To paraphrase Beyonce, if you like it, then you should put a name plate on it.
The Northern Arts and Cultural Centre has been selling gold-plated name plates as a means to raise money for its theatre seats since the 1980s. Once again they are offering the plates as a way for people to give a personalized gift to someone, or a way for businesses to support the organization.
The plates have become a tradition, with many having their own stories as to how and why they were given, according to executive and artistic director Marie Coderre. The plates are engraved according to the buyer's request, then put on the armrest of one of the 313 seats, with donors choosing which one. The tradition continues with plates removed during 2012 renovations that were placed in a collection hanging on the wall.
Buying the name plates is a way for people to literally leave their mark on the arts scene in the city, as well as donate money to an organization that supports artistic endeavours, such as cultural programming and bringing national and international talent to the North. The organization provides more than entertainment for the public, they support performing artists and give the North a home base to grow their own unique brand of expression.
It has been said the arts are a window into the health and vibrancy of a community, so it makes perfect sense for the community to support it beyond buying tickets to shows.
An issue long overdue
Deh Cho Drum - Thursday, January 12, 2016
For anyone who has spent time at Fort Simpson's recreation centre or paid attention to how many water lines break during the winter, it's fairly obvious that there is infrastructure work and building maintenance that has been neglected for years.
Thankfully, the recently passed budget for 2017 has one theme at the heart of it: building up Fort Simpson.
In the words of village mayor Darlene Sibbeston, money for infrastructure is "long overdue."
It's true. Councillors have mentioned many times during meetings that some of the village's buildings have not been maintained the way they should be. That's led to fundamental problems such as heating and ventilation at the recreation centre, which this year will be getting an overhaul of its HVAC system.
But that's not the extent of it. The kitchen is being renovated, and eventually - although likely not in 2017 - drainage issues beneath the curling rink may finally be addressed.
That's not to mention the planned construction of an entirely new fitness centre, which will undoubtedly take over some of the activities currently being carried out in the recreation centre.
But the highlight of the budget for this year is really the planned tearing up of Antoine Drive to replace water and sewer mains as well as curb stops.
Much of the water and sewer piping in Fort Simpson is old. Some of it has never been replaced. And each winter, the village pours money into repairing frozen lines.
That's something that fundamentally affects residents and will hopefully improve the quality of life in Fort Simpson once the project is complete.
And speaking of quality of life, one of the most important aspects of Fort Simpson's infrastructure and building maintenance is future follow-ups.
The village council needs to ensure they do not order a one-time fix and then neglect Fort Simpson's infrastructure again.
Not only would that be poor planning, it would also be an unfortunate waste of money and resources.
Councillors should take this opportunity to change the direction council has gone in for many years. Instead of relegating building maintenance to the bottom of the priority list, it's time to take responsibility for the existing infrastructure here in Fort Simpson.
That means having a plan in place to address problems as they crop up, instead of letting maintenance issues spiral out of control.
At the end of the day, the bill for the village will be smaller and buildings will be in better shape.
As the village takes a more responsible approach to infrastructure and maintenance, hopefully it will do the same to its promise transparency - in this case, referring to having recordings available of its meetings.
If councillors can follow through on those issues, 2017 will be a year to remember.
Wise southerners light the way
Inuvik Drum - Thursday, January 12, 2016
You can call them latte liberals or Cadillac conservatives depending on your political perspective, but the phenomenon of the well-off and powerful wishing to instill their virtue through force on the rest of us is common across societies.
When Tom Zubko and town council members talked about southerners overruling Northerners with Premier Justin Trudeau's Christmas surprise to ban offshore drilling in the Arctic ocean, I can bet very strongly, as a former southerner myself, there weren't many people in the south even considering Northerners might feel that way.
To those who grew up in the big cities and went to university and faint at the thought of a chicken being butchered, the compulsion to spread their virtue is natural and unchallenged in their social circles.
Oil is evil - forget about what we use to fuel our lives, what brought us to this incredible level of prosperity, what so many of our products are made of - oil is evil and we must shed ourselves of the barbarism of the past, the barbarism your simple minds cling to like your guns and religion, to steal an Obama quote.
So separated from the sweat that built this nation, for these people, what matters is the virtue signaling. Your social rank is governed by how many of the ideals you verbally uphold - they don't expect actions to mimic words in any of this, mind you - and how forcefully you call them out.
Trudeau, clearly, is among this class and takes great pride in following the latest virtuous trends. It's 2017, after all.
For this ilk, the stroke of a pen and creation of law is what brings change and progress, not the efforts of humankind. Their virtues are then rammed down the throats of the weak. It is a compulsion to control the world, though in their minds it is a more noble endeavour.
Northerners are certainly used to this show of force by now, living in somewhat of a repetitive history of outsiders telling them what's good for them.
But should Inuvik and other northern communities express their upset with Trudeau's actions, it might put the virtuous southerners in a pickle. On one hand, they don't want the oil drilling, but on the other, they want to support anyone they perceive as small and victimized.
With hope, pragmatism might rear its elusive head and something of a meeting in the middle could result.
It's not that all their virtues are wrong or disagreeable, but that the blunt use of force is the wrong way to achieve their goals.
Likely, many Northerners share concerns with Trudeau about the impacts of offshore drilling.
Let's hope all Canadians can be more fully included in future decisions, instead of the elite waving their wands over the rest of us.
Yk firefighting a tale of two cities
Yellowknifer - 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 in
Yellowknifer - 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 chills
Editorial 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 decide
Northwest 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 attitude
Nunavut/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?
