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Around
Nunavut
September
17, 2004
NNI turned over to
Economic Development
David Simailak, the minister
of Economic Development, told Nunavut Tunngavik's board of directors this week
that his department will now become responsible for carrying out the Nunavut's
government's Nunavummi Nangminiqaqtunik Ikajuti, or NNI, policy.
"No longer will NNI
be solely a contracting procedure. It will become an economic tool that will
be used not only to fulfill our land claims obligations, it will go far beyond
that to truly equip Inuit-owned businesses to reach their full potential,"
Simailak said.
NTI's board met this week
in Baker Lake, Simailak's home community.
The NNI policy, worked
out in negotiations between NTI and the GN, is the Nunavut government's tool
for carrying out its obligations under Article 24 of the Nunavut land claims
agreement.
Under a cabinet decision
issued Dec. 2, 2003, the NNI provides a seven per cent bid-price adjustment
to Inuit firms, a seven per cent break to "local" firms, and a seven
per cent break to Nunavut firms.
This means a company owned
by Inuit residents of Nunavut, based in the community where the work is to be
done, could get a 21 per cent price advantage over a non-Nunavut firm when bidding
for a GN contract.
Other proposed changes,
recommended in a comprehensive review of the NNI tabled last fall in the legislative
assembly, have yet to be announced.
September
17, 2004
South African mining
giant invests in Nunavut
Gold Fields, the giant
South African gold mining firm, has earned a 55 per cent share in the promising
Committee Bay gold exploration project northeast of Baker Lake.
A Vancouver-based company
called Committee Bay Resources Ltd. holds exploration rights to about 2.8 million
acres of land in the area. Though not as well-known as other Nunavut mineral
projects, exploration work this year has produced rock samples containing extremely
high grades of ore.
Gold Fields has contributed
$7.1 million to the cost of the exploration project this year in exchange for
their 55 per cent share, and could earn a 65 per cent share if it spends more
in the future.
Despite its promise, the
project is still at an early stage, and the development partners are not ready
to produce a feasibility study on a mine.
September
17, 2004
Simailak working on
infrastructure proposal
Economic Development Minister
David Simailak says he is working on an "investment proposal" to be
presented to the federal government within the next few months that's aimed
at finding money to pay for badly needed roads and ports.
Simailak, who told NTI's
board of directors about the plan at their meeting in Baker Lake this week,
said Nunavut is facing a "severe infrastructure challenge."
At the same time, he said
almost of all of the GN's budget is spent on basic day-to-day services, with
little left for infrastructure.
Simailak said the proposal
would focus on "specific infrastructure needs" required by the mining
industry, and would be aimed at encouraging exploration and development.
September
17, 2004
Eastern Arctic bowhead
population up
There are now about 3,000
bowhead whales in the Eastern Arctic, up from a few hundred animals 10 years
ago, according to a new stock assessment by the federal Department of Fisheries
and Oceans,
The higher estimated population
numbers could mean the bowhead will be struck from the endangered species list
when the Committee on the Status of Endangered Species meets in November.
In Alaska, where the bowhead
population is about 11,000, Inupiat have a quota of more than 50 whales a year.
The Nunavut Wildlife Management
Board is now expected to re-examine Nunavut's quota.
Before the arrival of whalers
in the Eastern Arctic in the early 1800s, the population of bowheads was about
11,000. Numbers had dropped so much that between 1922 and 1975 only seven bowheads
were hunted. Since 1995, four whales have been harvested in community hunts.
September
17, 2004
Tahera, KIA ink benefits
deal
The Tahera Diamond Corp.
and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association held a long-awaited signing ceremony in
Cambridge Bay last week for the Inuit Impact and Benefits Agreement that covers
Tahera's Jericho Mine near Contwoyto Lake.
The deal, required by the
Nunavut land claims agreement, was reached in 2003, and has been available to
the public since January of this year.
Under the agreement, the
company will use its "best efforts" to bring its number of Inuit hires
up to 60 per cent of the total by the fifth year of the eight-year project.
Nuna Logistics, owned by
the Nunasi Corporation and the Kitikmeot Corporation, is the "preferred"
contractor for the project and will construct a camp, diesel storage facility,
workshop, explosive storage facilities, and on-site ice access roads.
The company hopes to start
transporting mine construction materials to the site this winter, and to be
in full production by 2006.
September
10, 2004
Inuit leaders call for national suicide strategy
Several Inuit organizations have joined forces to ask the federal government to create a national suicide prevention strategy, and to call on all authorities to seek new ways of preventing suicide among Inuit youth.
The Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, its five member organizations, Pauktuutit, the National Inuit Youth Council, and the Ajunnginiq Centre at the National Aboriginal Health Organization have all endorsed the call, in a flurry of press releases coinciding with World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10.
