Good on housing minister CochraneYellowknifer - Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Yellowknife North MLA Cory Vanthuyne is correct when he says it's important to get the implementation of new laws right.
There is no doubt the new Mental Health Act, passed in October 2015, is complicated legislation. As Health and Social Services staff tell Yellowknifer, the work includes preparation of regulations to go along with the new law; development of new forms and documents; creation of a review board to hear concerns of individuals held involuntarily; and staff training on the new law.
Previously, Health Minister Glen Abernethy said he hoped it would come into force in January of this year. It's reasonable to think he may have underestimated the amount of work it will actually take to properly implement. That said, 21 months have now passed with no new timeline. As more months pass by, the line between meticulousness and lethargy gets thinner and thinner.
Yellowknifer asked to interview Abernethy and a member of the staff working to implement the act in order to better discern what work the health department is actually doing. Abernethy did not make himself available and the department did not grant an interview. Instead, Yellowknifer received a canned statement assuring residents the department has "achieved substantial progress" with vague mention of the finalization of regulations, training of staff and drafting of forms.
Unfortunately, the department offered no substantial details to back up the substantial progress touted. Why won't the minister speak to Yellowknifer on this issue? Is he embarrassed by the delay? If he is, he needs to move past that and start holding his department's feet to the fire. Same for Vanthuyne. He is in a position where he can ask questions and apply pressure to cabinet on this issue. Instead, he is being very generous in giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Sure, the department needs to get it right but this work also needs to get done. Because every day, every month, every year that passes, the more people continue to suffer under outdated mental-health legislation.
Timing is right for Airbnb taxYellowknifer - Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Two simultaneous things are happening between the city and territorial government.
While the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs works to update legislation to allow the city to implement a hotel levy, the city is reviewing its business bylaw to allow for the regulation of unlicensed accommodation rentals such as Airbnb.
Airbnb allows anybody to create an account and post spaces for rent, kind of like a hotel room. People can peruse listings for any city or area to find accommodation. There are currently 92 rentals available in Yellowknife, according to the Airbnb website.
The city is reviewing its business bylaw in response to business owners in the city who feel as though companies such as Airbnb create an unfair playing field by circumventing business licence fees, inspections and regulations. Meanwhile, the territorial government is just starting to look into updating legislation to allow the city to charge a hotel tax.
It seems like now is the perfect time for both levels of government to be aware of what the other is doing, and make sure Airbnb and similar unlicensed rental sites are included in the new territorial legislation.
To Kivalliq with loveEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, June 28, 2017
For most of my time in the Kivalliq, I've taken my late Dad's advice in trying to keep my eyes and ears open and my mouth shut.
There was so much to learn and absorb, but, in most cases, I grew to understand why some things worked and some didn't.
Understanding is a big thing with me.
It's not enough to know and apply the formula. I am driven to understand how the formula works.
I was driven batty for the longest while trying to understand how an audio CD sent to me from Liverpool, England, would often be in my hands in a week, while a package sent from the Maritime provinces, right here in my own country, would take between two to three weeks to find me.
That led to many hours of reading about, and getting a grasp on, different postal systems, and the effects of privatization, outside contractors, unions, etc., to understand why some systems are inherently better than others.
There are some things about calling Kivalliq home that simply defy logic, and to dwell on them is a recipe for disaster.
Prices, of course, top the list. For a small population base in the big picture, those who set our prices did such an outstanding job of holding us for ransom, that retailers across the country began to take notice.
I still take it personally when I see advertisements for free shipping anywhere in Canada, and then I'm told somehow we slipped outside the Canadian borders overnight.
You learn to deal with companies that, once they realize you're not about to hop into your vehicle and go to their physical location to complain, have a quick drop in customer service.
Then there are the ones that don't have a clue where we live.
After paying a ridiculous amount of money to have new speakers express delivered in an attempt to beat any confrontation between them and -40 C temperatures, I will never, until the day I die, forget the FedEx employee who was ready to swear on a Bible that their truck had been to my home twice that day attempting delivery.
Nor will I forget one year when I had to prove I actually live in Rankin Inlet (you're all aware of that notification, I'm sure), and, while speaking to a representative in Newfoundland, I was asked how did he know I didn't commute to Rankin. Can you imagine?
