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Ottawa's instructions to interim commissioner Jack Anawak are contained in a seven-page letter from the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.
ANNETTE BOURGEOIS
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT Lines of communication between interim commissioner Jack Anawak and the people of Nunavut must be wide open at all times.
That's one of the key commandments contained in the letter of instruction that the federal Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) issued to Anawak, shortly after his appointment in April.
"You will need to keep the Nunavut public regularly informed of measures taken towards the establishment of Nunavut," the instructions read. "You will be expected to establish an effective communications system that will facilitate the regular flow of information to the public."
By the time a copy of the seven-page letter of instruction was finally released to Nunatsiaq News last week, the interim commissioner's office was still without a communications director.
As reported last week, the interim commissioner's office has begun work on a comprehensive recruitment and employment plan, however.
This is a crucial part of the instructions from Ottawa.
Funding for Nunavut
So is a reference to the $10 million that the federal government has budgeted for the purpose of maintaining the interim commissioner's office until division.
"Access to these funds will require you to bring forward appropriate budgetary and financing arrangements," the letter reads. "Such arrangements must be acceptable to the Treasury Board and the use of these funds will be subject to audit."
In a section devoted to Nunavut's finances, the interim commissioner is instructed to begin negotiating "as soon as practicable" toward an agreement on the division of assets and liablilities between Nunavut and the new western territory.
Federal policy tool
For more than 30 years, letters of instruction have been a common means by which Indian affairs ministers have exercised federal authority and carried out federal policy especially policy changes in northern Canada.
New DIAND minister Jane Stewart must now exercise this authority, vested in her by Section 71(2) of the Nunavut Act.
The letter of instruction details what Anawak must accomplish as interim commissioner in the remaining 22 months before the NWT divides.
The letter points out that the other two parties to the Nunavut political accord the GNWT and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. agree with the contents of the letter.
Anawak has been given a relatively free hand in his job of implementing the Footprints 2 model of decentralized government.
The instructions do not contain a timetable for attaining the specific goals outlined in the letter, but state that before any "significant" deviation from the Footprints model, "you are to secure the agreement of the Parties."
Employment plan
One of Anawak's first tasks is to develop a comprehensive recruitment plan for the hiring of Nunavut government employees.
"It is essential that a functioning administration for the government of Nunavut be in place on April 1, 1999," the instructions read. "The employment and recruitment plan must be developed in sufficient time to allow the commencement of recruitment of headquarters employees at the beginning of 1998."
Consistent with Inuit employment objectives in Article 23 of the Nunavut Agreement, qualified Inuit candidates are to be given preference for headquarters positions, as well as any positions at the regional level, which are vacant on April 1, 1999.
The letter instructs Anawak to develop an Inuit employment plan in order to fulfill the objective of recruiting at least 50 per cent Inuit to all Nunavut government headquarters positions and to all positions at the regional level, by April 1, 1999.
It instructs the interim commissioner's office to develop this employment plan in consultation with NTI, the GNWT and the federal government.
"You will need to work closely with the parties to ensure that such training efforts, including training provided under the Unified Human Resources Strategy and under Article 23 Inuit employment plans, are developing the skills necessary for Inuit to qualify for employment and promotion in the Nunavut government."
Inuit come first
Subject to Article 23 of the Nunavut Agreement, headquarters employees currently working with the GNWT outside Nunavut should be given priority consideration in the filling of headquarters positions in the Nunavut government.
Anawak has been granted the power to hire office staff "on terms and conditions consistent with those established by the GNWT for its employees."
Although Anawak has already hired some senior staff, he has yet to advertise any jobs within his office.
Finally, the instructions urge the interim commissioner to "be guided by the best interests of the government of Nunavut and the residents of Nunavut."
Back to Nunatsiaq NewsAs interim commissioner, Jack Anawak must:
DWANE WILKIN
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT Iqaluit businessman Bryan Pearson pleaded not guilty in court this week to a single charge of sexual assault.
Pearson is accused of committing the offence in Iqaluit 14 years ago, at a time when he was still highly active in municipal politics.
