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TODD PHILLIPS
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUITMichael Miltenberger has a "Bob" in his bonnet, and has set out on a "Bob" hunt.
The MLA for Thebacha is trying to smoke out the people behind the Internet-based campaign to name the western NWT "Bob."
The "Bob" campaign started about two weeks ago, and has since received national media attention, including a front-page story in the Ottawa Citizen, a story in the Edmonton Journal and coverage on CBC national radio and on CBC television's Midday.
Miltenberger says he thinks he knows the man whose "fingerprints were on the keyboard," and says he's traced the "smoking computer" to the offices of the Nunavut Implementation Commission in Iqaluit.
Fired off angry letter
Miltenberger sent a letter to the NIC last week asking commission chair John Amagoalik to deal "in the strongest possible way" with the man he suspects is the brains behind "Bob" Jack Hicks, the commission's research director.
In an interview this week, Miltenberger says the NIC has to deal with MLAs on sensitive issues connected to planning for division, and it will be hard for them to work with people who ridicule them and make derogatory remarks.
"I think for someone in that position it's totally unacceptable. I would hope that it would be seen as an embarrassment by the people of Nunavut," Miltenberger said.
In his June 18 letter, Miltenberger says the person who created the site has no respect for the process of naming the new territory. He says the comments on the site are "mean-spirited, demeaning and have racist overtones."
The commission won't react until John Amagoalik returns from holiday, said Simon Awa, the NIC's executive director.
Miltenberger also sent the letter to fellow MLAs.
Hurting NWT's reputation?
In his letter, Miltenberger also says, "there is the strong possibility that this campaign is hurting the good reputation of residents of the Western Arctic across North America and beyond."
But the person who heads the committee to name the western NWT says she's "baffled" at why Miltenberger is so offended by the "Bob" campaign.
"It was quite a reaction," said Hay River MLA Jane Groenewegen. "Unless he knows something I don't know, I think his reaction could hurt east-west relations more than the "Bob" campaign."
She said the "Bob" Internet site is a take off on the top 10 list that U.S. talk show host David Letterman has popularized.
"It's an absolute stretch of one's imagination to think that they were contrived in malice," she said. "I think it's kind of indisputably funny. I don't know how anybody could turn it into something mean-spirited."
Miltenberger says there are some funny parts of the "Vote Bob" campaign, but he says when fellow MLAs hear his suspicion that it came from a Nunavut official, they too support his concerns.
No stranger to offensive remarks
But Groenewegen said Miltenberger is no stranger to the art of making offensive remarks.
She said he has a penchant for trying out his humour in public forums, including making offensive comments in the legislative assembly about her and other MLAs.
"If making remarks that could be interpreted as mean-spirited and degrading were a crimeI'm afraid Mr. Miltenberger would be serving a life sentence," Groenewegen said, adding he "certainly didn't have a remorseful moment," about his comments.
Who really is Bob?
She says Miltenberger is also attacking someone without any direct evidence that the person is involved.
"Nobody has any proof of who this phantom "Bob" creator is," she said. "I don't think they have a solid shred of evidence pointing to anybody."
But Miltenberger says World Wide Web sites are traceable, that he's talked to several people about it, and that he's satisfied Hicks is involved.
"His fingerprints are on the keyboard, and it's his smoking computer that lead me to believe it's him that was the person who put it out," Miltenberger said, adding that he suspects others were involved and hopes Hicks will name them too.
Denies being "Bob"
For his part, Hicks says he's not the originator of the "Bob" campaign.
"Mr. Miltenberger has called me the originator of the "Vote for Bob" campaign. Sorry, not true," Hicks said, adding that "Bob" was born at a social function, and that he wasn't even there.
Hicks says Miltenberger never called him to ask him if he was involved before naming him in his letter to the commission.
"I have never spoken to Michael Miltenberger in my life," Hicks says.
National attention
Groenewegen says she's glad that the "Bob" campaign has attracted national media attention to the issue of naming the new territory.
"I say we look at it as an opportunity and get our story out there," she says.
"You can't buy that type of publicity," says Iqaluit MLA Ed Picco, who says other western MLAs don't seem too concerned about it. "In the doldrums of summer people need something to talk about. Bob is the topic of the summer."
Back to Nunatsiaq NewsJIM BELL
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUITNunavut Tunngavik's board members say the GNWT's cost-cutting efforts may be in violation of the Nunavut accord and the Nunavut land claim agreement.
Eight NTI board members two weeks ago voted for a resolution that condemns the methods used by the territorial government to head off a projected $150 million deficit this year.
