Time for diamond advantage in the NWT Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, December 23, 2016
Little more than a month ago Industry, Tourism and Investment Minister Wally Schumann told Yellowknifer how confident he was in the future of the NWT secondary diamond industry.
This came as a surprise against the backdrop of Deepak International Ltd. finally losing its Polar Bear Diamond trademark after close to three years of CEO Deepak Kumar's failed promises and evasive tactics now being untangled in court.
When Kumar first came on the scene, then-ITI Minister David Ramsay staged an elaborate press conference, hailing the business venture as a rebirth of the secondary diamond industry in the NWT.
In light of last week's news that Almod Diamonds Ltd. will move into diamond row and begin production in the new year, Schumann's enthusiasm can be understood. Perhaps.
As an internationally established diamond manufacturer, polisher and retailer of diamonds and diamond products with more than 3,000 employees, Almod Diamonds looks ready to hit the ground running in a way that Deepak International never did.
Guaranteed access to up to 10 per cent of rough diamonds mined in the NWT and an ongoing boom in Asian tourism seems to be all the incentive Almod CEO Albert Gad needed to set up shop here. Almod has already purchased and taken possession of a diamond row facility.
Gad wants to see Yellowknife become the place where people worldwide come to purchase their diamonds. Godspeed to that.
But the North is a notoriously difficult place to set up shop. The labour pool is small and wage expectations match the high cost of living in Yellowknife (recently named the most expensive city in Canada to rent a two bedroom apartment by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Commission).
The cost of doing business in the North is challenging even for industry players with the deepest pockets.
Note well that both De Beers and Dominion Diamonds have moved large elements of their corporate operations south in cost-saving efforts.
Hypothetically, the secondary diamond industry could be worth over $100 million annually (assuming an equal amount of diamond mine production).
That it has been such a long haul to find a second private industry player - the first being Crossworks - willing to take up the challenge despite this obvious incentive is telling.
This is not to throw shade on Gad's enthusiasm for Almod Diamonds in the North. Without enthusiasm, nothing happens.
But we need to know our elected leaders and ministers of industry are fully awake to the realities and challenges of making a go of it in Yellowknife.
Now is the time for the GNWT to go beyond handshakes and photo-ops and introduce measures that provide these and future companies incentives to operate in the North. Call it the NWT diamond advantage. Without it, the secondary diamond industry in the North is doomed to thin margins and thinner opportunities for growth.
Increase fees to cover equipment move Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, December 23, 2016
Although it was entirely the GNWT's decision to build a new hospital, it seems it neglected to consider all the implications when figuring costs for the $488-million project.
City council was told during recent budget deliberations the city's emergency communication installed on the roof of the present hospital in 2013 will have to be moved to the new hospital.
The series of cabinets wired together is dependent on line-of-sight to city hall. The new hospital now blocks line of sight.
As this detail was apparently overlooked by the GNWT and the location designated for the equipment doesn't allow for the use of freight elevators, the move now will likely involve a helicopter and may cost as much as $150,000. That cost, council was told, is only an estimate and the final bill will have to be borne by the city and its taxpayers. To charge the city to move equipment installed little more than three years ago makes little sense. It was the territorial government's decision to build a completely new hospital rather than renovate the current one.
Coincidentally, council is considering increasing fees it charges the GNWT for ambulance services. The item wasn't added to the 2017 budget but Mayor Mark Heyck said there is still time to look at other options.
It seems completely reasonable that the costs of moving the emergency equipment should be partially, if not fully, offset by increased fees for ambulance services for the GNWT.
Safety first this festive seasonDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, December 22, 2016
As people travel for the holiday season - whether it's to see friends and family, or just to spend Christmas somewhere else - the most important thing is your safety.
On Dec. 17, Sharon Allen, the community leader in Fort Simpson for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, spent a chilly evening out on the streets of Fort Simpson with members of the RCMP doing a checkstop.
That's something Allen does regularly, especially at this time of year.
Her message is a simple one: if you're driving, don't plan on drinking.
Although the biting cold meant they weren't out for too long, the event was still an important reminder of something we often take for granted: our own safety.
With reduced daylight hours thanks to the time of year and icy roads that have seen little in the way of snowfall, a little reminder to drive responsibly can go a long way.
Regularly, RCMP collect and check out various reports of impaired driving.
Sometimes, those reports amount to nothing, but all too often they result in a charge being laid.
Nearing the end of 2016, with the effects of impaired driving well-documented across Canada, it's flabbergasting that this is still a relatively widespread problem in our society.
