November
28, 2003
Let's stop the airway
robbers
In the South, we have a saying for a company that takes advantage of their
customers and overprices their goods and services - we call them "highway
robbers."
Have you noticed the rising cost of goods and services provided by both of
our airlines?
Today, I was quoted over $1,300 per person for travel from Iqaluit to Ottawa
at the end of the month. I would like to know how the airlines justify these
rate increases.
I can travel from Ottawa to Miami, Florida (the same distance as Ottawa to
Iqaluit), spend three nights on a cruise ship in the Bahamas, dine 24-hours-a-day
on five-star meals, and enjoy live Broadway productions for the same price.
Something is terribly wrong with the mathematics!
Please explain to me the reason for the high cost of travel. Is it the "in-flight"
meals? Then, eliminate them like every airline in the South.
Is it the free "Franklin Coffee?" Then drop it, most passengers don't
need the extra free alcohol anyway. I know that the fuel costs haven't risen
that much. It's not the increased costs of security, because each passenger
pays for airport security with the purchase of their ticket. If it's increased
maintenance costs, then it's time to look at replacing those older aircraft.
I can guarantee, the owners of each of these airlines would think twice if
they were forced to lay $3,000 on the table before they and their wife could
get into the car, turn the key in the ignition and travel three hours down the
road to visit with family. Maybe they should try this so that they can understand
what it feels like.
I was advised by a bookstore in Alberta that they were charged $20 for postage
to send a novel here to Iqaluit. Canada Post's reason for this - increased freight
rates.
We have been forced to stop sending Christmas and birthday packages to our
children and grandchildren in the South because of the increased rates. Who
can afford $6 per kilo which is often the rate after the package is cubed.
Have you noticed the increases at the grocery store? I almost fainted when
I looked at the cost of a whole chicken recently. Where is this increase coming
from - higher freight rates?
Yes, some of us live here by choice, and we could easily return to the South
if we really wanted to, but what about those wo do not have that option? Let's
put affordable airfare back into the hands of the general public where it belongs.
Let's stop the airway robbery!
Theresa Rodrigue
Iqaluit
November 28, 2003
Religion no excuse
for denying rights
I cannot believe that in this day and age, given the level of intelligence
and access to education and information, that the rights afforded to an individual
would be determined by their sexual preference.
I feel that religion or religious beliefs should not be used as an argument
against the rights given to private people.
I feel that religious bodies don't have the right to stand in judgement of
anyone given the damage that some of these so-called religious leaders have
inflicted on innocent people.
People should be treated as human beings first and foremost and be judged by
what they do and not who they choose to spend their time with.
Corinne Attagutsiak
Iqaluit
November 28, 2003
Nunatsiaq News blinded
by warped, pro-gay agenda
Your pro-gay agenda is so obvious that you are blinded by their rhetoric and
warped ideas of what is normal and what is abnormal in human society. As far
as the bishops in various churches are concerned, they will be judged for their
actions (if they really believed in God in the first place) by a far higher
authority.
Being opposed to homosexual activities and lifestyle is not being opposed to
the "person." You don't seem to be getting that message! Being opposed
to an action and lifestyle choice is far different than being opposed to the
actioner.
The rights and freedoms of the gay and lesbian person is already guaranteed
by the Charter as much as my rights and freedoms are guaranteed. I do not go
running to change the law because someone of another persuasion, faith or chosen
lifestye criticizes me.
Ian Ridpath,
Milton, Ontario
November 28, 2003
A plan to build sidewalks
in Iqaluit
I would hate to have to walk the streets of Iqaluit. It would be a dangerous
activity at the best of times.
This thought occurred to me about 25 years ago. I was in a position at that
time to do something about it, but the voters had other ideas.
Establishing sidewalks would not be a difficult task. The plan that I proposed
required a simple cement mixer, some wooden forms and a few shovels. A supply
of cement gravel, sands and re-bar. A small crew of unskilled students, a foreman,
and a fork-lift for handling the heavy panels. The complete plant could be set
up in a tent.
I proposed a sidewalk made of concrete panels, four by six feet, laid end-to-end
on a bed of gravel to keep them level. A wooden form made of two-by-eight lumber,
four feet by six feet, and eight inches deep.
