A $1 billion problem Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, February 12, 2016
The territorial government and the Union of Northern Workers must work together now to ensure the people of the NWT are served well in these difficult economic times.
The territory is fast approaching $1 billion in debt. Thanks in part to the loss of $34.2 million in federal grant money, the GNWT anticipates it will reach that milestone by the 2019-20 fiscal year.
Lest that milestone become an economic hurdle that forces the GNWT's future hands into making drastic and painful cost reductions, the territory must find efficiencies and savings now to reverse or at least slow our economic decline.
The first priority should be to recover the funding wiped off the balance sheet thanks to numerical jiggery-pokery by the federal government. The Liberal Party, having freshly swept the electoral North, must be held to account for this.
What has our MP Michael McLeod done for us on this account so far?
A second priority, but equal in importance, is for the GNWT and its workers union to recognize that fiscal restraint is in order to protect services and programs for the people they represent.
Do whatever possible to avoid cuts to important arts and cultural programs. Do not ignore or scrimp on the education or health care needs of the young or elderly.
Any new benefits the GNWT extends to its already very well-compensated employees, whether through union pressure or not, will be seen in a very negative light if they are followed by cuts to the services Northerners need and value.
Freeze hiring if need be. Reward employee-found cost-savings with extra vacation time, for example, to promote a work culture of efficiency not complacency.
Maybe the GNWT could consider staying-put in the buildings it owns now and put off building any more.
There may be savings found in privatizing services that currently run at a cost to the government.
There is no reason to look at our looming $1 billion debt hole as an unavoidable inevitability.
Pioneers saw big bucks in Northern lights Accessibility audit could open doors - Friday, February 12, 2016
Ensuring all residents in the city have access to the services they pay for in property taxes and user fees seems like no brainer but this may not be the case for some people with disabilities.
In considering an accessibility audit, city administration has acknowledged that people who require the use of canes, walkers and wheelchairs may not be able to get around the city as easily as other people
This is a good move.
The NWT Disabilities Council released a survey last year showing one third of 300 respondents with disabilities saying they had difficulty with physical barriers throughout the territory.
It's reasonable to presume people with disabilities are most aware of the accessibility issues in the city. They deal with them every day.
Yellowknifer reporter Meagan Leonard had a look around town for herself and found many downtown businesses are not fully accessible. Centre Square Mall, for instance, has no wheelchair-accessible ramp between the upper and lower levels. This means people unable to navigate stairs - this would include parents with baby strollers - must exit the building to access another level of the mall.
Clearly there is a problem. Now it's time to find a solution.
A carefully considered accessibility audit has the potential to do just that, if it is guided and informed by people with disabilities. The phrase "nothing about us, without us" has been adopted by disabilities activists and would be an ideal rule of thumb to follow here.
Those who push this policy need not be motivated by altruism. If properly accommodated, people with disabilities will be more motivated to stay in the NWT, meaning the $28,351 in per capita federal funding the territorial government receives for each resident will remain. Furthermore, everyone ages, and some who find buildings perfectly accessible today may find themselves grateful for structural accommodations a few decades down the road.
Keep rent lowDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, February 11, 2016
Councillors present at the village's committee of the whole meeting showed wisdom in their decision to keep rent at current levels for the Open Doors Society and Open Sky Creative Society on Feb. 8.
The decision is not binding until it passes through regular council. However, it promises to bring some measure of relief to patrons and organizers of the two societies.
As nonprofit organizations, they provide a wealth of programming at low or no cost to Fort Simpson. For Open Sky, that reach extends to the entire Deh Cho and even elsewhere in the Northwest Territories.
With the programming of these nonprofits now relatively safe, one issue for certain has emerged from the discussions to increase rent: the Fort Simpson recreation centre is in dire need of upkeep.
Between paying large bills for both heat and power, it appears the building's other maintenance needs have been neglected.
When lease agreements for Open Doors and Open Sky initially came up, village council and administration were faced with the tough decision of finding a way to bring in some much-needed maintenance money or continue to watch as the building deteriorates.
They chose action.
There is no shame in the fact they have now forestalled that action due to the effect it would have on Open Doors and Open Sky.
Rather, to the contrary, that decision shows forward-thinking to be expected from municipal leaders.
It also shows how valuable such organizations are to the village - and that the village understands and respects that value.
Those at the committee meeting on Feb. 8 witnessed something many municipalities strive for: a considerate committee who could see beyond their own needs.
Additionally, the meeting showed the fortitude of Fort Simpson's volunteers.
