When Shawnette MacNeil appeared before city council June 10 she suggested the municipality needs to consider establishing an animal shelter in the city for stray animals.

MacNeil said the local branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), a private non-profit animal welfare organization, and the Great Slave Animal Hospital are doing the best they can caring for unwanted or lost dogs, but cannot cope in finding homes for all of them.

While MacNeil's intentions are good, they are also unnecessary and unrealistic.

The reality is the private Great Slave Animal Hospital is acting as an effective shelter and adoption broker for unwanted or lost cat and dogs.

Owner Dr. Tom Pisz says that in an average year they shelter about 350 stray or unwanted dogs and about 200 cats. Of that number, about 20 dogs and 20 cats have to be euthanized each year because they aren't reunited with their owners or can't be placed for adoption.

Municipal enforcement officer Doug Gillard says the city pays Great Slave Animal Hospital $13 per dog for boarding up to five days, after which the hospital pays the shot.

The hospital receives nothing from the city for boarding cats. City taxpayers recover that money through licensing fees charged when a dog is adopted, Gillard said, noting the city is happy with the present arrangement.

Pisz said while the hospital loses money on dogs which stay over five days -- and all cats -- "we have a moral obligation to do this," adding that while a dedicated shelter is a nice idea, he doubts "Yellowknife is big enough for that."

What would help, Pisz says, is a cat licensing bylaw so Great Slave could recoup some their feline boarding costs.

A proposed bylaw is to go before council by November. It could prove to be a much cheaper alternative than a new animal shelter.

The buzz in the travel business is around the decision by Canadian North to offer one-way air fares for -- are you sitting down? -- half the cost of a return flight. It's the best news we've heard since Max Ward took to the skies more than a generation ago.

True one-way pricing, instead of the outrageous one-way fares that cost us just as much as flying both ways, is spreading quickly throughout the industry.

For that we can thank the imagination of the new discount air carriers. Even Air Canada and, to a lesser extent, First Air are getting in on the action.

Northerners don't always see the fruits of national trends, so this one is particularly tasty. We can only hope that it is but the first in a series of service and pricing innovations that the advocates of airline deregulation promised so long ago.

The celebration of the summer solstice on June 21, the longest day of the year, is as old as the human race.

After the long, harsh winter and cold spring we, like our ancestors in pagan times, may be wondering if, in fact, summer is ever going to arrive.

Fear not, Yellowknife. Instead of the ritual bonfires and rites of all kind of the past on Midsummer's Eve to draw in the sun, we have Raven Mad Daze on the 21st.

The shop-'til-you-drop all-nighter is not only good for consumers and businesses alike, but it has grown to include a showcase of entertainment that all ages can enjoy.

So, even though you may have to lug around a sweater, get out there and share in the celebration.

Let the summer begin!

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

We don't doubt Rankin Inlet RCMP Const. Mario Vachon's sincerity in addressing hamlet bylaws concerning all-terrain vehicles. And, although we do have reservations, we're not overly concerned with the handing out of a few warnings at the beginning of the spring.

However, we do have a major bone of contention with his assertion that warnings have proven an effective way of dealing with the problem. The ATV scenario certainly isn't indigenous to Rankin Inlet. Riders speeding around hamlets with no helmet on is a common sight across Nunavut. Let's be honest about this -- common sights are three to six people piled on one ATV, young kids at the controls who still have trouble holding their bicycle upright when it's stopped, and people carrying objects that protrude out a good two feet from either side (or both) of the machine.

And, when in comes to a number of riders, hamlet stop signs would be more accurate if they were billboard sized and read: Could you please slow down to at least the hamlet speed limit as you go through the intersection?

Early warnings to riders in the spring are fine, but they should only be issued once with regards to helmets and registration. When it comes to insurance, riding through the hamlet once with no insurance is one time too many.

Ask anyone who has had property damaged or a family member injured by an uninsured driver what they think about warnings over driving with no insurance.

An innocent victim paying the price for an irresponsible driver's actions is unacceptable, regardless of the time of year the accident occurred.

The bottom line in this matter is that it's not like bylaws and the Motor Vehicle Act just came into being during the past few years. You would need a compelling argument to convince us that, youngsters aside, anyone who rides an ATV is not fully aware of the laws governing its use. As such, any spring "grace period" should be an extremely limited one.

