Time for Aboriginal Day to go national Yellowknifer - Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Northwest Territories residents are lucky and they may not even realize it.
Because the territorial government recognizes Aboriginal Day as a statutory holiday, the territory's many indigenous people have the day to celebrate and commemorate their own culture. This gives non-indigenous people an opportunity as well.
They get to learn about indigenous cultures, reflect on the disastrous effects of colonialism and the residential school system and commemorate the lives of people who have championed tradition in the wake of Canada's cultural genocide.
Now, the Northwest Territories is generally a place where people have a higher understanding of indigenous issues than in southern Canada. There are people alive today who can remember life before the territorial government was formed.
The Northwest Territories is where some of the strongest self-government agreements are taking place. It's a place where indigenous language revitalization is an ongoing project, not an abstract ideal.
The legislative assembly is made up of mostly indigenous leaders. The issues raised in the legislative assembly often regard indigenous rights, such as land-claim negotiations, caribou hunting and whether resource development should happen.
On Monday, Health and Social Services Minister Glen Abernethy tabled an amendment which will allow indigenous characters on government documents such as birth certificates. While colonialism, indigenous history and residential schools are no less important in the south, many southerners don't have the blessing of living in a place where these issues are front and centre.
Making Aboriginal Day a national statutory holiday would go a long way to give weight to the federal government's talk on making amends with its indigenous populations.
Really, there is no conceivable downside to this initiative. Dedicating a statutory holiday is not an expensive endeavor, it doesn't require a complicated implementation strategy and best of all - it gives people a day off from work and school to immerse themselves in whatever cultural activities their community chooses to host.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls for a national holiday to commemorate the residential school system in one of its 94 calls to action, so it would satisfy this as well.
Considering the federal government gives Queen Victoria Day vaunted stat holiday status, adding a day for indigenous people is really a no-brainer.
A new season brings a new faceEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, June 29, 2016
If you have noticed an unfamiliar qallunaaq with a big beard in the last few days, there's a good chance it was me.
I have come to replace Darrell Greer while he takes a well-deserved holiday on the East Coast. I have many friends who have either lived in or visited Rankin Inlet over the years and told me what a great community it is. For the longest time I have wanted to come and see what the fuss is all about. So when I was offered the opportunity to come to Rankin to fill in at the Kivalliq News I jumped at the opportunity.
Even though it's been less than 24 hours since I've landed in Rankin Inlet, I'm already positive I've made the right decision.
Everyone I've met so far has been extremely friendly and I look forward to meeting more between now and the beginning of August when I will hand the reins back to Darrell. I'm also very excited by the chance of getting out on the land and - once the ice finally retreats from the bay - out on the water.
When I went to introduce myself to the acting SAO Micky Adams she told me the same thing that everyone else I've met has been saying to me since I landed. "You picked the right time of year to come."
While the decision to come in the summer wasn't mine, I can't help but agree. (My only contention is that I wish I had made it here just a few weeks earlier so that I could meet Felix "The Cat" Potvin.)
After what seems like endless months of winter, the constant sunlight is a welcome relief and there is something about summer time in the North that seems to bring out the best in people.
Sure enough, as I left my hotel to take advantage of the gorgeous afternoon weather, one of the first things I noticed was how many people were out cleaning up the streets. I later learned that people across Rankin had taken the afternoon off to take part in the annual clean up of the community. We have the same annual clean-up in Yellowknife and it was great to see so many people chipping in to get the community in tip-top shape just in time for summer.
After a quick meal in town I continued to stroll around while the sun slowly started to set. Seeing countless children playing in the streets and soccer fields, basking in the freedom brought by the end of the school year and the endless hours of sun, brought a smile to my face. Eventually I made my way down to the bay where I caught the end of a softball game between Team Todd and the Juggernauts. There was not shortage of spectators both young and old cheering on the two teams.
After the game wrapped up a group of men and women made their way onto the field to play a friendly game of soccer-baseball on the artificial turf.
I watched for a while and chatted with a young man named Alurut who was watching his wife play with his one-year-old son, Joel. Joel took an interest in the $10 bag of apples I had purchased at the Northern Store and with his father's help he was able to eke out an extremely cute "Pleeeeeeease" as I handed him one from the bag.