"We're not talking about legal action or anything like that for the time being," NTI first vice president James Eetoolook said. "But we're taking this very, very seriously."
Eetoolook and other NTI board members discussed the issue at an NTI board meeting in Coral Harbour July 8-12.
Inuit targetted unfairly?
"Part of our reasoning, as we stated in this resolution, is that in the cutbacks of employees in the territorial government, the Inuit were targetted more than the others. That's how the resolution came about."
NTI President Jose Kusugak is on holiday this month and is not available for comment.
But Eetoolook, who chaired the Coral Harbour gathering, said NTI is getting more and more worried about the cutbacks that the GNWT has inflicted on Nunavut.
"The territorial government is downsizing too much," Eetoolook said. "So therefore it will create a problem for Nunavut."
No decentralized government?
He also said NTI fears that the GNWT's current policies may force Nunavut into a centralizednot a decentralizedgovernment.
"I guess the territorial government is targetting it to concentrate on a centralized government rather than a decentralized government," Eetoolook said.
"But we still think that the Nunavut government should be decentralized rather than centralized. You know, with the government system right now, all the powers remain in Yellowknife where the present government seem to be convinced themselves that the Nunavut government will be centralized."
May violate Nunavut accord
And in their resolution, NTI's board also says GNWT officials may be violating Part 8.6 of the Nunavut accord.
"The NTI board is gravely concerned about the long-term effect of these cut-backs on the financial, emotional and social health of the Inuit of Nunavut and their ability to determine their own destiny and the cutbacks by the GNWT are contrary to the Political Accord and to the spirit and intent of the NLCA, and will preclude a fair division of resources between Nunavut and the western NWT, upon division in 1999," the resolution states.
The Nunavut Accord is a political agreement between Ottawa, Yellowknife and the Inuit of Nunavut that sets out how Nunavut will be created.
The deal, which contains the basis for the Nunavut Act, was signed at an elaborate ceremony held October 30, 1992 in Iqaluit.
Part 8.6, which NTI says the GNWT may be violating states that, "the GNWT will continue to provide an equitable allocation of its capital, maintenance, and operating expenditures in the Nunavut area and the western part of the Northwest Territories until the coming into force of the provisions of the Nunavut Act creating the Nunavut territory."
But Eetoolook says NTI fears that may not be happening.
"The cutbacks seem to be targetted more here than anywhere else in the Northwest Territories. But we still have more catching up to do and costs are higher here," Eetoolook says.
Eetoolook also says the GNWT's cutbacks may also be leading to a violation of Article 23 of the Nunavut land claim agreementthe section that deals with Inuit employment and training by government.
Back to Nunatsiaq NewsJANE GEORGE
Special to Nunatsiaq News
IQALUITBeer drinkers could be joining government-funded agencies in the fight against substance abuse and fetal alcohol syndrome.
That is, if members of the NWT Status of Women Council have their way.
Taking profits from alcohol sales throughout the NWT is just one of 13 recommendations that the women's council wants adopted. They're contained in a report on FAS issued July 17.
Since 1993, all booze products sold in the NWT have borne a label that says "Warning: women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of risks of birth defects."
But the council's recent report "Keeping women and communities strong" says that this gesture is not nearly enough.
A worthwhile investment
The report also says the government should spend more on direct prevention.
They say this move is economical, since they estimate that every child born with fetal alcohol syndrome costs the government $1.5 million.
"I think government has to be aware that not addressing the problem will raise costs," says Sharon Buness-Hall, the council's executive director.
Her group's report bases its recommendations on a study carried out in four communitiestwo from the western Arctic and two in Nunavut.
Although there are no official statistics on fetal alcohol syndrome in the NWT, up to 50 per cent of children may be affected in some way because of their mother's drinking during pregnancy, Buness-Hall says.
About 30 per cent of the participants in the study were Inuit.
Reasons for drinking explored
Front-line social workers say that family violence, sexual abuse and a general lack of community support is at the root of alcohol abuse by women, the report finds.
Almost all of the women interviewed said that they were already aware that alcohol can damage an unborn child, but one-third admitted they still drank during pregnancy.
More training and new initiatives are what's needed, says the Status of Women's report, and pilot projects should be set up.
In alcoholism treatment facilities, they say at least two beds should be reserved for pregnant womenand if these aren't filled, funding should be cut.
"But a pregnant woman who drinks would be the last person to go to a treatment centre," says Markus Wilcke, regional health promotion officer with the Baffin Regional Health Board.
