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4 Tuesday June 16 2015 The N orthern J ournal is an independent newspaper covering news and events in the western Arctic and northern Alb erta. 2013 CCNA BLUE RIBBON CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2013 C M C A AUDITED The Northern J ournal i s publ i shed w eek l y by Casc ade Publ i shi ng Ltd. Pri nted at Star Press I nc . Wai nw ri ght A B . Publisher................................................................................. Don Jaque 867-872-3000 ext.21 donnorj.ca Editor.........................................................................Meagan Wohlberg 867-872-3000 ext.24 newsnorj.ca Reporter....................................................................... Dali Carmichael 867-872-3000 ext.25 reporternorj.ca Comptroller ..................................................... Dixie Penner 867-872-3000 ext.23 dixnorj.ca Advertising.............................. Heather Foubert Hay River 867-874-4106 adsnorj.ca Administration............................................Jeremy Turcotte 867-872-3000 ext.26 adminnorj.ca Production Manager ......................................Sandra Jaque 867-872-3000 ext.22 sandranorj.ca Graphics........................................................Paul Bannister 867-872-3000 ext.27 graphicsnorj.ca Letters to the E ditor P olicy The Northern Journal welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and include a phone number so the author can be verified. Names will be withheld on request in special circumstances where the reasons are determined to be valid. The Journal reserves the right to edit letters for length libel clarity and taste. Opinions expressed in letters and columns are not necessarily those of the publisher or editor. Advertising D eadlines Display ad deadline is Thursday at 400 p.m. Classified ad deadline is Thursday at 500 p.m. Email adsnorj.ca S ub scription R ates Prices include GST. 47.25 in Fort Smith 52.50 elsewhere in Canada 105 in the USA overseas 164.30. EDITORIAL LETTER TO THE EDITOR The d eb ate on climate change is ov er time f or action With the stroke of a pen the leaders of the G7 countries last week completely changed the dynamic of the talk about climate change from a debate over whether or not it ex ists to recognition that it must be dealt with by ending the use of fossil fuels completely. That change was amazing and profound. More and more scientists and leaders are raising their voices against the carbon-based economy on which the world currently runs and the damage it is causing. The build-up of carbon diox ide in the atmosphere is alter- ing weather patterns wreaking havoc on our lives. Equally traumatic impacts are taking place in the oceans from the flood of carbon being poured into the atmosphere from our vehicles and industries. Carbon is absorbed into the water causing acidification of the oceans resulting in the loss of plankton those little critters at the base of the aquatic food chain. That will mean devastated fish populations. Many species of mammals in- cluding humans are dependant on the oceans for food. The oceans are already being over- fished so face double eopardy. A catastrophe of immense proportions is looming. A hundred years ago our ancestors ex- perienced the loss of the massive herds of prairie bison the flocks of carrier pigeons that filled the skies for hours on end and more recently the Atlantic cod stocks all once plentiful but suddenly all but vanished. In each case those losses were a direct im- pact of mindless negligent practices during a time of rapid large-scale human ex pan- sion. Most of those tragedies took place at an earlier time in human development when populations were low and mass industrial- ization had not yet taken place. They were a warning the canary in the coal mine dem- onstrating how vulnerable the world can be. O ur race is like a steamroller on the planet now and the magnitude of reaction by the planet s systems to what we are doing will be profound yet our societies continue to behave in ways that are ignorant and irre- sponsible risking turning the future of our children into a nightmare. Thank goodness for Angela Merkel o figure it took a woman to show a group of men that common sense was needed in deal- ing with so obvious a problem. O n her lead the G7 summit in Garmisch-P artenkirchen Germany on June 8 committed its member nations some of the main industrialized countries of the world to shift completely to a zero-emission energy system before the end of the century. The discussions will no longer be about whether or not climate change ex ists or more debates over reducing percentages of carbon emissions targets that no country was meeting anyway. Instead we are now on a path to ending the carbon-based econ- omy altogether. Note that Canadas prime minister came to the G7 party adamantly opposing the plan to decarbonize the world economy. Imagine the pressure Stephen Harper must have faced to finally buckle. Canada has received failing grades over two decades for its inability to meet its carbon emission targets. U nder the Liberal governments of Jean Chr tien we signed agreements and then ignored them. U ndertheHarperConservativeswewithdrew from the agreements blamed the rest of the world for the problem and actively ramped up our carbon producing industries. Although the 7 meeting managed to achieve an agreement there is still no plan on how to achieve the new goal. The