Anti-tobacco crusader Dr. Jeffrey Wigand has left us with a stark reminder of the long road we face in combating the deadly habit of smoking.

Wigand, a former tobacco company executive and ex-smoker himself, blew the whistle on tobacco giants for misleading the public on the hazards of smoking. He was in Yellowknife this week for a national public health conference.

Warning that tobacco companies are evil for claiming light cigarettes contain less tar, he said it's high time federal Health Minister Anne McLellan forced tobacco companies to stop misleading the public.

But it isn't just tobacco companies that should be criticized.

Dr. Ken Seethram told the media the city of Yellowknife was making headway encouraging people not to smoke in public places but the territorial government has a long way to go on preventative measures that actually work. We agree.

Here in the NWT, it's estimated more than $10 million in taxes will go into general revenues from the sale of cigarettes. We've not only got the highest rate of smokers in Canada, but our rate of young people who smoke is staggering.

Last April, the GNWT hiked cigarettes by 75 cents a pack, claiming this measure would discourage young people from taking up the deadly habit. Is it working? We doubt it.

Clearly, the GNWT has the resources to get creative.

Here's an idea.

Start offering smokers, young and old, free cessation programs or nicotine patches.

And here's another idea: Retailers caught selling tobacco products to minors should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law without exception, as should the underage smokers.

Playing on swingsets and jungle gyms -- it's a simple pleasure that should be available to all children.

But for children in the Yellowknife Housing Authority units on Sissons Court, the playground equipment provided to them poses a threat.

To be fair, the Yellowknife Housing Authority did go and look at the equipment after Yellowknifer told staff about problems at the site. And though it does not have the money in this year's budget to buy new equipment -- which can cost tens of thousands of dollars -- it has done some work.

But the work done is not enough to ensure the safety of the those who play there.

The housing authority claims the Sissons Court set was installed about eight years ago, but we've heard the equipment date back to the early 1980s, and it does appear to come from that era. Either way, it lacks many of the things the Standards Council of Canada recommends, like guard rails and soft, shock-absorbing surfaces.

According to Safe Kids Canada, each year about 28,000 children across the country are injured on playground equipment, and 2,000 of them require hospital treatment. Many of the injuries are the result of the child accidentally falling to the ground, but a good number of them are due to faulty equipment.

Unfortunately, the most appropriate action for the Yellowknife Housing Authority to take is the one which hurts the children the most.

If the housing authority can't afford to replace the equipment right now, it needs to remove it.

It may not be the best alternative, but it is the safest and must be done immediately.

And hopefully the housing authority will get enough funding next year for new equipment.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

As you're reading this, I'm probably lying in a pool of tropical water with a tiny umbrella sticking out of my beverage of choice.

Not!

But I am on vacation. And, I'm actually getting to spend my time right here at home in Rankin Inlet this summer.

While I fully intend to "relax to the max" during the next month, I also intend to spend some time on the land, do a little boating and enjoy some of the many wonderful things here I've been writing about for the past four years.

My more-than-capable replacement for the next month is Nathan VanderKlippe.

An amicable young professional from St. Catharine's, Ont., whose writing I'm sure you're going to fully enjoy during his stay in the Kivalliq.

I will see you all in a month's time.

Gambling with safety

The story in the current edition of the Kivalliq News, Team spirit, really is a story within a story.

On the one hand it's great to witness, once again, how quickly Kivalliq hamlets leap into action to help one of their own when they're in difficulty.

However, on the other side of the coin, you have to shudder over the age of some of the fire trucks in our region -- Whale Cove and Chester in particular.

While Kivalliq regional fire Marshal Tim Hinds did assure us that the Chester fire truck was only inoperative for a short period of time (60 minutes or so) -- the two words that can be added to that statement are, THIS TIME!

It's nice to know the Nunavut government has replacement vehicles for these two hamlets included in its capital plan, even if it is going to take another three years, or so.

Gambling with such out-dated equipment, is, in effect, gambling with people's lives.

As we've said in this space many times in the past, we fully appreciate the length of the list of priorities the Nunavut government must contend with.

That being said, surely areas of safety where people's very lives may hang in the balance deserve to be at the top of any government's to- do list.

One Chesterfield Inlet family has already received compensation for equipment it lost in a fire in that community, although it was never publicly stated that faulty equipment on the truck was to blame.

However, if we continue to depend on emergency vehicles in their third decade of service (hard decades in the Kivalliq), it's only a matter of time before the loss is one of life, rather than possessions.

