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4 Tuesday June 23 2015 The Northern Journal is an independent newspaper covering news and events in the western Arctic and northern Alberta. 2013 CCNA BLUE RIBBON CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2013 C M C A AUDITED The Northern Journal is published weekly by Cascade Publishing Ltd. Printed at Star Press Inc. Wainwright AB. 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 Editor Policy The Northern Journal welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and include a phone number so the author can be veried. 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 Deadlines Display ad deadline is Thursday at 400 p.m. Classied ad deadline is Thursday at 500 p.m. Email adsnorj.ca Subscription Rates Prices include GST. 47.25 in Fort Smith 52.50 elsewhere in Canada 105 in the USA overseas 164.30. EDITORIAL COLUMN InlastweeksstoryFortSmithpullstogetheraftertragiccaraccidentitwasincorrectlynoted that an additional passenger was sent by medevac to Edmonton. That passenger was treated for injuries and remained at the Fort Smith Health Centre overnight. FurthermoreintheJune8storyNewshlimitsforLittleBuffaloRivernotenoughMtis it was incorrectly reported that previous limits for Walleye from June 7 to March 31 for the 200809seasonwereadailycatchandpossessionlimitofthreeandverespectively.Infact itwasalimitofoneandtwo.AswellthereareveFisheriesandOceansofcerscurrentlysta- tionedintheNWTnottwoaswasreportedbyasource.TheJournalapologizesfortheseerrors. CORRECTIONS June is Stroke Month By GARETT RICHARDSON Public Health Promotion Facilitator Alberta Health Services One Canadian suffers a stroke every nine minutes. Knowing the signs and symptoms of a stroke are important for early interven- tion. Thinking and acting quick at the rst sign of stroke can have major impacts on a patients recovery. The Heart and Stroke Foundation wants all Albertans to know the acronym FAST Face is it drooping Arms can you raise both Speech is it slurred or jumbled Time call 9-1-1 immediately Keeping these four steps in mind can be the difference between life and death in the event of a stroke. Knowing the risk factors is also important. Some of the risk factors for stroke are things we cant control like family history gender and age. But others including stress high blood pressure or cholesterol diabetes being overweight physical inactivity poor diet and tobacco use can be managed to help reduce the risk. There are many things you can do to lower your risk of stroke. Try going for a walk after dinner or during coffee breaks at work. Re- ducing the amount of time you spend sitting is a great start to an active lifestyle. Eating a diet that follows Canadas Food Guide is also recommended. Increasing the number of fruits and vegetables you eat is always a good thing for your health. For re- sources and tips on physical activity and healthy eating visit Healthy U at www. healthyalberta.com. Using tobacco is a big risk factor for having a stroke. The best thing you can do for your health is to quit using tobacco. Best practice for quitting is using a nicotine replacement therapy like the nicotine patch or gum. Com- bining this with tobacco addiction counsel- ling is proven to increase your chance of a successful quit attempt by four times Be sure to check out www.heartandstroke. com for more information and resources on strokes. Health Link Alberta is also great resource for all health-related information. Dial 8-1-1 or visit them at www.myhealth. alberta.ca. Cancer can be beaten - by targeting both cause and cure This month Yellowknife and Fort Smith to- gether raised 290000 in support of the ght against cancer demonstrating once again the amazing generosity of Northern Canadians. Cancer is a much more formidable foe than rst thought. There will never be that one magic bullet cure that will end it as a threat to humanity. There are over 200 va- rieties of cancer with hundreds of molecular proles for each. They are often resilient and adaptive able to mutate and evolve. The Canadian Cancer Society website of- fers the alarming prediction that two in ve Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. By 2030 the number diag- nosed will reach 277000 up from 197000 this year. There will be an estimated 60 per cent increase in new cancer cases in Alberta within the next 15 years so expect similar in the NWT. Yes things are getting much worse. The good news is weve made tremendous progress saystheCanadianCancerSocietyweb page. In the 1940s only 25 per cent of those di- agnosedwithcancerlivedtotalkaboutit.Today the survival rate is an amazing 60 per cent. That optimism should not overshadow the really bad news however that thousands of Canadians are still dying from cancer each year. That is terrible. We need to do more than look for a cure. We needtoactivelyseekoutthecausesaswelland thendoeverythinginourpowertoeradicatethem. Right now that part of the ght is carried out by a small number of people who are routinely discredited even vilied. That is not surprising since big money is usually at stake but why do so few ght alone The Canadian Cancer Society has been crit- icized because its approach is only reactive. Raising money to nd a cure is defensive and passive. We need to do more than that. TheAmericanCancerSocietywebsitehttp www.cancer.orghasanextensivelistofKnown Human Carcinogens. Here are only the b c and ds along with the rst item of the es Benzene Benzidineanddyesmetabolizedtobenzidine Benzoapyrene Beryllium and beryllium compounds Betel quid with or without tobacco Bischloromethylether and chloromethyl methyl ether technical-grade Busulfan 13-Butadiene Cadmium and cadmium compounds Chlorambucil Chlornaphazine Chromium VI compounds Coal indoor emissions from household combustion Coal gasication Coal-tar distillation Coal-tar pitch Coke production Cyclophosphamide Cyclosporine 12-Dichloropropane Diethylstilbestrol Engine exhaust diesel Many of these are known constituents pouring from the smokestacks of the oil- sands processing factories in northeastern Alberta - thousands of tonnes each day. Many are also dispensed by the coal-red power plant at Lake Wabamun north of Edmonton. Deposited on the land they nd their way into the water. They are on the food we eat in the water we drink. They are fuel for the malignancies waiting to happen in all of us. Diesel exhaust is known to be one of the worstoffendersyetweallowmillionsoftrucks to belch their carcinogens into the air a daily ood of poison that we all breathe. Causes of cancer are like other social ills around us like weeds in an untilled garden that we just cant seem to nd the time to deal with.Racismpovertyhomelessnesscorporate greed domestic violence to name but a few are everywhere as are the causes of cancer. All of them are based in ignorance. When we hear of them we react concerned even hor- ried then glaze over and move on. The discussion of the day is the need to get ridofthecarbon-basedeconomythatiscausing climatechange.Manyoftheworstcarcinogens are contaminates from carbon-based fuel pro- cessing so why is cancer not a compelling part of the argument for getting rid of fossil fuels We cannot afford the luxury of being naive and unaware any longer. Causes of cancer are pervasive in our world and we all know it. As muchasweneedtoseekoutcureswealsoneed toseekoutanderadicatethosecauses.Buthow Itistheresponsibilityofourgovernmentsto protect us. Instead what happens too often is collusion with those responsible. There was a reasonwhytheAlbertadepartmentofEnviron- menthadtheshreddersgoingfordaysandwere haulingawaytruckloadsofdestroyedevidence afterthelong-rulinggovernmentwasdefeated last month. We must be able to trust our own governments. They must be held accountable. Startwithyourownpoliticalrepresentatives now.Makesuretheyhavetheirprioritiesright. Theywillattempttodeectyou.Dontletthem. Demand satisfaction. If enough people act it is amazing how quickly they come around. Electionsarecomingtheperfecttimetoen- surecandidateswillchampionyourcause.Get involved. The scourge of cancer and many of theotherillsfacingallofuscanbeconquered. We all need to join the ght to make it happen. Sonny and Helen MacDonald celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at the Roaring Rapids Hall in Fort Smith over the weekend surrounded by their family and friends. Kayla Bryce and Mykelty Catholique were some of the many guests who made the occasion so special for their grandparents. PhotoDonJaque