|
|
|
News Nunavut Nunavik Features Iqaluit Around the Arctic Climate Change Opinion/Editorial Editorial Letters to the editor Taissumani Commentary |
|||||
| |
||||||
|
Current ads
|
||||||
|
||||||
| About Us Nunatsiaq FAQ Advertising services Archives Search archives |
||||||
|
Click below
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
| ||||||
| |
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Back to September, 2002 Archive Index
Letters to the Editor September 6, 2002 Struggle to teach language is worth it I empathize with the teachers of Joamie School who are earnestly striving to teach children to speak the language of their heritage. My problem is slightly different, however we encounter some of the same struggles. Our greatest struggle is to teach our students to think and act on a much higher level of moral correctness and decency. They are constantly bombarded with profanity, immoral gestures and comments, and scenes that are totally inappropriate for children to see. I would like to encourage the teachers of Joamie School to continue in pursuit of their ultimate goal of having their students become fluent in the language of their heritage. It is not only a privilege and an honour to speak the language of our elders, it is also a means of opening wider the door of communication between the very young and the very old. It allows our precious seniors to share with the young ones the wealth of knowledge, experience, excitement, and enjoyment of their adventures in days gone by. Hats off to you, teachers of Joamie School! Keep up the good work! Danielle E. Drabik, Junior
Kindergarten Teacher September 6, 2002 To tell the truth Man in fear. I’m writing this letter to tell the truth about the beating of David Nowdlak. I’m sorry about what happened. This letter is to the people who don’t trust me. I was never part of the beating of David Nowdlak. I just want to live my life as an honest person. But, like I said, sorry about David Nowdlak. Those who were involved with the person who beat up David Nowdlak, please come forward and stop doing these beatings. We as Inuit are supposed to be helping and giving to each other. Name withheld Iqaluit is like a Third World city I have travelled quite a bit over the past years and every time I mention that I come from Iqaluit, people invariably tell me how lucky I am to live in a place with clean air and water. I always kind of nod and try to change the topic. I wish it were the case — and it should be — but it is not. Because of the lack of vision of past and present administrators, we live in near-Third World conditions. We have to smell our own sewer on a daily basis. We have to suffer smoke from the dump and we drive on roads that are nothing but trails. For a good part of the year, we have to suffer an unbelievable dust problem. This is not rocket science. If your garbage dump is half a mile from your community, you will see it and you will smell it. If you dump your raw sewer 500 feet from houses, you will smell it. If you don’t pave your roads, they will deteriorate daily, you will destroy your vehicles and you will breathe in the dust. It is nearly impossible where I live to open the windows in the summertime because of these problems. There are thousands of square miles between Iqaluit and Pangnirtung. Can’t we move all this away from under our nose? The present administration of the City of Iqaluit is constantly beating its chest about the fact that Iqaluit is now a city and the capital of Nunavut. In certain aspects of public administration, it insists on buying the biggest and the best. It worries itself over the colour of the flowers on the carpet while the house is falling down. It is time to get our priorities in order. The Government of Nunavut and the federal government also have responsibility in all this and it’s time that all three parties get together with the people of Iqaluit to set an agenda. A long-time resident of Iqaluit September 13, 2002 Please write if you remember my dad I am the daughter of the late Davidee Nowdlak. It is very good to know that my dad was able to touch so many people. It has been very hard since the funeral. There are times when I want to call my dad on the boat and see how he is doing. Then I remember what happened. I wish I had more people to talk to who could help me get through this. All my family lives up there. It is going to take me a while to get through this. It is even harder for me because I don’t have very many memories about my dad. I never got to do anything with him and neither did my kids. If you have any memories of him, please write to me at poohbear032179@yahoo.com or Box 417, Unit 45, c/o Portage College, Lac La Biche, Alberta T0A 2C0. I would like to know more about my dad, seeing as I do not have very many memories of him. Thank you to the people at NTI who made it possible for me to go to Ottawa and also Ed Picco for helping with the accommodation fees at Larga. I would also like to thank the Larga staff for all their support. And then there are the people who helped us go to Iqaluit for the funeral: Eva Onalik from Canadian North and Terry Adla. Without your help we would not have been able to come. Thank you everyone for all your support. We love you all. Tanya Nowdlak-Gladue September 13, 2002 Keep on recycling In response to the article, "Mixing garbage with recyclables makes messy job even messier" (Aug. 16), the Iqaluit Recycling Society and the city would like to reassure the supporters of the