In entering his plea, Pearson elected to be tried by a territorial court judge without a jury. This means there will be no preliminary hearing and that he and his accuser can proceed directly to trial.
Upon Pearson's appearance in court on Monday, Judge Beverly Browne declared herself in conflict with the case because of her long acquaintance with the accused.
In her place, a judge from Montreal will preside over the trial, which is slated to begin October 29.
The crown prosecutor did not ask for bail and no conditions have been placed on Pearson's movements between now and the trial date.
The charge stems from a complaint filed with the RCMP by another Nunavut resident. Under the Criminal Code, names of sexual assault complainants may not be published or broadcast.
A well-known community leader and a long-time resident of the North, Pearson has held a variety of public positions over the years. He was a territorial councillor for south Baffin region in the 1970s, and served a number of terms as mayor of Frobisher Bay in the 1970s and 1980s.
Pearson ran unsuccesfully for a seat in the House of Commons as Nunatsiaq riding's Tory candidate in 1988.
In 1993 he was appointed by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to serve a three-year term as a part-time member of the National Parole Board.
Since the early 1960s, Pearson has owned and operated a range of businesses in Iqaluit, including Arctic Ventures, which he started. He currently runs the Astro Hill Mall Theatre, Iqaluit's popular first-run movie house.
Back to Nunatsiaq NewsUnion's support of disaffected hamlets puts pressure on the GNWT.
JIM BELL
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT Union of Northern Workers officials say they'll do everything they can to fight for four dental therapists who have been dumped from their jobs by the Keewatin Regional Health Board.
"The dental therapists are of concern to us and we think the decision made by the Keewatin Regional Health board was a bad decision for a number of reasons," UNW' public affairs officer Ben MacDonald said last week.
Under a deal worked out between the Keewatin board and a private company called Kiguti Dental Services, the Keewatin's four dental therapists will be replaced July 1.
After that date, the work they used to do will be done by professional dentists employed by Kiguti.
That deal has enraged municipal leaders in Arviat, Baker Lake and Rankin Inlet. The Arviat, Baker Lake and Rankin Inlet hamlet councils have all said they want to run their own dental therapy programs separately from the health board.
Political pressure on the GNWT
MacDonald said that's made it easier for the UNW to put extra political pressure on the GNWT over the issue.
"Some issues get legs of their own and that is part of what has happened here," MacDonald said.
"We've been working with municipalities and elected MLAs and people like that trying to challenge the decision they made. We've filed a grievance on behalf of the dental therapists and we're doing other research to see what else can be done to represent them."
But MacDonald said it's "just a coincidence" that the issue is centred in the consituency represented by John Todd the GNWT cabinet minister whose job and wage cuts have earned the UNW's ire.
"We put energy into representing laid off members everywhere," MacDonald said. "First of all we tried to challenge the decision with the board. And then we've basically tried to turn it into a political issue by saying the board is not acting in the best interests of the region."
MacDonald also said the Keewatin health board may have violated the collective agreement between the UNW and the GNWT.
"There's a requirement in the collective agreement that they consult us before they do a privatization or contracting out with a resulting layoff, and we've already filed a grievance saying they didn't do that."
The four dental therapists who have lost their jobs are: Nathan Caskey, Arviat; James McLeod, Baker Lake; John Bowser, Rankin Inlet; and Stan Knight, Repulse Bay.
Aborginal health care flouted?
All are graduates of the National School of Dental Therapy, a program specifically set up to provide dental care for people living in remote aboriginal communities.
The National School of Dental Therapy is now run by the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College in Regina, and is funded by Health Canada.
Performing a more limited range of services for less money than what is paid to regular dentists, dental therapists usually focus on doing preventive and educational work with children.
Last December, the dean of the National School of Dental Therapy, Steve Wolfson, criticized the Keewatin board's decision.
Instead of dental therapists, the board says it will train Inuit for lower level jobs as "dental assistants."
"I am convinced that a significant number of Inuit will be entering the dental therapy profession," Wolfson said. "This will assure that people at a much higher level than dental assistant are providing Inuit input at a professional level for your program."
Wolfson went on to say that dentists cost a lot more than dental therapists, and that "experience shows that there is a high rate of turnover for dentists in isolated northern communities."