Rather than trying to draw blood from a stone, societies were able to successfully argue their cases and show the village why rent increases would be bad.
The result was a reasonable solution for everyone.
In closing the book on a rent increase, the village must now pursue alternative means of funding for maintenance of the recreation centre - means they likely would have had to pursue in the first place, given how little the rent from Open Doors and Open Sky would cover.
That could mean cuts to their budget elsewhere, or it could mean seeking out grants and funds from other organizations.
Luckily, the village seems to have some options open when it comes to recreation dollars. The same cannot be said for nonprofit societies when it comes to their budgets.
Bylaw debate scratches surfaceInuvik Drum - Thursday, February 11, 2016
If last week's public meeting about the liquor bylaw proved anything, it is that Inuvik's problems with alcohol run just as deep as everyone thought.
Not only were the vast majority of attendees vehemently against a change that would see bars allowed to open on Sundays and Good Friday, some even suggested that legislated closures should be extended more than they are now. When asked if that were possible, Mayor Jim McDonald said it was certainly something he and council could look into.
Obviously this is bigger than the Sunday question.
Everyone who spoke out against the proposed change had personal stories to tell, painful stories of childhood abandonment, abuse and rejection of alcohol themselves.
Many, some subtly and some less so, advocated for prohibition on some level.
It's no secret that prohibition doesn't work, but it's equally clear that whatever we're doing now isn't working either.
That being said, blaming alcohol for the breakdown of family ties and faith is also something of a red herring. Alcohol abuse is a symptom of greater problems, not the problem in and of itself.
Harkening back to a time when Sundays were spent with family, going to church, and people only drank to have fun is wilful illusion at best.
At the end of the day, people who want to drink -- who need to drink -- are going to find ways to do it. Bootleggers are always an option, as are various common household items for the truly desperate. Once again, the drink is not the problem. The problem is what causes the deep wounds within the people doing the drinking.
It's easy to look to other jurisdictions where bars are open 364 days a year and ask why Inuvik should be different. But the reality is that Inuvik -- the North -- is different. There are a multitude of experiences and issues here that other places just don't have, or witness to a far lesser extent. For those reasons, the North needs its own remedies.
There have been initiatives and good people doing good work to help those turning to the bottle, but we need more.
Cutting down the hours bars can serve liquor, or simply keeping them where they are now, is an attractive but ultimately inadequate solution.
Sixty people isn't the highest turnout a public meeting has ever drawn, but we would argue the emotion those 60 people brought to the Feb. 3 public meeting rivals the most well-attended meeting.
Services key in Housing FirstYellowknifer - Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Simply giving a homeless person a home may have an immediate visual effect on the downtown streets but it only transplants the issue.
Give a homeless person a home where they're connected with resources to face their addictions, their mental-health issues and impediments to joining the workforce, and they stand upon a foundation of possibility.
Those who are determined can use the stability of a home and the accessibility of services to vastly improve their lives. As the city stands at the doorstep of a program that connects the homeless with homes and services, it's critical the latter aspect is stressed.
The city, via the Community Advisory Board on Homelessness, has secured $1.08 million in funding over the next three years for Housing First. The first person is expected to be housed sometime this summer and will be joined by up to 19 others over the next few years.
But exactly how the program will look is yet unclear. City councillor Linda Bussey - a strong advocate of Housing First from its early stages - underlined the importance of support services. These could include on-site addictions counselling, job placement and social services programming, and a building supervisor.
"We need clinical services, we need tenant relations services, we need tons of service," she told Yellowknifer last week.
Bussey said a staff of about three or four will be hired to provide the services. Cameron Keller, with Kaleidoscope Consult, suggested to city council last week that Housing First units be scattered around the city but spreading these units out could impede the necessary access to services which could be the difference between a successful and unsuccessful program. It would also make the program more susceptible to not-in-my-backyard-syndrome that will inevitably arise on multiple fronts if units for homeless are placed among home owners and full-rent paying tenants.
A central, downtown, multi-unit location for the program will have a better chance of thriving.
Along with continual access to support services on site, such a facility has a real chance of becoming more than political platitudes cast toward a seemingly endless and hopeless problem.
Hats off to paying it forwardYellowknifer - Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Taking care of our neighbours is a Northern tradition.
The Fraser Institute, a Vancouver-based think tank, has repeatedly rated the NWT as one of the least charitable jurisdictions in Canada but that distinction simply doesn't ring true.
