Columns

Nunavut settles in for national postal strike

Private courier companies and First Air expect to benefit. Regular mail serice within Eastern Arctic won't be affected, since postal workers here belong to different union.

DWANE WILKIN
Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT ­ Couriers and cargo handlers forecast increased sales this week as striking postal workers brought mail service across the country to a halt.

Corey Stewart, owner of Iqaluit's Arctic Express, said demand for courier services had already risen by about 15 per cent over the last couple of weeks as the labor dispute between Canada Post and unionized employees worsened.

Corey told Nunatsiaq News earlier this week he expected business to flourish as the holiday season approaches.

"I think once the strike hits, if it goes anything over two weeks, or even a week, there's going to be a big increase," Stewart said.

Canada Post Corp. has been in contract talks with unionized employees for several months, with no agreement in sight. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) had been in a legal position to call a strike since Tuesday.

Canada Post has reported more than a 50 per cent drop in the volume of first-class mail and Parcel Post deliveries since the dispute began heating up a month ago.

No change in Eastern Arctic

Mail service to and from communities in the Eastern Arctic won't be directly affected by the strike. The union representing postal workers in the Eastern Arctic is not involved in a labor dispute with Canada Post.

Any mail originating the western Arctic, though, will not reach its destination, since postal workers in Yellowknife and Hay River are members of CUPW.

A spokesperson for the territorial government said residents in northern communities who depend on social welfare will still be able to recieve income, as welfare cheques are issued by social workers in each community.

Since Arctic Express also holds the local contract for Canada Post's special-delivery products, Stewart said he likely won't need to hire additional staff to handle the extra business while postal workers in the South take to the picket lines.

"My labor forces will be decreased at that end, so I can just move them over to concentrate on the courier business," Stewart said.

After a month of brisk sales attributed to customer uncertainty about postal service, First Air's cargo division faces the prospect of losing the business of its largest customer ­ Canada Post.

"We have seen an increase over the last month, and we're going to lose some, of course, as a result of the strike, but how much we're going to lose, it's hard to predict," Marcel Anctil, director of cargo sales, said.

Anctil said cargo volumes were actually up by about 15 per cent in the last month as northern customers hurried to lay in supplies before any disruption of the mail.

"If the strike lasts two or three weeks, they have enough goods to last," Anctil said. "After that, you're going to see the courier companies increase their volumes."

First Air could stand to benefit temporarily from an increase in its own pick-up and delivery service, which it offers to Ontario and Quebec customers.

"We plan to have more customers and we plan to put extra personnel (to work), if need be. We think that we're able to cope, we're ready to face the music."

Food mail, which Anctil said comprises roughly 85 per cent of the volume of First Air's cargo, won't be affected by the strike.

Arlooktoo delays Keewatin resupply decision

Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT ­ The NWT's public works minister, Goo Arlooktoo, issued a statement this week saying he won't announce a decision on the fate of his government's Keewatin marine resupply proposal until Nov. 28.

Hostile Keewatin residents in Baker Lake, Arviat and Rankin Inlet urged Arlooktoo to delay the project earlier this month at meetings in those communities.

Under the GNWT's current proposal, pipelines would be installed in four Keewatin communities to facilitate the direct delivery of fuel products from Montreal via ocean-going tankers.

A long list of organizations and individuals have arisen to oppose the plan, including the Nunasi Corporation, the Northern Transportation Company Limited, the Kivalliq Inuit Association, Nunavut Tunngavik, the Keewatin Chamber of Commerce, and most Keewatin hamlet councils.

But in his November 18 statement, Arlooktoo suggested that the GNWT may still go ahead with the plan.

"We cannot afford to lose the opportunity to make improvements in the transportation system which could have very positive effects on the cost of power and air transportation, along with corresponding reductions in the cost of home heating fuel," Arlooktoo said.

Arlooktoo also said fuel consumers are now subsidizing what he called the high cost of fuel delivery in the Keewatin.

In an interview last week, Arlooktoo said he wants to ask NTCL ­ whose barges now supply the Keewatin region ­ to find ways of lowering the cost of their service ­ hinting that if they can, he may delay the project until after division of the NWT in 1999.

First Air hikes rates for cargo, air fares

Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT ­ Northern Canada's biggest airline has just announced that it plans to hit its customers with passenger fare and cargo rate increases.

