Buried in the Precambrian rock on the edge of the city are 260,000 tonnes of dust contaminated with a carcinogen called arsenic trioxide. The fate of Giant mine's toxic waste lies in the hand of Royal Oak Mines and the NWT Water Board, and the credibility of both is on the line.

From an environmental and health perspective, Royal Oak can't be allowed to let the toxic waste sit there forever, stored insecurely. Arsenic already in the air because of industrial processes at work in the mine has been blamed by some studies for health problems in the city.

But neither can the NWT Water Board, which is now considering Royal Oak's application for a 10-year extension to its water licence, impose unreasonable disposal requirements on the company. Royal Oak's security deposit -- what it would cost the company to walk away from the operation without cleaning up behind itself -- is less than $500,000.

The bill for closing the mine properly, including long-term safe removal or disposal of the arsenic, will likely be much higher. Guess which route Royal Oak will choose if we don't find a way to let them clean it up responsibly and economically.

But Royal Oak has asked for another two years to figure out what to do with the arsenic. Considering the company has had more than seven years to think about the problem, another two might seem excessive. Gold prices being what they are, Giant's imminent closure is never too far from the realm of possibility.

In such cases, a compromise -- giving the company one year instead of two to produce a plan -- might not make everyone happy, but it may be the best way to avoid a showdown no one wants.

Royal Oak has already indicated there may be a way to turn the arsenic dust into a marketable commodity. Give them time, but not too much.

Premier Don Morin's statement in the legislative assembly last week about the "adequate health care" in the Keewatin has hit a nerve with many leaders in the region -- and rightly so.

Morin made the comment on Monday in answer to a question from Nunakput MLA Vince Steen about Health Minister Kelvin Ng's delay in dealing with the situation in the region. "I believe the health care in the Keewatin is quite adequate and does its purpose," Morin said.

He clarified the comment the next day in the legislature with what he maintains he intended to say about the crisis. "... what I meant to say is that the minister has the health issue in the Keewatin under control. He has sent in a team to the Keewatin to work with the people over there to make sure that we do have adequate health care in the Keewatin."

Does the premier's statement inadvertently reveal the GNWT's callous attitude in dealing with the health-care situation in Kivalliq or does it merely show his lack of thought into what he said publicly about a highly sensitive issue?

It is this relaxed attitude about health services in the region that brought the situation to a boiling point a couple of weeks ago. Had Ng acted at some point over the last several months -- after dozens of complaints were made publicly -- it likely wouldn't have become a crisis. Morin's comments come at a time when many following the long saga of complaints against the Keewatin Regional Health Board believed the dire situation had reached a breaking point. Ng had scrambled to get a crew of health officials in Rankin Inlet to do damage control and get some short-term relief for the region's health-care system. The response was a first from the GNWT since the controversy over changes to health care began nearly a year ago.

When will the GNWT start to take the concerns of its electorate seriously? What has to happen to move the urgency of the situation up a notch for Morin, in particular, to say a little bit more on the issue than the situation is under control? One wonders.

And for the premier to stand by the actions of Ng -- many people would like to know what a minister has to do to get a change of portfolio. Is the cabinet such an elitist group within the assembly that nothing can bring them down even if the public isn't satisfied?

And is anyone -- most of all -- the premier -- accountable for his lack of action and compassion?

Judging from Morin's comments last week, people dissatisfied with Ng's job as health minister shouldn't expect a call for his resignation from the premier. Seems Morin's loyalties run deeper for his hand-picked cabinet colleagues than for the people that elected him. Whose interests is the premier putting before the people of the Keewatin?