Farewell to Sergeant Gaudet

June 30, 2009 in Opine | 1 comment

Dawson has benefited by the good service provided by our RCMP detachment. For the last couple of years Sgt. Gaudet was in charge of the members here and did an exemplary job.

It is with great sadness that we have to bid farewell to our Sgt. and his family as they are being transfered to the Maritimes. I know they grew to love our community - and likely wished they could stay on but company policy dictates otherwise.

On a national level the RCMP have been getting a lot of bad press lately. On the flip side it should be remembered that the good work the force provides in communities like ours far outstrips the actions of a few bad apples elsewhere.

The Town of Dawson has enjoyed a great working relationship with the RCMP. I have no doubt that it will continue.

I wish Dan Gaudet and his family all the best for the future and hope to see them return very soon.

Eagle flood disaster

May 7, 2009 in General | Please leave a comment

Eagle has just experienced their worst flood in recorded history. Many Dawsonites remember our flood in 1979 and the devastation that it created.

So I’m calling on Dawsonites to help out in any way that you can by sending care packages to Eagle Bible Chapel, Amundson St, Eagle, AK 99738. Unfortunately, there are families that have lost everything. Items such as fleece or wool jackets/shirts, wool trousers, foul-weather gear, knit hats, gloves, socks, rubber boots , etc. Don’t forget underwear, toiletries, pain-killers, emollient hand lotions, soap, towels or anything else you can think of that could help.

Here’s a link to the American Red Cross, they have contact info regarding the Eagle disaster.

The Fairbanks News Miner has more info as well.

If there is another way for Dawsonites to help our friends in Eagle let me know and we’ll get it going. Perhaps a rebuilding bee once the water is gone. Your thoughts?

If you prefer, just bring your donations to the city office and we’ll package everything up and get it to the people in Eagle.

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Yukon News bias?

May 2, 2009 in Sewage | 5 comments

It appears as if the Yukon News is allowing only one opinion to be published regarding the conflict between the unsuccessful bidder for Dawson’s waste water treatment and the YTG/Dawson procurement team.

The following was submitted to the Yukon News by our project team leader and thus far has not been printed in the letters to the editor section. It is a rebuttal to the opinions expressed regarding the procurement process.

In the spirit of healthy debate all views should be considered.

 
Dawson Wastewater Treatment

Principle Questions arising from Yukon News Story – April 24th, 2009

I’d like to take the opportunity to address some of the errors in the April 24th article concerning a proposed technology for Dawson City’s wastewater treatment facility.  It is not my intention to advocate for any particular wastewater treatment process or technology, but it is my responsibility to ensure your readers are not left with the mistaken impression that the citizens of Dawson will be presented with an unsuitable or inappropriate solution to their wastewater needs. 

Given the high cost of wastewater treatment, a detailed technical analysis of each bid package received for this project was undertaken by a team of experts in engineering, financial analysis and wastewater treatment. Team members individually and collectively evaluated the merits of each submission based on the materials provided. As a result of this evaluation process, only one bidder qualified for the next step of the review process where the bid price was revealed. 

Correctly noted in the article is the wastewater treatment technology included as part of the winning bid package is provided by Noram.  Unfortunately, the article then inaccurately reported on technology and financial issues. I hope to clarify and communicate these inaccuracies.

Contrary to comments provided by the Yukon News, several “deep shaft” wastewater treatment systems are in operation in Canada and other countries. One of the reasons the winning bid was selected was because the technology they  provided has been tested in cold regions and also in municipalities with larger and smaller populations than Dawson City.

The Yukon News article suggests that Manitoba has “…sworn off deep-shaft sewage treatment plants, similar to the one Dawson City plans to build.” It would come to no surprise to sewage experts that the Virden system, built in the late 1970s, would be quite different from a system built 30 years later since technology in the field has vastly improved.

The article quotes Virden’s manager of works and utilities on some technical measures of wastewater purity such as fecal chloroform and suspended solids. One quote reads: “the total fecal chloroform (sic) count should be around 30…Virden’s is at 9,000…”. It is our assumption that the reference is to fecal coliform and in this area, the public should be informed that the current regulatory limits are 20,000 MPN/100 millilitres (MPN refers to “most probable number”).