Enter the co-ordinated efforts of Coyote's Steakhouse and Lounge, Buffalo Airways and Northbest Foods who together are delivering fresh fruit to Kugluktuk where the cost of groceries far outpaces the national average.
The inspiration, says Coyote's owner Ed Butt, came from his own period of hard times when his restaurant's water pipes froze and burst in 2014. The incident cost him $50,000 after he was forced to shut down and repair the damage. He says customers saw his plight and came down in droves after he re-opened, resulting in a banner year business-wise.
Now, to borrow a term, he is paying it forward with help from two other companies. Buffalo is transporting the food at a discounted rate and But's food supplier, Northbest Distributors, is forgiving half the cost of the fruit. The plan, said But, is to eventually expand the deliveries to other communities so students can enjoy a nutritious meal and stay healthy, which has direct influence on their ability to learn.
The high cost of food is something that affects all of the North but it is especially acute in the High Arctic. As governments struggle to find ways to provide meaningful help, whether it be inadequate programs such as Food Mail or Nutrition North, these companies are stepping in where government is often too slow to react.
This is another stellar case of Northerners using their ingenuity, connections and a desire to make life a little easier for our neighbours so we can all benefit in the long run.
New facility would truly put safety first in RankinEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Rankin Inlet senior administrative officer Justin Merritt may not be the most popular man in the community right now, but the move to enforce capacity numbers at the local arena and community hall is the right one - sort of.
It's hard to argue with someone who puts safety first, as Merritt did in taking his concerns to hamlet council on the dangers of having too many people in the community hall and/or the arena.
When it comes to people's safety, it's better to be safe than sorry.
Merritt also showed for the umpteenth time over the years, he's fearless when it comes to making tough decisions while holding public office or an administrative position within his community.
All good things.
The downside, of course, is that we're talking about the absolute hub of the community.
And, let's be honest, there's not a whole lot to do during an average Kivalliq winter, even in a community as big as Rankin Inlet.
The winter blahs often set in with many people before Mother Nature decides to allow spring to arrive in the region each year.
And, any one who says sports tournaments, the Christmas Games, or any other major event held at the arena or community hall doesn't help lift the blues is whistling Dixie.
And whistling out of tune at that!
Then there's the other matter, which Merritt admits himself, of nobody being able to remember the numbers being enforced in the past.
Anyone who knows Merritt realizes the man is one sharp cookie, and he would never make such a move without first weighing the pros and cons.
The promised enforcement has already attracted its share of media attention.
And that, no matter which side of the fence you sit on, is also a good thing.
Far be it for me to read anything into Merritt's decision other than his stated concerns for the safety of all who spend time at the arena or the community hall.
But the move should ramp up pressure on the Government of Nunavut to start investing itself a little more into the community it defines as the transportation hub of the territory.
To have an arena and community hall that can service a scant 18 per cent or so of its population is both laughable and degrading to such a vibrant community. Rankin has fallen so far behind with its infrastructure needs, its government thinks it's ahead. And, while enforcing the capacity numbers in our old building may increase the safety factor somewhat, the truth of the matter is it's an old and dilapidated building that can cause injury at any time, no matter what the number of people inside.
And that alone goes nowhere near encompassing the hit the community's collective mental health takes by having to turn roughly 82 per cent of its population away from entertaining and uplifting events.
It's long past the time for Rankin to receive a new community hall and arena for its residents.
The people as a community have earned them and it's time for the government to deliver.
We'll all have fewer "safety concerns" when the community has a new facility it is more than deserving of.
Support local businessNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, February 8, 2016
Could it be that the NWT's stagnant economy might be partially caused by stagnant legislation?
A new Conference Board of Canada economic outlook forecasts rough times ahead for the NWT, mostly caused by the collapse in demand for the territory's main trade -- metals and minerals.
While the GNWT is somewhat helpless in alleviating the globally-caused stresses on this industry there is one business sector that lawmakers can help right away - territory-based contractors.
As Mike Bradshaw, executive director of the NWT Chamber of Commerce, notes in "Little economic growth anticipated in 2016, says economic organization" (Feb. 1 News/North), the territorial government doesn't do a very good job supporting local business. Despite the fact the government does have the Business Incentive Program (BIP) to enforce local procurement, it doesn't go far enough. While the BIP offers a 15 per cent bid advantage to NWT contractors and another five per cent if they're regional suppliers, Bradshaw points out that an Edmonton contractor, on average, can do a construction job 30 per cent cheaper than an NWT contractor could. He is calling on the GNWT to update its 20-year-old contract procurement legislation so Northern businesses can bid on a level playing field. After the resource sector, small and medium sized businesses are the largest employer in the NWT, according to Bradshaw.