As I made my way back to the hotel under the midnight sun I started to get an idea of what my friends had been talking about when they spoke highly of Rankin Inlet.
Fair or unfair, it's the lawNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, June 27, 2016
Lives of friends and family of a homicide victim are shattered beyond belief. They go through the stages of grief -- denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. But for many, acceptance is simply never fully achievable.
This is especially true when it appears that the legal system has let them down. It angers many. This happened on June 16 when a teenager who admitted to killing Brandy Vittrekwa was sentenced to two years in jail, and one year in community supervision.
Vittrekwa, 17 at the time of her death, was living in Whitehorse with her family but was originally from Fort McPherson. She was a popular girl and had many friends in both communities.
The teenage male offender was 15 at the time of the crime. On Dec. 8, 2014 he and Vittrekwa were walking home from a party and were both drunk. The male - who as other media have reported was already serving a community sentence for another violent assault - beat Vittrekwa unconscious and left her to die in the snow.
Crown prosecutors argued he should be sentenced as an adult. However, the judge treated him as a youth and gave him the maximum sentence available under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
In delivering his sentence, Judge Peter Chisholm noted he took into consideration the boy's troubled, violent family history and spoke of the boy's recent efforts to upgrade his education and curb his temper.
Outside the Whitehorse courtroom, media reported that Vittrekwa's family and friends hugged each other and cried.
Leadership in Vittrekwa's home region also spoke out against the sentence.
And the Gwich'in Tribal Council executive didn't mince words.
"We feel the sentence was too light," said tribal council vice-president Norman Snowshoe. "It's not going to be a deterrent for that behaviour ... it has happened in the past and it's going to keep happening in the future."
We can't imagine the pain the Vittrekwa family is going through. And we understand how frustrated the tribal council is with the justice system.
But the judge was following the law. Sentencing guidelines heralded by aboriginal groups when first implemented are designed to help reduce sentences of aboriginal offenders - or divert them to other forms of punishment or treatment.
In the 1990s - and still to this day - aboriginal people are the most over-represented population in Canada's jails and prisons. Many point to the disproportionate socio-economic disadvantages faced by First Nations. These hark back to the effects of colonization and the residential school system.
In 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down a landmark decision that subsequently forced lower courts to consider an aboriginal offender's background when making sentencing decisions.
The case lends its name to Gladue reports -- personal histories for judges to outline mitigating factors to consider. The judge must take into account "all reasonable alternatives to incarcerations," especially when a crime is minor.
This is a point that has received wide support among aboriginal group across the country.
While a homicide is far from a minor crime, and the sentence handed to the teenager who killed Brandy Vittrekwa on the face of it seems very light, the judge was following the law.
So while the legal system tries to find ways to help rehabilitate First Nations offenders instead of just throwing them in prison to rot, there are times when the Gladue principle will seem inappropriate.
Sure, the judge could have decided to slap Vittrekwa's killer with an adult sentence, but he chose to take the teen's background into consideration with the hope he gets a chance at rehabilitation in the youth criminal justice system.
It should be pointed out, had the judge handed down a harsher sentence it may have triggered an appeal based on the killer's age and aboriginal background, furthering the anguish the family would have endured with the case back in court.
The law's the law. Even if at times it seems unfair.
Release of benefit deal key to iron mine's futureNunavut/News North - Monday, June 27, 2016
It is admirable that the Qikiqtani Inuit Association last month made a point of publicly releasing its Inuit Impact Benefit Agreement with Baffinland Iron Mines Ltd. for the Mary River project. It's not a landmark move -- the Kivalliq Inuit Association and other organizations who represent Inuit beneficiaries have made details of impact benefit agreements with private corporations public in the past.
However, at least $10 million is involved in the case of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association and the iron ore mine on north Baffin Island. The agreement also sets out mutually agreed upon goals for Inuit employment and training. Details related to scholarships, labour relations and languages are also included in the agreement.
"The board of directors strongly believe in transparency between QIA and all of the beneficiaries," stated QIA president PJ Akeeagok in a news release. "It is crucial for beneficiaries to have access to information from their organization
to be well informed."
