Strong medicine required Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, May 20, 2016
The criminal history of a repeat offender highlights a need to link release to achieving mental health treatment goals.
Territorial court was told Jacob Griep, a man diagnosed with schizophrenia and major depression and has more than 75 convictions on his record, had spent more of 2015 behind bars than outside. Six of those convictions came in the past year for failing to follow conditions of his probation order forbidding him from entering the Black Knight pub.
He was sentenced May 6 to 105 days in jail for once again being in the pub he was barred from entering.
All of this means that whatever treatment he received behind bars does not seem to be taking hold once he rejoins society.
It is not known whether Griep took advantage of mental health services available in the correctional centre. It has been noted in a 2008 court case that he does have issues taking his anti-psychotic medication once he is on the streets.
In any event, there should greater emphasis on treatment and healing programs in the correction service that help mitigate the huge cost of doing nothing.
Statistics Canada pegs the cost of incarcerating an adult in the Northwest Territories at $280.10 a day. Add to that the cost of a judge, two lawyers, police officers, court sheriffs and guards that must be paid every time Griep is accused of a crime, and the cost of providing the mental health care necessary to rehabilitating convicted criminals starts looking like a bargain.
Many convicted criminals require mental health supports but may not always be inclined to accept it when offered to them. The correctional system should be provided the necessary tools to encourage inmates to accept the help being offered to them.
Those convicted of a criminal offence have lost the right to move freely and act destructively. It follows that they also give up the right to refuse necessary mental health interventions that would empower them to act as functioning members of society upon release.
Is there more patronage pork to cut? Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, May 20, 2016
News that the soon-to-be scrapped board of directors for NWT Power Corporation cost taxpayers $1 million a year in honorariums, travel expenses, and other fees leads one to suspect there are plenty of other flabby pieces of pork within the territorial government that can easily be trimmed.
This is not to cast aspersions on the individual board members themselves, who doubtlessly performed their work diligently but let's be frank, given that power corp. is wholly owned by the GNWT, with the premier and cabinet largely functioning as the de facto board of directors, what is the eight-member board of directors but a parking spot for patronage appointments anyway?
The government's decision to have deputy ministers - who represent cabinet ministers - serve as the board only makes sense, at least for now.
The government is looking at re-organize territorial health boards, and the shake up at the power corporation is exactly the kind of message the GNWT needs to be sending as it searches desperately for a way to climb out of its $150 million budget hole.
Kam Lake MLA Kieron Testart was correct to point out that cost cutting alone will not be enough to make the power corporation "work for Northerners" in terms of developing a long-term energy strategy. But cost cutting is as good a start as any.
Whatever the NWT's future energy strategy looks like, it must rise from a foundation of taxpayer dollars well spent.
Cutting the million dollar board sends the signal that the current cabinet understands the need for public accountability, and is beginning to take it seriously.
Spring cleaningDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, May 19, 2016
As the ground dries up and spring takes hold, one of the uglier aspects of the season is about to be tackled.
Spring cleanups are happening across the Deh Cho, and in some communities they have already begun.
Community members seize the initiative put forth by municipalities and businesses, who often donate to spring cleanups, donning rubber gloves and spend an afternoon beautifying their community.
Trash from the winter is ready to be picked up - but the real problem is that it's there to begin with.
The fact there is trash in the first place means someone discarded their empty packages, bags or bottles on the side of the street.
To be fair, there are those of us who are not completely environmentally conscious. That is one of the reasons why spring cleanups are necessary in the first place.
However, there is a difference between casual and wanton littering - although they should both be frowned upon.
Recently, Fort Simpson's gun range was left a mess by someone or a group of people who did not clean up after themselves.
That included empty cans lying around, targets destroyed and the garbage cans used for target practice.
Luckily for the village's many shooters, Enbridge stepped up to the plate and not only donated new garbage cans but helped to clean up the mess left behind.
It seems slightly ironic that a company that is part of an industry many consider to be dirty and harmful to the Earth should be the one responsible for cleaning up someone else's mess.