recycling program that all blue bags that have been collected will not be burned. Blue bags that are contaminated with garbage and are now unfit for recycling markets in the South will be put aside for the city’s new compactor this fall. The Iqaluit Recycling Society wants supporters of the recycling program to know the society was pleased with the response the program received, and is looking forward to the further success of the program. A few important things to remember: Do not put garbage in blue bags. Rinse bottles and cans. We collect pop and beer cans, tin cans, and certain plastics. Kelly Craver September 13, 2002 My heartfelt sympathy to Tanya Nowdluk-Gladue My heart goes out to Tanya Nowdlak-Gladue. I felt a kinship for what Tanya felt after the loss of her father. I lost custody of my daughter when she was four years old. Also, like Tanya and her father, our communication was sporadic. Though I tried my utmost to stay close, geography and disagreements with her father kept us apart. Even so, she was never forgotten and always in my heart. My mother knew my pain. Her words of encouragement were, "She will come back. Wait until she grows into maturity. She will seek you." (Thank you Mother.) Recently, a few days before my daughter’s 19th birthday, I accidentally found my daughter’s paternal grandmother’s phone number. I trudged up whatever French I had and called my daughter’s grandmother, who, through a trilingual niece, relayed my daughter’s phone number to me 12 hours later. Every time her birthday came, I cried days on end and some more on holidays. But on the morning after I had called the grandmother, I felt renewal, eagerly anticipating our reconnection. When I finally reached her, I had expected torrents of tears, but it was a wondrous moment. Now I feel that I can really smile and laugh out loud. And to Tanya and her family, I send my heartfelt sympathy. Though your father’s death was untimely, I am glad you had a little time with him and that he acknowledged you and pictures of your children with that single tear. I’m sure it was to say, "I love you and I’ll always be there." Susie E. Gordon GN gives Nunavummiut no incentive to save energy Our leaders are not serving
our interests when it comes to energy conservation. The government pays the difference (42¢ per kwh in Cambridge Bay). Should you want to add some solar or wind power or even to change to a more efficient lighting system, any savings you generate will save the government up to 20¢ a kwh. You have to absorb the entire cost of the investment, making expensive upgrades difficult to justify even though they are actually very cost effective. This discriminates against
those of us who want to generate our own power more efficiently and cleanly
than the power corporation and discourages energy efficiency. Rather than perpetually paying out subsidies, why isn't our government investing in incentives, renewable energy subsidies, or other programs for better appliances, sustainable energy infrastructure and more energy efficient lifestyles? Peter VandenBrink,
September 20, 2002 GN should divide medical travel contract The Government of Nunavut, namely the minister of health, is about to make a decision that could affect the price of air travel for all of us. The GN will award the three-year "Medical travel on scheduled airlines" contract worth millions of dollars per year. If this contract is awarded to only one airline, it could force the other company to re-evaluate the continuation of certain routes, especially the Iqaluit to Ottawa route. The GN has a very important role to play in ensuring that the air transportation industry remains healthy and that all Nunavut consumers have cost-effective choices. The magnitude of the medical travel contract and how it is allocated is a key element in maintaining that competitive environment. The Yukon Government recognizes the role of government in transportation and the essential need for competition. To this end, its model ensures the sharing of medical travel business between the two major carriers in the Yukon and provides both a high-quality service to customers and an economic advantage to the Yukon Government. If you want a competitive airline industry in Nunavut, I encourage you to write to Ed Picco, minister of health, and to your MLA. Tell them that you believe the GN and its constituents would be better served by developing a medical travel model similar to the one in the Yukon. For those who have lived in Iqaluit and the Baffin region for more than four years, think back to the costs and consequences when there was only one major carrier operating on the Iqaluit to Ottawa route. Paul Landry
September 20, 2002 Communication can heal wounds This letter is for the people in Nunavut who live as if they can continuously think that pain is erasable. People who cannot love, or care for other people. I wish that people would realize the pain and emotional distress that they inflict on others. I have been wounded many times in my life because of men. The worst thing is when the men don't even realize how awfully we are hurt - when they don't, even for a second, it seems, try to be fair. I am so tired of men treating their girlfriends like garbage. Do these kinds of people
have a heart that is poisoned? I know that people won't change overnight but
maybe if people put more care in their partners, show them that they are special,
not just a cleaning lady and not just a sex object, perhaps happiness is possible.
