I was too young to know that the mines would some day run out of gold and they’d close. And like all of us, I would never have dreamed that a strike would become so tense that a union member would plant a bomb in Giant Mine and kill nine scab labourers – one of the largest murder investigations in RCMP history.

And. And. And: It certainly didn’t occur to me that the (US) owner of the mines would OOPS! declare bankruptcy and stick Canadians with the approx HALF-BILLION-DOLLAR clean-up (arsenic) bill.

And that’s just for Giant Mine. There’s also Colomac Mine and Tundra Mine. Oh, and that’s just in the NWT! There’s also Pamour Mine in Ontario, Hope Brook Mine in Newfoundland and Kerness Mine in B.C.

The owner (formerly known as Peggy Witte, now Margaret Kent) of the now-bankrupt mine, I see, is now CEO and President of a new mining company, Century Mining Corp. Interestingly, it looks like Century is up to some shenanigans this year in Quebec. I hear she has a second home in Hawaii.

There’s worse, folks. Much, much worse.

She’s baaaccccck: in addition to Century Mine, she owns Tamerlane Mine and just guess who’s mining in the NWT – Pine Point. They’re re-opening a portion of the Pine Point Zinc deposit. (We’re in good company. Tamerlane is also doing business in Peru.)

Dear us: Who is this Peggy Witte/Margaret Kent that not only does she leave us with nearly a HALF BILLION DOLLAR BILL, but now she’s allowed to have at us again?

When you look at the world
What is it that you see?
People find all kinds of things
That bring them to their knees.

What I’m seeing up here in the north, increasingly, is just how complicated is the relationship between Canada and First Nations peoples. And it’s bringing me to my knees, frankly. It’s pretty damn dark. And that’s probably all I can say about it.

Reminders that sometimes Big Ideas that Change the World actually do get realized and really do start to change the world provide welcome cheer to me on this rainy Saturday in Yellowknife.

The RED campaign initiated by Bono is one such Big Idea. Yeah, it can appear commercial. Yeah, it probably lets us all too easily off the hook. But as Raincoaster once pointed out (kicking my ass all over town, as only she can do! -I say with gratitude and affection), small starts can lead to deeper thinking about the underlying causes of injustice. So I say, YES! to RED!

What is RED? It simply offers each of us a choice as consumers, with several iconic brands, to select the RED brand item to purchase. A percentage of each sale then goes to a their global fund, and every penny goes directly to Africa, especially towards AIDS relief.

Products you can choose include:

Starbucks – RED card/mugs

Apple - RED ipod

Dell – RED computers

GAP - RED scarves, t-shirts

AMEX – RED card (UK Only?)

Hallmark – RED cards.

Sometimes when it all seems to overwhelming, and when I just can’t see how I can possibly be of any help to anyone, it’s nice to know other people with a whole lot more influence than me have done some serious legwork. The RED campaign has already raised millions of dollars, a scale I can barely comprehend.

Me? Sure, I’m in. I’ll buy RED when I can. That’s easy. The hard work for me is to find a way to serve (I am a civil *servant* after all) and not impose upon, the original peoples of the NWT – if it’s even possible.

I was minding my own business on Thursday evening, greeting friends via facebook, when the ad appeared on the right.

Never did I think I’d consider a mobile home as a domicile, but, I mean look at those pictures!  In Yellowknife, either because we’ve had lame developers or in combo with difficult conditions (cold, isolation) for building, mobile homes are a-Plenty here and don’t have the connotations of The Boys.

PROS

1. It has the look and feel, nearly precisely, that I would want

• laminate
• wood stove
• soaker tub
• warm wood and white walls
• crown moulding
• stainless steel appliances (oh, to have a dishwasher again.  handwashing begone!)
• yard that does not require upkeep
• special bonuses:  the entertainment system (on my to-buy list, right down to the Bose audio system) and the persian rug runner down the length.  Seriously, it’s so.totally.me.
• 1.5 minutes away from Yellowknife’s best trail and lake
• close to the Co-op where I shop

2.  The monthly payments are only a couple hundred more than I’m paying for rent

3.  Unlike many people, I’m still gloomy about the long-term prognosis for the economy, and have been debating investing in real estate rather than stocks.  My hunch is that the north is going to continue to quietly boom and that real estate here is a good investment.