Information not enough
These women are in heavy denial, says Wilcke, and, because they don't drink every day, they may not recognize that they have a problem.
Binge drinking also causes fetal alcohol syndrome and the less visibly evident, fetal alcohol effect.
Wilcke says FAS and FAE aren't medical issues, but reflect lifestyle problems that can take years to change. Just providing information is not enough.
More people know about AIDS, but that hasn't yet changed their behaviour. Despite a widespread AIDS awareness campaignand giving away lots of free condomsunprotected sex in the Baffin region is on the rise.
Rates of sexually transmitted diseases like chlamydia are rising, and the birth rate is up as well, Wilcke says. Public health officials consider these two to be good indicators that unprotected sex is high, too.
Wilcke says the recommendations made by the Status of Women Council would have the government playing an even greater role than they do now.
By placing more responsibility with health and social agencies, Wilcke says it's sending the message "it's not your responsibility."
He said most women who stop drinking do it because they want to.
U.S. tackled problem
Alaska already has a comprehensive FAS program.
All pregnant women there are screened for possible alcohol use and high risk women are referred to support programs.
Women can also go to special homes, designed for pregnant women, if they want to escape a difficult home situation.
Other states like Florida have even made an attempt to apply criminal laws to protect the rights of the unborn.
Those in favour of direct action say that it is preferable to intervene to insure the long-term health and well-being of a child.
But those against legal intervention say that locking up pregnant women may not be effective, because the damage to the fetus may already be done.
And it also raises practical, moral and political questions: who will take care of a pregnant mother's other children if she's in jail?
What rights do they have? What if a woman is being encouraged to drink by her mate? Should he be jailed as well?
In 1984 Yukon adopted a legal statute that could force women into therapy or counselling where "there is reasonable grounds to believe that a fetus is being subjected to a serious risk of suffering from FAS".
But this legislation was only used once, in 1985.
Back to Nunatsiaq NewsNunatsiaq News
IQALUIT--Nearly one-third of NWT women interviewed by the NWT Status of Women Council say they drink alcohol while pregnant. No one knows how many of their children were damaged while in their mothers' wombs.
Here's a summary of what Status of Women Council members think the GNWT should do about it:
Todd Phillips
IQALUITTown councillor Bryan Hellwig says he was just doing his job when he rejected the recommendation of the Town's administration to award a prime lot to a company partly-owned by a fellow councillor.
Hellwig says it wouldn't have looked right if the council had hastily approved a major development without scrutinizing the three proposals to develop the Kativik lot, between Aakaluk Daycare and the Kamotiq Inn.
"The only concern I had was it was so fast for such a large project. I just wanted other people to take a look at it," Hellwig said in a radio interview on Iqaluit's community radio station, CFRT-FM.
"Personally, I just don't think it would look good that a proposal closes at 3:00 p.m. on Friday and 48 hours later here we are making a decision on it."
The tender call closed Friday July 5, and the council meeting was Tues. July 9.
The June 21 tender advertisement said the project would be reviewed by council's development committee before going to council.
But that step was skipped.
Nothing unusual
John Raycroft, the Town's senior administrative officer, says there is nothing unusual about that, and that council still has the final say on approving the project.
He said it also isn't unusual that town staff worked over the weekend reviewing the projects so that the winning bid could be ready for council to approve at the Tues. July 9 meeting.
Sara Brown, the Town's municipal engineer, says the town staffers worked quickly to get the project ready for approval so that the winning bidder could build this year. But they didn't plan to build this year.
The four councillors at the meeting, Brian Hellwig, Abe Okpik, Jimmy "Flash" Kilabuk, and Geosah Unuiqsaraq, may not have even known much about what they were being asked to vote for.
Hellwig says the Town's administration only prepared a brief summary of the three proposals for them to look at, and they received that information just before the council meeting.
Delay granted
So council granted Hellwig's request to delay the development approval at least until after an Aug. 7 development committee meeting where committee members can review the three proposals.
"I always thought this was normal procedure. We always usually do that," Hellwig said.
The Town's administration recommended that council accept the bid of Sivulliik Development Corporation for the Kativik lot.
Coun. Kenn Harper is one of nine owners of Grinnell Properties Ltd.. Grinnell Properties is one of 17 shareholders in Sivulliik Development Corporation. The other 16 shareholders are Inuit.
Would have declared conflict
Harper was on holidays and wasn't at the July 9 council meeting. Had he been there, he says he would have exempted himself from the discussions and declared a conflict of interest.