Jenna Kilabuk
September 20, 2002 Nanisivik had a permanent impact on Nunavut My two daughters have birth certificates from Nanisivik. The school there is named after my father. I lived in Nanisivik for a few years with the hope of learning a trade job. My hopes did not materialize, so I say, "Why have an agreement? What purpose does an agreement have when you do not stick with it? And who enforces these agreements?" The Prime Minister of Canada signed it when he was the DIAND Minister. Can we get retroactive action and compensation? Nansivik was a temporary community with no real status. Yet, lives were lived and life continues even in the midst of being demolished or vapourized. So, my daughters birth certificates are temporary? Thank you Nanisivik Mines Ltd. for everything. Mishak Allurut September 20, 2002 Corporate information available at GN registry The editorial, "Shareholders' rights in Nunavut" (Sept. 6), highlighted the importance for Inuit beneficiaries to have access to information about certain birthright corporations. I wish to clarify the obligations of different types of corporations to disclose information and to identify a few sources for that information. Every corporation must disclose some information depending on the specific legislation under which it is incorporated and governed. With a few exceptions,
most corporations in Nunavut must register in the corporate registry at Legal
Registries Division of the Nunavut Department of Justice, where certain public
information is available. Anyone may check a corporation's file by contacting
Legal Registries at the first floor of the Brown Building in Iqaluit, phone:
975-6190, fax: For the three regional Inuit associations, Legal Registries has public information showing they are incorporated as non-profit societies under the Nunavut Societies Act. Under that act, societies do not issue shares, but have non-transferable memberships. They must hold an annual general meeting at which financial statements must be presented to members, and they must file financial statements, notices of directors and certain corporate amendments with the Legal Registries office, which becomes public information. For a business incorporated under the Nunavut Business Corporations Act, the available public information includes the Articles and Certificate of Incorporation, current directors, and the registered office address. Under this act, shareholders have the right to attend annual general meetings, receive financial statements and to vote on fundamental changes. Other examples are business and non-profit corporations incorporated under the laws of another jurisdiction. To operate in Nunavut, most of these must register at Legal Registries, and file information similar to that filed by Nunavut business corporations. In the case of public corporations, whose shares are offered for sale to the public and are typically traded on a stock exchange, securities legislation creates additional disclosure obligations such as making financial statements public. A good starting point to find information in regulatory filings by public corporations in Canada is through a Web site at www.sedar.com. Gary Crowe Makivik muscles in on local business? I am writing about a recent project by Makivik Corporation in which they have taken advantage of a tried and proven business venture in our community, Kuujjuaq. First of all, I would like to address this letter to the board of directors of the corporation and ask if they inquired into any possible conflicts that may arise from their latest venture. What I am referring to is the drilling of water wells by an outside drilling company hired by Makivik to work on marine infrastructure. I, along with three other beneficiaries, invested more than $27,000 in a well-drilling rig. We have successfully found water on seven sites in town. This past summer, I phoned Eileen Studi Klinkiig of the Makivik marine project and voiced my concern about having a non-beneficiary company, with the blessing of Makivik, come into my community and take advantage of an opportunity that I created. I thought it was part of Makivik’s mandate to support local business and not use our money to compete against us. If this is not the case, why not get into the cable TV business or become a 100 per cent owner of a small charter airline service and get all the profit from the region? It is my understanding that Makivik is also not to use the funds of the corporation to benefit any single beneficiary. I would like to ask if the same well program would be available to the other 13 communities. I am happy to say that Johnny Peters used our drill rig to do his own well. I am sure he was quite satisfied with our service and I can’t for the life of me understand why Pita Aatami would give the nod to such an endeavor. I am now stuck with a very expensive piece of machinery that probably will never be used, since Makivik is still collecting funds for more wells next year. If they would like to get into the well business, I would be more than happy to sell them my rig and maybe invest in a sewage treatment facility, as it seems everywhere you look up north you have to deal with bullshit. Harvey Mesher September 27, 2002 Student seeks volunteer position I am a biology student at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. I will soon be graduating with my undergraduate degree and I am applying for a Watson Fellowship, a grant providing for a year of independent travel and study. I am proposing to examine the relationship between Arctic lands and the people who live there, and I am looking for contacts in Arctic countries. I am interested in the relationship between people and their land in many aspects, from outdoor recreation to issues in environmental conservation or resource development. The goal of my research is to reflect the close relationship between Arctic peoples and their land that I felt growing up in Alaska. I am seeking potential volunteer opportunities for the year following August 2003 that would provide a link between myself and the community and/or the land and thereby contribute to this research. Some of my ideas include assisting with ongoing environmental or sociological research, assisting with youth/high school Nordic ski teams, volunteering with resource development or conservation companies, and volunteering in national parks or preserved areas. If you know of any opportunities like these or any other contacts I might make in Nunavut or elsewhere in the Canadian Arctic please let me know. I am looking for one- to two-month opportunities and I would like to begin in Canada next August but I am very flexible to time of year and length of stay. If you would like anymore information about me or my project, please contact me. Heidi Herter September 27, 2002 High lead levels pose an increased risk to children The department of health and social services does not consider the high levels of lead and cadmium revealed by the GN recent soil sampling study at Nanisivik to be safe. We are concerned that these elevated levels may pose a risk to the health of children in particular. The extent of this risk needs to be evaluated further as possible future uses of the site are considered. We know that there are elevated metal levels in the soil. But we do not have any information confirming the sources of this material, human exposure levels or blood lead levels in the general population from Nanisivik, since monitoring was only done on mine workers. Further studies are being done to complete a risk assessment on human health. The results of this year’s studies, if carried out correctly, will determine whether the lead levels in Nanisivik could give rise to adverse health effects, or can be mitigated to a level consistent with human health. Dr. Geraldine Osborne.
|
| About Nunavut 
Nunavut 99
Nunavut Handbook
Nunavut.com
Nunavut
FAQ
|
||
|
|
||
|
Contact Us
Letters
to the editor
News
tips
Subscribe |
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
||
|
|
||
| Discussion Board
TalkBack
|
||
|
|
||
|
