was 55 years ago today...Editorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Other than anteing-up for a number of hockey pools each year and taking a seat at the odd local poker tournament, I'm not much of a betting man.
And I'm starting to wonder if, just maybe, my lifelong allegiance to Toronto's professional sports teams has disabled my ability to spot a sure thing when it's staring me in the face.
I received, which is always the case when it comes to anything concerning the Fab Four, more than a little correspondence a couple of months back after penning a piece for the birthday of the Beatles' John Lennon (The day the music died, Oct. 14, Kivalliq News).
During one exchange, the subject of the re-release of the Beatles 1 album came up.
My antagonist was certain the issue would flop, given the fact the 1 album had just been remastered as a new release a scant four years ago.
I knew, however, this issue had two things going for it, and I should have jumped at the offer of two-to-one odds on a friendly wager on whether the album would chart or not.
Beatles enthusiasts (present company included) are a loyal bunch who salivate at the idea of "new" material from the Fab Four.
The 1 album was reissued in numerous formats, including the 1+ deluxe edition which included a remixed, not remastered, edition of the compilation album, along with two blu-rays of Beatles videos.
The promotional pieces - music videos decades before the term was even coined - have been painstakingly restored by an 18-person team of film-and-video technicians and restoration artists assembled by Apple Corps.
Many of the videos were released commercially for the first time on the two dics.
The Beatles 1 contains 27 of their greatest hits, and the latest version features new stereo, DTS HD and 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound mixes of the album.
And, speaking as a proud owner of the deluxe edition, both the video collection and remixed audio tracks are stunning.
Had I taken the proposed bet, I would have taken great glee in sending out an e-mail trumpeting the fact the Beatles 1 re-entered the charts at number one in Japan (weekly chart), number six in the U.S.A. (Billboard 200), number five in the United Kingdom (U.K. Charts Co.), number 18 in Sweden (Topplistan) and number six in Ireland (weekly chart).
Not bad for an album of music originally recorded more than half-a-century ago.
The one silver lining in the dark cloud that was the Beatles breakup - still at the height of their creativity as witnessed by Abby Road - is that the group is forever immortalized as a still young and vibrant collective.
But their legacy as a live band has always been shaded due to the combination of incessant screaming that defined Beatlemania, and the equipment of the day during the decade the group reigned supreme over the world of popular music.
As technology improves, however, that, too, may soon be remedied, as Apple and Universal continue to work on restoring the pinnacle of the group's live performances - The Beatles at Shea!
When the day comes that jewel of all jewels is finally released, I will cover all bets from those who believe the material has become too old to chart across the (musical) universe.
