Problem solving time for Jr. KNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, July 10, 2017
Junior Kindergarten is a worthy educational tool that has been a long time coming for communities across the NWT.
For some families it will be an extension of day-care programs already offered. Hence the concern from some of those providers, including those involved with the Aboriginal Head Start program. Since Junior Kindergarten is optional, it can be argued all of the early childhood care providers should be able to find some form of accommodation
Of course, there will be an adjustment period.
In fact, News/North continues to hear from, and report on various people and groups who are identifying areas where the introduction of territory-wide junior kindergarten is posing problems. For some it's akin to fitting a square peg into a round hole.
News/North suggests these people get out the carpenter's tools and start shaping that square peg as the next school year is coming fast.
In recent time News/North has reported concerns that some schools in the South Slave region may not be ready for junior kindergarten students next year unless bathroom and classroom renovations are undertaken this summer ("Last-minute renos for Jr. K causing concern," July 3).
It sounds as if there could be some real problems in terms of accommodating the junior kinders, as GNWT's bureaucratic wheels aren't moving any faster than their usually speed of dead slow. Those renovations were apparently caught up in red tape and are intended to be made - at one point.
Territory-wide junior kindergarten is a major government initiative - a sea-change for the education department - that had rough start since expansion of Jr. K was halted in 2014.
So there has been a fair amount of time for the GNWT to get things right for this re-launch.
But it just seems that Jr. K is being rushed. Such as how are the tykes going to travel to Jr. K? In some communities, it won't be a problem. And in some families, since the children are already attending some form of day-care, it also shouldn't pose a worry.
The South Slave Divisional Education Council has determined it will not bus junior kindergarten students to Harry Camsell School ("Safety a main reason Jr. K students off buses," News/North July 3).
Concern about safety of three and four-year olds (yes, there could be some three-year olds, depending when their birth dates are) on buses and at bus drop-offs, particularly in the winter, was pointed to as a primary concern.
Overall, if some facilities aren't quite ready come the first day of school, then other accommodations will have to be made. Ones that don't involve having the kids staying at home with their families.
Junior kindergarten is a necessity in a region that sees a shocking number of students dropping out of school and very low rates of students going on to post-secondary education. We have high rates of drug abuse and our justice system is extremely busy dealing with young people who have fallen off the rails.
The issues are varied and also change from community to community but the GNWT has correctly determined that many children need to get involved with a structured system early on in life.
So we ask that all people involved with setting up Jr kindergarten programs do their best to get the program started, as it will offer uniform early education for children across the territory.
The next generations of young people in the NWT need to have all the tools needed to survive and thrive. Their success will be the key to a stronger, happier and healthier society for everyone.
Energy corp must think beyond dieselNunavut/News North - Monday, July 10, 2017
The Iqaluit hydroelectric project is dead in the water - and that's very unfortunate.
The project is on hold because funds were not available to continue. Bruno Pereira, president of the Quilliq Energy Corporation, said it didn't seem "appropriate" to invest further in the project, which has an estimated total cost of $356 million.
Part of his argument is that the power company is spending "significant money" on rebuilding aged power plants across the territory relying solely on diesel. According to the Climate Change Secretariat at the GN's Department of Environment, QEC is responsible for maintaining 26 stand-alone diesel plants in 25 communities, including two in Iqaluit. There is no back-up grid, and most of those facilities are starting to look their age. Power plants have an expected lifespan of just 40 years but Grise Fiord's plant is 54 years old, while Cape Dorset's is a spry 53, Cambridge Bay's is 50, Kugluktuk's doesn't look a day over 49. Nine other plants were built in the 1970s and are due for a facelift.
The Secretariat reports that in 2012-2013 Nunavut imported 180 million liters of fuel, including 44 million liters of diesel used for electricity generation and 63 million litres for heating. That's a huge number, with an even bigger impact-- climate change is very real, and the North, as the canary in the climate change coal mine, is literally melting under the heat. Over a decade ago, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change started predicting the Arctic could be ice-free by 2100 but now, it seems almost every year those dates are clawed back. Some scientists clock the start of year-round shipping through the Northwest passage as early as 2040.
The time for sustainable energy was yesterday.
Strides are being made -- QEC installed 11 solar panels in Iqaluit connected to the power grid; the project will be monitored to assess the potential for people to connect their own solar panels to the grid. Similarly, a SolarWall project at Alaittuq High School in Rankin Inlet has been going since 2002. A 2016 report determined that Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, Baker Lake, Arviat and Sanikiluaq had the best conditions for a wind power project in Nunavut.
And while costs are initially high for these types of projects - getting new infrastructure in place doesn't come cheap - long term, the cost will be much lower. While it's important to keep the lights on today, the territory and the federal government needs to be investing in alternative solutions - whether large or small scale - to start changing how electricity is generated in Nunavut. If not, we'll be talking about this exact issue in another 40 years.