The government can't control worldwide commodity prices but it can control how much, or how little it supports those who choose to open businesses in the territory. The government could be doing a better job at this.
Putting our thinking caps on!Northwest Territories/News North - Monday, February 8, 2016
Up until last week, readers may have noticed a dearth of blunt opinions on page 9 of News/North.
This is because, as stalwart columnist Cece Hodgson-McCauley herself explained last week, ("My first column of the new year," Feb. 1 News/North), she spent some time in Vancouver dealing with health issues.
The return of Cece spurred News/North's editors to question exactly how long she had been writing for the paper, so out came the archives. Her first column, dubbed then as it is now Northern Notes, appeared May 24, 1985. Before becoming a columnist she regularly penned letters to the editor, which might explain why her first offering contained little ceremony over the beginning of what would eventually become 31 years of writing.
She hit the ground running, asking why MLAs packed up and moved from community to community for different legislative assembly sittings. In spring 1985, the government was set to travel to Rankin Inlet.
"The cost of moving the speaker's chair, which probably weighs a ton, plus all the technical equipment, translators and equipment, all the fancy trappings, transportation, hotel, food and staff for the MLAs ... just how much is it?" she asked, calling for a televised system so everybody in the Northwest Territories (which covered today's NWT and Nunavut back then) could watch proceedings from the comfort of their own homes.
"In these technological times, the sky is the limit," she wrote, before making a prescient request.
Before the age of information technology and before the Internet, this now 93-year-old writer who still faxes her handwritten columns to News/North called for a satellite system to be built in the North so people in the communities and children at the schools could be connected to their government in Yellowknife. Today, there is indeed a satellite farm growing in Inuvik as well as a fibre optic line, which will bring high-speed Internet to communities along the Mackenzie Valley, connecting people not only to Yellowknife but to the south.
Now, if only the government would get around to building Cece's other great wish - the Mackenzie Valley Highway.
Time to put those thinking caps on!
Numerous benefits from Nunavut training programsNunavut/News North - Monday, February 8, 2016
If the future of Nunavut involves more employment for Inuit residents, the prospects are encouraging.
Considering that the Nunavut Roundtable on Poverty Reduction last fall heard that 45 per cent of residents were on income assistance at some time in 2014, there is a demonstrated need for more people to be gainfully employed. The territorial government's Department of Family Services last August pointed to statistics that only 45.8 per cent of Inuit residents in the territory were employed in 2014, compared to the 85.1 per cent of the non-Inuit population who are employed. Of course, statistics must be put in context.
The fact that many Inuit in the territory are not gainfully employed has been identified as an issue by the territorial government and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) by virtue of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, which calls for Inuit to be employed by government at a representational level.
The good news is there are a number of new initiatives to assist Inuit who want to find work.
The Nunavut Inuit Training Corporation is a new joint initiative by NTI and the Government of Nunavut to increase the number of Inuit in government positions. Using $175 million from the settlement of a lawsuit between NTI and Ottawa, it will operate under the name Makigiaqta Inuit Training Corporation once it is established. A board of directors has been chosen and a strategic plan is in the process of being developed to offer Inuit training for jobs within the public service.
Meanwhile, a new entrepreneurship training program called Inspire Nunavut offers help for Nunaviummiut to turn ideas into sustainable businesses during a workshop with experts, by setting up mentorships, work placements and assistance from a co-ordinator. The program financially supports participants for six to 12 months so they can develop realistic businesses.
On the trades front, Skills Canada and Nunavut Arctic College is teaming up to offer what is billed as the only way to get a stable job for life. So far there are more than 120 apprentices in Nunavut and Skills Canada is reaching out to high schools to attract more by offering training in a variety of trades as alternatives for those who don't find academic post-secondary education attractive.
Sanatuliqsarvik, the Nunavut Trades Training Centre in Rankin Inlet, offers training to Nunavummiut who want to become journeyman in a variety of fields. Nunavut Arctic College trains people to become carpenters, plumbers, electricians, teachers, chefs, camp cooks and workers in other occupations.
Between the three offerings there are opportunities for Nunavummiut to fill positions in business, bureaucracy and building, setting the stage for the territory to solve its own housing problem.
After all, with an entrepreneur, a carpenter, a heavy equipment operator, a plumber, an electrician and a government employee to approve the permits, Nunavut has all the occupational ingredients needed to build houses, filling a void needed to address a serious social issue.
