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December 24, 2004

Nunavut needs Iqaluit-Rankin-Cambridge flight

In the early 1970’s, Commissioner Stuart Hodgson recognized that the Northwest Territories was in need of a new airline route linking Yellowknife, Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit.

He turned that idea into a reality by chartering, on behalf of the GNWT, first a Lear Jet, then later a turboprop Gulfstream nicknamed G1, and ultimately a Lockheed Electra. From this initiative sprang the routes of the former NWT Airways airline.

Last week, I was searching for an airfare from Iqaluit to Cambridge Bay. My trip will last eight days. The air fare is in excess of $2400 and involves staying in Yellowknife for two nights going west, and one night coming back east. It is time for a bold step.

It is time for the Government of Nunavut to recognize that dozens of people are flying this route, losing enormous amounts of valuable time and spending to many Nunavut dollars in the NWT.

I think it is time our government department responsible for transportation got creative and worked out the logistics of chartering a connecting flight that will take passengers on a direct route from Iqaluit to Rankin to Cambridge. We need the linkage and we need the dollars we are currently spending to support the economy of the NWT.

Bert Rose
Iqaluit

December 24, 2004

Thanks to the searchers from the Erkidjuk family

My name is Theresa Fox, and I’m writing on behalf of my family, to say thank-you to all those who helped with the search and rescue of my grandfather, Celestine Erkidjuk, who went missing Dec. 4 2004.

We are forever grateful to those volunteers of the Hunters and Trappers Organization, the RCMP, and also all of you who helped search day and night in the cold to find him.

If it wasn’t for the strong will and determination shown from the men and women who helped to find him, he wouldn’t be here today. You are all forever in our hearts and prayers.

We can’t thank you all enough, God bless you all.

From all of the Erkidjuk family: Pauline, Cecilia, Joe, Leonie, Adrian, Mark, Margaret, Jackie, Alfie, Suzanne, as well as the rest of our family.

Theresa Fox
Iqaluit

December 24, 2004

Quttinirpaaq management plan clarified

We would like to clarify a few points:

• The management planning process is a collaborative action of the Quttinirpaaq Joint Park Management Committee and Parks Canada. It is not solely a process run by Parks Canada officials;
• There are six members of the Quttinirpaaq Joint Park Management Committee: five Inuit and one non-Inuk.;
• The ban on fishing in Lake Hazen was a carefully considered decision recommended by the committee;
• The wildlife survey that counted 26 caribou this summer is run every two years. The actual counts are used to estimate total population of the park areas.

We are looking forward to working together to complete the first management plan for a national park in Nunavut.

Joadamie Amagoalik
Chair, Joint Park Management Committee

Elizabeth Seale
Superintendent, Parks Canada Nunavut

December 24, 2004

In loving memory of Matana Kisa

We miss you a lot and we will never forget you and you’ll be in our hearts forever. You left us with good memories.

I think about you and about how you were always kind, gentle, smart and a good friend. Matana, you loved going hunting, playing with your keyboard, and hockey. You were a special friend to everybody you knew.

Each day passes by, but you are never forgotten.

Some days, I feel empty, but you have filled us with thankfulness and loving kindness that you left us.

I miss you so much because you were so close to me, but your parents and family misses you more. You left us good memories and we will never forget you.

Matana, we love you and hope to meet you in heaven soon.

Tommy Taylor Dialla and friends
Panniqtuuq

December 17, 2004

Blind man seeks Nunavut e-mail pals

My name is Sam Ward. I am 50 years old, totally blind, and I have an intense interest in the High Arctic because of its stormy weather, its remoteness and its isolation.

I would really love to receive e-mails from people living anywhere in Nunavut, but my three favorite towns in the territory are Pond Inlet, Resolute Bay and Grise Fiord. I am particularly interested in learning how you folks cope with the cold and total darkness of the long polar night, which is particularly long especially in Grise Fiord.

I have also heard that these communities have local radio stations now, and I would love to hear audio samples of these radio stations. At one time, I would have had to request that a person send me a sample of the radio stations on cassette tape, but now this is no longer necessary. Even with a dial up connection, short audio files recorded at low bit rates can be sent to people via the 'Net, and this development has really excited me.

I have often wondered what some of the typical sounds of communities like Grise Fiord and Resolute Bay might be. For me as a totally blind person, sound is naturally my world, so if anyone at any of the local radio stations would be interested in taking on the challenge of painting a portrait of your community in sound, I would really appreciate it more than I think you'll ever know.

I would also like to somehow hear some of the sounds of the Arctic animals of the region such as polar bears, seals, walruses, musk ox, reindeer etc. I have always wondered if ptarmigans sing or not, for example.

