MLAs skip work was the headline (News/North July 3). The story listed the worst attendance records in the legislative assembly and at committee meetings.

Tu Nedhe MLA Bobby Villeneuve topped the truancy list with 34 days.

Aside from public exposure, MLAs are held accountable only on election day, which raises the question: What good are they?

Sadly, ordinary MLAs acting as individuals have no more power to change government policy than do ordinary Northerners. Cabinet decides.

There are committee meetings where ministers can be put on the spot, but as MLAs only have themselves and ministers have an army of bureaucrats to back them, little in the way of scrutiny occurs.

Behaviour is a factor in governing. After the departure of Henry Zoe and Roger Allen, we give the Handley government top marks for being clean and healthy, at least so far as we know. Marks on other subjects go down from there.

Day care is a territory-wide problem yet Minister Charles Dent can only insist all is as it should be until the federal government does something. He's equally weak in education and we doubt he will do much with the dysfunction in the WCB. The problem of well-heeled seniors getting free housing didn't even move him.

Cutting and polishing diamonds could be a flourishing industry from Fort Smith to Tsiigehtchic, but Industry Minister Brendan Bell has bought into the diamond industry line that these aren't Northern diamonds. There is little hope for growth in that sector and less confidence Bell's got the backbone to deal with multi-national companies.

Health Minister Michael Miltenberger is managing to keep the health system out of critical condition so he looks pretty good compared to his colleagues.

Same goes for Finance Minister Floyd Roland. The books are well kept with the help of finance bureaucrats and all he has to do in response to funding requests is pull his empty pockets out and blame the feds.

Premier Joe Handley continues to make friends with prime ministers and premiers, but devolution and royalty resource sharing are no further ahead than 10 years ago.

The ministers who have actually accomplished something are Michael McLeod in his role as Minister of Transportation and Housing Minister David Krutko.

McLeod moved swiftly when labour problems threatened to beach the ferries crossing the Liard and Mackenzie rivers last fall.

Krutko can be credited for doing a deal with oil companies to get their worker camps turned into affordable housing. The scheme may fall flat on its face as some predict, but we stand by any minister of this government taking real action to fix the biggest problems of the day.

MLAs are elected to lead and cabinet is supposed to be the best of the best. The public is still waiting for the leadership.

Youth in the Kitikmeot are learning that there are a lot of options for future work.

A group of 15 teenagers found that out when they got a free course on carpentry and welding through Miramar Mining corporation. The idea is to expose youth to career opportunities in the mining industry.

In the summer of 2005, Miramar and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association sent 16 high school students to Yellowknife for a five-day welding and carpentry course so this is not a one shot deal. It's a great approach, and one other companies should implement. One-third of Nunavummiut are under the age of 15, which could be a significant workforce for companies operating in Nunavut and competing with the rest of the country for tradespeople.

The agreements between companies and Inuit associations are great, but private industry has a huge stake in getting trained workers and should be leading the way, just as Miramar is.

A cheer can go out to a successful Alianait festival. In its second year, the event attracted large crowds in Iqaluit.

But by always holding it in Iqaluit, the festival, which seems to have teamed up with the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Festival, faces a daunting task: making sure it is a territory-wide one and not an Iqaluit-centred event. Art has turned into an industry in Nunavut, bringing in more than $30 million to the economy.

One out of seven Nunavummiut considers themselves artists of some sort.

Some can supplement their earnings by up to $30,000.

The festival has to make sure it gets the artists into Iqaluit to showcase their work and livelihood.

And the government has to see this as an opportunity as well.

Inciting residents from the communities to fork over a couple thousand dollars to visit Iqaluit for this festival will also be a challenge.

But organizers will have to ensure the whole territory feels this festival is theirs, and not another Iqaluit event that says it represents the territory, but in fact doesn't.

Editorial Comment
Andrew Raven
Kivalliq News

You would think that if there was one place in Canada where the long tentacles of southern bean-counters could not reach, it would be the tundra outside Rankin Inlet.

Well, news last week that a local friendship centre can't take teenagers hunting because of hold-ups with its insurance proves not even Inuit traditions are immune from the bottom line.

"It is frustrating," Pierre Kolit told Kivalliq News. The 48-year-old Rankin resident, who works at the Pulaarvik Kablu centre, has battled blizzards, waves and polio, but can't overcome the numbers game.

While Kolit waits for an insurance quote, the on-the-land program has been shelved. That leaves a half-dozen youth twiddling their thumbs and watching television, the thinning connection to their Inuit heritage slipping away with each episode of the Simple Life.

It looks, for now, like insurance companies are doing what even the best federal government colonialists could not: keeping Inuit from the land.

Who knows how much the insurance will cost in the end. But it's mind-blowing to consider that Inuit need the go-ahead from southern actuaries before they can pass on their traditions. And while those actuaries are likely decent folk, I doubt the "value of culture" or the "spirit of a people" are variables in their equations.

The most frustrating part: there's really no-one to blame. Insurance is everywhere, because, well, it makes good sense. After all, if one gawky teenager mistakenly blows off a toe, whose going to cover the medevac to Edmonton?

So what's the solution - aside from tossing off the shackles and making a beeline for the tundra?