They point out that the Inuit suicide rate, especially in Nunavik and Nunavut, has doubled over the past 10 years, despite all efforts to reduce it.
In 2002, the 15 communities of Nunavik had the highest rate of all: 82 per 100,000, followed by Nunatsiavut (the Labrador land claim settlement area) with a rate of 80 per 100,000, and Nunavut, with a rate of 77 per 100,000.
The suicide rate for the Inuvialuit of the Western Arctic is fairly low: 18 per 100,000, but still higher than the national rate of 13 per 100,000.
“A national suicide prevention strategy is needed, containing solutions specifically tailored for Inuit,” Jose Kusugak, the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, said in a news release.
Kusugak said Arctic regions need more mental health workers, more use of telehealth, better housing, and better education.
ITK, along with the National Aboriginal Health Organization, also points out that there are many undiagnosed mental health problems in northern Canada, because of the shortage of trained professionals.
The National Inuit Youth Council is calling for more community-based solutions that help young people find ways of enjoying life.
September 10, 2004
New Pauktuutit president appointed
Mary Palliser, a teacher at Inukjuak’s Innalik School, is the new president of Pauktuutit, the national Inuit women’s association.
Palliser replaces Veronica Dewar, who has held the presidency of Pauktuutit since 1998. In a news release, Pauktuutit said Dewar is resigning for “personal reasons,” and will move back to her home community of Rankin Inlet.
“I wish Mary all the best. I know she will serve as an outstanding president as Pauktuutit enters into this, their twentieth year of advocacy for Inuit women and their families,” Dewar said in the news release.
Palliser’s appointment is effective Sept. 1. Since Dewar’s term as president isn’t due to expire until the fall of 2005, Palliser will serve as president until at least that time.
At its annual general meeting in Ottawa scheduled for Nov. 8-10, Pauktuutit will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a variety of festivities.
They will also elect eight board members, a non-regional representative, a youth executive officer, and members for two board committees. For more information about nominations, which close Sept. 24, call Pauktuutit at 1-613-238-3977.
September 3, 2004
FASD tops Kugluktuk wellness fair
Kugluktuk residents are invited to a wellness fair at the community complex next Thursday, in recognition of FASD Day.
September 9, or the ninth day of the ninth month, was chosen as a symbolic date in 1999, to recognize fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, a lifelong birth defect that appears in babies born to women who drink excessively while pregnant.
People with FASD may suffer from memory problems, impulsiveness and difficulties in processing information, as well as physical problems such as facial defects.
Kugluktuk is currently host to a pilot FASD project, sponsored by Health Canada’s First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, where community teams are coming up with ways to spread the message about FASD.
On Thursday, the team will set up a special FASD booth at the fair, and hand out T-shirts, says project coordinator Sandy Steinwender.
Other wellness-themed booths cover health issues such as aboriginal diabetes, foot care, tobacco and alcohol and family literacy. There will also be a kid’s carnival and skills and sports contests.
The fair is open from 4 to 7 p.m., and re-opens at 8 p.m. for evening entertainment.
A report done by the RCMP in 2001 suggests 30 per cent of Nunavut’s expectant mothers may drink significant amounts of alcohol while pregnant, and 85 per cent of their children will show symptoms of FASD.
September 3, 2004
Christine Egan scholarships awarded
Four Nunavut nursing students will receive scholarships this year from the Dr. Christine Egan Memorial Scholarship Fund, the first Nunavut students to benefit from the fund.
The University of Manitoba’s medical college set up the fund to honour the late Christine Egan, who worked as a nurse in Nunavut for many years, serving in Iqaluit, Cape Dorset, Pond Inlet, Coral Harbour, Sanikiluaq, Chesterfield Inlet and Rankin Inlet.
Egan died on Sept. 11, 2001, in the terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Centre in New York City. She was visiting her brother, who worked at the centre.
Receiving scholarships are: third year students Rebecca Akulujuk Lonsdale and Andrea Mclarty, and fourth year students Martha Nowdlak and Sipporah Peterloosie. All four are studying at Nunavut Arctic College.
September 3, 2004
Inuit throat singers join Winnipeg symphony
Inukshuk Aksalnik and Pauline Pemik of Rankin Inlet will perform with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for two nights this month, then take part in a tour of the northern Manitoba communities of The Pas, Flin Flon, Thompson, Gillam and Churchill.
The duo, who first appeared with the Winnipeg orchestra in 2003, will perform a composition by Winnipeg composer T. Patrick Carrabre called “Inuit Games.”
Aksalnik and Pemik have also performed for Maori people in New Zealand, in Hanover, Germany, and at home in Rankin Inlet.