That should serve as a reminder to everyone to pick up after themselves, and the culprits responsible should feel duly chagrined.
It is also a reminder of how a lack of personal responsibility can have a great negative impact on the community.
In general, littering affects communities in the same way, if to a lesser degree, than the situation at the gun range. Litter blows onto private property, into yards, down to the shore and even into the river.
It affects wildlife, flora and the ecosystem.
But even though the negative effects of littering are widely known, every time spring rolls around the community seems to have this same discussion, with little changing.
In the end, the people in smaller communities in the Northwest Territories are the most vital stewards of the land. They are the ones who are out on the land every season and whose voices are loudest in favour of preserving the environment.
It would be great if more of us could be more responsible about our littering practices - then, we could hold others to the same standard.
From study to realityInuvik Drum - Thursday, May 19, 2016
There is something sadly amusing about the federal government announcing $100,000 worth of funding for feasibility studies a month after the initial study was authored.
There are a few ways this could be interpreted. There is the possibility CanNor didn't want to throw its support behind the initiative until commercial greenhouses were found to be viable in Inuvik and Norman Wells, as opposed to saying they would fund a study before knowing the outcome. It is also possible the news release was sitting on a bureaucrat's desk for weeks and late getting out. We may never know.
What the timing does point to however, is the preponderance and abject love for government studies in this jurisdiction.
Now, don't get me wrong, studies are important. No one wants to throw taxpayer money at a project not thoroughly vetted and determined to be viable, but there is a way to take this too far.
Studies - and their business-plan cousins - can bog projects down in a big way. They are a relevant part of the process, but far from the most important. There seems to be a lot of money allocated for starting things - or just looking at starting things - but operational support is much more conservative.
Of course, one could argue it's not up to the government to fund and support organizations in all their endeavours. Except they end up doing so anyway through a patchwork of grants and contribution agreements, renewed (or not) on an annual basis.
Also, if the government isn't interested in operating a commercial greenhouse, which it is has given no indication of, what is it doing funding and conducting a $200,000 feasibility study?
Furthermore, a commercial greenhouse - albeit a seasonal one - has been operating successfully in Inuvik for the past 15 years, is this not evidence enough?
There have been numerous studies conducted around the North to study food systems and much hand-wringing and patchwork attempts to make them function in any meaningful way. If this latest study is the thing it takes to propel the project forward and into reality, then we're all for it. However, if it is followed by years of additional plans and studies only to end up on the dusty shelf of some government worker, that is something else.
Accommodate employersYellowknifer - Wednesday, May 18, 2016
The fact that city council is now re-examining the withdrawal of funding that would allow young people with disabilities to attend summer camp just weeks after the city lost a human rights case concerning that is highly coincidental.
The awkward timing will hopefully highlight the difficulties working parents face when trying to find care for their special needs children when school lets out for the summer.
But the problem runs much deeper than not having enough spaces at day camp.
Accommodation in the workplace - be it a public or private entity - has increasingly been promoted through threat of punishment for the past 30 years but with little discussion on the realities employers face when considering potential job candidates who have disabilities or children with special needs.
The treacherous intersection between reality and the law is all too apparent in a recent ruling by the NWT Human Rights Arbitration Panel, which found the city had discriminated against a Yellowknife mother who was forced to quit her job with the city after being unable to find summer care for her son.
Her son is on the autism spectrum and requires a certain level of care that, during the summer months with the existing day camps, wasn't available. After using vacation time, as well as unpaid days off for the summer of 2011, the following year the same option was not available and the employee was told she would have to work evenings and weekends to make up for the time off.
Human rights adjudicator Sheldon Toner agreed that this was not an option for her and is now contemplating a remedy which will presumably include a hefty fine.
The city failed to accommodate the employee, yes but is it reasonable to expect employers alone to bear the extra costs of filling shifts with other staff to alleviate a worker's special scheduling needs? Or for that matter, installing elevators and ramps in order to accommodate an employee?
There must be a recognition that society benefits by having people with disabilities in the workforce but faced with these extra costs and complications, employers - especially those without deep pockets - will simply avoid them.
