There are certain people who spend time at the North Slave Correctional Centre. Some have been convicted of crime; still others are waiting for a court date to prove their innocence.

That waiting is called being in "remand." From Yellowknifer's Nov. 26 story "Life on the inside," we learned that inmates in remand can end up waiting 12 months or more before they get to face their fate: freedom or more time in jail.

In Canada's justice system, you are innocent until proved guilty. There is an expectation, too, that while justice may not be swift, it will not be unreasonably slow.

We think a year or two to wait for a judgement of guilt or innocence is far too long.

Remand time is great for the guilty because they are generously credited two days off their sentence for every day served on remand. Those found not guilty have just burned a year of their life.

Judges must take tougher control of their courtrooms. There's too much shilly-shallying as prosecuting and defence lawyers fumble through excuses to delay trial dates: more time to be prepared, it's not convenient that day, I forgot to wash my briefs ...

Time's a wastin'. So are the lives of innocent people behind bars.

According to the inmates in remand awaiting their trials, there's little to do except watch TV and play cards. Well, we checked with the territorial ministry of justice. They say even remand inmates get access to certain services: an on-site elder, an on-site psychologist, alcoholics and/or narcotics anonymous peer groups, access to education programs and a teacher to help them through the courses.

We are told remand inmates are "made aware" of these programs, but the inmate has to choose to participate.

These people could be a year and more behind bars. We suggest inmates in remand might take a grip on their lives and seek out these programs. It's one thing to complain, it's another to take charge of the situation. It's not up to correctional staff to be babysitters.

Having said that, even though persons in remand are in a waiting game for a certain trial date, reminding inmates of these programs will help spark these people to want to do more with their lives than wait for the court system to decide their future.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

In all fairness to Ron Dewar, the executive director of Kivalliq Partners in Development in Rankin Inlet, he only said he'd look into the agency's policy on day care funding -- he never said he'd actually tell anybody what that policy is.

Dewar has not seen fit to return numerous calls to his office from Kivalliq News regarding the policy.

The Kataujaq Society, which runs a day care in Rankin, claims it can't access funding because it has white board members.

It never ceases to amaze me how the blatant disregard for the public's right to know continues to exist in Nunavut without inciting the wrath of everyday citizens.

The Kataujaq Society claims the policy is a form of racism and we tend to agree.

If parents are being denied funding that would make it easier for them to have their children in day care while they work for a living, we want to know why.

We also want to know what gives Kivalliq Partners the authority to place racial stipulations on funding that involves local kids.

Since we're not getting any answers at the local or regional level, the next stop is Ottawa.

The money being funnelled through Kivalliq Partners may have picked up a few fancy names along the way, such as Human Resources Development funding through strategic partnerships and the Labour Market Fund, but it started out as tax dollars paid by millions of Canadians.

Unless something has changed, the feds are still accountable for how our tax dollars are spent.

And if there are areas where the colour of a person's skin is the determining factor on whether an organization can access that money, I want to understand the reasoning behind it.

If there are no answers forthcoming, then let's implement these "policies" right across the board.

Fair is fair

Why should working parents be the only ones discriminated against?

Let's start denying minor hockey associations funding if they have any white coaches.

In fact, all sporting veins should be barred access -- wrestling, badminton, basketball, etc. -- if any of their coaches are white.

And do we really want our Girl Guides being instructed by white leaders?

Dangerous precedent

What if the federal government decided tomorrow, no more transfer payments to Nunavut until the territorial government meets its self-imposed quota of 85 per cent Inuit employees.

Could you imagine the outcry?

But that's probably an unfair argument, since we're only dealing with a handful of parents here.

If this "policy" truly exists, it is a dangerous one. It's the type of "policy" that fuels ill-will between people.

And, most importantly, it is the type of "policy" the government should move quickly to eradicate.

Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum

The inane CBC contest to determine the "Greatest Canadian" has finally, and thankfully, come to a close. Interesting that while our health care system lies in a precarious state, viewers voted Tommy Douglas -- "father of Medicare" -- to the top of the heap.

Those searching for some kind of redeeming quality for the entire charade -- as noted by Douglas proponent George Stroumboulopoulos of MuchMusic fame -- could point out that before the contest probably not too many people in the country even knew who the guy was.

On the flip side, those searching for an excuse to criticize the exercise don't have to look very far.