In a news release issued Nov. 18, First Air said pasenger fares will go up by 6 per cent next year ­ 3 per cent on Jan. 1 and by another 3 per cent on March 1.

As well, cargo rates will go up by 10 per cent ­ 4.5 per cent on Jan. 1 and 5.5 per cent on March 1.

But First Air said it will also cut its 7 cents per kilo fuel surcharge as of Jan. 1.

The airline blamed NAV Canada's new navigation fees, along with "overall economic conditions" in the North for the increases.

Baffin health board CEO takes leave from job

ANNETTE BOURGEOIS
Nunatsiaq News

The Baffin health board's chair was expected to make an announcement this week in response to rumors that his chief executive officer has been fired.

Dennis Patterson said that he's reviewed Pat Kermeen's performance, but in an interview Wednesday, wouldn't say what the result of that is.

"Since being appointed I have been intensively reviewing all aspects of the board's operations, including the CEO, who reports to the board chair," Patterson said from his Yellowknife office. "My review of the operations of the board revealed some problems."

Kermeen was named acting chief executive officer of the board in July, 1996, replacing Trevor Pollitt. The board confirmed her appointment to the position on September 30. She is currently on leave from the board and her position is being filled by Gene Tomasky, the board's new director of finance and administration.

"I have been approached by a number of people, including staff members, to clarify the CEO situation," Patterson said.

Kermeen's competence to do her job was called into question in early October. That's when both the Iqaluit and Baffin Regional Chambers of Commerce issued a joint press release calling on the board's then-chair Ann Hansonand Health Minister Kelvin Ng to remove Kermeen. Neither Hanson, who stepped down last month, and Ng refused.

Patterson met with chamber members in Iqaluit to discuss their concerns on October 30, shortly after being appointed.

"That's one of the factors that had to be borne in mind in my review for sure. This was a public matter and it was discussed when I met with the executive of the regional and Iqaluit chambers."

As part of his review, Patterson said he looked at briefings from the CEO to himself and to the board, as well as examining documents dealing with the move of specialist services from Montreal to Ottawa. He said one of the key documents was the report from the deputy minister of health reviewing recent board decisions both in the Baffin and Keewatin regions.

"I have said up till now that it's a private personnel matter," Patterson said. "When my review is complete there'll be an announcement"

Baffin beneficiaries go to the polls Dec. 8

LEEVEDE ATAGOYUK
Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT ­ Inuit beneficiaries of the Inuit land claim in the Baffin region will go to the polls Dec. 8 to elect four community directors and a new secretary-treasurer for the Qikiqtaani Inuit Association.

Eleven people are running for the secretary-treasurer's job on December 8. There are also four board of directors positions up for grabs ­ in Arctic Bay, Broughton Island, Grise Fiord, and Sanikiluaq.

Late last May, the Qiqitanni Inuit Association had to fire its former secretary treasurer, John Illupalik. Illupalik has shown up drunk for a QIA charter flight from Iqaluit to Sanikiluaq and wasn't allowed on the plane.

The nominees for the secretary-treasurer's position are Joe Attagutaaluk, Harry Dialla, Peter Iqalukjuak, Qavavauq Issuqangituq, Johnny Mike, Pudloo Mingeriak, Cornilius Kadloo Nutarak Jr., Poasie Peter, Jimmy Qaunirq, Lootie Toomasie, and Blandina Tulugarjuk.

In Arctic Bay, Johnny Attagutsiak, Joanasie Kigutaq, Moses Koonoo, Koonoo Muckpaloo, Olayou Naqitarvik, Philip Oingonn, Simon Qamanirq and Andrew Taqtu are all running for the QIA director's position.

Two people are running to represent Broughton Island: Loasie Audlakiak and Jaycopie Kutsiak.

In Grise Fiord, Lymeekie Kakkee, Charlie Noah, and Looty Pijamini are the nominees.

And in Sanikiluaq, six people are running to represent that community: Moses Appaqaq Jr., Joe Arragutainaq, Johnassie Arragutainaq, Harry Sala, Johnny Tookaluk, and David Uppik.

Anyone Inuit beneficiary aged sixteen or older, and who has resided in the Baffin for twelve months on or before election day may vote in the election for secretary-treasurer.

