More health cash vitalNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, January 16, 2017
To maintain future health spending, Premier Bob McLeod has warned his government may have to slash funding in other departments in order to compensate for federal cuts to the usual increase in Canada Health Transfer payments.
According to Finance Canada, the territory will receive $45 million in Canada Health Transfer funds in the 2017-18 fiscal year, up $1 million from this fiscal year.
But that's not enough to maintain the NWT's " unsustainable" spending on Northern health care, McLeod said in an interview Dec. 21.
"I guess a decision will have to be made whether we take money from other programs to pay for health care," McLeod said
So what is the average person supposed to do with that information? The eternal squabbling over health-care funding in this country is really enough to make a person feel queasy.
Does McLeod expect citizens to petition his brother, NWT Liberal MP Michael McLeod? Are we supposed to organize rallies in front of the MP's office? Perhaps start an e-mail campaign directly to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office?
While any of the above might help, our premier and his government must be prepared to do the heavy lifting in this battle.
There certainly shouldn't be anything but improvements to our health-care system in the North. As for cuts to other departments - maybe education, or justice, or public works? - no way, Bob.
The premier and cabinet are in the midst of a self-imposed quest for $150 million in savings or additional revenues from increased efficiencies.
Before any cuts are made to programs - if the feds can't be convinced to pony up more cash for health care - we expect an honest effort to be made find those new savings/revenues.
But before we get to that point, there is always the chance the Trudeau government will move off its insistence to cut transfer payment increases to three from six per cent.
We do applaud McLeod for joining several other provinces an territories in standing firmly against the Trudeau government's plan. A handful of jurisdictions folded after initially taking a united stand against the federal government after a unfruitful meeting in Ottawa Dec. 19
However, we hope the premier has sharpened his argument since that December News/North interview, when he couldn't provide a specific figure as to what the territory needs from Ottawa.
"We want to see more funding," he said then.
A child can make a stronger argument when debating his parents about his weekly allowance. He must attach a dollar figure if he expects Ottawa to take the request seriously.
McLeod is certainly between a rock and a hard place. But that's when we expect him to really put his shoulder into the push-back against Ottawa.
Or, he must stare down the unions and find savings in GNWT offices before any front-line staff or services are cut.
Sesquicentennial a super waste of moneyNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, January 16, 2017
Spending for Canada's 150th birthday party has been ballooning out of control since the Liberals took over a program they derided while in opposition.
The theme has also changed to a multicultural celebration from one with a more militaristic/historic theme.
The largest share of the money for the sesquicentennial - $300-million - is being delivered by regional development agencies, including the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency for the three territories.
That money is earmarked to renovate, expand or improve "community and cultural infrastructure."
Ironically, that might mean fixing up some infrastructure built 50 years ago for the centennial celebrations.
Meanwhile, the Canada 150 Fund, run by Canadian Heritage, is spending $180 million on projects ranging from small and local - plenty of fireworks displays already happened, such New Year's Eve in Hay River - to national cross-country tours.
As the Globe and Mail reported, the Harper Conservatives wanted celebrations to emphasize Canada as "strong, proud and free," while the Liberals have redrawn the event to target diversity, reconciliation with indigenous peoples, the environment and youth.
So while the Trudeau government argues with the provinces and territories over heath-care funding, it's more than happy to grab the reins of what is (now) a fabulous opportunity to drive its agenda into every region of Canada under the guise of celebrating the country's
sesquicentennial.
The money being squandered for this phony year-long party could have been much better spent, perhaps even on health care.
Faster, cheaper Internet possible with innovationNunavut/News North - Monday, January 16, 2017
There's an old saying, that when it comes to service, you have three options: fast, good, and cheap. You get to pick two.
But when it comes to Internet service in Nunavut, you're not likely to get any of them.
We've always wondered why, to date, there hasn't been a way for Internet service providers to cache -i.e. store on their own servers - websites and content such as video, so that the end user doesn't have to get that data from the southern side of a satellite connection.
