Nunavut News, January 2, 2023

Brayden Uluqsi of Team Iqaluit charges toward the Team Nunavut net during action from the 2022 Polar Bear Plate in Rankin Inlet in December.

Stewart Burnett/ NNSL photo

Models prowl the runways at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa

A fashion show to raise some money took place on Monday, Dec. 12 at the National Arts Centre for Nunavut Sivuniksavut (NS) students in Ottawa.

The evening started with NS students presenting various songs in Inuktitut and English. The students also competed in some Arctic games, such as the leg wrestle and the knuckle hop.

Through the night, three designers presented their fashion lines on the runway: Adrienne Aliyak, InukChick and Victoria’s Arctic Fashion.

Musicians entertained the crowd in between the models walking the runways. Meeka Kakudluk played the accordion and the Trade Offs also took the stage, performing some songs they had just released on their latest album, Let Go, Give In, Fall Down.

NS executive director Lynn Kilabuk says, “This was NS’s first fundraising fashion show at the National Arts Centre. We raised $10,772.55!”

When asked if more events like this one would be organized in the future, Kilabuk replied that “Hopefully each year it can be decided.”

“I would like to thank National Arts Centre and Taking It Global for sponsoring,” she added.

Nunavut Sivuniksavut student Natalia Boos walks the fashion show runway at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Félix Charron-Leclerc/NNSL photo

Kakudluk takes the stage to entertain the crowd by playing the accordion. Félix Charron-Leclerc/ NNSL photo

The Trade-Offs perform songs from their newly released album Let Go, Give In, Fall Down. Félix Charron-Leclerc/NNSL photo

NS students on the fashion show runway at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. From left, Pauline Illuituq, Rowen Demaio and Leanne Thompson. Félix Charron-Leclerc/NNSL photo

NS students perform a traditional dance to the rhythm of the drum. From left, Basil McAtasney, Doreen Kanayuk, Sheena Kayaark, Melissa Akulukjuk, Lean Palituq, Nivi Rosing, Pamela Kununak, Tommy Arloo, Shavanna Oogaaq and Elijah Qappik. Félix Charron-Leclerc/NNSL photo

Nunavut Sivuniksavut students compete in a traditional Inuit game. Rowen Demaio is in the foreground and Leanne Thompson is in the background. Félix Charron-Leclerc/NNSL photo

This is the second installment in a two-part feature.

Amanda Doiron and Stuart Rostant of CHOU Consulting in Cambridge Bay recount how they established modular housing in the community and share their future plans.

Doiron: So far we’ve worked with local carpenters. Our long term vision is to have a training facility where we would be manufacturing these housing pods from down south, with a training component. Students could come there and learn how to do the insulation, mechanical, plumbing, electrical and carpentry. We tend to always fly southern people up, but why aren’t we flying Northerners down on

rotations? If people enjoyed their work terms, they can go back to their communities and be the representative, be the installer. Help the company’s achieve its goal, to tailor housing to the North.

Rostant: We get questioned on that a lot. If we build a factory down south, all the money stays there in terms of labor and resources, which is true, but at the end of the day NU3000

says they want to build 3000 homes in 10 years. That’s impossible — we don’t have the resources in the Arctic to even get close to that. You have to look at different ways of building. It’s important that we build that skill set in Nunavut, and we think changing the location of training and production could be a big factor in the solution here.

Difficult to make homes available below $460,00 price point and financing is a hurdle for many, says Cambridge Bay couple selling modular units

are there is

contractor that would do that for you,” says Stuart Rostant. Photo courtesy of CHOU

Amanda Doiron. Photo courtesy of CHOU

Felix Charron-Leclerc

Another good reason to build modular houses for us, is that at the moment, if you want to build a house in any community in the Arctic, chances are there is no contractor that would do that for you. If there is a contractor, they don’t have a price for the house and chances are it’s going to be a two-year process and you pay whatever it ends up costing at the end. If we’re able to come up with a set design based on modular construction, then anybody can have access to owning a home if they can afford to do so. The risks for the future homeowner are largely reduced.

A challenge in Nunavut, is not only the lack of housing, but also that there is not the infrastructure in place to receive that housing. Getting crushed gravel for example — as simple as that sounds — is an impossibility in most communities. NHC is trying to make it easier for hamlets to surpass zoning barriers for housing because in some communities, project leaders are ready to go and start building homes, but simply have nowhere to put them.

Doiron: Tiny homes are a great idea but they are temporary. You’re given a small space because of the need for housing. It becomes your permanent house and it becomes overcrowded and then it deteriorates. It should

be transitional but it’s not because there is nothing else. It ends up failing, because it was never intended to be a forever home, but only a first step towards home ownership.

