After a year-long investigation, the effort by a Southern legal group to reopen the case of Giant Mine bomber Roger Warren has ended.

The Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted has declined to take on the case.

Warren, serving a life sentence without parole eligibility for 20 years on nine counts of second-degree murder, has one legal card remaining.

Section 690 of the Criminal Code is an extraordinary remedy often used in cases where the minister of justice has reason to believe a wrongful conviction may have occurred.

That is almost always based on fresh evidence.

His chances of being granted a Section 690 review are virtually nil.

Warren, who confessed to the crime, was convicted in 1995 of second-degree murder in the Sept. 18, 1992 deaths of strike replacement miners Vern Fullowka, Norm Hourie, Chris Neill, Joe Pandev, Shane Riggs, Robert Rowsell, Arnold Russell, Malcolm Sawler and Dave Vodnoski.

At the crux of Warren's Section 690 application is the argument his confession was coerced.

The Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted has not revealed why they walked away from Warren's case. While they thought the case had merit -- their lawyers travelled to Yellowknife, interviewed Warren in prison and reviewed voluminous case files -- they weren't ready to stake their reputation for helping the innocent on Warren.

We agree the association played an honourable role in looking at Warren's case. As uncomfortable as it may be, the community and the justice system must be open and seen to be open to public scrutiny.

Names of the wrongfully convicted such as David Milgaard, Donald Marshall Jr., Guy Paul Morin and Thomas Sophonow have become household words.

In a case closer to home, Inuvik's Herman Kaglik served more than four years for a sexual assault he did not commit.

Obviously there is a compelling need for the work of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted.

However, the public can now be confident Warren is among the rightfully convicted.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

It will be interesting to hear just how much "community radio" in Rankin Inlet changes now that hamlet council has taken a hands-on approach with the new station.

We're not talking about the actual music programming.

Nor are we talking about its financial management and accountability, which has been called into question in the past.

With all things money related going through the hamlet, that end of the operation should be airtight.

What we're interested in hearing is how the public "chatter" is handled.

Each and every Kivalliq hamlet has been plagued with this concern over community radio for decades.

People phone up, over open public airways, and proceed to put down any person or organization they may have a beef with, legitimate or otherwise.

To date, hamlets have been very lucky.

As every hamlet SAO and financial officer is aware, such personal attacks are open invitations to litigation.

And, such litigation would not be aimed solely at the person spewing their poison over the airwaves.

Lawyers are interested in representing clients who have a case against entities with deep pockets.

In short, whomever has control over a public broadcasting system, no matter how limited in range, also has a responsibility to monitor its content.

Every Kivalliq council, at one time or another, has discussed ways of cleaning up what's being heard on both community-radio airways and citizens-band (CB) radio.

Yet, little has been done to rectify the situation.

People in the Kivalliq are becoming increasingly aware of their rights as individuals.

As such, it's only a matter of time before a municipality finds itself in a courtroom defending against a libel suit that could end up costing tens of thousands of dollars or more.

Having an open public forum such as community radio is not a licence to launch personal attacks or vendettas against other people or organizations.

The damage that can be caused to a person's reputation, family, employment or business interests can be substantial.

Hopefully, once council has settled into its role as station director, it will quickly adopt a policy of zero-tolerance towards those who abuse the privilege of speaking over public airways.

After all, it's not as if the vast majority of those listening don't know who's doing the talking.

Maybe hamlets should look into hiring and training radio monitors.

The move would help get hate mongering off our airwaves, and also create some much-needed employment in our communities.

Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum

There were a lot of tears shed last week at the loss of one of the special people who helped educate this part of the world.

I didn't know Cliff King well, save for a few smiles and handshakes at graduations. I can't help but feel a little cheated by that.

Like several had mentioned at the service, whenever I did meet Cliff, I was struck by that dimpled and devilish grin with those eyes that could see right through your soul.

When I saw that look, I pitied the student who fumbled for excuses about why the homework assignment wasn't done -- you couldn't lie to those eyes.

In this line of work you get into the habit of reading people, and what I read in Cliff was humble, reserved wisdom and a huge sense of humour.