At the same time, the Keewatin divisional board of education has also said it's opposed to the health board's move, and that they want to run a dental therapy program themselves inside the Keewatin's schools.
Two weeks ago, an obdurate Kelvin Ng, the NWT's health minister, told Kivallivik MLA Kevin O'Brien that the believes the board has made a "sound" decision.
Back to Nunatsiaq NewsThe three parties to the Nunavut accord have begun the work of figuring out how to create a formula financing agreement for the Nunavut territory.
ANNETTE BOURGEOIS
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT Northern political leaders don't want Ottawa to simply split its current level of funding between the western territory and Nunavut after division.
Nunavut Interim Commissioner Jack Anawak, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc (NTI) and territorial government representatives met Monday and Tuesday to discuss what type of funding they'd like to see in place after the territories separate.
"There is clearly a requirement to identify two formulas, with two new expenditure bases, based upon two models," GNWT Finance Minister John Todd told members of the legislative assembly before it wrapped up recently.
The federal government hasn't yet decided what formula will be used to fund northern territories after division.
"Now there are two separate arrangements between the federal government and the Northwest Territories and the federal government and the Yukon," an official with the finance department said.
"We're anticiating there will be a third with Nunavut."
A working committee of northern officials and federal finance representatives met May 30 to discuss northern financing.
Committee members will meet several times during the next year and eventually make recommendations to DIAND minister Jane Stewart about how Ottawa can fund each territory.
A five-year funding agreement between Ottawa and Yellowknife expires in 1999 and paves the way for a new funding agreement.
Currently, Canadian taxpayers provide about 80 per cent of the total GNWT budget, with the territorial government generating about 20 per cent itself.
The ability of Nunavut and the western territory to generate more than one-quarter of their own annual budgets is expected to be equally limited.
As well as offering suggestions on what formula should be used to fund the North, the committee members will loosely recommend budgets for the territories.
"The federal government is certainly aware of the desire of the North to have some idea (of funding) for planning purposes," the finance official said. "We will do everything we can do to accommodate that."
The GNWT is in the process of doing a cost analysis for both new territorial governments. For Nunavut, it's using the Footprints 2 model; for the western territory it's using the current GNWT system.
Finance Minister John Todd said in the analysis of Footprints 2, his staff identified shortcomings on personnel.
"I believe there were somewhere in the range of about 100 person years that we felt was perhaps missing in the overall framework for the new government," Todd told legislators.
That amounts to about 100 positions more than the 624 recommended in Footprints 2.
Larry Elkin, liaison researcher with the Nunavut Implementation Commission, designers of Footprints 2, isn't surprised to hear that the number recommended by NIC has changed.
"We recognize there could be some changes," he said. "This is constantly evolving and changing."
For that reason, he added, Footprints 2 includes a variance of 10 per cent to account for unforeseen developments that could affecting staffing within the Nunavut government.
The GNWT is expected to complete its cost analyses by the end of the month.
Ottawa has committed to fund start-up costs for the government of Nunavut to the tune of $150 million. Those costs include training Inuit for headquarters positions within the government, capital costs for construction of residential and office buildings and establishing and operating an interim commissioner's office.
There are no official figures of what it will cost to operate the Nunavut government after start-up.
Back to Nunatsiaq News
Nobody's saying anything about a six-month RCMP commercial crime squad investigation involving the GNWT.
DWANE WILKIN
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT Loose lips could jeopardise a six-month old police probe into mysterious allegations of criminal activity within the GNWT.
So it may be a while before the people of the Northwest Territories find out why their government is the subject of an RCMP investigation.
Commercial crime investigators won't say why they've been conducting the probe of GNWT activities since last December.
Staff Sgt. David Bradley of the RCMP's commerical crimes unit in Edmonton, said police don't want to place their work at risk.
"Obviously," said Sgt. Bradley, "we're not making a press release in the middle of an investigation."
Since news of the investigation was leaked to media in Yellowknife last week, Sgt. Bradley said his office has been flooded with requests for more information.
The problem is, investigators fear the publicity could alert possible suspects, leading to a cover-up.
