Catholic church still owes for past sinsNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, May 2, 2016
The road to reconciliation for residential school abuse has not been easy but for the most part, those who have done wrong have made impressive efforts to make amends.
Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper publicly apologized on behalf of the Canadian government, accompanying a payout of $2 billion to residential school survivors who were harmed. The government formed a $60 million Truth and Reconciliation Commission which toured the country, providing venue for survivors to share their stories and heal. The commission made dozens of recommendations, many of which are now being implemented.
The Catholic Church is by far the denomination with the biggest hand in running these schools, and in consequence is responsible for $79 million to aid in reconciliation. This amount was divided into three pots: $29 million in cash, $25 million in in-kind donations and another $25 million to be provided through fundraising.
Recently, the Globe and Mail uncovered documents that show the church was freed from some of these obligations, specifically the responsibility to provide $25 million through fundraising efforts, due to a miscommunication between lawyers. This development has incensed many who were affected by residential schools, leading them to believe the church has weaseled its way out of not just a legal but a moral obligation.
The church denied this in an April 27 Catholic Register blog post ("Church did not 'weasel' out of residential school settlement"). The writer argues the church paid almost the full amount of the $29 million it owed in cash, exceeded its in-kind contribution responsibilities of $25 million by $5 million and, regarding the money it was supposed to raise but didn't: "The original 2006 agreement did not commit Catholic entities to anything more than 'best efforts.'"
In other words, the Catholic Church did its best but no dice so let's move on. No doubt Catholic groups across Canada are hurting for money and donations might be hard to come by.
The church's reputation is no doubt struggling under the priest abuse scandal (thousands of allegations worldwide over 15 years) and its role in Canadian residential school abuses.
So why doesn't the Roman Catholic Church leadership provide financial help to these Canadian Catholic groups struggling to raise money for reconciliation?
The answer to this question lies in a 2014 Globe and Mail story: "When the settlement was being negotiated in the early part of the previous decade, the Roman Catholic Church - considered one of the richest organizations in the world - successfully argued that it was not 'one entity' capable of being sued."
Another legal loophole, this one allowing the Roman Catholic Church to pass the buck down to its various, less rich offshoots.
In contrast, the Anglican, Presbyterian and United churches' (admittedly much smaller) financial obligations to the residential school settlement have all been met. But because an agreement in the settlement ties all participating churches' contributions to what the Catholic Church owes, the Anglican, Presbyterian and United churches will now get some of their money back. In other words, even less money will make it to the hands of residential school survivors and their representative organizations.
The Anglican Church will keep $2.7 million and the United Church $450,000. That's more than $3 million more that will not make it to aboriginal healing programming.
While the legal mechanisms by which the Catholic Church has relieved itself from $25 million dollars worth of responsibilities might be legitimate, this whole affair tarnishes the process of moving forward.
True reconciliation and healing takes an enormous amount of effort from everybody involved.
If the Catholic church was only obligated to "best efforts" to raise $25 million and failed, it needs to re-examine what those best efforts were and try harder.
All of Canada deserves part of digital economyNunavut/News North - Monday, May 2, 2016
The provision of reasonable bandwidth with affordable Internet service is a question of essential infrastructure for Nunavut, just as other infrastructure matters have been historically provided to other jurisdictions in Canada.
Consider the wave of infrastructure spending across Canada following the invention of the telephone in 1876. It started slowly but was quick to expand from house to house. Sure, some residents had to deal with the inconvenience of having a party line, where a telephone number was shared with more than one household, and having to place calls through an operator, in the early days.
The same holds true for the building of infrastructure for a national railway. It took years, a great deal of money and effort for a railway to be constructed until the Last Spike was driven into the ground, linking eastern and central Canada with the west.
The difference with the provision of Internet to remote communities is that it is far past the early days, when dial-up Internet and painfully slow speeds were the norm. In southern Canada, for instance, the norm for most households is an Internet speed exceeding 30 megabits per second (Mbps). In Nunavut, most households are lucky to get 1.5 Mbps, meaning it takes much more time for pages to load, for e-mails to be sent and for people to exchange information.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) held hearings last month in Ottawa to gather information surrounding the question of whether all Canadians, regardless of where they live, deserve equal access to broadband Internet service.
We agree with the Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation, which made a submission to the CRTC, that telecommunications infrastructure is absolutely critical for the future of Nunavut.
Unlike the NWT, where Internet service is provided by one company, Nunavut has a couple of private Internet service providers who are intent on improving service using a combination of their own money and funds provided by the federal government. One company, SSi Micro, which offers it services through Qiniq, made a submission to the CRTC hearings calling for quality broadband to be a key component of basic service.