4.  I’ll verify this with an inspection (only 1 inspector up here apparently!  grrrrr) but it appears to be in good condition, including a 2007 furnace, a new fibreglass oil tank, and some kind of relatively new pvc (?) piping = not as likely to freeze.

5.  I estimate that in 3 years I’ll have built up about $20K in equity.

6.  It’s affordable.

CONS

1.  I hadn’t planned on this, at least right now, and don’t want to be rushed on at $250K choice.  The deadline, for reasons I won’t go into, is Tuesday (day after tomorrow).

2.  I’m not sure I can pull all my various funds together in time to get my down payment.

3.  The ceiling is rather low.

4.  I don’t know the market up here very well yet.   I suspect mobile homes don’t appreciate the way stick-built do.

5.  One huge, major issue.   The condo corp. is responsible for the roads and pipes and apparently they are well past the due-date for replacement, but the corp does not have the, oh, $20M or so needed.   Each person on the strata could well be on the hook for up to $50K, although then the equity would be higher as well – plus, their may be some federal funding available.

6.  My monthly costs will go up because I’ll now be paying heat, hot water and internet (currently included in my rent)

6.  And last, I’m just not sure I want to commit to a place yet.

Thanks to the fabulous Realtor in Vancouver, Urbanista, for some really great pointers on the real estate angle (like, lenders look at mobile homes differently).

Readers, any comments?  Ideas?  Objective thoughts? YIIIIKKKES!

Squawkfox? Krystal? Canajun Finance? Four Pillars? - opinions?

This evening I did what all sick people do to console themselves.  I made the treck to the video store.  Alas, I came out empty.  No The Wire.  No BSG til late July apparently.  I forgot to ask about Firefly (anyone seen the series?  I saw one episode – are they all as awesome?)

Plan B:  buy some chocolate. One idiosyncrasy of life up here is that the majority of shops shut down at 6pm but not, thank goodness, Shoppers.  I went the distance, folks, I selected a beautiful Lindt milk chocolate bar, went to the til — and my debit card was declined.  And declined.  And declined again.  It’s payday and I work for the Gov’t so I’m guessing Central One’s servers went down, but in any case, so much for my chocolate.  Life was beginning to spiral downward.

Until a lovely thing happened.

The young woman at the til, seeing my crestfallen face, told me to hang on one sec.  She punched a few buttons on the til — handed me the chocolate bar, smiled, and said, it’s on me.  Not on the house.  It’s on me.

I stood dumbfounded.  Eventually I stammered out my thanks, and happily accepted the chocolate bar she had just bought me.

It cost her $1.50.   Not much in the grand scheme of things, but its impact was multiple time a buck-fifty.  It was a lovely, unexpected, random act of kindness.

I don’t know if I’ll make a point of paying her back or if I’ll pay it forward or quite what I’ll do.

I thought I’d start by simply sharing.

Readers, have you experienced a Random Act of Kindness?  Care to share?

ps: I got home, and reached a vancouver friend who, of all things, is also housebound.  He’d rented One Week, and I was able to find it on iTunes for rent, so we’re sharing a movie, virtually.  Life is lookin’ better.

It felt soooo good. (and no that’s not me in the photo)

Readers: a point to you in the iPod shuffle giveaway if you can recommend other free exercise sites online – stipulation: they need to have vidcasts. And be reasonably female friendly.

So here are some upcoming events for Canadians:

FREE OUTDOOR MOVIES this weekend for Williams Lake Folks:
Friday/Saturday May 29/30
DRIVE-IN
Sunset Time: 21:15
Movie 29th: ET
Movie 30th: American Graffiti
Location: Williams Lake Stampede Park (800 McKenzie Ave South)
Courtesy of FreshAir Cinema

CLUB FATASS is a misnomer! It’s a free runners’ club by the people, for the people. If there isn’t one in your community, you can start one with a little free help from the Club Fatass folks.

It’s DAY THREE of Staples’ 5 DAYS OF DEALS. Today’s deals include leather executive chairs, Notebook PC, Digital Frames and more.

Montreal – looks like you’re having a massive TOMMY HILFIGER SALE over the next two weeks. Time to get some great jeans!

