Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
4 Tuesday July 21 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 The Greek debt crisis is Canadas too If the Harper Conservatives emerge with the greatest number of seats but not a majority look for a Liberal- NDP coalition. Greece defaulting on debt payments to international banks and the prospect of it being booted from the Eurozone is viewed as a crisis. Tremors have reverberated throughout world nancial markets because many countries including Canada are like Greece living far beyond their means and all are interconnected. The great fear of a Greek default is a fear of contagion whereby Greeces debts to other countries with their own huge debt loads might cause them to default as well. Italy Spain and Portugal struggle with oner- ous burdens of debt. Ireland and Iceland have both been on nancial deaths doorstep. Al- most all members of the Eurozone seem ad- dicted to overspending. The United States with over 16 trillion in debt is one of the most vulnerable to any major international default. The causes of Greeces malaise include spending a very large portion of its budget on armaments - second highest per capita in the world after the United States. Greece is also known for inefcient government and widespread cor- ruption. The U.S. has its own corruption is- sues and is a divided country where legisla- tive gridlock and government dysfunction are common. The symptoms of malaise found in Greece are very present in our giant neigh- bour to the south. In fact very few countries are run well enough by their governments to post annual surpluses. Only six of the major economies worldwide can make that claim. Notable among them is Norway a socialist country also known for an overowing oil heritage fund worth over a trillion dollars. Federal government debt in Canada has reached614billiondoublewhatGreeceowes. The Greek debt-to-GDP ratio how much owed compared to how much we earned nation- ally is over 155 per cent compared to 86 per cent in Canada. In Norway it is 26 per cent. Greeces economy fell into recession in 2008 and never recovered and now gen- erates only 240 billion annually. Canada which has three times the population enjoys revenues of 1787 billion one fth generated by natural resources. A big concern in Canada is personal debt compounding the federal governments penchant for over-indulgence. The debt to income ratio of the average Canadian house- hold is over 163 per cent.. The Canadian government recently pushed through legislation making it illegal for a fed- eral government to run a decit. Fiscal re- straint is a fundamental Conservative phi- losophy and failure to live by that for over a decade has appalled many party members yet overspending and decits is in part what has dened their own government. The Harper Conservatives inherited a robust - nancial situation from the Liberals in 2006 and within two years the national budget fell into decit and has continued that way each year since. Under the Harper Conservatives Canada has plunged into debt. The attempt to legis- late themselves into scal responsibility was an obvious but weak pre-election ploy. The Harper government has set out great plans to acquire the very best new military equip- ment including jet ghters and navy ships and has made glowing promises of major new infrastructure developments but so far has delivered little. Those commitments would add billions of dollars more to the decit. It is hard to believe another Harper Conserva- tive government starting in 2016 would be better at exercising restraint. Canadians who feel that the scal poli- cies of the Harper Conservatives are only a brick in their wall of failures and want them replaced have two competing centrist par- ties to choose from. Liberal Justin Trudeau and former Liberal Thomas Mulcair are very close in their politics and philosophies. Mul- cair was a member of the National Assembly in Quebec as a Liberal Party member for 13 years until he was elected an NDP Member of Parliament in Montreal in 2007. Under Mul- cair the NDP have moved closer to the centre and now little differentiates the two parties. Voters disaffected with the Harper Conserva- tives are watchful trying to ascertain which of the two will be the best option. In the next three months as the election looms many Ca- nadians will be waiting to see if Trudeau or Mulcair screw up or preferably does some- thing that inspires. Winner takes all. Likely no one party will rise to the fore and be the victor in October given the three-way tie in popular opinion. A minority government of some kind is more likely. If the Harper Conservatives emerge with the greatest number of seats but not a majority look for a Liberal-NDP coalition. Unlike the previous election where such a prospect was viewed with disdain the feeling that Harper is bad for Canada is so strong within both parties that they will likely set aside their differences - and pride - to work together albeit some- what grudgingly. If a minority Conservative government is elected in October an NDP- Liberal coalition will be very much in play. COLUMN By ALBERTA HEALTH SERVICES All Terrain Vehicles ATVs are more pop- ular than ever in Alberta. Albertans make up 11 per cent of the national population but make up 17 per cent of ATV purchases. However the number of serious injuries associated with their use has also increased. According to a recent report from the Injury Prevention Centre in Alberta there were 185 ATV deaths from 2002-2013. That is an average of 16 deaths per year. Each year 680 people are admitted for hospital care and there are 5233 emer- gency department visits as the result of ATV injuries. The most frequent victims of ATV-re- lated deaths were males between the ages of 20 and 24. The leading cause of death was the ATV rolling or flipping account- ing for over half of all fatalities. Fifty-one per cent of ATV deaths involved riders with a blood alcohol concentration greater than the legal limit to drive 0.05. Remember that the rules of the road still apply to ATV users. Each ATV should be the right type and size for the person operating it and most ATVs are designed for a single operator. Passengers increase the risk of injury be- cause they can affect the drivers control of the vehicle and their sense of balance. Always refuse to be a passenger on ATVs built for one rider. There were 22 ATV pas- senger deaths from 20022013 in Alberta. Children under the age of 16 account for 18 per cent of ATV deaths in the province. This age group should not operate any size of ATV because children generally lack the strength to control the vehicle and the skill and experience to quickly judge a potentially dangerous situation. The Canadian Pediatric Society also recom- mends that they should never be a pas- senger on an ATV. Although serious injury can result from the improper use of an ATV drivers can develop safe riding skills. Practice the fol- lowing safety measures Wear an approved helmet with face and eye protection. In 66 per cent of ATV deaths riders were not wear- ing a helmet Drive Sober alcohol drugs and ATVs dont mix Refuse to carry or be a passenger on an ATV built for one person Take an ATV operator training course. For more information on ATV injuries visit the Injury Prevention Centre at www. injurypreventioncentre.ca. For more information on ATV safety visit www.albertahealthservices.ca4861. asp or call Health Link at 8-1-1 for health advice 24 hours a day seven days a week. Its time to take ATV safety seriously PhotoPaulBannister Ice Pilots NWT fans Russ Bell left Bruce Bigelow and Mike Fawbush drove approximately 3900 miles over 10 days to Yellowknife just to get a ride on a Buffalo Airways ight. The men who hail from the state of Kentucky ew from Yellowknife to Hay River and back on the airlines July 16 and 17 ights. Its not unusual for the trio to hit the roads on their hogs previously they have taken extensive tours around the Maritime provinces and along the Mississippi River. As they make their journey home the group will be touring through British Columbia and the northwest states of the U.S. These are just the things we do says Bigelow with a laugh. Were really just looking for a good place to eat