Downtown depression Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, July 7, 2017
According to a new survey, the majority of people dislike downtown Yellowknife. The survey, conducted by Ipsos Reid, found 73 per cent of respondents disagreed that downtown is "vibrant and exciting."
Of the 600 people contacted, 29 per cent said that their quality of life had worsened over the past three years.
Catherine Knaus, director of polling at Ipsos Reid, told city council the results indicate a pessimism present in Yellowknife not seen in other communities.
Downtown, do you need a hug?
Frustration has been growing downtown as more and more businesses close their doors or move. The malls are one zombie short of a wasteland, populated only by tumbleweeds and errant A&W wrappers.
The high cost of living is part of it; rents in the downtown core have continued to hover between 'totally ridiculous' and 'ludicrously unattainable.' When the cost of living is so high, it's much harder for people to pump their disposable income back into things like local restaurants and independent businesses, because - once more with feeling - there's nothing disposable about it.
Coupled with the perception that homelessness and vagrancy downtown is expanding, is it any wonder that people aren't exactly skipping with delight down Franklin Avenue?
But that perception might not be reality. At the same council meeting where the survey results were discussed, council also praised municipal enforcement and the day shelter for changes that significantly decreased the number of calls to the public library. Municipal enforcement calls to the library decreased by more than 50 per cent compared to last year, partially due to "proactive patrolling" by officers and the Safe Harbour Day Shelter extending its hours.
That's a good thing. But Yellowknife needs to do more if it wants to breathe life back into downtown. The solution isn't just warehousing homeless people or constructing some sort of elaborate Potemkin facade on the malls. City officials pointed out that the high cost of living, poverty and homelessness were issues the city "does not have full control over" - but that doesn't mean council doesn't have a pony in this particular race. Nor does it put all the pressure on the city or the GNWT to fix these problems.
A downtown core is more than just a collection of brick and mortar buildings. It's a community. Let's act like it.
A great honour for a great woman Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, July 7, 2017
Of all the influential Northerners to be honoured for their work, Marie Wilson is as deserving as they come.
She helped lead the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, she was appointed to the Order of Canada and now she has been recognized by Governor General David Johnston.
In June, Johnston announced Wilson as one of the winners of the Meritorious Service Cross (Civil Division) for her efforts to examine the effects of residential schools and pursue reconciliation.
It is encouraging and inspiring to see continued federal recognition for a formidable woman who has done a lifetime's worth of great work in pursuit of the advancement of indigenous people.
Her work has undeniably left a lasting impact on the North, where the Truth and Reconciliation Commission held more meetings per capita than anywhere else in the country.
We hope Wilson continues to leave her considerable mark in the future, giving a voice to people who need it the most and working toward healing the scars of the past.
This award is a well-deserved honour commemorating an impressive career.
Life is full of tragedyInuvik Drum - Thursday, July 6, 2017
Losing a 19-year-old son is tragic, and so is any loss.
During the memorial and road naming last week, it was hard not to get swept up in the emotion the Vinnicombes displayed as they talked about the loss of David, who died in a June 2016 heavy machinery accident.
"Davey boy, God bless," choked out father Robbie Vinnicombe at the end of his short speech. "Rest in peace, son."
Renee Vinnicombe, David's mother, spoke afterwards of her positive outlook for the future. There was nothing to be gained digging at the wounds and David wouldn't have wanted everyone to be sad for eternity either.
Life is full of tragedy, accidents, pain, stress and problems. But to get a chance to experience it is the greatest gift possible.
Every day we get to wake up and think about anything at all is a good one.
On another note, you'll not find many communities in the country that revere their elders more than people in the North, so the fact that some of the graves of Inuvik matriarchs were desecrated is particularly disturbing.
It's hard to get into the head of someone who would do such a thing and isn't just a bored child.
This petty crime wave reveals an ugly underbelly in Inuvik, one the rest of us don't interact with at community events and the grocery store. Beyond the smiling faces at the mud bog or those parading during Canada Day, there is clearly a dissatisfied segment of the population that has taken to lashing out and hurting others.
Hopefully, those people can find their way into the fold of the happy, through introspection, counselling or assistance in some manner.
Either that or get out and leave the rest of us in peace.
Colonial attitude alive and wellYellowknifer - Wednesday, July 5, 2017
The NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines is upset over the removal of 1,500 feet from an airstrip at the old Salmita Mine but no answers are forthcoming from the federal department responsible for the work.
The shortening of the runway 250 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife at Courageous Lake, which was undertaken by Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC)'s NWT contaminated sites division, seems to have flown under the radar until recently, when photos surfaced in June showing how excavating machines had chopped away a large portion of the runway.
