Yk firefighting a tale of two citiesYellowknifer - Wednesday, January 11, 2017
It appears John Fredericks, the city's new fire chief, is getting settled in.
In a media scrum last month, he told reporters he is excited to start in his new position.
He also said he is aware there are challenges to fighting fires in Yellowknife, adding "those challenges are no different than any other fire department in Canada."
While this statement is probably true for the most part, there is one relatively unique - and critical -- challenge to fighting fires here.
Yellowknife, the capital of the territory and city of just under 20,000 people, does not have piped water running through major swaths of the city. The Kam Lake industrial area and Old Town, including Latham Island, all rely on trucked water.
The city's residents saw the consequence of this last summer, when they were treated to the spectacle of fire crews running out of water while battling blazes on more than one occasion.
In the Willow Flats area last June, Les Rocher watched helplessly as firefighters periodically ran out of water while fighting a fire that would eventually devour his home. Less than two weeks later, crews butted up against the same problem while fighting a blaze in Kam Lake.
In Old Town and Latham Island, shacks and houses are built very close together, making it easy for a fire at one house to jump to another person's property. Kam Lake is an industrial area with petroleum tanks and other explosive materials sitting around.
It's not hard to imagine how a lack of piped water to these areas is courting disaster.
The good news is the city has recently been given a report into the state of its fire services which comes with 30 recommendations, and Fredericks has that document to help familiarize himself to the challenges of fighting fires in Yellowknife.
The bad news is this report does not include any mention of the issue of lack of piped water.
Hopefully this problem is one Fredericks has on his radar, as the city's bureaucrats have never shown much of a will to tackle it.
The value of inviting refugees inYellowknifer - Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Yellowknife's own Rami Kassem was recently praised by Immigration Canada as one of the country's most successful immigrants.
And for good reason.
He came to Canada 15 years ago and eventually made his way to Yellowknife, where he bought Javaroma in 2009 with business partner Fadil Memedi.
In the years since, Javaroma has expanded from its downtown location to the legislative assembly and airport.
The issue of whether Canada should accept refugees has always been a controversial one.
It's common to hear complaints that the government should take care of its own before extending a charitable hand to those who are not citizens. This argument is shortsighted, and Kassem is the perfect example as to why.
Refugees bring with them training, talent and skills. They contribute to, and become part of, Canada's communities. Some, like Kassem, open successful businesses that hire people.
The Northwest Territories needs people, as the territorial government mostly relies on federal transfer payments for funding.
Meanwhile, there are populations of people across the world in need of a safe harbour.
If these people are willing to live in the North, there is no reason why they shouldn't be welcomed in.
Shootout not without thrills and chillsEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News -Wednesday, January 11, 2017
It certainly was exciting to see so many familiar faces from the Kivalliq proudly waving Nunavut flags at the world junior hockey championship this past week in Montreal.
And kudos to all those fans who did not take to social media to gripe and complain about a world championship being decided by a shootout.
While it's true a team sport really shouldn't have its championship decided by an individual skill - and a second overtime period between Canada and the United States in the championship game would have been super exciting - the fact of the matter is them's the rules.
The International Ice Hockey Federation has loved the shootout since its inception.
Every team understands, when entering an international tournament, the outcome can very well be decided by a showdown between one shooter and the opposing goaltender.
In short, the rule is there, everyone knows it and the shootout works the same for both teams.
And the shootout has, in fact, provided some memorable, if not historic, hockey moments on both sides of the proverbial coin.
Jonathan Toews scoring three shootout goals in the semifinal against the same United States team at the 2007 world juniors to set up Team Canada's 4-2 championship win over Russia was incredible.
T.J. Oshie was the shootout hero for the American squad at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and Troy Terry added his name to the American's clutch-performer's list with his display in Montreal this past week.
All three performances will be remembered by international hockey fans for many decades to come.
On the infamous what-if list of hockey showdowns, coach Marc Crawford robbed the hockey world of one of its most dramatic moments of all time when he elected to leave the greatest player to ever lace 'em up, Wayne Gretzy, sitting on the bench during a shootout to decide the semifinal of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
Team Canada was up against the Czech Republic and the greatest goaltender in the world at that time, Dominik Hasek, guarded the Czech net.
Oh what a moment that would have been, to see number 99 closing in on the Dominator with a trip to the gold medal game hanging in the balance.
Yes, Gretzky was a bit beyond his prime at the time, but, he was one of those gifted athletes who almost always figured out a way to come through when everything was on the line.
To see the Great One sitting on the bench with his head down and a tear in his eye, without being given a chance to do what he'd done so many times before, was an image that still manages to haunt hockey lovers today.