Global warming poses big threats to Canada's Arctic

Ottawa officials are trying to put the best possible spin on an inexorable environmental phenomenon that threatens to turn the Arctic upside down.

DWANE WILKIN
Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT ­ The good news is that sailing through the Northwest Passage will finally be a cinch.

The bad news?

Well, global warming will probably drive muskoxen, polar bears and Peary caribou into extinction.

And other species ­ including humans ­ will face declining food sources as changes in the availability of vegetation occur, according to a new Environment Canada report on the effects of climate change.

Some experts predict warmer average temperatures north of 60 will cause the Arctic Ocean to stay ice-free for long periods of the year. If this happens, walrus and seal populations will decline, too.

Ottawa attempts positive spin

Not to be discouraged, Canada's environment minister, Christine Stewart, hit a note of optimism last week when the report, Responding to Global Climate Change in Canada's Arctic, was finally released.

"Over the centuries, people have shown great ingenuity and resourcefulness in adapting to the harsh environment of the Arctic," Stewart said in a release.

"A rapidly changing climate will pose further challenges."

The report notes, for instance, that reduced ice cover would be a potential boon to offshore oil and gas production. The shipping season would be extended, and in the western Arctic, "new agricultural opportunities would arise."

Harder for caribou to find food

Of course, higher carbon dioxide gas emissions in the atmoshpere will also bring more rain and snow to to the Arctic ­ as much as 25 per cent more. And deeper snow will make it more difficult for caribou to find food.

The study's authors predict the heavier sno cover will lead, in turn, to smaller, thinner animals forced to go farther afield for food in winter, and and plagued by insects in the summer.

Inland waterways would change dramatically, too and Arctic char in the 21st century will likely have to compete for habitat with a range of of species now confined to the South, such as trout.

About the only animals not expected to be affected directly by warming temperatures are beluga and bowhead whales, whose populations the report's author's predict will either increase or remain stable.

Responding to Global Climate Change in Canada's Arctic is the fifth of six regional reports of the Canada Country Study (CCS). The study was undertaken in 1996 by Environment Canada to identify the potenial impacts of future climate change on human activity in different regions of the country.

One of the questions the study has sought to answer is how Canadians in each region should best respond to climate change. The study's participants include representatives from government, industry and the academic community, as well as environmental groups.

The study's latest report predicts that an accelerated rate of greenhouse gas emissions would cause winter temperatures in the mainland of the Canadian Arctic to rise by 5 to 7 degrees within the next century.

These warmer temperatures would, in turn, cause more than a half of existing permafrost to disappear.

Canada not meeting commitments

Canada has not been able to live up to its own international commitment to stablilize greenhouse gas emissions, produced by burning fossil fuels such as diesel, gasoline and heating oil.

Since the beginning of the industrial revolution 200 years ago, the concentration of greenhouse gases in the planet's atmosphere has greatly increased.

Scientists expect to see a doubling of the atmospheric composition of carbon dioxide within the next century.

Duncan Pryde ­ an appreciation

The legendary Inuktitut linguist and chronicler of Arctic life, Duncan Pryde, died last weekend.

KENN HARPER
Special to Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT ­ A northern legend has died. Duncan Pryde, an old Arctic hand and long-time northerner, died on November 15 on the Isle of Wight off the coast of England. He was 60 years old.

Duncan was born in Scotland and raised in orphanages. He went to sea at 15. Three years later, in 1955, he answered a newspaper ad placed by the Hudson's Bay Company: "Fur traders wanted for the far north". The ad asked for single, ambitious, self-reliant young men, and promised a life of isolation, hardship and adventure, all for $135 a month.

Duncan was accepted and spent his first three years in Canada in northern Ontario and Manitoba, where he learned the Cree language. In 1958 he moved to the Arctic, serving first at Baker Lake. From there he was posted to more and more isolated locations: Spence Bay, then Perry River in 1961, and finally Bathurst Inlet in 1965.

A mastery of the Inuit language

Everywhere he lived, Duncan immersed himself in the language of the Inuit. His grasp of Inuit dialects was phenomenal, and his life's ambition was to compile the defnitive dictionary of the Inuit language as spoken in the Central Arctic.

Not content to remain at his isolated posts, Duncan mastered the art of dogteam travel, and travelled extensively throughout the region.

