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Friday, July 4, 1997 What you don't know can hurt you
Real estate is generally the largest single investment a family makes. That is why changes in real estate values ripple quickly through the marketplace. Families often have their net worth wrapped up in a house.
In Yellowknife the city's future rests in the unsteady hands of the largest employer -- the territorial government. With every downsizing and layoff rumor the real estate market rumbles.
Therefore it comes as no surprise that Rod Stirling, president of the Yellowknife Real Estate Board, is calling for the territorial government to clear the air of questions surrounding the future plans of the territory.
And he's right, there should be no secrets. The territorial government should be forthcoming about its plans for division, the extent of the layoffs, the relocation of civil servants and other effects of division.
Division is looming. People in Yellowknife are nervous. Families are re-examining their commitment to living here in the face of costly uncertainty.
Unless the GNWT comes forward with some plans the rumor mill will continue to spin into overdrive. Those rumors are what are spooking the real estate market.
The fastest way to stabilize the real estate market is for the government to inform the public of its intentions.
No doubt, there will be bad news, but keeping it under wraps won't make bad news better. If there is to be a shakeout in the market because the territorial government is cutting back, let's get it over with.
Some frank disclosure on the part of the government might also help diffuse the rumors that swirl around BHP's plans. These rumors are what speculators feed on and use to drive prices in the market.
If the GNWT isn't straightforward about its plans for the future, that can only lead to further speculation -- speculation that the government doesn't have a plan yet, and that is a frightening thought.
Using young girls for sexual jollies is certainly bad enough. But paying for sex with cocaine and money earmarked for narcotics makes it even worse.
To find out that some of these girls -- operating on the streets of Yellowknife -- choose to be exploited because they are abused by their parents and driven out of home, is heart-breaking.
Unfortunately, prostitution and sexual exploitation have been going on since the beginning of recorded history. And abuse in the home has been just as common-place. No matter what action society takes against these perverts, and no matter how much help we offer their victims, it will never be enough.
City ratepayers lost one of their most valuable representatives with the recent departure of alderman Jo MacQuarrie.
At council meetings MacQuarrie routinely questioned city positions when it appeared everyone but her had magically made up their minds without a word of debate.
Council fulfils the requirements of the law by approving their decisions in public. MacQuarrie challenged them to fulfill their duty to the people by giving us a glimpse of the thinking, or lack of it, behind those decisions.
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