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4 Wednesday November 25 2015 The Northern Journal is an independent newspaper covering news and events in the western Arctic and northern Alberta. 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..................................................................................... Craig Gilbert 867-872-3000 ext.24 newsnorj.ca Reporter....................................................................... Dali Carmichael 867-872-3000 ext.25 reporternorj.ca Comptroller .......................................................Jessica Dell 867-872-3000 ext.20 webnorj.ca Advertising........................................................................... 867-872-3000 ext.26 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. EDITORIAL LETTER TO THE EDITOR 2013 CCNA BLUE RIBBON CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2013 C M C A AUDITED 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. The Northern Journal acknowledges the nancial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund CPF for our publishing activities. After years of the former federal Conser- vative government dismissing missing and murdered indigenous women our countrys national epidemic as an enforcement issue there is a groundswell of optimism about the new Liberal prime ministers pledge to call a national inquiry. The anticipation is palpable and widespread. How governments treat their most vul- nerable citizens is telling in the way they are measured. Think of Syria where civil war has forced millions from their homes or Russia where exhibiting homosexual behavior will get you jailed or worse still India where in rural villages it is still possible for women to be sentenced to gang-rape for crimes com- mitted by male family members. Thankfully life is much better in Canada for most of us. A stark contrast remains along racial lines between how your life is going to be socio-economically and tragically how likely you are to disappear or die. Indigenous Canadians represent about 4.3 per cent of the countrys population but ac- count for more than 23 per cent of those in- carcerated. They also account for 14 per cent of murders among women and 17 per cent of deaths at the hands of others among men. An- other shocking statistic is that 70 per cent of murdered indigenous women die at the hand oftheirpartnerorspouse-amajorreasonthat womenssheltersintheNWTareover-owing. On Nov. 11 while many people in the NWT were taking part in Remembrance Day cer- emonies May Elanik an indigenous woman and mother of four girls aged four to 13 was found beaten and unconscious along a snow- mobile trail in Aklavik a hamlet of less than 650 people 50 kilometres west of Inuvik. Medevaced to Edmonton for treatment she never regained consciousness. The investiga- tion into her death has become yet another tragic homicide investigation into the death of an indigenous Canadian woman. A study by University of British Columbia political science professor Adam Jones found thatbetween1980and2012asmanyas2500 aboriginalpeopleweremurdered1750males The casual brutality facing Aboriginal men Editor In preparation for the Territorial election Fracking Action North FAN asked MLA candidates 1. Wouldyousupportamoratoriumonhorizon- talhydraulicfracturingwhyorwhynotand under what conditions would you allow it 2. Will you commit to proposing or supporting a motion calling for a moratorium on frack- ing until a comprehensive transparent and publicreviewoftherisksandacceptabilityof fracking in the NWT is completed Of the 60 candidates only 29 replied. Of these 17 61 per cent supported a moratorium on fracking. Eighteen 64 per cent commit- ted to proposing or supporting a motion to the NWTLegislaturecallingforamoratoriumuntil apublicreviewofrisksdeemedthemacceptable. Full responses can be read at www.cocnwt.ca. The responses inform our vote. We nd the lack of insight into the issues associated with hydrocarbonexploitationquiterevealing.While all the normal impacts of oil and gas exploita- tion are of concern health effects impacts on water and wildlife community polarization higher costs of living without higher incomes formostpeoplefewcandidatesrecognizethat continued fossil fuel development and use will have exceptional and extreme impacts on our climateandwide-rangingconsequencesforre- sponsible governments and residents. Theimpactsarenolongerofthefuturethey are happening here and now. Record droughts around the world and here in the NWT are Revealing lack of insight on fracking amongst MLA candidates bringing truth to all the forecasts about the need to conserve water. Loss of permafrost alone is expected to cost billions of dollars in damage to public infrastructure. WorldgovernmentsgatherinParisnextweek to develop aggressive national responses to a nowdireclimatesituation.Scientiststellusthat 80 per cent of known fossil fuel reserves must remain in the ground - including reserves in the North - if we are to avoid dangerous levels of climate change. This is an accepted fact but we are way behind in our responses. Still there is reason for optimism. Ap- propriate responses exist. We can develop a system-wide approach to tackling climate change beginning with the adoption of re- newable energy to replace fossil fuels. We have the technology and know-how to do this. Not only does renewable energy reduce the threat of dangerous climate change it is a way to address many of todays challenges such as the loss of the middle class income disparity living costs and the need for mean- ingful and lasting jobs and revitalize our so- cial fabric and cultural diversity. But political will is needed starting today. Northerners need leaders who are willing and able to change with the times acknowledge the science of climate change and push for what is best for our families and communi- ties now and in the long-term. Lois Little Co-Chair Council of Canadians NWT Chapter and 745 females. Indigenous men have been killedatmorethantwicetherateofindigenous women and more disappear as well. That fact must be addressed in the new federal inquiry. The terrible problem facing our country is not onlymissingandmurderedindigenouswomen it is about violence that too often befalls all in- digenous Canadians. That must be addressed in an encompassing way. Professor Jones has suggested what is ur- gently needed is a First Nations Anti-Violence Initiativewhichwouldaddresstopicsincluding The structural violence of poverty discrim- ination and dispossession from ancestral territories Intergenerational trauma resulting from residential schools Suicide and homicide epidemics within In- digenous populations WhiteEuropean racism That information is common knowledge but the devil is very much in the details. Obvi- ously those ndings or some version of them mustbederivedfromthenationalinquirybut Joneshasgivenusinsightintowhatwillshape the eventual verdicts and solutions. The problems facing indigenous women and men are obviously tied intrinsically but they are at the same time different for indigenous women than for men. It is difcult to make the case for a somehow gender-neutral in- quiry into missing and murdered indigenous people in the wake of such horric crimes but the numbers do not lie. Two separate and distinct approaches to missing and murdered Indigenous people are required.Onecomponentisneededonwomen and girls that acknowledges both the systemic social issues of racism and poverty that ren- ders them vulnerable and too often victims of violence or murder as well as the frequency of domestic violence in their lives then another on indigenous men and boys focused on their disproportionate representation in prisons as well as their too often being victims of violent actsandmurder.Itisanextremelycomplexissue anditneedsacomplexandthoroughapproach. Jonesndingsareevidence-basedandshould be considered by the Trudeau Liberals as they fullltheirelectionpledgetolaunchanational inquiryintomissingandmurderedIndigenous women. They should broaden the scope of it to includemissingandmurderedmenandthetwo separateanddistinctbutinter-relatedpathways of violence that impact each gender. This will be the question of our generation. It will be a key means by which the Liberal government with the luxury of a four year mandate denes itself. It will also determine how Canada will appear to and be judged by the rest of the world. Itisdifculttomakethecase for a gender-neutral inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous people but the numbers do not lie. Whether you call it a snow chicken like the Americans or a thunderbird like the Japanese the ptarmigan ofcial bird of Nunavut has returned to Yellowknife for the winter. PhotoBillBraden