Edmontonians, you’ve got a brand new FARMERS’ MARKET to visit. Fresh baked goods. Fresh Produce. Atisans.
Thursdays, 2 – 7pm.
93rd Street and 118th Ave.
Shop away!

The Regina LADIES CHOIR TEA MUSICAL is having their final concert (presumably of the season) on Sunday – only $12!

And for those of you preferring to hang out at home, Knowledge Network almost always has something of interest to watch. Check out their weekend lineup, which includes a documentary on Ansel Adams.

Me? I’m looking forward to Yellowknife’s first ever YKTweetup at (still unwired, but we love it anyways) Javaroma cafe.

Readers:  I’m not nearly as adept at live-blogging as Miss604 or Hummingbird604.  As you can see, I missed a number of names, and a number of comments.  If you were one of the speakers and I misquoted you or got your name wrong, please leave a comment!  If you’ve never commented on a blog before, it’s easy.  You will be asked for your e-mail but *only* I will see it.   Dive in!

This won’t *quite* be a live blog as wifi is a bit iffy here at Northern United Place.

One of the things I love about Yellowknife is that the eco-system (social and otherwise) is so small and contained that, compared to Vancouver, it’s easy to get involved and become quite informed.

Tonight, we have been invited to a town hall of sorts to answer this question:

What role do you think the City can play to address social issues?

Preliminary issues of concern are:

1.  Housing Concerns. It’s not quite as extreme as Vancouver but there definitely is a shortage of affordable housing
(for one thing, permafrost limits the amount of construction) and there is also increasing homelessness (so much for leaving that issue behind in Vancouver)

2. Substance Abuse (ed note: it’s really, really grim.  This wasn’t the case when I was a kid.  Things have changed in the past 20 years)

Meeting being called to order by Lois Little.  Kudos on good turnout.
Points out this is a community conversation, and that this is the first Social Plan being created by the City of Yellowknife.  Doing this as a municipality is just starting to catch on – esp. in B.C.
Intent is to develop a plan that defines the City’s role in addressing social issues, but tonight’s discussion is to define the role.

FIRST QUESTION PUT TO THE GROUP:

WHAT COULD THE CITY BE DOING TO DEFINE THE ROLE?

Mark:  City could be in greater conversation with GNWT to identify gaps.

Vicky:  Work more in partnership, such as the Beely House.

Diane: Need public facilities.  Public bathroom facilities (with attendants?)  Back alleys are …

Sue: More in plan for Fun activities such as Raven Mad Daze, Cariboo Carnival

Vera (?):  Ensure affordable zoning embedded into planning so its not ghettoized.

Chris: More places for men to go besides Salvation Army.  No place for men to go when they need shelter or services.

Janice:  Create safety net in downtown area where social issues like drinking and drug use are occurring – same place as library, so how can people feel safe?

Mark:  could we find models from other countries that are working?

Nancy (me):  city could hold regular info sessions for newcomers to acquaint us with social issues, residential school issues, aboriginal history.

Jill:  look at causes and effects – social determinants -

_____:  points out places already in existence that gives info about the city, gives points of entry.  Promote what’s already out there.

Spencer: very little money set aside for social science research in the north.  We do a lot of hard sciences, but not much in the social sciences.   Also seconds comments re: public washrooms needed.

Sue:  Whitehorse has a safe house.   In NWT, nobody takes responsibility for it – not city, not GNWT, not federal gov’t.

Ruth:  We live in a democracy. City Council gets elected then says first thing they have to do is cut costs.

Maryanne, a social work student (ed note: yay!): all city councillors are caucasion.  Need to ensure aboriginals are represented.  Policies should not simply be adapted from other provinces.

Mark: Agreed – we have too many southern policies to solve northern problems.  We need to address the fact that we’re distinct.

Ben:  Washrooms, drop-in centre – these are both legitimate city roles. Other social issues are paid for by property taxes which is not a fair way to pay for social issue initiatives.  City should be an advocate to get funding from other governments.

Patricia:  reminder that there are sessions available to discuss affordable housing.

Janice: Does not feel safe when she walks downtown.