No women were included in the top-ten and there was no representation from the Aboriginal community, either. An explanation for the first is perhaps that women are too sensible to take part in such a contest (keep in mind rock'em sock'em Don Cherry did make the top ten).

Reasons for the latter are probably a combination of the fact most Canadians don't know much of the history of our First Nations and the likely possibility that most aboriginal people couldn't give a toss about participating in a somewhat exclusive popularity contest.

Canada has only been in existence since 1867 and arguably the best-known candidate of aboriginal descent - Louis Riel - was executed less than 20 years later by the government, which was led by "Greatest Canadian" number eight, Sir John A. Macdonald. Incidentally, Sir John placed below Don Cherry.

But enough about the Greatest Canadian, or lack thereof. We have bigger things to be concerned about, such as pipeline or no pipeline, President George Bush igniting a new arms race, very nearly right over our heads with his missile defence scheme, and getting our community's homeless people sheltered for the coming winter.

Maybe CBC North should do a series called The Greatest Problem Facing the NWT. Certain to be a hit, we could start the betting now as to where Herb Norwegian and the pipeline woes would fall, compared with a lack of affordable housing, lack of skilled Northerners to take advantage of coming and available jobs, and the lack of money to pay for it all. And we haven't even touched on substance abuse and other social problems.

Pipeline proponents go on about the bounty to be had with the project -- which is becoming more tentative each passing moment with Bush back in the White House and itching to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The politicians tell us we need a better revenue-sharing agreement to really tap into the treasure.

It's strange that supposedly there's all this money out there at the end of some tubular steel rainbow and in the meantime, plenty of bucks to buy fancy swimming pools and build hotels here and there, yet Samuel Hearne secondary school still doesn't have a foyer roof, let alone a functioning library.

Yes, we've got a lot of problems and since so many tuned in to The Greatest Canadian, maybe a boob-tube series highlighting what ails this territory and region might tune some others in -- particularly those with the power to make changes -- to take care of business.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

Fort Simpson's mayor is ready to stick it to Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA).

If council passes a budget forecasting a three-quarter million dollar shortfall, there's no way the community is going to recover that deficit by the next fiscal year as stipulated in MACA's regulations.

Mayor Raymond Michaud is making a stand. He said he's aware that if the municipality gets mired in deep financial trouble it could eventually mean that he and council will be relieved and MACA will appoint an administrator to take over on an interim basis. It has happened in other NWT communities.

But what else is he to do? The department has been cutting and slashing away at the village's budget over the past few years. How can the village not feel the pinch with the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars?

Several ministers have been told repeatedly that the department's funding formula simply doesn't work for Fort Simpson, a tax-based community of only 1,200 and precious little tax revenue.

The point was lost on some ministers. Others seemed sympathetic, but sympathy doesn't pay the bills. MACA has failed to do anything significant about the overall situation. Sure, the department has periodically come through with extra dollars that weren't initially projected in the budget -- that has helped and it may happen again next year.

However, in the bigger picture, MACA has only committed to a comprehensive study of its entire funding formula, an analysis that's going to take at least another year, if not longer. There's no guarantee that Fort Simpson is going to come out any farther ahead at the end.

It's true that council didn't do itself any favours by accumulating a substantial surplus last year. That restraint has helped keep the ship afloat this year, but it seems inevitable that from this point forward the municipality will take on more water than it can bail.

The mayor is steadfastly refusing to raise taxes or water rates. Such measures would generate more revenue, but Fort Simpson residents already pay an ample amount for those things.

The village must assume guilt for not instituting and enforcing user fees in certain situations -- the community hall rental is often waived for "good causes." But even if council took a hard line on that, to what end would it serve? Non-profit groups would suffer and the profit generated for the municipality would be modest at best. There may be work to do on that front, but it's not the answer to this problem.

Council is looking at returning to hamlet status as refuge from the budget crunch, but even that option isn't a sure thing. A study will spell out the details in a few weeks, but MACA may not permit the unprecedented move of having a community take a step down in status.

The mayor is ready to fight. Are you ready to support him?

The John T. Ryan Safety trophy presented to Diavik Diamond Mines this year is given out in commemoration of the founder of Mine Safety Appliances Canada Ltd. through the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum. Winner is chosen by a committee of mine inspectors and mining association representatives. Misleading information was printed in Yellowknifer, Dec. 1, ("NWT diamond mines have sparkling safety records").