Our Featured Celebration

This month we truly have a celebration to feature. And this time, without our trademark irony - and, we assure you, without a hint of April Fools' Day. This is the real thing.

The partners who set up the Consilium company in 1993, had all lived and worked in Northern Canada for years. In creating Consilium, we had three goals:

1. to create a company that people would want to work for;
2. to provide the best consulting services possible; and
3. to create a company that would one day be Nunavut-based and Inuit-owned - not just on paper, but for real.

We achieved Goals 1 and 2 pretty much immediately.

We took a big step toward Goal 3 with the incorporation of Aarluk Consulting Inc. We were lucky enough to join forces with two outstanding partners, Helen Klengenberg (once Regional Director for the GNWT, and Canada’s first Inuit MBA) and Terry Forth (a former Executive Director of Nunavut Tunngavik and a senior official in the Government of Canada), two friends and consultants who shared our commitment to excellence, and to the development of a real Nunavut consulting firm.

Well, this month... it happened.

As readers will recall, Victor Tootoo joined us just in November as General Manager of Aarluk. Victor, a CGA and former Deputy Minister of Human Resources, added considerable heft to the Aarluk Team.

As of April 1st, Victor has acquired Terry Forth's shares, and Terry will take on the role of Senior Associate Consultant. With that, we have collectively achieved Goal 3 - the establishment of an Inuit-owned, Nunavut-based consulting firm, with full management authority located in the Territory.

Over the last decade Aarluk has achieved a lot - most recently the most comprehensive consultation on community infrastructure and sustainability ever undertaken. We're very proud of what we've done. But perhaps the accomplishment we're most proud of is the creation of an Inuit-owned, Inuit-managed consulting firm with a ten-year track record of success, and an even brighter future ahead.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Greg Smith and Galin Kora will be attending the annual conference of the Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) in Victoria in early May. Expect a fuller report in the June newsletter.

ONGOING PROJECTS

All her bags are packed, she’s ready to go... Jennifer David is excited about her northern tour to Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Dawson City and Inuvik, none of which she has ever visited before. It will be a whirlwind trip as she conducts two focus group sessions in each location with Aboriginal people and talks to them about the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. (Left, Dawson City, one of Jennifer's multiple northern destinations, once home of Pierre Berton, Jack London, and Robert W. Service)

The epic ICISP (Integrated Community Infrastructure Sustainability Planning) Chronicles continue as yet another wave of Aarluk researchers deploy to meet with Nunavut communities about infrastructure needed in their settlement to increase sustainability. The team of Marla Limousin and Christian Cloutier travelled to Resolute Bay and completed a successful workshop and radio call-in show; however, bad weather cancelled their planned trip into Grise Fiord, then a rogue snowdrift across the Nanisivik runway prevented their plane from landing and forced the postponement of their Arctic Bay visit. Both communities will be rescheduled as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Project Manager Chris Grosset and Geoff Rigby were in Pond Inlet and Clyde River, where both community workshops and public input sessions yielded excellent infrastructure planning discussions. Chris and Geoff enjoyed attending a community feast during their stay in Pond Inlet. Chris Grosset then continued on to Kimmirut to start the consultation process. On his return to Iqaluit, Chris met with representatives of the GNs Community and Government Services Department to provide a mid-project update. In attendance were Deputy Minister Kathleen Lausman, Assistant Deputy Minister Lorne Levy, Director Roy Green, and NCIAC Executive Director Buan Lam. (Photos from left to right: Chris Grosset and Nakashuk Michael on the radio in Kimmirut; Geoff Rigby in Clyde River; Participants in the Pond Inlet workshop.)

The Nunavut Community Wellness Project (NCWP) has been extended to December 31, 2010 by Health Canada, along with other projects throughout Canada funded under the Aboriginal Health Transition Fund (AHTF). This wellness planning project is taking place in six Nunavut pilot communities and is being evaluated by an Aarluk team consisting of Greg Smith, Project Manager, and Alex Ker. Alex has started site visits to three of the communities (Kugaaruk, Igloolik and Arviat) as part of the evaluation research, and will be conducting community interviews and discussion groups in each one. An interim report has been provided, and the draft final evaluation report will be presented to NTI and the project Steering Committee in December.