We'll never know if that shootout would have produced one more moment of lasting glory for Gretzky, thanks to a coach who was running more on ego than hockey sense.
As a hockey fanatic, given my choice, the shootout would only be used to decide regular season games, never playoff or championship matches.
Hockey is a team sport and the final battle should be won or lost as the result of a team effort.
But, the reality of the modern era is that the shootout is here to stay and it is not without its drama or history-making potential.
We all inch a little closer to the edge of our seats each time a player picks up the puck at centre ice and starts making his way toward the goalie.
In the end, win or lose, destiny awaits one player each time a championship is decided by the shootout.
And, with that kind of pressure, you have to tip your hat to the player who comes through, be he friend or foe.
Let the voters decideNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, January 9, 2017
There is no denying that domestic violence is a serious problem in the Northwest Territories.
According to Statistics Canada, the NWT is only behind Nunavut in claiming the awful prize of being the jurisdiction with the highest rate of police-reported family violence in the country, with 1,897.1 incidents per 100,000 people in 2014. The national average is just 243.1 per 100,000. Close to seven out of 10 victims were young girls or women.
Last month, the Yellowknife YWCA urged the territorial government to place a five-year ban on anyone convicted of a domestic violence-related crime from becoming an MLA.
The proposal comes as a standing committee of the legislative assembly tours the territory seeking input on possible changes to territorial election rules that may include a prohibition on candidates convicted of a serious crime.
While the impetus for the discussion remains tacitly avoided, the obvious root of the debate is the re-election of Deh Cho MLA Michael Nadli in 2015.
Nadli served eight days of a 45-day sentence for assaulting his wife - his second such offence - and got out of jail just in time to file his nomination papers. Despite the rocky start to his campaign, Nadli took 40 per cent of the vote, prevailing over a field containing three other candidates, including former Deh Gah Got'ie Koe chief Greg Nyuli.
What's been left unsaid in the debate over whether candidates should be barred from seeking office for certain crimes or domestic violence specifically is the implication that voters in the Deh Cho constituency made the wrong choice - that had voters there been thinking rationally about their choices, they would never have selected a man with such obvious character flaws to represent them in the legislative assembly.
It's reasonable to presume that voters didn't choose Nadli because of his history of domestic violence. Had there been more candidates to choose from perhaps he would have lost but it's clear enough voters felt he was the best person for the job to get him re-elected despite his appalling crimes.
Democracy, as we have seen from the recent U.S. election, is a sometimes ugly business. Voters may choose candidates with terrible personal histories, even a criminal record. In 2006, former Yukon premier Dennis Fentie returned his Yukon Party to power even though it was widely known he had once spent time in prison for dealing heroin.
Drug and alcohol abuse is another serious problem in the NWT that has caused untold grief in every community. Should people convicted of bootlegging or dealing drugs also be banned from seeking office?
Nadli, whatever political successes or failures come his way, will have to live with his crime under the full glare of public scrutiny. His best course of action as a politician wielding influence over government is to acknowledge that the NWT has a domestic violence problem and to speak out against it while supporting programs to combat it.
To his credit, Nadli has done just that. His motion in the legislative assembly led to a six-month extension for the A New Day program - a program for men who have been abusive in relationships, one Nadli partook of himself.
As for proposals to bar MLA candidates with criminal histories, it's not the government's business to decide who is worthy of serving the people. That decision belongs to voters.
Trudeau's green crusade cloaks colonial attitudeNunavut/News North - Monday, January 9, 2017
'Twas the week before Christmas, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Barack Obama gave Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna a surprise early Christmas present. Unfortunately, it was more a lump of coal than a stocking full of presents.
If our report last week was any indication, the surprise ban on oil and gas exploration in the Arctic Ocean put a damper on the holiday spirit for Nunavut's leader, who was himself a member of the first all-Inuit oil rig drilling crew, an ex-miner and director of the Nunavut Development Corporation. Over the years, he has proven to be pro-development.
On one hand, Taptuna is right to be annoyed. Nunavut's economic development options are already limited.
On the other hand, the ban is not really a surprise. The sentiment in southern Canada and the United States is that the Arctic Ocean needs to be protected.
But nowhere in the world are people more concerned about a potential oil spill in Arctic waters than right here in Nunavut. Memories of the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker spill and the 2012 Kulluk rig's near-disastrous grounding - both in Alaska - show the dangers of such industry but also how little we know about the risks.
In 2014, the US National Research Council said there are many concerns that need to be addressed, including the lack of research into how a spill might look, a lack of up-to-date nautical charts, insufficient presence of first responders (such as the Coast Guard), and no plan for how to rescue and treat bowhead whales, polar bears, or other victims of a spill.