We draw a parallel between broadband Internet services and the early days of the development of telephone service and the railway line simply because those historic infrastructure projects had such a profound impact on the lives of ordinary Canadians, allowed for expansion of economic opportunities and set the stage for considerable growth.
We urge the CRTC to rule that Nunavut and the rest of Northern Canada deserves the same type of broadband Internet service as the rest of Canada. Once in place, better Internet is bound to spawn many benefits -- businesses can prosper, education efforts can expand, health-care delivery can be improved and access to government services will be easier, to name a few.
It is time all of Canada reaps the benefits and participates fully in the digital economy.
Gender-neutral facilities a reality Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, April 29, 2016
News of the territorial government's plan to install gender-neutral restrooms at Stanton Territorial Hospital is laudable, at least in terms of recognizing the rights of LGBTQ citizens.
These days, it is not unusual to find a third restroom option in large, public facilities. For example, over-sized, private restrooms are routinely available marked for handicap use or for use by someone with a toddler in need of a diaper changing station.
These private facilities are not gender specific, and nobody balks at the extra cost that comes with installing these essentially gender-neutral facilities. They are, simply put, a good idea.
But the new restrooms at Stanton will not be accidentally gender neutral as handicapped facilities are.
They will be designated gender neutral to satisfy the concerns of those who do not feel comfortable in either a male or female facility.
This raises a number of practical considerations, not only for Stanton but for all facilities the public uses.
Adding gender-neutral facilities - if the status quo remains on installing men's and women's washrooms - obviously means more space will be needed for washrooms, which means less room for something else.
Clearly at some point the logistics and cost of multiplying restrooms becomes an issue, as does the public's comprehension of what, exactly, is happening.
Who can use gender-neutral restrooms?
In other words, will using a gender-neutral washroom become the tacit acknowledgment of one's self-exclusion from the male/female dichotomy, or will it simply mean the one facility happened to be more convenient than the other?
As Nicole Garbutt, co-chair of It Gets Better Yellowknife, pointed out, simply adding a gender-neutral option may create a new set of problems. A potential user may feel singled out by choosing the third option, thereby further compounding the isolation that person may already feel.
Maybe a more radical solution is necessary.
Make gender-designated facilities the exception and have the majority of restrooms be unisex with a minority of facilities available for those who feel strongly about preserving the gender specificity of their restrooms.
Another option may be to install several, single-user, non-gender designated facilities in place of male and female restrooms altogether.
Whatever the solution may be, the greater diversity of minds involved in developing it, the more likely a sound solution will be found.
The health authority should be lauded for its attempts to be inclusive but a broad-based public discussion may be necessary on the future of spaces once divided by sex in order to prevent compounding one problem with another while leaving the original problem inadequately addressed.
Canadian Forces need Northern experience Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, April 29, 2016
Large-scale on-the-land training missions such as Operation Nunalivut give the people tasked with protecting the North vital experience and more missions should be encouraged.
The mission took Canadian Armed Forces members from Yellowknife on a tour through Nunavut's High Arctic and gave them a first-hand lesson in the harsh climate of the region.
These missions prepare Canadian Forces members to respond when called into action in the vast landscape of the North, from the High Arctic to the tundra.
While Canadian Forces - of which the Canadian Rangers are a part - may engage in search-and-rescue missions throughout the territory, it is easy to forget they are also the first line of defence for both Canada and the U.S., as both are neighbours with an interest in monitoring what is taking place in the Arctic waters we share.
With the Northwest Passage opening up to more and more traffic, the likelihood of Canadian Forces members from Yellowknife being called to respond to situations in the Arctic becomes greater.
While Canadian Forces have engaged in peacekeeping missions in the Sudan, Haiti and Afghanistan to name a few, protecting Canada's borders has to be the primary objective.
Turn off the lightsDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, April 28, 2016
Anyone who has lived in the North for a winter or two knows how eye-poppingly large utility bills can rack up without caution.
We don't need to be so frugal as to turn off every appliance and light whenever possible - but it helps.
It goes without saying: services that cost a lot further south will cost even more up here.
While it is more important for Northern residents to be aware of their energy usage than their southern counterparts, it helps when the community comes together to celebrate something like Earth Day.
Far from being a silly environmentalist cause, Earth Day is a fun reminder and an opportunity to challenge oneself to find energy-saving tips.
Whether it's swapping out those lights for LEDs or getting outside to enjoy the last weeks of winter, there are always ways to cut back - and even small changes can cut a lot off your power bill at the end of the day.