In 1966, Duncan was elected to the Territorial Council, as the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories was known at the time.

This was the first time that representatives from the Inuit area of the Northwest Territories ­ basically what is now Nunavut ­ were elected. The territory was divided into three ridings and Duncan, Simonee Michael and Bobby Williamson were all elected that year to one-year terms. In 1967 Duncan was re-elected for a three-year term.

The council met twice a year in those days. Duncan devoted his attention to those issues most important to the Inuit whom he represented ­ hunting and game laws. He was the first to propose the sports hunting of polar bears as a way of bringing extra dollars into Inuit communities.

On the cover of Time

He was the only person from the Canadian north to ever have his picture on the cover of Time magazine.

In 1969, Duncan married Gina Blondin in Yellowknife. They had one daughter, Fiona. Two years later, Duncan's fame transcended the north when he published his autobiography, <I>Nunaga: My Land, My Country.<P>

Extremely controversial, the book was an instant bestseller and was translated into a number of languages. <I>Nunaga<P> was the only book that Duncan wrote, although he had had at least one beautiful poem, "The Breath of Arctic Men", published earlier.

Unfortunately, Duncan's and Gina's marriage ended a few years later, and Duncan left hastily for Alaska.

There he taught Eskimo languages at the fledgling Inupiat University in Point Barrow, an institution set up with Alaskan land claims money.

A love of language

Language research was his love, so much so that when he ran afoul of the administration and was fired from his teaching post, he stayed on as janitor so he would not have to leave the academic environment. A few years later he left Alaska ­ and disappeared!

For many years no-one knew what had become of Duncan. Many thought him dead. And such was the charisma the man had always exuded, that many of his old friends wanted very much to find him.

Those of us non-Inuit who have studied the Inuktitut language and achieved some level of competence in it had long recognized Duncan for the linguistic genius that he was.

(In addition to many dialects of the Inuit languages, Cree, and some Slavey and Dogrib, Duncan spoke Scots Gaelic, Italian, German, Hindi and a smattering of a number of other languages.)

I introduced him to Mick Mallon in the 70's, and Mick was astounded that this man with an elementary school education had taught himself the principles of scientific linguistics.

An Inuktitut dictionary

He had started often on his life-long ambition, the writing of a dictionary, but if there was one thing that Duncan could never manage, it was money, and always the necessity to make a living interfered. Indeed, "Duncan's A's" became a buzz word in Canadian Inuktitut studies, for despite many starts, he had never gotten past the letter "A."

John MacDonald of Igloolik, who had first met Duncan in Baker Lake in 1959, eventually tracked him down. He was living in the town of Cowes, on England's Isle of Wight, had a skipper's ticket as a yachtsman, and had remarried.

The man who had billed himself as "the Pryde of the Arctic" now ran a little shop called "Pryde of Cowes" and lived at number 6 Arctic Road! MacDonald and I also tracked down a trunk full of Duncan's memorabilia and language notes, which everyone including Duncan assumed had been sent to the dump after the breakup of his marriage.

The trunk was found in Bill Carpenter's garage in Yellowknife. MacDonald made copies of all the language material; the originals went to Duncan, the copies to the Prince of Wales Heritage Centre where they will be an invaluable resource for future students of Central Arctic dialects.

Stricken with cancer

About three years ago Duncan was stricken with cancer. Chemotherapy put it into remission, but Duncan was no longer as robust as before.

John MacDonald convinced him to buy a computer, and begin the achievement of his dream, the Inuit dictionary. On Duncan's behalf, I negotiated a grant with Arctic College for financial support for the first volume ­ the letter "A."

It was completed earlier this year. A multi-dialectal comparison with examples of usage, it ran in excess of 280 pages.

Like many who lack a formal education, Duncan appreciated recognition for his accomplishments, especially in the field of Eskimo linguistics.

Academic recognition

Earlier this year, he received a letter from Michael Fortescue at the Institute for Eskimologi, University of Copenhagen, perhaps the foremost linguist specializing in Eskimo languages today. Michael, a rigorous critic who knew Duncan only through reputation, wrote to congratulate him on the excellent work in the first volume of his dictionary.

Last December, John MacDonald and I visited Duncan and his wife, Dawn, at their home on Arctic Road. We sat up late, drinking rum as we had done in the past, and talking about ­ what else ­ the old days. And over and over the conversation returned to Duncan's passion ­ Inuit language.

