Help the addict, kill the marketYellowknifer - Wednesday, April 13, 2016
The RCMP's major cull of drugs, money and guns has no doubt made a meaningful dent in the city's illegal drug trade. However, only the flow has decreased -- the number of users will likely remain the same.
Until society casts its eyes at the pilot light of the drug trade - the addicts - addiction-fueled crime and criminal activity that supports the drug trade will continue, along with overdose deaths and families torn apart.
It's OK for community and territorial politicians to recline in their chairs with smiles on their faces, clapping their hands at an RCMP job well done - for a moment. But this major drug bust - which pulled in 1,200 fentanyl pills, 8.8 pounds of cocaine, 16 pounds of marijuana, 11 litres of liquid codeine, thousands of dollars of merchandise, 10 firearms, $75,000 in cash, two vehicles and a snowmobile - is actually a wake-up call to an addictions emergency. It's an illustration of a market rich with demand. Drug dealers are also business people and the risk in moving such a large amount of product to Yellowknife wouldn't be worth it if the market didn't support it.
This drug bust is an alarm bell.
Once one sifts through the criminal element that has dealers protecting their stashes with high-powered rifles, and witnesses those cycling through court because they steal and scam to feed their addictions, one find vulnerable people self-medicating with a range of substances which may include alcohol, fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, even marijuana. Their 'drug of choice' may vary but their motivations are the same. Addiction can touch anybody - while the most visual example are those who loiter on the downtown streets, addiction can touch the high school student, the single parent and the white-collared worker.
Until society de-stigmatizes addiction by treating it as a medical issue, and addicts as patients in need, nothing meaningful will change and it will continue to exist in the recesses of society.
There are a number of ways this can be accomplished but it all begins with an understanding that addicts will continue to self-medicate no matter what is going on around them.
Bust a major supply line to Yellowknife? Addicts will find their fix. Send them to jail without treatment? They'll almost certainly be back at it when they're out. These are the realities of addiction.
NWT Wellness Court, which diverts those who fit a specific criteria to treatment from jail, has shown some success working under the help-the-addict philosophy.
Harm reduction - which is making drug use safer for an addict while providing them support for when they try to conquer their addictions - also goes a long way. One example of this is the country's only safe-injection site in Vancouver which gives addicts a safe place to use drugs in a medical setting where they receive clean needles, medical attention if they overdose and support when they're ready to try to get off drugs. This demonstrates the understanding that addicts will continue to use and that it's society's responsibility to keep them alive and safe while they do so.
Government can also put a squeeze on the drug trade by regulating it and rendering it unprofitable. Canada has an opportunity to observe and assess the legalization of marijuana, which is on the horizon under the federal Liberal government. This would obliterate the benefit to criminal organizations, which in the latest local example, equates to 16 pounds of profits. When marijuana becomes legal and controlled, regulated and taxed by government, the profits could ideally return to benefit Canadians and possibly even those who struggle with addictions.
A philosophical shift needs to happen both locally and nationally when it comes to addictions, and while Yellowknife RCMP indeed deserves praise for its part in attacking an industry with many casualties, it must be remembered it is just that - a part.
Drug use in sport tars everyoneEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, April 13, 2016
The warning signs were everywhere, but too many choose to ignore them.
For decades, hockey dangled its way around the dark cloud of performance-enhancing drugs, while athletes in numerous other sports were caught time after time.
Slowly, but surely, the win-at-all-costs mentality took hold as players, coaches and especially parents chased the dream of being in the one per cent of those who make the NHL and the megabucks salaries that come with it.
We really shouldn't be any more surprised by a player getting caught here and there than we should by their I-didn't-know-what-I-was-taking excuse.
But, my gosh, what we witnessed out of Russia this past week took things to a whole new level.
Who would ever have believed an entire hockey team would be dropped from the international stage for doping?
So it was with the news Russia's entire under-18 team was pulled from this week's world championship in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
It is one of the biggest if not the biggest doping scandal in the history of the sport.
The booted players included German Rubtsov, who some scouts have going as high as 12th in this year's NHL Entry Draft, while just about every scout has him being selected by the 20th pick.
News out of Russia suggests no less than about 80 per cent of the under-18 team tested positive for the banned substance, meldonium, the same drug that recently brought down Russian superstar tennis player Maria Sharapova.
Meldonium increases blood flow and it's thought athletes use the drug to carry more oxygen to muscle tissue.