Even for residents who don't consider themselves to be environmentalists, being energy-aware can have the very practical result of cutting down the amount of money shelled out for bills.
Nahendeh MLA Shane Thompson told Deh Cho Drum he's shaved $100 to $150 off his monthly bills by switching to LEDs.
That kind of initiative pays for itself pretty quickly.
For those of us who are not normally energy-conscious, Earth Day also serves as a reminder to turn down the thermostat now that warmer weather has arrived.
It helps that Earth Day usually falls on the cusp of the day-night cycle changing. After months of long darkness, spring is the time of year when the days get longer and the nights, thankfully, get shorter.
In Liidlii Kue, residents now have about 16 hours of natural light to enjoy. Those of us who are early risers now enjoy a 6 a.m. sunrise.
Being energy-aware does not need to be a burden - and observing Earth Day can be done in more ways than one. Aside from energy consumption, something as simple as recycling materials can help.
That was evidenced by the Open Sky Creative Society's Earth Day celebration, which included crafts for adults and children using cardboard and some old Parks Canada fleeces.
Sometimes it is worthwhile to take a step back and enjoy the slower pace of life offered by the North - and Earth Day serves as a perfect reminder to do just that.
Good reasons to attend the playInuvik Drum - Thursday, April 21, 2016
A few months ago, we featured a photo from one of the earliest editions of the Drum in our Looking Back feature. It was of a scene from the play H.M.S. Pinafore and, so far, the one that has drawn the most attention.
People told us all about how Knute Hansen starred in the show, how it was so popular that the cast and crew travelled with it to communities that had gyms to put on productions there, too. Fifty years after, that one blurry photo brought back all kinds of memories for our readers.
This is not meant to put pressure on East Three Secondary School's production of The Wizard of Oz this weekend, although I'm sure it would be equal to it. It's just clear that theatre and other artistic pursuits stick with people long after the last curtain comes down.
If attendance at other school functions, like the Christmas concert, is any indicator, there won't be many empty seats.
Still, the ranks of the audience at those kind of things are swollen because nearly every single child is involved and spends some time on stage. The same obviously cannot be said for the upcoming production but not having a child in the play isn't a reason to not go.
We hear a lot about the dearth of arts programming and funding in Northern communities, about how so much more goes to sports, and about how that fails to include many students who are less athletically inclined.
While it may not be Broadway, the high school play is the most ambitious theatrical performance by people in the region and should be treated as such. It is, after all, where many great actors, directors and crew members get their start in the business.
Last year's production of Alice in Wonderland was, by all accounts, a magical experience. Having seen first hand the hard work students and staff have been putting in to this year's effort, I have no doubt the trip to Oz will be equally astounding.
If we want to encourage children, and people in general, to appreciate art, it has to start here.
For those who complain that there isn't enough support for the arts, please put your time and money where your mouth is and get a ticket for this play.
A packed audience can show people with the ability to provide funding for the arts that there is indeed an appetite in the community for theatre, but more importantly, it will show the students on stage that their community supports them.
An indiscriminate killerYellowknifer - Wednesday, April 27, 2016
With fentanyl on the streets both explicitly and cut into other drugs, doing drugs in Yellowknife has become a game of Russian roulette.
As Yellowknifer has explored over the last two weeks through its four-part feature series Killer on the Streets, there is cause for alarm but also reassurances as critical forces throughout the city mobilize in a proactive effort to combat the deadly opioid drug.
We heard from Stephanie McNeely, who injected what she believed was liquid codeine, blacked out, and woke up to a 17-day stint at Stanton Territorial Hospital where she was told, to her surprise, she had high levels of fentanyl in her system. She was also told it stopped her heart for more than a minute on the medevac flight between Fort Resolution and the city. McNeely is one of the lucky ones.
Between 2009 and 2015, five deaths in the territory can be at least partially attributed to the drug that is 100-times more potent than morphine. While this pales in comparison to the toll in Alberta and B.C. -- which is in the hundreds and climbing - Yellowknife can be a delayed reflection of the activities in its southern neighbouring provinces. The powers-that-be, especially the City of Yellowknife, are right in their move to address the issue on the ground floor. Without political motivation or fanfare, the city has equipped its ambulances with Narcan - a drug that reverses the effects of an overdose - and has trained its firefighters, many of whom double as paramedics, on how to use it. Since fentanyl unfurled its tendrils in the city, the Department of Health and Social Services' methadone program - which prescribes the synthetic opioid to addicts to stabilize their lives and curb their addictions - has at least doubled. The department has since padded the service with crisis counselling and mental-health nurses.
