Circumpolar Newsings

Good reviews for historical comic book   

(Noah Mølgaard/Sermitsiaq, 17 November 2009) -- Reviewers and readers alike are praising Greenlandic comic book The First Steps, a dramatisation of the nation's prehistory. Author and illustrator Nuka Godtfredsen was on hand to sign copies of the book during the weekend at Denmark's largest book exposition. The book, which depicts the life of the first people to settle Greenland over 4,000 years ago, has been published in Greenland and Danish. An English version and a translation to Inuit dialect Inuktitut are also on the way. The 67 people buying signed copies of the book during the three-day fair spent time discussing the positive reviews of the comic book that had appeared in the Danish press. Godtfredsen said a sequel titled Ukaliatsiaq, the name of its main character, is already in the works.

Posted 18 November 2009; 3:29:15 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Books, Blogs and Publications, Circumpolar History, Circumpolar News, Greenland / Denmark, North Atlantic, November09

Bellona presents two new documents at radiation safety forum in Northwest Russia   

(Bellona, Charles Digges, trans., 17 November 2009) -- MURMANSK - Bellona presented two documents dealing with radiation safety in Northwest Russia on the eve of a dialogue forum between Bellona and Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, and which question a state fund for radiation safety and the situation at the notorious Northern Fleet nuclear waste dump at Andreyeva Bay. The two documents were aimed specifically at the Russian Government Federal Target Plan on “Nuclear and Radiation Safety,” and at the history and current state of affairs at Andreyeva Bay, one of the most dangerous radiological hazards on the Kola Peninsula. At Monday’s press conference in Murmansk, Bellona experts spoke of their hopes for the forum with Rosatom. Bellona said it hoped to get answers to questions on the Federal Target Programme—a special extra-budgetary expenditure—on nuclear and radiation safety. “For the first time Russia has earmarked a significant amount of money—150 billion roubles ($5.2 billion) from the federal budget—to solve such problems,” said Alexander Nikitin, chairman of the Environment and Rights Centre Bellona, Bellona’s St. Petersburg office. ... The situation at Andreyeva Bay still remains dangerous as its emergency spent nuclear fuel facilities continue age. At the forum with Rosatom, Bellona presented a document entitled “Nuclear Bay Andreyeva” (2.5 MB), in which Bellona cites a detailed list of accidents at the Andreyeva Bay facility, analyses of the present environmental situation, lays out its own position on the applied technology, technical and economic solutions, and gives an evaluation of what has been done to make the shoreline technical base safe over the 14 years since Bellona first sounded the alarm about the facility. [The other document is “The Most Expensive Programme to Save Russia from its Atomic Past” (1MB).]

Posted 18 November 2009; 3:12:12 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Contaminants and Pollution, Northwest / Russia, November09

Iqaluit to host G7 finance meeting   

(CBC News, 18 November 2009) -- The capital of Nunavut will host a major meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors in February, federal officials announced Wednesday. The Iqaluit meeting, slated for Feb. 5-6, will be the first of a series of important finance meetings to be held in Canada in 2010, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told reporters in Ottawa. It will be followed by the G8 and G20 leaders' summits to be held in June. Flaherty said the G7 colleagues he spoke to in Italy last summer all expressed interest in travelling to Canada's Far North for the February meeting. "We have to limit the size of the delegations so that we can use Iqaluit, but I'm really looking forward to showing my colleagues from around the world the beauty of the Canadian Arctic in February," he said. Flaherty was joined by Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, the Conservative MP for Nunavut, at Wednesday's announcement. The meeting will include discussion on actions to strengthen the global economy, ways of following through on financial sector reforms, and ways to strengthen international financial institutions. G7 members include Canada, the United States, Britain, France and Germany, Italy and Japan. [See also Louise Egan/Reuters, "Canada to host G7 finance officials in Arctic," and the editorial by Kelly McParland, "G7 ministers to meet in Arctic, kick sand in face of G20 wimps," The National Post, both 18 November 2009.]

