Raising taxes should always be a last resort for town councils, so when Hay River increases taxes and ends up with $1.3 million in the bank, it's time to ask why.

The town will say this year's mill rate increase was necessary because during budgeting, it looked like more money was necessary.

A recent audit of the town's finances, however, paints a different picture. Hay River council has $1.3 million in its operating reserve, nearly double what it needs according to town bylaws.

Hay River saved $773,000 because it didn't have to pay to run a pool last year. It also increased revenue from higher dump tipping fees and did not have to pay wages on jobs that went unfilled.

It can't count on that this year, but it's clear the town is in great financial shape.

Coun. Dean McMeekin has proposed a rebate, but that would only put $5 or $10 back in people's hands, so it's a token gesture in the months before the October municipal election.

Better would be an explanation to taxpayers about why the increase was needed, and a promise that the money won't be spent on extravagant projects. Use it to pay down a debt or reduce any future tax increase.

This is also a very good reason for Hay River residents, indeed everyone who lives in tax-based communities, to pay attention and speak up when council is preparing its budget for the coming year.

The proposed Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline is a project as big as the North.

There's so much at stake that we have to do it right, so let's not be too critical of the Joint Review Panel looking into environmental and social effects of the proposed natural gas pipeline.

Last week, the panel announced it was adding four months to its hearing schedule in order to listen to more presentations and questions. The pipeline will change the Mackenzie Valley forever, not just because of the pipe, but because of the exploration up and down the valley that will result.

Companies are preparing to invest at least $7.5 billion to build it. Every delay only adds to the cost.

Imperial Oil, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, NWT Construction Association and NWT Chamber of Commerce have expressed concern about the hearing extension, NWT chamber president Sean MacGillivray calls it "intolerable."

Whether or not the extension is justified is now in the hands of the panel.

It had better not turn into bureaucratic quicksand surrounded by a red tape jungle.

The panel must take the time it needs to do the job right, but not one more day than necessary.

Inuit Sign Language is a real form of communication, but just as real are the budget troubles that face Nunavut.

But lack of money doesn't mean the territory should stop short of giving sign language the recognition it deserves.

In Iqaluit last week, people with hearing disabilities gathered to discuss their challenges and achievements and raise the status of sign language in Nunavut. Developed out of necessity, Inuit Sign Language is used throughout the territory, likely based upon gestures used by hunters during generations spent on the land.

It should be included in the Inuit Language Protection Act because it's a version of Inuktitut and is unique to our territory.

That will mean Inuit Sign Language interpreters will have to be trained and standards established.

Nunavut needs millions more dollars to shore up Inuktitut, and that money must come from the federal government.

Ottawa has established Nunavut as an Inuit territory that is unique from the rest of Canada.

Part of what makes us unique is language and the federal government must come through with enough money to make that happen.

Let's just hope it doesn't take a human rights lawsuit to make it happen.

Almost every week, there's a story in Nunavut News/North about youth doing something spectacular.

Last week, two youth were featured.

One was a happy story about Jesse Fraser of Sanikiluaq making a splash on national television.

The other was a tragic tale of 20-year-old James Aqpik who died at a lake near Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. Aqpik, of Kimmirut, was volunteering at a summer arts camp through Northern Youth Abroad.

Aqpik's loss will be felt keenly among his family and friends, and by all of Nunavut.

His potential, and what he could have done for his community and this territory will go unrealized. We join in mourning his loss.

In Fraser, 16, we have another exemplary young person who remains grounded at home and misses being away from Sanikiluaq. Yet that hasn't stopped her from hosting The Link. The Aboriginal People's Television Network show aims to connect aboriginal youth across the country.

This is Fraser's second time on television, the first coming in July 2005.

We wish Fraser well and wonder what's next for this industrious, talented teen.

Editorial Comment
Andrew Raven
Kivalliq News

There is no doubt the killing of two baby muskoxen last week by wildlife officers is visually unsettling.

The tiny calves, who were nursed back to health by prospectors at a mining camp west of Rankin Inlet, were blindfolded, marched to the end of a remote runway and shot in the head.

But the Sopranos-eque ending was the only humane solution to a problem that appears to have begun when workers at the Ferguson Lake camp forgot the meaning of "wild."

Wildlife officers allege the prospectors took the animals - which appear to have been abandoned, though wardens don't know why - under their wing about two months ago. The animals were being fed by camp workers until July 14 when two wildlife officers flew to Ferguson Lake to carry out the death order.

Their herd long gone and their mothers milkless, the muskoxen were candidates for predation or starvation and not much else. That made the bullet the most humane solution to two lives that should have ended on the ice-covered Ferguson Lake two months ago.

The fact that a baby muskoxen was saved from the tundra outside Cambridge Bay last year could have given the prospectors false hope. That calf, named Chance, was nourished by airline workers, flown to Yellowknife - where he was hooked up to an intravenous line - and relocated to a game preserve outside Whitehorse.

While Chance's ordeal grabbed headlines across the country, it underscored how hard it is to relocate wild animals; Chance died of apparent liver failure before reaching his first birthday.

This reporter spent a half-hour with Chance in the office of a Yellowknife veterinarian while the 25-kilogram fluff ball rested, awaiting his transfer to the Yukon.

