Airbnb needs scrutiny Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, September 9, 2016
There are registered and licensed facilities in Yellowknife where visitors can arrange for comfortable, safe stays in the city. They are our motels, hotels and cozy bed and breakfast establishments.
The owners of these businesses go through the trouble of obtaining business licences and complying with national and local regulations governing rental accommodations. They also pay their taxes and other fees.
On top of this, they are subject to inspections by local authorities to ensure compliance with the fire code and other safety regulations.
In short, they are good corporate and small business citizens, and the backbone of this city's tourism economy.
Contrast this with the popular, web-based Airbnb or any similar service. These services connect paying customers with residential home owners looking to make a buck but they do so without regard for local ordinance.
Make no mistake about it. This is an underground economy where services are provided for a fee without the fair regulation and taxation faced by those who operate licensed businesses.
Airbnb, or any other unregulated motel or bed and breakfast model that connects clients with homeowners who may not meet legitimate bed and breakfast licensing requirements, undercuts legitimate business operators and hurts their bottom line.
Beyond the unfairness of allowing illegitimate operations to flourish to the detriment of upstanding local businesses, there is the question of health and safety regulations.
According to City of Yellowknife business licence bylaws, any prospective bed and breakfast must meet the requirements of the Public Health Act, local tourist accommodation regulations, the national fire code of Canada, and City of Yellowknife zoning and building bylaws before it can be issued a licence to operate.
Much easier, no doubt, to just post your rooms on Airbnb without worrying about health and fire codes or zoning restrictions. Easier but illegitimate.
This isn't the Wild West where home owners are free to do whatever they want with their residences without regard for the law or the reasonable expectations of their neighbours.
The city should not want to be associated with any fly-by-night business or anyone who wants to start a business without due regard for local regulations.
There is no excuse to allow an underground economy to develop that makes it difficult for legitimate businesses to prosper.
The city's silence on the matter risks being interpreted as acceptance of the activity and a slap in the face of legitimate business owners.
Make case for voting reform Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, September 9, 2016
Visits to Yellowknife from federal cabinet ministers are always welcome.
At least it shows that Ottawa is aware of our existence.
But to date the Liberal government's crusade to change the country's electoral system has flown entirely over the heads of average Canadians and a visit by Maryam Monsef, federal minister of Democratic Institutions, has done nothing to change that.
It's not to say there wasn't some mustard daubed on to the meat of the discussion she hosted last week. Some serious issues were raised: an exploration of different electoral systems, how voters choose MPs, and even whether Canada should adopt mandatory voting similar to Australia.
The biggest issue for the North, which Monsef addressed, is the Fair Elections Act brought into force by the previous Conservative government.
The legislation scrapped the vouching system, where a voter can have someone else vouch for their identity at the voting booth.
This is an important issue in the territory where obtaining picture identification in smaller communities is not without difficulties.
The fact the Conservatives ignored this issue shows an ignorance about the realities of living in the North.
However, as far as the central object of the discussion goes - that Canada's electoral system is broken and needs to be fixed - the Liberal government has a long way to go to convince Canadians aside from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that it needs a major overhaul.
If the government really wants public input, and by implication, its support, a quick tour by a relatively low ranking cabinet minister is not going to go very far toward making people care.
A healthy alternativeDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, September 8, 2016
We all know the feeling of going to the grocery store just to find out the vegetable we're looking for is sold out.
The logistics of feeding a village full of people every day are, without a doubt, challenging - not to mention expensive. The difficulty of bringing in store-quality produce each week means Northerners often settle for taking what they can get.
Although it is true Fort Simpson's prices are not as bad as elsewhere in the North, residents often become accustomed to paying more for less.
That is one of the many reasons people in Fort Simpson use the summer to subsidize their food costs by growing a garden.
Fort Simpson has always been a bastion for gardeners. From the days of the experimental farm in the 1960s to present-day efforts, the island and its surrounding area are home to many people who want to grow their own food.
With the small farm at Bannockland and plots at the community garden, food-growers are proving year after year the North is no barrier to a green thumb.
Randy Sibbeston's farm is full of potatoes, carrots and other vegetables - locally grown and the proceeds of which stay local.
The time he and his family spend each summer working that land is extensive. Hand-weeding three acres is nothing to sneeze at.
Likewise, the amount of vegetables grown in the community garden include peas, beans, peppers and even eggplant - among many others.
Such innovation is great to see, and it is important that it continues to grow.
