Around
Nunavut
August
20, 2004
Hall Beach man accused of multiple molestations
An accused child molester from Hall Beach appeared in court this week protected
by a publication ban on his name.
The 51-year-old man accused of molesting six girls, between eight and 12 years
old, sat quietly in the Iqaluit courtroom on Wednesday morning as his lawyer
requested an adjournment until later this month.
He faces 13 charges of sexual assault and sexual interference stemming from
incidents between August, 2003 and March, 2004.
In a previous court appearance in May, Justice Beverley Browne included the
man's identity in a publication ban, which usually only covers the names of
the victims.
August20,
2004
ITK youth conference on hold
The annual national Inuit youth conference held by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
has been delayed by lack of funding, the event's organizer says.
Franco Buscemi, youth intervener for ITK, said the conference lost funding
when Prime Minister Paul Martin shuffled government departments earlier this
year.
The conference was originally scheduled for February.
Buscemi said the department formerly known as Human Resources Development Canada
split into skills development and social development, and severely reduced funding
for his work, putting the annual conference at risk.
Buscemi said on Aug. 11 that he will meet with member organizations of ITK
to discuss options. He said a new date for the conference will not be chosen
until further funding is confirmed.
Youth interested in participating can get in touch with their regional Inuit
association.
August
20, 2004
Poverty activists go high tech
Anti-poverty activists in Nunavut and the rest of the North have banded together
on the Internet to pool their resources and plan how to help Northerners in
need.
Mary Ellen Thomas, an activist in Iqaluit, said the new e-mail group will serve
as a place where people can swap information and ideas on how to combat poverty
in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
She said the site will help activists who often work alone, instead of teaming
up with like-minded people or organizations.
Anyone interested in subscribing to the list-serve can find more information
at www.povnet.org, or e-mail
povnet@povnet.org.
August
20, 2004
Premature babies show long-term effects
Babies who are born before their due dates can suffer long-term damage, researchers
at Yale, Stanford and Brown University medical schools have found.
Brain scans of eight-year-olds who were born around 28 weeks show significantly
smaller brains than children who are carried full-term. One researcher called
the smaller brain size "a striking and significant development abnormality."
The damage was evident in parts of the brain responsible for reading, language,
emotion and behaviour. Boys are more affected than girls.
A recent study in the Baffin region found pre-term birth rates that were three
times the national average.
The scientist behind that study cited STDs, cigarette smoking and high blood
pressure as well as stress, anxiety and depression as recognized factors in
pre-term births.
August
13, 2004
Homicide ruled out in Lucassie death
RCMP won’t be making any arrests in the death of Maggie Lucassie, 34,
after preliminary autopsy results ruled out homicide.
RCMP found the Iqaluit woman’s body in an apartment in building 985 around
midnight on July 29 after being called to the scene about a disturbance.
RCMP declined to comment on whether alcohol was a factor, saying more autopsy
results were pending.
Sources close to Lucassie said she was taking painkillers for a broken arm
shortly before her death. Her funeral was on Aug. 6.
August
13, 2004
Parks Canada staffers could strike
Parks Canada employees are in a legal strike position as of today, but Nunavut’s
three national parks are not likely to be affected.
Negotiations between the Public Service Alliance of Canada and Parks Canada
have stalled over the employees’ demands for more money, job security,
and better safety standards.
Kevin King, regional vice-president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada
for Alberta, Nunavut and N.W.T. did not want to “tip off our employer”
by revealing details of a possible strike, but did say that staff in Nunavut
would participate in some way in order to achieve a collective agreement.
“Certainly, when we’re in a legal strike position, they’ll be
working to the exact parameters of their contract and nothing more, perhaps,”
King said.
King had yet to discuss the removal of administrative staff with his counterparts
in Ottawa.
The legal strike position begins seven days after the conciliation board reviewing
the negotiations released its final report. The union has already rejected that
report, saying that wage issues were not adequately addressed.
August
13, 2004
Suspicious deaths still unsolved
Police are still waiting on DNA testing results to help them solve the killing
of Rhoda Maghagak, found dead in her home five months ago in Cambridge Bay.
