We hope the release of the Auditor General's report makes clear to Canadians just how much money the federal government has wasted on the Firearms Act.

Auditor General Sheila Fraser released the report last Tuesday. It delved into the costs associated with the gun registry and harshly criticized the federal Department of Justice for not making public their obscene overspending.

This means officials at the Canadian Firearms Centre and their supporters at the justice ministry are no longer able to conceal the nearly $1 billion they've frittered away.

Fraser's report is long overdue. When Bill C-68 came into law in 1995, then Justice Minister Allan Rock promised the new law would cost no more than $119 million and promised revenue of $117 million. Though the act met hostile opposition across the country, Rock reassured Canadians we needed the laws if we were to be safe in our beds at night.

Besides, purred Rock, it's a small price to pay for our safety.

Seven years and several million dollars later, with Martin Cauchon now at the helm of justice, federal government officials figure they've spent 10 times that amount. A bean-counter with the Treasury Board Secretariat said by the end of the fiscal year, the government will have spent $810.8 million on the program. Estimates show that another $200 million will be spent over the next two years.

That makes the $1 billion price tag nearly double the amount of money the entire territory of Nunavut receives from the federal government for its annual operating budget.

Furthermore, after dropping $1 billion, Canadians are no safer than we were in 1995. Despite the words of government officials who claim the cost is worth the increase in crime prevention, people in every territory and province continue to die of gun shot wounds at an increasingly alarming rate.

And yet, as disgraceful as the spending is, the stupidity of the situation just won't end. Let's turn to Nunavut for a prime example. In Canada's newest territory, a large number of gun owners have not even acquired their possession certificates -- that deadline passed two years ago. Officials at the Canadian Firearms Centre closed Nunavut's area office in February. For one reason or another, the office remains closed nearly 11 months later. The absence of local service caused delays for Nunavummiut who tried to comply with the law. These delays then forced many hunters to buy bullets to harvest animals illegally to feed their families.

Essentially, the federal government forced people trying to obey the law to break the law.

Cauchon has now asked for the firearms registration deadline to be extended by six months. The grace period means fewer Inuit will have to break the law to eat this winter, but we hope Fraser is listening as Cauchon flushes even more tax dollars away.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

Louis Taparti and everyone involved with the Building a Bridge for Change workshop in Rankin Inlet this past week are to be commended for their efforts.

The community should also acknowledge the good judgment exhibited by hamlet council in footing half the bill to bring the workshop to Rankin.

Technically speaking, many people may not be aware council is under no municipal responsibility to provide funding for such programs.

Councillors voted to do so out of their concern for the youth of our community.

And, for that, they are to be applauded.

When it comes to suicide, high risk kids are certainly not indigenous to the North.

However, there can be no denying a serious problem exists with troubled kids in our territory.

Opening the lines of communication between adults, elders and youth is a positive step in the right direction of addressing that problem.

Adults can sometimes lose sight of the fact youth have their own particular set of needs that must be met.

Often at the top of that list is the need to belong, to fit in, to feel part of something.

Conversely, many teens also lose sight of the fact their parents really do have their best interests at heart.

Hence, the walls go up and the lines of communication are broken.

It came as no surprise to hear Taparti speak of some people at the workshop being offended by what they saw during role-playing exercises.

When the lines of effective communication are severed, we only see ourselves as the people we believe ourselves to be.

That's true of any age, once the first moves toward independence begin.

Programs which effectively open lines of communication, and help develop our abilities to see both sides of most situations, are valuable tools in building trust and better understanding between age groups.

As Taparti noted, the workshop was a positive first step which must be followed up on to be truly effective.

Elders in classrooms, open discussion groups and family counselling are all proven ways of creating an environment where youth can learn from life experiences.

But, the interaction must be a two-way street.

The honest exchange of opinions and ideas in an equal environment -- without the fear of retribution for speaking one's mind -- is a strong foundation for growth, knowledge, understanding, tolerance and belonging.

Not surprising, considering it's the same foundation on which this great nation of ours was built.

Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum

While one warm year -- or even 21 years -- do not make for scientific fact in the geological scheme of things, it certainly does make us take notice that this theory may be our new reality.

