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Cece Hodgson-McCauley
Guest comment
Monday, March 03, 2008
One word can mess up a whole sentence. About two thirds through my column on Feb. 25, 2008, it reads "I am going to save the feds for lying to us." It should have read "I am going to sue the feds" and I am!
Having cleared my column, anyone out there with a story to relate on the subject of why two thirds of our territory is not moving ahead and keeping up with the times? There is life beyond Yellowknife and Hay River! Why does two thirds of our territory have living standards like those of third world countries? Money is not the problem. It is management.
Simple as that. It has been staring at us right from the first year they brought us a government. There has to be a truth commission in place. The average local people in communities must be made aware that they have been used.
There have been many rumblings about the $130 million cut in government spending, and cuts are already happening in communities. All the cutting should be in Yellowknife. Cut the bureaucracy in half.
The government is costing us (the people) more to operate because every time you phone the government offices you get a damn answering machine. Leave a message, which in the long run is costing the average citizen money - Money they can't spare because of the high cost of living due to isolation.
Also, re-visit the pensions and allowances given to past ministers, MLAs, and bureaucrats who resigned or retired. We know the huge, big handshakes and generous pensions that have been given. It all started right from day one - 50 years ago, after they created the GNWT. Maybe we can cut the pensions down to fit the economy. They must cut $130 million in that case. We can't pay the huge pension payments. The mess we are in started from day one - 50 years ago.
Don't touch the small communities, bypass the MLA's and ministers. Give more money and projects to the local people with the expertise to run and manage the money and do the planning and you'll be surprised at what ordinary people can do to solve their own problems.
Empowering communities will bring esteem and pride to local people. Trust brings out the best in people. They can and will solve many of the problems, given the chance. There are very strong-minded people, young and old.
Running everything from the bureaucratic world has not worked for 50 years in the NWT. Oh sure, we get material things; housing and all the many welfare goodies - all of which kill the incentive to do our best. Welfare and all the freebies create many problems. People don't want to be spoon fed. They want a challenge and to do things for themselves.
Many spirited souls have been broken right from the beginning of this thing called government.
There are civil servants who would love to work with the communities at the grassroots level. They should be given a free hand to manage at the local level. For the people, by the people. Not from far away Yellowknife headquarters. So you want to cut $130 million, cut the bureaucracy at headquarters.
I see Dettah road repairs on the horizon? The road that leads to a community of 250 people? Those poor people have been waiting so long. Oh, our heart bleeds for them. Boy, oh, boy, when we in Sahtu finally get a road the women warriors are surely going to make sure we have a plan in place where we will continue to put money in a pot to keep our road in good shape! Get the GNWT to put the prisoners to work on repairing roads!
- Cece Hodgson-McCauley is the founding chief of the Inuvik Dene band and will remain honourary chief for life. She can be reached at fax (867) 587-3003 or by phone (867) 587-3037.