I am also extremely interested in AM radio reception in the Arctic. Theoretically, reception could be quite good, with radio stations from several different continents coming in over the pole at different times of the day, when both the local area of the radio station and the Arctic are in total darkness. This means that at certain times during the day, radio stations from Asia might come in from countries like Korea and Japan, then European stations would come in, then North American stations.

Also, because the entire Arctic region above the Arctic circle is dark, theoretically it would be quite easy in Nunavut to hear radio stations from Alaska and the Yukon territory even though they are thousands of miles away.

Now, you'll notice that I said theoretically. The one thing that could ruin this wonderful reception would be the northern lights which I have heard can really play havoc with radio reception in the Arctic.

So, if anyone reading this is a ham radio operator or a DXer, and can give me some examples of the powerful U.S. and southern Canadian 50 kW stations that make it up to the Arctic during the long polar night, or a sample of reception between two Arctic locations, I would especially like to hear from you. The Arctic is an area that has truly fascinated me for more than 30 years.

Happy holidays to you all.

Sam Ward
Georgetown Ont.
samward54@cogeco.ca

December 17, 2004

Organization consults on nuclear waste disposal

The management of used nuclear fuel poses unique challenges. Improperly handled, nuclear waste is hazardous to humans and the environment for a very long time.

Unlike other public policy issues, the consequences of decisions taken now about its future management can not be known with absolute certainty for many thousands of years. Perhaps it is not surprising then that this technically complex matter is often also socially divisive.

Canadians have generated nuclear energy for electricity for more than 35 years. While all of Canada's used nuclear fuel - 1.8 million used fuel bundles - is fully accounted for and safely stored, existing management practices were designed to be an interim solution and were never intended to last more than 50 to 100 years. We now have to develop a strategy for managing it over millennia.

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization was established to study options and propose a plan to the Government of Canada by November 2005. We are determined to work collaboratively with Canadians to develop a solution that is socially and ethically acceptable, environmentally responsible, technically sound and economically feasible.

The questions wanting answers are not solely for physicists, engineers or governments. All of us, as citizens, have a role to play. Experts alone can't decide what risks are acceptable to society, what is the responsibility of this generation, or what forms of institutions will inspire trust and confidence. No one has a monopoly on the right answers.

That is why NWMO is reaching out with a broad engagement program and a comprehensive review that goes much beyond the technical. Our study is built around three milestone documents so that we learn together with citizens - first about the framework for the study itself, then the assessment of the options, and finally the recommendations and implementation plan. We seek to provide a forum for recognizing divergent viewpoints and seeking common ground.

What we have heard so far is that no single technical method will perfectly address the values and objectives Canadians have said are important for managing used nuclear fuel. Trade-offs will have to be made. However, consensus is emerging on some fundamental requirements.

There is a strong desire among the public and experts alike to assume responsibility, to take a decision now and begin to implement a plan. But, people want adaptability. They suggest a staged approach which can incorporate new learning as it evolves and which will allow future generations to make adjustments that reflect their own values and priorities.

Citizens told us that they want to learn and to see our thinking as it evolves. They expect that affected communities and regions will be kept informed and engaged in making decisions that will have an impact on them. They echo the persistent cry for governments and industry to be transparent about the ongoing care of used fuel.

The NWMO has recently produced its second discussion document, Understanding the Choices. In it, we describe what the management approaches we are required to study might look like; the methodology being proposed to compare them is outlined; and a preliminary assessment of their strengths and limitations is presented for discussion.

We are in the midst of hosting information and discussion sessions in more than thirty five communities in every province and territory to hear the comments, concerns and questions of interested Canadians. We will continue to support dialogues developed by aboriginal organizations for their people. And, we will continue to gain insight from the experiences of communities which host nuclear facilities. Our website (www.nwmo.ca) is a focal point, displaying all of our reports and research as well as submissions from the public. It hosts e-dialogues, polls and surveys.

Our work has been rich, bringing together the experience and knowledge of Canadians from all walks of life and diverse backgrounds. We have consulted top experts in Canada and internationally, and sought to benefit from the traditional wisdom of aboriginal peoples and the public at large.

Despite differences among stakeholders, experts and the public at large - and there are different perspectives - we are heartened by the nascent convergence of views and understanding on several issues. Citizens who have taken time to learn, appreciate the technical expertise being brought to bear. And experts welcome the good sense of citizen values, and the need to be guided by them in decision-making.

Our work is far from complete. Any hope of success demands broad and informed engagement of the public. Any approach in which the public has confidence must resonate with what really matters to Canadians. We invite the voices of all interested citizens for our only real obstacles are apathy and indifference.