In addition, the numbers quoted suggesting the Manitoba facility is operating below Canadian wastewater treatment standards appear to be in error, or are at least using some unknown unit of measure. The quote “total suspended solids is even worse…the average is 40 to 60, we’re at 110,000” is difficult to interpret.  Dawson City’s current effluent, which receives only primary screening treatment, averages about 20 mg/L of total suspended solids (TSS), and peaks at about 36 mg/L in the summer. It is difficult to conceive of a system that would increase TSS. Any facility constructed in Dawson will meet the new TSS requirements established by the Canadian Council of the Ministers of the Environment, which is 25 mg/L.  

The article quotes Homer, Alaska officials who state: “It works very well” and “It meets our fecal and total suspended solids (standards) easily.” The deep shaft wastewater treatment system in Homer was quoted as costing the municipality $524 thousand last year. As the municipality of Homer does not separate its drinking water treatment system from its wastewater system, I am uncertain as to how this number was arrived at. Secondly, the Homer system operates with seven lift stations while the proposed Dawson City facility will operate with four. Various other differences, including a smaller population base and wastewater flow suggest that costs are not as comparable as may be inferred from the article.

The project team includes staff from Dawson City and the Yukon Government and has kept an open mind in assessing potential mechanical and lagoon solutions for Dawson. Our objective is to ensure a sustainable and appropriate solution for Dawson is put in place as quickly as possible and we’re confident both Yukon and Dawson taxpayers will be satisfied with the outcome.  

The team has not yet entered into negotiations with any proponent for the construction of a treatment facility and will provide further information concerning project progress at additional public meetings in Dawson in mid-May. 

Updated information can always be found on the project website:   http://www.dawsonwastewater.ca and http://www.cityofdawson.ca

 Thank you for the opportunity to clarify these issues.

Catherine Harwood, P.Eng. (Project Manager)

A Hospital for Dawson!

April 10, 2009 in General | 1 comment

It was announced April 9th that a hospital will be built in Dawson. That’s what I call great news!

This initiative really recognizes the potential Dawson has for becoming a service centre for our region.

Here’s the press release:

FOR RELEASE     #09-095
April 9, 2009

New Hospital Planned for Dawson City

WHITEHORSE  Minister of Health and Social Services Glenn Hart and Klondike MLA Steve Nordick today announced the start of a process to build a new hospital in Dawson City. This announcement follows the signing of a letter of intent with the Yukon Hospital Corporation to oversee the construction of the new facility and then to assume its operation.

“I am pleased to be working together with the Yukon Hospital Corporation in providing increased access to health care in Dawson City,Hart said.

“The mandate of the corporation is to operate one or more hospitals and continue to provide acute care services to all Yukoners. We are excited about providing hospital services for Dawson City and the surrounding area,Hospital board chair Craig Tuton said.

The next step in the process will be to complete a functional assessment of the community’s acute care needs. The government and the Yukon Hospital Corporation will host community meetings to discuss the needs of the community. Meetings will include health centre staff, other health professionals in the community, the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation as well as community stakeholders.

“This government clearly recognizes the need for a new facility in Dawson City to replace the aging health centre. Our intent now is to build a hospital to serve the people of the Dawson district that would be operated by the Yukon Hospital Corporation, Nordick said.

“The government has committed that current staff will be guaranteed employment either in the new hospital or with the Yukon government, Hart said.

Waste Water update

April 10, 2009 in Sewage | 4 comments

Or should I say ‘water reclamation facility’?

As some of us know, the ongoing saga of secondary treatment in Dawson remains unresolved. But we shouldn’t loose hope, because during Dawson’s court hearing presided over by Justice Lilles last Thursday, everyone gave their thumbs up on progress to date. Even counsel for environment Canada was uncharacteristically restrained and less acerbic than usual while listing all of Dawson’s shortcomings in relation to fulfilling the court order.

