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Saying most NWT MLAs aren't doing their jobs, NTI says it will create an "Inuit shadow cabinet" to provide a real opposition to the territorial government.
JIM BELL
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT Nunavut Tunngavik's board of directors wants the eight members of the NWT's cabinet to start looking over their shoulders at their own shadows.
After getting the okay from delegates at last week's annual general meeting in Igloolik, Nunavut Tungavik is creating its own opposition to the Government of the Northwest Territories, the kind of opposition that's usually called "a shadow cabinet."
Under the plan, each of the eight members of NTI's executive will be assigned to one of the eight members of the NWT's cabinet, and will be responsible for "monitoring, criticizing and responding to the actions and statements of each minister of each minister of the GNWT."
That's because NTI believes most ordinary MLAs who in theory are supposed to keep the government accountable are not doing their jobs.
"This failing by the ordinary members has left the impression that there is no effective opposition in the legislature," an NTI news release says. "For the most part, tough questions are not being asked of the ministers, and they are not being held accountable."
NTI delegates also voted to allocate up to $100,000 for hiring staff or consultants to help the "Inuit shadow cabinet" with its work.
And NTI also says that it and Nunavut's three regional associations are now spending too much time and money dealing with problems caused for them by the GNWT, and that they need a better way of confronting the GNWT.
"NTI and the regional associations are expending far too much of their resources addressing problems caused by the GNWT," NTI President Jose Kusugak said in the news release.
"A quick, early and effective response to the GNWT will reduce the overall amount of work required by all parties. Creating this shadow cabinet should make GNWT think twice before making any decisions affecting Nunavut."
Kusugak says NTI and the regional Inuit associations are the only organizations that are capable of looking after the interests of Nunavut's Inuit.
"With only 16 months to go, there is a need for a strong voice to defend what will become the Nunavut government in 1999," NTI's news release says.
The motion setting up the Inuit shadow cabinet, passed Oct. 31 at last week's annual general meeting in Igloolik, states that its role is:
As of Nunatsiaq News' press time this week, NTI President Jose Kusugak was at home in bed sick, and could not be reached for comments.
NTI has not yet announced which of its executive members will get what responsibilities in their shadow cabinet.
Back to Nunatsiaq NewsJIM BELL
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT Here are some of the reasons for Nunavut Tunngavik's decision to set itself up as an unnoffical opposition to the GNWT in Nunavut:
Nunavut Tunngavik has joined a long list of people and organizations who have been pouring scorn on a GNWT plan to change the way Keewatin communities get their fuel supplies.
JIM BELL
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT Nunavut's Inuit land claim organization says the GNWT's proposal to award a long-term contract to lay more than 10,000 metres of fuel pipe in four Keewatin communities may violate the Nunavut Act.
"Section 73(1) and 73(4) of the Nunavut Act prohibit the Interim Commissioner from entering into agreements that will extend beyond April 1, 2001 and require that the governor-in-council approve such a agreements," an NTI news release says.
The GNWT plan, which has produced an uproar in the Keewatin and in the legislative assembly recently, would have the pipeline work paid for over a long-term lease that would extend beyond the year 2001.
The pipes would recieve fuel products transported to the Keewatin from the South on ocean-going fuel tankers. Right now, fuel is shipped to each Keewatin community from Churchill, Manitoba on small barges owned by the Northern Transporation Company Ltd.
The communities of Chesterfield Inlet, Coral Harbour, Arviat and Rankin Inlet would all get new fuel pipelines to be built, owned and leased back to the territorial government by whatever company wins a request for proposals expected to be issued by the GNWT.
The new plan, NTI says, could saddle the future Nunavut government with a financial burden they wouldn't have created or asked for.
"The pipeline proposal will create a long-term commitment that will not provide any benefit prior to April 1, 1999 and only questionable benefits after that, while creating a long-term liability on the Nunavut government that it will not be able to limit," NTI says.
KIA takes same position
On Wednesday this week, the Kivalliq Inuit Association issued a news release announcing their formal opposition to the project.
"This proposal makes no sense, no matter what you look at it," KIA President Paul Kaludjak said. "The GNWT has overstepped its bounds by trying to make this decision."