"We're dealing with what is commonly called white-collar crime, pertaining to fraudulent activities, which is a paper examination process, a review of documentation. That's the type of work that we do and that's what's going on in this case.
"The chances of losing some evidence is a distinct possibility. It's certainly why we can't release more to the media at this time."
The source and nature of the complaint against the territorial government remain closely guarded secrets.
Even the government's top spokesman, Premier Don Morin, admitted no knowledge of the investigation prior to being contacted by reporters last week.
Speculation and tantalizing rumors, meanwhile, have thrived in the absence of hard fact.
On the surface, the case seems large in scope the RCMP's commercial crimes squad is co-ordinating the investigation from Edmonton, while Yellowknife investigators rummage through government files. But Sgt. Bradley warned against "reading too much into this."
"Most of our investigations are lengthy and time-consuming," said Sgt. Bradley, "because of the nature and type of documents that are to be obtained."
"It's a long way from any charges being laid," he added.
Which, incidentally, is another reason police don't want a lot of attention focused on this investigation.
"To make allegations and to prove them is two different things," Sgt. Bradley said.
"It puts us on the spot. What if there's nothing to it? If it ends up being that way, it isn't fair to the people who are being looked at."
Back to TopDon't let looks decieve, though; they're not bad for you.
LYNN PEPLINSKI
Special to Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT Pauloosie Kilabuk, a renewable resources officer in Iqaluit, had an unpleasant surprise recently while butchering a caribou.
"I was removing the tongue when I saw them there" said Kilabuk, who dropped the beast's head and backed away in mild horror at the sight of the caribou's throat.
What Pauloosie had discovered was the nosebot fly larvae.
The nosebot, also known as the nasal warble fly, is common among caribou in northern Quebec, in the western Northwest Territories, and throughout the circumpolar North. Now, it seems, the nosebot has made its way to Baffin Island.
Kilabuk isn't alone in his reaction to the parasites. "At least five caribou heads have been brought into the district office in the last year" he said. "Many people around here haven't seen these before."
The nose and throat areas of a single animal can sustain between 30 to 300 nosebot larvae at a time.
Baffin hunters are familiar with the skin warble fly larvae commonly found under the skin along the backs of caribou. The nosebots are similar in appearance, though they may be smaller and narrower.
Both kinds of warble fly larvae are parasites, a special type of predator that uses its prey as a place to live and breed. Though they can be repulsive to look at, they do not affect the quality of the meat. The fly larvae are simply uninvited guests in the caribou's body, obtaining free food and a roof over their heads while they grow toward adulthood.
Heavily infested caribou may be tormented by the irritating presence of the parasites and be thinner than other caribou, but the caribou meat is still OK to eat.
The big difference between both kinds of warble fly is in how they lay their eggs and where the larvae end up. The skin warble fly lays its eggs directly onto the new coat of the caribou. The eggs hatch within a few days and the larvae then burrow their way into the skin. There they will molt into the familiar yellow, roundish, segmented capsules we find along the back under the caribou's skin in the spring.
The nosebot fly's eggs hatch while they're still in the fly's body. The female fly then hovers around the nose of the caribou waiting for the right moment to spray her larvae into the caribou's nostrils. From there the larvae migrate further into the nasal area and into the back of the throat.
Because the nosebots are relatively new to the Baffin, some people are wary of them. However, the meat is not affected by the presence of either of these parasites. Just as we're accustomed to the skin warble fly, we'll now have to learn to live with the nosebot fly.
Lynn Peplinski is manager of the Iqaluit Research Centre
Back to TopPangnirtung native returns to Nunavut this summer as one of the first Inuk lawyers in Canada
ANNETTE BOURGEOIS
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT Paul Okalik was a teenager when his older brother committed suicide to avoid returning to jail.
"It had a devastating impact on me and it still does today," says Okalik, 33, who earlier this month graduated from the University of Ottawa with a law degree.
When he returns to the North in July, he'll be Nunavut's first Inuktitut-speaking lawyer.
Okalik's brother Norman served time in jail for a criminal offence and found the experience horrifying. But his sentence also carried a stiff fine.
