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August
2, 2002 MP Blondin-Andrew denies interference Liberal Ethel Blondin-Andrew, MP for the Western Arctic, says she was just responding to a constituent in a "discreet and confidential manner" when she called a woman last week about an incident involving the woman’s daughter. The woman wanted to file a complaint of sexual assault against the adopted son of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien on behalf of her 18-year old daughter. Before contacting the RCMP, the mother of the alleged victim said she first called the office of Blondin-Andrew, a long-time acquaintance. She said Blondin-Andrew then called her three times to discourage her from going to the RCMP, telling her that the media would smear her reputation. Blondin-Andrew, the woman said, offered to send her family to a healing circle. Following news reports about Blondin-Andrew’s calls, justice critics for the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance parties questioned whether Blondin-Andrew, the Secretary of State for Children and Youth, had tried to use her influence to stop the woman from filing a complaint against Michel Chrétien, 33. Blondin-Andrew said she was only returning a call by the woman to her office. "Any allegation by that person that I would try in any way to interfere with due process of law or try to influence that person wanting to pursue a judicial matter is completely unfounded," said Blondin-Andrew in a statement issued on Wednesday. Blondin-Andrew knew Chrétien and had reportedly let him use her Yellowknife apartment for one month earlier this year. Last week, Chrétien was charged with one count of sexual assault in Yellowknife. The arrest came 10 years after he was convicted for sexually assaulting an Inuk woman he met in a Montreal bar. Indigenous Games begin in Winnipeg More than 6,000 native athletes from across Canada and the United States have been competing this week at the 2002 North American Indigenous Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba. During last Sunday’s opening ceremony, the Nunavut team walked into the stadium accompanied by Premier Paul Okalik. Nunavut’s team of seven wrestlers is the smallest regional contingent at the games. The athletes were welcomed to the games in several First Nations and Métis languages, and in Inuktitut by Annie Manitok. Singer Susan Aglukark wound up the opening ceremonies’ performance with her song "He Na Ho," which had everyone in the stadium on their feet. The games celebrate — in the words of federal heritage minister Sheila Copps — "the power of sport." Athletes compete in 16 events ranging from badminton to Tae Kwan Do to swimming. The games wrap up on August 4. Competition results are posted at http://www.2002naig.com. Missing Repulse Bay kayakers found The body of a 13-year-old Repulse Bay boy who went missing July 27 has been recovered. RCMP say Andy Tagornak and his cousin Darryl Tagornak, 17, left the community by kayak last Saturday morning. The vessel was discovered several hours later, overturned in the bay. The younger boy’s lifeless body was found following an extensive search of the area. Search and rescue workers found Darryl Tagornak after Nunatsiaq News went to press this week. Inuit Studies Conference opens in Alaska The Inuit Studies Conference opened this week at the University of Alaska in Anchorage, on the theme "Voices from Indigenous Communities: Research, Reality and Reconciliation." The keynote speakers to the gathering of academics and researchers from Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Europe and Russia included Inuit Circumpolar Conference president Aqqaluk Lynge speaking on "Science, For and Together with Indigenous Peoples" and Inuit Tapiriit Kanaatami president Jose Kusugak on "Traditional Knowledge." The gathering focused on the presentation of academic papers, on subjects ranging from mental illness in Alaska native villages and domestic violence in Greenland to complex linguistic issues, such as "A Comparative Study of the Participial in the Inuit and Yupik Languages." Native speakers addressed topics such as incorporating traditional knowledge in scientific research, intellectual property rights for that knowledge and the ethical issues involved in research. Trade in whale meat resumes A shipment of whale products left Norway for Iceland in late June, Norway’s first whale meat export in 14 years. The shipment contained eight tonnes of meat and blubber from minke whales. "It’s good to be back on track. This is an appetizer for the Icelanders, and I am confident that they will like it and ask for more," said Ole Mindor Myklebust of Myklebust Trading AS. Last year, Norway decided to lift its self-imposed export ban on whale products. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has placed the minke whale on its trade ban list. But Iceland and Norway maintain they should be exempt from this ban because their stocks aren’t endangered and don’t fall under this listing. International scientists say these two North Atlantic stocks contain more than 100,000 minke whales. Globally, the number of minke whales is believed to number more than one million. "Some people don’t like this trade. Since they don’t like whaling either one can’t expect otherwise. Honestly, it doesn’t really bother us much. Besides being legal, what is important is that the trade is well controlled and conducted in a sustainable manner. This is certainly the case for this whale trade," said Rune Frøvik, Secretary of the High North Alliance, a Norwegian lobby group for whaling. No nukes for NMD missiles? The Anchorage Daily News says the U.S. Senate has passed a bill that would block the use of nuclear warheads in the nation’s missile defense program, part of which is under construction in Alaska. The U.S. government’s Missile Defense Agency says it isn’t exploring the possibility of using nuclear interceptors to knock out incoming enemy missiles. The system it is testing relies on kinetic energy, that is, a very high-speed crash, to knock out incoming missiles. Nuclear-armed missiles could be less accurate than conventional missiles, but still hit their targets. Critics maintain the electromagnetic pulse produced by an upper-atmosphere collision between two nuclear missiles would destroy satellite and electronic circuitry on the ground, causing havoc with communications and transportation. But an advisory group with the U.S. military thinks missiles armed with nuclear warheads are still worth exploring, and has the go-ahead for a study. Whaling quota to be discussed The International Whaling Commission will hold a special meeting this fall to discuss the reinstatement of the bowhead quota for Alaskan bowhead whalers, according to the president of the Barrow Whaling Captains Association. "The IWC is planning to reconvene in October or November to hold an intercessional meeting to try and re-establish the quota," Eugene Brower told the Arctic Sounder. The commission rejected whaling quotas for Alaska and Chukotka at its annual meeting last May in Japan. Since the quota was rejected, the U.S. has explored the options of holding the special meeting or putting Alaska whaling under domestic management. "If that happens, then the oversight of our whaling will be transferred from the Department to Commerce to the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs," Brower said. "There are a number of captains who support putting whaling under domestic control even if the commission were to pass a quota." Russia to use Arctic islands for nuclear tests and dump The ITAR-TASS news agency reports Russian defense minister Sergei Ivanov, who recently visited the Novaya Zemlya nuclear test site in Russia’s Arctic, wants to maintain the site in working condition. "Russia has no intention of holding nuclear tests, but it will be staging non-nuclear experiments," Ivanov said. He said these experiments would comply with the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty. Ivanov pointed to the "exceptional importance" of the Novaya Zemlya test site to national security. "This is Russia’s sole nuclear test site and we shall never have another one," he said. At the same time, Russia is planning to use part of the archipelago of Novaya Zemlya — two large islands separated by a strait — as a nuclear waste dump. The US$70 million project, now in the design stage, would receive its first batch of radioactive waste sometime after 2005. Norway out millions in Russian nuclear waste plant bust Norwegian authorities believed a plant that would process spent nuclear waste in Murmansk on Russia’s Kola peninsula was up and running — but it turns out they were sorely misled. Norway had contributed about $8 million toward the project. When a Norwegian delegation visited the plant at the end of May, they were told they could not enter the plant, the Russian newspaper New Izvestia said. Officials told the Norwegians that radioactive waste was being processed at the time, but apparently the plant isn’t even operative. Norway has tried to find out how its money has been spent, without much result.
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