Both KIA and NTI say no changes should be made to the Keewatin resupply system until after April 1, 1999, when the Nunavut territorial government will be able to deal with the issue.
That's a view shared by many other Keewatin organizations.
On Oct. 20, Glenn MacLean the president of the Keewatin Chamber of Commerce wrote to Public Works Minister Goo Arlooktoo, saying that "it is with total disbelief that this announcement was made concerning the fuel resupply issue."
MacLean said the Keewatin business community unanimously supports waiting until 1999 before changing the system of fuel resupply in the region and that they have no choice but to "protest and condemn this decision."
That idea was one of several recommendations made last year by the Keewatin Re-Supply Committee, a group of Keewatin leaders put together by Public Works Minister Goo Arlooktoo to study the now-defunct idea of putting a multi-million dollar tank farm into Rankin Inlet that would replace the port of Churchill, Manitoba as the Keewatin's fuel transportation hub.
Contrary to re-supply committee
The re-supply committee recommended that the Keewatin region should eventually move towards direct re-supply of fuel, but only after 1999.
The man who chaired that committee, Kivallivik MLA Kevin O'Brien, is one of several MLAs who have been bombarding GNWT cabinet ministers with questions in the legislative assembly about the new proposal.
On the second day of the assembly's Oct. 22-23 cabinet review, Arlooktoo fended off numerous questions about his government's proposal.
"I think it's one of those issues that's caught everyone's attention," O'Brien said.
"The cabinet appears to be breaking the rules that they made and that they agreed to and it doesn't seem to matter what we say anymore. I think the ordinary members are getting to the point where they've just had enough."
O'Brien said that includes consultation with the four affected communities to make sure that the pipes aren't badly located, and an environmental review to study the risks of having ocean-going tankers entering uncharted waters around those four communities.
No environmental review
But that environmental review can't be done until after hydrographic mapping of the waters around the four affected communities are studied.
"If you're going to bring in big ships into these communities through these corridors, you have to know where you're going and to get the environmental review, you have to get the mapping done."
And he said an environmental review is a necessary safeguard that all Keewatin residents have an interest in.
"What happens in those waters is going to affect people for the next 100 years such as an Exxon Valdez incident," O'Brien said.
Back to Nunatsiaq NewsANNETTE BOURGEOIS
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT Joanasie Korgak, 24, was sentenced to life imprisonment Wednesday for the murder of his 17-year-old cousin two years ago.
The Iqaluit man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting death of Anuawalkooloo Davidee in July, 1995.
In delivering his sentence, Justice Ted Richard said alcohol and substance abuse, parental neglect, and low self-esteem were all factors that led Korgak to commit the murder.
Justice Richard described the events leading up to the shooting before passing sentence. He said on Friday evening, July 21, 1995, Korgak, along with Davidee and another friend, Kevin Amagoalik, purchased and consumed a 66-ounce bottle of liquor.
Around 10:30 that same evening they went for a ride on their bicycles. During that ride, there was a "scuffle" and "angry words had been exchanged," Richard said.
Korgak left his two friends, went home, sawed off part of his father's 12-gauge shotgun and went to Amagoalik's house.
"He felt he had been picked upon, ganged up on, and he decided to do something about," Richard said.
Korgak confronted Davidee at the Amagoalik residence, then shot him at point-blank range in the chest. Korgak left the residence and was arrested by police the next morning at his home. He's been in custody ever since.
Justice Richard said a clinical psychologist who examined Korgak reported that he feels remorse for the murder.
He added that Korgak suffers from a "major mental illness" exacerbated by a significant substance abuse problem, which began with sniffing solvents at age nine. As a result Korgak, who quit school in Grade 4, has limited intellectual and cognitive abilities.
Korgak, who'll serve his sentence in a federal penitentiary outside the Northwest Territories, is eligible for parole after serving 10 years. He's prohibited from possessing a firearm for 10 years after his release from custody.
Back to Nunatsiaq NewsThe new chair of the Baffin health board wants to meet with the rest of the board before he says anything about how he plans to tackle the job.
ANNETTE BOURGEOIS
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT The new chair of Baffin's regional health board isn't ready yet to say just what he thinks about recent board decisions.
