There's a new man at the helm of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. Robert Nault, who represents a riding in northern Ontario, is replacing Jane Stewart, a minister who showed a definite aptitude for the job.
To give the minister a hand in sorting out his priorities, we thought we'd give him a list of things we'd like to see happen up here.
First off, we would like to welcome the minister to that labyrinth known as land claims.
Any discussion of economic development in the NWT has to be predicated on the resolution of outstanding land claims.
While admitting that the progress that has been made in some areas is encouraging, it is not until the deals are locked up that the region will have some stability.
However, before land claims can be settled, the role of the GNWT in the process has to be made clear.
All of this ties into the issue of self-government. As responsibilities for the delivery of goods and services devolves to the regions, the responsibilities of the GNWT will need to be redefined.
The hope of economic development will also be moved forward by the encouragement of secondary industries in the diamond industry.
Distribution of the rough diamonds to Northern companies has to be made a condition of opening a diamond mine in the North.
Revenue sharing is also an issue up here. Royalties that accrue from natural resources in the NWT go straight to the coffers of the federal government.
Jim Antoine recently described the NWT as an "emerging economy." That phrase is particularly apt, and is one we will be stuck with until we can start to build on the revenues from our own resources.
The North needs to be freed from its past dependency and old style central government before it can embrace the future. If the minister accomplishes that, he will have done what no other managed to do.
There were a handful of credible candidates for the open Senate position, but none better than the final choice -- Nick Sibbeston.
In the '70s, Sibbeston was a fiery character on the Northwest Territorial Council. His expressive use of a coffee cup after an argument with speaker Peter Fraser is still a topic of conversation.
Later, as a cabinet minister and government leader in the NWT Legislative Assembly, he was a more thoughtful politician, honest and hardworking.
The usefulness of the Senate is questionable in the minds of many Canadians. Sibbeston has said he would not resist any movement to abolish or reform the Senate if that's what the people wanted.
Until that happens, Sibbeston and his wife Karen will be excellent examples of what Northerners are all about.
The launch of the Aboriginal People's Television Network is a mixed blessing for Northerners.
APTN is the national aboriginal network spawned from the now defunct Television Northern Canada. It was created when the CRTC ruled Canadian cable subscribers would pay 15 cents each for the network.
Having an outlet to purchase Northern productions and deliver national distribution is great. But now Northern aboriginal programs must compete with aboriginal productions in the south and even around the world. The proposed split of the planned 120 hours of weekly programming is 72 hours English, 18 hours French, 30 hours aboriginal languages.
TVNC was solely devoted to aboriginal programming in Northern aboriginal languages. In APTN, we have a smaller share of a much larger pie.