It is believed to be used by a large number of Eastern European and Russian hockey players at all levels, including the NHL, which still does not test for the drug.
A number of the disgraced players are claiming they were only following coach Vitali Prokhorov and his staff's instructions in taking the drug.
But, as we all know, neither ignorance nor blind trust are acceptable excuses for stupidity.
For years now in pro sports, especially Major League Baseball and the National Football League, you can't help but wonder every time a player has a record-breaking performance.
Such is the power of the stigma attached to performance-enhancing drugs, in that their use tars everyone with the same brush.
Still, here in Canada, many of us will adopt the never-our-boys stance, make like an ostrich, and pretend the use of performance-enhancing drugs is not at epidemic levels.
There will always be those who willingly take shortcuts for personal gain, even at the cost of their own long-term health.
Still others believe everyone else is cheating, so they have to as well in order to be able to compete on a level playing field.
It is becoming painfully obvious our only hope for a clean playing field rests in the abilities of those who wear white lab coats to work every day to come up with a foolproof method of drug testing, and the chances of that rest somewhere between slim and none.
Sad days for sports fans, indeed.
Thankfully, we're sheltered from such abuse here in our Northern oasis, and we can still count on the sports we watch to be contested by clean players.
Or can we?
A whole new worldNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, April 11, 2016
It's obvious - the climate is changing.
Milder winters, less snow, melting permafrost, more forest fires, low water levels, longer freeze-up and break-up seasons - these are the consequences of the warmer weather the NWT has seen, on average, over the decades.
In light of this, Eric Lede, a researcher with the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia, is interviewing Paulatuk residents to learn how they are adapting to what is changing.
This is a conversation all levels of government need to be having. Government must set aside the politically charged aspects of climate change - what's causing it and what isn't causing it - and start investing in research to develop baseline information so data is available, then invest in infrastructure and tools to help people adapt.
Buildings are particularly vulnerable in the Beaufort Delta because this area of the NWT is experiencing the fastest rates of permafrost melt. Knowing this, municipal, territorial and federal governments have a chance to get on the ball by helping to restore foundations of buildings affected by this.
In Tuktoyaktuk, there are territorial government buildings ready to fall into the ocean due to high rates of shoreline erosion coupled with melting permafrost. Last year, a single storm surge eroded about 20 to 30 feet of shoreline, bringing it dangerously close to a Department of Public Works building and a handful of homes. The territorial government has a role in managing its assets and working with the federal government to make sure funding is there to maintain infrastructure.
The drought NWT has been experiencing for the past few years has also cost the territorial government millions in fighting fires and subsidizing power.
The region is clearly in the midst of a complex process that is affecting everybody's lives, so the best thing all levels of government can do is continue to research, remain proactive and think up ways to adapt to a changing world. Gathering traditional knowledge is a good place to start.
On giving Gwich'in residents a lesson in frackingNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, April 11, 2016
Fracking is either a dirty word or the territory's potential economic saviour, depending on who's talking.
Specifically, fracking is the injection of chemical-laden liquid into shale rock in order to release the natural gas or oil within.
It a highly politicized activity, which means there is a ton of media - websites, books, magazine articles, documentaries - one can consume to come to either conclusion.
This is why the Gwich'in Tribal Council deserves praise for running workshops on fracking, even though there are no plans for the activity to happen on Gwich'in land in the foreseeable future.
The council has determined there is value in educating people have on what fracking is, how it works and what risks are associated with it.
Indeed, as course instructor Keith Carr explains in the story "Gwich'in Tribal Council gives lesson on fracking (April 4 News/North), "It's easy to get wrapped up in our small world."
By offering the opportunity for people in the Beaufort Delta to get a broader perspective on a controversial subject, better decision making will result when the industry bounces back in its typical boom and bust fashion.
Important lesson within amazing tale of survivalNunavut/News North - Monday, April 11, 2016
Pauloosie Keyootak, Atamie Qiyuqtaq and Peter Kakkik are incredibly fortunate to have been found on the land March 31, a full 10 days after they left on what was supposed to be a two-day trip by snowmobile north about 300 km to Pangnirtung from Iqaluit.
The successful five-day search-and-rescue effort, which began with a call to the emergency line at the Department of Community and Government Services' Nunavut Protection Services at 11:45 p.m. on March 26, ended in completely the opposite direction of their intended travel route. The trio was found about 180 km southeast of Iqaluit, near Cape Field Bay, almost 500 kilometres from their planned destination.