"I declare a conflict of interest anytime there is a real conflict of interest," Harper said. "I absent myself not only from the table, but from the room."
But Harper didn't declare a conflict when the development committee, of which he is a member, was discussing how the Town should dispose of the Kativik lot.
Raycroft, the town's senior administrative officer, says the rules for declaring an interest apply to committee meetings as well as full council meetings.
"Any councillor who has a pecuniary interest in a matter can not take part, not only in the vote, but in the discussion. Under our bylaw, they have to excuse themselves from the table and leave the room," Raycroft said.
Hellwig says Harper took a lead role in helping the members of the development committee put together the terms of reference for the tender call that was later approved by council.
Had no plans at that time
But Harper says at that time they were discussing the Kativik lot, he wasn't thinking about whether the company he is involved with would bid on the lot.
"I was acting in the interests of the town," Harper said last week from Toronto where he was vacationing. "There were no plans at that time for the corporation to prepare a bid because the tender call had not been issued."
He said as a member of the development committee he often talks about what the municipality should do with their properties.
"I'm active in the discussions on everything that comes before the development committeeexcept those things in which I have a conflict of interest," Harper said.
"I can't retroactively go back and change the historical record as to what discussions I participated in and what I didn't. I participated in the discussions that raised the tax rate by two mill rates too and I'm a taxpayer. But nobody said I shouldn't have participated in that discussion."
Harper added that he's not the president of the Sivulliik Development Corporation and he doesn't make the decisions for them.
Coun. Natsiq Kango is involved with Tumiit Development Corporation, another company that bid for the lot.
Co-op planned grocery store
Pond Inlet's Tahoonik Sahoonik Co-op was the third bidder. They had planned to invest between $4-6 million to open a retail grocery store, an Inuit-owned insurance agency, and to also build a playground area for children.
"It was a very large, grocery and retail store to go head to head with Northern," said Bill Umphrey, the general manager of the co-op.
"My understanding is our proposal was put aside because we didn't say what we were going to do with the old building. That's a crock."
Umphrey also said the town's tender ad should have been more specific if they wanted extra money to buy the building that was going to be torn town.
"It was not clear to us that they wanted anything for the building," Umphrey said. "If the Town wants some graft money, then they should have stated you are going to pay us for the right to own that building."
Also, the Town's June 14 advertisement for the Kativik lot was called a "Proposal Call" but next week the wording in the advertisement was changed to a "Tender Call." Anyone who didn't see the follow up advertisement, could have mistakenly believed the project wasn't a public tender.
Back to TopJANE GEORGE
Special to Nunatsiaq News
IQALUITTake any one of the pins or earrings made by Ian Shantz, and you'd be hard pressed to guess that these were made by a Qallunaaq.
Inuit have created a whole market for Inuit art since the 1950's in Canada and throughout the world, but now it's not unusual to see art that looks Inuit-made, but isn't.
Shantz is a purser with First Air. He's been flying around the North since 1984, and it didn't take him long to get interested in carving.
A fellow employee, Sam Pitseolak, who worked as a First Air ticket agent, gave Shantz advice on how to go about it.
"I'd ask him how do you polish the stone, how do you finish it, where do the ears on a muskox go, how many toes does a walrus havethat kind of thing," says Shantz.
Today, when he's not flying, Shantz makes jewelry, carving in antler and ivory and producing an occasional soapstone carving. Many of his motifs are familiarpolar bears, caribou, walrus or drum dancers.
Shantz admits that he picks up ideas from other works and even from commercial posters or logos, like the Atlanta Falcon's symbol or the spirit owl adopted by Nunavut Arctic College.
"If I see stuff that I like or that other carvers have done, I'll go home and see if I can do it. If I like it, I'll keep doing it. In large part," says Shantz, "it depends on the reaction when people see it."
His work is sold in Yellowknife, Resolute, Kuujjuaq, Iqaluit, and even in Greenland.
Not presented as Inuit art
And Shantz says Inuit have also responded to his work positively and with support. But he tells how one person who received a carving as a present decided to return it when he discovered that it was not made by an Inuk.
Work by Shantz cannot bear any special tag. "I don't represent it as Inuit art," says Shantz. "I can't. I have no intention to do so."
But he defends his use of Inuit materials and motifs in his work. "It's like some people can't open up an Italian restaurant if they're not Italian. If it's good food, they'll buy it. If it's not, then they won't."
But when clients come into the Snow Goose gallery in Ottawa, they're not just looking to buy a piece of good art, they are looking to buy a piece of good Inuit art, says co-owner Ian Wright.