Each panel would include a locking appendage, which would allow for each unit
to be keyed and locked or attached to the other. The panels would be laid along
the edge of those roads found to be the most suitable.
Due to the weight of each panel, they would require minimum care once in place.
A gravel or sand foundation would be sufficient to support them. Some sections
of roadway would require more work than others in preparation for the sidewalk.
It was decided in the original plan that only some sections of the roads would
be suitable for sidewalks. The heaviest walking traffic areas should be given
first priority: the main Ring Road section from the high school to the stop
sign at the hospital, the Four Corners to the Northern to the corner near Arctic
Ventures and continuing to Happy Valley.
It could take as much as five years to cover most of the downtown areas in
this modest way. A scheme such as this would not cost a lot of money and would
provide worthwhile jobs for students in the summer.
It is possible that funds could be found to speed up this plan and get it done
in a hurry. Whatever happens, the safety of the walking public is vital.
Bryan Pearson
Iqaluit
November 28, 2003
Most Nunavummiut support
homosexuals
The gay and lesbian debacle in Nunavut continues as Tagak Curley decides to
"save Nunavummiut" from this horrible, disgusting, democratic, tolerant,
and "un-Inuk" piece of legislation, the Human Rights Act.
Cathy Towtongie, the president of our land claims organization, has stuck her
nose in it too, claiming homosexuals are somehow lower than us, that we have
an obligation to discriminate against them for reasons unknown.
God is a tolerant and forgiving essence, at least that's my understanding of
him, and rigid church lines are no guidelines for running a territory.
One of the MLAs claimed that there are few homosexuals in his community, and
he doesn't care if they vote for him or not.
Unbelievably, this ruckus hasn't set off the alarms in Nunavut that it should
have. I hear about it, yet only to a degree reserved for 'faux-pas' or slips-of-the-tongue.
I hope Nunavummiut can realize the bigotry, hatred, discrimination, and political
expediency that takes place in our territory. Nunavut is just beginning as a
territory and the GN has the opportunity to make it a politically righteous
territory. Instead, the Legislative Assembly sees politics played out that even
southern governments would cringe at.
To any homosexuals who may read this: don't worry about it. A majority of Nunavummiut
don't see you as any different from the rest of us, just the few who can hate
their way into office or those who hate out of ignorance or for re-election.
(Name withheld by request)
Iqaluit
November 28, 2003
Opposed to gay marriages
I for one am opposed to gay marriages.
If this letter does get printed, it is not a hate letter. I just don't find
it right for my nieces and nephews, and, if I get children in the future, for
them to see something like that.
I personally think that you should keep this out of our Legislative Assembly.
They have bigger things to worry about.
Phil Kingwatsiaq
Iqaluit
November 21, 2003
"There are lots
of fish in the ocean"
Over the next few weeks, there will be a number of articles, television programs
and radio commentaries regarding the problems we are facing with suicide. I
will not go into these statistics, or comment on them at any great length. The
purpose of this letter is to provide a background to what I think is happening.
What is becoming obvious is that many - not all - suicides are expressions
of despair as a result of our young people not being able to resolve relationship
problems.
This makes sense if we think of the age of most of the people who are committing
suicide. Most are between the ages of about 17 to 25, right at the age where
the development of a relationship with a significant other is very important.
When I was that age, romantic courting was a very familiar ritual in my culture.
When I was working through developing a relationship with a girlfriend or several
girlfriends, my parents warned me that these relationships might not last, and
that likely I would have a number of disasters during this phase of my life.
Both of my parents would comfort me and tell me stories of their times when
they were young.
In cultures where marriages were arranged, or closely controlled, romantic
courting was not all that important or understood. Romantic courting in my culture
was not new, but I think that in many parts of Nunavut it is fairly new.
Many parents or elders are not all that knowledgeable about it, and so when
a young person experiences difficulties in a romantic relationship, it is difficult
to find clear support or advice. In the old days, a young Inuk would be a child
and then soon after puberty, would be expected to quickly assume the tasks and
responsibilities of adulthood.
Now we have schools, and a long period of teenage living, much longer than
before. With this come problems. A kid is a kid much longer than they used to
be. This means that romantic courting is over a longer period of time, and rejection
or romantic experimentation happens for a prolonged time as well.