After only a week on the job, Dennis Patterson told a boardroom of journalists Monday that he has no "hard and fast opinions" on issues that have caused a public outcry recently in the Baffin region.
"I haven't solved all the problems yet, in the first week," he told reporters in Iqaluit.
Patterson was appointed interim chair of the board last week, filling a position left vacant by Ann Hanson, who resigned last month amid a flurry of public controversy.
Recent board decisions to transfer medical specialists services from Montreal to Ottawa and to reject the use of private money to construct a new hospital have brought the board under public scrutiny.
Patterson said Baffin leaders who support his appointment suggested solving these issues should be his main objective.
No marching orders from Ng
He said, though, that he was given no "marching orders" to that effect from NWT Health Minister Kelvin Ng when he accepted the one-year term.
"He didn't provide me with any direction or instructions," Patterson said. "It's clear he's going to respect the views of the board."
The press conference, while light on details about where Patterson stands on these issues, was an attempt by the new chair to open lines of communications between the board and the public.
"It's no secret that there have been concerns expressed in the public regarding the board's decision-making process," he said. "It's not so much the decisions, but the rationale and thought that went into making the decisions."
He said board staff has already begun to work on a communication strategy.
"It's a common-sense matter that has my high attention," Patterson said. "It obviously can be improved upon."
Meets with QC president
Patterson has also begun to heal the relationship between Qikiqtaaluk Corporation and the board. That relationship broke down in September when the board rejected the Inuit birthright corporation's offer to help finance the construction of a new hospital.
Patterson, who suggested the board hasn't rejected the offer outright, met with Qikiqtaaluk Corp's president Jerry Ell last week about the financing proposal.
"I'm confident we can develop a good working relationship to take advantage of their goodwill and good intentions," he said, cautiously adding it's up to the board to decide whether to pursue a deal.
"Where that will lead is dependent on the direction the board takes."
He didn't rule out the role the newly-established hospital foundation will have in fund raising.
"I don't think we should settle them with impossible burdens," Patterson said. "It's one tool that can be used effectively, but it's certainly not the only one."
No long-term deal with Ottawa yet
Another sensitive issue among Baffin residents is the board's decision to severe a 30-year tie with Montreal's McGill program in favor of a partnership with Ottawa's Heart Institute.
That decision was reviewed by the health department's deputy minister, David Ramsden, in September. As a result, Ng has asked the board to complete a detailed cost analysis of the move before he'll give it final approval.
"While direction has been given by the board, a long-term arrangement has yet to be put in place," Patterson said of the Montreal to Ottawa move.
Patterson, who represented Iqaluit as MLA from 1979-95, also addressed criticisms that he's now a Yellowknife resident.
"My plan on the longterm is to relocate myself here," he said, adding he's always "kept up with events" in the region.
Patterson said he's anxious to get the job done.
"I see my appointment to deal with some of these major issues," he said. "I'm not anxious to hold on to this job forever."
Back to Nunatsiaq NewsANNETTE BOURGEOIS
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT The NWT's finance minister didn't get a commitment on whether or not Ottawa will set aside another $136 million for division-related transition costs when he met with federal officials in Ottawa last week.
The report that GWNT finance minister John Todd tabled in the legislative assembly last month outlined $136 million in one-time, division-related costs. That's in addition to the $150 million that the federal cabinet already approved for division costs.
"We didn't really talk a lot about that except to say we hope we'd get a response from the parties," Todd said.
Indian Affairs minister Jane Stewart has not publicly responded to the report.
"There's a concern out there that we need to reach a consensus on what additional transition costs we need," Todd said.
"We believe there's a requirement for additional transition costs. Federal minister Stewart has agreed we should put a table together, along with the other parties, to evaluate that and reassess what the needs are, but there was no commitment in terms of dollars."
GNWT can't pay extra costs
Todd has made it clear in recent weeks that while the parties negotiate what costs will be covered, the GNWT is in no position to fund Nunavut's substantial transition costs.
"We're only covering a few costs, but nothing significant. Any significant costs associated with division have to come out of transitional costs."
