A long path out of homelessnessYellowknifer - Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Felix Seiler is right. A crisis does indeed play out daily on Yellowknife's downtown streets, it has for years and Seiler can definitely be forgiven for his impatience on improvements.
Common sights downtown include street harassment, fighting, blood on the sidewalk, human excrement, liquor bottles, public fighting and people passed out in various locations.
This is why last year, the City of Yellowknife, territorial government, Yellowknives Dene First Nation, RCMP and several non-profit organizations released a comprehensive "road map" to combat these social ills. The plan is quite comprehensive, including the establishment of "community safety officers" who would act as bylaw officer/social worker hybrids, Housing First, extended shelter hours, a sobering centre and an alcohol management program.
All of these initiatives are at difference stages of implementation but work is being done. Yellowknife isn't going to see change overnight - it's important to stress this. But it will be interesting to see what downtown looks like after five years or so, if all of the plan's initiatives are functional by then.
One thing Yellowknifer is disappointed to learn, though, is that the RCMP has declined an offer to occupy a satellite office in Centre Square Mall. RCMP is an integral part of the homelessness action plan and specifically named as taking a lead role in recommendation #7 - the creation of street outreach services.
It would seem as though a police presence at Centre Square Mall would fall under this recommendation. It would definitely help deter harassment and abuse while providing outreach for vulnerable people who need it.
Centre Square Mall management offering this space for free is just gravy, so it's mind-boggling RCMP wouldn't jump at the opportunity.
It's a long road from where we are to the place we want to be, as a city. Many organizations are coming forward to help us get there, which is exciting. Yellowknifer encourages RCMP to show they are planning to provide help along this road as well.
Suboxone program simplifies recoveryYellowknifer - Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Prescription drug addiction is a specifically insidious problem because of the way it can blindside anyone.
The addiction can start with something as simple as a post-operative prescription for painkillers, or a teenager rifling through his or her parents' medicine cabinet. Wherever it begins, it can be extremely difficult for some to end the dependence.
Now that extremely dangerous fentanyl pills have made an explosive entrance onto the drug market, the territorial government is responding by getting serious about withdrawal management.
In December, the Department of Health and Social Services made Naxolone, a drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose, available for free over the counter from pharmacies. Now, the department is considering expanding access to opioid maintenance therapy, which is basically a prescription to methadone or Suboxone, which helps manage addiction. Right now this program is available in Yellowknife but the territorial government is considering expanding it to communities across the territory.
When a person is experiencing addiction issues, they are vulnerable. It's important to make sure therapy is available to them as easily as possible.
According to Health and Social Services spokesperson Damien Healy, nurse practitioners, physicians, addiction counsellors and other health-care professionals can provide referrals to the program. The easier it is to access treatment, the better.
Time to lighten upEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, February 22, 2017
I have to come straight out of the gate on this one and admit I laughed, and rather heartily, when I read a Facebook post by a local RCMP officer describing the attempts of a very intoxicated male trying to break into the RCMP station in Rankin Inlet earlier this month.
Who knows where the poor guy thought he was, or if he came up with some sort of liquor-induced plan for regional dominance one cop station at a time, but being drunk enough to be trying to break into a cop station kind of leaves this poor soul off of Nunavut's criminal mastermind list.
The officer included absolutely no information in his post that could have revealed the identity of the man, and, in fact, asked that no one post any names on Facebook.
Well, to put it bluntly, all hell broke loose in the comments section over the post.
While there were more than a few posters who told some folks to lighten up, and others who simply stated they found it to be a funny story, many folks immediately reached for their poison quill and attacked the integrity of the officer on numerous levels.
Some called for his badge, and others threatened to take the post to the media or have it forwarded to his supervisor so he'd be disciplined for what they considered to be an extremely offensive post.
I'll leave my opinion out of this on the media outlets that grabbed the Facebook post, word for word, and presented it like a story.
Journalists and editors who lift things directly from Facebook and put them into their paper and/or online editions can make life difficult for the rest of us, and it adds fuel to the misconceived notion that writers, just like police officers, are never truly off-duty.
My only complaint in all my years of living in Rankin Inlet are the folks who can't tell the difference between referee Darrell, newspaper guy Darrell, and just plain old Darrell.
So, it's a subject I don't mind admitting being more than a little sensitive to.
