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The City of Yellowknife has no business building and subsidizing homes for the rich.

Yet that's what's happening in Phase VII of the Niven Lake subdivision. City council last week narrowly voted in favour of a 12 per cent break on development for new homes in Niven Lake. Mayor Gord Van Tighem cast the deciding vote.

That will surely be viewed as a nice perk for those who have the means to purchase the houses, many of which will be worth upwards of $400,000.

The city's interference is, in essence, controlling the market.

With the subsidy in place, we don't know what the market would actually bear.

Anyone who looks at real estate listings in our city can see that the majority of homes currently available are already in the lofty $400,000-plus range. Only a fraction of citizens can afford such high prices.

If the city insists on being involved in development, it should be building multi-unit dwellings - apartments and townhouses - which would be cheaper and feasible for more residents to buy.

Otherwise, city council should get out of the development game. As private contractor Mike Mrdjenovich told Yellowknifer last week, municipalities cannot get the job done as economically as private developers who "watch every penny."

Hear, hear.

Good on Diane Ablonczy, secretary of state for Small Business and Tourism, and her husband for taking the time to drive up to Yellowknife in their RV and experiencing what thousands of visitors do every summer.

No doubt the Conservative cabinet minister had the chance to meet with Northerners along the way and enjoy the gorgeous scenery past the 60th parallel. As the minister responsible for tourism, her road tour was sure to give her some insight she otherwise wouldn't have gained had she taken a plane from Calgary.

Ablonczy was among several federal cabinet ministers parading through town recently - no doubt in an attempt to butter up voters here ahead of the expected election call.

It's the expected thing for a visiting politician to throw some money around and blather on about how important the North is to Canada before his or her handlers whisk them off to the airport to give a similar speech somewhere else.

Such deeds don't earn respect. They come across as more hollow attempts to impress the locals and those watching the evening news.

It's quite another thing when a politician comes and actually enjoys the visit. Residents here are proud of their territory and like to show it off.

If Ottawa politicians are actually interested in connecting with Northerners, they would be well advised to take Ablonczy's lead.

When the topic of residential schools is raised it seldom brings with it good connotations.

Even the term 'residential school' conjures up images of children being taken away from their families and being placed in large, unfriendly and unfamiliar buildings.

The policy of residential schools has unquestionably left a legacy of emotional, mental and sometimes physical and spiritual scarring across a number of generations of Northern residents.

Individuals, families and communities are still dealing with the after-effects of the schools long after the last one has been closed.

It's encouraging, therefore, to see when this history is dealt with in a constructive and positive manner.

This year marked the seventh annual Sacred Heart Reunion.

Run by the Fort Providence Residential School Society, the reunion brings together individuals and their families who attended the Sacred Heart Mission School in Fort Providence.

Although the memories and emotions that residential schools bring up can be difficult to face the reunion is an example of how a group of people are positively trying to work through this legacy.

The focus of the reunion is on sharing experiences and working towards healing through that process.

"The elders are telling us not to hold on to the past but to look at it really good and then move forward," said Margaret Leishman, one of the facilitators at the reunion.

A lot of effort is taken by the staff to ensure the participants are in an environment where they feel comfortable enough to open up to one another.

The reunion also combines healing together with traditional practices, one of the things that was taken away from students at the schools.

Although the number of people who attend the reunion is small it clearly addresses a need for some survivors.

Following on the heels of the reunion is the Journey to Healing and Reconciliation Conference the Dene Nation is holding in Fort Providence from Sept. 8 to 12.

The information released on the conference states it will look at healing, survival, intergenerational impacts and community response.

The literature also says everyone is invited to attend the conference to begin the truth and reconciliation process.

It will be interesting to see who will choose to attend this event.

Will there be a large number of survivors at the conference or will the seats be primarily filled with leaders and professionals who are helping to deal with the legacy?

There are many different paths to healing and it's impossible to say if one is better than another.

What can be said is the residents of the Deh Cho will benefit from having a variety of venues held in the region that address, in their own way, how Northerners can move forward with strength and with what residential schools have left behind.

After the visit from the prime minister last week, many people in town have been left with a strange feeling, like we all just got played.