Funding-related talks, instead, centered around formula financing and the on-going costs associated with running Nunavut and a western territory after division.
Todd and his federal counterpart, Paul Martin, discussed how that will happen after April, 1999, but he was reluctant to share details of those talks other than to say he was "encouraged."
"I'm not trying to be evasive, but I'm reluctant to say anything at this time because these are sensitive negotiations," he said. "I'm not the only partner at the table."
He said he wants to have an agreement in place before the end of the fiscal year.
"The sooner we come to an arrangement the better," he said, adding he's set his target for March 31, 1998. "Only time will tell whether or not the federal government will commit to the money."
Back to TopMore than 30 Igloolik construction workers are working 12-hour days to build the infrastructure for Baffin's new regional centre.
Nunatsiaq News
IGLOOLIK Dominic Angotimarik bends into the yellow cone of light, a plume of silvery breath rising as he pencils the lumber with the trace of a staircase.
He reaches for his circular saw and executes the cut. Small triangles of wood drop silently into a dark bed of sawdust on what is to become a civil servant's living-room floor.
In a few weeks' time, when Igloolik is blanketed in perpetual darkness, construction workers like Angotimarik will depend on electric floodlamps to illuminate their work.
Right now, most of the crew is working furiously to finish framing three new apartment complexes, and to seal them in plywood walls to allow interior finishing work to continue through the winter.
"We want to get them closed in as fast as possible before it gets any darker or colder," Aime Panimera, site manager for Nunavut Construction Corporation (NCC) says, stepping over drifting snow near an opening in the north wall.
New Baffin region headquarters
In Igloolik, future site of Baffin regional administrative offices for the Nunavut government, NCC is under contract to bring 24 housing units on line in time for division in April 1999. The crew has been working overtime to complete the first phase of construction by next spring.
And they're keeping up with a tight schedule, Panimera says, despite a less-than-ideal climate.
"I'm particulary proud since we've only had two journeymen carpenters," Panimera says.
Panimera, himself a journeyman millright and plumber, is overseeing construction of 12 new housing units in Igloolik. The design calls for three buildings, side by side, each containing three, two-bedroom, two-storey apartment units, and a single one-storey, two-bedroom apartment.
"We've never built this type of building before, but they caught on really good, really quick."
An additional 12 units are scheduled for construction next year.
Twelve-hour shifts
As in other Nunavut communities where similar projects are underway the Igloolik crew has been working 12-hour shifts, six and often seven - days a week, to accelerate construction. But unpredictable weather can wreak havoc on a construction schedule.
Tha's what happened three weeks ago, when gale-force winds forced Panimera to send workers home after they tried in vain to secure a shipment of styrofoam insulation panels.
"We got out of there just in time," Panimera recalls. "An hour after we left a wall blew off and flipped onto where the insulation was." A third of the blue insulation panels destined for the housing units was also blown away.
Most of the 31 local men hired here have no formal training as builders. Some of the younger crew members had little experience in construction at all, before work started on the housing units in September.
Training and skill-sharing
The few who did, like Dominic Angotimarik and Louis Otik, have been sharing their skills.
"They're respected," Panimera says. "The younger guys listen to them."
Once a week the whole crew gathers for a special safety meeting to put themselves on guard against several hazards at the site: slippery roofs, icy ladders and scaffolding, and the ever-diminishing amount of natural light.
Outside, laborers try to keep ahead of the weather, clearing walkways and wrestling sheets of plywood from beneath piles of snow. Others are busy sealing the seams of the plywood walls with a rubber compound.
Once the buildings have been closed in, drywalling and taping inside will begin. By then the crew will be pared down to a core of the most seasoned drywallers. But everybody's expected to be recalled when construction starts up again next summer.
In the course of a few weeks, a number of young men have acquired first-hand knowledge of modern construction methods. Will it lead some to follow the crew boss's example and seek formal training in the building trades?
Yes, says Panimera, who spent eight years practicing his trade at Nanisivik and Polaris mines.
"A lot of guys know they will have to go out for at least a couple of months a year for their training if they want to pass the apprenticeship exams."
DWANE WILKIN
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT A clean-up crew from Igloolik may be hired to round up more than a thousand panels of styrofoam insulation blown across the tundra during a violent storm three weeks ago.