Elizabeth Dowdeswell
President and CEO
Nuclear Waste Management Organization
www.nwmo.ca

Editor's note: Elizabeth Dowdeswell served for five years as executive director of the United Nations environment program, and three years as an assistant deputy minister at federal Department of the Environment.

GN should cover NPC deficits

As a homeowner and ratepayer in Iqaluit, I must object to the plan by Nunavut Power to collect from its consumers for its own past mismanagement.

Clearly the debt has to be written-off by GN as it was the GN who caused it, right up to the top.

On top of that, the proposed one-rate system for all of Nunavut makes as much sense as the earlier one time-zone for all of Nunavut did (why this curious preoccupation with ironing out the crinkles of real-world differences?)

Homeowners in Iqaluit will see their power rates almost double, and there is no guarantee that the existing subsidy on the first 700 kilowatt-hours will continue to take at least some of the pain out of it.

Iqaluit homeowners are already the only ones in Nunavut who have to pay property taxes for land they don't own, while also covering the development costs for the land in their so-called "equity" lease. We are asked to collectively suspend reality till there is another land ownership vote here in 20 years that just might swing 'yes' next time.

However, a yes-vote is unlikely, as policies including the proposed power rate structure, make homeownership unaffordable for most Nunavummiut. Much better to get government-subsidized or social housing than to own a house and be a target for shallow redistribution schemes.

Homeowners outside Iqaluit do not have to pay $4,000 in annual taxes and often $3,000+ a year towards their equity lease.

Power rates have to reflect real costs and not deny the reality of economies of scale and the high costs of servicing small isolated and scattered communities.

Similarly, social rents, public and private employee subsidies and benefits, and ultimately income tax northern allowances will have to reflect the real cost of living and homeownership, if that is a policy objective, in the Far North. The power rate as a home-grown policy should be forward-looking and intelligent enough to anticipate probable impacts.

Larry Simpson
Homeowner
Iqaluit

Power rate hikes hurt the working poor

As a stay-at-home mother, with three kids, we are what is termed "the working poor."

I oppose the Nunavut Power Corp.'s rate increase. I understand that in a few years, the territorial subsidies will also be taken away. At this rate we will not be able to afford power.

With a rate increase and no subsidy, the only people who will be living in Nunavut are the very rich and the very poor.

We are considering leaving Nunavut when this happens. Is this the intention of the government of Nunavut and the energy corporation's board to depopulate Nunavut?

Fiona Hunt
Iqaluit

Moms and tots say thanks

The Iqaluit Parents and Tots Association would like to thank Nunavut Arctic College for the use of their third-floor lounge and gym for the last three years.

We have now moved to Abe Okpik Hall in Apex. We would also like to thank the various community members who helped us move to our new location. We would like to express our gratitude to Arctic Express for their complimentary move of our heavy toys and equipment.

Also, the children and parents would like to thank the Snack, especially Joanne, for helping out in our year-end moving pizza party. Everyone had fun.

Iqaluit Parents and Tots is open to all parents and caregivers with children from birth to five years of age. We are open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10:00 am to noon.

For further information call Vivian at 979-1052 or Karen at 979-3753. See you at Abe Okpik Hall!

Iqaluit Parents and Tots Association
Iqaluit

Grateful to ITK for opposing dragger nets

As a long-term resident of Nunavut and a fourth-year undergraduate honours student in international development and environmental studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, I was extremely proud and encouraged when I read in this week's paper that Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Nattivak Hunters and Trappers Association are questioning the Baffin Fisheries Coalition's use of draggers in Baffin communities.

As part of my studies last semester, I participated in an internship at the Ecology Action Centre (a local non-governmental organization in Halifax) to help prepare for a legal case against the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in regards to the harmful effects of dragging.

Dragging has greatly contributed to the reduction of fish stocks and ocean bio-diversity in Atlantic Canada and I believe that Jose Kusugak is justified in his fear that this could also happen in Nunavut.

The large, weighted nets of draggers are towed across the ocean floor damaging and catching whatever is in their path. This results in large amounts of by-catch, which is routinely dumped back into the ocean.

I am thankful that ITK is challenging the use of dragger nets and that HTO is developing a community-based fishery, which will directly benefit Nunavut and be much gentler on the marine environment.

I believe that it is important to preserve the natural resources of Nunavut and I am glad to hear the HTO and ITK are standing up and doing what they can to make sure that all Nunavummiut of the future will be able to enjoy the land and resources the same way we do today.

