Rocky democracy better than any dictatorshipNorthwest Territories/News North - Monday, September 11, 2017
Democracy is the best type of government. Period. You disagree? What would you rather have? An absolute monarchy? An oligarchy? Perhaps communism is more your style?
Or how about no government at all in a libertarian state?
Democracy and its variants seem to be the best, as tested over time. It is a natural progression of the human experience. The people, in theory, retain supreme power, but we delegate it to representatives in a central governing body.
Democracy it is not perfect. And it is often not pretty.
Democracy with all of its ugly warts is most alive in smaller NWT communities where voter turnout is typically very high and the politics are local and often personal.
No matter where elections are held, whether in Calgary or Colville Lake, they must be fair and people must believe their vote will be counted. Any whiff of impropriety must be traced to its source and rectified.
It's not unusual to read in the media about allegations of impropriety. A quick search through the News/North files shows several examples of ballot-box brouhahas, from Tsiigehtchic to Fort Liard and from Fort Smith to Behchoko.
As you read in News/North last week, there has been a call to overturn the June 12 election for chief and council due to the irregularities ("Allegations fly over Behchoko election," Sept. 4).
Allegations of drunken voters hardly able to stand, interpreters swaying votes and mismanagement of polling stations initiated a civil lawsuit from runner-up candidate for Behchoko chief Leon Lafferty.
As reported last week, the former Behchoko chief and MLA is asking the NWT Supreme Court to overturn the June 12 election results for chief and council due to the irregularities.
Lafferty was one of five candidates running in election in the community but lost to incumbent Clifford Daniels by a margin of 36 votes, 416 to 380.
Here are some allegations sworn by witnesses: Ballots not being shown to scrutineers; a poll clerk at one polling station left it unattended while helping out at other polling stations; interpreters assisting the elderly and mentally disabled swaying votes by pointing to specific candidate names on the voter card, or assisting with the marking of the voter cards; and that one of the people doing counts was texting during the count.
There has been no response to the suit from the community government of Behchoko. The next court appearance of both parties will take place in the NWT Supreme Court on Sept. 22.
Now that's all pretty spectacular stuff, but also must regarded as allegations until decided on in court. And thankfully, there weren't any complaints of violence or property damage.
The Behchoko, Gameti, Wekweeti and Whati community governments were established in 2005 with the Tlicho Agreement. The composition and role of the community council, eligibility to vote, the duties of the chief, powers of these municipalities are also defined by law. Similar agreements exist for various communities across the NWT.
The good thing is that elections are happening and that people are coming out to vote.
When communities are very small, things can get personal. We would hope people could refrain from attempting to subvert democracy during the campaign, the voting process, or by making false allegations afterward.
After all, money directed to lawyers in fights over election results is money that won't be helping communities.
Change? Or just different letterhead?Nunavut/News North - Monday, September 11, 2017
Last month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau split the long lamented Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, or INAC, into two separate departments.
Minister Carolyn Bennett became minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, while Trudeau shuffled Health Minister Jane Philpott to minister of Indigenous Services.
Inuit leaders, including Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami's Natan Obed and Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna, welcomed the move, but signalled cautious optimism.
Perhaps this is because Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs sounds awfully close to Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Just as that sounded an awful lot like the name before that -- Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. Or Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.
The name has changed so many times over the years but the difference this time is that Indigenous Services -health care, water, and other community services - will get special attention. Heaven knows Indigenous communities in Canada need it.
Trudeau promises this move signals not only a rebranding of INAC but its death. He promises his government is making a serious push for decolonization through the pending death of the Indian Act. The act's intention was to assimilate Indigenous people in the land now called Canada.
Seven generations after the implementation of that Act, we can see its effects.
Nunavut remains hampered by household crowding, the country's lowest health outcomes, the lowest percentage of high school graduates, and an infrastructure deficit that would require an impossible investment to match national standards. The Conference Board of Canada has shown Nunavut's social outcomes - Indigenous income distribution, poverty, and employment - to be the worst among Canadian provinces and territories.
Remote Northern Ontario reserves such as Kashechewan continue to come to national attention for their perennial struggles dealing with water and health crises.
