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6TuesdayNovember42014OpenNWTtokeeppublicinformedonterritorialissuesPOLITICSOPENDATAByMEAGANWOHLBERGInaterritorywherethefamilyviolencerateisninetimesthenationalaverageonewomensorganizationintheNWTisques-tioninggovernmentfundingprioritiesthatleavewomeninremotecommunitiesstrandedwithoutpolicetoprotecttheminemergencies.YWCAYellowknifeexecutivedirectorLydaFullersaidsheisconfoundedbytheJus-ticeministersconrmationlastweekthatthereisnomoneyorplantobuildRCMPdetachmentsinGametiandWrigleydespitegovernmentpromisesmadeveyearsago.Therearesofewresourcesinthesecom-munitiesnowtokeepwomensafefromfamilyviolenceshesaid.Thereisrealpotentialfordangerandpolicehelpmaybehoursaway.JusticeMinisterDavidRamsayrevealedlastweekthatthereisnofundingorplantobuildeitherdetachmenteachofwhichises-timatedatbetween11-13million.Fullerbelievesthelackofpolicepres-enceinGametiwaspartlyresponsibleforthedeathofAliceBlackinFebruary2009.The31year-oldwomanwasbeatentodeathbyhercommon-lawhusbandTerryJamesVitalwhowaslatersentencedtosevenyearsformanslaughter.TherehadbeenawarrantoutforVitalsarrestfor11monthspriortoBlacksdeathduetopreviouscharges.WhenRCMPnallycametoGametitolookforVitaltheyfoundhimwalkingdownalocalstreet.Theincidentcausedrenewedcallsforalocaldetachmenttobebuilt.ButsincethenFullersaidnothinghaschanged.IbelievethathavingpolicetherewouldhavemadeadifferenceforAlice.AndthefactisthiskindofviolencecouldhappenagainshesaidnotingthefourwomenwhohavediedfromdomesticviolencebetweenDecember2012and2013alone.Thoughapilotsupportprogramwasbeingrunforwomenincommunitieswithoutpo-licethatprojectwasdiscontinued18monthsagoaftergovernmentfundingended.WhenitcomestoWrigleyNahendehMLAKevinMenicochesaidthepromisetobuildanewdetachmentstretchesbacksevenyears.Hesaidthenewsthatthedetachmentisnotonitswaywasshockingtohimandhisconstituents.Ibelievethatattheveryleastthesetwodetachmentsbeincludedinour20-yearcap-italneedsassessmentplanhetoldJusticeMinisterDaveRamsaylastweek.IcantseehowthiscouldbeoverlookedespeciallywhentheneedsaregreatandwemadethebusinesscasefortheestablishmentoftheRCMPde-tachment.Evenresidentsinoursmallcom-munitiesdeservethefullattentionofpublicsafety.Statisticallythesetwocommunitiesgetplaguedbycrime.Ramsayblamedthefederalgovernmentforthecontinuedlackofdetachmentssay-ingOttawawastedtimeuntilthepolicingservicescontractwiththeGNWTchangedin2012makingtheterritoryresponsiblefor70percentofcapitalcostsforRCMPser-vicesintheNWT.Gettingtheprojectsontothe20-yearcapi-talplanRamsaysaidwouldrequirecon-tinuedworkwiththeRCMP.HesaidtheGNWTcontinuestomeetwithcommuni-tiestoseehowtheycanenhancethelevelsofpoliceservicelikeinGametilastmonth.WeareverymuchinterestedinlookingatwaystheRCMPcancontinuetoworkwiththeleadershipandcommunitymembersacrosstheNorthwestTerritoriesoncommunitypolicingplansidentifyingprioritiesinthecommunitythatareimportanttothelead-ersandthemembersinthatcommunityandcarryingouttheworkoftheRCMPinthosecommunitiesRamsaysaid.Anewdetachmentdoescomewithaloftypricetag.Thatswhywiththeresourcesthatwedohavewehavetotrytondawayofmovingforwardwithimprovingthelevelofserviceheadded.ButFullersaidsheseesthelackofmovementonthedetachmentsasamatterofpriorities.Thegovernmenthasmoneyinitscapitalplanforeconomicdevelopmentbutnottobuildthesepolicedetachments.Thepriorityistobringnewpeopletotheterritorywithoutensuringthesafetyofthepeoplewholiveherenowshesaid.Therearecurrently21detachmentsserving33communitiesintheNorthwestTerritories.WomensgroupdismayedatlackofpoliceinsmallcommunitiesJUSTICEPOLICINGByDALICARMICHAELTheongoingactivitiesoftheterritorialgovernmenthavejustbecomealittleeasiertofollowthankstoonelocaladvocateforopennessandaccessibilityingovernment.YellowkniferesidentDavidWasylciwlaunchedOpenNWTonOct.27anonlinecollectionofdocumentsfromtheterrito-rialgovernmentstrategicallydesignedtobeeasilynavigatedbynotonlymembersofthegovernmentandmediabutanycitizenwhowishestostayinformed.ItcameoutoffrustrationoftryingtondinformationWasylciwaformerpolicyana-lystsaid.Iveworkedinthegovernmentandoutsidethegovernmentdoingresearchandjusttryingtostayinformedoverwhatsbeingdiscussedcanbearealpainwiththecurrentformatofthingsthecurrenttools.Idseenexampleslikethisonefromotherjurisdic-tionsaroundCanadaandaroundtheworldandIthoughttheresnogoodreasonforitnottocometotheNWTaswell.ThewebsiteisdesignedtoharvestonlinegovernmentdocumentslikeHansardthetranscriptsfromdailylegislativesessionsandgeneratetheminaformatthatisinter-activeandeasytonavigate.Thedocumentsgobackasfaras2007whenthe16thAs-semblyoftheterritorialgovernmentstarteditsrstsession.TheofciallypublisheddocumentisjustahugePDFsointheHansardthatspublishedonOpenNWTitsalittlebitfriendliertherespicturesWasylciwsaid.Mostimportantlythoughweresearchable.ItsreallyeasytosearchbyMLAorevenbytopicsoyoucanreadwhatsbeingdiscussedorwhatsbeensaidinthepast.Inadditiontothelegislativetranscriptsthenewwebsiteautomaticallyscansforandpostsgovernmentandcommercialcontractsover5000soanyinterestedpartiescansearchthroughpresentandpastdeals.Sofarcontractdatafromthepast10yearshasbeenamassedonthesite.WasylciwwhomostlyrunsOpenNWTasasolooperationsaidhebuiltsocialmediasharingintothewebsiteasameansofpro-liferatingaccessibility.Moreandmorepeoplearegettingon-linearoundtheNorthhesaid.Facebookseemstobeanincrediblyimportantwaythatpeopleactuallyshareinformationandtalkaboutcommunityevents.Partoftheideaofbringingthisinformationthroughthismod-erntechnologywasmakingsurethatitwasusefultopeopleinthewaythattheyalreadytalkaboutthings.Rightnowyoullgetnewsarticlesthataresharedacrosssocialmediaandpeoplewillcommentonthem-whynotdothesamethingwithstatementsfromthehouseorcontractsthatsortofthingWasylciwsaidfeedbackhasbeensupport-iveandenthusiastic.Sofaritsbeenprettypositivebothfromthepublicandthegovernmenthesaid.IdtalkedtopeoplewithintheGNWTwhileIwasplanningonstartingitanditwasgen-erallypositivefeedbackthere.Sincelaunch-ingitsbeengreatpublicfeedback.Ithinktheresbeenaneedformoretoolsandmoreaccessiblewaystogetintosomeofthisin-formationandpeoplereallyappreciatehav-ingthat.WiththedynamicnatureofthegovernmentandtheinformationbeingprocessedbythewebsiteWasylciwisalwayslookingforwaystoupdateandimprovehisproduct.Hisnextstepwillbetoaddgovernmentmotionstothelistofdocumentsaccessibleonthewebsite.Tondoutmoreormakeasuggestionvisitwww.opennwt.caoremailWasylciwatinfoopennwt.ca.AdynamicservicealwayslookingtoevolveAstechnologycontinuestoevolveandthegovernmentcontinuestosharemoreoftheirdatawiththepublicOpenNWThascommittedtokeepingupwiththetimes.HaveasuggestionformakingthewebsiteeasiertouseThinkthewebsiteismissinganyimportantelementsOperatorsoftheservicearealwayslookingforfeedbackonwaystoimprove.HansardsearchesmadeeasierOpenNWTcollectsdailyHansardtranscriptsfromthelegislativeassemblyandautomaticallylaysthemoutinaformatthatiseasytonavigate.Perusebydatetopicormember.Headshotswitheachstatementmakethegovernmentdocumentsevenmoreuser-friendly.GovernmentcontractsinoneplaceLookingforapasttenderover5000OpenNWThascombinedallgovern-mentprocurementsorcontractsdatingbackto2004inonesimpletosearchlocation.Imagesfromwww.opennwt.ca