Teenage nightlife curtails youth violence

SARA MINOGUE

CAMBRIDGE BAY – A 10 o’clock siren serves as a reminder every night, but some Cambridge Bay residents have forgotten – or ignored – the community’s curfew for kids under 16.

Last month, Gwen Tikhak sent a letter to the Cambridge Bay hamlet council complaining that her 13-year-old son had been beaten up by several kids outside the youth centre after 10 p.m. Two young offenders were turned over to the RCMP, but Tikhak placed the blame on the hamlet for not enforcing the curfew.

Mayor Terry McCallum’s response was that parents need to participate if the curfew is to be effective. The hamlet has one full-time bylaw officer, and recently hired a part-time employee, but neither have the time to actively patrol for delinquent kids late at night.

Nonetheless, the incident is not the norm in Cambridge Bay. Instead of focusing on policing, the hamlet has put its attention on keeping kids busy and out of trouble, and for the most part, they’re doing a good job.

Omingmak Street is the main drag in downtown Cambridge Bay. At nine o’clock on a Tuesday night, it’s filled with kids looking for a good time, and many of them will find it.

On the East end of the strip, a few teenagers kick a soccer ball around outside the Olapkivik arcade, despite the fact that it’s -30 C. The private venture, owned by Bruce Peterson for the last several years, attracts a large audience.

Inside, about 30 kids are playing games, talking, laughing and eating candy. Several sit in groups in booths near the counter, where a teenage girl is selling pop and chips. Others play one of several video games. There’s a game going at the pool table and the foosball table.

A little further down the street, a large group of even younger children are playing noisily under a street light outside the hamlet office.

Here, older kids are going in and out of the office to visit the hamlet’s CAP site, part of the federally funded Community Access Program that makes computers and Internet connections available for free in communities across the country.

Next door, a hockey game is in progress, and several adults and a group of small kids are watching Kitnuna vs. RBC, or just playing around near the front entrance. Together, the two night spots create a steady stream of older youth and adults who keep a watchful eye on the kids outside.

Upstairs, three young people are gathered around a computer, where CAP site supervisor Justin Peters, is typing a resume for Dennis Omilgoitok. On the back wall, six computer desks are filled with kids playing games, emailing friends or surfing the web. Those waiting for a machine can watch their friends or flip through magazines at a large table.

“It’s a good place for youth to hang out,” says Denise Klengenberg, originally of Kugluktuk.

The CAP site has been running for two years, and is open every day, and from 7 to 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Peters says he sees – and solves technical problems for – about 250 people a month. Omilgoitok, 24, says he comes here “on a regular basis,” and yes, it’s always this busy.

“I think the curfew needs to be enforced,” Omilgoitok says. “Kids need to get to school.”

But Omilgoitok agrees that there are a lot of activities for kids, and immediately rattles off the hours of the Youth Centre, another hangout a few blocks away, which is open until 10 p.m. on weekdays, and from 7 p.m. until 2 a.m. on weekends.

There are places to go, but kids still need to make their own fun, and unfortunately, Omilgoitok says, not many young people get interested in arts and crafts. Nonetheless, he’s noticed that new job opportunities, and the prospect of more jobs in the mining sector, has had an effect on kids. High school attendance rates, he says, have gone up over the last five years.

Nunavut’s Curfew Act, inherited from the Government of the Northwest Territories, grants hamlet councils the power to impose a curfew on children under 16, and to collect fines from parents whose children violate the curfew. Cambridge Bay’s curfew came into effect in 1990. The hamlet regularly runs ads on television and posts notices reminding residents of the law.

“We don’t view that as the end result solution,” the mayor said. “We have to get the parents to buy into it and get their children disciplined enough to come home.”

In general, delinquent youth aren’t a problem in the hamlet. Cambridge Bay youth keep busy with the skating rink in the winter, and a swimming pool in the summer.

The curfew always becomes a struggle as spring approaches, and evening light lures children out of doors, McCallum said. However, spring also brings the dangers of melting ice and open water, which makes the curfew even more important.