What scientists have warned about for the past 20 years is finding more and more evidence that the greenhouse effect is upon us and we must act to correct, or at best delay it.

That is not to say I agree with what the prime minister is about to do with Kyoto.

Ratification of the Kyoto Protocol should have begun years ago, but it sat on a shelf for seven years, until Jean Chretien decided he needed something to be remembered by.

Chretien has frittered away his time in office riding the wave of economic prosperity generated by the United States and hasn't done much memorable, other than bring in firearms registration and his broken promise to dismantle the GST.

He'll never be remembered as the beloved statesman and leader that his mentor, Pierre Trudeau was, so Chretien was scrambling to find something for historians to scribble.

He dusted-off Kyoto and will ram it down our throats in the name of his vanity, not because he's genuinely concerned about global warming, otherwise he'd have ratified and implemented the Accord years ago.

If he were concerned for the provinces and territories, the energy producers or their shareholders, Chretien would hold off implementation until at least they had a plan in place. But he's not. Chretien's arrogance surpasses all that.

He doesn't need votes or campaign contributions, so why should he care about the Liberal party once again alienating the west and the energy companies?

Certainly the theory of global warming is rapidly becoming a reality, but we can't solve a 300-year-old problem with a 30-day plan -- especially when the reasons for doing so are so blatantly self-serving.

So long, Sol

If you're leafing through these pages in search of the Sun Watch, you'll notice something different. The sun went down yesterday for the last time this year.

This is the time of year when Northerners huddle together in coffee klatches and card games, in an effort to prop each other up through the dim season, but also to catch up on the days that slipped away.

The darkness can bring on depression, but it can also give us an excuse to get out and visit our friends and family that we just couldn't find time for during the busy days of summer.

As any artist will tell you, you need the dark to show the light, so go out and shine your light, to help cheer your friends and family through the next month of dark days

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum

The Deh Cho First Nations has served notice that it hasn't forgotten about a promised Deh Cho land and water panel, even if the federal government has.

The Interim Measures Agreement, signed in May, 2001, clearly sets out that such a panel would be established.

The federal government hasn't had a chance to respond, so it's best not to speculate why the panel hasn't become a reality.

The Deh Cho's tactic of rejecting all land-use and water permit applications should be enough to raise some eyebrows in boardrooms and federal offices, though. It's a step the Deh Cho can afford to take at this juncture. Although a regional economic corporation is being created, it's still in the structural stage. It's not yet actively seeking contracts.

The Kaa Dule United Corporation, on the other hand, has already made such a plunge. Established hastily by political bodies in four communities in October, the Kaa Dule United Corporation's mandate is to get a share of preliminary Mackenzie Valley pipeline work. There are also other First Nations who have waded into their own oil- and gas-related joint ventures. So the DCFN's attempt to sabotage land-use and water permit applications could have ramifications for its own membership.

The unknown factors are: a) how long will the DCFN have to employ such a strategy; and b) will the move effectively grind all applications to a halt?

There are other questions that also remain to be answered. Granted some wrinkles can be expected in the early going, as with any new body, but will a Deh Cho land and water panel be able to meet the demand created by so many applications?

What happens when the land and water panel makes a decision that's contrary to what a community wants? For example, if a project is proposed near Fort Providence -- and the community's leaders are in favour -- would the panel dare put restrictions on the project that would make it unfeasible? If so, what sort of fallout could we expect?

This is not to say that a Deh Cho land and water panel would be a step backwards from the Mackenzie Land and Water Board. It simply means entering into the unknown.

If capacity building is going to occur in earnest, which is a primary purpose of self-government, then a land and water panel is a step that needs to be taken.

Tropical winter

The warm Pacific air mass that pushed into the Deh Cho last week coupled with a chinook made for a couple unbelievably balmy days. When the snow began to melt, municipal employees in Fort Simpson made the most of the opportunity by shaving the roads and dispersing sand for traction. By all reports, roads were tended to in equally expeditious fashion in Fort Liard and Fort Providence, preventing accidents.

We should doff our caps to the road crews for their swift response and good work