Const. Chris Coles, the RCMP’s media relations officer in Nunavut, said
the delay comes from their forensic labs’ priority system, which puts national
security and multiple homicide cases ahead of others.
Coles said that the delay would be the same whether the samples were coming
from Nunavut, or any other part of the country.
“Unfortunately, good police work takes time,” Coles said. “We
are not living in a TV world.”
Cambridge Bay residents, including local MLA Keith Peterson, have complained
about the length of the investigation of the 49-year-old woman’s death,
which occurred around March 12.
Peterson has told police he’s concerned that a murderer may be still at
large in the community.
Police are also still working on Nunavut’s first homicide of the year:
Pee Korgak was fatally assaulted on Jan. 9 in his home in building 305, near
the cemetery in Iqaluit.
Police recently received autopsy results from the South, but refused to release
further details on the 40-year-old’s death, and no arrests have been made.
Anyone with information can phone 979-0123, and ask for the investigating officer.
August
13, 2004
GG awards Brewer
Living with pride: Long-term Iqaluit resident Allison Brewer waves the pride
flag at a picnic in Iqaluit three years ago. (FILE PHOTO)
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Allison Brewer is getting a Governor General’s award to honour her efforts
in promoting equality for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered people.
Among her many activities, Brewer has organized the annual Pride and Friends
of Pride picnic in Iqaluit for the last four years.
Brewer’s list of achievements includes over 30 years of volunteerism,
freelance journalism, labour and pro-choice activism, and work to promote the
equality and rights of girls and women in Nunavut. Brewer was a leading supporter
of the Nunavut Human Rights Act that narrowly passed in November 2003.
The award commemorates the legal case that gave women in Canada the right to
be considered “persons” (in 1929).
August
6 , 2004
Armed man found dead
Police are investigating the death of a man in Chesterfield Inlet. He was seen
wandering around the community with a rifle and later found dead in a house
cordoned off by officers called in from Iqaluit.
RCMP officers in the community responded to worries about the 34-year-old seen
with a gun in hand on July 30. He later walked into a house, which police cordoned
off before asking for back-up from a special containment team.
Police tried to contact the man, but received no reply. They entered the house
and found he was dead. No one else was in the building.
The coroner's office is investigating.
August
6 , 2004
Bootlegger bust in
Repulse Bay
Two men face charges of
bootlegging in Repulse Bay after police received a tip from residents who heard
about a southern construction worker smuggling 40 375-ml bottles of liquor into
the community.
Police laid charges on
July 28 against local resident John Marie Ivalutanak, 30, who was already in
custody on unrelated charges.
Police allege that Ivalutanak
was acting as a middleman for Roy Dyke, a 44-year-old construction worker for
Ninety North Construction.
Police later had Dyke arrested
at his home in Bonavista, Newfoundland.
The two men are to appear
in court on Oct. 21 in Repulse Bay.
August
6 , 2004
Spy technology for
narwhals
Scientists will outfit
14 narwhals in the north Baffin with high tech "spot tags" in order
to track the animals movements for the next year.
Jack Orr, field co-ordinator
for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, will arrive in Resolute Bay tomorrow,
and then join 14 other scientists in a camp at Kakiak Point, across Admiralty
Inlet from Arctic Bay.
The tags are about the
size of two decks of cards, stacked together, and are attached by minor surgery
once the narwhals are captured and tranquilized. "It's basically like getting
one ear pierced," Orr says.
Each tag contains a miniature
computer charged with lithium batteries and costs about $2,500. The tags report
the animal's position via satellite.
Nine narwhals will also
be tagged in the Beaufort Sea by Tuktoyaktuk and the Nelson River this summer.
The goal is to learn where different groups of animals travel during the winter
and summer, and how much time they spend in Greenland waters.
A veterinarian from the
Calgary Zoo is traveling with the researchers to study the effect of the procedure
on the animals. An acoustic researcher will study the sounds and echoes the
narwhals make.
National Geographic will
also be on hand with its "critter cam." The critter cam is a special
TV camera that can be attached to the narwhals with suction cups, and produce
video footage of how narwhals behave when humans aren't around.
The camera is equipped
with floats, so that it rises to the ocean's surface once the suction cups release
the animal.
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