Pension privilege Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, December 9, 2016
The old light bulb joke seems appropriate when pondering how many people it might take to fly down to Vancouver and listen to investment reports on MLA pension funds.
The number is apparently 10. That would be all five members of the legislative assembly's board of management, three legislative assembly staffers, a lawyer, and one former MLA. It was the second time this year MLAs and their entourage felt it necessary to leave the territory to talk about their pensions.
While they were enjoying the sights and sounds of Vancouver and learning first-hand that their pension funds are doing great, Northerners were digesting the news that Diavik Diamond Mine was laying off 51 workers.
This came on the heels of more bad news, that Dominion Diamonds was moving its headquarters to Calgary, taking 100 jobs with it, which follows an all-around uneasy year after the Snap Lake diamond mine closed and put 400 people out of work.
The territorial government's response to the mine closure last December was to issue a dire warning about the need to cut government programs and jobs.
Several people did lose their GNWT jobs and the union representing employees is being told salary increases are out of the question for the next two years.
A crucial element of leadership is showing leadership, to lead by example. Yet, when it comes to enjoying the perks of their jobs MLAs seemingly cannot resist indulging them.
Insisting that taxpayers' money was not used to pay for the Vancouver trip because the return on their investments covered the $14,000 bill simply highlights their arrogance while amplifying their privilege.
Fabulously rich people travel on jets to meet their investment managers. Ordinary people pick up the phone or look at their statements.
Never mind the poor optics of public officials spending three business days out of the territory dealing with what essentially is a personal affair.
That MLAs do not see a disconnect between the financial hardships faced by Northerners and the blatant display of government privilege this trip represents demonstrates a lack of respect for the public they serve.
That this has not been met by howls of outrage shows how Northerners have come to expect nothing better of them.
Nuance needed in budget survey Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, December 9, 2016
So far the city's 2017 draft budget survey seems to be a moderate success in terms of grabbing the attention of residents.
Two hundred and fifty-eight people took the time to weigh in on the detailed version and 77 voiced their opinion on a short form version. Projects that showed the highest approval included water, sewer and paving work, a job creation program for homeless people, work to reduce forest fire dangers and doubling funds the city gives to the Safe Harbour Day Shelter.
Rejected projects included studies on the possibility of a new library and traffic lights at the intersection of Kam Lake Road and Finlayson Drive.
While the survey is a great way to gauge public opinion over which projects the city should consider, there is a problem with the design. The default answer is always "no."
This approach, without nuance, is bound to generate a lot of false negatives. The question should be by how much and when to start.
The existing approach appears more likely to drive the public to automatically answer no without capturing what may often be complex feelings about the project.
This complexity can be observed every time city council sits down for a budget debate.
The purpose of council budget discussions is to look at what projects are on the docket and go though them line by line to decide what should be cut, deferred or have their funding reduced.
The online survey should be implement the same way, with an adjustable tax rate attached to it that rises or falls depending on the cuts or additions made.
It would likely offer a clearer picture on public attitudes city spending while giving the public a better understanding of council's job at budget time.
Keep kids consultedDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, December 8, 2016
Fort Simpson's curfew bylaw is one step away from being repealed now that councillors have done an about-face on the issue.
After fierce debates on the bylaw - particularly on the subject of handing down fines and potential jail time - council was poised to push an amendment to the bylaw through on Dec. 5 and also make it an active, enforceable bylaw.
The idea was to give the village's bylaw officer - although there currently isn't one - as well as RCMP the authority to send youth ages 16 and under home if they are seen out late at night.
It does not make allowances for unchaperoned youth who may be out late for legitimate reasons, such as returning home from a babysitting job.
Councillors ultimately failed to pass the amendment in question, which would have struck a section allowing children to be returned to Dehcho Health and Social Services, and instead ruled to repeal the bylaw in first and second readings.
Before the bylaw is struck from the village books, its repealing will need to be ruled on a third and final time.
During the Dec. 5 meeting, as councillors discussed the bylaw, a few young faces joined those in the audience.
Although council has, up to this point, not discussed the view of the village's youth, the youth in question have certainly been discussing council's decisions amongst themselves.
Sylvia Pascua-Matte, Katrina Deneron and Elliot Betsaka, accompanied by Val Gendron, all sat through the meeting.
They did not appear as a delegation to present information to councillors, although perhaps they should have, given the reasonable and well-thought-out views they expressed to Deh Cho Drum later that evening.
What these youth felt, after canvassing the opinions of the junior high and some of the senior high students at Thomas Simpson Secondary School, was that repealing the bylaw altogether leaves provlems unsolved.
