Our Featured Celebration

The question we most frequently receive here at the Consilium Newsletter Bureau is: "Do You Guys Just Make Up Those Holidays, Or Are They For Real?" Answer: They're for real. Every single one. Even June 2, National "Yell Fudge At The Cobras Day", is for real. That's the day when all residents of the western hemisphere north of the Panama Canal are asked to help keep our continent cobra-free by going outdoors at exactly noon, local time, and shouting "FUDGE!!" at the top of your lungs. According to herpetologists, fudge acts as a powerful emetic for cobras, and it is theorized that even the mention of it is enough to repel venomous serpents. Declared by Thomas Roy in 1996 and formally proclaimed in the Chase Registry of Official Holidays, the strategy evidently works - your editors can't remember the last time we actually spotted a cobra in North America.

NEW FACES

Stonecircle is delighted to welcome engineering student Alyssa Whiteduck for a second summer of glorious employment. When she's not compiling databases, helping out with research, or personning the phones, Alyssa can most often be found pursuing her other passion - hoop dancing. You may see her this summer - she'll be performing at a number of Aboriginal awareness events. Here you see her performing the extremely difficult pas-à-d'eau.

NEW PARKING LOT SPACES

The SECOND most frequently asked question is "Hey, When Are You Guys Finally Going to Expand Your Parking Lot"? Well, to you thousands of supplicants - the wait is over. In this exclusive photograph from the Aarluk Surveillance Chopper, the Asphalt Wizards of Ottawa Paving work their sculptural magic. Champagne launch for the five new spaces to be scheduled, pending outcome of corporate cobra-control exercises on June 2.

NEW BEGINNINGS

Nunavut Parks and Special Places, of the Department of Environment (GN), has asked Aarluk’s Chris Grosset to work with their Regional Coordinator in the Kitikmeot, Becky Torretti, on a cultural landscape resource inventory for Kugluk Territorial Park. The Park is located near Kugluktuk and is at the location of Bloody Falls on the Coppermine River. Joining Chris on the project are Marla Limousin, who will undertake consultations with Elders in Kugluktuk, and Geoff Rigby as our researcher on the natural and historic resources of the Park. (Photo: Kugluk Park Entrance Sign. Photo by Nunavut Parks.)

ONGOING PROJECTS

Greg Smith and Alex Ker are continuing their participatory evaluation of the Nunavut Community Wellness Project, which has wellness planning projects underway in six Nunavut communities. In April and May Alex visited three of the communities (Arviat, Igloolik and Kugaaruk) to conduct site research, including interviews and discussion groups with local stakeholders. The project is being overseen by a Steering Committee consisting of representatives of NTI, the Government of Nunavut and Health Canada (Northern Region). In October all six communities will present their wellness plans and share experiences at a regional meeting. The evaluation report will be submitted in December.

Training courses have been finalized for Inuit employees of Kitnuna Projects Inc. for the clean-up of the PIN-4 DEW Line site in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut. This year’s courses will include Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER), HAZWOPER Recertification, Standard First Aid, Emergency First Aid, Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), and Transportation of Dangerous Goods. The clean-up of the PIN-4 site is governed by a Co-operation Agreement between Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) and the Department of National Defence. The site clean-up began in 2007 and will be completed in the fall of 2010. Overall Inuit employment levels at the site have been over 70%. The DEW Line Clean-up Training Program is managed by Aarluk Consulting on behalf of NTI: Doreen Donald serves as Training Program Manager and Fred Weihs is advisor on the Program to NTI.

The community consultation travel for the Integrated Community Infrastructure Sustainability Planning (ICISP) project is nearing its conclusion. In April and May our teams travelled through the Kitikmeot region to meet with Hamlet staff, organizations and residents in Kugaaruk, Gjoa Haven, Taloyoak, Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk. The workshop sessions were not the only highlight of the travels: while in Kugluktuk Chris Grosset and Marla Limousin enjoyed attending the Frolics celebrations, the community springtime festival.

The 24 community visits will be completed in early June, with the final two ICISP workshop sessions in Grise Fiord and Arctic Bay. Our team is already working on the final reports for all ICISP plans, and it will be a busy summer completing the drafts for review by each community and our client, NCIAC. (Photo: The ICISP workshop in Kugaaruk.)

HAPPY ENDINGS

Stonecircle was able to assist the Métis Nation of Ontario, as the organization submitted its ASETS business plan to HRSDC. Jennifer David and Kory Goulais provided research and writing services. We don't like to brag, but word is that MNO’s plan was one of the best draft plans submitted in the Ontario region.