On first glance it may appear to some that the agreement is rich with benefits to the Qikiqtani Inuit.
But what about the benefits to Baffinland Iron Mines Corp., a company jointly owned by the European mining giant ArcelorMittal SA Ltd. and Nunavut Iron Ore Acquisition Inc., a subsidiary of Iron Ore Holdings?
News reports in 2011 suggested the project could triple the territory's annual gross domestic product growth rate and provide nearly $5 billion in tax revenue and royalties to the territory over the life of the project.
The impact agreement shows the specifics of the deal, what the Inuit are giving up to allow it to proceed and the potential for damage to the environment and wildlife, including prized habitat for walrus, whales and fish.
The impact agreement also shows what the Inuit association is doing to benefit its members, mitigate damage, impose restrictions and set out a mechanism to follow through on commitments it is making to its people.
That is good for elected representatives, residents and the company. It protects the deal from being contaminated by a whisper campaign, in which people make baseless allegations about backroom deals that cannot be substantiated while they are hidden behind a corporate veil.
Baffinland Iron Mines Ltd. is still seeking approval for its latest modified plans to be approved by the Nunavut Impact Review Board and has other challenges to meet before production begins in earnest.
Knowing the details of the deal with the Qikiqtani Inuit Association will certainly impact how plans proceed and how much support will come from elected officials.
Don't drive Northland out of business Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, June 17, 2016
The territorial government has not explicitly said it intends to push Northland Utilities out of Yellowknife and the territory but the writing is clearly on the wall as the GNWT pushes to turn the NWT Power Corporation into a government department.
This was evident in the dismissal of the entire power corp. board and replacing it with departmental deputy ministers last month. When asked what the GNWT's intentions are concerning the future of power corp., Louis Sebert, minister responsible for the territory's main power generator, said the new board has yet to hold a meeting.
It's a somewhat cagey response considering the power play at work - no pun intended - as power corp. attempts to take over power distribution in Hay River. It would not be unreasonable to assume the same will follow in Yellowknife when Northland's contract with the city expires in 2020.
Sebert was quick to say the government has no intention of dissolving the arm's length Public Utilities Board, the regulatory body responsible for ensuring power rates to consumers are applied fairly.
The government is correct to recognize the necessity of this watchdog but the utilities board won't matter a whit if power supply and distribution in the territory falls entirely under the auspices of a government monolith.
This is why it is important to recognize the necessity for ensuring a privately-owned power distributor in Yellowknife remains.
In fact, power corp. itself should be completely privatized. It, along with Northland, could then compete evenly and fairly for contracts in the communities and in Yellowknife under the eye of the Public Utilities Board.
Government bureaucracy is not what the territory needs when it comes to running our public utilities. Consumers need power delivered in the most cost-effective and reliable way. Reliable and cost-effective are not words often used in the context of government operation.
The territory needs power delivered and managed by a company with a broader horizon than ensuring voters are placated ahead of the next election, as was the case last year and the year before that when the GNWT forked over $50 million to subsidize diesel power generation to make up for decreased hydro production on the Snare River due to low water levels.
It is true that maximum profit is not the best governing principle when it comes to a public utility but that's why there is a Public Utilities Board to vet proposed rate hikes. At the same time, the element of competition between Northland and a privatized NTPC would act as a buffer against exorbitant power rates.
It is troubling that the government-owned power corp. was able to promise steeply discounted power rates in Hay River after the municipality opened its power contract to a competitive bidding process.
Doug Tenney, ATCO Electric's (Northland's parent company) vice-president of northern development, said this discount amounted to nothing more than the 30 per cent power corp. had been overcharging Northland for its Hay River consumers in the first place.
Tenney said he fears the GNWT may be muscling into formerly private markets with the intention of pushing Northland out of the North altogether.
This is a legitimate fear.
Power corp. could do the same thing in Yellowknife, especially if it fit in with a long-term, if yet undisclosed, plan to make power generation and supply in the North an entirely governmental undertaking.