Just this week, the federal Liberal government announced it is holding consultations on allowing federally regulated employees, such as bank workers and aviation staff, the right to request flexible work arrangements to balance home life through a program called Flex Work. But there is little mention of how the government intends to help these sectors accommodate these new arrangements.
Policies that prevent discrimination are important but without supports to put these policies into action, they risk alienating even more of the workforce because potential employers will simply avoid hiring people they feel will be a headache to accommodate.
Tax breaks and financial support for businesses hiring people in extraordinary situations would help alleviate the burden while closing the window on discrimination. Done right, hiring people with special accommodation needs could be viewed as beneficial to the employer.
The government benefits from productive people. Making it possible for people to work, despite unique requirements, is better for the workplace, the economy and everyone involved.
Policies are a start but policies without remedies are doomed to fail.
The powder kegs of non-existent supportEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, May 18, 2016
It had to happen. A horrible tragedy that, in all probability, could have been prevented.
Our territory has numerous powder kegs that could go off at any time.
Most result from too little money to do anything but make a scratch in Nunavut's mammoth infrastructure needs.
And those needs will continue to grow with our population, as more and more youth turn into adults.
Some wicks burn slowly as the territorial government tries to recruit the needed professionals to fill Nunavut's needs.
As much as some like to complain about too many southerners here now, the fact is not many have any interest in Nunavut at all, let alone commit to living here for any length of time.
For years I truly believed I would wake up one morning, turn on the TV and see images of charred remains being pulled from the Baffin Correction Centre (BCC).
I've felt that way since former Nunavut fire marshal Tony Noakes was let go after refusing to back down from his stance that the BCC was the worst fire-trap he had ever seen back in 2010.
I still have the odd nightmare it could still happen.
Equally disturbing is the almost total lack of mental health professionals in our communities.
And that one caught up to us with the tragedy in Coral Harbour this past week.
For a territory that still talks so much about residential schools and their impact on future generations, not just those who attended them -- and with a suicide rate 10 times the national average -- it's staggering how seemingly little importance is placed on making mental health professionals a top priority.
When one looks at how deprived our communities are just for educators who specialize in students with special needs, one decides not to hold their breath waiting for improvements to non-existent care for people suffering with mental-health issues.
A group from Angutiit Makigiangninga (Men Rising Up) made a trip to meet with men in Baker Lake this past week, and a number of people have completed a Biblical Counselling program in Rankin Inlet during the past year to try and help out.
And bless whatever deity you look to for the efforts of these people, but they need professional help and lots of it.
Trying to help someone who suffered through a deeply troubled childhood, rife with sexual and/or physical abuse, requires long-term commitment.
We have many people among us everyday who struggle with deep-rooted issues.
As hard as they try, they need professional help in order to be able to stay balanced, especially during times when one of life's nastier curve balls comes their way.
Powder kegs burning slowly out of site are often all-too-easy to marginalize.
And, often, those responsible for finally seeing the fuse burn all the way down are victims in their own right.
It is society's obligation to help these people handle the world and be able to live as normal, happy and productive a life as possible.
If we do not produce the resources to help them do so, we let them down and often put themselves and others at risk.
And the community of Coral Harbour was let down in a horrific way this past week.
First thing to understand - it could happen hereNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, May 16, 2016
The morning of May 3 in Fort McMurray was crisp and clear - there was no indication in the sky that a wildfire was burning just a few kilometres southwest of the city.
Fire Chief Darby Allen warned residents that morning to not be complacent. Don't take the beautiful day as evidence there was no threat. Indeed, within hours the fire had roared into city limits and cut off Highway 63, the city's only road access to the south.
Thus began one of Canada's worst natural disasters in recent memory, if not ever. Approximately 15 per cent of the town is destroyed, some 88,000 people are displaced and fire officials warn they might be fighting this fire for months.
The world has now been witness to how a fire the size of two football fields can turn into a worst-case-scenario inferno that bulldozes neighbourhoods, leaving razed houses in its wake with such ferocity it creates its own weather pattern.
Everybody in the NWT should be taking careful notes.