And last week, the bus company Greyhound said it can't afford to continue servicing the infamous Highway of Tears in northern B.C. If the company pulls out, the First Nations people will be forced to hitch-hike to travel between communities, and leaders fear the move will leave more of their women at risk from predators who have already taken so many.
Colonialism has a long tail, and it will take a great deal of effort and investment to make life easier for Indigenous people in Canada.
Trudeau's decision to split INAC is inspired by a long-overlooked Royal Commission report from 1996, which laid out a roadmap for decolonization. The Toronto Star notes the Chretien government saw implementation as too expensive. But Trudeau has taken the first steps to follow the guidance of that commission.
The commission's report calls for providing Indigenous nations with the land and resources needed to establish self-government, the right to levy taxes, and control over their own social systems, as well as control over who can do what on their lands.
Sound familiar? Nunavut has shown the way, and yet we have so far to go. The federal government needs to be prepared for devolution, major infrastructure investments, and increased funding for health care and poverty reduction.
Trudeau has a long road to building trust but the first signs are promising.
The government now needs to back up its rebranding with actions that make a measurable difference on the ground here and in southern Indigenous communities.
Don't shut out reporters Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, September 8, 2017
Love it or loathe it, the media plays an important role in democracy: it keeps citizens informed, holds organizations accountable and shines a little light in the darkness.
And when it comes to elections, journalists are there with their smartphones and prying questions, trying to keep them "free and fair."
Two weeks ago, about 50 Yellowknives Dene First Nation members attended the candidates forum for Ndilo chief to hear the three candidates -- Alex Beaulieu, Ernest Betsina and Shirley Tsetta - speak ahead of the then-upcoming Sept. 6 election. Following an opening prayer and a members' vote, all of the media - CBC, Moose FM, Yellowknifer and Native Press - were shown the door.
The journalists had no choice but to respect the request to leave, but there is a lot wrong with this picture. First and foremost, as candidate Tsetta said at the time: a lot of eligible voters weren't able to make the forum and now wouldn't be able to read or hear about it later.
For those who think that's not a big deal, the last race for Ndilo chief was decided by a single vote. In 2013, now-incumbent Betsina defeated Tsetta by 122 votes to 121. Then-acting chief Roy Erasmus Sr. wasn't far behind either with 108 votes. So every vote really does count.
It's understandable there is distrust of media within Indigenous communities, especially non-indigenous media. To that end, Yellowknifer offers its commitment to providing news and information to all its readers, including readers who voted in the Ndilo election.
Our main goal for showing up to the candidates forum in Ndilo was to report on what was said so Yellowknives Dene First Nation members could make well-informed decisions about who they want leading them.
In that spirit, Yellowknifer wishes to congratulate Chief re-elect Ernest Betsina and thank all the candidates for answering questions in the Sept. 1 edition of the newspaper.
The Q&A article allowed the candidates to identify the issues they felt were most important to the community and their plans to address them if elected chief.
All voters need that information, because it helps them decide how to cast their vote. And later, to hold their elected leaders accountable.
X can mark the spot Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, September 8, 2017
The federal government caught up with the territorial government this month -- Canadians can now choose to have either male, female or X on both their NWT government ID and their passport.
This is a stride towards a more open and equal Canada. It's also an example of how the NWT can lead the way.
That said, the fight isn't over and the X isn't always a freedom -- it can open people up to all sorts of problems, especially in countries less tolerant than Canada.
For now, the federal government is urging discretion while traveling, at both the destination and any transit country where the X might be a red flag.
The next step is to pressure the International Civil Aviation Organization, that mandates gender on documents, to remover it completely.
That's what Lane MacIntosh, who is in the process of switching to the X, says is needed -- because the political is personal.
"Not having gender on ID doesn't take anything away from you. But having an identifier that is not correct for me, that affects me," MacIntosh told Yellowknifer.
That is a very good point. The world needs to catch up to Canada.
And Canada has the opportunity now to champion the removal of identifiers that do more harm than good.
Geographic challenges shouldn't stifle ambitionInuvik Drum - Thursday, September 7, 2017
It's likely no surprise to residents of Inuvik that living in the far North can feel isolating at times.
