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5TuesdayJanuary72014WhiteGirlBreakuporbombsPart1ByDAWNKOSTELNIKTherehasnotbeenaplaneinweeks.ItisbreakupintheArctic.Thisis1966inFortNormanontheDehChotheMackenzieRiverintheNWTCanada.Iamalittlegirlsittingonthebanksofthismightyriverwitheveryotherkidintown.OurearsstrainforthesoundsofcrackingicethatwillindicatethemilewidebandofsolidwaterinfrontofuswillbreakupandfreeusfromthisprisonSmallbushplanespro-videuswithmailandtheoccasionalmoviereelinbigcanswehavebeenwatch-ingTheVikingsamoviestarringKirkDouglasTonyCurtisandErnestBorg-nineforthepastmonth.Withnotmuchelsetodowere-enactthismovieev-erydayatrecessandafterschool.WithwildshoutstoOdinaVikinggodofsomesortweengageinbattle.Wehaveallsufferedwoundsdealtbyblowswithwoodenswordsandwillowspearsmadeespeciallyforthisbutnoonehaslostaneyeyet.Kidsheadhomeeverydaywithsnottynosesfromcry-ingandbloodynosesfromhardcontactmeincluded.Thisparticularprogramisgettingoldevenforus.Thesnowistoosofttoskiandtheiceontheriverisrot-tenorcandleicesowecantcrossthepowerfulMacken-zieRivertosetsnares.Wearecagedtigers.WeneedadifferentmovieOurteachersarebushedaNortherntermforthemen-talhangoverofalongdarkandhardwinter.Ourprin-cipalisactingstrangely.Hehaslockedthedoortoourclassroomseveraltimestotrytoupsetourteacher.Itworkssheyellsathimwewatchthishidingbehindourbooks.WhenyouhidebehindyourbooknobodycanseeyoudoanythingIfhedoesntletusoutwecantgotothebathroomandthelittlekidswillpeetheirpants.Hesgettingprettygoofy.Todaytheyareswordght-ingwithyardsticksmaybetheyhavebeenwatchingourschoolyardperfor-mances.Theuseofyardsticksputstheminacat-egorywellbelowwhatweusebabiescomparedtous.Poofcloudsofchalkdustbillowintotheairtheyarethrowingchalkbrushesateachotherandkeepmiss-ing.Itishardnottolaughandgigglesarebreakingoutandinterruptingtheperformance.Ourteach-ersrealizehowsillytheyaretheylookateachothersheepishly.Breakupneedstocomesoontheprincipalreturnstohisclass.StaytunedforPart2of3intheNorthernJournal.FortSmithHayRiverWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdayForecastForecastNorms-19Cand-28CNorms-20Cand-29C-29Low-22Low-20High-22High-24Low-20High-26Low-29Low-25Low-21High-24High-24Low-20High-30Low-23High-23HighYellowknifeInuvikWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdayNorms-23Cand-31CNorms-23Cand-31C-32Low-29Low-34Low-27Low-32Low-29Low-25High-26High-27Low-22High-27Low-25High-26High-31High-26High-32HighAmajormilestonefortheNWTCOLUMNSDennisPattersonSenatorNunavutTheweekofDec.2-62013representedasig-nicantmilestoneforthepeopleoftheNorthwestTerritoriesNWTandtheirinstitutionsofgovernmentbothpublicandAboriginal.PremierBobMcLeodandMinistersMiltenbergerandRamsaywereinOttawaduringtheweektowitnessthetablingoftheNorthwestTerritoriesDevolutionActintheHouseofCommonsattendmeetingswithHouseandSenateCommitteeswhichwillbereviewingtheActandgenerallypro-motethedevolutionpack-ageasamajorstepintheconstitutionaldevelopmentoftheNWTthroughgreatercontroloverthemanage-mentanddevelopmentoftheNWTsresources.Myreadingoftherecep-tiontheyreceivedfromtheSenateCommitteeonEnergyEnvironmentandNaturalResourcesonDec.5washeartening.Mycom-mitteecolleaguesbothConservativeandLiberalaskedquestionsandlearnedagreatdealabouttheNWTfromPremierMcLeodandallincludingNWTSenatorNickSibbestoncongratu-latedthepremierandhisteamonbuildingunder-standingandsupportintheNWTforthedevolu-tionpackageandextendedbestwishesforitssuccess-fulimplementation.MostimportantmySen-ateCommitteecolleaguesunderstoodandcommentedonthesignicanceofthisactbecauseittrulyrepre-sentsnationbuildingintheCanadianNorthandfulllsanobjectiveoftheNWTwhichhasbeenonthecon-stitutionalagendaofyourterritoryforthelastthreedecades.SowhyamIaSenatorfromyoursisterterritoryofNunavutsoexcitedaboutthisdevelopmentInpartmyenthusiasmisbasedonthe16yearsIservedinthepre-divisionNWTLegisla-tiveAssemblyasanMLAandaministerandpremierinyourgovernment.WhilemycolleaguesandIwereneverabletoconcludeade-volutionagreementduringthistimeweworkedhardtobuildtheconsensusre-centlyachievedbyPremierMcLeodandcameclosetoreachinganagreementwithOttawa.Whilewewerenotsuc-cessfultherearemanyex-amplesofmajorNWTde-volutionandconstitutionaldevelopmentrelatedinitia-tivesduringthepastthreedecadeswhichhavelaidthegroundworkforlastweeksmilestone.NWTAboriginalresi-dentsandleaderscanbeproudthattheyhavebeenabletoovercomethecol-lapseoftheDene-Mtisclaimin1990tonegotiateandimplementfourregionalclaims.WorkcontinuesonnegotiationofAboriginalself-governmentagreementsatthecommunityandre-gionallevels.FurthermoreAboriginalpeopleandtheirinstitutionshavebeenandwillcontinueundertheDe-volutionActtoberepre-sentedonregulatoryboardswhichmakedecisionsonresourcemanagementanddevelopment.PublicgovernmentattheterritoriallevelhasevolvedaswellwiththetransferofjurisdictionforforestryminesafetyhealthandtheNorth-ernPowerCommission.OfconsiderablesignificancearetherelationshipswhichyourterritorialgovernmentisbuildingwithAboriginalgovernmentsandlandclaimsinstitutions.PremierMcLeodspokeeloquentlyoftheserelationshipswhichwillbecriticalforsuccessfullyim-plementingtheDevolutionActandthemanagementofNWTresources.Ofparticularsignifi-cancetomeistheroleandrecognitionwhichtheNWTgovernmenthasachievedatthenationalleveldur-ingthelast30years.NWTpremiersministersandof-ficialsarenowwelcomeatallfederal-provincial-terri-torialmeetingsandarein-strumentalininfluencingpublicpolicywhichaffectstheNorthandallCanadi-ans.Theymeetregularlywiththeirfederalcoun-terpartsandinmyviewhavebeenveryeffectiveincontributingtotheFed-eralGovernmentsNorth-ernStrategy.ThiscolumncontinuesinnextweeksNorthernJournal.NorthernJournal2014JoinusonlineLikeNorthernJournalonFacebookandgettheweeklynewsdeliveredtoyourfeedFACEBOOKFEEDBACKTemassivecoaltailingsplumeintheAthabascaRivermaybedissipatedaccordingtotheprovincialgovernmentbutconcernedscientistsandhealthproessionalssayitslastingefectsontheriveranddeltaareonlyjustbeginning.Scientistexpectslong-termdamagefromcoalspillPatriciaSeppIchallengeallthesepeoplethatdayitssafetodrinkitfortheremainderoftheyear