Future projects

Doiron: Our company was shortlisted by CMHC Northern Supply Challenge along with 33 other participants. Our pitch was, we did this pilot project with a two bedroom home, we are now in the process of making a fourplex. We want to look at the economics of the operation cost, the amount we would have to build to make a profit and make them affordable. Next year we are focusing on submitting to the final application process which adds up to 74 million dollars. The goal is to prove that having a factory in Manitoba (or a couple of them) to be able to build these modular homes for the Arctic is a feasible project. This grant opportunity would reduce our production costs. We could now buy in bulk, we could build during all 12 months of the year, etc. Hopefully we can get enough information to prove that with this opportunity we can lower our costs of production and start supplying homes all over Nunavut.

Rostant: A big barrier to what we are doing is finding an end user to what we build. Home ownership — the cost to construct a home in the Arctic is at a point that it is unaffordable

outside of “not-for profit” organizations or the GN.

Doiron: They just canceled 10 units last year because it was unaffordable for them. If it is unaffordable for the GN to build housing, how do they expect the private market to build?

Rostant: I can go to Kugluktuk next year and build homes but who will it be for? Our business is a difficult one because while we want to build more affordably, and we think we are providing a quality product at a reasonable price, a reasonable price in Nunavut is still unaffordable for Nunavummiut. Last year for instance, we built a two-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,000-square-foot home. It came with land, on a pile foundation, fully furnished, move-in ready and we put it on the market for $460,000, which is pretty much close to cost. Our idea is that we wanted to get first time home ownership being taken seriously and we were willing to put every dollar and cent on the line to see if we can do it. Out of everybody who came in that unit and went to the bank to try and get financed, zero people qualified for a $460,000 home in Cambridge Bay. This kind of unit does not exist at that price anywhere in Nunavut. In the end, a non-profit picked it up and is using it for transitional housing.

This year, everything costs 30-40-50 per cent

more based on fuel costs and supply chain, etc. We are at a stage where nobody is going to qualify for a mortgage based on the cost of construction and the interest rates. Unless the government steps in and incentivizes home ownership, our only client is NHC.

Doiron: Right now we have the fourplex for sale on the private market at $1.7 million because we still can’t find an end user. That is sad when we’re in a housing crisis. It’s been sitting there for the last month, unoccupied. We’d like to get to every community, that’s the goal, but until the government steps in and says public housing is needed, government staff housing is needed, but we also need to invest in our people, we need to give them enough money so that their mortgages are affordable. We will continue to work hard to bring down our prices, which is why we’re coming up with all these solutions. We can do all of this but if you’re not helping them, there is going to be a problem because it’s going to be very hard to crack lower than $460,000 homes.

Rostant: We’re still confident that it’s going to happen, we’re seeing progress. We’re moving forward, we’ve had quality discussions, and we are still optimistic for the future of home ownership in Nunavut. The process can be frustrating at times.

Doiron. Photo courtesy of CHOU

The finished interior of a one-bedroom unit. They come fully furnished and move-in ready. Photo courtesy of CHOU

profit” organizations or the GN, says Stuart Rostant. Photo courtesy of CHOU

Getting financing to purchase a $460,000 home in Cambridge Bay has proven to be difficult for local applicants, according to Stuart Rostant. Photo courtesy of CHOU

Rankin Inlet councillor

Justin Merritt passes away

Inlet Coun. Justin Merritt passed away on Dec. 27 after a long battle with cancer, the Hamlet of Rankin Inlet announced the following morning.

By Trevor Wright Northern News Services Rankin Inlet

Justin Merritt, a councillor with the Hamlet of Rankin Inlet, passed away after a long battle with cancer on Dec. 27.

Most recently elected to council in October 2019, he had been actively involved with the municipality in

various capacities for more than 30 years.

“He served his community with great dedication during this time and always worked in the best interest of the residents of Rankin Inlet,” wrote Harry Towtongie, mayor of Rankin Inlet in a letter from the municipality.

“Deepest sympathies to his wife Dorothy, daughters, Laura, Jocelyn and Kathleen as well as his son James,” Towtongie added. “He will be deeply missed.”

Since the 1980s, the number of bears in the region has fallen

Polar bears in Canada’s Western Hudson Bay — on the southern edge of the Arctic — are continuing to die in high numbers, a new government survey of the land carnivore has found. Females and bear cubs are having an especially hard time.

Researchers surveyed Western Hudson Bay — home to Churchill, the town called `the Polar Bear Capital of the World,’ — by air in 2021 and estimated there were 618 bears, compared to the 842 in 2016, when they were last surveyed.

“The actual decline is a lot larger than I would have expected,” said Andrew Derocher, a biology professor at the University of Alberta who has studied Hudson Bay polar bears for nearly four decades. Derocher was not involved in the study.