Keep the most popular YouTube videos and software updates on a server in Iqaluit. Consider that Windows 10 requires a four gigabyte download, while the latest update for Apple computers requires a 5GB download. Mobile app updates, too, are too often larger than 100 megabytes, and most users need to make such updates every few days. Why does this data have to squeeze through the satellite more than once?
In light of this issue, there will be many who welcome the recent announcement that users of Meshnet - Iqaluit's community-based Internet service provider -are now able to take advantage of local storage to increase, without additional cost, the video quality of Netflix, a huge bandwidth drain in many Nunavut homes.
According to the developer of the NightShift software, Meshnet will be able to download a movie once for all of its users, and redistribute it on demand from the Iqaluit server. The developer promises huge bandwidth savings for the Meshnet user community.
But it does pose the question: if the promises come to fruition, why can't Nunavut's bigger Internet service providers do the same, and provide a true public service by increasing the speed and quality of the Internet, while reducing data overage costs that are the bane of Nunavummiut.
Despite federal support and territorial government contracts, the cost of broadband remains obscene in Nunavut. Fibre optic appears to be but a dream to speed up the Net, so we are stuck with satellite. If we all have to accept this, we call on the big players to follow in Meshnet's footsteps and make a true difference for average users.
Because for those of us who don't use Meshnet, it's not a demand for better Netflix, although that is a nice side effect. We want Internet service providers to find ways to make every megabyte or gigabyte of data coming through the satellite to count so that we can keep some of our money.
It seems a no-brainer that ISPs would download a popular video once for the community, not once for every user. If a small single community ISP can do it, why can't the big companies?
And to go one step further, if Meshnet can offer unlimited bandwidth over satellite for a fixed rate, why can't they?
It's time to start asking your service provider what they're doing to be responsible with your money and public funds. Innovative solutions exist, and now we all know about one that could make a real difference.
Our money, and our bandwidth quotas, is too precious not to be used to improve essential government services, or just to put more food on the tables of Nunavummiut.
Sebert strikes out on asbestos info Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, January 13, 2017
The New Year brought an excellent opportunity for transparency minister Louis Sebert to step up to the plate and hit a home run. Instead, he struck out.
Dr. Andre Corriveau, the NWT chief public health officer, has said it would be helpful for the territorial government to make public its list of buildings that contain asbestos. He said this kind of information could be valuable, for example, to firefighters who would then know beforehand if the burning structure they are dealing with contains asbestos and take appropriate precautions.
It could also help avoid situations like in 2012 during renovations at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre where the government was fined $115,000 for failing to ensure workers were not exposed to asbestos.
There have been two deaths since 2012 in the territory linked to past asbestos exposure and 27 claims filed with the NWT and Nunavut Workers' Safety Compensation Commission over the same period. Twenty of those claims originated in Yellowknife.
"There is no safe level of exposure (to asbestos)," Corriveau said.
The GNWT keeps a list of buildings containing friable asbestos, the most dangerous kind, but the Department of Public Works maintains there is no need to make the list public as it would not be "best practice" to simply rely on the list to ensure worker safety.
True, detailed risk assessments on a case-by-case basis are certainly required but to suggest it is not in the public's interest to reveal baseline information on what buildings contain asbestos does nothing to make people safer.
It only reveals a government in panic mode trying to tamp down potential controversy.
Given the record of deaths, claims and fines related to alleged failures to protect workers from asbestos exposure in the NWT, the public could be excused for not taking comfort in the government's decision to keep the information under lock and key.
For a government supposedly intent on transparency this is a glaring contradiction. Despite Yellowknifer seeking comment, Sebert has not yet answered our questions about his role as the government's transparency minister and the decision to withhold information about any asbestos hazard in government buildings. Instead, his handlers lamely insist it's not the minister's job to be a transparency watchdog.
If the GNWT's failure to present a list of public buildings containing asbestos is not something for the transparency minister to comment on, then his post can only be described as transparently vacuous and irrelevant.
Name plates support the arts Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, January 13, 2017
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.