In fact, agriculture of this sort proves such things are possible in the Northwest Territories, which in itself is worth something.
Of course, the North will probably never be home to big agriculture of any sort, simply due to the cost of mass-producing food. But locally grown produce is taking off, and it's the residents themselves who are getting involved.
The next step in the process of home-grown foods is to get the government or local businesses on board to get that food into the hands of the community.
Whether that means financial subsidization from the government or incentives for grocery stores to buy some of their fresh foods locally in the summers, there are a variety of options available to incentivize growth in the field of gardening.
The question is not whether there are big bucks to be had in Northern agriculture but rather how much local gardeners could impact Fort Simpson's economy and what healthy, home-grown produce is worth.
With a little help, such foods could go a long way.
A return to routineInuvik Drum - Thursday, September 8, 2016
The leaves have largely turned, the barbecues of the long weekend have been savoured, and the time has come for the youngest members of the community -- and their teachers -- to head back to school.
After the heady days of summer, going back to spend half the day under the rule of a bell can be an unappetizing thing.
Getting back to a routine, both in and outside of school, can be challenging, for both younger and older students. although in different ways. It's also tough for parents who, after a few months of relative flexibility, are back to early mornings, drop-offs and pick-ups, and homework supervising.
The cost of going back to school -- the new clothes to replace those that have been outgrown, school supplies, and the return of a multitude of fundraising efforts -- can also be a burden.
Still, despite all that, there is an excitement about this time of year. There's a chill in the air and a pleasant anxiety that speaks to sharp pencils and crisp notebooks, not to mention the reunions with friends who may have spent the summer away from the community. Maybe that's enough for some students and their families, but others need a little more encouragement.
That an education is a valuable and worthwhile thing is a familiar refrain here more than anywhere.
It's disappointing, then, that so many children fail to attend school in such high numbers. While the hue and cry went up last spring when it was found that only about one-third of students were actually in class on one particular day, it is truly a problem all school-year long, although less critical in the colder months.
If there is an excitement about going back to school in September and a corresponding drop-off in interest in the spring, it could be easy to write off that original surge in enthusiasm as a false start. Instead, we propose families look at it as a spark that can and should be fanned into a flame.
The school is a pavilion designed to inspire and motivate, with assemblies involving much clapping and shouting, slogans about staying in school strung up everywhere, and encouraging adults around every corner. One might argue that fervour is even too much sometimes.
School in the North has a complicated and fraught history, but everyone agrees -- at least in public and out loud -- than an education is the key to success.
This week, this month, and this year serve as a renewed opportunity to make that commitment once again to get the children to school, and keep them attending by showing an interest in what they are learning and encouraging them to stay on top of their studies.
Move the day shelterYellowknifer - Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Imagine being a homeless person who struggles with alcohol addiction.
Imagine having one option as a place to stay warm in winter, one place with easy access to a bathroom, one place that gives access to health services, one place where there is a kitchen area to prepare meals - the day shelter.
Imagine this day shelter happens to be located a stone's throw from a liquor store, like the one downtown. Our homeless community, many of whom struggle with addiction every day, have a literal trigger sitting 100 feet from the stoop where they access shelter and services. There is no way it's possible this setup can be conducive to living a healthy, sober life.
The community sees the consequences of such convenient access to liquor on the streets of downtown every single day. The residents of the Northern Heights condo building across the road on 49 Street recently held a meeting, expressing concerns about the amount of fighting, shouting and public intoxication in the neighbourhood and how it affects their standard of living and property values.
Coun. Adrian Bell is absolutely right in his request to see the day shelter moved. There probably isn't a worse spot than where it is located right now - nobody is benefiting from this location. The day shelter's clients don't benefit and neither does the neighbourhood, the greater community, visitors to Yellowknife or liquor store staff. Admitting this is not crass, insensitive not-in-my-backyard thinking - it is simply acknowledging an obvious problem and being sensitive to how access to liquor has a detrimental affect on homeless people in the community. Now that the contract for the day shelter is coming up, the city, GNWT and NWT Disabilities Council have an opportunity to come up with a better location.
A place that is convenient for people who depend on it, a place that perhaps offers as convenient access to services as the current location offers to booze.
While the well of resources our society could be providing for the homeless really has no depth, if a simple change in scenery gives even one day shelter resident the leg up he or she needs to fight addiction, the move will be well worth it.