Posted 18 November 2009; 2:57:25 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Canada, Circumpolar News, Conferences, meetings, and gatherings, International, November09, Nunavut / Canada

Sole Saami radio station in Russia in disarray   

(Siku Circumpolar News, 18 November 2009) -- The director of the Kola Saami radio has disappeared and the employees have not been paid for the past four months, reports the Barents Observer. The employees are now fear a closure of the Kola Saami Radio will make it impossible to start up again later. But tax officials and the state attorney are seriously concerned about how the radio station will cover their debt of 270,000 RUR ($10,000), reports NRK Sami Radio in Norway. NRK has tried to get in contact with the director of Kola Saami Radio, Aleksandr Paul, without success. Another journalist with the Kola Sami Radio, Jevgenij Kirillov, says director Paul is in a dangerous situation right now. "The authorities are suspecting him of not paying the debt and salaries, and therefore are threatening to put him in jail," Kirillov told NRK. Kola Saami Radio has been in economic trouble for a long time. In February the Norwegian Barents Secretariat gave the radio 45,000 NOK (€5,000) and said they also hoped other organizations would assist the only radio station in Russia broadcasting in the Saami language. The radio also has received money from the Norwegian Saami Parliament, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nordic Council of Ministers and the European Union's Interreg program. In total, Kola Sami Radio has got millions of roubles during the last decade. The grants provided were supposed to be used for the start-up costs for the radio programs in Kildin Saami language—not for day-to-day operations.

Posted 18 November 2009; 2:52:37 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Communications and media, Indigenous Issues, Northwest Russia, November09, Russia

Nunavut to review decentralization   

(CBC News, 16 November 2009) -- Nunavut's elected MLAs will review the territory's decentralization program, which promised to spread jobs and wealth outside the capital when the territorial government was formed 10 years ago. The program has been a cornerstone of Nunavut's public life but has come under criticism from a recent report on the government's policies and operations. Officials with Premier Eva Aariak's office did not give many details about the decentralization review, which is still under discussion. However, the issue is expected to come up when the legislative assembly resumes sitting on Nov. 24. Under decentralization, territorial government jobs and departments are distributed to communities outside the capital city. As a result, some departments are headquartered in small communities remote from Iqaluit. The Nunavut Implementation Committee laid the groundwork for decentralization in 1995, four years before Nunavut became a separate territory. "Pretty much every government in Canada and most of the world has a whole series of field offices that deliver service and programs to people, but the decentralization went way beyond that," said Graham White, a University of Toronto political scientist who has studied Nunavut's decentralization policy. As of 2003, five years after Nunavut was created, 460 territorial government jobs were based in 10 communities. But the government-commissioned report card, released in October, concluded that the policy has not lived up to its promise of spreading prosperity. Instead, the report noted an overstretched bureaucracy with many vacancies. As of March, one-fifth of public service jobs were empty. The government's financial management practices have also been widely questioned, and critics have pointed to decentralization as a contributing factor to that and to the civil servant shortage. "While it's certainly important to think through and check out how decentralization is working, it's a bit unfair to lay problems and dissension on the back of decentralization when, as the report card showed, there are problems throughout the [government]," White said.

Posted 18 November 2009; 2:13:26 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, November09, Nunavut / Canada, Research / Reports

The Arctic Council prepares for COP 15   

(Tana Lowen Stratton/Arctic Council News, 17 November 2009) -- In a successful two-day meeting in Copenhagen, the Arctic Council Senior Arctic Officials approved a number of reports and from the Council’s working groups and discussed two new task forces. The first Senior Arctic Official (SAO) meeting of the Danish Chairmanship of the Arctic Council (2009-2011) took place on 12-13 November in Copenhagen. The SAO Chair, Mr. Lars Møller, was very satisfied with the decisions taken at the meeting, "The meeting was very productive and we achieved our objectives. I am especially delighted that we now are well prepared for the Arctic Council activities at COP 15." On climate change, SAOs approved the Arctic Council report on the Greenland Ice Sheet to be presented to the UN Climate Conference in December. Information about the Arctic Council will also be presented at an "Arctic Venue" during the CoP15. SAOs agreed that the Key Messages of Arctic Council's Arctic Biodiversity Trends - 2010: selected indicators of change report will be submitted to the Convention on Biological Diversity for inclusion in the upcoming third Global Biodiversity Outlook report.  SAOs approved work on a set of priorities for follow-up activities to respond to the recommendations in the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment (AMSA) 2009 Report. These include an Arctic Council review of the global and regional measures that are in place for the protection of the Arctic marine and coastal environment, and to enhance cooperation in oil spill prevention.