Aarluk recently completed two projects for Nunavut Parks and Special Places. Working on behalf of the Kugaaruk Park Advisory Committee, a final report was prepared by Chris Grosset and Marla Limousin on the cultural landscape resource significance in the area of Pelly Bay and for the Stone Church in Kugaaruk. The Park Advisory Committee made their recommendations to the Government of Nunavut and the Hamlet of Kugaaruk on the areas that should be prioritized for future Park establishment.

Aarluk also completed the Cultural Landscape Resource Inventory Framework and Training Manual for Nunavut Parks and Special Places. Using the Kugaaruk project and previous work completed with the community of Clyde River, Aarluk’s Chris Grosset and Marla Limousin worked closely with the staff of Nunavut Parks to define cultural landscapes in the Nunavut context, and outline a process for Parks staff and communities to follow when inventorying resources in both established Parks and proposed park study areas. (PHOTO: Kugaaruk Park Advisory Committee, left to right: Jesse Apsaktaun; Becky Torretti (NP&SP); Clayton Apsaktaun (seated); Barthelemy Nirlungayuk; Otto Apsaktaun; Zachary Oogark; Marla Limousin; and Chris Grosset. Absent: Mayor Makabe Nartok.)

After designing, then sending out 133 surveys, offering incentives, attending workshops and meetings, analyzing data, developing a database, and writing an environmental scan, Stonecircle has completed a major health promotion project for the Chiefs of Ontario. With help from Wanda Brascoupe-Peters, Jennifer David, Jerico David and Kory Goulais, the database and all documents were submitted to Chiefs of Ontario. First Nations that completed the survey now have access to their individual community information, which will be used for future health promotion planning.

Kory Goulais participated in a one-day session for the National Aboriginal Capital Corporation Association, took notes and, with assistance from Jennifer David, submitted meeting notes to NACCA.

Galin Kora and Greg Smith attended the annual conference of the Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) in Victoria B.C, at the beginning of May, along with 425 other delegates. The CES conference is an opportunity to exchange information, renew contacts, and catch up on recent developments in the field. Treasury Board’s 2009 Policy on Evaluation focuses on value for money, evaluation standards, evaluating all direct program spending every five years, and strengthening government capacity and skills to use evaluation. Most federal departments have greatly increased evaluation staff and several universities offer degrees to postgraduate level in evaluation. Evaluation is a growing profession, and CES has just launched an accreditation program for evaluators. (Pictured above left: Greg and Galin in Victoria; Right: Greg with Ms. Liz Windsor, an old friend.)

Every year the staff, shareholders and Boards of our three companies take part in a planning process lasting from March to August where we consider ways to improve or expand our services to clients, run our companies efficiently and effectively and do our best to create an atmosphere of professionalism, participation and high morale for everyone that works with us. Centrepiece of the planning process is the staff planning session, shown below.

BIRTHDAYS

Terry Forth and Alex Ker - all right, you two. Your turn to put on the silly hat, hold the sparkler, stand on your chair, and endure the corporate birthday greeting for June - the distinguished Mr. Forth on June 15, the equally distinguished Ms. Ker, June 16!

GOSSIP

Several years back Aarluk’s Chris Grosset and Marla Limousin worked with the community of Gjoa Haven to develop the storyline and artwork on the history of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen’s two year stay among the Inuit at the present location of the community. The story, told through memories of the Elders, recounts Amundsen’s time at Gjoa Haven prior to his successful first navigation of the Northwest Passage. During their April visit to the community, Chris and Marla saw the recently installed signs, including the Amundsen cairn which is now a prominent landmark in the community and source of pride for all of the participants in the project. PHOTO: Amundsen cairn.

THE CLOSER

As part of our commitment to maintaining a cobra-free workplace, CCG staff declared Friday May 14 to be “Clean Up Your Office” Day. Now, of course, every desktop and office gleams with the antiseptic purity of a NASA Clean Room. But before the cleanup – well, let’s just say our corporate motto for a while was “An Empty Desk Bespeaks an Empty Mind.”

Here for your review are the desks of the some of the fullest minds at CCG, before the cleanup. Can you match them with the appropriate employee?

1.	The Grosset Grotto (Chris Grosset)		a.
2.	Rudden’s Redoubt (Terry Rudden)		b.
3.	Casa Kora (Galin Kora)		c.
4.	Lei’s Lair (Lei Han)		d.
5.	Ron’s Roost (Ron Ryan)		e.
6.	Chez Sutherland (Leslie Sutherland)		f.
7.	Chateau Goulais (Kory Goulais)		g.

Top award for cleanup day was presented unanimously to Lei Han, for fearlessly and selflessly risking life and limb by taking on the task of cleaning the lunch room fridge.

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