Since the 1980s, the number of bears in the region has fallen by nearly 50 per cent, the authors found. The ice essential to their survival is disappearing.

Polar bears rely on arctic sea ice — frozen ocean water — that shrinks in the summer with warmer temperatures and forms again in the long winter. They use it to hunt, perching near

holes in the thick ice to spot seals, their favorite food, coming up for air. But as the Arctic has warmed twice as fast as the rest of the world because of climate change, sea ice is cracking earlier in the year and taking longer to freeze in the fall.

That has left many polar bears that live across the Arctic with less ice on which to live, hunt and reproduce.

Polar bears are not only critical predators in the Arctic. For years, before climate change began affecting people around the globe, they were also the best-known face of climate change.

Researchers said the concentration of deaths in young bears and females in Western Hudson Bay is alarming.

“Those are the types of bears we’ve always predicted would be affected by changes in the environment,” said Stephen Atkinson, the lead author who has studied polar bears for more than 30 years.

Young bears need energy to grow and cannot survive long periods without enough food and female bears struggle because they expend so much energy nursing and rearing offspring.

“It certainly raises issues about the ongoing viability,” Der-

ocher said. “That is the reproductive engine of the population.”

The capacity for polar bears in the Western Hudson Bay to reproduce will diminish, Atkinson said, “because you simply have fewer young bears that survive and become adults.”

—By

Suman Naishadham, The Associated Press

2020−ᒥ

by nearly 50 per cent, researchers find

This 2020 photo provided by Polar Bears International shows a polar bear in Churchill, Man., during migration. The bears in the area continue to die in high numbers, a new government survey shows. Kieran McIver/Polar Bears International via AP

‘He served his community with great dedication,’ Mayor Harry Towtongie says of 30-year municipal veteran

Rankin

NNSL file photo

Published Mondays

Office: 626 Tumiit Plaza, Iqaluit, NU Box 28, X0A 0H0

Reporters: Trevor Wright, Felix Charron-Leclerc

Advertising: Phone: (867) 979-5990 Fax: (867) 979-6010 Toll free: (855) 447-2584 Email: editor@nunavutnews.com Website: www.nnsl.com/nunavutnews

Kivalliq office: Box 657, Rankin Inlet, NU, X0C 0GO

Phone: (867) 645-2862

Email: kivalliqnews@nnsl.com Website: www.nnsl.com/kivalliqnews

Production facilities: Box 2820, Yellowknife, NT, X1A 2R1 Phone: (867) 873-4031 Fax: (867) 873-8507 Email: editorial@nnsl.com advertising@nunavutnews.com circulation@nnsl.com Website: www.nnsl.com

FOUNDER (1934-2018): J.W. (Sig) Sigvaldason

GROUP PUBLISHER

Mike W. Bryant – mike.bryant@nnsl.com

MANAGING EDITOR James McCarthy – james.mccarthy@nnsl.com

ACCOUNTING: receivables@nnsl.com Sophie Wu

EDITORIAL BOARD: Mike W. Bryant • James McCarthy Derek Neary NEWS EDITOR James McCarthy

EDITORIAL PRODUCTION: editor@nunavutnews.com Sports: – sports@nnsl.com

ADVERTISING advertising@nunavutnews.com All departments: advertising@nnsl.com

Rankin Inlet is called Hockeytown, Nunavut for a reason

to sink in just how central hockey is to the community.

The dark days of winter heading into the Christmas break were made a lot brighter, and busier, thanks to the bustling Rankin Inlet hockey scene.

The Agnico Eagle Arena was packed most weekends as tournaments raged on, culminating in the 2022 Polar Bear Plate and the fun 10th Annual Kevin Fredlund Memorial.

It’s not only one of the few entertainment options –and one of the few evening outlets that doesn’t involve alcohol – but clearly plays a large role in youth and professional development.

fundraise, lead and commit to a job. It also comes with frequent travel opportunities for out-of-town tournaments like the upcoming Arctic Winter Games Jan. 28 – Feb. 4, 2023 in Alberta.

be signed with a return address and daytime telephone number so that we can confirm it came from you. Not all letters will necessarily be published. Preference is given to short letters of broad interest or concern. Letters of more than 200 words, open letters and those published elsewhere are seldom used. We reserve the right to edit for length or taste and to eliminate inaccurate or libelous statements.

In a community with nowhere to go at night but convenience stores, that kind of entertainment and gathering place is much needed.

Jordin Tootoo is on the welcome sign and people call Rankin ‘Hockeytown,’ but it takes a while

Being part of hockey as a young person in Rankin Inlet means you learn more than on-ice skills, but how to show up on time, take direction, work with others,

Speaking of the AWGs, Kivalliq News will be there, and we’re pumped to showcase our Kivalliq and Nunavut athletes doing what they do best on the international stage.