For most of that time, he stood against the back of his cage, his tiny knees awkwardly angled inward.

There was no doubting his cuteness. But that should not make people oblivious the harsh realities of nature. Even in Nunavut, it seems, people forget what a cruel place the tundra can be.

The government should not have to pay for an airplane charter - much less a full-scale relocation - just because these muskoxen tugged on a few heart strings.

Nunavut is better off spending money on its human inhabitants, who trail the rest of Canadians in most social markers.

To borrow a phrase, the lives of muskoxen are nasty, brutish and often short. Such is nature. No matter how well-intentioned people might be, there is no way around it.

The regular editor of the Kivalliq News, Darrell Greer, is back in the saddle this week. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone in the Kivalliq for their hospitality and helpfulness during the last six weeks. Qujjannamiik.

Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik Drum

Kevin Campbell learned a hard lesson this week when his motor bike was not returned to him immediately after it was recovered by Inuvik RCMP officers.

Campbell got the short end of the stick alright, but the whole situation could have been avoided if he wrote down the serial number on this property.

Once the RCMP recovered the mini-bike, it was their job to ensure the property was returned to its rightful owner. While Campbell was sure the bike was his, he could not prove it.

This is something that we should all be accountable for. If you are willing to pay the cash for big ticket items that are easily moved like the bike, you should also be able to prove it's yours.

Sid Gray was right; his detachment was following protocols by holding the bike until they could verify that it was indeed his.

Although their tactics may seem outdrawn, the RCMP are here in the community to prevent crimes like theft.

Campbell said the RCMP are only out patrolling the streets during bar close, which is from 1 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. nightly.

I see them out on the streets at that time too, going up and down Mackenzie Road, waiting outside the bar to monitor the activities of bar hoppers.

I agree with Campbell that we should see more street patrols because it would deter mischief by the youth and remind us all that the Mounties are on the job.

Remember, these officers are the main law enforcement we have here, so we should let them know how we feel about their service, good or bad.

Another big topic is health care for students who are travelling south for schooling this fall.

Apparently, if you are a student, and do not follow the correct procedures, you could find yourself in a world of trouble if you need health coverage in the southern provinces.

While attending school, you may feel the urge to try out new things and be outgoing. Activities like snowboarding and ski vacations are all to common for students in the south, and why not? I mean, who doesn't want to fly down a tree-riddled hill at ridiculous speeds?

One of those class outings can end badly though, especially if you don't know how to properly downhill ski. You could end up in a cast and without health care, the costs would come out of your pocket.

Now, being someone who hasn't had to deal with the issue of health care outside the Territories, I'm quite new at this whole process. But I do see the importance of being prepared.

So, if you plan on going south, be sure to have your paperwork in order. And be safe while trying to ski down the double black diamond slope backwards, trying to impress that hot ski instructor.

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum

One of the hidden secrets of the North, particularly the Deh Cho, seems to be the summers.

In the south, most of the knowledge around everything north of 60 is focused on the winters and the extreme temperatures that come with them. Seldom do you hear anyone mention that the summer temperatures can rival those of the south.

The reason for this may be because the people from the south who make it this far are so traumatized by insects that they forget everything else by the time they return home. This may sound a bit far-fetched but there may be some merit to the hypothesis.

Although bad spells seem to come and go, on most days you can head out your front door, walk a few metres and immediately pick up your own orbiting system of insects. Mosquitoes will buzz around your head followed by masses of tiny blackflies while bulldogs lumber in erratic patterns. If you happen to be safe within the comfort of a vehicle, you can see the swarms tagging along around people on foot.

If you think things are bad, at least you can take some comfort that you don't live in Nahanni Butte. Reports coming out of the community state that this has been the worst year many people have seen for insects. Early flooding left plenty of wet areas for bugs to take advantage of in their drive to reproduce.

But at least as humans we have some escape measures. We can hide inside, put on plenty of bug spray, wear bug jackets, make smoky fires or go high-tech with a bug zapper. You can almost take pity on the bison that had to be destroyed in Fort Providence. With so many insects trying to get a piece of them and no free hands to use for swatting, it's no wonder they took to the sandy playground for dust bath relief and didn't want to leave.

If anyone ever tells you that you are too small to make a difference, you only need to look as far as mosquitoes and blackflies to know it isn't true.

Weighing in at 1/25,000 of an ounce and only about half an inch long, mosquitoes hardly seem big enough to matter. Yet around the world, mosquito-borne diseases kill more people than any other single factor. In the North, at least, all we have to deal with are the itchy red bites.

One thing mosquitoes have going for them are their numbers. There are more than 2,500 species around the world. A single female can lay more than 200 eggs at a time and can average 1,000 to 3,000 eggs in a lifetime. Eggs only need four to seven days to reach adulthood and mosquitoes live for approximately two more weeks. If mosquitoes are bad, blackflies can be even worse in some ways.

There are more blackfly species in Canada than mosquitos with more than 100 recorded. Blackflies also have an annoying predilection for biting inaccessible places such as ankles and belt lines, leaving small, bloody welts.

But between all this swatting and complaining, there is one silver lining. At least the insects act as a sifting measure, leaving the Deh Cho summer to be enjoyed by the few and the hardy.