Jennifer David recently returned from facilitating a two-day meeting with First Nation Information Communication Technology (ICT) experts for the “AFN First Nation ICT Think Tank.” She is now consolidating the meeting notes and finalizing her research report to accompany the meeting which is an historical overview and chronology of First Nation ICT.

HAPPY ENDINGS

Dr. Valerie Assinewe, President of Stonecircle, with the able assistance of Kory Goulais, facilitated a strategic planning meeting of the Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge Sub-Committee (ATKSC) on March 5-7, 2010. The ATKSC is a subcommittee of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), which was designated by the Species at Risk Act (2003) as the authority for assessing the conservation status of wildlife species that may be at risk of extinction in Canada. Assessment of wildlife species status is based on the best available scientific, Aboriginal and community knowledge. (From left to right: Valerie Assinewe, Jason Hartwell, Ron Gruben, Gloria Goulet, Kory Goulais, Norma Kassi, Larry Carpenter, Paul Skanks, Dan Benoit, and Neil Jones)

This month Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. released the much anticipated report Recruitment and Retention of Inuit Nurses in Nunavut. Responding to the severe shortage of Inuit nurses in Nunavut, NTI hired Aarluk Consulting Inc. to conduct a detailed analysis of the issues limiting the participation and retention of Inuit in the nursing field. Project leader Ron Ryan, David Boult and Terry Rudden contributed to the report, which all parties hope will assisting Nunavut in developing a truly representative nursing workforce in the territory. Recommendations in the report include:

• Enhancing promotional activities to encourage Inuit to pursue nursing as a career choice;
• Introducing new measures to prepare students for success in the nursing program;
• Adapting the Nunavut Arctic College nursing program to reflect a greater focus on Inuit culture and values;
• Increasing supports for Inuit students enrolled in the nursing program;
• Eliminating systemic barriers to aspiring Inuit nurses in transition from education to employment; and
• Developing a systematic culture of mentorship within the Nunavut nursing sector.

Greg Smith has completed an evaluation of a manual on adult abuse and neglect for the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) of Health Canada on behalf of Stonecircle. The manual was developed for British Columbia First Nation communities by Vancouver Coastal Health. It is an interactive, multi-media tool for use by community health and home care workers to recognize and respond to elder abuse, and is being considered for adaptation and use in other First Nation communities throughout Canada. Greg conducted interviews with current BC users and facilitated a workshop of other potential users from across Canada in early March, and Kory Goulais assisted with collating the evaluation research.

 

More than 60 people turned out to the Ottawa launch of the IBA Community Toolkit: Negotiation and Implementation of Impact and Benefit Agreements, a resource for First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities negotiating agreements with mining companies. The publication is a special project of the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation. Stonecircle’s Kory Goulais assisted with logistics and Fred Weihs attended on behalf of CCG. To download a copy of this excellent resource, go to: www.ibacommunitytoolkit.ca

 

Ron Ryan facilitated a Board Governance workshop for Kakivak Association, in preparation for a strategic planning session for board and managers of Kakivak.

The peripatetic Ron then traveled last month to Happy Valley Goose Bay to facilitate a two-day planning meeting on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) for Pauktuutit, the national Inuit women's organization, prior to the National Inuit Childcare Education Gathering. Pauktuutit brought together the Inuit Early Childhood Development Working Group (IECDWG) and others working on FASD to discuss FASD, and develop strategies for the future. The outcome of the meeting was the foundation for a strategic plan for FASD in Inuit communities across the Canadian arctic.

Ron's Odyssey concluded with the facilitation of a major planning session in Edmonton for Tungasuvvingat Inuit (TI). TI has expanded over the fourteen years from a small local organization supporting Ottawa Inuit to a successful program and service provider for Inuit across Ontario. With the help of Leslie Sutherland, Ron organized and facilitated the planning session in Edmonton, which brought together Inuit from St. John’s, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Yellowknife, and Edmonton, along with Kivalliq Partners in Development (KPID), Kitikmeot Economic Development Commission (KEDC), Kativik Regional Government (KRG), TI, and Government and private companies. The goals was to determine how best to provide employment and training services for Inuit in those cities, and to plan for the launch of the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy (ASETS).