In my culture, my great-great-grandfather owned a hardware store. It was called
Andrew Riddell and Son. His son (my grandfather) worked in the store and became
the eventual owner. My father worked in the store and eventually became the
owner when his father died. I was expected to follow in my father's footsteps.
In a way, there was predictability in my life, especially my vocational life.
Things changed for me, but many of my boyhood friends did take over their father's
vocation. Similarly up here, in the old days, boys and girls knew what their
life was going to be like (to a certain degree).
Now it is different, and young people have to struggle over a prolonged period
of time to settle on who and what they want to be as adults. This affects the
ability of young people to establish relationships that are not pre-arranged
and expected.
To resolve problems of suicide, and to prevent it, we must turn to our families.
Parents must learn more about romantic courting. We cannot go back to the way
it was, romantic courting it is here. We have to support our kids as they work
this through, and we must equip them for disappointment as they experience this
new thing.
There are lots of fish in the ocean. Find out about as many of the fish as
you can. In time, you will find someone who loves you and who you love for his
or her sake, not just as a possession or a "thing" you can control.
Next, I will be writing a letter to the Editor, on jealousy and how this affects
our young people in making decisions regarding suicide.
Bill Riddell
Iqaluit
November 21, 2003
We mourn the loss
of Jimmy Lucassie Munick
Jimmy
Lucassie Munick
|
We would like to express our heart-felt gratitude to the people of Iqaluit
who have helped us as we mourn the loss of our son, brother, uncle, cousin and
friend, Jimmy Lucassie Munick, who left us on Oct. 19.
We thank these people for their kind words and gestures of compassion, the
food, visits, flowers and cards:
Rev. Daniel Aupalu, Anglican Ladies Auxiliary, Jacque Belleau and Ooleepeeka
Veevee, Doug Lem and employees, Oleepeeka Gordon, Piujulia Pfeifer, Kitty Pearson,
Kitty Peter, Mrs. Stubbing, Annie Demcheson, Elizabeth Murray, Ekaluk Juralak,
Joshua Kango, everyone at Indian and Northern Affairs, the Iqaluit Fire Department
and to all of Jimmy's friends.
Thank you also to family members from Kuujjuaq and Rankin Inlet who came to
share in our time of sorrow, and for all the phone calls from Nunavut and Nunavik.
From the Munick and Gordon families
Iqaluit
November 21, 2003
MLAs don't understand
human rights act
When Nunavut legislators and a would-be premier say that we should not accept
same-sex as a prohibited ground of discrimination, they are betraying a complete
lack of understanding of the new act.
The drafters of the Nunavut act have done an excellent job in balancing existing
legal requirements with Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit.
It's too bad that some of Nunavut's legislators don't understand that. And
they obviously do not understand the separation of church and state.
The fundamentalists in the legislature believe that the Bible has more authority
than the law of the land. What they fail to understand is that, unlike the Bible,
Nunavut's laws are intended to protect not just Christian Nunavummiut, but all
Nunavummiut.
As some MLAs have pointed out, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms mentions
God. However, it does not mention the church, and for good reason. A government
that represents people who belong to dozens of different religions, or no religion
at all, cannot and should not subject its people to the rules of the Christian
church. Why should the Bible rule? What about those who follow the Torah or
the Koran? Or no holy book at all?
It is also dangerous to defend these religious beliefs as IQ. If anything,
IQ is better represented by shamanism, which was practiced long before Europeans
arrived in the Arctic, than by a religion that was brought to the north by explorers
a mere century or two ago.
But the most disturbing thing of all to come out of this debate is the level
of intellectual thought that went into the rejectionists' point of view.
We heard that the Human Rights Act should not be adopted because there is no
appropriate terminology, and it is not Inuit custom, "I haven't read the
bill," and something to the effect that "if we were to give these
people their own community, they would die out within 50 years because they
can't procreate."
Is this the level of consideration that goes into all the legislation that
this government puts forward? Don't we deserve more consideration from those
we elect?
(Name withheld by request)
Iqaluit
November 21, 2003
Youth must celebrate
and live life
I am very much touched and concerned in my heart and soul about the continuing
high rate of youth suicides in Nunavut. We are losing our youth unnecessarily.
