Friday, December 29, 2000
This is the time of year when Yellowknifers take stock of the past 365 days and reflect back on the good and bad of the past year.
We must admit for a city that came through the Y2-K bug without a hitch, Yellowknife was offered up its fair share of ups and downs.
There was the Back Bay battle, where a resident lost his bid to tunnel his way through a cliff to provide access to a proposed tourism lodge his neighbours didn't want. We had hospital staff mad as hell over cutbacks, and after the complaints poured in the cutbacks were put on hold.
A Yellowknife man was charged with alleged terrorist activity overseas and the city suffered the loss of Mary Beth Miller, a Yellowknife biathlete who died in her prime after being attacked by a black bear.
We also had an early Christmas present when owners of Diavik Diamond Mines gave its final go-ahead for the mine. With both of Canada's diamond mines in our city's backyard, one would think we'd be laughing all the way to the bank. But we must not be mistaken.
Yes, the mines contribute enormously to our city, but the fact remains our high cost of living is deterring many of these workers from making it their home.
We've got hundreds of workers from the south, who find it more economical to fork out the extra airfare to fly south for their two-weeks off, rather than settle here. Then there's the lack of a Northern resource policy, which leaves all the royalties, like the workers, flowing south.
It's clear more than ever leadership on all fronts is what's required for the year 2001.
As we roll into a new year, we hope the debate on the issues continues in the pages of Yellowknifer. We also look forward to covering the news stories big and small and featuring people young and old. And we look forward to hearing from you. Happy New Year.