I can get annoyed, at times, when there's a certain hockey game I want to watch and then, much to my chagrin, I find out I don't actually live in any region of Canada. Access denied!
The only time I completely fell into the trap, and almost drove myself bonkers through frustration, was during the first few years of the program to end all programs, Nutrition North.
My gosh, I'd be listening to someone toeing the party line, defending the program, and telling me it was working exactly as intended, when, suddenly, it would hit me right between the eyes that these people are running the country. Our country! And they dress so sharp, too.
At least now, every time the feds throw millions more at it, it's great fun to think back upon the fact that Canada Post preparing to raise its rates to deliver the old Food Mail program was one of the catalysts behind Nutrition North. That, and some guy bragging about how he shipped his new tires up under the Food Mail program. If I heard a Tory politician tell that story one more time ...
There are still times you have to bite your lip so hard, that you almost draw blood.
Companies up here don't worry about PR because, being almost all monopolies or oligopolies, they don't have to.
Still, while your hand shakes holding the Visa that's about to be dinged two grand for your flight to Winnipeg â•„ and one of the suits with the airline you're flying on is saying publicly they won't even miss the $10-million annual contract they just lost â•„ you tend to swallow hard, if your mouth isn't totally dry with the realization that the fish on the hook is you!
And yet, at the end of the day, there's still nowhere else I'd rather be. Go figure!
The more you learn the more you earnNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, June 26, 2017
The last two editions of News/North have featured inspiring stories about perseverance and hope.
It's graduation season in the NWT - a time to celebrate the accomplishments of youth who now hold the key to a better life with their high school diploma. You can see the pride in the faces of grads in our annual "Congratulations Graduates" special section that is included with this week's News/North.
As reported in News/North ("'We are strong aboriginal people'," June 12), graduation in a community such as Inuvik comes with a special level of recognition for student achievement.
"The majority of us are aboriginal graduates," said Jackson Christie, valedictorian for East Three Secondary School's 2017 class, said on June 3. "The aboriginal rate of people graduating in Canada is just over 40 per cent. We beat those odds."
He called his class the indigenous future of Canada.
"We are strong aboriginal people," said Christie. "We have challenged each other to succeed."
Christie correctly stated that those graduates who stay in Inuvik will become the backbone of the community in the future. Twenty-three students graduated this year from East Three. There were 17 last year.
In Behchoko, Jamie Wetrade-Stevenson and Noelene Nitsiza had one message for fellow graduates and students at Chief Jimmy Bruneau School during their valedictory speeches - never give up.
Wetrade-Stevenson, 18, moved to Yellowknife from Behchoko last year to complete her final year of high school ('Two valedictorians have one message'," News/North June 19). Struggling there she decided to return to study in Behchoko.
"I wanted other people to know that you can fail a whole semester and still be able to graduate on time," Wetrade-Stevenson said in late May. "You could go through one of the toughest moments of your life and still come out to where you want to be."
She said she hopes overcoming her difficulties will inspire others to do the same.
Statistics paint a bleak picture of high-school graduation rates for indigenous students compared to non-aboriginal pupils.
GNWT figures from November 2016 show the overall average graduation rate in the territory at 67 per cent. But that's bolstered by Yellowknife, where graduation rates are more than 80 per cent, and the regional centres, just under 80 per cent. In the smaller mainly indigenous communities the graduation rate is around 43 per cent.
Graduation rates in the NWT are consistently lower than the rest of Canada. The Conference Board of Canada has noted the situation needs to be placed in context, as people in smaller, more remote communities face hurdles such as: language, family and community support, traditional economic roles, infrastructure and governance.
The board has noted deficits in infrastructure such as all-season roads, energy distribution, and a lack of good Internet connectivity combine to "impede the delivery of education services to remote Northern communities."
Many people are still needed to engage in traditional hunting, trapping and fishing at home to help their families. Moreover, the conference board stated almost a third of indigenous children and youth in the North do not count English as their first language.
Despite all of the roadblocks some youth face, every year you will read stories in News/North about those who manage to make it.