Norman couldn't pay the fine, but he couldn't face returning to jail, either.
"I felt the law let him down," Okalik recalls. "There could have been a better way of dealing with this case. It could have been avoided."
His tragedy was personal, but when Okalik looked around his community, he saw his neighbors suffering as well. He sensed a desire to help, and the seeds of his professional ambition were sown.
The road that's finally taking him back home has been difficult. At times, Okalik admits, he has lost sight of his goal. But his will triumphed.
Okalik began his education in his home community of Pangnirtung and moved to Iqaluit to attend high school. As an apathetic student battling many personal problems, including alcoholism. Okalik dropped out.
"I wasn't really into studying in high school, so I didn't last too long there," he said. "I didn't have much patience."
His mother, Annie, though, encouraged him to return to his studies. In 1983, he graduated with a welder's certificate from college in Fort Smith, earning his high school equivalency in the process.
He chuckles now when he thinks about the path his early life took him on.
"It was something to do to get out of town," he said. "I was trying to figure out what I wanted."
He was about 19 years old when he headed to Nanisivik Mines to work as a welding trainee and mechanic. But after two years underground, he knew he wasn't cut out for a career in mining
"I didn't have the patience to weld. It's quite monotonous. Mechanics I found interesting, but I found it very dirty," he laughs. "The dirt I couldn't really appreciate.
When, two years later, in 1985, Okalik landed a job as a negotiator for the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, "that's when my life totally changed," he says.
Over the next few years, Okalik tried hopelessly to reconcile a successful professional career with his tumultuous personal life. Heavy drinking landed him in jail repeatedly in the early 1990s, and his dream of being a lawyer seemed lost.
"I just didn't have the confidence to pursue it at that stage. I didn't have anybody to look up to that had done it, so I didn't take it seriously.
Somewhere along the way doubts and lack of confidence had pushed his dream away. But his first daughter, Shasta, was on the way, and he knew he needed to clean up his act.
"I wanted to divert my energy to something more positive," he says.
In 1991 Okalik signed himself into a 28-day treatment program, and began what has been an alcohol-free life ever since. Years later, he has difficulty explaining the alcohol dependence.
"When I was growing up and liquor was still allowed in Pangnirtung, I envied people who were drinking. It was just how I grew up."
He decided to return to his childhood home, seeking strength in his culture. He spent time talking with his grandmother and other elders in the community and learning about the traditional ways of his ancestors.
"My ancestors never drank so I used that as a way of avoiding alcohol and drugs and I've been using that ever since. They didn't need alcohol or drugs and they did well. I thought if they could do it, I could too."
Renewed, he made plans to attend Carleton University in the fall of 1991 to pursue an undergraduate degree in political science and community studies.
Okalik admits going back to school after a 10-year hiatus was difficult. The mother of his children, Tamara, who majored in English, helped him with his term papers.
"It was a bit of a challenge. Once I got past first year, it got a lot easier."
He completed his bachelor's degree during the summer of 1993, and was accepted to the University of Ottawa's law program in September, a month after his son, Jordan, was born.
"The best part was going to the first day of law school. It was a day I'll never forget. I worked very hard to try to put my life together and it was a childhood dream to go.
"At times it's been difficult, particularly around exam time and when papers were due. I found it difficult to make family commitments and deadlines at school. Those times were stressful."
Okalik chose to study a broad spectrum of subjects instead of specializing in any one field.
"I deliberately wanted to focus on everything, from business to environment to administrative law. My clients will be varied and I want to help as many people as I can. Specializing in one field will deny some assistance to my fellow Inuit who could be helped."
In July, Okalik moves to Iqaluit to begin a year of articling with both lawyer Anne Crawford and the Maliiganik Tukisiiniakvik legal aid clinic.
Back to TopKayakers to celebrate Nunavut?
I have seen little in your paper (or any other media, for that matter) about what kinds of activities are being planned to celebrate the birth of Nunavut, the first new Canadian territory in over 100 years. How can this silence be? Are committees hard at work somewhere?
Well, I can't wait. I have an idea, and invite your readers to join with me in making it happen.