Duncan was hard at work on the second volume of his dictionary when his cancer returned this past summer, and he suffered a stroke. Irreverent and feisty to the end, Duncan complained to his doctors that he needed four more years for his dictionary.

Two weeks ago, he was proclaiming that he was feeling stronger every day. But that was not to be.

At the end of Nunaga, Duncan remarked:

"There will never be a job such as the one which enticed me as a dreamy-eyed young man all the way from Scotland with romantic notions in my otherwise empty head. There will never be another fur trader in the old tradition, just as there will never again be an Eskimo in the old image."

One might add that there will probably never be another linguist to match Duncan Pryde in the Canadian Arctic.

Indeed John Sperry, the former Bishop of the Arctic and an accomplished linguist himself remarked to me: "We will not see his like again. I always felt humbled by his knowledge."

My Little Corner of Canada

A phone call from Santa

JOHN AMAGOALIK

Ring, ring.

"Hello."

"Hello, is this the little corner?"

"Yes. Good to hear from you Santa. I know your voice anywhere. How are you?"

"Jolly good, thank you. I understand you are having your first little blizzard in Iqaluit."

"It's not much of a blizzard but it's building up some nice snowdrifts."

"I also see here that you now have your first granddaughter. How is she?"

"She's just fine. Grandson number four was also born three weeks after the granddaughter."

"That's wonderful. You must be very proud."

"Yes, I am. Grandchildren are very special."

"That's great. I hope they have an interesting life like you have had."

"I hope so too. But I get a little worried sometimes about overpopulation, the depletion of the ozone, and we still have people like Saddam Hussein who are still trying to build biological and nuclear weapons. He's just the type of person who would use them too."

"Don't worry too much. I think humans are very smart and will find solutions for these problems. I do wish Saddam would stop threatening the world with these horrible weapons."

"Anyway, Santa, how does Christmas look this year?"

"It's looking very good. I have been looking through my big book to see who has been naughty or nice. Some kids who were pretty naughty last year are behaving better this year. But there are still some who are skipping classes in school, telling lies, and some of them are even stealing. This sort of thing makes me very sad. I also see that some parents are neglecting their children. Neglected children can become real problems when they grow up."

"How about the real story of Christmas? Are children learning about the birth of Christ?"

"Most children know the story of the birth of Christ. But it really saddens me when some educators are not comfortable telling about the origin of Christmas. They are afraid of offending other religions and cultures. I think they're getting a little too sensitive sometimes."

"Are those Greenlanders still thinking that you live in Kalatlit Nunaat?"

"I don't have the heart to tell them that I've been living on Ellesmere Island all along."

"Do you live inside the proposed national park?"

"The CIA might be listening to our conversation so I would not feel comfortable about answering that. I wouldn't want them snooping around here looking for my toy factory."

"I guess its better this way."

"Do you have a special wish for Christmas?"

"Yes, I wish a very special Christmas for my aunt Minnie in Resolute. She must be in her eighties now."

"Ok, I'll try and do my part so she has a nice Christmas. I better get back to my workshop. Mrs. Claus is calling me. Give a big kiss to your new granddaughter for me."

"Thanks, Santa. I'll look forward to talking to you again next year. Bye."

"Bye, little corner. Merry Christmas."

Letters to the Editor

A theology of irresponsibility?

An open letter to Bishop Chris Williams:

I congratulate Nunatsiaq News for its courage in helping to break the taboo about sexual abuse against children. It seems that you, Bishop, were looking to defend yourself in your recent letter to Nunatsiaq News in which you said Nunatsiaq News is irresponsible. (Oct. 31, p. 8)

It is always the way of perpetrators of abuse to find excuses and yet more excuses to divert attention away from the important issues at hand: that young children were sexually abused, that a minister of the Anglican Church was convicted of four counts of sexual abuse, and that a second minister tried to find excuses for him. Now, you, the bishop, are trying to divert attention away from these real issues by condemning the news reporter.

First, I would like to mention that a wise Inuk woman told me that her wise mother informed her that sexual abuse was the wound that never heals. And I would add that it doesn't heal because it is such a hidden wound, one that the victims are forced to keep secret. It seems also true that society at large tries to keep the secret by supporting the taboo against speaking out.