_____:   What do we need to keep the city safe?  Maybe we need to look at a municipal police.

NEXT QUESTION

_____:  We need more recognition of the fact that we have a lot of languages and ESL here – our signs need to reflect that.

Mark: Re:  drugs – we need to focus on prevention.  We can’t tackle drug trade.  We don’t have the resources.  Onus on prevention programs, esp universal programs in schools at a young age, so that it holds into teenage years.

________ :  Need to take due note that aboriginal population is a mix of dene, inuit, metis, not a homogenous group.

Rebecca:  Nothing about domestic violence listed.

Violet:  Also nothing listed about children in fostercare.

Jacqueline: esl students consistently complain they can’t meet canadians.  They really want to.  Could we facilitate this?

Ben: Social determinants need to be listed.  We need to decriminalize drugs.  (ed note:  wow!  former city councillor said this!)

Need to address accessibility issues.

Ruth:  points out our councillors are not overly paid.  Cannot expect them to have a whole new department.

Mary:

Lois:  could use a “social lens” on all decisions.

David Jones:  clearly outline what city’s can and does do now.   City does not have much capacity for these ideas.  Would appreciate a report re: what city can and does do, then increase capacity to do.
Also, not just advocacy, but target an issue an actually do something.

Lois:  lots more being done than has been documented.

Chris:  we don’t need more foster homes, we need fewer kids taken out of their homes.  it’s  a broken system to take kids out.  We need more stable families, better social services system.  What we have doesn’t work.
Statistically kids in foster care are more likely to become criminals.

Tim:  Urban Planning creates social conditions.

Sue:  it’s under city’s purview is urban planning,  Empty houses.   GIve tax credits to build away from the lot line.  Keep families in an area rather than to areas where they feel “safer”.  Have a foot patrol, a presence, so people feel safer.

Mark:  Domestic violence – perpetuators are both genders equally.  No service, no shelters for men and their children.  This is a massive social problem.
(debate on this topic – this is not the forum to debate this).

Janice:  re: urban planning.   Could city hire an Urban Planner with a social background?

Lois:  1988 a feasibilty study done to consider transfer of HS&S to City of Yellowknife.   Municipalities have moved out of tiny box of service delivery.  That’s not the only option on the table.  They’re about advocacy, providing informaiton, bringing people together, making things happen, as opposed to being the deliverer.

Lynn:  Looking back 40 years in the NWT.  Being a politician was easier because not so many problems.  Problems today not changing.  Missing evaluation of services.  Shelters kick people out at 7am.  We need to evaluate services, or else not improving.   We need to work together better.  Social workers have too much power.  Families need an advocate.  Also, language is a problem.  It’s too frustrating to try to express yourself in a language that is not yours.  Needs programming about parenting.   Against the social work system because it does not work.   APPLAUSE.

NEXT QUESTION:   LEGISLATIVE, FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
What really is the city’s mandate?

Jill:  Document reads like it’s someone else’s responsibility.  “I work for GNWT, but I’m also a citizen, so it’s my problem.”   Would like to see city have its own department of wellness.
Need to start taking ownership.

_________:  A teacher on their feet is worth two on their seat.  Same applies to policing.   Had 3 different negative encounters in one afternoon downtown, and wondered where were the police.

Mark:  the funds are slim.  Difficult to access money.    If we’re not prepared to fund, problems won’t go away.

____________:   Recycling -

Janet:  civic pride – find ways to foster ownership.  Why do people litter?  Because they’re not proud of where they live.
Have a gathering place where you could get someone to dig your garden.    Keep Yellowknife feeling like a village – Jane Jacobs-y.

Esther:  we’ve been talking, and a similar conversation was held 2 years ago.  Will something actually happen?

France:  it will happen when we insist that it does, when we take ownership.

TIm:  hates to keep harping on urban planning.   Issues stem from transience.  There are reasons not to stay – for some people.  People are falling over themselves to move to Whitehorse.  How can we design a city where people want to stay?

Mary:  Remembers when different group homes have been proposed and complete unwillingness to accept psychiatric patients into their neighbourhood.  As long as City allows NIMBY, problems will be ghettoized downtown.

Chris:  Who allowed the person on the plane, who released him?   Need better medical services.