I had a hard time understanding the viciousness of some of the comments thrown in the officer's direction, although I was not surprised at the use of mental health, stereotyping (even though the post gave no clue as to what colour the man's skin was), insensitivity and so on, and so on and so on, as the vehicles to carry their indignation and outrage over the post.
We are quickly becoming a nation of humourless victims; painfully oversensitive and serious at all times, just waiting for someone to offend our values or to make a mistake while trying to enunciate their own feelings or beliefs so we can humble them into silence with a steady stream of politically-correct jargon.
Some things are just plain funny.
Believe it or not, sometimes people are just trying to put a smile on your face with what they say or post, with no underlying messages, hidden agendas, political statements, or social statements involved whatsoever.
To many these days, that seems to be a terrifying concept.
And, of course, once the cat is out of the bag, we immediately have to deal with what type of cat it is, what types of cats it's speaking to, what other animals may be privy to the information and not understand how it relates to them, and who, exactly, is trying to exert their authority in an attempt to prove they are the alpha male of the neighbourhood, whether it's actually their neighbourhood or not.
It's enough to make your head ache!
It's time we learn to lighten up again and not be so easily offended by every little thing.
Sometimes, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and walks like a duck, it is actually a duck, no more, no less.
Food for thought.
PM can't substitute substance with selfiesNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, February 20, 2017
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is politically astute enough to know that taking his lumps in public plays better on nightly newscasts than his predecessor's tightly scripted events where ordinary voters were kept well at bay.
Trudeau's national town hall tour has opened the lid on a well of public dissatisfaction, whether it be over skyrocketing hydro rates in Ontario, backtracking on electoral reform, or the prime minister's uncertain support for oil sands extraction in job-strapped Alberta.
But it also allows Trudeau to play to his strongest suit; as a man of the people bedecked in blue jeans and open collared shirts, among us, listening to our concerns. We must give credit to Trudeau for entering the lion's den so willingly. Stephen Harper would never have allowed himself to be exposed in such a manner.
Alas, Trudeau's town hall visit to Yellowknife confirmed some of our worst fears about him - that he doesn't particularly know much about the North, nor, as a politician, seem to place much importance on the people living here.
His North is the one his daddy used to visit in buckskins for canoe trips down the Nahanni River - majestic and beautiful but peopled with no one of significance.
Tuktoyaktuk mayor Darrel Nasogaluak, who undoubtedly appreciates the beauty of the land as much as anybody, knows which side of his bread is buttered and it's not by idealistic minds sipping lattes in Toronto.
Nasogaluak told the prime minister people in the region were upset with his unilateral decision to place a five-year ban on oil and gas drilling in the Arctic, while reminding him of the importance Trudeau has placed on consulting aboriginal people on matters of interest.
Trudeau lamely answered about the "need to work together" on ensuring doors are opened to "economic opportunities" without identifying a single one.
Trudeau also drew chuckles from the crowd when he suggested there is no black market for alcohol in the North, part of his defence for legalizing marijuana.
He did offer his support for the construction of deep-water ports and an all-season highway to the diamond mines but the prime minister has given no indication to date that he is at all serious about funding such projects.
Love him or hate him, Harper took pains to emphasize the North in his vision for the country.
Under his leadership was born the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency which boasts of $222 million in investments for northern projects during his reign. His government contributed a further $200 million to build the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk highway that would have serviced the oil and gas industry Trudeau has killed.
Economic development, plus social development, were key planks in practically every Throne Speech delivered under Harper. Go to the section on Canada's North on the Liberal Party's website and you will find its commitment to increase the Northern Residents Tax Deduction by 33 per cent - no doubt much appreciated - and a $40 million increase over four years to Nutrition North, but pure bromides about economic development, which is kind of key to ensuring a strong and successful territory.
This is where the Liberals falter time and again with the North. Trudeau talks a good game and looks good doing it but doesn't appear ready to break from this mould any time soon.
Youth voices must be heardNunavut/News North - Monday, February 20, 2017
It was fitting to see a child eager to ask the first question at the town hall during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit to Nunavut.
As evidenced elsewhere in our pages, youth are not only taking the lead in our communities but are also being encouraged to do so by hamlets, schools and community groups.