Christmas means many different things to many different people - some people may be celebrating the season; others may be remembering loved ones they have lost.
It's a very difficult time for many people in our communities.
But however you choose to spend the rest of 2016 and the start of 2017, don't put other people's well-being in danger.
The perils of impaired driving are something Allen has been vocal about for years, after the loss of her daughter Keisha.
But it shouldn't take a personal loss for us to realize the wisdom in her words and actions.
Whether you end up in an accident or not, impaired driving causes harm, if only by making your actions seem socially acceptable. Just because no one got hurt the last time you drove impaired, doesn't mean that'll be the case the next time.
Don't let your choices affect the lives of other people. They deserve better.
It's common sense not to drink and drive. That should come as naturally as keeping your headlights on at night or slowing down when weather conditions get bad.
After all, driving comes with a big helping of responsibility. You don't just need to know how to use your blinkers or your windshield wipers; you also have to choose not to drive if you're in no condition to do so.
If you're someone who enjoys going out to Christmas and New Year's parties, there is certainly no shame in that.
Just have a plan in place for how to get home in the most responsible manner possible.
Your safety, and the safety of people around you, is what is most important.
Don't call me a Grinch, well, maybe...Inuvik Drum - Thursday, December 22, 2016
Please do not take me for a Scrooge, but I am not much for date-based rituals.
The fact that people get so caught up in anniversaries and specific dates of the year has always been a curiosity to me. It gets even more curious with all the particular things they like to do on those dates.
It reads like something out of a history book: "And on this date of this month of the year, everyone gathered in the town square to share this certain food item and celebrate this cause."
For Thanksgiving, we eat turkey, and people get really excited about it. If you like turkey so much, you could have it whenever you want.
It's my birthday, so I must do something particularly special and fun. Because I don't spend the rest of my life doing things particularly special or fun.
New Year's is so special because it's the start of a new year on the calendar and, well, it's a good excuse to drink and party.
Over Christmas, people gather with family members for semi-awkward reunions with the onus to give presents to each other. Love them for being family, but there's a reason you don't hang out with these people all the time.
Music is another curiosity. It's December, so that means we listen to Christmas songs. We don't listen to Christmas songs in January. It's like if March were hip hop month and July all about jazz. My music tastes don't change depending on the month.
I keep a calendar only for pragmatic reasons. One day to the next is no different. The day that marks my birthday is any other Thursday, and I want to make the Wednesday before it as great as possible just like the Friday after it and every other day of my life. There is no special buzz going up my spine when I wake up on my birthday.
It's gotten even more hollow in the Facebook generation. Once a year, you hear well wishes from dozens of people you don't hear from again until that same day next year.
Before you think I'm just a crank, and taking you back from that conclusion if you've already made it, I justify my ritual apathy by saying that you should pursue what you want and believe in every day of the year, not just when tradition dictates.
If you love your family, even the more distant members, let them know all the time, any random Tuesday, in any random way. Don't wait until someone's birthday to tell them how great they are. Give someone a gift because you like them and want to show such, not to tick off the ritual that Date X dictates.
And if you want to dress up in a costume, knock on doors at night and scare people into giving you candy, well, maybe save that one for Halloween after all.
Merry Christmas!
This simple idea benefits allYellowknifer - Wednesday, December 21, 2016
It's refreshing to see the territorial government make a simple, common sense decision.
About a month ago, Stanton Territorial Hospital quietly opened its lobby as another option for the city's homeless to stay warm and get some sleep. Obviously, this move benefits people who might not otherwise have a place to keep warm.
The decision also benefits emergency-room staff, who up until recently have been beleaguered by people trying to get themselves admitted to emergency for no other reason than they're cold. According to Stanton's chief operating officer Colin Goodfellow, this has been an issue for awhile.
"Rather than oblige people to get picked up by an ambulance and dropped off at the emergency department or walking in and saying there's an issue - (I said) why don't we just let the people sit over there," he told Yellowknifer last week.
Goodfellow is a relatively new addition to the hospital, having arrived from Ottawa in September. He told Yellowknifer the practice of letting people warm up in hospital lobbies is common in southern Canada.
Good on the Department of Health and Social Services and Stanton Territorial Hospital for showing compassion and a willingness to use resources as needed. There could have been opposition to Goodfellow's idea all the way up the departmental chain from Stanton security to the deputy minister.
Instead, officials at the department realized people continue to use the hospital as a place of last resort and instead of fighting it, gave the idea a green light. It's a simple solution that hospital staff, the public and the city's most vulnerable people will most certainly benefit from.