A Nunavut-wide, government sponsored, on-the-land insurance policy might be one answer. After all, officials are looking to spend millions on a cultural school to re-enforce traditional skills. Is there a better way to loosen the death grip of Western consumer culture than a program that gets teens onto the land?

Kolik was bang-on when he said the Inuit way of life is dangerous; the Kivalliq can be an unforgiving place. Few areas on the planet can boast killer waves, torrential winds, monster blizzards and polar bears.

This will never be a ramp-crossed, motorized wheelchair-filled West Palm Beach retirement hotspot.

This is Nunavut, one of the last great frontiers on the planet. Here's hoping we're not so coddled that we forget that.

Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik Drum

A lot of us have been hurt by others in the past. Some of us have been affected by family members or friends.

Either way, when someone is hurt by another person, it is a breach of trust.

Trust is an important part of any relationship, whether you have been shunned by your peers or abused by a loved one.

Without a solid foundation of trust, no one can really be relaxed or truly happy.

For a lot of people in this region, relationships with strangers were forced when they were told to leave their homes and gather in the dogmatic education centres that were residential schools.

Schools like this were integral to the assimilation of aboriginal languages and culture in the region.

Fortunately, as hard as they tried, the strength and perseverance of the aboriginal people stayed true.

Children were sent from their homes to live in new communities with strange new people who didn't speak their language.

I cannot imagine the discomfort of being yanked from your mother or separated from a brother or sister for many years on end.

Some were sexually abused during their stay at these schools - by people they were told to trust. People who were supposed to be of a holy nature.

Unspeakable acts were performed and kept silent for years as young children grew into adults - not sure of who to trust or what to believe.

During the reunion here in Inuvik, a man spoke of his abuser, and how he endured his attacks and harassment for years before being set free from the walls of the institution he grew to hate.

Many years later, this man grew into a successful member of our society with the help of his peers and professional assistance.

This man became a guard at a prison here in the Territories, and through karma, was put in the face of his aggressor from years past.

But now, the tables had turned, and the man who once stood tall above the victim was now on his knees.

Let it be known that his retribution was quick, and the man was beaten for his hateful crimes that he performed under the cross.

But now, after years of counselling and healing, our abused friend finds himself still feeling empty.

Maybe beating up his abuser felt good, but it didn't last. The man now says he feels like it didn't help, and he might even feel worse for stooping to a new low.

While I don't think that two wrongs make a right, I still feel for the victim inside him, and how he must have waited for that day since the first time he felt afraid of adults.

The time of sexual abuse has left our society, and it's a damn good thing that we have people who can organize reunions like this one, so people who want to share their experiences with others can do so.

I hope you all found what you were looking for here, and will take that new strength home with you.

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum

Established in 1976, the Nahanni National Park Reserve occupies 4,766-square kilometres of land in the southwest corner of the territories.

Inside the park you will find the South Nahanni River, Virginia Falls, sulphur hot springs, alpine tundra, mountain ranges and forests of spruce and aspen.

The park reserve was named the first United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) site in the world in 1978.

Throw in a few more descriptive words about the beauty of the park and the falls and this could be something found in a tourist book luring people to the North. What would be absent from such a publication, is a rundown of the issues that are swirling around the park and its proposed expansion.

There are more sides to the issues surrounding the park than there are surfaces on a geodesic dome. It is almost impossible to keep all the factions straight.

On one side there is Parks Canada which has had a mandate since 1987 to expand the park. Although there are no boundaries proposed yet, the study area that has been examined is 39,842-square kilometres spread over the Deh Cho and the Sahtu.

The primary reason given for the expansion is the need to protect the entire watershed of the South Nahanni River.

On another side are those who are concerned that an expanded park will shut off valuable mineral, gas and oil resources from future development. Vocal on this position is Senator Nick Sibbeston.

There is also the side populated by everyday people from different backgrounds who would all like to see the watershed protected. Many of these people speak out vehemently against the existence of the Prairie Creek mine within the possible boundary limits.

Prairie Creek mine and its supporters get to inhabit a side all of their own.

Then there are the often maligned tourists who come to visit the park and canoe down the Nahanni. If they are from southern Canada most of them would probably give their eye teeth to have an expanded park like Nahanni close by.

There are also a lot of people who are milling around in the middle without a particular view or with views that are made up of bits and pieces from different factions that may or may not be able to co-exist.

Of course there are many other factions - too numerous to mention -many more may be formed in the near future.

If the animals inhabiting the park and the greater Nahanni ecosystem knew about all the people arguing and contemplating the future of their home they might decide to wait out the battle elsewhere.

The question at hand is, what do people want more and who has the greater pull?

On the conservation side many point out that a bottle of clean water costs more in the store than the same amount of gasoline.

On the development side, people stress that the economic future of the area could be stunted by a larger park and the resources it would put out of reach.

All sides have their points.

The one assurance in this whole conundrum is that no matter what the final decision, the process will be watched carefully by many.

An editing error appeared in the July 10 edition of News/North. In the article "Teacher ordered to pay back $16,000," Suzanne Williamson's name was spelled incorrectly. Also, the Financial Management Board Secretariat is contesting wages for Williamson's parental leave. News/North apologizes for any confusion or embarrassment the errors may have cause.