They deserve to be heralded as modern-day trailbreakers for their families and communities. They have avoided the many pitfalls that have sidetracked many of their friends. They have seen what kind of bright future comes with even a high-school diploma.
And if they pursue a college diploma or a university degree and stay in, or return to, the North, statistics show they will earn more than their non-aboriginal counterparts with the same education.
If that means indigenous youth in the North are getting their just rewards after overcoming struggles not imaginable to non-aboriginal students in the south, then it's about time.
Gun crime stats a wake-up callNunavut/News North - Monday, June 26, 2017
Nunavut has a problem with firearms. Since 2012, the RCMP and the territory has been involved in a firearm safety blitz, which included town hall meetings, a gun safety video, distribution of military-issued storage lockers to Canadian Rangers, and a give-away of an estimated 11,000 trigger locks, one for every firearm in Nunavut.
RCMP went door-to-door in 10 communities to talk about gun safety and hand out the locks. And in the legislative assembly earlier this month, Health Minister George Hickes stated the government of Nunavut has contributed $180,000 towards the trigger locks initiative.
When the program started in 2012, the RCMP dealt with gun-related calls about once every four days. In 2016, the RCMP responded to more than 200 calls for service where a firearm was a factor -- about one call every 1.7 days.
Those figures are alarming, and gun owners in Nunavut should be alarmed. Rifles are necessary tools in the North for hunting and predator defence-- something most southerners will never understand.
People down south never have to endure watching their money melt away like butter after just one grocery shopping trip in an Arctic community.
The need to hunt to put food on the table means Nunavummiut need guns but the rates of gun-related crime should be a wake-up call for gun owners. There might be no practical way in the North to manage gun ownership but Nunavummiut can manage gun culture.
Gun owners need to take personal responsibility to ensure their firearms are as safe as possible. Education is key, and needs to start young - in the classroom and at home, stressing that guns aren't toys, or a cool prop for taking selfies. They are tools but dangerous tools that need to be handled with respect.
All Nunavummiut need to actively engage in what creates gun tragedies: seven per cent of Nunavut's calls to police relate to mental health, according to RCMP statistics. The territory needs to do a better job at addressing people's mental health, before they reach for a firearm to hurt themselves or someone else. That means increasing services and working together to combat the stigma that keeps many people from accessing mental health resources.
Hopefully the latest statistics will sink home the reality that Nunavut has a gun problem that affects everybody, and everybody should do their part to correct it.
Homelessness help required Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, June 23, 2017
The cost of ending homelessness in the city was reduced by $34 million last week.
The 10-year plan presented to city council by consulting firm Turner Research & Strategy Inc. now calls for a price tag of only $113 million.
The sarcasm is intended, of course, because $113 million is still an enormous figure regardless of where it is being spent. More cynical minds might consider any number of major projects over the years - by any level of government - and be hard pressed to find one that didn't far exceed original cost estimates. Deh Cho Bridge anyone?
The $113 million estimate is expected to cover construction of 240 new affordable housing units, rent support for 127 other units, a rapid rehousing program, expansion of the case management system, construction and operation of 80 permanent supportive housing units inside a single facility, plus 80 additional units.
It's a massively ambitious program to take on what has become a massive problem in the city.
Stephen Gaetz, director of the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and professor at York University, in 2015 described Yellowknife's homeless problem, on a per capita basis, as worse than Toronto's.
Everyone here knows how bad it is. The question becomes - as always - what to do about it once the cold reality of dollars and cents are factored in.
Alina Turner, lead consultant on the homeless plan, said most of the money will still need to come from the territorial and federal governments.
This is a given. In a city that struggles to pay the bills for replacing water and sewer lines, such a plan could not proceed without major help from the GNWT and the feds.
Coun. Julian Morse expressed optimism that spread, over 10 years, the cost is "actually very cheap."
We don't share his optimism. More than 10 million dollars a year is not cheap.
The unfair demand from the GNWT to build a $30-million water treatment plant without extra funding, the federal government's unwillingness to announce how it will ease the burden on the North once carbon pricing comes into effect, among many other tight-fisted examples that could be raised, ought to make council wary of jumping too far ahead without ensuring the higher levels of government are fully in their corner.