While it's up to the federal government to work with China - where powder that makes up the pills in Western Canada most commonly comes from - to stop the importation of the drug, it's up to municipal and territorial powers to keep people alive and informed.
The territorial government could do more. We heard about how Alberta has created a website to inform everybody about fentanyl and how B.C. has made Narcan available without a prescription. When asked if the GNWT has similar plans, a health department spokesperson tells Yellowknifer it is monitoring other jurisdictions. Today we read about the disappearing act that is the prescription drug monitoring program which seemed ready to kick off two years ago but is nowhere to be found today. As doctors say fentanyl addiction often starts as prescribed medication, this lack of programming is a jab to the efforts to curb addiction.
Some efforts deserve applause, others need coaxing to be improved but one thing is certain: fentanyl is in Yellowknife and it is an indiscriminate killer.
Volunteers at heart of communityYellowknifer - Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Much of what people enjoy about community life depends on those who are willing to donate their time and effort to make things happen.
This is no less true in Yellowknife, where a number of residents were recognized earlier this month for their volunteer efforts at a city-hosted event held at the Multiplex arena. Kirby Marshall, founder of the True North Rotary Club, received the Rotary Club Award for his work founding the group's second Yellowknife chapter with an emphasis on volunteering time over cash donations.
Marshall came up with the idea because there were many people who wanted to help but couldn't afford to donate much money to Rotary's other branch. The two branches work together to come up with community projects, generate funding and perform hands-on work, such as sanitizing the Food Rescue facility, cleaning the women's shelter and running an annual soup event in front of the downtown post office.
Having a dedicated body of volunteers is not only in the best interest of those they help directly but the community as a whole, for strengthening community spirit and lending vibrancy in ways that are not always readily apparent but have a major impact on community well-being.
Innovative thinkers create new groups and events that bolster the community's sense of identity and add to the city's colourful history. Marshall was among many to be honoured for the time they put in to make services available, including the Yellowknife Community Foundation, MS Society and Ecology North.
Not only do these groups offer services and supports at low cost or even for free, they also help residents understand and promote the city's history. All of these events and services would be dead in the water if not for the commitment of an army of people who wish to give back to the community and make it a more vibrant place to live.
Lessons learned, answers soughtEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Upon being transferred to Rankin Inlet in December 1998, I promised myself I would not carry any preconceived notions to the Kivalliq with me.
I vowed to keep an open mind during my year in Rankin (I kind of undershot the mark on that one) and decide upon things based on what I learned through experience.
Almost 18 years later, and I have come to a couple of conclusions when it comes to the entities that make the big decisions in Nunavut.
First on my list, I have very little faith in the effectiveness of non-party politics, nor do I see the system improving over time.
I see decentralization as one of the most colossal wastes of money I've witnessed in my lifetime, and, with each passing year, that gets even more impressive.
My most painful lesson in Rankin -- taking into account I've considered it my home for many years now -- is the realization that with some people, I will never truly be seen as being from here.
Equally maddening, although thankfully a lot fewer in number, are those who not only don't believe in the public's right to know, but also prioritize which answers to give based on who is asking the question.
I convince myself the prioritizing is done on the who's really from here angle, rather than other differences.
Boards, such as the Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA) board members, are a necessary evil.
Boards, when functioning at least adequately, keep greed, power and ego in check, and have the collective ability to see the big picture.
Conversely, they can slow things down to a crawl or make critical mistakes if they border on being dysfunctional.
However, those who head powerful organizations like the KIA should bring their own vision to the position.
They should also realize blanket comments with little substance to back them mean very little.
I read with great interest a letter sent to the media on March 3, penned by KIA president David Ningeongan.
In it, Mr. Ningeongan expressed the KIA's surprise and disappointment at the Government of Nunavut (GN) reversing its position on exploration and the protection of caribou calving grounds.
The letter made some good points and expanded the focus from core calving grounds to include post calving migration routes, and caribou water crossing areas.
For the past month I have been patiently trying to speak to the KIA president to get him to expound upon his comments, especially in regards to the role he sees the KIA in and how that stacks-up against what the GN and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. may be thinking on the subject.
Judging by the tone of the letter, this is a very important topic for almost everyone in the region and one most people would want more information on.
The last I heard, Mr. Ningeongan was still waiting on the KIA board's approval to speak to the topic.
Seriously? A month to get permission?
One can't help but wonder how long deciding decaf or regular takes them in the morning.
If Mr. Ningeongan's thoughts are heated enough to cause a month's delay for permission, it would be a heck of an interview.
Then again, there's also that whole boards-functioning-adequately thing!
