New era????? 2.

In light of my first post on this topic, plus what I’m about to post I have upped the outer security system and added canine to the inner security.
Just kidding boy………………………………or am I? Haw haw haw me hardies.

So the NG assembly is starting to take form.

There is now an Interim President, then newly elected 9 ‘ordinary members’ in the assembly, plus 5 AngajukKâk and 2 chairs of Community Corporations.

Only ordinary members can be ministers, to date from that group we have a speaker and deputy speaker, a first minister, 3 ministers in portfolios similar to what was in place during the interim NG, and with what looks like 2 more ministers after 2 new portfolios are created from breaking up 2 of the larger portfolios. Breaking them up makes sense on the face of it, they were rather large.
If/when this all takes place that will mean only one of the ordinary members will not have a ministership [is that a word?]. That will leave it up to that person plus the 5 and 2 mentioned above to act as opposition, if any is needed, and to hold the government to account, if needed. Notice my facetiousness?

There is some optimism out there, mainly cautious optimism that the NG will finely be able to deal with issues that have long been neglected. Issues that effect our lives on a day to day basis, to mention a few; women’s issues, youth, language and culture. Then there is the ever increasing cost of living that is broad based, marine shipping that is regressing back into the 1980’s.

All is not doom and gloom, lots of advances have been made over the years in post secondary education, health issues, infrastructure and others areas. Unfortunately as mentioned before, other areas have been given short shift, or just lip service.

Communicating with the population has to be improved too; these glossy news [read 3 month old and very basic information] releases end up on the floor of the post office. Much more could be done locally and utilizing local people IMO.

With the new bodies in the assembly maybe grass roots issues will be dealt with, more time will be spent by elected people and bureaucrats in listening and dealing with the populace and dealing with the issues that they raise, I hope. More visibility on the ground, more visibility in the media, show the people that you do care, and point out this is what you are attempting to do about it. This stuff about saying “we had a meeting with minister so and so and it was a good meeting” is just so much BS. People need to know their representatives care and are at least trying to make things happen.

A good example of non visibility is the Take Back the Night March here in Nain a little time back. Not one elected or non elected official from the interim NG was in attendance. There have been marches or rallies by youth and others on suicide prevention, no one from the LIA or the interim NG ever show their faces. I think this has to change, and I hope it will. There is always some one ready to show their face when a free trip to a conference or workshop on these issues is in the offing, usually not the ones who do the grunt work on the ground, it’s the faceless ones who get to gallivant all over the place on these trips.

There seems to be reluctance in encouraging citizen intervention [surprising when so much is not being attended to] or having civil society getting involved in a pro active way. Too much circling the wagons takes place when constructive criticism is offered. Get over it; you are supposed to be working for the betterment of the people, not covering your own arse and protecting your job.

To finish off an interesting fact. Of the 15 people sworn in to the NG this week only one was sworn-in in Inuktitut.