The insulation, which belongs to Nunavut Construction Corporation, was stored in bales at the site of a government staff-housing project.
"I guess the wind got under them and broke apart the packages," NCC project manager Ted McLean said.
It's not known exactly how far the insulation may have travelled. Wind speeds of between 40 and 62 knots were registered throughout the Oct. 14 storm.
The construction company has since filed an insurance claim for material damages of $24,000. All told, 1,340 four-inch and three inch panels of blue styrofoam insulation were blown north toward the Fury and Hecla strait.
"We're also allowing a claim for clean-up, things like hiring some individuals next summer when they can actually see the stuff and collect it," McLean said.
Gale-force winds tore the second-floor walls from two of the buildings under construction and blew away a 500-gallon water tank, which was later recovered.
"When a structure is half-built like that, it's very vulnerable to that kind of thing," McLean said. "Once it's together it's very strong, but if it's half done, you can have the kind of damage like they had in Igloolik."
In order to stay on schedule, NCC says it has no choice now but to fly in replacement materials.
"This is the sort of thing that insurance is for, and we are well covered" McLean said.
Back to Topby JOHN AMAGOALIK
Leaving society's closet
There was a time when I thought that gays and lesbians were sick people. I was young and not wise to the ways of the world. Older, and hopefully wiser, I now accept them as my equals.
Facing ridicule, harassment, and sometimes even violence because of their sexual preference, gays and lesbians have largely stayed in what is referred to as "the closet." Encouraged by more liberal attitudes and constitutional protection against discrimination, the gay community is now venturing beyond the doors of society's closet. They are, more and more, being accepted into the mainstream of society.
I do not know how gay men and women were treated in traditional Inuit society. I suspect they were accepted by some and not by others. Inuit teachings and stories are largely quiet on the subject.
The gay movement in the United States and southern Canada have been strong for some time now. It has been only about a decade since gays of the Canadian North first peeked into the living rooms of the human family.
In larger communities like Iqaluit, gays have become more open and are largely accepted by the community. Of course, there is the odd tasteless joke or hurtful remark.
Sometimes people think that all homosexuals are pedophiles. Pedophilia afflicts all sexes, not just gays. It would be wrong to paint all gays with the same brush because of the actions of a few.
Homosexuality is still a sensitive subject to discuss openly. To some, it's still taboo. But it is a part of our reality. It has always been and always will be. We should accept this reality and accept the gay community as part of the human family. After all, they are sometimes our brothers, uncles, sisters, cousins, and children.
I remember being taught a song in school about a little child called "Little Black Sambo." I don't think they teach that song in school anymore. Times change. Attitudes change. We humans are becoming smarter. Years down the road, we will all shake our heads when we remember how we used to think about gays.
How did I change my attitude toward gays? It was the day I came to a simple conclusion. They are also God's children.
Back to TopIBC wants a say
I am writing in connection with the article published under the headline "Southern Managers Bleeding IBC Dry," which appeared in your October 24 edition.
Although the story appeared under the byline of Annette Bourgeois, your readers should be aware that in fact the article was simply a reprint of a news release issued by Igloolik Isuma Productions Inc., a private production company.
No one from either IBC or TVNC was contacted prior to publication of Isuma's press release. Since your standards of journalism apparently do not require that facts be checked prior to publication to ensure fair and balanced reporting, let me set the record straight:
1. IBC is not run by "southern managers." Two of IBC's managers are located in Ottawa; the remaining eight are located in the North. The IBC board of directors is comprised of Inuit living in the North representing all regions of Nunavut.
2. Similarly, TVNC has two managers in the North and one manager in Ottawa. It too has a board of directors comprised of northern residents.
3. The Department of Heritage does not and never has hired contractors to manage IBC and TVNC.
4. Contrary to the assertion in the press release and reproduced in the article that the Ottawa office of IBC "takes up half the budget," in fact IBC's Ottawa office takes up only 13 per cent of IBC's total budget.