"It's Inuit art because it's made by Inuit," says Wright. "If it's a copy that represents Inuit motifs, done by an non-Inuit, it's not Inuit. Ninety-eight per cent of the people who come in here are buying into the culture as well," says Wright. "A lot of people are looking for art, but they're also looking for a piece of Inuit sculpture."
And it may not even be art, he says, if the design does not reflect the unique heritage and vision of the person who created it.
Familiar images?
At the jewelry program at Nunavut Arctic College, students are encouraged to use images that they are familiar with. Often classes will go out and gather plants and rocks that are used for inspiration.
Instructor Alison Simmie says students tend to steer clear of common motifs like hearts or eagle heads to look for new images.
"Copying only is doing damage to the person who's doing the copying. As an artist, you can't protect yourself from it. Your best defence is to be good at what you do, and show it."
Although Simmie isn't comfortable with the idea of a non-Inuk using traditionally Inuit motifs, she says her students are affected by outside artistic influences, too.
And that's where the issue becomes murky, because even Inuit artists don't want to produce only a certain kind of art.
"Art is there to be influenced"
Ruben Komangapik, a young Iqaluit artist, says he takes inspiration from ancient Thule and Dorset motifs as well as many other cultures. He works in metal, an un-traditional material.
"Art is there to be influenced," he says. "It's not restricted."
Another Iqaluit artist, Craig Clark, is known for this airbrushed murals that often have Inuit motifs like Inukshuks. Clark lives in Iqaluit, and says he makes it clear he's not Inuit, and because he works in an unusual medium, there's less chance of confusion.
At present, traditional motifs cannot be copyrighted, because they are considered to be folklore and part of the public domain. Copyrighted logos are protected, and relatively minor changes to most designs are usually enough to get around the law.
But a company like McDonalds will defends its logos fiercely, with million-dollar lawsuits for copyright infringement if anyone used the well-known "M" golden arches.
Particularly in Western Canada, many symbols of the native peoples have been appropriated for mass commercial production.
"It's a grey area," admits gallery operator Wright. "But if non-Inuit artists are going to create carvings like Inuit carvings, they should think a lot about it. To me, any good artist that isn't Inuit should be able to create something else."
Back to TopBeing a mere human being, it is often hard for me to decipher the meaning of my humble life.
It is such a solitary road I travel. Travelling this solitary road sometimes gets lonely, and at other times, quite peaceful, and every so often, both.
If my mother, Napatchie, and the father I never knew, Joanassie, were both still around today, they would be wondering why I should even allow myself to ask about the meaning of life.
"Live a little, my son," they would have probably said. "You only have one life to live, and it is the present one."
It is during introspections like these that time seems to stand still and I have to deal with my particular circumstances and just live the life that fate hands me each and every day. Yes, "live a little". And I do my best to do that.
And so it is the same for all of us. A little introspection never hurts since introspecting has no boundaries as we travel this road, a solitary road that leads us to the future.
And why, you may ask, is the reason I feel the need to have a little introspection? It may have to do with the fact that, every so often, I feel the need to re-focus my life, as most of us do when things in front of us begins to get a little blurry. This goes for ordinary folks like me and those elected or appointed to political office and who have the political powers that go with it.
Perhaps it is a blessingor a curse?in this day and age, and in this modern, Western democracy, that we have followed the tradition of purging our failed political leaders with one or two strokes of a pencil on a piece of paper instead of an axe and block. What peace-loving people as we have become, and in such a short period of time, too.
This fine tradition of purging failed political leaders with pencil and paper will continue when the Nunavut territory and government rolls around in less than one thousand days.
However, us being human with animalistic streaks, we will no doubt, from time to time, have faint feelings of wanting to use an axe and block to you know whom.
Remember the governing Tories who went into the election hustings in the last federal elections? I know, the federal election is not a fair comparison to how the Nunavut election will be done, but the analogy, I think, still suffices.
Nunavut, population-wise, may not be as large as the rest of the country, but its would-be political masters have egos just as big as they make 'em anywhere in the world.
It is therefore reassuring for the people of Nunavut that they will be given the chance to purge failed political leaders when they deem it necessary, with a simple stroke or two from their sharpened pencil on a piece of paper.
I love living in a modern, western democracy, where we will not need to bring an axe and block, or, for that matter, a harpoon or an ulu to a Nunavut voting station sometime after April 1, 1999.