In the words of Pascua-Matte, "modification would have been more effective."
Realizing the problems faced in the community by break-and-enters and petty thefts, these youth have given this issue a lot of thought, and ought to be heard.
The modifications suggested by Pascua-Matte are not huge, sweeping changes. She says students want a later curfew - the current one begins at 11 p.m. -- and allowances in the summer for activities, such as drum dances, that might keep them out late. They also want the age dropped to 15.
Both are reasonable solutions and - given the amount of time the village has spent on this particular bylaw - ought to have been discussed during the many meetings councillors have had on the subject.
But the actual views of the village's youth are largely unrepresented at the council table, even though they would have been the only group impacted by the bylaw.
That may be due in part to the fact that until recently, council did not have a representative sitting on Fort Simpson's district education authority.
It is truly unfortunate that the council table did not hear from the school or affected youth on how the bylaw could be modified, instead of repealed.
Fascinating biologyInuvik Drum - Thursday, December 8, 2016
I couldn't help but smile while listening to Willy Simon tell me how much he liked whiskey jacks.
They had been his consistent friend during his trapping years and time spent in the bush.
Looking skyward and eyes glinting, this 75-year-old Gwich'in elder talked about the bird with the same expression you see on awe-inspired children portrayed in Disney theme park commercials.
It's nice to have that kind of connection with nature.
Having grown up fishing on the coast of B.C., I have a special place in my heart for the humble rockfish.
A bit of a difference in my experience and Simon's is he fed the whiskey jacks, and I only pretend to feed the rockfish before painful reality hits them.
But that's the life of a fish, and rockfish have been one great constant in my life and, best of all, are an indicator for the bigger fish I'm really after.
During my time in Iqaluit, I tried to make friends with the many ravens.
I never knew they could make such a wide range of sounds, and they clearly played in pairs in the wind.
Like Simon, I acknowledge the more spectacular creatures such as the white owl or polar bear, but I find myself more drawn to the working-man kind of animal, the one you salute on your way to the office and feel a kinship with over the daily grind.
One mammal I will rant about any chance you give me is the whale.
I imagine it's a bit like polar bears: a lot of people love them because they've never been too close to them.
I've had many close encounters with whales, both humpback and orca, during fishing in B.C. and off the coast of Mexico.
One of the most traumatizing moments in my life was leaning over the front of our boat while we were trolling off Puerto Vallarta, watching the water go by, looking for marlin or what have you, when all of a sudden I saw a spotty grey mass.
When I realized it wasn't a rock but a humpback whale directly underneath us, I fell straight backwards, squeezed my eyes shut and screamed at my dad to get us out of there.
He, like my mom and everyone else I've been on the water with, doesn't get too concerned about whales, even though I'm convinced they present a clear danger.
That was years ago and I still have trouble looking into the water, always waiting for some massive shadow to appear.
The more spectacular, zoo-tier animals get most of the media play, something Simon maligned about with the whiskey jack's lack of popularity as well.
But give me the humble, friendly, small, non-dangerous, working-man's animal over the lions and tigers any day.
Can't blame John Howard SocietyYellowknifer - Wednesday, December 7, 2016
The John Howard Society board's decision to fire Lydia Bardak last month unsurprisingly left many in the community a bit confused.
The former executive director is a familiar face at the Yellowknife courthouse and on downtown streets, making and maintaining relationships with some of the city's most vulnerable people. When it comes to the boots-on-the-ground work, she is clearly dedicated.
This is an important part of John Howard Society's mandate -- to work with people who come into conflict with the law and advocate for a fair criminal-justice system.
But beyond this work, nobody but the board and Bardak know much about her effectiveness as an executive director. After her firing, Bardak herself admitted she was lacking in her administrative duties to the point where the society lost its charitable status.
It's really a shame Bardak couldn't keep up with the administrative part of the job because this loss will certainly have a negative affect on the John Howard Society and the community as a whole.
That said, the loss of charitable status is no small thing. According to Revenue Canada, charitable status exempts an organization from paying taxes. With tax season coming up in the new year, this could end up being a huge financial issue for the
John Howard Society. Charitable status comes with other advantages, such as the ability to issue donation receipts - creating an incentive for people to give to the organization. It also exempts an organization from having to charge the goods and services tax and harmonized sales tax.
Bardak's dedication and ability to be out in the community and work with vulnerable people is clearly incredible work but it's all for naught if the work to maintain the organization itself is neglected.