Garren Voisey of Team Nunavut was positively reminding me of Cale

Following that, two more huge hockey tournaments are coming up early in the new year, with the 2023 Polar Bear Plate and Terence Tootoo Memorial currently scheduled on back-to-back weekends in March.

The organizers and coordinators behind the scenes who make hockey and these tournaments come together deserve endless gratitude. They are providing more than a service to the community, but for many, a purpose and meaning in life

Here’s to a new year of a whole lot of hockey.

Makar during the Polar Bear Plate, and I can’t wait to see him and his teammates under even brighter lights.

Rankin Inlet’s Agnico Eagle Arena packs the fans in the stands many weekends during the winter as hockey tournaments are a popular pastime. Photo courtesy of the Terence Tootoo Memorial Tournament Committee

Northern

STEWART BURNETT

STEWART BURNETT

is captured through the lenses of our contributing photographers this week.

Tapatai sent us this photo from Baker Lake. Caribou migration, outside of Baker Lake on Oct. 25, 2022. WINNER! Eva Qirniq Noah sent us this story from Baker Lake: A two-hour snowmobile ride and fishing trip 60 miles east of Baker Lake on June 17, 2020. Four-year-old Dean Imaimaas Napatchie Noah savours the roe, his favourite part of the fish.

Paul Kabloona sent us this picture from Baker Lake. Caribou hunting, first week of November 2022, eight kilometres outside of Baker Lake.

image

taken on Nov. 15,

News presents the Amazing On-the-Land contest, generously sponsored by NCC Investment Group Inc., visit www.nccig.ca today.

By Stewart Burnett Northern News Services Rankin Inlet Local Journalism Initiative

Iqaluit captain Andrew Pearce was pumped after his team narrowly edged out the Team Nunavut Arctic Winter Games squad to win the 2022 Polar Bear Plate in Rankin Inlet Dec. 18. “I’m feeling great,” said Pearce, adding it would be his last year playing and he was considering moving into coaching. “Feels good to win the plate one more time. It’s always great to have the boys here. We love to play together. We’ve played together since we were kids. Some of these guys are going to continue on with this. Now we’re going to continue to win the plate.”

An early misplay behind the Nunavut net led to Iqaluit taking the 1-0 lead, and they never looked back despite some scary moments, including two Nunavut goals that were both called back.

The Rankin Canucks, a hometown favourite, defeated Coral Harbour to take home the bronze medal in the tournament, while teams from Baker Lake, Arviat, Naujaat and another from Rankin Inlet competed as well.

David Ningeonan had a front-row perspective of the games as he broadcast Inuktitut play-by-play on the radio and livestream.

“Over the years, it’s gotten bigger and bigger,” he said about the annual event, adding that more players try out for spots than there’s room to fit everyone.

“They get pumped and really excited to play for the Polar Bear Plate.”

David Clark coached Team Nunavut, who lost in the finals, but expressed his gratitude to the fans and supporters during closing comments. He thanked the sponsors, including Calm Air, EPLS and the hamlet, plus the Kivalliq Canucks for their $20,000 donation making all tickets free for the weekend of games.

“Rankin is a true hockey town because we do it together!” he said to a large cheer.

“I just want to say from the last couple years with Covid, it’s been hard, and to see everybody here having fun, enjoying the game, it’s the best. And Rankin has the best hockey fans.”

The next Polar Bear Plate is scheduled for March 2023, one week before the Terence Tootoo Memorial.

and Kevin Jr.

join for a photo during Polar Bear Plate games.

Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

Josie Cote lost a couple teeth in the late stages of the gold medal game for Iqaluit, but he still managed to smile when all was said and done. Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

Tristen Matoo cheers after scoring a big goal for Coral Harbour. Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

Alvin Pudnak follows the play for Baker Lake.

Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

Team Nunavut players celebrate during the gold medal finals, but their goal was called back due to high sticking. Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

charges toward the Team

net. Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

Garren Voisey plays strongly for Team Nunavut, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the hump against Iqaluit in the finals. Stewart Burnett/ NNSL photo

of a hockey lover

By Stewart Burnett Rankin Inlet Local Journalism Initiative

One of the biggest rivalries in hockey is always the Toronto Maple Leafs versus the Montreal Canadiens. Rankin Inlet has its own version of the rivalry and it was rekindled earlier this month.

Toronto’s old-timers edged out Montreal’s squad, 7-6, in the 10th Annual Kevin Fredlund Memorial game, which also featured contests for best-dressed fan, cash grab and signed hockey gear, plus an intermission dance performance. The event honours a former player in Rankin Inlet and die-hard hockey fan and is intended as a fun and inclusive celebration of the rivalry.

