Arriving at city schools yesterday for hundreds of students would have been just like getting into a new car. You swing open the door and everything smells new and looks new.

But the novelty quickly fades and, in the case of students, many may soon be saying it's the same as every other year.

So try turning over a new leaf this year -- hand in assignments on time; don't give parents a hard time when its bed time; ask your teacher for assistance if you don't understand something -- it's their job to help. Just make this year is your best one yet. Next summer will be here before you know it, then graduation....

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

Full marks must be given to Rankin Inlet hamlet council for its decision to hold off on surplus spending and look into the possibility of hiring a project officer.

In these tight fiscal times, competition for any project holding the promise of jobs is intense.

Hamlet senior administrator Ron Roach is bang on when he says being able to financially contribute to a project aids greatly in securing it for a community.

So too, does being properly prepared when it comes time to make your pitch to any level of government.

Final costs, labour analysis, material acquisition, time frames and planning modules are all key components to a successful pitch by any municipality.

However, as positive a step as council's decision is, there's still a joker in the deck that might work against it.

And that's the Nunavut government's habit of striking a standing committee on any given project.

You just know there will be such travelling road shows formed to visit almost every community in the territory to seek its opinion on both the proposed Nunavut Inuit Heritage Centre and any correctional facility that may be constructed.

Then there's the additional time to digest the volumes of information gathered. This is further convoluted by the fact every suggestion, no matter how outlandish, seems to warrant discussion.

We can't help but wonder how many ministers remember the proposal put to them in the Siniktarvik Hotel a few years back to build a giant warehouse to hold each and every carving produced by Nunavut artists that the government should be buying.

If memory serves us, that particular gem was discussed for almost an hour. Even more disconcerting is that this mining of public opinion is undertaken by a government comprised of a number of ministers who issue gag orders to their underlings when it comes to fielding questions from the media. The chances of Rankin Inlet actually landing any of these projects will get better if council ultimately decides to hold off on surplus spending and hire a project officer.

However, the hamlet does not have a good track record when it comes to public opinion.

A number of the most vocal, and influential, individuals who rallied public opinion against Rankin being selected as Nunavut's capital now live in capital cities elsewhere.

Who has the keys to the warehouse?

Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum

It's back to the drawing board for the Department of Public Works. It's like deja vu all over again for the Inuvik Campus of Aurora College.

I was up here two years ago when the project was bumped from being a P-3 project and now the construction is being bumped again because of this negotiated contract.

The process was flawed from the start by not opening the contract up to bid. These negotiated contracts are fine when the dollars are small and competition is slim, but the college contract is neither of those.

The GNWT has a strict policy for granting a negotiated contract. They are as follows:

- when the goods and services are urgently required.

- when only one party is capable of performing the contract.

- when the contract is an architectural or engineering contract worth not more than $25,000. A $10 million tax-funded project should have gone out to public tender.

Cabinet will bend the rules on negotiated contracts, and it's usually to help a fledgling aboriginal business get started.

The contractor awarded this contract is a joint-venture between Ketza Construction Corporation -- a well-established contractor in Alaska, Yukon and the NWT -- and the Gwich'in Development Corporation. By definition, GSA could be construed as an aboriginal business, but no means are they a fledgling business. Last year, the company had revenues of $3 million and they have access to $30 million in bonding capacity.

GSA construction has a great advantage already through the Business Incentive Plan, which offers local builders a 20 per cent advantage over outside competition. On a $10 million contract, that's about two million reasons why a local company could kill any outside bid. Through allowing outside bids, the government also gets a realistic comparison of what the job is really worth.

As it sits, they have one bid and an estimator crunching numbers on a computer in Yellowknife. Not a fair comparison and not a fair use of tax dollars.

The negotiated contract does little to foster growth of a business if it cannot make that business competitive. If a contractor loses a contract, they need to know how and why their estimation could have been improved. Now, the bid will go out to tender and the GSA will still get it, but the delay will have cost the students a year in a real school and the taxpayers a few more million. Hardly a fair deal for the students, the contractors or the taxpayers.

Happy Valley views

Town council made it pretty clear last week that the seniors development in Happy Valley Campground will not be approved. Seems there was a lot of miscommunication in the proposal stages of this fiasco that could have saved a lot of time, money and hurt feelings if the people knew what they were getting from the start. Council, the Inuvialuit Community Corporation and the seniors all had the impression they were approving a facility with a common room and central meeting area where tourists could visit with elders. What was proposed by the housing corporation was what we'd all feared from the start -- another trademark cracker box housing project.

What was made clear throughout the multiple meetings, is that the Town of Inuvik needs to take a good look at how this town will grow over the next 10, 20 or 30 years.

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum

Renewable Resources officer Carl Lafferty issues a timely warning to all Deh Cho residents this week. It's human nature to be curious when a bear is lurking in the neighbourhood. However, the flashing lights on an renewable resources truck are not a signal for the entire neighbourhood to wander over to check out the scene. The opposite applies -- the lights are an indication of danger.

Just as so-called rubberneckers can cause additional wreckage at accident scenes, people who attempt to get a peak at a cornered bear are risking injury and possibly death. Although large and strong creatures, bears are also remarkably swift. Wounded bears pose a severe menace.

Bears that stroll into town looking for food may be out of their element, but we still exercise caution. Equally, Renewable Resources officers who are employed to contend with the threat of a bear should be given the respect and the room they need to do their jobs.

Walking the walk

Kudos to the Fort Simpson Parks and Playground Society for spurring action at what used to be Elephant Park. A similar story of aging and dangerous equipment has been unfolding at a playground in Yellowknife, but the difference is that parents there haven't formed a proactive group. Instead, they have spoken out individually. While condemning government, be it local, territorial or federal, may make people feel better, it often doesn't accomplish much.

When the chips are down, we need concerned citizens to come together with a plan of action, particularly for the sake of local children. Once they demonstrate that they are serious, particularly by donating their time to raising funds, those in a position of power are more likely to sit up and take notice.

It worked in Fort Simpson. The kids' faces prove it.

Grumble, grumble

While complaining about the weather is the unofficial national pastime, we Northerners have a legitimate gripe this summer: we haven't received much warm weather. Mother Nature seems to be playing a cruel joke. Winter was reluctant to loosen its grip as snow fell even in late May. June only warmed up slightly. July brought the occasional hot day (too hot isn't appreciated either, of course) but for the most part, July and August have been a bust.

With leaves turning yellow, an early frost and flocks of geese already making their way south, we can only hope for a late burst of warm weather and something we didn't really get our share of -- summer.