Their two appearances in Winnipeg are scheduled for Sept. 17 and 18, and their northern Manitoba tour will run from Sept. 20 to Sept. 25.
September 3, 2004
Court sets murder inquiry in Rankin Inlet
The preliminary inquiry in the trial of Adrien Vaneindhoven, accused of murdering 22-year-old Leanne Irkotee, will take place in Rankin Inlet in November.
Vaneindhoven, 30, was charged with second-degree murder a few days after police found Irkotee’s body on April 23.
Police released few details about the young woman’s death, the only homicide case in Rankin Inlet this year.
Vaneindhoven’s preliminary inquiry will be held Nov. 28.
September 3, 2004
Panniqtuuq teens short lawyers
A Nunavut court judge hopes all seven men accused in an alleged mob beating of three teens in Panniqtuuq will have lawyers by the next court appearance in September.
One of the accused men, wearing baggy blue jeans, a black Nike jacket and black running shoes, shrugged his shoulders on Monday, when Justice Robert Kilpatrick asked if he had a lawyer.
Andrew Evic, 18, was the latest in seven men, mostly teenagers, ages 16 to 20, to appear in court in Iqaluit on 13 charges of assault and unlawful confinement.
Police in Panniqtuuq arrested the seven men after they trapped and attacked three teens, ages 14 to 16, in a shack near the community’s breakwater on July 11. Police say the group of seven were drinking and partying at the time.
A couple of the accused men still don’t have lawyers. On Monday, defence lawyers said there weren’t enough present to handle the entire caseload.
One accused attacker, 16, cannot be named under the Young Offender’s Act. The others include Imo Kakee, Noah Ishulutak, Peter Nakashuk, and Luke Etuangat.
Their next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 20 in Iqaluit.
September 3, 2004
U.S. water agency comes down hard on Hill
The Arizona Corporation Commission imposed their toughest restrictions to date on a Vancouver man who designed and built a $7-million sewage treatment in Iqaluit that has never worked.
Trevor Hill, who used to head the now-defunct Hill, Murray & Associates, ran into trouble with his business dealings in the United States after the ACC, a public utilities watchdog, discovered he was involved in the Iqaluit sewage debacle.
In order to expand his business in a county of Arizona, Hill will have to meet requirements that commission staff said they hope will show “our trust is minimal and our expectations are high.”
Among several conditions for expanding his business in Arizona, Hill’s new company, Global Water Resources, will have to provide the commission with $1.5 million in security bonds; prove that they have them every three months; and show the commission four times a year that they are following environmental regulations.
The commission also forbade Hill from designing any of the company’s water or sewage treatment plants.
Hill appeared at the commission’s meeting on Aug. 31, arguing that there’s nothing stopping the Iqaluit plant from working.
Staff reacted less than kindly towards Hill at the meeting.
“I’m not comfortable with Mr. Hill,” said Jim Fisher, an investigator for the commission. “I don’t like what I have found. I don’t like how he’s responded to our inquiries.”
Hill’s company can appeal the decision if they don’t agree with the conditions.
September 3, 2004
A celebration for Pauktuutit
Pauktuutit, Canada’s national Inuit women’s association will celebrate its 20th anniversary in Ottawa this November, at the organization’s 2004 annual general meeting.
At the AGM, scheduled for Nov. 8-10, organizers plan a variety of festivities.
Those events include a cultural evening, with Inuit games, storytelling, country food, throat-singing, sewing and fashions, and the lighting of a qulliq.
The final gala evening will feature awards presentations, a fashion show and some special “surprises,” a Pauktuutit news release says. The organization is inviting guests from the North, from the federal government, the private sector, and will include “key Pauktuutit supporters.”
At the AGM, delegates will elect eight regional board members, a non-regional representative, a youth executive officer, and members for two board committees.
Pauktuutit is now receiving nominations for regional directors. They may be faxed to the organization at: 1-613-238-1787. Any Inuk woman in Canada may nominate any other Inuk woman for a director’s position. The seconder must also be an Inuk woman. The deadline for nominations is Sept. 24.
The organization is also seeking nominations for its Woman of the Year award. The deadline is Sept. 10.
Nomination forms are available at the Pauktuutit office in Ottawa. Their telephone number is: 1-613-238-3977.
September 3, 2004
Nunavut arts strategy on the way
Artists and arts groups met in Iqaluit last Thursday to talk about issues that are holding back Nunavut’s arts industry, from finding affordable materials to marketing the final product.
Jennifer Archer, who represented the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association at the meeting, says the meeting is the first in a series of “talks and consultations.”
Arts stakeholders are working with the Department of Economic Development and Transportation to produce a strategy document that can be presented to the GN next February, in time for the new fiscal year.
The goal is to form a unified policy that can be used to leverage more funding for the arts in Nunavut.
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