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
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
NWT First Nations push back against illegal legislation Thefederalgovernmenthasno right to force First Nations to open their books to the world according to Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus. See page 2. How much wood would a woodchuck count Drones and lasers could soon replace manual counts and estimates for forest managers if a Japanese researcher has his way. See page 19. TEACHERS GET SCHOOLED Aurora B.Ed. students learn on the land at culture camp. See page 13. Suspended Inuvik doctor in the dark Dr. Peter Boronowski is looking for answers after he was removed from the obstetrics and anesthesiology schedules at Inuvik Regional Hospital. See page 8. How much does the cost of living really cost in the NWT Communities across the NWT now have a benchmark for the ever-rising cost of living thanks to a new Yellowknife- based report. See page 3. V IS IT W W W .N O R J.C A A national award winning independent newspaper serving northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories since 1977 1.00 September 15 2015 Vol. 39 No. 20 By DALI CARMICHAEL FromInuviktotheLegislativeAs- sembly Northerners are responding to the Syrian refugee crisis after the issue exploded in Western media last week. As photos of three year-old Syr- ian boy Alayn Kurdis deceased body spread over newspaper front pages and social media so too did an outpouring of grief from the in- ternational community. The young boy his brother and mother were among an estimated 14 who died after their boat capsized while ee- ing civil war. They were trying to reach the Greek island of Kos. On Sept. 6 about 30 demonstra- tors gathered in Inuvik to draw at- tention to the crisis taking part in a nation-wide series of rallies planned by the activist group No One Is Illegal. Ive been at work and a lot of the patients and nursing staff have all been talking about whats been going on and saying they wanted to do something but they werent sure what said organizer Sarah NWT responds to Syrian refugee crisis Reaburn. I saw there were na- tional days of action happening across Canada and people wanted to participate so we came up with a quick action. Only a few days later on Sept. 10 more than 70 people came together people can make donations if they want to support the issue. Of course theres also the idea of sponsoring refugees and their families. We were very fortunate to have sev- eral people in the room who either had experience with sponsoring The church is working to bring over an individual from Somalia. Its been a long process for us. Theres a lot of paperwork Trotter said. Weve been very lucky to have a staff person through the United Church of Canada who has been a huge help to us because she deals with this all the time. Even with the extra tools the in- dividual has not reached Canada after two years in the system. Calling on the GNWT At the Yellowknife meeting con- cerned citizens asserted the need for the territorial government to assist with any major attempts to aid with the crisis. The following morning initial plans to send monetary aid were announced. The Government of the North- westTerritoriesisdonating25000 totheUnitedNationsHighCommis- sioner for Refugees as an immediate response to the crisis Premier Bob McLeod said in a written statement. See Yellowknife on page 6. in Yellowknife to discuss the situa- tion and how the capitals residents could do their part. We talked a little bit about all of the organizations that are actu- ally on the ground that are strug- gling for resources said Yellow- knife Mayor Mark Heyck. There was some discussion about where refugees or from places they had lived previously in Canada as well as a couple of individuals who were quite well-versed in the immigra- tion system itself. One of those folks was Nancy Trotter a member of the Yellow- knife United Church which holds a refugee sponsorship agreement. The Government of the Northwest Territories is donating 25000 to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as an immediate response to the crisis. NWT Premier Bob McLeod Golden Girls Marg Shott left Jeanne LeGuerrier Louise Fraser and Mae Castro march triumphantly into the closing ceremonies of the 2015 Senior 55 Friendship Games held in Fort Smith from Sept. 11 to 13. For more pictures from the event head to pages 10 and 11. PhotoDaliCarmichael