Her work was a blessing to the community and hopefully her energies will be harnessed elsewhere soon.
As for the John Howard Society, it's a shame the organization had to cut off an important limb in order to survive but there is no reason not to believe the board did what it needed to do.
Commerce, tradition boost tourism options Yellowknifer -Wednesday, December 7, 2016
To keep a culture alive it has to be shared with others so they can understand it. So it's a good move by Aurora Village to add a gift shop aptly named The Trading Post.
Manager Jesse Larocque said it allows her to share her Metis culture with visitors that come from all over the world to see the aurora and keep her family ties to trapping alive.
This is also another fine example of the private sector taking initiative in attracting tourists and preserving indigenous culture.
The Trading Post will give traditional artisans another outlet to make a living, which in turn will allow them in the long run to pass on skills, increase demand and spread Northern crafts, such as jewelry, mittens and mukluks around the world.
Demand for full Northern experiences like what Aurora Village is already providing is proving to be on the rise among tourists. The growth of tourist attractions corresponds to an increase in tourists - up 46 per cent from 2014-15 to 2015-16, according to the GNWT.
It's well known they are not just here to look at the Northern lights, they want to do other things for fun and to make the most of their time.
Activities such as ice fishing, dogsledding and day trips on Great Slave Lake are also part of the attraction.
There is plenty of tourism business to go around. It's good to see the private sector again rising to meet the demand - especially if indigenous culture is front and centre.
To stack or not to stackEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, December 7, 2016
It was with a pretty big grin on my face I wrote the Coffee Break feature in this edition on the upcoming JLM Calm Air Cup senior men's hockey championship in Arviat this coming month, Jan. 19 to 22.
I could easily have been wearing the silly grin over the fact the tourney is shaping up to be a barn burner, and this event has provided me with many an awesome hockey memory during years past.
Taking for granted the Karetakers ice relatively the same lineup they captured the 2016 crown with, Rankin Inlet sends two teams, and the two Arviat squads, Kings and Stars, are as closely matched in talent as organizer Gleason Uppahuak seems to think they are, then the tourney is going to be one hotlycontested affair.
Throw in Coral Harbour attending with the same lineup that took this year's Avataq, and a young and fast Whale Cove team arriving with their minds set on playing hockey, and the possibilities for playoff Sunday are endless.
If, in fact, these teams are in Arviat and raring to go, almost every game in the round robin of the tournament will be super important.
Add to that scenario big crowds taking advantage of free admission, especially if they're as loud as they were this past January, and this could be a weekend of hockey one won't soon forget.
Yes, there was plenty to smile about concerning the level of hockey that could be awaiting Arviat, but my silly grin came about as the result of a team stacking its roster.
Whether you're pro or con on the subject, precious little can stoke the fires of emotion with hockey players than team stacking, especially when it's being done with outoftown players.
The island I come from (Cape Breton) is as hockey crazy as the Kivalliq, with the exception of how Rankin supports so many levels of hockey with big crowds during tournament season.
In my hometown area, the only way you get to play with another community in the same tournament is if your presence isn't required on the home side.
To be brutally honest, it's the bottom 10 to 20 per cent (skill-wise) who seek a game elsewhere, never the top tier of players.
Should you be a top player in my hometown who decides to play for another community, winning the game would be secondary for many guys on our team.
I'm not saying it's right. I'm just saying it is.
However, unwritten rules that have governed the game for decades upon decades are changing, slowly but surely, and that includes the Kivalliq.
Having been involved with Kivalliq hockey since my arrival here in 1998, I could not imagine players from some communities being on the same team until it happened.
But there were Naujaat players on Arviat and Rankin teams and, for a few years, Rankin goaltender Josh Tartak seemed like he was trying to make a career out of winning events while playing on teams from other hamlets.
And Rankin's Joe Jr. Kaludjak's performance in goal leading Naujaat past his former team, the Hukka Inuks, and then the Rankin Miners in a 43 overtime final to claim the Avataq in 2015 is the type of feelgood story one has to love.
Then there was the first time I saw an Iqaluit player on a Rankin Inlet team. Well, enough about that.
As a hockey fan, I don't like it unless the community of the player(s) involved have no intention of being in the tournament.
And I despise any time one team is so stacked nobody else has a chance.
But I'm old school, and the times are changing.
As an official, as long as there's no backroom skulduggery going on, I'm all for it when it makes an event more competitive and/or increases the level of play.
It will be more than a little interesting to see how it all plays out in Arviat next month, and who the fans cheer for should the Kings, with their Naujaat players, meet the Stars.