Last week, the chamber of mines sent a letter to federal Infrastructure and Communities Minister Amarjeet Sohi requesting a stop-work order on the demolition. But the feds seem to be tight-lipped about exactly what they're doing and why.
It is possible NWT MP Michael McLeod is correct that the federal government is using gravel from the runway to facilitate clean-up work elsewhere. But that doesn't fly with the chamber's insistence there are other nearby locations with the same sand and gravel composites that could have been used instead.
McLeod's explanation is also difficult to understand given the runway is still reportedly in use by at least one company, Seabridge Gold.
Both that company and the chamber of mines told the federal government in 2011 how valuable the airstrip is, according to the chamber.
In addition, Yellowknives Dene First Nation Chief Ernest Betsina says he was never informed the airstrip was going to be shortened, despite the band using that area for hunting and trapping.
The federal government needs to explain why it failed to properly consult affected groups before doing something that could impede the economic prosperity of the region, and why it did not heed the chamber's warning of the value of the airstrip. There is no reason for such work to be done under the radar, keeping industry and First Nations in the dark is never a sensible option.
Efforts by any organization - be it INAC, the GNWT or an industry partner - to dismantle developments in the Northwest Territories need to be above board every step of the way. This is the only way to ensure proper oversight of such work.
Although the area around Courageous Lake was designated as federal land when devolution hit, this should not remove INAC's duty to consult. The department's choice to move forward with dismantling a section of the airstrip without doing so is reflective of a colonial mindset that has long pervaded the federal government.
The chamber of mines and Yellowknives Dene First Nation deserve a reasonable explanation on why INAC chose to shorten the airstrip.
No answers appear to be forthcoming from the GNWT either, despite Yellowknife North MLA Cory Vanthuyne describing the airstrip as "integral to the area's economic future."
If that is in fact the case, the GNWT needs to speak up and support the chamber's stop-work request or explain why it is staying quiet.
Silence solves nothing, and it is time governments realize they need to make concrete efforts toward transparency if they ever hope to foster a respectful relationship with anybody in the North.
The return of the enforcer: a new hopeEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Kivalliq's large hockey community had two reasons to enjoy Saturday. In addition to all the Canada Day 150 festivities, July 1 also marked the beginning of free agency in the NHL.
With the 2016-17 NHL season barely gone a month, the lure of expansion, the Entry Draft and the free agent frenzy have combined to keep plenty of hockey talk going well into the summer.
But there's been another interesting topic discussed too, speculating on the return of one aspect of old-school hockey: enforcers.
The cancer-related death of one of the NHL's best all-time enforcers added a lot of fuel to this fire. Dave Semenko, 59, was legendary in his role protecting Edmonton Oilers superstar Wayne Gretzky in the 1980s.
His presence bred confidence in a number of Oilers stars like Mark Messier, Jari Kurri and Paul Coffey, among others.
Semenko was a prime enforcer and anyone who truly understands the game of hockey and its inherent psychology has no doubt Semenko's presence gave his star teammates a lot of extra room over the years.
At the end of the recent NHL playoffs, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford created a stir when he publicly stated he was tired of the liberties being taken against Sidney Crosby and other star players in his lineup.
He promised there would be a player brought in to protect the team's top stars for the 2017-18 NHL season, who would have players think twice before taking cheap shots at Pittsburgh.
True to his word, Rutherford then went out and paid a high price in a trade with the St. Louis Blues to acquire hard-nosed winger and top enforcer Ryan Reaves.
Safe to say, there will be a little less traffic coming Crosby's way next season.
The Leafs raised eyebrows when they opted to protect rugged Matt Martin and let one of their top prospects, Brendan Leipsic, be drafted by the Las Vegas Knights expansion team.
But the Leafs have a trio of young stars in Austin Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander who respect, appreciate and highly value Martin's presence.
The three forwards are at the core of the Leafs rapidly improving team and the Leafs are willing to buy into the players own protection racket with an enforcer of Martin's ilk to dissuade other teams from messing with them.
The NHL moved too fast with its desire to eliminate 'goons' and decrease the amount of fighting in the league and, because of that, the league made mistakes.
The NHL should have eliminated the staged fighting from the game and came down hard on any enforcer who earned a major penalty against a star player.
Had the NHL done that, the 'goons' would have left with the staged fighting and there would be more enforcers in the league drawing fourth-line minutes, acting as a deterrent to attacks against their star teammates and keeping the vast majority of their physical efforts confined to aggressive forechecking, legal bodychecking and dealing with players who ignore their presence and go after those they protect.
There is much value to players policing themselves when enforcers play a role in the league and almost no value at all while it still remains open season on the league's superstar players.
The move back to having a team enforcer strengthens the game of hockey and, hopefully, teams will continue to follow Pittsburgh's example as the summer goes past.