The project team comprised of some YTG and Dawson staff members have done an amazing job of bringing forward what appears to be a viable solution to our treatment requirements.

All will be revealed by the end of May of this year (hopefully). So, stay tuned!

Did I Mention?

February 2, 2009 in General | 3 comments

The City of Dawson finally has rolled out their own web site. www.cityofdawson.ca (not be confused with cityofdawson.com).

It took a long time but well worth the wait. We now have a page that we can build on, offering more information and services to the public as time goes on. A content management system (CMS) allows staff to keep information current and up to date.

Hopefully we will expand services in the future to include online payments along with all active bylaws, minutes, agendas, etc.

Maybe we could look at web-casting council meetings.

Please take a moment to visit.

Shovel that budget!

January 28, 2009 in Show me the money | 4 comments

One thing is for sure, taxpayer’s money is shovel ready and about to be handed out by the spade full. Will it be distributed to best effect?

It’s obvious that the self regulating ‘free’ market world economy doesn’t work, otherwise why would it be necessary for our government and others to artificially stimulate an economy that otherwise is subject to a failed system? 

Only a few short years ago our country enjoyed a surplus, now our finance minister is forecasting a deficit in the billions of dollars that may last decades. I’m no economist but I do know that someone, somewhere in the world has made off with a fortune. And it certainly is not the Canadian working man or woman.

How does this spending spree affect Yukon, in particular the communities? The frustration that we have I believe, is the inability to access federal funding earmarked for municipalities directly from the feds. We must rely on the good graces of our territorial government since all federal cash is filtered through finance. Although YTG does distribute funds among the communities it remains to be argued as to the criteria for the distribution of funds.

In Dawson’s case, the new budget doesn’t affect our existing waste water treatment project. We continue to work with YTG to satisfy a court order to build one. The money will obviously come from Canada and territorially since a town of 1400 doesn’t have 20 million plus for a project of this size and scope. Our main concern is passing on to the Dawson rate payer substantially more costs to an already expensive yearly water bill as a consequence of dramatically increased operation and maintenance expense for the new facility. I don’t think there is anything in the budget to address this ‘real world’ concern.

The bottom line is this; if the budget passes, how quickly will the communities gain access to the stimulus funding for infrastructure projects? What will the criteria be? In our case we have many pending projects of pressing urgency above and beyond the secondary sewage project.

An Inspirational Day

January 20, 2009 in Opine | 2 comments

obama_linocutIn recognition of Inauguration Day for the American President I made this linocut print of Barack Obama with a reference to the ‘folk art’ style and African American Vernacular art.

Like many citizens, my true nature is sometimes one of apathy when it comes to contemplating the task of initiating a change in the world, either locally or globally. I hear myself saying, “Why bother sticking my neck out to try and change something that I think is wrong, I mean who needs the stress?”

Sometimes I have to be reminded that we are the beneficiaries of those that went before us, the ones that really did stick their necks out at their own peril. Today nothing illustrates this more than the civil rights movement in the United States and the subsequent inauguration of the first African American president.

To paraphrase someone’s previous observation; Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King could walk so Barack Obama could run.

I think we can be inspired now to take the chance and do our part.

Click here for more info about the Obama print.

Red Serge needs our support

January 16, 2009 in Show me the money | Please leave a comment

Again we are witness to the ongoing double standard of overpaid senior bureaucrats and Members of Parliament compared to those Canadians that really put their shoulder to the mill stone and get the job done.

I’m referring to the latest obscenity perpetrated by our National Treasury Board. Last June an agreement was reached with the RCMP that included a 3.5 percent increase in salary in 2009. Now because our government has been caught with its pants down in the economic crunch it wants to roll back the agreement to 1.5 percent.

My question is this; why don’t our members of Parliament roll back their recent wage increase? Today the base salary for an MP is $155,400. MPs also get $22,000 or more yearly expenses to cover living costs while in Ottawa, and if that isn’t enough, each gets 64 free return airline tickets each year that can be used with partners and dependents. 