Meghan McKenna
Iqaluit

Thank-you to the post office

I was quick enough to complain about the post office service earlier this year concerning the amount of time it was taking to receive parcels in the mail.

Now I would like to take the time to thank the staff at the post office for the speed that this year's parcels have been reaching my post office box.

I don't know what you did, but keep it up. Thanks.

Corinne Attagutsiak
Iqaluit

Staggered lunch would cure Iqaluit traffic woes

I have heard that a three-way stop sign has been voted down. The council members seem to have a short memory concerning the reasons for the stop signs being put up in the first place.

The stop signs at the Northmart and at the hospital were installed in order to slow down the traffic and make it safer for pedestrians. Because there were no sidewalks or illuminated crosswalks, the stop signs would offer some protection for the pedestrian who needed to cross at those areas.

We still do not have sidewalks or illuminated crosswalks, but the motorists have managed to convince the council members that the stops are not necessary, because they slow down the traffic too much.

Well at least the stop signs succeeded in doing what they were intended to do.

So now we take down the stop signs and speed up the traffic once again! Isn't that just great for the pedestrians?

The simplest solution to this problem would be to stagger the lunch hours. What city in this country has everyone rushing out to eat between 12 and 1:00?

It would not be that difficult to arrange. Those who need to be with children during lunch would take their lunch to coincide with their children. Those who do not have these commitments could take lunch at some other time such as a 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon or 11:30 a.m to 12:30 p.m., or 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. or 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

This would not only eliminate the traffic problem - it would lighten the load at the restaurants and taxi companies.

There would be no need to close some businesses or government offices during lunch because not all the staff would have to leave. Business and government would benefit, plus people could conduct personal business on their own time rather than company time, thereby saving the company time and money. It's a win-win situation for everyone.

Best of all, it would keep the speed down and the pedestrians safer until the sidewalks and illuminated crosswalks show up, but that is another issue.

Theresa Rodrigue
Iqaluit

Should classsroom assistants be unionized?

I hope all is well for you this Christmas season. My name is Fletcher Madden, and I am employed as a CSA (classroom support assistant), at the Inuksuk high school here in Iqaluit.

The high school had a career day recently, with many career options for the students to learn about. Careers were displayed with NTI, NTCL, Canadian North, the RCMP, CBC, the Wildlife Office, the GN, Northmart as well as many others.

Sadly, the students were not offered any information about the education field.

It seems that the job of a classroom support person isn't presented as a possible career. Why is this? Maybe because the most a classroom support can make is $18.00/hour. Maybe it is because classroom support assistants don't receive a travel allowance, a northern allowance or health benefits. Maybe classroom supports aren't presented as a career option because of the high turnover rate and people quitting their classroom support jobs. Maybe it's the lack of maternity leave or the lack of professional development days.

The career days here at the Inuksuk High School were introduced by both the premier and the mayor. Many students benefited from this successful venture and will continue to do so with the many career days that lie ahead. Unfortunately, because of one, a couple, or all of the previously mentioned reasons, classroom supports are still left out in the cold and not recognized as a career that should provide a living wage and benefits.

We, as classroom supports, play an important part in the lives of the children we work with. We are positive role models who work with the students one-on-one every day, and these students learn, work, and feel better about their educational environment if they are surrounded by confident and stable educators.

As classroom supports, we must do our best to continually improve our positions in the education environment.

Have you had enough? Christmas is coming and we don't get any Christmas bonuses. Librarians and daycare workers just got a raise, but we still make less than $20,000 take-home a year. Are you upset?

For years, people in education have said they understand and sympathize and will improve our sub-standard employment situation. Nothing has happened and nothing will happen, unless we make it happen.

I guess the real reason that I didn't do a presentation of my job as a career option was due to laziness.

In peace and solidarity

Fletcher Madden
CSA Inuksuk high school
Iqaluit

Nunavut needs only slight adjustment

I have lived in the Arctic for the past 30 years. The last 20 years have been spent here in Pangnirtung. Is Nunavut or Pangnirtung racist? Absolutely not.

Now and then somebody will leave a gob of spit on the window of a vehicle, or write some meaningless message about white people going back to where they come from. Is this a sign of latent racism? Of course not. It is the sign of an idiot, who you will encounter in any society, anywhere.

As for the government of Nunavut, in my opinion it is doing just fine in its fledging leaders. Allow me to give you a comparison. Ireland, where I was born, became a nation in 1949, the same year when I was born.

At that time, the criers and critics from both sides of the ocean and the North of Ireland predicted nothing but utter failure for a bunch of illiterate bog-men with no experience in world affairs, or self-government, who could barely speak the Queen's English. Then, as today, all subjects were taught in Gaelic, except English. It is interesting to note that the Ireland of today some 60 years later is the fastest growing economy in Europe and is a global nation.