Indeed, security has not been an issue so far, and feedback has been positive, according to Goodfellow.
It's good to see the territorial government use its resources in a way that benefits people and makes sense. Hopefully the success of this decision will inspire more people within the government bureaucracy to show innovative thinking like this.
A perfect spot for tiny homesYellowknifer - Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Earlier this month, the Top Knight was packed with Yellowknifers eager to hear about tiny homes.
At the design competition and information session, those in attendance heard innovative ideas to help people who might not otherwise be able to afford to enter the Yellowknife real estate market. A tiny home, according to organizer Bronwyn Rorke, can be built for as little as $30,000 to $100,000.
These ideas seem exciting, affordable and innovative. So why isn't the City of Yellowknife rushing out to create tiny subdivisions for the city's tiny-home enthusiasts?
Last March, city council torpedoed an idea for a tiny-home subdivision between Hordal Road and Bagon Drive. According to Jeff Humble, the city's director of planning and development, some councillors felt the area was too remote and not desirable for the tiny-home market.
Now, is Hordal Road and Bagon Drive really that remote? It's a 10-minute drive from downtown. Why would the tiny-home market be any different than any other housing market in the city?
The city has no problem conducting ballot draws on lots for people to build million dollar homes even when it occasionally fails to sell them.
There is clearly a demand and the city might make some money - even if the tiny home lots are out in the 'burbs.'
Reflections, growth and appreciationEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Well, valued readers, this is the final edition of Kivalliq News for 2016.
I know it sounds cliche, but it really is hard to believe another year has passed by so quickly.
Speaking of things that sometimes seem hard to believe, just 11 short days ago, on Dec. 10, I began my 19th year as editor of Kivalliq News.
As my good friend David Tulugak would say, holy smokes!
I know I was here for the entire 18 years, because I can remember each and every one of them with almost absolute clarity.
But, at the same time, they have gone past very, very quickly.
I still remember our family, complete with our four-legged, furry bundle of love, landing in Rankin Inlet on our third attempt during a heavy snowstorm.
My daughter, Lindsey - who now resides in Charlottetown, P.E.I., with her fiancee and my two beautiful grandchildren - and I are all that remain of that family, landing in a snowstorm with no one to meet us all those years ago.
It has been an honour and a privilege to serve this community, and the entire Kivalliq, to the best of my ability for the past 18 years at the helm of this regional publication.
I have met so many wonderful folks, and I've had the chance to write so many great stories about our region and the people who work so tirelessly to improve the overall standard of living for everyone.
These days, I see people every day with their own little ones who had just started their educational journey when I first laid eyes on them, knee high to a grasshopper.
Still others had yet to start school, and wouldn't for a few more years, when I first began to roam the streets of Rankin Inlet.
I've been fortunate enough to meet some true leaders during my time in Rankin; awesome men and women who gave a good chunk of their lives to have the Inuit voice heard and to help smooth the road for those who took, or will take, their torch to carry forward.
And I have gained knowledge and understanding on so many issues.
Some necessary, some heart-warming, some painful, some legal, some spiritual, some deeply complicated and some surprisingly simple, but all of them relevant to where we all find ourselves today.
And, like everyone else who calls Kivalliq home, I find some issues easy to examine, analyse and discuss, while others are more difficult, due to the fear of hurting someone who has already been deeply scarred by another's actions or decisions.
The North is a beautiful yet complex place to move to and eventually call home. It is a place that demands self-reflection and examination if one hopes to have any true peace of mind.
And it is both comforting and challenging for many of us one-time outsiders, growing to call the Kivalliq home while remaining comfortable in our own skin, whatever shade that may be.
I have much to be thankful for, living in the Kivalliq as 2016 enters the history books.
I know I am a better person for making my home in Rankin, and I have learned to always look at the other person's perspective before coming to a decision or voicing my opinion.
And that is, definitely, one heck of an invaluable trait that I did not possess when I first moved here.
So, thank you valued readers, for letting me be a tiny part of your lives for the past 18 years, and, to each and every one of you, I wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Trip down greener road a long oneNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, December 19, 2016
Premier Bob McLeod has spoken out against a tax on carbon dioxide emissions for years, as recently as last July, stating along with Yukon and Nunavut it would hurt our way of living and wouldn't have the desired effect of reducing pollution.
However, on Dec. 9 in Ottawa he joined with a majority of Canada's premiers and signed the pan-Canadian agreement on climate change.