In your letter not once did you recognize the plight of the abused children. Not once.

You spent much time and ink in showing your concern for the abuser: to lend support to him and his family at the time of his sentencing. Why? Why do you want to lend support to the abuser, when you offer not even a word of sympathy for the children abused and their families, whose lives will be deeply touched for many years by the illegal and immoral actions your minister?

(And if there are four counts on which he was convicted, how many others are not counted?) Those who run to Simigak's rescue, are they not also accomplices in this crime?

Now what about your policy of zero tolerance in matters of sexual impropriety? Does your policy mean that, since he is convicted, that you will dismiss him completely? I would understand zero tolerance to mean this.

Or shall we see once again, that since he confessed his sin, and since he was forgiven ­ and by whom? by his buddies? Then we accept him back with open arms, and eventually allow him to go back to his sinful ways? And then he'll confess, and be forgiven, and then he'll sin again and he'll confess, and we'll forgive? For how long, bishop? For how long will we put up with it?

There must be consequences

Unless there are consequences for behaviour, essentially it means we condone it. Clearly, one of the consequences of this behaviour is all the publicity and all the articles in the Nunatsiaq News, which is making public what many people want to keep secret.

Secrecy is the keystone for sexual abusers. It can go on because it is hidden.

Once again I congratulate Nunatsiaq News for its courage in exposing this reality, even if some details were inaccurate. (Kuujuuaq or Kangirsuk? That's an honest mistake, but to make an issue of that is looking for anything to divert attention from the reality here.)

Our job in the social services is to further expose the hidden taboo against speaking out about sexual abuse. Because once it is exposed to the light of day and not covered up, not minimized, not trivialized, then we see its ugliness and we take action

I have heard many stories about the theology that is preached in the churches here.

The theology I hear runs something like this: the evil one exists and when he takes possession of you, things happen that shouldn't, but it is not really your fault because the anger with hate did not come from you, it came from the evil one, because it is he who is full of anger and full of hate (Canon Arreak's statement).

Although I am using Arreak's words, I have heard this same theme repeated by many abusers. They can justify themselves with the Bible, with Inuit tradition (as Arreak tried to do), or with their buddy's support (the Church structure).

A theology of irresponsibility

Are people being told that they don't have any individual responsibility regarding their sin? (The devil really did it!) If so, then they can continue to do it, one, because there are really no consequences for the sin; and two, because church members support one another to forgiving each other of the unforgiveable Since when did we have the power to forgive sin in this sense?

The result: keep on sinning, and cover it up with the words of the Bible, as Canon Arreak tried to do in his article.

Arreak says that no one ever told Simigak about the Charter of Rights, or child protection laws. What in the world is he doing as a minister if he doesn't know these laws? And, if true, whose responsibility is it to make sure ministers in positions of authority know these things?

There are very high rates of child sexual abuse in the North The worst part is, there are all kinds of ecclesiastical supports for it. I hear you say that the Church's position in zero tolerance, but then my question is, where does this supporting theology come from? And now, what are we going to do about it?

How can anyone expect social services and youth protection to do their job when the overriding cultural imperative that comes from the Churches is that you don't have any responsibility for your sin?

Jesus never said this. In fact he said I have not come to bring peace. but the sword. I interpret this in the sense that He was not about to put Up with the apostle's shenanigans and that He demanded of them right behaviour, something, it seems, that many outraged readers also expect of ministers.

Christianity used to condone abuse

As a Christian I am appalled by the so-called Christian attitudes I hear in the North, attitudes that favor wife abuse (from a warped sense of what is family), the sexual abuse of children (because one is not really responsible anyway), and other forms of criminal and unethical behaviour (because people are told not to acknowledge it as such, or to minimize it, or even to blame the victims).

It is so easy to blame the Evil One. But it's he sinner that is the Evil One. There is no difference, and unless this theology is changed, and radically so, there will be no hope for people who are fed up with such a theology of non-responsibility.

I urge you to take this matter up with your ministers, and clarify the position of the church about individual responsibility. Enough is enough. How do people get into these positions of power if they are not already in a state of grace?

Canon Arreak has done what so many others have done: give permission to sin and break the law. This is a matter of ethics and right behaviour. The consequence that Simigak will be suspended for two years is little comfort to the mothers and fathers of children who have been seriously abused. And what of Canon Arreak? With such a theology, will he go on giving people excuses to continue their abusive behaviors?