5. Contrary to the assertion in your headline that "the quality of native broadcasting slips to an all time low," the facts are that IBC has a new youth series; we are involved in several international co-productions; we have won several awards in the last year including the Prix Jeunesse; and we are nominated for a Special Recognition Award by the Alliance for Children and Television.
Even the most cursory inquiries prior to publication would have revealed that Isuma is a private producer with its own agenda and is made up of disgruntled ex-employees of IBC. Isuma is, of course, entitled to pursue any agenda it wishes.
However, in the absence of any checking on the part of Nunatsiaq News, the article which appeared in your October 24th edition should have appeared as an unpaid advertisement and not as journalism.
Pat Lyall
President, Inuit Broadcasting Corporation
TVNC wants a say, too
I am writing this letter on behalf of Television Northern Canada after reading the biased, inaccurate and irresponsible article in Nunatsiaq News on October 23, 1997. I would like to clarify several issues and respond to the serious allegations made in the article.
First of all, at no time did a reporter from Nunatsiaq News contact either IBC or TVNC to comment or respond to allegations make by Igloolik Isuma Productions. I wonder why we were not asked to comment to provide readers with a balanced perspective on this issue.
As TVNC has not been given the opportunity to review the "bold new plan" put forward by Zacharias Kunuk, Paul Apak and Norman Cohn, we cannot comment upon it, but there are many misconceptions about TVNC in the article that we would like to address.
TVNC has an administration office in Ottawa. This decision was made in 1994 by the TVNC board of directors, who are all northern organizations and the majority of whom are aboriginal.
It was thought that, as the TVNC board of directors agreed to look into the feasibility of expanding the network into southern Canada, and for greater and easier access to funding sources and government agencies, an office in Ottawa would be beneficial.
The costs for the salaries, rent and expenses at the Ottawa office constitute less than 10 per cent of TVNC's entire budget. And the Ottawa office has been instrumental in making TVNC members aware of important government and industry initiatives, and following up on them, which can often be difficult working in the North.
TVNC's Ottawa office has also been instrumental in the establishment of a significant amount of funds being made available to aboriginal producers.
Regarding independent producers and their lack of access to TVNC, we would like to point out the initiatives undertaken by TVNC to include and support aboriginal producers.
1. In 1996, TVNC teamed with Telefilm Canada to offer two $10,000 awards to independent aboriginal producers. One was for an aboriginal language award and one for an English or French language award. We were able to give the winners much deserved international recognition for their work. As a result of the success of this award, we hope to continue this award for years to come. Isuma Igloolik Productions was made aware of the availability of this award but did not apply.
2. TVNC was instrumental in re-establishing and setting criteria, with Cancom, for the Ross Charles Award, an annual internship for northern aboriginal broadcasters to gain experience and a greater understanding of the regulatory and industry environment.
3. For three years, TVNC extensively lobbied the government to ensure aboriginal broadcasters were able to access public production funds. Partly due to TVNC intervention, the new Canada Television and Cable Production Fund has an aboriginal language section worth in excess of $1 million to ensure aboriginal producers, such as Igloolik Isuma Productions, can apply.
We hope that Isuma Productions has taken advantage of this opportunity that we have worked hard to provide. TVNC is still working diligently to ensure this valuable fund is renewed.
4. This month, TVNC announced funds from the Northwestel Cable Inc./ Arctic Cooperatives aboriginal production fund. TVNC will be administering this annual fund, worth nearly $12,000 this year. This positive information was sent to Nunatisiaq News on October 20 but not published. Igloolik Isuma Productions asked for an application form for this fund.
5. TVNC has also been working with CTV News 1 to provide training opportunities and internships for northern producers.
The statement "raw footage and endless stale reruns constitute much of TVNC fare these days" is made, but not attributed to anyone. Is this the reporters' opinion? The opinion of Zacharias Kunuk and Paul Apak?
TVNC has worked diligently with its members to continue broadcasting quality productions with drastically diminishing funds. TVNC has acquired nearly a dozen new documentaries and series and wrote letters of interest to producers for a dozen more.
TVNC is the only network that broadcasts aboriginal programming on a consistent basis. We provide a valuable service and are working hard to improve.
TVNC would also take issue with the statement by Zacharias Kunuk that he hopes the ownership structure of a new specialty channel will be "more representative of aboriginal producers than TVNC is now."