McLeod has always maintained that any taxation measure - or pricing scheme - on carbon dioxide emissions would have to recognize the unique position faced by the territory. That means the NWT would need some kind of subsidy, exception or waiver. McLeod has also stated "until there are economically viable alternatives," the territory would still be polluting the atmosphere with diesel fuel emissions.
So what has changed? Does this mean he has secured those alternatives? Until they are in place, will consumers and corporations be shielded from new burdensome taxation in this already expensive part of Canada? Especially at a time when the United States, our largest trading partner, appears set to ease regulatory burdens on industry and slash corporate taxes.
And what exactly is a tonne of carbon dioxide? How do you weigh a gas? Well, about one-third of every tonne of carbon dioxide is carbon. Or soot. A tonne is a metric measurement of 1,000 kilos.
Some estimates - and they vary considerably - state the average household's vehicle emissions could fill their average house with solid carbon in one year.
People are seeing the effects that changes to the climate are having first-hand in the NWT. For example, cruise ships are now eager to sail through the Northwest Passage in summer and caribou numbers are in decline. Sure, it would be ideal if the territory could show it is doing its part to stop the air pollution.
Alas, far into the foreseeable future, the NWT will clearly need to continue throwing soot into the atmosphere with its reliance on diesel power plants that provide heat and light in many communities.
The NWT would need millions, if not billions, of dollars from the feds to invest in the infrastructure needed for increased hydro dam production, wind turbines, and solar panel arrays. The territory will need millions more to better insulate buildings and homes. And even then, it is difficult to imagine how the NWT will be able to do anything more than modestly reduce our diesel consumption - and only after many years of planning and construction.
"We can work together with the Government of Canada so that we can have clean growth and also deal with climate change," McLeod told News/North after his return from Ottawa. "The government would work with us to invest in energy or electricity efficiency and heating so that we will have clean growth that creates jobs and enhances our economy."
We certainly hope the premier has enough goodwill and political currency built up with the Trudeau government that he can obtain both financial subsidies for any tax imposed on the NWT and, most importantly, significant capital funding for infrastructure to set us up for that long trip down a greener road.
Give your time and effortNunavut/News North - Monday, December 19, 2016
If you are feeling overwhelmed this Christmas by a multitude of gift suggestions for your loved ones, one only has to look through the pages of recent issues of Nunavut News/North to see what is truly valued in Nunavut.
Last week, we told you about Johnny Mamgark of Arviat, an unemployed hunter who hoped to recoup the costs of a recent and bountiful caribou hunt by selling some of the meat online.
A request by a Baffin Island elder for a donation made Mamgark realize his own fortune.
Despite his financial situation, he honoured the request, and his charity was contagious. Other Arviat hunters and one from Whale Cove followed suit, and that led to offers to pay the freight to give Baffin Island elders, for whom caribou is a rare treat, a Christmas feast.
We are blessed to be able to praise such charity, and there's so much good work to honour in Nunavut.
In her film Angry Inuk, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril shares the story of hunters struggling to make a living by hunting seals, while sharing their harvest with those in their communities who are unable to spare the expense of fuel or bullets. Like Mamgark, these hunters share what they can, even at their own expense.
It's little wonder the film is earning Arnaquq-Baril accolades wherever it goes. She has chosen to tell the story of how the seal ban affects not only the ability of Inuit to survive in the modern world but also to preserve the Inuit way of life, including the ability to share the bounty of nature.
Iqaluit's Elisapi Aningmiuq has spent years working to support the Inuit way of life, viewing culture as a way to save lives. Her team has helped many Iqalungmiut reconnect with traditional skills, often praised as a way to prevent suicide. For her work at the Tukisigiarvik Wellness Centre, she received the Governor General's Polar Medal this month.
At the same ceremony, Niqinik Nuatsivik Nunavut Food Bank founder Jen Hayward was honoured with the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers for helping others share their blessings.
We can't forget Arviat's Ruth Kaviok, honoured this month for working to show the way climate change will affect the Inuit way of life, or the teams from Pinnguaq and SmartICE, both of which won a share of the Arctic Inspiration Prize. All three should be honoured for sharing their skills to help other Nunavummiut.
You can make Nunavut a better place for those who are struggling. Consider the needs in your community, and ask how you can get involved.
Is there an issue not being addressed? Start a project, and get others on board. Or even stop in and spend time with someone who needs a visit.
This is the time of year to remember that you can make a difference for our territory.
Whether you want to share the results of a hunt or volunteer each week on a project important to you, your time and skills are gifts that will be truly cherished.