Here it is: The Nunavut Kayak Rally Round Baffin Island.
This idea would see kayakers depart from each community in teams of Inuit (and non-Inuit) kayakers, who would paddle to the next community on the coast of Baffin, travelling in clockwise fashion around the island.
Non-Baffin Islanders and the people of Nunavik could also join in. They would paddle to or towards the nearest Baffin community to them.
In other words, the summer of 1999 would see kayaks on the move from one community to another in celebration of Nunavut. Thereafter, it might become an annual affair, celebrating the spirit of our young people and Inuit traditions together. Summer 1998 would be a training and promotion year.
In later years, it might become the goal of all the world's kayakers to say, they had completed the Baffin Island Rally 2, sort of like mountaineers look at doing all the mountains over a certain height.
The last time I was in the North, many people seemed skeptical about long distance (or even short distance) kayaking, but look around. More and more tourists are coming north and taking advantage of this activity. Why shouldn't northerners get into the action?
After all, isn't this the homeland of the kayak? Shouldn't young northerners be getting some of the thrill their forefathers enjoyed?
So, I invite anyone interested to contact me or the appropriate people in their community who might wish to think about organizing the rally. For my part, I will be in training this summer, doing the Hall Beach to Igloolik segment. It's never to early to start training! Michael Bradley
Ayer's Cliff, Quebec
kobra@netrover.com
Health board fails communities
Thanks to the Keewatin Regional Health Board, the people of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories have now learned why the idea of abolishing health boards may not be such a bad idea.
Health boards, you may remember, were sold to us as the instrument by which aboriginal people in the NWT would gain control of the health care system.
In 1988, Jake Epp, who was then the federal health minister, and Nellie Cournoyea, who was then the NWT's health minister, concluded the final devolution of all health responsibilities from Ottawa to the GNWT's Yellowknife-based government, thereby ending a hideously complex set of negotiations that had gone on for nearly 10 years.
The pomposity of their signing ceremony was equalled only by the pomposity of their speeches. No more, they said, would aboriginal people be pushed around by doctors and nurses working for big bad Ottawa.
The Yellowknife government, being closer to the people, would do it better, everyone said. And being run by an aboriginal majority in its legislative assembly, the Yellowknife government would run the health system the way aborginal people want it run.
The Yellowknife government would seek to ensure the success of their new endeavour by devolving management responsibility to regional health board. The vast majority of health board directors would be aboriginal people from the small communities.
So far so good aboriginal people in charge of aboriginal health care.
Now, let's look at how members of the Keewatin Regional Health Board have carried out this responsibility.
In the fall of 1996, they made a deal with a private company called Kiguti Dental Services, which has resulted in the elimination of four dental therapists' jobs. The fired dental therapists will be replaced by imported southern dentists.
Here's a list of who's opposed to that decision. Most of them are elected officials who represent the Keewatin's mostly aboriginal population:
That's who's opposed to the health board's deal with Kiguti. So who supports it?
Well, Health Minister Kelvin Ng says he believes the Keewatin health board made a "sound" decision. Ng even said that hamlet councils in Arviat, Baker Lake and Rankin Inlet are wrong to believe that communities may run their own health programs under the GNWT's community empowerment policy.
Even Ng must realize that this position is utter nonsense. If communities can run their own alcohol and drug programs, surely it follows that they can run any other kind of health program.
Unfortunately for those who are opposed to the Keewatin health board decision, nothing else matters as long as Ng supports the health board.
Health board members, you see, aren't legally or democratically accountable to the aboriginal people they're supposed to represent. They're accountable only to the NWT cabinet minister who appoints them.
Those who honestly believe that regional health boards have a useful role to play in Nunavut after April 1, 1999 now have a big problem on their hands. It's called the Keewatin Regional Health Board. JB
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These materials are Copyright (C) 1997 Nortext Publishing Corporation (Iqaluit), and may be freely distributed throughout the Internet, or other electronic computer networks or bulletin boards, as long as this notice remains intact and the articles are reproduced in their entirety. These materials may not be reprinted for commercial publication in print or other media without the permission of the publisher.
Last updated June 20, 1997
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