Education minister thrown to the wolvesYellowknifer - Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Two years ago, the territorial government had a great idea to offer junior kindergarten for free to four-year-olds across the territory.
Two years ago, that great idea was sullied after Yellowknife school boards rightfully questioned why their hard-earned surpluses were being clawed back to pay for implementation of the program. It also didn't help that other early-education service providers such as existing preschools, Montessori and Aboriginal Headstart complained they were not consulted about how their programming would be affected by the new initiative.
This is why, two years ago, junior kindergarten implementation was halted in Yellowknife and regional centres in order to identify its flaws and - one would hope - fix those flaws. So why is junior kindergarten on the docket again with even fewer answers to these questions than before?
Presumably, there is a team of bureaucrats behind Education, Culture and Employment Minister Alfred Moses pushing him to move forward with junior kindergarten. By sending him to the public and media with the announcement that junior kindergarten is coming to Yellowknife next year - and no answers about how much it will cost, how it will be paid for and no consultation - these bureaucrats are essentially throwing Moses to the wolves. He is the one who has to answer for the fact that nobody has any idea what's going on.
Rather than obstinately pushing forward on a program before figuring out answers to key questions about how it will work, it would be refreshing to see the department come forward with a fully-baked idea that the community has had input on, so junior kindergarten can move forward without controversy.
More similarities than differencesEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Two very unique, yet very different musical performances, took place during the past few weeks, which stirred emotions in a number of Kivalliqmiut.
And, for the two men the spotlight focused on, the performances were a testimony to the courage of both.
Gord Downie of the rock band, the Tragically Hip, is an iconic figure across most of this great nation.
Diagnosed with the worst form of brain cancer, Downie still managed to head out on tour with his bandmates to promote their most recent album, Man Machine Poem.
The Canadian tour reached its zenith with a final concert in the Hip's hometown, Kingston, Ont.
The performance was shown live across Canada and in many other parts of the world, and is destined to take its place in Canadian folklore.
For tens of millions of people, a question that will remain steadfast during their lifetimes will be, where were you the night ...?
If, indeed, that night in Kingston does prove itself to be Downie's final live performance, the man went out with the love of a nation holding his hand as he wages the biggest battle of his life.
His showmanship, determination, courage and tears -- especially during the rendition of Grace, Too -- will long be remembered by those who tuned into the moment.
It was an incredibly emotional evening in Kingston felt by all inside in the venue, as well as the tens of thousands lining the streets outside.
Ditto the more modest crowd in Arviat, when some of the best musicians of the vibrant local music scene came together to pay tribute to one Mr. Charlie Panigoniak.
Every bit the legend among Inuit and many, many other Canadians, Charlie, suffering in the latter stages of Parkinson's disease, found a way to brave his fear of flying to get to the Arviat concert, and somehow summoned the strength to take to the stage and perform a number of songs during the show.
Many a tear fell in Arviat, as well, as those in attendance fought back the sadness to celebrate Panigoniak the man, and Panigoniak the musical legend.
Downie and the Hip have provided the musical soundtrack to the lives of those who grew up during their heyday, and Panigoniak has done the same for generations of Inuit, and done it all singing in Inuktitut.
While Downie wrote and sang tales of Canadiana, Panigoniak touched on the challenges, joys, triumphs and heartbreaks of living in the North.
His lyrics were felt by many: crystal clear in their meanings and, often, sounding almost like they were written just for them.
Such was the level Panigoniak reached in reading and understanding the pulse of life in the North, and relaying that pulse in a way both familiar and emotional to his many fans.
His affinity for performing for children during the latter part of his career was a heartwarming glimpse of the joy found within the man behind the music.
Though separated by vast distances, different lifestyles and, perhaps, tastes in music, Panigoniak and Downie share far more similarities than differences.
They will both leave behind sparkling musical legacies and too many smiles to count.
And they both touched, in one way or another, everyone who listened to their music.
Doing it the Dene wayNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, September 5, 2016
When is the territorial government going to understand that many people - especially those most vulnerable, with at-risk lifestyles - simply don't trust big government?
The Department of Health and Social Services closed down the territory's sole residential addictions treatment facility three years ago.
The excuse given was that the Nats'ejee K'eh Treatment Centre on the Hay River Reserve was operating at about half its capacity and the unionized centre had trouble recruiting and retaining qualified staff.
The centre had offered residential addictions treatment programs for close to 20 years, first under the K'atlodeeche First Nation (KFN), then under the Dehcho Health and Social Services Authority - in other words, a creature of government. The GNWT took over direct responsibility for the centre in May 2013, and guess what? It closed a few months later.