These things are not a surprise. The surprise is Trudeau's inability or lack of desire to read the lay of the land. Minus Hunter Tootoo as his minister of Fisheries and Oceans - someone with Nunavut's interests in mind - Trudeau ignored the history of colonialism and took another option off the table.
Perhaps he has mistaken Clyde River's objection to seismic testing as a rejection of oil and gas development. This is not what former mayor Jerry Natanine has told us repeatedly. He has said the hamlet supports development but development done right.
The hamlet's objection is the lack of consultation with indigenous groups, and considering the fact that the Supreme Court is deliberating on this exact issue, Trudeau's similar lack of consultation on banning development in the Arctic comes at an odd time.
That is, unless one considers the fact that Obama is on his way out and such a deal would never come to pass with president-elect Donald Trump.
It's unlikely Nunavut would have seen any oil drilling in the next five years anyway, considering how even big oil is loathe to support Arctic drilling lately. Knowing this, Trudeau's siding with Obama is a smoke-and-mirrors trick that enhances his green credentials while cloaking the same old colonial attitude carried by governments past.
The choice to develop or not develop in Inuit lands and waters should be made by Inuit. At the very least Nunavummiut should be consulted.
The lack of respect shown by the prime minister will leave Nunavummiut wondering whether they can trust any federal promises to improve the situation on the ground here.
Same old, same old?
Attempted donation sends message Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, January 6, 2017
With A New Day in the news so much over the past few months, it's no surprise a group of kindhearted individuals would come together with a generous donation.
The program, which delivers counselling to men who have been violent toward loved ones, was set to temporarily receive the axe as of Dec. 31 while the Department of Justice carried out a review of its merits. When the public got wind of this, there was an outcry which caused a series of heated debates during November's legislative assembly sitting. The outcome of those discussions was a last-minute decision to extend funding for six months so those who rely on A New Day would not see a gap in services while the government waited for the review.
Meanwhile, 100 Men Who Give a Damn met up in November to decide where to donate a round of funding its members had raised. They agreed the approximately $11,000 should go to A New Day and were surprised to hear the program would not be able to accept the money.
Generally, when an organization or group is doing a good thing, people want to support that good thing, so why would A New Day be an exception?
Because A New Day is a government program, this particular donation is, in its essence, an $11,000 cheque written to fund the territorial government's operations. From this angle, it becomes quite clear that people shouldn't need to donate to what their taxes are already paying for.
Now, Justice Minister Louis Sebert and his colleagues should take note of this attempted donation because it shows just how valued A New Day is to the community.
As MLAs and cabinet enter into budget season next month, it would be wise for them to keep in mind the public believes this program is
essential for the health of people across the territory, and should be fully funded.
Donny Days make no sense outside GNWT Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, January 6, 2017
Sitting in a field emptied of other targets that have been chased into hiding by scare talk about the need for austerity measures is the white elephant colloquially known as Donny Days.
While multi-billion dollar companies such as Dominion Diamond are pulling up stakes and moving their headquarters elsewhere because they can no longer afford to be here, thousands of territorial government workers are getting their annual, extra, taxpayer-paid Christmas vacation. And because the GNWT is by far the territory's largest employer, pretty much everything else stops too.
Need to check the court registry for important legal documents required by your bank? Not going to happen. Need a birth certificate to complete your child's passport application? Sorry.
It wasn't always this way.
Donny Days is the fruit of union negotiations following austerity measures in 1996, when former premier Don Morin introduced the mandatory leave as a salary cutback. The territory at the time, similar to today, was facing an economic crisis as the mining sector - always the NWT's lifeblood - began to collapse due to low mineral prices.
GNWT workers resented being forced into an unpaid vacation for five days but at least they got to keep their jobs.
Diamonds brought the economy back in the early 2000s and by 2009, the Union of Northern Workers was able to negotiate what was once an austerity measure into a perk.
Well, how times change. Last year, the territorial government announced $150 million needed to be cut over five years to balance the budget. So far, only $53 million has been cut and 19 government jobs eliminated. Does anyone really believe the worst is over?
The GNWT and UNW are currently negotiating a new contract. Talks haven't been going well. There have been whispers of strike action over the government's refusal to increase salaries.
It seems the answer is staring both parties right in the face although neither is all that keen on giving up their precious Donny Days. Something has got to give.
Looking forward Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, January 5, 2016
Well, folks, 2017 is here and the future of the Deh Cho region has rarely looked brighter.