NEXT:

Mark:  every 3 minutes a person takes his life.   Our suicide rate is 10 times the national average.   A gap in service.   Need a visiting psychologists.   More services for men.
MLK:  do a little,  do anything, to help make a difference.

Sue:  been waiting 15 years to see arts, social spaces, by the City.

__________? We have 100 languages in Yellowknife.   How do we provide services in their own language?

____________:  Someone from oversees.  Ppl from different cultures get the feeling of not being welcomed.  How do we help them feel welcome?  Silos here.   Many clubs here, but not inclusive.  We have to work on sense of belonging.

Elsie:  Could we have a YK inter-agency group?  This has worked well in Inuvik.

Maryanne:  Was appalled by way ppl have language roadblocks – eg., don’t complete gov’t forms correctly, or call help-line, but language barrier.   Will hang up if gets answering machine.  If city could host more inter-agency meetings, that would be good.

Rebecca:  works in not-for-profit sector.  spends more time getting funding than doing the work itself.  Lots of little grants given to a lot of projects.

__________:   There are things here.  We need a central person to point to resources.

_________  CIty councillor:   one example of city drawing ppl together = city energy plan.  City has dedicated resources to get the plan up and running.   This social plan can be a living document that keeps moving forward.  The energy plan found funding from many sectors, not just tax payers.  That’s the role she hopes the city will play in bringing some of these ideas forward.

LAST QUESTION:

HOW CAN THE CITY BEST EXERCISE ITS RESPONSIBILITY IN IMPROVING SOCIAL CONDITIONS

Mark:  says thank you for the forum.  City could adhere to the front page and promote equality.

________:   This should not be a one-off, but twice a year or quarterly.

Lois:  this is what builds community, which is what is behind the social plan.

Janice:  emphasis on leadership.  Also, so do we – being willing to pay our taxes, picking up litter.   Would like to see City take leadership in moving these ideas forward.  Make programs more affordable for kids who don’t have affluent families.  We need the City to lead us, move us in that direction.

_________  There have been 3 sessions where youth got to meet, but nothing happened.  Discussion is good, but is a bit jaded.  Also jaded on collaboration because people get excluded even then.  Best collaborative effort was  homelessness issue spearheaded by Salvation Army.  Everyone had to speak and get along before any money flowed.

Brie:  tackling something like social wellbeing gets overwhelming.  Tackling something like public bathrooms is a good place to start.  It’s about public health, and about dignity.  Demonstrates that the City is capable of a social plan.

Alice:  Thanked City for openness and transparency of tonight.

Ben:  Clarifying – City usually does larger planning process for their initiatives.  City needs to do more for this to demonstrate the significance of this.  This should get the same significant process in planning.

Lydia:  This can’t be compared to General plan, but can be compared to the Energy plan.  The funding is available for a community that has a plan.   This starts to create the plan which allows the City to approach other governments for funding.

_______________:   adds that affordable housing must be a priority.  In Greenland, hamlets have education, social services, housing.  Committee meets every second week.

Patricia:  When we do the Social Plan, will it have mechanisms for implementation and funding?   Affordable housing – focus group sessions happening on 12th and 13th of May.  Please attend!  Three levels of gov’t will be there.

Tim:  Hopes there will be resistance to urge to sprawl, and also that there will be mixed neighbourhoods.  Urban density should be increased.

Next week all week, drop by Explorer Hotel for Smart Growth discussions re: Yellowknife zoning etc..  Have input!

Ben:  hopes a more adequate process will be created for setting priorities, than this.  This should not be the place where priorities were set – everyone comes with their own bugbear.

__________:   Social Work student.   Need to talk about social wellbeing.  Start at family and community level.   Recognized Arlene.

__________:  (introduced his website) Visit  www.yellowknifetenantassociation.com

_______________________________________________________________________________

Well, my live-blogging petered out at the end. There were some impressive people there and there was no lack of ideas!

My own included:  support for social entrepreneurialism (enterprises with socially beneficial outcomes) and a credit union so funds can stay in the community instead of going to shareholders around the world.  Janice told me there was a charter!  I’m totally curious to follow up on that!  A personal highlight was a brief chat with Sandy Lee with whom I went to school.  Apparently a large segment of our cohort have chosen to make Yellowknife their long-term home.  Yay, class of ’82!