A fire of this magnitude could happen here. Communities in the NWT are vulnerable. The NWT is dry, windy and filled with thousands of square kilometres of fuel for fire.
According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' fire operations website, every community potentially at risk to wildfires has a Community Wildland Fire Protection Plan in place. The plans assess risk and make recommendations to mitigate it. These plans are actually quite detailed.
They map where each community's high-risk areas are, locations of past fires in the area, what Fire-smarting has been done and assessments on the quality of the work.
For example, a 2012 Lutsel K'e Community Wildland Fire Protection Plan document assesses a fuel break that had been created on the community's east side in the 1980s as "overgrown and ineffective."
Every resident should read their community's corresponding document, learn how much preventative work has been done and pressure community leaders to follow through on all of the recommendations. One thing these plans do not address is evacuation - where to go, who to contact if a fire is approaching, what to do if the road out of town is impassable or if there is no road out of town, in the case of some communities. Evacuations are not leisurely endeavours. It would be valuable to let people know how an evacuation would happen in individual communities so this information is easily available if an emergency were to occur.
Back in Fort McMurray May 11, the fire chief admitted in a press conference he didn't think anything could have prevented the fire that destroyed his city. It is impossible to overestimate how seriously NWT leaders and residents should take this piece of hindsight.
Living in a territory where fires are inevitable, everybody has a role to play.
The territorial government needs to keep Community Wildland Fire Protection Plans up to date and available, municipal governments must heed them like scripture and individuals have a responsibility to do the same on their own property. And, just in case the worst happens, residents need to know what their community's evacuation plan is.
GoSarvaq proves airfares can be more affordableNunavut/News North - Monday, May 16, 2016
It looks like a lot of time, effort and money was for naught May 6 when GoSarvaq president Adamee Itorcheak advised consumers that the new airline would not be able to launch flights on the Iqaluit to Ottawa route as planned.
Consumers were the big winners when the upstart airline first started taking bookings for flights beginning May 20. It was a long time coming since the announcement at the Northern Lights Trade Show in Ottawa Jan. 28, which was met with anticipation of more tourist traffic to Iqaluit and the prospect of Nunavummiut being able to visit the south more affordably.
The original announcement by Sarvaq, which previously offered camp logistics services for mining companies, involved a partnership with Nolinor Aviation, which has eyed the Nunavut market for several years and operates a charter service to Baffinland's Mary River mine. Under the banner Fly Sarvaq, passengers would fly on Nolinor's Boeing 737 aircraft and have a choice of three levels of fares. Introductory fares would be $499 each way.
While the lower fares were resoundingly welcomed, Itorcheak told reporters his motivation was also to create opportunities for people within the territory, through jobs and training.
The plan evolved over the course of the next several months, with the name changed to GoSarvaq and the company structured as a reseller and using aircraft from Flair instead of Nolinor.
Details aside, both Canadian North and First Air were watching closely and planning their own strategy. When about 200 customers booked $499 seats on the first day they were offered by Go Sarvaq, suddenly the price for a seat on Canadian North and First Air dropped to $399.
When Canadian North launched a seat sale offering one-way fares for $299, consumers reacted by cancelling their GoSarvaq bookings to take advantage of the discount fare.
The price cutting was too much for GoSarvaq.
There are a couple of positives to take away from GoSarvaq's experience. It showed consumers that lower airfares on the Iqaluit to Ottawa route are possible. And it gave other airlines a greater understanding of what they will face in the event they try to enter the Nunavut market.
Rest assured other airlines are observing and analyzing what happened with GoSarvaq.
Perhaps all the time, effort and money invested in the venture hasn't been wasted. There is value in knowing how a competitor will react and, in a free enterprise business environment, the consumer has the right to spend their money wherever they want.
By virtue of the codeshare agreement between First Air and Canadian North, now being reviewed by the competition bureau, the route is back in the hands of a monopoly and prices will go back up when the seat sale ends. However, lines have been drawn and the route has been shown to be lucrative. We wouldn't be surprised to see competition in the market again. Consumers deserve a lower-priced option.