The Toronto old-timers took home the trophy this year, narrowly edging out a 7-6 win over Montreal. Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

Montreal players congratulate each other as they catch up to tie the game.

Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

Lucy Makkigak shows her universal support during the game. Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

Silas Atqittuq puts on an intermission dance performance for the crowd. Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

David Clark cheers after scoring for Toronto. Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

Albert Netser towers over a downed Toronto player. Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

Mary Rose Angoshadluk wins the best-dressed Montreal fan contest. Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

Savik Ford smiles at the crowd during intermission activities. Stewart Burnett/ NNSL photo

Progress on Indigenous reconciliation calls to action going at ‘glacial pace’: institute

An Indigenous-led think tank says progress is moving at a “glacial pace” seven years after the final report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was released.

The Yellowhead Institute, based at Toronto Metropolitan University, said two of the report’s 94 calls to action were completed this year — bringing the total of completed calls so far to 13.

The group says at this rate it will take 42 years, or until 2065, to complete all the calls to action.

“We’ve been tracking the calls to action for quite a few years now and continue to be shocked by the glacial pace of Canada’s progress,” wrote Eva Jewell and Ian Mosby, who edited the status update report released by the group this week.

The commission spent five years collecting testimony from thousands of Indigenous people forced to attend the church-run, government-funded institutions as children.

The commission heard how children were separated from families, stripped of their culture, and suffered emotional, sexual and physical abuse.

The final report and calls to action were released in December 2015.

The Yellowhead Institute tracks progress on the calls and its report includes insights from experts around the country.

The calls to action completed this year were around the Canadian Museum Association and the Canadian Association of Archivists undertaking reviews of policies and best practices to ensure compliance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and making recommendations for a reconciliation framework.

The Yellowhead Institute said both calls to action were timely and necessary.

“Regrettably, we are less optimistic about progress on Call to Action 58, the Papal Apology,” the think tank’s report notes.

Pope Francis delivered an apology in Alberta to survivors of Canada’s residential schools in July, but the think tank said it fell short for not

mentioning the “spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit and Metis children.”

Therefore, the report noted, it did not go far enough to complete the directive of the call to action.

The Yellowhead Institute also said federal legislation, which passed unanimously in the House of Commons earlier this month and is now

before the Senate, creating a national council for reconciliation could be a significant step.

However, the think tank said there are concerns around the council’s design that make it paternalistic and structured on insufficient resources.

The report noted that as of Dec. 1, 38 per cent of calls to action were either “not started” or “stalled.”

‘Waiting 157 years’

Cindy Blackstock, executive director of First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, noted in the report that Canada didn’t complete any calls to action on child welfare, saying that should give all Canadians pause.

“I am also tired of hearing the government say, `We can’t expect change overnight,’ when we’ve been waiting 157 years,” Blackstock wrote. “This is not overnight this is for the entirety of Canada’s history.”

The report also said, “We seem to be stuck in an eternal prologue.”

“Trying to define the problems that need to be solved, but with incomplete data, laden with grand but ultimately empty promises from all levels of government, and with all of this covered with a thick layer of orange-glazed `good intentions.”’

Kisha Supernant, an anthropology professor at Edmonton’s University of Alberta, said it is clear in the report that public pressure is key when it comes to the calls to action about locating the children who never came home from residential schools.

She said there was only incremental movement until the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation announced the discovery of possible graves at a former residential school in British Columbia

“The truth is it will likely take at least another seven years (or more) to complete the calls because there are thousands of missing children and we know so little about many of them, including where their resting places are,” she wrote in the report.

“I hope there will be continued pressure and attention paid to the missing children.”

—By Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press

At current pace, it will take 42 years to complete all the calls to action, says Yellowhead Institute

Commissioner Justice Murray Sinclair, foreground, Commissioner Chief Wilton Littlechild and Commissioner Marie Wilson listen to a speaker as the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation commission is released, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015 in Ottawa. Seven years later, an Indigenous-led think tank says progress is moving at a “glacial pace.” The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

’Our language is still here:’ Revitalizing Indigenous languages in the North

From legislative chambers to classrooms, and on the radio and TV, Indigenous languages are spoken and heard every day across the North thanks to dedicated elders, teachers, translators and broadcasters.

Jeela Palluq-Cloutier, who has long worked as an Inuktitut teacher and translator in Nunavut, said she learned the language from her unilingual parents while growing up in Iglulik.

“My dad’s passed now, but when I was translating I always had him at the back of my mind thinking: ‘He needs to be able to understand this,”’ she said.

“Unilingual Inuit have a right to information and the information that’s being translated needs to be the best quality.”

Palluq-Cloutier took part in efforts to make Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun available on Microsoft Translator and has translated more than 11,000 words into Inuktitut for Facebook.