The most troubling result of the closure is the GNWT decision to ship clients who couldn't be taken by community counselling services to southern facilities in Alberta and British Columbia, far away from the support of family and friends at home.
Robert Bouchard, the MLA for Hay River North at the time, also pointed to the loss of jobs in the area, which he estimated at 12.
"They had no way to re-profile this facility?" He asked.
But now some people do appear to have a way. And it's going to be made in the Dene way. As it should be.
K'atlodeeche residents held a workshop Aug. 16 to 17 to explain the concept and get input on ideas, including from other communities in the NWT.
"What it all boils down to is this statement - the Dene can heal themselves with their own culture," said Beatrice Lepine, a consultant working on the project for the KFN, during the workshop.
The idea is that the Dene Wellness Centre will attract people from communities all over the NWT. And get this - the plan is to make the centre self-sufficient by generating income through fundraising, tuition and accommodation charges. The building of the former treatment centre can house 35 people.
What needs to happen now is for the GNWT to keep its meddling little fingers out of the Dene's plans, save for providing some funding, if requested and as needed. The GNWT also has to show some good faith and negotiate fairly to lease out the former Nats'ejee K'eh centre.
Interestingly, the territorial government has already proclaimed there will be no alcohol and drug addiction treatment in the empty building. So to start, the plans are to have "basic" alcohol and drug awareness programs for youth.
While there clearly needs to be appropriately trained staff to deal with people going through sometimes dicey withdrawal symptoms, the GNWT needs to be ready to let real addiction treatment happen as soon as the new centre believes it is ready.
Addictions treatment is sorely needed in the NWT. Just look at the over-representation of aboriginal offenders in custody. Drugs and alcohol largely drive the crimes. But deep-rooted dissent and decades of resentment toward imposed authority are some of the root causes.
Enter the new centre, which plans to be steeped in Dene culture, offering people four positive outcomes of hope, belonging, meaning and purpose.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the residential school system recommended the NWT establish a healing centre.
The GNWT should help this project move forward as needed. Let the First Nation give it a try. It can't do any worse than the territory did. In fact, it's more than likely the positive results will be astonishing.
Welcome expansion of post-secondary optionsNunavut/News North - Monday, September 5, 2016
It wasn't the announcement that backers of an ambitious standalone, bricks-and-mortar university in Nunavut have been secretly hoping would eventually happen.
However, word from Education Minister Paul Quassa last week that the Government of Nunavut has given its blessing to a partnership between Nunavut Arctic College and the University of Saskatchewan to offer a four-year law degree program is a most welcome small step toward more post-secondary offerings.
This is actually the re-establishment of a law degree program. The first involved three players -- Nunavut Arctic College, the Akitsiraq Law School Society and the Faculty of Law at the University of Victoria. It accepted one intake of students in 2001 and had 11 graduates complete the program in 2005. Significantly, the impact of that small crop of lawyers can still be felt in the territory today.
And the Akitsiraq Law School Society never gave up, even after 2010 when the Government of Nunavut turned down a request for $3.57 million, 70 per cent of its core funding over a six-year period.
The society has supported students from Nunavut who wished to pursue studies in the area of law and continued offering limited programs within the legal profession within Nunavut. Although the society is not involved in the new law degree program like it was previously, there has been a welcoming toward the prospect of more made-in-Nunavut lawyers.
Initially, there will be 25 spots available at Nunavut Arctic College, which is seeing success in many of its other post-secondary offerings, including the Nunavut teacher education program.
Having a wide range of options -- and places within the territory for above-average students with high ambitions -- is vital for the higher and higher number of high school graduates coming out of the communities.
Certainly there must be streams for young people to learn a trade, develop life skills and enroll in environmental science or nursing programs. Nunavut must also make room for the engineers, architects and doctors of the future.
The study of law, in particular, is becoming more important as it relates to Inuit and indigenous people. Lawyers will play key roles in the continued implementation of the recommendations made by Justice Murray Sinclair and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
There are already native studies courses required in the first year of most law programs at universities across the country. The University of Saskatchewan recognizes the importance of legally trained indigenous peoples.
Of course, lawyers become judges. What a benefit it will be, to Nunavut and Canada, when an Inuit lawyer will be able to take their traditional knowledge, Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit principles, to the courtroom and to the bench.