I was moved by the heartfelt stories of this man who was taken too soon, and also by the enormous crowd that came to say goodbye to the friend, the mentor and the educator of hundreds.

He was one of the quiet heroes who make the world a better place without expecting fame or fortune or even a pat on the back.

It's sad to see such a good man go so soon, but it's comforting to know that his inspiration lives on in the many minds he's educated and the many hearts he's touched.

Our thoughts and sincere gratitude go out to Jodie and the boys, who gave up those now precious minutes, hours and days with Cliff, so he could make our world a little brighter and a whole lot smarter.

Fumes and food

I was taken aback Tuesday afternoon when I went out to do this week's Street Beat on the proposed smoking bylaw.

I went to three restaurants at about 3 p.m and five people out of six people were opposed to the new law.

By no means was this a scientific survey, but it did surprise me that people were so opposed to the proposed law. I assumed that even if people were against it, that they'd give me a politically correct answer.

While the Street Beat may not be scientific, it did give me an indication that town hall is going to face some serious opposition to this law.

Minor detail

One of our paper carriers was in the office last week and I noticed he had a pack of cigarettes in his pocket.

I asked him how he gets his smokes and he told me an older friend gets them for him.

It got me thinking about when Hay River was drafting a similar smoking bylaw and one councillor suggested they go further and make it illegal for minors to smoke in public places.

The amendment never made it on the bylaw because some thought it might be a violation of the Human Rights Act under discrimination by age.

I wondered about that at the time and if that's the case, then minors should be allowed to drink as well.

If it's illegal for minors to buy cigarettes, shouldn't it be illegal for them to consume too, just as it is with alcohol?

Perhaps it's something our municipal or territorial government should consider. It's obviously not a priority with the federal government.

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum

Chief Rita Cli is staring down a challenge to her leadership.

Cli voted in favour of an Interim Resource Development Agreement (IRDA) at the leadership assembly in Wrigley last week. The agreement will provide the Deh Cho with a share -- granted, a very modest share -- of resource royalties from the Mackenzie Valley prior to a final self-government agreement. It's unprecedented and it's as far as the federal government is willing to go at this stage.

The DCFN resolution wasn't passed without several amendments, some of which Cli demanded. The Deh Cho wants control over which parcels of land are selected for exploration. The regional leaders also want a full role in environmental monitoring and a fair share of generated revenues. In addition, they have asked for guarantees that consensus among the full Deh Cho leadership will be required to commence an exploration cycle.

Those are significant conditions, ones that would put the balance of power in the hands of the Deh Cho.

By voting to pass the strongly worded resolution, Cli voted in the best interest of her membership and the region as a whole. It is exactly what the other leaders -- each wanting the best for his or her own respective community -- did at the table on that day. Any community or organization that attempts to stand on its own would only be harming itself and the rest of the region. The federal government has consistently demonstrated that it will not bend to the demands of individual communities. Industry has a reputation -- deserved or not -- of trying to divide and conquer, offering less to smaller entities than what it would be forced to concede to a larger, more powerful body.

Why assume those risks? Rita Cli and her fellow leaders did the right thing.

Quite an achievement

Congratulations to Dene Fur Clouds for its international exposure on runways in Paris last month. The Pret a Porter show is to fashion what the Indy 500 is to auto racing or the Cannes film festival is to movies. It's big.

If managed properly, there appears to be a bright future for the small, grassroots business. At the same time, the parallels with its Fort Simpson cousin, Nats'enelu, are hard to overlook. Nats'enelu was flying high until the departure of manager and chief designer D'Arcy Moses, an integral figure. Dene Fur Clouds needs a contingency plan in case it too loses a key player.

Give us a break

The federal government must get the message on the passport issue. Northerners are being subjected to a completely unreasonable national standard. Passport photos are repeatedly being rejected because of traces of shadow. Stories are emerging from all over the NWT of people who have had to devote extra time and money to have their photos re-done at a distant centre.

There's a theory among media that for every person who speaks out on an issue, there are probably another 10 people who have experienced the same thing. It doesn't always hold true, but this appears to be a case where it could very well apply.

It has to stop.