Posted 18 November 2009; 2:06:48 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar cooperation, Circumpolar News, Climate Change and Weather, Conferences, meetings, and gatherings, International, November09

Canadian Commons committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development in Whitehorse   

(CPAC, 17 November 2009) -- Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development: Members of the Standing Committee are in Whitehorse on 17 November and Yellowknife on 19 November to hear testimony from government officials, business leaders, and other voices on economic development in Yukon Territory. (Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, press release, 30 October 2009) -- The House of Commons Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development announced at the end of October that it was undertaking a comprehensive study of issues related to northern economic development. “It is increasingly apparent that advancing the economic prosperity of the North and of northerners is of enormous significance for the future of Canada as a whole”, Bruce Stanton, MP for Simcoe North and Chair of the Committee, stated. “The Committee recognizes that, and wants to play a part in ensuring that the needs of the North and of northerners in the area of economic development are given a full hearing.” The Committee is focussed on gaining a better understanding of the barriers and challenges northerners in the three territories face in promoting their economic well-being, and possible solutions to overcome those barriers. A wide range of witnesses from government, industry, economic development and community organizations and Aboriginal groups will be invited to appear before the Committee to share their perspectives on the current state of economic development in the North, and on ways to improve it.

Posted 18 November 2009; 10:43:16 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: Canada, Circumpolar News, Conferences, meetings, and gatherings, Economic and Commerce Issues, North America, November09, Yukon / Canada

Biggest Exxon payout set to go   

(Naomi Klouda/Homer Tribune, 18 November 2009) -- In the next few weeks, fishermen harmed by the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill should start receiving their biggest settlement payout yet. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs have worked since December through a cumbersome process to distribute $383 million in punitive damages. Now the lawyers are preparing to distribute an even bigger sum — $470 million — in the next several weeks. The money is interest Exxon Mobil Corp. paid July 1 on the punitive damages award the U.S. Supreme Court ordered last year. “The $470 million that we hoped for in September was delayed because Judge (Russel) Holland had a number of different questions about the payout structure and the computation of interest,” said Frank Mullen, one of the plaintiffs and a local investment planner in Homer. “The money is not flowing yet, but in the next few weeks, the results of that $470 million distribution will begin to appear for fishermen on the clean claims list.” Cities and entities other than individuals should also receive payments, including the city of Homer and payments toward its $1.05 million portion. The “clean claims” list includes those who have no liens or attachments. Mullen said the thousands of fishermen who died in the 20-year wait for legal resolutions to receive their payout would not be on the clean claims list either. He added that the money has trickled out since last Christmas, and if plaintiffs were disappointed in the smaller-than-hoped-for sums in the first distribution, they might be happier with the second one. “The settlement money is all going to eventually appear in fishermen’s accounts, but at different times,” Mullen explained. “This will be the largest payment. That’s the way this litigation has worked.”

Posted 18 November 2009; 10:36:37 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: Alaska, Circumpolar News, Contaminants and Pollution, Economic and Commerce Issues, Natural disasters and other problems, North America, November09, Transportation, Infrastructure and Construction, United States

Nunavut land claims agreement workshop   

(NTI, 6 November 2009) -- Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. is holding a workshop on the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement on Nov. 25 and 26 (morning only) at the Radisson Hotel in Ottawa, ON. An overview on the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (NLCA) will be provided along with presentations on the history of negotiations provided by Paul Quassa. The architecture of the claim, the objectives and obligations in the NLCA will also be covered. Presentations will cover wildlife, Inuit-owned lands, social and cultural development, economic development and Inuit employment. The registration fee for this workshop is $450. Cheques should be made payable to Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated and mailed to: Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., 1002-75 Albert St., Ottawa, ON K1P 5E7, Attn: Ms. Udloriak Hanson. For more information contact Ms. Udloriak Hanson at 613 238 9718 or email workshop at tunngavik.com. To register, download and complete the form below fax it to 613 238 4131 or email the form to workshop at tunngavik.com

Posted 18 November 2009; 10:20:32 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: Canada, Circumpolar News, Conferences, meetings, and gatherings, Indigenous Issues, North America, November09, Nunavut / Canada

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