While letting someone off with a warning over operating a vehicle in an illegal manner may be great public relations for the police with some community members -- it does very little to convince riders to abide by the rules and regulations concerning their ATVs.

Likewise, RCMP detachments and bylaw officers have to be consistent in enforcing the bylaws and rules of the road in each hamlet.

A violation in October is a violation in July and vice versa. Until people realize they will be charged consistently for not abiding by the rules, they will continue to race around our communities without helmets or insurance.

And that's one warning you can take to the bank.

Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum

Last week's Western Premier's conference sounds like it must have been quite a bully session with Premier Kakfwi walking away "embarrassed" by the Klein, Knowles and Duncan tagteam on the Alaska pipeline.

Despite the political crowing and manoeuvring coming out of Alaska and Yukon, one thing remains blatantly obvious that will see the Mackenzie Valley line go first -- producer support.

The Alaskan producers have said that the economics of the highway route still aren't there to drive the line -- even with the tax credit. Exxon said they don't want the tax credit and they say the political meddling will distort the market.

On the Mackenzie side, the producers are forging ahead with regulatory filing and the newest worry is if the pipe will be big enough to accommodate all the producers.

As last year's seismic data is now being analyzed, we'll no doubt be hearing about many more discoveries like the huge Devon/PetroCanada find announced last month.

All the talk from all the premiers, senators and governors won't add up to anything without the backing of the energy companies.

Grad for dad

Last week's graduation at Samuel Hearne was a real special event to cover.

A teacher friend from down south told me last week that, "Unless the graduation is yours, they're all pretty boring."

I thought for a second on that and had to disagree. I've covered dozens of grads and they all have their own nuances that make them all quite unique.

There are people and places that set them all apart, but there is always a mood that fills the air at these events that really makes each one a special celebration of achievement and pride.

The Class of 2002 seemed to have a lot of class. The banquet afterwards was emceed by Desmond Loreen who exhibited a quiet confidence that was echoed throughout the class.

What will stay with me from this year's graduation was the valedictorian's birthday wish to her dad. I never looked around, but I don't think Candace and I were the only ones with wet eyes.

Good luck to all this year's grads. Your special celebration here, made missing my niece Mandy's grad a little more tolerable.

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum

A resolution to form a Deh Cho economic development corporation is on the agenda for the Deh Cho Assembly. Hopefully it is discussed with all due consideration. Then, with or without amendments, it should be ratified so it can proceed.

However, assemblies have known to get sidetracked with one major issue or another. It's not unusual for agenda items to be deferred until the next leadership meeting.

This economic development initiative cannot be allowed to idle for several months longer. Who knows how many opportunities have already slipped by? Many more will surely be missed unless something is done now.

While many initiatives could be undertaken presently, projects of a wider scope will become more feasible as joint venture partners begin to surface. That will happen with an Interim Resource Development Agreement between the Deh Cho First Nations and the federal government. That document, once signed by both sides, would allow selected areas to be opened up for development. Unfortunately, it appears that any agreement of that nature won't come without some sort of miracle at the negotiating table. The DCFN and the federal government are heading for a showdown.

With demands of as much as 50 per cent of resource royalties, the DCFN is miles from reaching accord with the federal government, which is offering what seems to be a miserly sum. While the government should be given credit for showing considerable flexibility in negotiations to date, it has so far failed to table a reasonable offer in the resource revenue area.

Despite a possible protracted political dispute, could a regional development corporation spur enough economic activity to assuage the growing appetite for enterprise?

While struggling for financial and environmental terms that it defines as acceptable, the DCFN has, in the past, opposed and quashed development projects that Deh Cho communities had been ready to tackle.

Why would things be any different at a regional level? This could get messy.

Summer of fancy

Does anything beat a Northern summer? Okay, it doesn't last long, but that means we should savour it all the more.

The emerging green and the lengthy days are a delight. Of course, the extra sunlight can make it hard to sleep for some, but that problem can be countered by covering bedroom windows with garbage bags or foil, or wearing a sleep mask. Defence against hot days comes in the form of air conditioning and ice cream. Bugs and mosquitoes can be fended off by aerosol sprays (which may be more of a hazard than the insects) or flailing arms.

Winter will make its return soon enough. Let's enjoy the brief warm spell.