TVNC is an aboriginal network, owned and operated by a majority of aboriginal producers. The majority aboriginal members of the TVNC board of directors would take issue with the insinuation that they are not representative of the interests of their aboriginal organizations and communities.
TVNC has also formed partnerships with a number of independent aboriginal producers to ensure variety on TVNC. Further, TVNC has never received a request from Igloolik Isuma Productions to broadcast their programs or provide them with a time slot.
Igloolik Isuma mentions the need for a specialty channel. TVNC would contend that aboriginal language programming not only meets the needs of a marginalized group but deserves a place along English and French programming in Canada.
In fact, TVNC members worked diligently to ensure that the Broadcast Act of 1991 includes aboriginal language broadcasting in section 34.
I trust this will clarify the issues raised. To ensure fairness, it is essential that our version of this story be published. TVNC expects to read this complete response in the next issue of Nunatsiaq News. Qujannamiik.
Abraham Tagalik
Chair, Television Northern Canada
A failed institution
When a young, unemployed, uneducated youth breaks into your local co-op to steal a few cases of pop and candy, we call him a criminal.
We expect and rightly so that such thieves will be arrested by the police, charged, convicted, and sentenced to a fit punishment.
But when an affluent, educated person breaks into your government to gain a position in which they are free to loot hundreds of thousands, and sometimes even millions of dollars worth of unearned contracts, leases, and other arbitrary benefits from the public treasury for himself and his friends, we call him a "public servant."
If their method of entry happens to be via the elected route, and they happen to end up in the cabinet, we even let them put the word "honourable" before their names.
In the Northwest Territories, we have created a system of government in which white-collar criminality and ethical rule-breaking is possible to commit without anyone every knowing about it.
One of the most egregious examples of this was the GNWT's longstanding policy of confidentiality with respect to the terms of sole-source and negotiated contracts.
Because of this, no one will ever know how many of these contracts in the past were awarded legitimately, and how many were awarded as a result of influence peddling which is a criminal offense or political patronage. To his credit, Premier Don Morin has finally agreed to publish information about these kinds of contracts.
But mysteriously, just as the GNWT has at the same time begun to make use of another way of awarding contracts requests for proposals, or RFPs. Though GNWT officials claim that RFPs work the same way as competitive public tender bids, most people outside the government believe otherwise.
Whether it's fair or not, most people in the business community and elsewhere believe that RFPs are simply a convenient tool by which the GNWT may circumvent public competitive tendering. That's because the process of awarding contracts through RFPs is murky, vague and not accessible to the public.
It's also because many residents have lost faith in the institutions they normally rely upon to protect us from unethical and criminal behaviour in government.
Chief among these is the NWT legislative assembly, many of whose MLAs display little understanding of ethical issues. Many of those who do appear to be either too lazy, too cowardly or too hungover to protect the public interest, including Nunavut's public interest
It's no wonder then, that Nunavut Tunngavik announced last week that they plan to set up a "shadow cabinet" to provide some forthright and sustained criticism of the GNWT. The only surprise about this announcement is that they didn't do so two or three years ago.
NTI now has a long list of beefs with the GNWT including the GNWT's continued support of the Keewatin health board's audacious contempt for public opinion in their region, an equally audacious GNWT plan for fuel delivery in the Keewatin that may violate the Nunavut Act, and continued problems with the implementation of Arcticle 24.
But in creating an extra-legislative opposition to the territorial government, NTI is also acknowledging what many others have believed for a long time. And that is that the consensus system of government is failing, not because consensus government is a bad idea, but because not enough MLAs are doing what's need to make it work.
For those exceptional MLAs who have tried to protect the public interest such as Yellowknife Centre MLA Jake Ootes, Hay River MLA Jane Groenewegen, Iqaluit MLA Ed Picco and Kivallivik MLA Kevin O' Brien this is an unfair judgement.
But for others, its not unfair, especially for those MLAs who have even stooped so low as to read questions written for them by cabinet ministers.
Our only hope is that the 13th legislative assembly provides an instructive example for those who plan to run for Nunavut's legislature early in 1999. JB
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