The case obviously should be made that the city's homelessness problem is really a territorial problem. Many of the people considered "homeless" are visitors and migrants from other NWT communities, who whether by misfortune or otherwise, have found themselves on city streets.
It's great that a price tag has been presented on what is needed to fully tackle the city's homelessness problem.
Hopefully the hardest part won't be finding the cash.
Best commissioners are ambassadors Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, June 23, 2017
Please extend a friendly hand to Fort Providence's Margaret Thom, the new commissioner of the Northwest Territories.
Officially announced on June 14, Thom takes over a largely ceremonial role that went without a heir apparent for 13 months. In the great scheme of things, having or not having a commissioner is of no major consequence. The government ran just fine under deputy commissioner Gerald Kisoun after Thom's predecessor George Tuccaro's term ended last year.
A good commissioner, however, such as Tuccaro and his predecessor Anthony Whitford, can play an important role in being an effective ambassador for the North.
A commissioner is essentially the federal government's representative in the NWT - similar to the role performed by a lieutenant-governor in the provinces. The primary job is to give assent to legislation passed by MLAs. The part that requires skill is public relations - with the public and visiting dignitaries alike.
Thom, 66, was deputy NWT commissioner for six years under Whitford (from 2005 to 2011) so she has plenty of experience and understands what the job entails.
More importantly, she's a life-long educator, facilitator and volunteer with decades of on-the-ground service to the NWT and its people.
A mother to four and grandmother to nine, Thom is a Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee medal winner, a member of the NWT Education Hall of Fame and was honoured with a NWT Wise Woman Award in 2000.
Thom is the third woman to hold the NWT Commissioner role, following Cambridge Bay's Helen Maksagak, the first woman and Inuk to hold the office, from 1995 to 1999; and Inuvialuit politician Glenna Hansen, from 2000 to 2005.
Thom should be a great asset to the North, a role model for women and men. We wish her well.
Lack of energy found at energy showInuvik Drum - Thursday, June 22, 2017
Inuvik should be hungry for investment and anything that could stimulate the regional economy, but you wouldn't have thought so listening to the opening statements at the Arctic Energy and Emerging Technologies (AEET) conference and tradeshow last week.
We can cut the usual hosts some slack. They live in a small town and might not be public speaking stars. All of these introductory gigs must blend together at some point and their introductions can become as generic as everyday pleasantries.
Duane Smith, president of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, shows the ability to ad lib and say more than the standard fare. I always look forward to his "Aariga!" introduction to see his reaction to the (lack of) reaction from the crowd. One day, we'll all shout aariga back, but not today.
People paid a lot of money to come to this conference and they only have two days to network and get things done. Introducing every cabinet member in the room with a clap inbetween takes way too long.
But past that, it was disappointing that Industry, Tourism and Investment minister Wally Schumann simply read off a long essay for his keynote address. I didn't fully comprehend what he was talking about until I read the speech later on the GNWT's website, because it was a little too dull to keep anyone's attention.
This guy should be absolutely buzzing about the energy industry in the Northwest Territories. He should barely need notes, let alone have to read verbatim from a prepared speech.
In addition to that, he started his speech by saying he had been on the road a long time and was looking forward to going home. That's like starting off a first date with, "Yeah, I can't wait to get out of here."
Some of the leadership in Inuvik and the NWT didn't give the impression they cared about the AEET that much. Sadly, the empty tradeshow in the arena reflected that lack of energy.
It's a dire time in Inuvik. There's so much that could be said. A number of non-profit group in town say they are on the brink of closure because of the poor economy.
Inuvik needs life. The AEET was supposed to be a huge opportunity for local leadership to do everything they could to encourage investment.
Hopefully the actual conference was more productive for attendees. The networking potential when you bring together that kind of crowd is still real, despite the dull air to the show.
Maybe our leaders don't get how bad it really is here. Guaranteed, government salaries can do that. They might know the words to the song, but it's not real to them.
Town council is similarly frustrating. Members seem to prefer sleepy, empty meetings when nothing important is discussed. They don't seem energized to action. Maybe summer will change that.
Or, perhaps everyone's just waiting for the bust to end and a new boom to start. But not everything about fate is out of our hands and subject to larger powers.