Are GN personnel going to make some errors in the development of this new land? Of course they are. It is a learning process and I hope they're wise enough to step back and evaluate and make adjustments to bring Nunavut forward to its legitimate place in Canada.

Back to Ireland again: there are Africans, Asians, Europeans and Americans living and doing business together. Has the Irish culture declined in any way? No, on the contrary, it is stronger than ever, with more youth and adults speaking the Gaelic language. Language is the basis of any culture.

The GN could do an awful lot worse than to come out to the communities and talk to men and women like me who have chosen to live and love here, down through the years, raising our children and hoping for a better day for all. We're not a bunch of misfits with nowhere else to go. We came here and saw the beauty and chose to stay within a beautiful boundary. Each community has people like us.

Nunavut should be careful that it does not build a wall of exclusion around itself, walls prevent growth. Open this and embrace a means to build a culture. Culture is not only realized by looking back to yesterday years, culture is living in the moment of today, while looking to the future with inclusion and excitement, and expectations of a better tomorrow.

Discussions of exclusion, even if whispered, are not productive and do not enhance our whole society. Emphasis on the openness of society should be a constant ongoing reference point, spoken about often.

So now I turn my eyes to our premier. You are now half-way into your second mandate. It's your destiny. I hope to see you seek a third mandate. I wish to see you become an icon to the new and emerging nations of the world, who in turn will use the Nunavut model as a base structure for their own development.

I want you to become the Ghandi and Mandella of this new land. I want you to encourage each of us through your proven leadership and compassion to become an Inuit nation of tolerance and most importantly kindness, where we live and work together as one people. Many Inuit people have taught me kindness over the years.

I made a big mistake myself many years ago, which I deeply regret to this day. It is the forgiveness of people that has allowed me to go on rebuilding my life.

No doubt you have many advisers from the southern world around you, filled with good intentions and credentials but lacking in the experience of Nunavummiut, who have no axes to grind, but have vast experience to give and share.

I want to see Premier Okalik exit the political stage many years from now, being remembered as a visionary, a catalyst, and a great humanitarian leader. Nunavut is so close to being right. A slight adjustment to the stated overall mandate and political vision of Nunavut will make the editorial of Nov. 5, 2004 inconsequential and not the only voice of the people.

I would like to read an editorial on the successes of Nunavut. My daughter Siobhan will graduate as a lawyer from the Nunavut law program in six months. Many other youths are joining the RCMP, the nursing program and education programs along with vocational training. I encourage the youth to graduate and become fully functional contributing citizens of this great land of opportunity.

In my closing opinion, the state of the territory is solid, sound and in good hands. Looking back on my 30 years, I would not wish to be anywhere else in the world, but Nunavut.

Michael Murphy
Pangnirtung

Thank to the BRH

Thank you Baffin Regional Hospital - again.

On Friday, September 17, Marie-Helene Taqqiq Fleurent was born, helped by Dr. Allan.

Just like the birth of our eldest daughter two years ago, it was an extraordinary experience full of love, respect and professionalism.

The nurses in particular performed well over and above the call of duty. A special thank-you for their support and kindness during all the follow-up appointments and a big merci to Raymond who helped us all morning with labor.

It was really nice and appreciated to be able to communicate in our own language.

Marcel Fleurent
Emmanuelle Pedneaud Jobin
Isabelle Ulluriaq Fleurent
Marie-Helene Taqqiq Fleurent

Nunavut deserves same resource deal as Nfld.

Recently Prime Minister Martin, while in Brazil, explained his long-term vision for the evolution of Canada's three territories.

That this is in the news at all is good news. The issue of provincehood is old, but times have changed. In Nunavut we have the land claim agreement and our regulatory authorities are in place. People, by and large, know what they want in terms of development and how it should proceed, <I>id est<P>, in a sustainable manner.

What the territories need now are revenues from royalties without diminishing federal transfer payments. Provincehood can follow. Is it that simple?

Yes it is. Just ask Premier Williams of Newfoundland and Labrador or the territorial premiers.

Simply put, royalties will create infrastructure which will in turn attract development, much of it from within Nunavut by Nunavummiut. Give Nunavut the same deal as Newfoundland and Labrador. A simple solution to a simple problem.

Paternalistic attitudes lumbered on over the last decade. Mr. Martin's words should serve both as advice to his senior bureaucrats and as an invitation to move expeditiously on resource issues - including our fish!

Who will take action for Nunavut?

Duncan Cunningham
Pond Inlet

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