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4 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 COLUMN 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. Wednesday February 3 2016 ISSN No. 0707-4964 Editors note Oregon has quietly become yet another American state to legalize mari- juana use. If the discussion below is not un- derway in the Canadian government now it will be very soon as our politicians grapple with the challenge to create our laws and standards for the legal use of the intoxicant for the rst time since it was criminalized in Canada in 1923. When it comes to marijuana-infused ed- ibles Oregon wants you to know that like perfume a little goes a long way. Snacks and treats made with cannabis are not only tasty but potent. Oregon regulators have come up with rules that would make these products half as strong as what Colo- rado and Washington allow in part to protect novices including those whose most recent experience with the drug dates to the Nixon administration. Oregon and Alaska are part of a second generation of states with legal marijuana markets that see Colorado and Washington not as models but as a cautionary tales about the appeal and pitfalls of cannabis-infused drinks sweets and foods. In Colorado home to a robust edibles market some rookie con- sumers had high-prole and in at least one case tragic experiences after consuming food made with cannabis. Overall marijuana-re- lated calls to poison centers increased after legalization in both states. So Oregon has proposed setting its sights lower hoping weaker marijuana prod- ucts would ultimately protect two groups inexperienced consumers who eat too much too quickly only to feel sick and impaired and preschoolers who end up high disori- ented and in some cases hospitalized after snacking on their parents pot-infused treats. We wrestled with this for quite a bit trying to figure out what the right answer is said Michael Tynan a policy officer with the Oregon Health Authority speak- ing at a meeting of the agencys rules advi- sory committee on marijuana earlier this month. We are not an economic agency. We are the public health division. The Leg- islature gave us the responsibility to pro- tect public health. That is the goal and the lens that my bosses and my colleagues are going to apply to this. he said. But advocates for the marijuana industry said Oregons proposal is an overreaction that threatens the livelihoods of chocolatiers bak- ers ice cream makers drink producers and others who infuse their products with can- nabis. Customers they argue arent going to be as interested in buying weaker treats or stocking up on chocolates to get high. Keeping young kids from these products is a priority say marijuana industry advo- cates but limiting their potency does little to address that. I mean a lot of this is really just proper parenting said John Bayes a longtime grower and owner of Green Bodhi a medical cannabis business in Eugene and Portland. The Oregonian Half Baked Multimillion-dollar marijuana food industry deals with debate over pot potency Provincialandterritorialgovernmentsacross Canada are eagerly compiling shopping lists to give the federal government infrastructure wish lists so the feds will send money honour- ing the Liberal promise to spark the economy and create jobs. Our automotive feature section this week tellsofbadNWTroadsandtheirwearandtear on vehicles. Northerners not only pay higher prices for gas and services their vehicles lose value faster too. The road into Kakisa is more like a wagon trail hard-surfacing the last few kilometres of the highway into Wood Bualo NationalParkwouldenhancetourismthrough- out the region and that rollercoaster stretch between Behchoko and Yellowknife that sucks up hundreds of millions of dollars each decade has deteriorated again to the point it is a safety concern. Roads are a tempting item for the in- frastructure upgrade list. ButwaitCommunityinfrastructuredecits presentamorecompellingneed.Behchokoishav- ing troubles with its community water supply Infrastructure issues - a federal funding wish list FortSmithssewagelagoonisnotonlyatcapacity limitinglocalgrowthitisperchedontheedgeof an unstable bank and could slide into the Slave RiveratanytimeandmanyNWTtownssuer fromagingwaterandsewerpipeswhichmeans replacing them by digging up roads and pave- ment. Fast tracking any of those using federal dollars would be a benet but a process of pri- oritizationisneeded.Everycommunityshould becanvassedannuallytodetermineneedsany- way so hopefully that process is in hand. Addressingcompellingcommunityproblems is essential but that approach is fragmented and like roads an endless process. All have to bexedatsomepoint.Isthereabetterapproach to optimize federal funds a pressing need that could be resolved in one sweeping program What is the largest infrastructure issue fac- ing the territory one with universal impact on community life and the NWT economy The high cost and questionable reliability of electricalpowerchallengesvirtuallyeverycom- munity.Tensofmillionsofdollarsinpowerrate subsidiesincurredinthelasttwoyearsbecause lowwaterlevelslimithydroelectriccapacitymay be the tip of the iceberg. Even if drought con- ditions end the old-tech diesel generators in all communities are aging and will need to be replaced plus we need to move away from de- pendence on fossil fuels integrating solar and windpower.Anewvisionarysolutionisneeded. Itmakessensetogetooilreducingthecar- bon footprint on the planet but wind and solar alonearenotenough.Anotherrobustcontinual source of electricity is needed to back them up. Newhydrodamsaretooexpensiveandpresent serious negative impacts on rivers and aquatic life.TheNTPowerCorp.ismovingtouseliqui- ednaturalgasLNGbutasidefrombeingun- known technology such that distribution and implementation in the territory would have to bestartedfromscratchtheprocessoffreezing the gas takes up so much energy it is equal to diesel oil in its carbon footprint taking away its advantage. It makes more sense to stay with dieselasatransitionfuelbecauseithasanexist- ing distribution system and a knowledge base includingtradespeopleinstallingandservicing oil-red furnaces and boilers. If only there was a way to minimize use Well there is. New solid state diesel generators claim to dramatically reduce fuel consump- tion emissions sound vibration and mainte- nance costs without impacting performance safety or reliability. Communityandgridpoweraregeneratedas alternatingcurrentforuseinhomes.Thereason new solid state generators are more ecient is they produce power as direct current. The DC power then needs to be converted to AC which ifdonerightrequiresminimalenergyloss.The goodnewsissolarandwindenergyarealsogen- eratedasDCpowerandwouldsimilarlyneedto be converted. All three t together nicely. That approach is scalable. As solar and wind capacitygrowsinyearstocomealongwithnew ecientaordablebatteriestostoreelectricity the need for diesel generators would diminish tothepointwheretheywouldbelittleusedyet always available as a backup. WhiletheNWTspowergenerationsituation is bad Nunavuts is approaching a crisis with manycommunitypowerinstallationswellpast their projected end-of-life. A forward-looking solution is desperately neededsomethingallthreeterritorieswiththeir considerablecombinedcloutshouldbeworking ontogether.TheNWTgovernmenthasdabbled atcostlyenergygenerationexperimentsbutno goodanswershavebeenforthcoming.Whatbet- ter way to the future than a universal solution involving ecient diesel generation along with windandsolarasamatchedsetItisasolution perfectlysuitedtofederalinfrastructurefunding andwouldxallthosepowerproblemsatonce. Behchoko is having troubles withitscommunitywatersupply andFortSmithssewagelagoon is not only at capacity limiting local growth it is perched on the edge of an unstable bank and could slide into the Slave River at any time. Figure skaters in Fort Smith spent last weekend sharpening their skills and ne-tuning their axels in a master class series hosted by national and world team member Ben Fer- reira and national level choreographer and performance coach Jadene Ferreira. The duo infuses their lessons with technology using video analysis to help athletes review their performance and improve their craft. PhotoDaliCarmichael