BIRTHDAYS

After two consecutive months of empty birthday sections, April more than makes up for it with, yes, count them, SIX birthday mentions. They are Leslie Sutherland on the 13th, Greg Smith also on the 13th, and wife Marianne on the 18th, Terry Rudden on the 23rd, Ron Ryan on the 24th - and a special shout-out to Ron's Mom, who will be turning 80 on the 25th. Ron was the first of her 12 children, and is uniquely blessed; for the first year of his life, he was dressed as a girl. Make of that what you will.

GOSSIP

Everybody knows that the life of consultant on the road is one of high living and luxurious travel. Take, for example, this email from Alex Ker, describing her return from a northern Ontario First Nation. “I have to tell you though it was a freaky day in terms of travel. As you know it has been scorching up north and the lakes and rivers are totally melting. The ice road was still being used today, though most people were on skidoos and only a few insane people were in vehicles. I was going to drive over myself, but asked D instead to pick up the lawyer at the access point and drive us over. Felt nervous even about this, as the state of the lake was dire (holes everywhere). Our trip over in the morning was ok but, as I suspected, by the afternoon, conditions had deteriorated. I had to close my eyes coming back a couple of times because all I could see ahead of me was water, and the sound the water made on the truck was unbelievable. Didn’t help that D kept saying “we’re alright as long as we stay dry”. Right near the landing spot the back end of the truck actually fell through the ice, but D gunned it, swearing like a madman (I had my window open and seat belt off the entire way, ready to jump if need be), and we pulled up onto the ice and drove the last half kilometre or so without incident. Very ‘interesting’ driving conditions, as they say. Another adventure.”  (Above: Alex in Waterland.)

Consilium had the honour of welcoming the parents of Lei Han, our bookkeeper, for a visit. Lei and Xiling are expecting their first child this month, and Lei's parents travelled to Ottawa to be here for the event. It's the first time dad (Jingbo Han) and mom (Hongxia Wang) have travelled outside China, and it was serious journey from their home in Dalian, China to Ottawa - they flew to Beijing, then Toronto, and finally to Ottawa in a 28-hour marathon that puts even Ron's flight log to shame. They're enjoying Canada so far, and find Ottawa very small and friendly (Daijan is a twelve thousand sq. km industrial city of six million). Biggest surprise: being able to find virtually anything they wanted at the new T&T Asian supermarket. (Above: Hongxia Wang, Jingbo Han, Lei Han, Xiling Han, and Not-Quite-Here-Yet Han.)

Scott and Patti Black spent two glorious weeks in sunny San Diego with their three children Aurora, Benjamin and Brian in March. Together they bike toured the area, visited Sea World, tide pools, museums and the USS Midway, a retired aircraft carrier harboured downtown San Diego. After barely living through an actual flight simulator used to train US army pilots, the Blacks have decided to stick to consulting work.

The smiling face and jolly demeanour of Aarluk researcher Geoff Rigby may deceive most of the world. But those of us who share the second floor with him have long suspected that within our genial Dr. Geoff Jekyll lurks a darker Mr. Hyde. And now – the grim truth. It was a dark and stormy night in Pond Inlet, with no room at the inn, and the fearless ICISP Team were bedding down for the evening in an empty GN staff unit. Empty... or WAS it? A creaking fridge door - a gruesome discovery - and suddenly Geoff is channelling a REALLY BAD THREE-YEAR OLD GERMAN TECHNO VIDEO, the immortal “My Hands Are Bananas”.

Greg and Marianne Smith will be vacationing in eastern Cuba later this month, joined by long-time friends from England, Laurie Green and Ruth Padday. Laurie is originally from Australia, and he and Greg met in 1976 when they sailed together from Fiji to the New Hebrides and New Caledonia on The Flying Circus, a yacht Laurie and a friend built in New Zealand. During the trip they survived a major night time storm and monster wave which knocked the sailboat onto its side. (left: Greg sailing to New Caledonia. Not exactly as pictured)

FROM OUR TECHNICAL DIVISION:

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