But wait, there’s more. If you happen to be a Minister you can add another $74,400 on top of the above mentioned salary. A committee chair can add more than $10,700. The leader of the opposition gets an extra $74,400 every year, etc., etc. 

Doesn’t seem to be much of an economic crisis in the salaries and benefits department for Parliament!

This is typical within the upper echelons of government most everywhere in Canada where dipping into the public purse is a delight for many a politician or policy maker. I don’t mean to paint everyone with the same brush since there are a few out there that give value for taxpayer money.

And we haven’t even mentioned the indexed pension that retired MPs and others get. Sweet!

Do you see the irony here? Who protects these well compensated parliamentarians while they stroll about the House of Commons in their silk suits? I’ll give you 3 guesses… the RCMP ensures that the hill is secure among many other security orientated duties that we aren’t even aware of. 

Beyond this obvious dichotomy shouldn’t we Canadians ensure that the RCMP be appropriately compensated for the work they do? Isn’t it an insult to an important part of our national identity that our own Treasury Board wants to turn the clock back on a well overdue raise for the most recognizable police force in the world? 

It’s an outrage. Here in the north we depend on the RCMP and the many services they provide, not to mention the fact that their lives are often on the line. While our parliamentarians are safely cloistered in the granite halls of Parliament an RCMP member is being shot at by a crazed drug addict in a crack house. 

Please visit www.callforbackup.ca and sign the petition. Do write your member of parliament and ask that perhaps he or she might consider giving back some of their generous salary so our Treasury Board will have a little more to work with.

Gouged at the gas pump in Dawson?

January 11, 2009 in General, Show me the money | 21 comments

Did you know that Yukon has the lowest excise tax on gasoline in Canada? A levy of 6.2 cents per litre is the Territorial component along with the 10 cent federal levy per litre for a total of 16.2 cents. The highest combined provincial/federal excise tax for gasoline is found in PEI at 31.3 cents per litre not including their provincial sales tax. Of course these amounts don’t include GST which is added at the time of purchase along with the other factors that determine the final price at the pump.

As far as the GST component is concerned we can clearly see the triple dipping taking place by our governments. In my mind it is a grievous burden to levy a sales tax on something that already includes a well defined tax structure within the final retail price. But all of this is another bone of contention for future debate.

Given that our Yukon fuel taxes are so low in comparison with the rest of Canada why are prices so high at the pumps outside of Whitehorse, in particular Dawson City? The cliché has always been that it’s the shipping and transportation costs that contribute to sometimes crippling prices for all kinds of commodities here. Is this really true?

Let’s look at a general comparison between Whitehorse and Dawson. First of all Whitehorse pump prices of around 84 cents per litre for unleaded regular are not that far off from the national average. But compare that with today’s price in Dawson; $1.31 per litre regular unleaded. A difference of 47¢ a litre or $1.78 per US gallon. Is that spread really a reflection of the extra overhead attributed to doing business in Dawson or is it exploitive pricing?

Here’s a simple way of calculating the retail cost of fuel. The New York Mercantile Exchange sets the daily wholesale price for gasoline. As of last Friday it worked out to approximately 36¢ per litre in Canadian funds. Now add the markup, in Ontario it’s about 14¢ per litre, let’s be generous and for the sake of argument determine that the margin for Yukon will be more than double, let’s make it 30¢ giving us a new total of 66¢ per litre. Now add the total excise taxes of 16.2 cents for a total of 82.2 cents per litre at the pumps (excluding the 5% gst). Now that’s pretty close to the current Whitehorse prices but wildly out of whack with Dawson.

The tanker trucks that bring fuel to Dawson can each carry 37,500 litres or more . If we multiply that quantity by the 47¢ per litre extra that the gas station in Dawson charges compared to Whitehorse we are looking at $17,625 added to the value of the contents of one tanker truck between Whitehorse and Dawson. Or a B-Train tanker can carry 63,000 litres for an added value of $29,610. How’s that for a windfall profit for a shipping distance of only 300 miles?

As Dawsonites we really need to wrap our heads around this and not take it lying down. I’m sure the suppliers will have every excuse in the book to justify their predatory pricing practices.

price_chart

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