Arrogance is the label opposition leaders attached to Jean Chretien's call for an election with almost two years remaining in the mandate Canadians gave him in 1997.

The same label and a few other choice adjectives salt the comments of the sages on Yellowknife's coffee row. They are not impressed with Chretien's desire to spend $200 million on an election so Canadians can tell Ottawa how to handle the $21 billion federal surplus.

Chretien is determined to become the first Prime Minister since Mackenzie King to win three successive majority governments.

All the polls say the election is his to lose. Giving the Liberals cause for concern, however, is a line in the opinion surveys that shows a broad hankering after change. Voters have yet to articulate the desire. It might mean that they want a change in approach, a change in leaders, or a change in government.

We will find out on Nov. 27 what voters think of the Prime Minister's lust for a place in the record books.

You can tell a lot about a person and the life they lived by the number of mourners who attend the funeral.

Judging by the more than 350 people who gathered in the legislature's Great Hall last week, Pete Fraser was a man who touched a great many lives during his years.

Trapper, riverboat pilot and politician he was, but he was also a husband, father and grandfather, a man of great wit and deep character.

He was the kind of person who would do anything for a friend as those who knew him over the years will attest.

Pete Fraser will be remembered for the role he played in helping make the Northwest Territories what it is today -- he had the kind of free and independent spirit that helped build the territory.

His example would be well remembered today as we continue to build a strong, prosperous territory.

Congratulations to the many young men and women who are involved in this year's Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD).

Not only did the group recently convince city hall to provide them a grant of $10,000, but they are planning to host a national conference in March 2001.

Considering Yellowknife's drinking and driving offenses lead the way in Canada, we can't think of a better location for such a conference.

SADD is also sporting a new look with a multi-person T-shirt that reads "Cabs are cheaper than lawyers."

With slogans like this, there is no doubt they are becoming a force to be reckoned with and worth every penny they raise.

When it comes to Canada's favourite game, Northerners are proving their salt in the minors and majors.

Five Yellowknife teens are the latest players to be picked up by junior teams in the south.

Yellowknifers Jody Brandford and Ally Simpson play university women's varsity hockey.

Hay River's Geoff Sanderson starts another season in the NHL and one of Rankin Inlet's Tootoo brothers has his sights set on the NHL draft.

It is proof that living in small towns far from major venues doesn't hinder our top players from being scouted.

Parents, coaches and Northern hockey organizations have spent a lot of time and money getting our kids southern exposure.

We know the talent is here.

We just have to make sure everyone else keeps getting that message.

Preserving Inuit legend It is a good to see Inuit legend filmed while our elders are still able to convey their stories, but it is especially gratifying when the story is captured by a filmmaker with deep roots in Nunavut.

Born on Baffin Island, John Houston grew up in Cape Dorset and is fluent in Inuktitut.

His parents, James and Alma Houston, have a storied past in Nunavut and have earned themselves a place in Northern annuals.

John Houston is currently filming the legend of Nuliajuk, the second is his movie trilogy saluting the Arctic.

His first effort, Songs in Stone, garnered the Outstanding Achievement Award at 1999s Far North Film Festival in Yellowknife.

It also captured the Best Arts and Entertainment Award at the 2000 Yorkton International Film Festival.

The Houston family has developed strong ties to Nunavut since James first arrived in the Eastern Arctic in 1948.

How deep those roots go is probably best exemplified by Alma Houston who requested her ashes be scattered in Cape Dorset when she died in the late 1990s.

It is this love and understanding of Inuit culture her son, John Houston, brings with his film crew.

There are many storytellers who can gather information and weave it into a tale meant to entertain and inform.

But Inuit legend is often complicated in its meaning and takes a true sense of devotion to the subject matter to do it justice.

Such is the devotion Houston has to his trilogy of Arctic tales.

With the blending of cultures to work on the project, Houston stands a good chance of accurately portraying one of the most basic, yet complicated, legends in Inuit culture.

The creation of an archive at St. Mary's University in Halifax, N.S., with an Inuit intern to oversee the project will further enhance understanding of the Nuliajuk legend.

Time is running out on our ability to capture the telling of Inuit legend in its purest form through our elders.

And, it is the type of understanding, dedication and commitment to the legend being told felt by Houston which will help to forever enshrine Inuit legend in its rightful place among Canadian culture and Northern lore.