Introspection, when things around you begins to blur from time to time, can be rewarding. Take advantage of it. And don't forget to "live a little", too.
Back to TopAfter much deliberation, I feel that I must respond to the June 5 article about funding for the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation.
My deliberation stemmed from several directionsis this nonsense even worth responding to? Do I really have the time to respond to all of the inaccuracies contained in the article?
My answer to both questions is no.
However, I feel that I must point out some very basic facts. Inuit have worked long and hard to get to where we are today in terms of Inuktitut television programming.
We have five hours of programming on TVNC because IBC has never strayed from the single goal of producing television programs.
All of IBC's efforts are focused in one direction. IBC is where it is today because we have had dedicated people working for close to 20 years to achieve this goal.
These dedicated people "donated" more than 500 hours of time to the celebration of IBC's tenth anniversary and the inaugural broadcast of TVNC, volunteer fundraising functions from bingos in Taloyoak to auctions in Iqaluit, to breakfasts with Jean Chrétien in Ottawa.
They also work in less than standard buildings and most recently chose between a voluntary layoff or reduced work week rather than reduced hours of Inuktitut programming.
These are dedicated people who all have a role in how IBC's budget is spent and have settled for low wages and no benefits such as vacation travel assistance.
I will end with one last thought. IBC staff spend their time turning out proposals for funding, planning fundraising campaigns, providing services to other organizations in addition to their regular duties which obviously pays off better than spending time whining, and writing unproductive articles and letters.
Taima.
Pat Lyall
Board member
Inuit Broadcasting Corporation
Taloyoak, Nunavut
Bob is not welcome in the western NWT.
Some of the geniuses entrusted with the job of picking a name for the as-yet-unnamed new territory in the western NWT just don't like him.
There's no place in the new western territory, apparently, for a person of Bob's stature, intelligence and for anyone one with a self-deprecating sense of humour.
So who is Bob? What has Bob done to make so many enemies?
Bob was created by a group of Northwest Territories residents from a variety of places stretching from Yellowknife to Baffin Island who gathered recently at a summer barbecue.
They wondered why western leaders are having such a miserable time picking a name, let alone a direction and a structure for their new territory.
So they decided to poke fun at the process.
This group of mischievous pranksters decided on "Bob" and created an Internet site to promote their satirical stunt. The whole thing was tongue-in-cheek and silly and created a brief stir in the national media.
After all, most people love to laugh, and some have the maturity to laugh at themselves.
Not so for Thebacha MLA Michael Miltenberger, who finds the "Bob" campaign "mean-spirited," "demeaning," and having "racist overtones."
Miltenberger, you may remember, showed off his tremendous wit by making sexist remarks about fellow MLA Jane Groenewegen. It seems that in the legislative assembly he fancies himself a stand up comic, a regular "Milton Berle" Miltenberger.
Clearly, Miltenberger has no problems tolerating truly offensive locker room humour.
Miltenberger should therefore explain why it is intolerable for someone to use the constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech to express an opinion on a political process?
Miltenberger, no doubt inspired by Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, called upon all of his mental powers to track "Dr. Bob Moriarty."
He claims he's found "fingerprints on the keyboard" and has tracked down the "smoking computer" where "Bob" was born. An astonishing piece of sleuthing.
Luckily, not all western MLAs are without a sense of humour.
Groenewegen, the chairwoman of the committee to name the new territory, spotted an opportunity to get some free publicity for the NWT. Besides, she says she, as well as her 11 year-old son, find the "Bob" campaign hilarious.
Groenewegen also took a swipe at Miltenberger's sanctimonious campaigning, saying that if it was a crime to utter mean or degrading comments, Miltenberger would be serving a life sentence.
Miltenberger, and other Bob denouncers, blinded by the sting of public ridicule, fell into the trap set for them by the Bobfathers. They've just opened themselves up to even greater public ridicule.
But what Bob did expose is the immature development of the new western territoryless than 1,000 days from its birthand how easily distracted their so-called leaders are.
On April 1, 1999, the world will watch with delight as a beautiful new creation called Nunavut leaves the womb of the Northwest Territories and gasps its first breath.
That infant will be the pride and joy of aboriginal peoples across Canada and the world.
Unless some leaders with vision, imagination and maturity step forward in the western Arctic to act as midwives for their new territory, their offspring will be born prematurely.
And Bob, or the NWT, or Denendeh, or Nahendeh, or Westervut, will emerge to the sounds of its parents yelling and fighting each other.
All the diamonds in the world won't make people proud of that. TP
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Last updated
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