Doing so would only ensure a power generation and distribution system that offers quick-fix subsidies while not actually reducing the cost of power and stifling innovation under a mountain of bureaucratic complacency.
Fairness in servicesDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, June 23, 2016
Nobody likes paying taxes - whether that's to the municipal, territorial or federal governments.
Property taxes in particular can be a sore spot for some people, especially when mill rates increase.
Recently, Fort Simpson's village council approved a tax increase which will raise the mill rate - which is payable for each $1,000 of assessed property value - on residential developed lands and residential mobile by 0.1. Residential vacant lands will increase by 0.4.
The increase passed its third reading almost unanimously, with only one councillor voting against it.
Now, taxes are a fact of life. Many of the amenities homeowners have access to could not be enjoyed without some way of paying for them. Taxes go in part to cover the cost of village services, and in part to give the village a few extra dollars with which to better the community.
During initial discussion of the tax increase, Coun. Mike Rowe reminded the rest of council that villagers will want to see improvements to the community in order to merit the increase.
He said the act of raising taxes is, in effect, a "promise" between the village and its residents, that residents should see such improvements made as a result.
While Rowe is right on the mark, the village also needs to take into account the fact certain subdivisions - which still pay the same taxes as everyone else in the village proper - lack certain services.
As Rowe pointed out at the June 20 council meeting, the subdivision of Wildrose Acres - while housing plenty of people - does not even have sidewalks.
Aside from that, residents in Wildrose Acres have to subscribe to bulk water delivery instead of simply turning on a tap.
To top that off, only the island is provided with municipal hydrant water-supply. That means all other developed areas - particularly, but not limited to, Wildrose Acres and Nogha Heights - do not have a supply of water dedicated to fire suppression.
Considering what fire risk those subdivisions pose, it is unfortunate more resources are not devoted to them.
Rowe suggested in council chambers - thanks to a community member bringing forward the issue - that an option for the village would be to impose a different, assumedly lesser, mill rate on any tax-based place out of town which does not have access to the usual village amenities.
While that solution is a reasonable one, a better solution would be to focus on these areas, particularly subdivisions where many people live, as targets for improvements over the coming years.
Doing so would not only justify the mill rate currently being imposed on these properties, but could also address some of the safety concerns of these areas.
Many choices in council electionInuvik Drum - Thursday, June 23, 2016
There is no shortage of choices in an election next week for president and vice-president of the Gwich'in Tribal Council.
Only one incumbent -- James Wilson -- is running for re-election as president. He is being challenged by Jozef Carnogursky and Bobbie Jo Greenland-Morgan.
With no incumbent for the position of vice-president, the race is wide open and no fewer than four candidates stepped forward -- William Koe, Wilbert Firth, Jordan Peterson, and Bridget Larocque.
Typically, there aren't this many candidates for only two positions.
It bodes well for the Gwich'in Tribal Council that so many members are ready to step up to the plate, not to mention people who represent such a wide range of perspectives. With women running for both seats, as well as a younger-than-usual candidate in Jordan Peterson, this election promises to be an interesting one.
Meanwhile, the Gwich'in Tribal Council itself is revolutionizing its own voting system. It has introduced online voting for members living both in Gwich'in communities as well as further afield in a bid to not only make it easier for people to cast their ballots and encourage them to do so, but also to simplify the counting process at the other end.
It's too early to tell yet if this initiative will work, but we are very hopeful and impressed by the move in any case. The one consistent complaint from people, no matter where they live, is that they feel cut off from their leaders.
Newspapers try to help in this regard, by holding leaders accountable and to ask the questions average citizens don't have the access or time to do.
Inuvik is a bit different from other places in that respect, since people typically have greater access to their elected officials than larger centres, but the complaint remains the same. This -- and every other election -- is a chance to bridge that gap.
This week and last, candidates answered our questions for readers. They were also set to answer questions from the public in an all-candidates forum June 22 which, in the interest of full disclosure, I hosted.
We hope that people have made use of these opportunities to get to know their candidates' platforms and views and that they will go on to ask their own questions before casting a ballot.
More than anything, we hope that doing so will open the lines of communication that will allow the electorate to hold their leaders accountable throughout the term, not just during an election.