This is a tragedy that we must bring to an end. Suicide was never the Inuit
way of dealing with pain and personal problems.
Since the 1950s and 1960s, my generation of Inuit have gone through many challenging
times. We had to deal with relocation from camps to "settlements;"
destruction of our sled dogs, our only means of transportation at the the time;
a tuberculosis epidemic; the loss of influence over our children as a result
of formal education and residential schools; housing developments in the 1960s
that changed the way we lived; the introduction of alcohol and drugs into Inuit
communities; the ever-increasing loss of language and culture; and the land
claims process that started in the early 1970s.
The purpose of our land claim was to put more control into the hands of our
people, including our elders - and to preserve our land and resources for future
generations. We worked for many of those who are now taking their lives. We
must continue working for them.
We have been challenged. We have seen some Inuit suffer and fail as a result
of these challenges. We have seen others rise to the occasion. We are adjusting
to the technological advances and using technology to adapt our lives; we are
becoming educated in "southern" ways.
But if we are to remain strong as Inuit, we must help our youth understand
and come to appreciate Inuit culture. Only Inuit culture can give young people
what they desperately need: a cultural home, a sense of pride, of belonging
and strong reasons for living.
We need elders to give good leadership and knowledge to young people. The two
ends of our population must come together and make Inuit communities work as
tapiriit (teams).
In writing this, I am speaking to all our young people. I speak as an Inuk,
as your neighbor, your fellow-Nunavutmiutaq, as an Elder and a Canadian. I speak
to you as a father, as a grandfather, and most of all as someone who cares deeply
about all of you. You must celebrate and live life. You are our future!
Peter Irniq
Commissioner of Nunavut
November 21, 2003
Should Nanisivik jet
strip be kept?
I am a resident of Arctic Bay, which is about 36 km from Nanisivik.
The zinc and lead mine which was operated by Breakwater Resources closed down
a year ago, putting a number of Arctic Bay residents out of work.
The Inuit working there were mainly already trained heavy equipment operators
and labourers, so I can't say that the mine left a legacy of trained workers.
The federal government, in partnership with the territorial governments, did
build a road and a jet airstrip, mostly to accommodate the mine operation.
I would call this a legacy, a legacy which may not be of use as they may be
closed down over the next couple of years.
One might say, why does Arctic Bay need a jet airstrip? Jets fly from Ottawa
to Resolute Bay. There is a jet airstrip in Hall Beach and Pond Inlet wants
a jet strip, too.
I am not in the airline business and I do not know if such a route is feasible.
But I do know that the North needs tourism development and the marketing of
country food.
Bill Hughes
Arctic Bay
November 21, 2003
True, solid northerners
will make changes
Even though I have some experience in politics in the North for over 10 years
on a replacement job in landholding corporations and municipal services, I feel
compelled to comment on Mr. Matthews' statement on his defeat in the electoral
race as mayor of Iqaluit.
He commented he felt like an old white boy who has to go and make room for
a new young Inuk.
This is unacceptable, and shows he feels he's losing power in controlling one's
own dominance and self-gravity. This attitude never works or will never succeed
in northern politics.
Only truth, dignity, sincerity in one's own heritage in any race, loyality,
and respect for others, and solid team-work will triumph in the North.
There will always be no other way than that. People like Annie Gordon should
be taken more seriously and taken notice with respect, and congratulated for
their efforts to make changes in politics in the North as true, solid northerners.
Jeannie Simiunie
Kangirsuk
November 21, 2003
Everyone must pay
for services
In order to preserve their "traditional values," Inuit still insist
that "the government" provide them with a living in a contemporary
society that they did not choose.
It's the fault of the government, which originally treated the Inuit as their
"dear children" for whom they must provide everything. Instead of
integrating into the Canadian mosaic as another distinct ethnic group with its
own traditions and values, the Inuit seem to have remained Canada's petulant
children who still demand that the government do everything for them.
It seems that some people will have limits put on their electrical consumption
until they pay the arrears they owe to the Nunavut Power Corporation. Doesn't
Social Services give them money to pay their subsistence bills?
Instead of, or after, again bailing them out, wouldn't it be doing them more
of a service to teach them how to live in contemporary society? To teach Inuit
that they too must pay for services received? That they are no longer children,
but responsible adults, capable of taking care of themselves?