For some NWT communities, the reality is that the only way in and out is by plane.
Luckily for Inuvik, the town is situated on the Dempster Highway, which connects people to Whitehorse and beyond.
In just a few months, Inuvik will also link up with Tuktoyaktuk on the new all-season road.
The world is becoming increasingly connected these days, and that means people are exploring more opportunities beyond their own backyards.
Unfortunately, that doesn't change the fact a plane ticket south can cost an arm and a leg.
And for anyone looking to head to university, get involved in sports tournaments, or compete in activities beyond the community level, that can be a major barrier.
So you could forgive 14-year-old Inuvik teen Savannah Elias-Beaulieu for wondering whether she lived too far North to enter the Miss Teen Canada Globe pageant in Toronto this year.
In the end, it turned out she was able to take part, and from Aug. 16 to 27 she competed against 13- to 17-year-old girls from around the country.
Although it cost Elias-Beaulieu a whopping $17,000 to be in the pageant - money she fundraised - it paid off.
She not only won the pageant's audience choice award, but was dubbed the fourth runner-up, meaning she's now headed on to bigger, better things.
In November, she'll represent Canada in a pageant in Honduras - the first time a girl from the NWT has taken part in the international event.
What's important about Elias-Beaulieu's story is she didn't let significant barriers stand in the way of giving her goals a shot - an attitude everyone in Inuvik should be inspired to live by.
As Elias-Beaulieu told the Inuvik Drum, she's wanted to be in pageants since she was a little girl.
Getting out in the world not only gives young residents like her an opportunity to grow and expand their horizons, but it helps put
Inuvik, and the North, on the map.
As Elias-Beaulieu mentioned, she had a chance to showcase her culture during the pageant by wearing her atikluk, polar bear mukluks, a matching headband and ulu earrings during one portion of the event.
She's not the only Inuvik resident putting themselves out there either.
The Inuvik Robotics and Engineering Club has its sights set on starting a territorial competition this year.
The idea is that the winner would move on to compete against teams from other provinces and territories in the future - another opportunity for residents to test themselves, but also show what the territory is made of.
Raising the money to take part in these activities in a small town is no easy feat. There's only so much money to go around and everyone wants a slice of the pie.
But as Elias-Beaulieu's story shows, a little faith and a lot of hard work can make the risk worth the reward.
City getting taken for rideYellowknifer - Wednesday, September 6, 2017
The city's safe-ride program has a big fan - the RCMP.
At the Aug. 28 municipal services committee meeting, RCMP staff Sgt. Alexandre Laporte said his organization is seeing a significant decline in calls for service downtown, meaning, he said, police are now able to put their resources in "the right areas."
That is, fighting crime.
While a legitimate congratulations to the Yellowknife Women's Society is in order for delivering a program that has done a staggering amount of good for the city in a short period of time, Yellowknifer can't help but notice a bureaucratic disconnect.
The city is paying for safe ride because it was unable to secure funding from the federal government's Homelessness Partnering Strategy. Apparently the program, which transports vulnerable people off the street to the sobering centre, shelter or hospital, doesn't fall within the federal government's funding criteria.
Meanwhile, one of the main beneficiaries of the safe-ride program has turned out to be - other than the people it picks up - a federal agency, the RCMP.
This is not fair. The city doesn't have an official mandate to fund housing and homelessness issues, yet has gone above and beyond by contributing $178,000 to the program - including an injection of $78,000 on Aug. 28 -- to get it to the end of the year from when it began in June.
Coun. Niels Konge had a salient point during council on Aug. 28 when he expressed hesitation to continue funding the program. As long as the city is doing it, why would the federal, or even territorial, governments step in?
Now, it's a reality that federal government departments can get a bit silo'ed, so Yellowknifer hopes the people who administer funding through the Homelessness Partnering Strategy realize how much of a benefit it has proven to be to the Mounties. The city shouldn't be expected to spend an estimated $360,000 per year on this, and quite possibly could end up deciding it can't.
The next step is to figure out how much money is being saved in not having to use police or ambulances to pick up intoxicated people and take them to safety.
If there are significant savings, the safe-ride program must be completely supported and utilized in other jurisdictions. Money talks. Or should.
