Not surprisingly the sun shines on this fine Monday morn. Temps in the high minus with long range predictions of cooler temps for the rest of the week.

Walking around on the weekend sure presented lots of challenges. Soft snow, pools or water covered with soft snow, rough terrain caused by motorized vehicles. Even on the ice the going was iffy and it took any recreational joy out of it sure. One had to be fully aware for any little slip, plunge downward, side ways, backwards yadda yadda.

Ideally a pair of combined snow shoe/floater shoe/ice shoe would have come in handy.

Harking back to the resolutions on alcohol and the Nunatsiavut territory. I will eliminate most of the whereis and whereas stuff, but the gist of the first resolution presented at the last Assembly is to take the responsibility for forming ‘alcohol committees’ away from the community governments and put it in the hands of the central government.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Minister of Health and Social Services make a formal request to the provincial government to further amend the Liquor Control Act in order that there be one regional alcohol committee under section 131 of the Act to represent the 5 Inuit Communities.

There does not seem to be a problem with this resolution, except it highlights the difficulty of forming such committees in Nunatsiavut. People are reluctant to take this sort of issue on for many reasons.

I do not foresee the NG having any more luck forming these committees than the community governments had. Unless of course they circumvent the democratic process, something that NG is becoming adroit at.

The second resolution is more troubling if carried through. The final whereas and the therefores reads:

AND WHEREAS section 2 of the provincial Liquor Limitation Order enacted under the Liquor Control Act states as follows:

2. The prescribed amount of liquor which a person on any one occasion may bring into the province from a part of Canada other than the province shall not exceed

a. 40 ounces of 1.14 litres of spirits;

b. 40 ounces or 1.14 litres of wine; and

c. 2 dozen bottles or cans or 9 litres of beer.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:

The Nunatsiavut Assembly endorse the recommendations of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Hearings Report (2006) to direct the Minister of Health and Social Development to lobby and work with all public and private entities and authorities (including the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Commission and airlines) to establish a limit on the amount of alcohol shipped per day from a liquor store within the province to an individual within Nunatsiavut. Recommended amounts for consideration are the same as the amounts identified (above) in the provincial Liquor Limitation Order;

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT:

The First Minister request the airlines to eliminate the free pick-up service from the liquor store for deliveries to Nunatsiavut.

I foresee large issues here in many areas, especially for the First Minister and the ordinary member for Nain and there 'special needs'. Then again they have certain ins with certain peoples and they do avail of a lot of travel so they could legally bring frequent small shipments in whereas the rest of us mortals would be stuck with tripling of freight costs to get the same number of bottles in. But that is just one minor problem with the whole picture, way too many to go into at the moment.

Suffice to say that on the surface this looks like an attempt by government types to make it look like they are dealing with the social issues brought up in the alcohol and drug abuse hearings back in 2006 but in actuality not doing anything.

Sounds familiar does it not?

Update: People have headed out on the sea ice to see what is what vi a vis the mv Umiak making it's way into Edwards Cove.

The traveling should be OK, there is a nice frost on top of all that snow fall and the -11 wind chill at the moment will help.

Rumor has it that the NG executive and their advisers were leading the way.

Baw haw haw, always with the funnies It is I am.