While residential school and colonization robbed some Inuit of their languages, Palluq-Cloutier said those tongues are still thriving.

“We have upwards of 90 to 95 per cent speakers in some communities,” she said. “That’s something that I’m very proud of, that our language is still here, given the history where our government tried to erase it from us.”

More than 21,000 people speak Inuktitut, the 2021 census, indicates, and Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun are official languages in Nunavut.

In the Northwest Territories, Tlicho is the most common Indigenous mother tongue with 1,700 speakers.

Georgina Frankie, who teaches Tlicho through College Nordique in Yellowknife, learned the language when she was young from her grandmother. Earlier this year, Frankie and language school co-ordinator Rosie Benning collaborated to publish a Tlicho workbook.

“All of the cultural teaching in the book is part of my grandmother’s teaching,” said Frankie, who lives in Behchoko, N.W.T.

“It means a lot for me because I have a granddaughter now and that means I have to leave something behind for her.”

‘A foot in both worlds’

Frankie continued to learn Tlicho during her decade living in Toronto and taught herself to read and write it by comparing English and Tlicho versions of the Bible.

Benning said Frankie is an inspiration because she was able to deepen her Tlicho while she was living far from home in Canada’s biggest city.

“She’s living proof that you can have a foot in both worlds and still succeed and thrive and you don’t have to deny your Indigenous roots to be successful in this world.”

Benning and Frankie said the language classes are an act of reconciliation as they allow people to reconnect with their culture and language.

“For a lot of people, it’s really healing,” Benning said. Of the 11 official languages in the N.W.T., nine are Indigenous. Other work to support Indigenous languages across the territory include language circles and the mentor apprentice program, which partners learners with fluent speakers.

In Yukon, there are eight First Nations languages, although none are recognized as official languages there.

Paul Caesar-Jules learned Kaska from his grandmother and now teaches it. He said when he began working for the Fort Liard First Nation’s language department, he digitized cassette tapes of elders speaking the language.

“The first time hearing a sad story, understanding what’s being said, I legit started crying just from this Elder explaining it,” he said. “It was just really heartwarming and I felt really connected to the stories in our language and it’s just really, really beautiful.”

Recording Elders

Emeral Poppe, who also works in the department, said its work includes recording Elders, creating a verb inventory and phrase book, making videos, translating Robert Munsch books and holding gatherings such as hide camps focused on language and intergenerational teaching.

Poppe said she heard Kaska words growing up and became more passionate about the language in her teens after learning about Indigenous issues. Some of her family members were prevented from speaking their language at residential schools.

“It made me angry, it made me upset. So I wanted to sort of utilize that … turn that anger into passion and make it productive and try to do something for my community,” she said. “It’s nice being able to funnel that energy into something really, really important.”

Poppe said preserving language and passing it onto future generations helps connects people with their families and culture.

She said it has been especially meaningful seeing her mother reclaim her language.

“The way you talk about the world shapes the way you see the world,” she said. “We’ve lived here for a very long time and so we’ve gained quite a bit of knowledge about the land and just life around here.”

The federal government announced late last month it was spending $39.4 million to support Indigenous languages in the territories. It said it has spent a total of $77.2 million to support Indigenous languages in the North since 2019.

Ndilo Yellowknives Dene First Nation Chief Fred Sangris said the funding is a step toward reconciliation and will allow his community to provide Wiiliideh language classes, camps and resources.

“We’re hanging onto our language at the very thread,” he said. “Without language, identity is lost. Without language, communication between the old and the younger community could not happen.”

—By Emily Blake, The Canadian Press. This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

“We’re hanging onto our

at the very thread. Without

is lost. Without language, communication between the old and the younger community could not happen,” says Ndilo Yellowknives Dene First Nation Chief Fred Sangris. NNSL file photo

‘Unilingual Inuit have a right to information... (of) the best quality,’ says Jeela Palluq-Cloutier

Elders sometimes open meetings and events by leading a prayer in an Indigenous language. Recording Elders, creating a verb inventory and phrase book, making videos, translating books and holding languages camps are some of the approaches being used to revitalize Indigenous languages. NNSL file photo

language

language, identity

Canadians fined at least $15M for breaking

Covid quarantine rules in 2022, data shows

Territories and a couple of provinces not included in statistics

Canadians who were caught violating federal Covid-19 quarantine rules racked up at least $15 million in fines this year, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, but it’s not clear how much of that will actually be paid.

The agency provided data to the House of Commons in the fall in response to a request from Conservative MP Eric Duncan.

Duncan did not respond to a request for comment.

This year saw the widespread lifting of Canada’s Covid-19 health restrictions. Until October, travellers were required to follow testing and quarantine rules, depending on their vaccination status, and upload their public health information through the ArriveCan app.