If the safe-ride program doesn't fit the federal government's Homelessness Partnering Strategy funding criteria, the problem doesn't lie with the program. The problem lies with its funding criteria, and this needs to be rectified immediately.
Indigenous voters key in fight for NWTYellowknifer - Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Good on Conservative leader Andrew Scheer for admitting an ignorance of Northern issues and coming to Yellowknife in an effort to change that.
As he learns more about the history of his party and the North, he is surely going to find he has quite an uphill battle if he wants to gain the trust of its Indigenous voting majority. That is because Scheer's predecessor, former prime minister Stephen Harper, didn't leave the greatest track record.
Yes, he is responsible for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which opened a chapter of repentance over the government's dismal treatment of Indigenous people in residential schools. But Harper also famously refused to open an inquiry into why such a vastly disproportionate number of missing and murdered women in the country are Indigenous. His government also wasted millions of tax dollars fighting Indigenous people in court over treaty rights.
On the other hand, the Harper government did make northern development a priority, establishing the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency while focusing on Arctic sovereignty and signing off on a devolution deal with the NWT - a project the previous Liberal government was unable to deliver.
Today's Liberal government may be vulnerable in the NWT on its demand for a carbon tax if it fails to mitigate rising - and unavoidable - costs on home heating fuel, diesel power generation and travel.
The Conservatives will always have votes in Yellowknife and other regional centres such as Hay River and Inuvik. They came close in 2008 but their failure to pick up votes in Indigenous communities continues to deny them a seat in the NWT.
Scheer would be wise to address that problem because the Conservatives will continue to lose in the NWT if they don't.
It's gotta be the shoesEditorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, September 6, 2017
There are three things I will not miss should I ever decide to leave Rankin Inlet and Kivalliq News.
Those are: the cost of living in Rankin, the ridiculous amounts of money we're forced to spend on things such as cell and Internet service, which don't deliver a service anywhere near the cost, and the lack of professionalism when trying to deal with the Government of Nunavut (GN) in any meaningful way.
The truth of the matter is, I'm lucky to have had as many years writing in newspapers when journalists had trust and respect.
Don't get me wrong, today's media has brought the distrust upon itself. What passes for news online today gives me some very bad feelings.
Journalists used to be the minders, but, today, I can't help but wonder who's minding the minders.
And, to make matters worse, the majority of today's journalists remind me of the humour that once surrounded party supporters. You can put a Tory and a Liberal in a room together and let them argue away the hours, but when you open the door at the end of the day, you're still going to have a Tory and a Liberal come out.
Too many of today's journalists have their minds already made up on a host of topics. The best argument in the world could be presented to them on a given topic and they'd spend all their time arguing against the argument, rather than processing the information.
On the other side of the fence, press secretaries, spin doctors and gag orders, keep the modern media in its place most of the time.
And, for honest scribes, it's frustrating as hell.
Operation Nanook recently took place in Rankin Inlet and I spent an afternoon "attempting" to interview the good folks on the ground.
Some stuttered, some turned pale, some were very impressive with their ability to repeat the party line right down to pausing where the commas were when they read it. Some simply walked away, but none would consent to an interview.
When Coral Harbour recently hosted the territorial trials in Arctic sports for the upcoming Arctic Winter Games (AWG), bad weather prevented the entire group from Chesterfield Inlet, including star athlete Andrew Bell, from competing at the event.
I try not get caught up in the win-at-all-costs hype, and I also firmly believe there are far more benefits to attending the AWG than counting the number of ulus you win.
And given my history as a hockey official, you better believe I subscribe to the theory of rules being put in place for a reason, which is not so that they can be broken.
That said, what are the rules when the Kivalliq equal of the Great One in Arctic sports cannot attend the AWG because of bad weather? Is there any sort of appeal process?
These are policy questions that should get answered in the blink of an eye, but, my hopes for an interview got ignored for three days by all but one man. Try as he may, he did not have the authority to grant a policy interview.
I miss the days of co-operation, when there were rules to the game.
Oh well, there are other pressing issues in the world to be sure. I wonder what type of shoes Ivanka Trump is wearing today?
