Arthur Milnes
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jan 18/99) - Simply put, you can't have parliamentary democracy without one.

Since the far-off days of the 14th century, a mace has served as a symbol of the authority of the house speaker. With this in mind, it's not hard to see why officials and politicians in both Nunavut and the west are taking the creation of their legislatures' new maces very seriously.

"The mace is the traditional symbol of the authority of the speaker of the assembly and you can't have a session without it," says Lynda Comerford, co-ordinator of the special committee on western identity which was recently set up by western MLAs.

The committee has asked for expressions of interest from artisans, designers and crafts people to design a new mace which will reflect the symbolism and culture of the new territory.

"We've had 16 people come in for information packages," Comerford says, adding the deadline for submitting applications is this Friday.

The west will need its mace in place by next November, when a new assembly will meet.

Over in Nunavut, there is a more immediate need for a mace. The historic new legislature meets April 1 to mark the dawn of Nunavut.

Last fall it was decided that NTI, regional Inuit associations, the birthright corporations and the Nunasi Corporation would all donate money to a group of artists to create a mace. Work is now under way. (Nunavut appears ahead in other areas as well. In November, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II herself, gave the royal nod to the recommended designs for Nuanvut's flag and coat-of-arms. "She was a very happy girl, very happy and very proud," Nunavut's symbols committee chairperson, Meeka Kilabuk, said of the Queen's reaction.)

As for the old mace, its future is still up in the air.

But you can be sure it will be remembered fondly.