It is time far action. Theology must be action, if anything at all. It is not a bunch of words respeated ad nauseam. The churches are full of words, but what we need is action.

And what will be your action? This is the question I am asking you as bishop of the Arctic.

Joe Beninati
Umiujaq

Editorial

For a large number of Keewatin residents, perhaps most of them, the government of the Northwest Territories has lost its legitimacy.

Since the 1995 territorial election, no region in the NWT has had more direct experience with the current government's arrogance and dishonesty.

Because of this, relations between many Keewatin residents and the GNWT have deteriorated to a level where any new initiatives ­ even useful ones ­ are likely to be greeted in by Keewatin residents with suspicion and hostility.

What's astounding about all this is that the Keewatin ­ one of the smallest regions in the NWT ­ is disproportionately represented in the territorial cabinet by two members, Keewatin Central MLA John Todd and Aivilik MLA Manitok Thompson.

The GNWT's many failures in the Keewatin region are almost all directly linked to the abysmal failure of these two MLAs in properly representing the people of their region within the executive branch of the territorial government.

Look at the evidence: Since 1995, the list of Keewatin residents rising up to oppose GNWT-sponsored initiatives in the region usually reads like a who's who of the Keewatin's political leadership.

These initiatives include the odoriferous conflict-of-interest scandal that attached itself to the GNWT's $90 million eastern Arctic fuel distribution contract in 1995, the GNWT's concurrent attempts to gain a share in Canarctic Shipping, the Rankin Inlet tank farm fiasco of 1995-96, a bizarre deal earlier this between the Keewatin Regional Health Board and the Kiguti dental services firm, and the KRHB's sudden decision this summer to drop its longstanding arrangement with the University of Manitoba.

The latest ill-conceived GNWT initiative to be inflicted upon the Keewatin is a plan is to fast-track a new system of delivering petroleum products to Keewatin communities.

Right now, Keewatin communities get their fuel supplies from barges that depart from Churchill every summer. The fuel gets to Churchill by rail from western Canada.

Late last year, the Keewatin Resupply Committee, made up of the region's mayors, MLAs and other officials, recommended that after the creation of Nunavut in 1999, the Keewatin should gradually move towards a different system: direct delivery of fuel products from Montreal via ocean-going tankers.

But the GNWT, whose cabinet endorsed that report, is now distorting the resupply committee's recomendation's to justify something quite different. That plan is a proposal to go ahead with the new system before 1999, and before necessary hydrographic, environmental, and economic studies can be completed.

Under their proposed approach, a $10 million system of pipelines would be installed in four communities and be financed through a long-term lease between whoever wins the contract and the GNWT. After division, it would be up to the government of Nunavut to make those lease payments.

The GNWT, therefore, is prepared to inflict this dubious plan not only on the people of the Keewatin, but as a financial burden to be borne by all the people of Nunavut. All by itself, the lease-back proposal is a violation of the Nunavut Act, as Nunavut Tunngavik has recently pointed out.

And because hydrogaphic work in the region hasn't been finished, the GNWT's plan would have ocean-going tankers loaded with petroleum products sailing into areas that haven't been charted. That's an unnacceptable environmental threat.

Interim Commissioner Jack Anawak, who is theoretically responsible for representing the future Nunavut government's interest in dealings with Yellowknife and Ottawa, has already shown that he's the GNWT's interim commissioner, not Nunavut's.

Anawak, who has the power to waive the Nunavut Act to allow the GNWT to enter into contracts on behalf of Nunavut that extend beyond the year 2001, said in a interview with CBC last Friday that the GNWT's Keewatin resupply plan is a good idea.

Since the plan is backed by Anawak's longtime political/business ally, John Todd, it's not surprising that Anawak has so quickly forgotten his job description.

That means Goo Arlooktoo, the NWT's deputy premier and the person, who, as minister of public works, is responsible for heading up the GNWT's Keewatin resupply project, must take the lead in standing up for the people of the Keewatin and for Nunavut.

After hearing directly from the people of Rankin Inlet, Baker Lake and Arviat earlier this month, Arlooktoo must know that the only honourable course for the GNWT is to delay the project until after 1999. JB

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