Take the example of Gjoa Haven junior Canadian Rangers doing the hard work of mapping out local travel routes. Or the Mamaqtuq Nanook Cooking Club, which gave children a chance to share their skills preparing food at Iqaluit's soup kitchen last month.
With a population now greater than Yukon, and more than half under 25, Nunavut needs to consider that youth need to be taken more seriously and given more agency in their futures.
The recent creation of the Cambridge Bay youth council - under the direction of the mayor - is one of the best recent examples of real power being put into the hands of youth in this territory. It's great to see the proceeds from this month's Kitikmeot Trade Show auction are going to help support youth programs in the region, with the bulk going to support Cambridge Bay's youth council.
More hamlets and the government should follow Cambridge Bay's example. Create youth councils with budgets to run programs they believe would make a difference. Send representatives as emissaries to share the concerns of local youth.
The territorial government's youth parliament holds the promise of such an idea but falls short as it is promoted more as a fun learning experience than a chance to have a say. Youth from across Nunavut come together in the capital for three days every other year to learn what legislators do. Considering the cost of bringing students from each constituency into Iqaluit, it would be a better investment to give these youth some real power.
The government is currently recruiting assistant deputy ministers through a Toronto recruitment firm.
Imagine if the government put the same effort into preparing young people for their inevitable roles as Nunavut's future leaders.
Imagine putting aside money for a student - paid part-time wages - in each consituency to make a long-term youth parliament that meets alongside Nunavut's legislative assembly.
Imagine legislation enacted by adult legislators as the direct result of engaging with those representing the other half of the territory's population.
It's wonderful to imagine and come up with ideas such as this. It's another to see the long-term value of listening to the concerns of our youth in a way that makes them believe their voices can and will be heard.
Monitoring key to measuring impacts Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, February 17, 2017
Environmental reviews, studies, reports and analysis surround all modern industrial projects that are expected to have an environmental impact.
The public has come to expect these exercises to describe how proposed projects will negatively impact the environment and regional wildlife populations that inhabit the nearby environs or the people who rely on a given area for sustenance, water or livelihood.
So it was a welcome surprise to discover that the NWT Power Corporation's Bluefish power plant has helped to create what is essentially a new spawning ground for lake whitefish, lake trout and ciscoes in the plant's outflow areas.
The discovery came out of ongoing environmental monitoring that began in 2012 while the plant was under construction. Ongoing monitoring meant power corp. could work with environmental scientists to optimize water flow so as to protect the newly discovered spawning environment.
Generally speaking, environmental monitoring protocols are put in place to protect the environment and detect negative impacts in their early stages so they can be corrected.
So it's good news all around when those same protocols detect an environmental benefit and can be used to preserve and maximize that benefit.
The North offers a unique environment with, for example, lake trout spawning in moving waters, something not seen in more southerly ecosystems.
It is heartening to see environmental monitoring in the North not only protecting the environment we all share but discovering and contributing to a fuller understanding of the northern world.
This discovery will contribute to future industrial projects in the North and may, through dissemination via scholarly channels, contribute to projects elsewhere.
Without robust environmental monitoring nobody would have known fish are thriving in an area that is also used by industry.
Juno nods shows value of NACC program Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, February 17, 2017
Three more northern artists have joined an exclusive club that have been recognized nationally for their work.
Greyson Gritt and Tiffany Ayalik, who make up the duo Quantum Tangle, and Isis Essery, a graphic designer, have all been nominated for this year's Juno awards. Quantum Tangle is up for Indigenous Music Album of the Year for their album Tiny Hands, and Essery has been nominated her for artwork found on Gord Downie's Secret Path album.
All three shared their thoughts with Yellowknifer on how they developed their projects and being nominated, all of whom said at first they had a hard time believing they had been bestowed the honour. Their nomination puts them in the same company as Leela Gilday, who took home the 2007 Aboriginal Album of the Year award, and was also nominated in the same category in 2003 and 2015.
The connection between Gritt and Gilday is they participated in the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre's mentorship program, where established artists help emerging ones develop their craft and prepare for the entertainment industry.
Executive director Marie Coderre said the industry is very competitive in the south, and having the program helps local artists hoping to break into the scene learn the ins and outs of a difficult business in which to find success.
The number of success stories coming from the program is proof that the mentorship program is a valuable one in helping new talent find their place on the national stage.