The fact that spotters inside a Twin Otter aircraft discovered snowmobile trails while conducting one more grid search is amazing in itself. Weather during the search effort was ideal with very little wind and cold, clear conditions. The team on board followed protocol and continued tracking the trail until they came upon the trio, who had run out of gasoline for their snow machines and built two iglus for shelter. The pilot of the Twin Otter landed the aircraft close to the stranded travellers, breaking a piece of the landing gear in the process, so that the stranded men could get warm. In the end, a Cormorant helicopter was dispatched to bring the men to Iqaluit, where they walked out of the helicopter on their own before being taken to Qikiqtani General Hospital for assessment. An official said there were no apparent injuries and they seemed to be in pretty good shape, considering their ordeal.
The length of time the men spent on the land, the details of what they encountered, including having caribou they caught taken by wolves, and the persistence of the search and rescue effort were chronicled in media reports across Canada and the world. "An igloo, a caribou and a small knife: Nunavut MLA's amazing tale of survival," stated the headline in a major metropolitan daily newspaper, referring to Keyootak, the MLA for Uqqummiut who is known as a hunter, fisher, outdoorsman and father of four who helped deliver his daughter, Nena, when his wife Alice went into labour.
It is an amazing story capped off with Keyootak comments about how he built the iglus with a small knife, prayed to be rescued and jumped for joy when he saw the twin-engine aircraft arrive.
To his credit, Keyootak was quick to thank those involved in the search, including the many volunteers who gave hours of their time to the effort.
We're certain he is also aware that the prolonged effort could have been avoided so easily.
Simply taking a SPOT beacon or a satellite telephone on the journey would have enabled the trio to signal for help with specific information about their location.
If there is any good to come from all of this, our hope is that it becomes second nature for people going out on the land to take navigational aids and modern locator devices. They not only prevent deaths but save dozens of people from dedicating time to search efforts.
Dumb expense rules cost taxpayers money Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, April 8, 2016
Elected members of the legislative assembly have the responsibility to understand the legal requirements of their position, and the duty to accept the consequences of failing to meet those requirements.
Eight MLAs, some newly minted, others seasoned veterans, missed a deadline to file their election expense reports. This meant they were, according to the letter of the law, unable to sit and vote without first filing paperwork with the NWT Supreme Court.
Tim Mercer, clerk of the legislative assembly, arranged for GNWT lawyers to take care of the filing for the sake of expediency at a cost of just over $6,100 for all eight MLAs.
Had Mercer not taken this step, individual MLAs would have had to hire their own lawyers to make the Supreme Court filing.
All MLAs involved should repay the money spent on their behalf, and at least four have already indicated they would do just that.
If anybody in the NWT should be expected to understand the rules of government it is the territory's MLAs. Failure to comply with those rules should not be over-looked or subsidized.
On the other hand, most if not all of the MLAs involved were snagged in an inordinately inflexible system.
According to Mercer, five of the eight MLAs in question had mailed their reports a full week prior to the deadline. The mail system being what it is, those reports did not arrive at the legislative assembly in time.
Surely, a dated post stamp should be enough to satisfy filing requirements. MLAs are expected to perform their duties as cost-efficiently as possible. Sending mundane expense reports by regular mail across a vast territory certainly meets that requirement and should not lead to MLAs being penalized for doing so.
The other three made "good faith" errors in failing to comply with the letter of the law.
In other words, all involved likely should have been granted an extension as is permitted for non-elected candidates.
Political commentator and academic Stephanie Irlbacher-Fox was correct to call for a system change allowing the chief electoral officer to extend the same flexibility to elected members of the legislative assembly as she is able to extend to those candidates who were not elected.
Elections NWT should also offer the option of filing these reports electronically so candidates are not at the mercy of Canada Post to get their expense reports in on time.
These options certainly beat making taxpayers pay for the tardiness of some MLAs and the vagaries of mail delivery in the Northwest Territories.
Ambulance fees don't add up to accessible health care Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, April 8, 2016
City councillors talking about reducing the $225 fee charged to patients for ambulance services should consider dropping it all the way to zero. The thinking behind the charge just doesn't add up.
The Canadian health-care system is designed to provide citizens access to "medically necessary hospital and physician services on a prepaid basis," according to Health Canada. People cannot be said to have access to that care if they have to foot the bill to be delivered to the hospital doors.
One wonders why residents should be charged a fee for ambulance trips but not for hospital staff to clean the sheets on hospital beds. Both services are necessary for a hospital to run properly but one cost is billed to the person in need and the other is billed to the public purse.