However it plays out, you can bet it will be emotional because, at the end of the day, that's what the game is all about.
A troubled territoryNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, December 5, 2016
You don't have to be poor or desperate or of any particular ethnicity to risk and ruin your life by ingesting illicit drugs or drinking to a blackout each day.
Rates of drug and alcohol abuse in the NWT are consistently higher than the national average.
Sure, marijuana is set to be legalized next spring by the Trudeau government but it's still illegal until the framework for legal sales of a potency-regulated plant is set.
And while alcohol is legal in most communities in the NWT, we see the desperate measures people take to bring booze into places where it's banned or controlled. The same goes for importing illegal drugs.
As reported in News/North last week ("Big cocaine, weed bust," Nov. 28), the RCMP nabbed approximately 165 grams of suspected cocaine and 6.3 kilograms of what appeared to be marijuana. No charges had been laid as of press time.
Norman Wells is one of those restricted communities, where you can only purchase certain amounts of booze and the liquor store is open fewer hours than other communities.
As part of its addictions awareness week events, Inuvik held a sharing circle that attracted 50 people.
"I was on the doorstep of suicide two times because of alcohol," Winston Moses said in front of a circle of close to 50 people at Ingamo Hall on Nov. 20.
"I thought no one cared. I thought nobody liked or loved me. I lost two jobs and I almost lost my family."
Indeed, it's often families who must cope with the fallout from their loved ones' addictions.
In Yellowknife, RCMP made an unusual plea to Northerners to be on high alert after eight fentanyl overdoses occurred in Yellowknife over a couple days starting on Nov. 24.
"If you have a loved one who you believe may be using drugs, please check on them regularly." Sgt. Dean Riou stated in a news release.
Officials were concerned the type of fentanyl causing the overdoses in the capital could make its way into other NWT communities.
Police enforcement of the law is just one way to curb the problem. Another is helping people who want to stop ruining their lives and damaging those of their friends and family.
Listen to what Inuvik's Tyson Joe had to say at that sharing circle on Nov. 20. He's been in recovery more than two years.
"It feels so good to ... be around people who are smiling, and there's no alcohol involved, drugs or nothing, just people," he said.
"I'm never going back that way," said Joe. "I already know who that guy is. I already know what he does, I know what he says.
"I never want to explain myself for that guy again."
Inuit in the driver's seatNunavut/News North - Monday, December 5, 2016
The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement is no more.
Instead of land claims and beneficiaries there will simply be the Nunavut Agreement, and Inuit.
The change in terminology is an important step in decolonization. Nunavut Tunngavik's (NTI) move puts the focus on the people who were here first, putting Inuit in the driver's seat, where the Canadian government previously sat.
It's also an important change in affirming identity for Nunavummiut. This is your territory. You have value and a say in how this territory moves forward.
There is still work to be done to strengthen the territory's identity. NTI has chosen to start with language.
The Inuit language is under threat but not only from the lack of capacity in the territory's schools or workplaces. Nunavut's public communications are too often English-first or English only.
The Nunavut government would do well to follow NTI's lead as the territory moves toward devolution.
If the territory is trying to send a message that the Inuit language matters, let us make all government publications and websites Inuktut first, not English first. Visit tunngavik.com or gov.nu.ca and one will see both Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and the Government of Nunavut load the English websites first. Is this true for your local Inuit organization, for your hamlet?
Where are they spending their money to get their message out?
Nunavut News/North was invited last month to address the House of Commons standing committee on Canadian Heritage, and we told them we are not immune to the power of Internet giants Facebook and Google in drawing advertising dollars away from newspapers.
Central to this is the fact that both the federal and territorial governments are spending their advertising money with southern companies. Our ability to provide local content suffers as a result.
Our priority has always been to give you news and advertising in Inuktut and English, much the way you can get content in your language on your local radio station. Whereas southern newspapers consider the CBC a threat, we know that the public broadcaster is an important way Nunavummiut bring more Inuktut into their daily lives.
Inuit content is Canadian content. Look around and ask how much is truly available to support your culture, your language, your way of life. Faced with the dominance of the English language, the only way to keep Inuit culture alive is to produce more of it.
The feds told us they want to support Nunavut's cultural industries but taking the lead from NTI, that support needs to start at home.
Do you value local culture? Want to see a performing arts centre? More Inuktut in your schools, hospitals and courts? More media in your language?
It's up to you to tell your MLA, your MP, your Inuit organization, and your favourite local businesses. After all, you're in the driver's seat.