In the weeks leading up to Stephen Harper's visit to the region, it seemed like nobody knew what was going to happen.

Rumours spread among the masses about the road that would connect Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk. Was that the big news? Why was Harper coming North?

Once Harper got off his plane at the Mike Zubko airport, the circus act started. A few local leaders and dignitaries were on hand to greet Harper as he watched the Inuvik drummers and Dancers Perform.

Strong voices like Nellie Cournoyea, Jackie Jacobson, Floyd Roland, Merven Gruben and Derek Lindsay were able to talk with the prime minister as soon as he touched the tarmac.

After the meet and greet wrapped up and Harper was en route to the Mackenzie Hotel in a motorcade, I approached Jacobson, Nunakput MLA, about his brief greeting to the prime minister.

"I hope you drilled him on the issues," I said to Jacobson.

"I'll get my chance tomorrow in Tuk," the MLA replied.

I really hope he did, because by the look of it all, Harper got off clean with his public relations visit to the North.

Many people came up to me during the last week and asked when the prime minister was making a public announcement or holding some sort of forum.

I wish I had answers for them, instead of a shrug of my shoulders.

The whole experience left me with a new sense of understanding about politics.

Harper's pushy handlers corralled the media into a corner, while the prime minister posed for photos holding onto the shoulders of Inuvialuit youth, taking the accolades for making the long trip North.

As Mayor Derek Lindsay said of the naming of the Diefenbaker icebreaker, that announcement missed its mark.

"I doubt we'll see that ship port in town," he said.

I'm not surprised at Harper and his way of planning this trip north.

Harper is the kind of man that likes to have a handle on the way things go down.

I remember a few years ago when Paul Martin ran this country. He came to the North and spoke to the people, not just to members of the media.

I was in the rec complex when Paul Martin made his rounds and spent a few hours talking to people about their concerns.

If Harper can learn anything from Paul Martin, it's how to speak with people on a grassroots level.

With all the talk of an upcoming election being called, it makes me wonder how delusional the Conservative Harper government really is.

Did they think they won any votes from their botched three-day tour of the Western Arctic?

I thought the point of their visit was to promote their candidate Brendan Bell, not just parade him around on Harper's shoulder.

Bell has many good ideas and he's a smart guy. He should have opened himself up to the voters of the region who wanted to hear what he had to say.

Maybe next time the prime minister comes North, it will be for more than just a few quick announcements that should have been saved for a cabinet meeting.

Drill core analysis and scoping studies aren't exactly the stuff dreams are made of for most (although they are a bit snore-inducing for some, like me).

That said, even I was a bit surprised by the low turnout to last week's town hall meeting on the Meliadine West gold project.

Located about 25 km from Rankin's back door, a mine could potentially be in production on the site within the next three years, and it's bound to have an impact if it is. The project's presence already has had a major effect if, as the presenter claims, it has already pumped millions into the local economy since it began.

Exploration is big in the region and sure to get bigger. The prime minister announced last week the government would spend $100 million over the next five years to map the minerals and resources across the North.

A 1998 Natural Resources Canada mineral exploration map highlighted close to 30 projects in Nunavut.

By 2006, there were about 60 ongoing exploration projects, with spending in the ballpark of $200 million, according to data from the Department of Economic Development and Transportation.

The government also forecasted five new mines would be in operation in Nunavut by 2010, creating 1,700 new jobs and generating $500 million annually.

As the industry grows, so will its impact on the people it neighbours.

So while it's true the weather could have caused some scheduling problems for the Meliadine meeting, I expected to see more attendees and a younger demographic.

Some of the questions from the audience had to do with environmental impact. But many centred around jobs, particularly jobs for young people - how to get them, and where the training would come from.

Noticeably absent were any of the young people themselves.

Rankin is soon to be home to a major trades training school through the Arctic College, with courses geared toward the needs of these kind of resource projects.

Mining companies in the territory regularly organize class trips to their sites to entice young workers once they graduate.

So it worries me a little when I don't see that generation at these meetings. It's they who will be most affected, and it's they who should be calling those shots.

I'm not sure how it can be changed, but there's got to be a better way than door prizes to bring them in the door.

- Darrell Greer, the regular editor of the Kivalliq News, returns later this month