Ambulance fees for Status Indians are paid for by the federal Non-Insured Health Benefit. If the city can send a bill for these patients to Health Canada, presumably it can send a bill to the territorial government for everybody else who needs an ambulance. From what we can tell, the largest customer base for city ambulance services are the city's homeless. Surely, they're not expected to pay these bills.
City politicians may claim fiscal responsibility by pointing to the $1 million the ambulance fee rakes in annually to pay for the $5-million service but at the end of the day this is just the cost of doing business and when the business is providing emergency medical services, it is a cost well worth paying.
High hopes for visitDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, April 1, 2016
Deh Cho residents are still waiting on NWT Premier Bob McLeod to fulfil his election promises months after he said he would.
The premier is making a trip to Fort Simpson on April 8 to meet with community leaders. At that point, he is also expected to meet with Dehcho First Nations on the ongoing Dehcho Process.
McLeod was re-elected to the legislative assembly in November. In December, while vying for the position of premier, he pledged a new land offer within 90 days.
More than four months later, residents of the Deh Cho are still waiting for that promise to come to fruition.
Now, while members have been waiting, the Dehcho First Nations have been going full steam ahead. Since January, leadership has met numerous times and hired a new chief negotiator.
With this being the second visit from the premier since the new year began, a spotlight should be shining fairly brightly on what comes out of this trip. It is long past time to move forward on negotiations and it is up to the territorial government to make good on its promises.
The last sitting of the legislative assembly was unfortunately relatively free of any discussion on the Dehcho Process, Acho Dene Process or other land claims ongoing within the territory.
Aside from members' statements in late 2015 acknowledging the need for resolution to land claims, the only real discussion in the assembly happened March 1 between Mackenzie Delta MLA Frederick Blake Jr. and McLeod.
At that point, when asked whether the government will change its negotiating mandate to ensure there is a common interest to settle both land claims and self-government agreements, McLeod responded that the mandates in place allow for no flexibility.
In the past, that may have been true. But surely now there is more flexibility than ever. Surely with a new federal government that mandate has changed dramatically.
It seems all parties want negotiations to move forward -- at least, they say they do. The question remains as to whether or not progress will actually happen.
Hopefully the territorial and federal governments can move beyond rhetoric and make good on their obligations to the Dehcho First Nations. A new, formal offer needs to be made soon if people are expected to take McLeod's commitments at face value.
Election of the new legislative assembly in 2015 signalled a time of important change for the Northwest Territories. Let's hope that change of spirit has lasted into 2016.
Fresh eyes admire wondrous beautyInuvik Drum - Thursday, April 1, 2016
For many, if not most, of the people in the community, this past week has been all about the Muskrat Jamboree.
With everything from games to feasts to snowmobile races and talent shows on offer over the course of the weekend, there was truly something for everyone.
While the children will get their own carnival in the summer, there was certainly no shortage of young people out at events over the course of the four-day carnival, dashing between the legs of spectators and snatching food off tables while dignitaries talked at the opening ceremonies.
As was pointed out by several of those dignitaries and others over the course of the weekend, the jamboree also played host to several visitors.
People from all over the world came to Inuvik for what is arguably the highlight of the year in terms of celebration, sometimes mingling with the crowd and sometimes staying with their own group to take in the sights.
When people talk about cultural tourism and the possibility of growing the industry into something substantial for the area, I think this is what they mean.
It was a beautiful example of people sharing experiences across cultural divides with goodwill and warmth, despite the sometimes chilly weather.
While the benefits of locals and their knowledge to those visitors are evident, the reverse is perhaps a bit more elusive, beyond the obvious influx of outside money into community businesses.
As something between a local and a tourist, not to mention a person who does a job that slowly leeches all capacity for wonder from the soul, I found myself driving down the ice road on the Sunday morning, April 2, vaguely annoyed at having to make the trek out to Bar C on such a busy day.
I thought of all the things I could be doing instead of driving down a river in what could easily have been a Northern version of a Mad Max movie.
I thought, as excellent as reindeer are, that seeing them from afar was not something that would move me.
Had it been just reindeer, I may have been right.
But once there, seeing the reactions from all the spectators there, pushing forward towards the invisible line preventing them from getting too close, gave me a different perspective.
Maybe some of us take the extreme beauty of where we live for granted.
For whatever reason, the Muskrat Jamboree gives us a chance to experience this wondrous place with fresh eyes and heart.