The rules evolved over the year as public health officials responded to

changing Covid-19 case levels. The ongoing restrictions also led to frustration among some travellers and those in the tourism industry, who said there was a negative affect business.

The Public Health Agency of Canada data includes British Columbia, Ontario, Manitoba and Atlantic Canada. It does not include information from Saskatchewan, Alberta or the territories because those jurisdictions had not adopted the legislation needed in order for the fines to be levied. Its province-by-province breakdown also excludes Quebec, where fines are issued by provincial prosecutors.

Between January and August, 3,614 tickets were handed out under the federal Quarantine Act — legislation the federal government used to usher in border measures to stem the spread of the virus.

Those fines totalled $14.8 million

with the amounts varying, depending on the offence, from $825 to $5,000. A single ticket can sometimes include multiple offences.

Most of the fines were levied in Ontario, which is not only the largest province by population, it’s also home to the country’s busiest airport and land border crossing with the United States. In all, 2,672 tickets were handed out during the eight-month period.

By comparison, 709 were handed out in British Columbia and 210 in Manitoba. No one was fined in Newfoundland and Labrador or Prince Edward Island, while 21 fines were levied in New Brunswick and two in Nova Scotia.

The data only represents a snapshot in time and the agency says more tickets were issued in September. It also notes that police are not required to report enforcement activities, so its data may be incomplete.

The public health agency’s website shows nearly 19,000 tickets have been handed out for federal quarantine violations since Covid-19 arrived in 2020.

But the Public Health Agency of Canada doesn’t track whether those fines are actually paid.

Few bother to pay

The Ontario government was unable to provide statistics by deadline. But very few of the tickets handed out under the federal Quarantine Act in British Columbia have been paid.

In the case of 765 of the 3,267 total tickets, the individual has been found guilty. Just 97 of those tickets have been paid so far, amounting to nearly $300,000.

That leaves more than $3.5 million in outstanding fines.

Another 638 tickets are being disputed in court, according to data provided by the province’s justice department,

Theresa Tam on preparing for the next battle with Covid-19, and future epidemics

Canada’s chief public health officer says Covid-19 is still circulating at a “relatively high level” and other strains of influenza may surge in the new year.

At the same time, governments need to invest in preparing for and preventing future epidemics, Dr. Theresa Tam says.

In a year-end interview with The Canadian Press, Tam urged Canadians to “remain vigilant” and said what happens next with Covid-19 and flu depends largely on people taking precautions for the holidays — including staying up to date with vaccinations, masking indoors in crowded conditions or when seeing vulnerable family members and staying home when not feeling well.

“I always say that, you know, we own the situation,” she said. “We can make the decision and influence the trajectory of the pandemic curve… We know what we could do to reduce our risks, particularly when the hospitals are so pressured.”

Tam said it’s also important to remember that the antiviral drug Paxlovid is available for people who do get sick to decrease their risk of severe illness and hospitalization.

“I would advise people, especially (those) at high risk, to think ahead,” she said.

“Plan ahead with your health professionals, know where you can access Paxlovid and know how you can get your rapid test or get testing done if you should get sick. That will ensure that you can get access to the drug as fast as possible.”

The virus that causes Covid19 continues to evolve, Tam said, and she’s eyeing a surge of Covid-19 cases during Australia’s summer right now to try to predict what it might do in this hemisphere. It’s too early to say whether further booster shots might be necessary, she said, but

Canadian health experts will “regroup in the new year” with other experts internationally to come up with further guidance.

“The general good news is that even when cases surge, ICU admissions and deaths are relatively low, so this is what we need to track — because right now our overall goal is to reduce serious outcomes,” she said.

Improve readiness

As we manage these diseases, Tam said we need to improve our readiness for more epidemics to come.

“(The Covid-19 pandemic) is one of the most teachable moments, I think, in our collective lifetimes,” she said.

“We need to be prepared,” Tam said. “I’m not talking about just Canada, (I’m talking) globally.”

That preparedness includes a global approach to health and “better data and surveillance systems to monitor viruses and other harms that could impact both human… and animal health and the environment.

“And that gives you an earlier signal, perhaps, to reduce and mitigate viruses or other pathogens that can affect humans.”

Another element of future disease prevention is to pay more attention to “the hidden pandemic” of antimicrobial resistance, Tam said.

The World Health Organization has identified antimicrobial resistance, which happens when bacteria and viruses no longer respond to antibiotic and antiviral medications, as a major threat to human health.

“If antibiotics don’t work, we are in a situation a bit like (we were) the beginning of this pandemic, where we have no effective countermeasures,” Tam said.

These kinds of threats were difficult to explain to decision-makers before Covid-19 struck, she said.

Public health has been “underappreciated and I think under-invested,” Tam said.