Traditionally, the dawn of the new year is a time for reflection. No matter how you view it, 2016 was a good year for our region, our communities and many of us.
Yes, there were any number of sour pills to swallow. Take for instance the spate of crime in Fort Providence and Fort Simpson, where youth crime catapulted to the forefront of community discussions as break-ins and theft became rampant.
But those break-ins prompted both communities to seriously look at the problems facing their youth and come up with solutions - that's a win in our books.
And speaking of youth, one only needs to look at the youth programming in Fort Liard to see how positive the future looks.
Fort Liard lost its hardworking, award-winning recreation co-ordinator, Roslyn Firth, but gained an equally dedicated one in Firth's replacement, Sophie Kirby.
The past year saw an economic plateau in which Fort Simpson lost at least a couple of businesses.
But new businesses sprang up as well.
The territorial government broke yet another promise on the Dehcho Process when it failed to deliver a new land quantum offer to Dehcho First Nations.
Yet the future of the Dehcho Process looks solid in the hands of Grand Chief Herb Norwegian, who is acting as interim chief negotiator.
2016 brought with it the announcement of a new ministerial special representative, Ann Marie Doyle, an advisor for both the federal and territorial governments, who started meeting with communities toward the end of the year.
That marks a shift for the territorial government, especially, which has for years been an antagonist of sorts in land claim negotiations.
In fact, the first month of 2017 should bring with it Doyle's report on the Dehcho Process, which is the first step in a potential mandate shift for the federal and territorial government's negotiating teams.
That alone will be a huge step forward for the Dehcho Process.
Of course, things look a bit bleaker when you look beyond our border. 2016 will go down in history for the election debacle in the United States, which saw politicians spend billions of dollars on their respective bids for office.
And in our own country, Trudeau has so far failed to live up to the expectations many people had for him, refusing to take a hard stance on just about anything.
His promise of a new nation-to-nation relationship with First Nations fizzled out when he green-lighted construction permits for the Site C dam project in B.C.
But here at home, the future is a bit brighter.
Many of our local politicians are still focused on positively impacting the region; in Fort Simpson, plans for a new fitness centre will be going ahead this year, while other much-needed infrastructure projects proceed as well.
That will increase the quality of life for the village.
And let's not forget that 2017 is important for Fort Simpson in another way: it marks the 30th anniversary of Pope John Paul II's visit to the community. Coupled with Canada's 150th birthday and the construction of a new Catholic church in the village, we can expect 2017 to include a celebration to be remembered.
2016 certainly had its bleak moments.
But it also served to draw our communities closer together in search of solutions. We hope that's a trend that continues in the new year.
North needs to pursue sustainabilityInuvik Drum - Thursday, January 5, 2016
My friends and relatives in the south often ask me what goes on in Canada's North.
How do you survive? What do you do? Is it even possible to go outside? The North mystified me when I first arrived too, but it became clear quickly that life up here is the same as anywhere.
The most interesting question I get is what fuels the northern economy.
That's a harder one to answer. There's some mining and a natural resource industry, albeit in economic doldrums, so inevitably I have to default to "government."
In the south, you see businesses everywhere, even in very small towns. The North is rather sparse. Government and the public sector are clearly the primary driver of the economy here.
Considering the circumstances, it makes some sense for things to be this way, but it's inherently unsustainable.
This is not meant as an insult to the North but as reality.
The federal funding that pays for the lion's share of the GNWT budget could well go on indefinitely but it is obviously wiser even down to a personal level to become self-sustainable rather than relying on federal transfers. Will the North be floating helplessly in the economic ocean or sustainable enough to weather national and global downturns on its own? Will we have our own paddle and boat or just hope the conditions don't get too bad?
With this sentiment, I hope 2017 can be a year for Inuvik and the North to pursue self-sustainability and economic opportunities. That's the kind of spirit that built the North in the first place and contributed to the impressive survival of its aboriginal groups.
On a regional and territorial scale, mining, shipping and other large-scale industries need to be supported and pushed. Tourism and other softer industries also provide ways for the North to capitalize on its assets.
Locally, Inuvik is clearly embarking on a big tourism push, but it needs to find other ways to stimulate industry as well. Let's hope the $300-million Inuvik-Tuk highway can significantly boost our mining, exploration and tourism sectors, because a road to a community of fewer than 1,000 people shows a clear danger of being just another make-work project. It's due to be completed this year.
But from countries to territories to towns and individuals, pursuing self-sustainability is a worthy goal for any new year. Get out of debt, achieve positive cash flow, be healthy, take care of your own house and the rest will follow from there. What's good for the individual is good for the nation.
Happy new year.