Wasn't the strength of the Inuit their resilience, independence, fortitude,
and mastery of the environment?
(Name witheld by request)
Qikiqtaaluk Region
November 14, 2003
MLA is "unbelievably hurtful"
I agree with the sentiments expressed in the letter to the editor "God
would never behave so badly" and the editorial "Nunavut avoids embarrassment"
(Nov. 7), but I believe that at least two additional points need to be made.
Last week, a member of Nunavut's cabinet publicly equated homosexuality with
pedophilia. The MLAs were debating whether all Nunavummiut should be protected
from discrimination when Manitok Thompson said that "There have been many
young men that committed suicide that were abused by Ed Horne. That is why I
cannot accept the wording sexual orientation in this bill."
There can only be two explanations for this unbelievably hurtful statement.
Either our minister of education doesn't know the difference between homosexuality
and pedophilia, or she does understand the difference - and was trying to manipulate
people into thinking that gays and lesbians are perverted and predatory.
Perhaps I can explain the difference to her. Homosexuality is the attraction
of one adult to another adult of the same gender. All of the gays and lesbians
I know - including my sister - just want to live a happy life with someone they
love and who loves them back, and not get beaten up or fired from their job
because of the sexual orientation that they were born with. They have no desire
to "recruit" other people to their sexual orientation.
Pedophilia is a deviant sexual desire by an adult for children, a perversion
that homosexuals abhor as much as heterosexuals do. Ask any psychiatrist: almost
all pedophiles maintain "straight" adult relationships. Virtually
no pedophiles are homosexuals - the habitual molester of boys is almost never
attracted to adult males.
These facts are common knowledge among Canadians from coast to coast to coast.
I would think that the great majority of high school students in this country
understand the difference between homosexuality and pedophilia, but here in
Nunavut, the minister of education is willing to stand up in public and voice
her ignorance and prejudice by equating two things that have absolutely nothing
in common. One is a situation where two consenting adults love each other, and
the other is an act of sexual violence against a child.
The second point is the question of "Inuit culture." One MLA, who
appears to be in serious denial, said that there are no gay or lesbian Inuit
- but of course there are. Another MLA stated that Inuktitut doesn't have terms
for "gay" and "lesbian," but an elder brought in to advise
the legislature on Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit said that indeed there was.
And while some Inuit MLAs claimed that the IQ take on sexual orientation was
that gays and lesbians should not receive the same protection from discrimination
as other Nunavummiut, another Inuk MLA said that as far as he was concerned
IQ stands for all people being treated equally. What this tells me is that no
one politician "owns" a culture, and that no one politician can speak
with absolute certainty as to what "our culture" feels about any given
issue. I sincerely hope that our politicians won't make a habit of using IQ
to justify discrimination.
What if some white politicians in the southern U.S. and in South Africa had
gotten away with saying that "our culture" doesn't recognize the right
of blacks to be treated as human beings? What if some male politicians had gotten
away with saying that "our culture" doesn't recognize the right of
women to vote? What if some qablunaaq politicians had gotten away with saying
that "our culture" doesn't recognize the right of aboriginal peoples
to self-determination? (There would be no Nunavut, that's what!)
Manitok Thompson and seven other members of our Legislative Assembly don't
seem to grasp that all human beings are born with inherent human rights. It's
not up to politicians to grant or deny other people human rights - no one elected
these people to play God. Their role is simply to recognize that human rights
exist, and to enshrine them in law. Taima.
(Name withheld by request)
Iqaluit
November 7, 2003
God would never behave so badly
I am alarmed at the level of hatred, suspicion and fear I keep hearing out
of the mouths of several MLAs this week in the legislative assembly.
This all seems to be in response to the subject of human rights and the inclusion
of sexual orientation in the bill.
The saddest point of all is that they have tried to disguise it as legitimate,
religiously or culturally appropriate and even wise. What bothers me even more
is that this is being done by so-called Christians who are not too Christian
in the hatred they are spewing.
For heaven’s sake (and I mean that), who gave them the right to speak
for hundreds of us in Nunavut who do not think that way at all?
Many gay Inuit and non-Inuit and their parents, siblings, friends, co-workers
and neighbours do not think like them in any way.