What level of compensation would we place on that?

Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum

When I interviewed Mike Beauregard last weekend, I found him alone on Curtis Field, laying out pylons and clearing the pitch of debris for a soccer practice that never took place.

While indoor soccer is very popular here in the North, the game just can't seem to make the transition to the grass and that baffles me.

Soccer is a game that requires no equipment other than the most rudimentary gear, like a cup and a pair of sneakers and parents should be loving this sport.

They don't need to shell out hundreds of dollars for gear like they do with hockey and the game is enjoying a wider audience than ever.

The World Cup just aired on CBC and the sport has the widest following everywhere but here, it seems.

It's a sport that requires huge skill and athletic ability but can be played at any level or ability. Soccer offers everything a sport should: team building, rigorous activity and competition.

Perhaps the biggest roadblock to summer sport here is, it's hard to find volunteers. As minor ball has also found out, getting parents to volunteer as coaches and umpires has proven a major hurdle in minor sports.

Most parents want their kids to grow up healthy, but it seems few want to get out and volunteer.

A healthy community begins in the home, but take it further -- take it to Curtis Field this weekend to learn some coaching skills.

Delta rock returns

It was good to see the guys from Mother Devine again.

I first came across the Kikoak brothers in Fort Smith at the Friendship Festival three years ago and they sure rocked the park down there.

Nice to see that level of talent coming out of a small town, but it was even nicer to see the boys return home.

As Brandon and I talked we discussed the need for an organized tour of summer festivals.

It seems a natural for the North to have these acts start at one end or the other and weave their way from each festival to the next.

I think with some prodding, the NWT Arts Council could go a long way to promote some homegrown talent by giving them a venue and an achievable goal to shoot for.

Good luck out there on the road, boys, and when you get rich and famous, don't forget where you came from.

The Shipping News

We started something new for the summer Drum this week, with the Report on the Port.

I wanted to call it The Shipping News but there was some legal concern from editors over copyright involving some book and movie by the same name. Imagine.

Each week, I'll be poking around the dock area looking for a vessel with a unique story behind it, so if you've got one, or know of one, give a call and let me know.

The water is a big part of summer life here in the Delta and the vessels that float us all that freight and fun all have a story to tell. And by the way, I conceded the name but no way was I going to trade the cowboy hat for Gilligan's sailor beanie, as one editor suggested.

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum

Seismic company WesternGeco had the foresight to anticipate regulatory delays for their two-dimensional seismic program on the Mackenzie and Liard Rivers. Therefore executives are not enraged or threatening to pull the plug on the project, contrary to the reaction of some companies in the past.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the National Energy Board certainly don't deserve criticism for referring WesternGeco's proposal to environmental assessment. So long as the project is reviewed in a timely fashion, it's always better to be safe than sorry. As environmental assessment officer Joe Acorn said, there are different species of aquatic life in the Mackenzie and Liard Rivers than there are in other bodies of water. There's a good chance the proposed seismic method will prove harmless to fish and other mammals, but at this point it's just a chance. Once it is a proven fact, then the project will merit regulatory approval.

The real difficulty will apparently be soliciting political approval, at least in the Deh Cho. Herb Norwegian, assistant negotiator for the Deh Cho First Nations (DCFN), was unequivocal in expressing opposition to development on the rivers. There's too much at risk, he argued.

The DCFN already has an Interim Measures Agreement in place with the federal government, which offers some level of environmental protection. A buffer zone to safeguard the Deh Cho portion of the rivers is also in the works.

If WesternGeco is, as Steve Whidden suggested, a company that plans to come back year after year, it will have to reach an understanding with the Deh Cho First Nations. Otherwise, the company's plans may take on water.

Welcome to town

With hundreds of people arriving in Fort Simpson Monday and Tuesday for the Dene National Assembly, the sight of people greeting each other warmly has caused more than one observer to remark, "It's like a big family reunion."

That it is. But in addition to the handshakes and hugs, as in any family there are bound to be spats. Some of those disputes be aired by political leaders around the table this week. Two days have been set aside to revise the assembly's constitution and bylaws, hopefully that will go a long way towards keeping the family together.

Digital contributors

In this increasingly high-tech world we live in, the Drum has become the beneficiary of digital photos from various Deh Cho communities. Ruby Jumbo of Trout Lake, Cathy MacAskill and Michael Pealow of Fort Liard, have submitted images from their communities for this week's edition. These contributions are much appreciated and others are always welcome.