But now that governments have been involved in responding to a pandemic, “they understand a bit more about what public health does and the importance of public health.”

A big part of public health’s role, Tam said, is to “highlight health inequities” among vulnerable populations.

Covid-19 has shown that in addition to people who are elderly and those with underlying health conditions, those struggling with poverty, people who are homeless, racialized groups, Indigenous people and people suffering from addiction are “severely impacted” during crises, she said.

“Thinking about preparedness in a different way in reducing health inequities will get us (into) a better place for the next pandemic,” Tam said.

—By Nicole Ireland, The Canadian Press

which also noted that over 1,700 tickets have either been successfully disputed or cancelled, or remain in progress.

In New Brunswick, 15 of the 34 Quarantine Act tickets issued in 2021 and 2022 have been withdrawn and another 11 are listed as outstanding.

And in Manitoba — where the government provides data online for the period from April 2020 to December 2022 — 94 of the 345 active tickets still haven’t been paid.

Manitoba’s numbers also illustrate a discrepancy between the fines that are issued and what ends up being paid, given that the courts can reduce, dismiss or stay a ticket.

While around $9.3 million worth in fines was levied for provincial and federal rule violations, only about $905,000 has been collected.

—By Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press

Reducing health inequities will have system better prepared for next time, says Canada’s top doc

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, attends a press conference in Ottawa on Wednesday, Dec. 14. Tam says Covid-19 is still circulating at a “relatively high level” and other strains of influenza may surge in the new year. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Do it for you: Right motivations key to succeeding in new year’s resolutions

Wanting to start anew is natural for humans, but pressure to do so makes it harder to succeed

Justin Samanski-Langille

The year is rapidly nearing its end,and as the new year approaches, many people are starting to think about New Year’s resolutions. Maybe you want to go to the gym more, or cut back on coffee or alcohol. No matter what it is, or whether we have tried to follow through on the same resolution in years prior, we all seem to want to make a resolution to change for the better at the start of the year. But no matter how much we tell ourselves this year will be different, many people won’t succeed in their goals. So why do we keep trying, and why do we all make such a fuss about making a resolution we probably won’t succeed in?

According to Frederick Grouzet, a psychology professor with the University of Victoria, the answer to that question is part societal and part human nature.

“It’s something that is so natural as a human being, whenever there is a temporal landmark, to think about how things can be done differently,” said Grouzet. “There are different

reasons why we do it. It could be the need for a reset, not erase the past, but take the opportunity to start again, and there is also a cultural influence. At this time of year, everyone is talking about new year’s resolutions, it’s everywhere, which encourages people to make them.”

According to Grouzet, that social pressure to make a resolution can also reduce the chance someone will succeed in what they set out to do.

While there are many reasons why people don’t succeed in any goal they set for themselves, motivation is the most significant factor in predicting success. Having the right motivation to do something rather than the wrong one can make all the difference.

Grouzet said it is very important for people making resolutions to be motivated to make and succeed in it because they want to do it and they want to succeed. All too often, people make a resolution because other people encourage them to, or because they want to do something for someone else.

When you are doing it for someone else, or

even because you feel society is pressuring you to do it, it makes it all the more challenging to overcome unexpected challenges like poor weather stopping you from going for a run as often as you would like, or an unexpected gym closure. If you do it for your own reasons, it becomes easier to overcome those challenges, and reach your goal.

If you do want to succeed in your resolutions, whether they are made for new year’s or at any other time, Grouzet said there are three main steps to keep in mind.

“The first step is to ensure we are doing things for the right reasons, for personal reasons. Before making a resolution, choose your reasons carefully, especially if it is something being suggested by friends or family. If you do it just to please them, it won’t work.

“The second step is to have a step-by-step plan to ensure we don’t start to hard. Start easy and build confidence in yourself that you can succeed.

“The third step is to anticipate obstacles and to have a backup plan. For example, if the gym is closed, have some exercises to do at home.”

It’s very important for people making resolutions to be motivated to make and succeed in it because they want to do it and they want to succeed. All too often, people make a resolution because other people encourage them to, or because they want to do something for someone else, says psychology professor Frederick Grouzet. Polina Kovaleva/Pexels photo

If you could look into the eyes of generations yet to come, you would be there.

Because immortality lies not in the things you leave behind, but in the people that your life has touched, for good or bad.

By including the Canadian Cancer society in your will, you can have a powerful effect on those who come after you.

You see, cancer can be beaten. The survival rate for cancer patients is already over 50% in Canada.

You'll be leaving behind a legacy of life for others. And that is a beautiful way of living forever yourself.

If you or your lawyer want to know more about the Society and what we do, telephone or write the Canadian Cancer Society.

This message has been reproduced with the kind permission of the American Cancer Society and this space is contributed as a public service.