climate summit in P aris this coming December has the potential to actually do something toward invoking a carbonless economy. Will a way to ex cise carbon from our collective lives by the end of the century as per the G7 agreement be decided then O ne would hope. But will that end of the century timeframe besoonenough Bythenthechangeswrought to our planet may be too great to reverse. There is hope however. Ways to move to a new economy based on innovative clean en- ergy systems are being developed that could accomplish the goal much faster. Stanford U niversity engineers for ex ample have developed a plan to convert the U nited Statesto1 0 0 percentcleanrenewableenergyby 20 5 0 throughstate-levelinitiatives.InCanada Q uebec and O ntario the two largest and most populousprovincesareheadingthatwayaswell. Private initiatives like the Solutions Pro ect http thesolutionsproj ect.org are gaining popularity.Thatgroupsays1 0 0 percentclean is 1 0 0 per cent possible and shows ways to build a stronger economy healthier families and a more secure future. Humanity is on the cusp of a dramatic all- encompassing change so transformational the industrial revolution will be dwarfed in magnitude. The pressure is on to do it quickly or face dire consequences. The climate summit in P aris this coming D ecemb er has the potential to actually do something toward invoking a carb onless economy. D r. O Connor I will continue to advocate for F ort Chip E ditor I mstillshatteredandex tremelydisappointed intheNuneeHealthBoardSocietyNHBSand SteveCourtoreilletheMikisewCreeFirstNation Chief. I received an email with neither notice nor ex planation immediately ending my years ofphysicianservicetoFortChipewyanat3 p.m. on May 8 20 1 5 signed by Rox anne Marcel on behalf of the NHBS. Despite my efforts to seek anex planationastowhyIveheardnotaword. My connection with Chip began in 20 0 0 . I provided in-community service until 2007. At that point after Chip health issues had hit the media my wife and I headed east for sanitys sake. Id recruited a physician Dr. Liam Grif- fin to take over in the community. The NHBS askedmetobeoncallasphysicianback-upon thedaysandnightswhenDr. riffinwasnotin FortChip.Theyofferedmeacontracttowhich Iagreed.Itstipulatedthatmyserviceswerefor on-call and did not require me to provide in- community clinics as they were not required with Dr. riffin in place. This contract was entirely proposed and worded by the NHBS. I was fully compliant with the terms of this contract. O ver the years Iwasaskedtore-signthiscontractwhichIdid. There was never any issue with it. And was busy fielding calls at any and all hours of the day and night handling very serious emergen- ciesarrangingadmissionstohospitalmedevacs out to Fort McMurray and beyond even when I was overseas in Ireland visiting my mother and on family vacations many many times. Christmas graduations even in the shower with one dry hand Id reach for my phone I was never unavailable. The community knows my cell phone number and I still am called. I loveFortChip. MywifeCharleneandourchil- drengrewtoacceptmyconstantlybeinginter- rupted and on calls. IwasaskedafewmonthsbacktoprovideWell ManMedicalsinFortChipbyCarolineAdam the current Health Director. I ex plained that I didnothavethetime.Itwasnotabigissuethen. Dr. Tailfeathers and the current Nurse P racti- tioner provide these anyway I am reassured that there is no gap in providing this service. SteveCourtoreilleofferedthisasareasonfor my abrupt termination. He also stated that Id notbeeninFortChipinsevenyearsI vebeen there several times actually and could not be an advocate for Chip if Id not been there. Did I totally waste the past seven years I have been the O NLY physician advocat- ing for Chip. I laid my licence on the line and fought for almost three years to retain it all on account of Fort Chip. Steve and I have stood together on many a platform side by side in the last seven and more years advocating for his community. Steve was involved with me being presented by the Treaty 8 Chief with a glass-framed eagle feather in High Level a few years ago which I proudly display in my home. Ive travelled far and wide with the blessing of Fort Chip on my dime struggling to highlight the utter disregard with which the community has been treated. My life has become centered onmybelovedFortChip.TherewasNEVERan ob ection to what was doing. offeredMANYtimestoforegoanypayment for my services or at least cut my invoices in halflestitimpingedinanywayontheNHBS budget. I did this earlier this year. I repeatedly offered to provide services pro bono. I was never taken up on this offer. Mostly I didnt get a response. Neither the Athabasca Chipewyan First Na- tionnorM tisleadershipweregivennoticeofmy servicesbeingendedandarefullysupportiveof me.Ivehadanoutpouringofgoodwishesfrom acrossthecommunity.Thetreatmentstaffatthe NursingStationcontinuetocommunicatewith medespiteconcernsabout obsecurityandare asmystifiedasanyoneaboutthecircumstances surrounding my abrupt dismissal. I would really appreciate transparency and closure from the Nunee Health Board Society and the Mikisew leadership. Theres been ab- solutely none. I simply wish to continue to provide on call services pro bono for Fort Chip. I will continue to publicly advocate for the Fort Chip Gods Country that I love. Not for a second will I blink. D r. John O Connor The glass eagle feather gifted to D r. John O Connor b y Treaty 8 Chiefs. PhotocourtesyofJohnOConnor