Imagine if you are a gay civil servant having to work in a place where many
of your biggest bosses think like this? How must it feel in that workplace?
Are there not laws that protect people from this type of harassment, and workplace
wellness initiatives that guarantee a secure, respectful workplace for all?
Of course, and all peace-loving people understand this.
Many of the MLAs are being pushed by their somewhat recently exported southern-U.S.
Bible Belt, right-wing religion, which is egging them on, as if they must react
so strongly in this regard or their loyalty to God (and church) will be questioned.
God would never behave so badly.
Hate is hate. Discrimination is just that — ugly, dangerous and hurtful.
Any group that gangs up against any other group, then sugar-coats it in the
name of religion, is just as inappropriate as any other zealots who are willing
too fair in the name of their cause — a frightening sight to any fair-minded,
peace-loving, democratic individual.
Other MLAs tried to wrap it up in culture — that “everybody”
is against it while many of their own constituents have no problem with it.
Who is the “everybody” they keep mentioning?
The Inuit values of tolerance, acceptance, respect and connectedness are going
to be thrown out the window for some.
It is really too bad that some of the MLAs in this session are totally confused
and keep bringing in the same-sex marriage issue, thinking that is the topic
— when that is not even in this bill that they are debating.
They are going on and on about something they are wrong about. No one really
attempted to sort out their confusion and tell them they are on the wrong topic
and the sad spectacle continued, much to the displeasure of the well-informed
and the intelligent.
To make matters worse, the ones doing the most banging of tambourines in the
legislature have not even figured out yet that if they defeat the bill, they
have won nothing!
In fact, they have lost. The federal one still applies, which is far stronger
in protecting the same human rights, including “sexual orientation.”
So, if the scaremongers feel their efforts have paid off, as they have changed
hatred toward others, they will sure receive a shock when they realize the federal
law is the one Nunavut will have to follow — and they did it to themselves!
On the whole, it was a sad sorry sight to watch some people still fighting
for their own rights being in such a hurry to take away the rights of others.
All around me I see people shaking their heads in sorrow and disgust as they
saw too few confront them and exercise courage and tackle ignorance, bullying,
divisiveness and discrimination at its worst.
To those MLAs who were courageous and stood up to them and their discriminatory
thinking, you are to be congratulated for your principles and your commitment
to equality for your fellow human beings.
(Name withheld by request)
Iqaluit
November 7, 2003
Thank you for breast cancer retreat
Hi, my name is Meeka Mearns, and I am a breast cancer survivor.
I had the opportunity to attend a breast cancer retreat in Iqaluit in the beginning
of October. I would like to thank everyone who made it happen.
A thank you to Joan Brackenbury, Maureen Doherty, Gerry Rogers, First Air and
thank you to all the survivors that I met. Thank you for sharing, and you will
all be in my heart.
Meeka Mearns
Pangnirtung
November 7, 2003
How much should language preservation cost?
I understand that preservation of a people’s language is important. It
is very important.
However, what exactly is required to preserve the language? Do you need to
translate every shred of information? If you draw up a list of priorities, exactly
how important is this? Is having the government Web site available in four languages
more important that housing the homeless? Is it more important than helping
our mentally ill? Is it more important than reforming our criminals? Our language
commissioner sure thinks so.
We hear every day how there is not enough money for basic social necessities,
however, over the next five years we will be spending tens of millions of dollars
attempting what many organizations have tried and failed to do.
I could appreciate the attempt if we had a plan to accomplish a quadra-lingual
government, but we have no plan, just a directive from our language commissioner.
The saddest part is that she has no idea what she has suggested, or the faintest
clue how to implement it.
I agree that the languages Nunavummiut feel are important should have the support
of the government, but how much money should we put into ensuring every document
is available in four languages. Five million a year? Ten million a year? Who
is going to be accountable for how this money is spent, and more importantly,
how are all the costs going to be tracked?
Currently the territory is desperately short on professional translation services.
Right now this is probably the best business to start, or education to pursue.
I concede that having four official languages is a huge benefit in its job creation
possibilities, but are there not more important jobs that need to be created
and-or filled?
Since it is politically incorrect to question language in Nunavut, and the
small size of our community, I request that my name not be printed if you chose
to use this letter in your paper.
(Name withheld by request)
Iqaluit
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