The top 10 news stories of 2004

1. Prime Minister Paul Martin’s northern strategy: For the first time in nearly 50 years, a Canadian prime minister takes a strong interest in northern Canada and acts on it. For the people of Nunavut, this may be best piece of news to come our way since April 1, 1999.
2. The Arctic Council’s ACIA report: This massive collection of data proves beyond any doubt that the Arctic is warming faster than any other part of the planet.
3. The Nunavut Power Corporation: The numerous blunders that Sheila Fraser, the auditor general of Canada, exposed in her latest report are now getting fixed. But reaction to the power corporation’s recent rate proposals reveals a fatal weakness in Nunavut’s fragile economy: our near total dependence on fossil fuels that we can’t afford to pay for.
4. Nunavut’s rising crime rate, and the justice system’s struggle to cope with it: This issue came to a head in September, when a violent offender, just released from BCC, sexually assaulted four women in their homes in Cambridge Bay. The community’s probation officer, who already manages 84 cases, was not told about the man’s release. Neither was the RCMP.
5. The Kativik School Board gives up its opposition to Nunavik’s regional
6. government talks: Nunavik’s let’s-make-a-deal approach to Quebec City is vindicated, and the region’s political and bureaucratic elite is now free to strike a deal that will permanently embed their region within the borders of Quebec, in exchange for an elected assembly and a bit more autonomy.
7. Ottawa approves the Tahera Diamond Corp.’s Jericho mine: A real economic development project, sparked by private sector investment rather than government handouts, arrives in Nunavut.
8. The Baffin Fisheries Coalition: The surprising degree of opposition to the BFC inside Nunavut shows that fisheries development is about more than just getting a fair share of quota from DFO – it’s also about Nunavut politics.
9. The near-collapse of local government in Kugluktuk: Kugluktuk’s financial and administrative woes echo complaints that many other muncipalities have been making for years.
10. Harbir Boparai’s racism allegations: The former GN employee’s allegations aren’t yet proven – but the scandal already reveals widespread blundering at the highest levels of the territorial government.
11. Tough new smoking rules: The WCB’s total ban on workplace smoking, combined with the Tobacco Act, adds up to improved public health in Nunavut.