First step needs follow throughDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, February 16, 2016
Junior kindergarten is coming to the Northwest Territories - that much is certain.
But the question remains as to how the rollout will happen and what the GNWT is doing to fund the program.
Earlier this month, the government made a surprise announcement it would be fully funding junior kindergarten in the coming school year.
That was a policy pivot sharp enough to give the average territorial resident whiplash, considering the GNWT had been adamant school boards would need to foot much of the bill for the controversial program.
As usual, the devil is in the details. MLAs are still questioning whether the true cost of the program will in fact be covered or if a good portion of the burden will fall on school divisions regardless of the minister's statements.
If indeed the funding dollars come through, this change in position is incredibly welcome news for many communities within the region, where education pressures are creating a wealth of problems that need to be addressed.
First and foremost among those problems is that enrolment in Deh Cho schools has unfortunately declined once again.
That means teaching positions could be on the chopping block when the Dehcho Divisional Education Council deliberates on its budget in June.
Nahendeh-riding communities have embraced junior kindergarten since the beginning, according to Nahendeh MLA Shane Thompson.
When the program was in its pilot phase, however, not all Nahendeh schools ran junior kindergarten. In some cases, that was because there were no children of the proper age. In others, such as the case of Sambaa K'e, a crowded school meant there was little room for four-year-olds.
The unique problem faced by small-community schools in the Northwest Territories is that often you have one teacher, who is usually also the principal, for all grade levels.
As Thompson speculates, the introduction of a play-based program like junior kindergarten in those schools not only creates an additional responsibility for the teacher, it also brings up the question of how play-based programming can co-exist with structured lessons for older children and youth.
Meanwhile, in the Deh Cho riding under MLA Michael Nadli, two communities that run Aboriginal Head Start programs are still widely unhappy with the prospect of junior kindergarten - regardless of whether that program is fully funded.
There are still many questions that need to be asked by communities. The lingering question of funding is just one of many that need to be addressed.
MLAs need to keep up their pressure on the GNWT to ensure that when junior kindergarten is rolled out to all communities, it is done in a way that does not affect the education of other students and does not jeopardize the existence of programs like Aboriginal Head Start.
And the GNWT needs to clear the air once and for all on what exactly it is willing to provide money for.
Rethinking educationInuvik Drum - Thursday, February 16, 2016
School attendance and performance continue to be a big issue in the North.
It isn't great in the first place at the elementary level and then it drops off even further in high school.
The subject is complicated. Educators have spent and will continue to spend years debating it, and it can't be solved in a 400-word editorial.
Taking an alternative perspective, I don't think public school is in all that good of a place these days, north or south.
Growing up in Vancouver, my friends and I now shake our heads incredulously at how poorly we were prepared for the world.
Everyone passes public school down there but I'm not sure that means it's cranking out geniuses.
Notably missing was any sort of financial or economic education.
Most 18-year-old graduates in Canada, I would bet, cannot tell you how to do taxes, what interest is, basics of how economies function or even where the government gets its money. A lot of my peers now at 28 can't even explain half those things.
It is predatory how these young adults are pushed into signing up for expensive college degrees when many of them can barely articulate what a loan means. In the Western world, we're teetering on the edge of a bubble because of that.
I didn't like school. I get why youth don't go. I'm not saying it's right. But I get it, and I wish they had better options.
I think it's sad how much lost potential we have in high school.
For many bright young people, that 14- to 18-year-old age range is one of the peaks of their lives for inspiration, creativity and drive. They could be doing a lot more for the world than going to school.
Nowadays, that contribution to the world is delayed even further with the near-compulsion to attend a post-secondary institution. In some ways, we're just extending childhood.
Some people could take what I'm saying as anti-education. I'm anti any sort of monopoly on what education means. I am absolutely pro-education, but with a diverse view of what education entails.
This rigid ladder of grades, levels and institutions we must grind through from childhood until adulthood serves more to choke and limit the progress of the world than enhance it.
A fundamental education is vital to every society. Defining how to achieve that is where opinions might differ.
What really matters is being able to harness the special abilities unique to all of us. There is no useless person in the world, and no one who can't contribute if put in the right situation.
To flip the subject around, the goal has to be an education system diverse enough to empower each individual, rather than trying to make everyone fit in the same box.
