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The territorial government needs to put priority on common sense. Instead of think tanks, it should set up common-sense tanks to help it start implementing reasonable policies.

Before Christmas the health department -- in yet another example of government idiocy -- decided to make income earning NWT seniors pay for health benefits such as prescription drug costs and eye care.

Granted the change will ensure low-income earners in the territory have access to health benefits, but there are many other areas the GNWT could have cut to find the necessary funds.

Now, if you make $50,000 or more, the free benefits seniors earned for working and paying into the health system over the past 60-some odd years, will have to be paid for.

Is our territory's need so immense that it is going to steal money out of the pockets of the people who helped build the NWT into what it is today?

Instead of cutting ridiculous government bonuses such as the exorbitant sums paid to Power Corporation executives, the GNWT woke up before the holidays and found a way to save itself money. It was simple: just stop helping those pesky seniors who have an income.

Shame on the aging population for thinking that they could save a few extra dollars before leaving the workforce and shame on them for having the foresight to provide for themselves in the future. Well, the GNWT nipped that in the bud and has decided to milk them for as much as they can before it is too late.

The best thing for seniors to do now is dump all their RRSPs, quit their jobs and go on welfare. Or, better yet, pack up and leave the territory following the train of residents who are escaping the high cost of living in the North.

We would like to see the health minister and her department executives try to live on $50,000 annually while incurring the rising health care costs that come with age. According to Statistics Canada's report Spending Patterns in Canada, seniors were spending between four and five per cent of their annual income on health care, with the largest portion of those costs being prescription drugs. To put that in perspective: in 2002 a Senate report recommended that the provinces and territories implement programs to ensure seniors are not spending more than three per cent of their annual incomes on prescription drugs. We wonder if Health Minister Sandy Lee read that report.

At a time when the country is worrying about the economy and job security, seniors shouldn't have to worry about choosing between prescriptions and their rent or mortgage.

The GNWT prescription of a new supplementary drug plan for low-income residents comes at the expense of another segment of our senior population.

Side effects may include decreased population, reduced federal transfer payments and failure to be re-elected.

Few things seem as out-of-place as hip hop on the Arctic tundra.

On the surface, the music and dance phenomenon that grew from the streets and clubs of large American cities has little in common with small, remote Inuit communities.

But hip hop is popular among the young, and one thing Nunavut has is a lot of young people.

Youth listen to the music and wear the clothes they see promoted in global media. Picking up the dance moves, however, is harder to do when the nearest clubs are thousands of kilometres away.

That's where organized workshops teaching the athletic dance style come in.

Clyde River has been Nunavut's ground zero when it comes to hip hop programs. The Ilisaqsivik Society has been holding occasional workshops there since 2006; kids now meet three times a week to practise at the community hall. Last year a group of Clyde River's hip-hop dancers journeyed to Ottawa to perform for the Governor General.

Ilisaqsivik's co-ordinator has reported positive results: the goal of becoming proficient at hip hop serves as an incentive to get regular exercise, quit smoking and quit doing drugs.

Other individuals and organizations such as Blue Print for Life and the Canadian Floor Masters have conducted workshops in communities including Arctic Bay, Cambridge Bay, Rankin Inlet, Pangnirtung, Cape Dorset, Pond Inlet and Iqaluit, using the opportunity to engage youth about issues such as drugs and alcohol, bullying and suicide.

Last month the federal and Nunavut governments pledged $400,000 for more hip-hop workshops and healthy living kits for schools. Investing in the health and welfare of youth is always money well spent.

Active kids are healthy kids, both physically and mentally. Hip hop provides them with a youth-specific outlet for their energy and gives them goals to strive for in the form of new moves, performances and in-house competitions.

And far from edging out traditional culture, many youth use the freeform nature of hip hop to express their unique circumstances in the North. Some perform in traditional clothes. Some incorporate imitations of polar bears, dog teams and Inuit square dances.

So despite its initial incongruity, hip hop is taking the North by storm. And anything that keeps kids happy and healthy is something everyone can get behind.

Handley took a job as a consultant with Atcon Construction last June. The company signed a $132 million contract to build the Deh Cho Bridge across the Mackenzie River in the twilight of Handley's term as premier in August 2007.

If people are wondering why Handley was so hot for the bridge - and he was - his involvement with Atcon is bound to raise eyebrows.

Two weeks before Atcon signed on to build the bridge, Handley met with Atcon president Robert Tozer and toured the company's facility in New Brunswick.

Now he's tagging along with Atcon chasing more contracts and meeting with friends in high places such as Transportation Minister Michael McLeod, who was a minister in Handley's cabinet.

Current conflict of interest legislation forbids former ministers from lobbying on behalf of organizations that were contracted with the government department of which the minister was in charge for up to 12 months after leaving office.

Handley didn't break the rules because Atcon is technically not in business with the government. The company inked its deal with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation, not the GNWT.

The NWT is too small to take on rules such as those imposed by the federal government, which prohibits departing ministers from lobbying for up to five years.

At the very least though, there should be limits on who can lobby for companies competing for government contracts. Hopefully MLAs will consider that when the conflict rules come up for review this October.

Announced last month, the city will "complete an engineering design and tender package" to pave Ndilo roads. Long overdue, this demonstrates that local action ... not reliance on Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) - is what Ndilo needs.

For decades, the Dene community has relied on municipal services from Yellowknife. To cover the cost, the federal government pays $144,000 yearly.

That $144,000 is nowhere near enough to pave the community's roads. Yellowknives Dene First Nation CEO John Carter estimated such a project would cost $1.5 million.

To make up the difference, the city will require more cash from INAC, which has committed to updating property assessments for Ndilo.

Hopefully, once the city completes its road-paving project plan, no shameful discrepancies will exist between roads in Ndilo and the NWT capital.

Just as importantly, a basis for a new partnership will be cemented between city hall and Yellowknife's largest land-owners.

The turning of the new year is traditionally a time to take stock of the past year and make resolutions and goals for the new one.

Across the Deh Cho, local leaders including band chiefs and Metis presidents have considered what initiatives they'd like to see move forward in 2009 both for their community and also for the region. All of the leaders Deh Cho Drum talked to listed both the Dehcho Process and the Dehcho Land Use Plan as projects that need to move forward this year.

Three of the leaders used the same word, "standstill," when describing the current status of the negotiations. The Dehcho Process has been going on for years and some real progress needs to be seen, they said.

The focus at the regional level on these two processes is unsurprising. Both are items that have been in the forefront over the past year and longer for the Dehcho First Nations.

What was more telling were the goals and concerns that leaders have for their communities.

In Jean Marie River Chief, Isadore Simon would like to get the community's sawmill going as soon as possible to create economic opportunities.

In Nahanni Butte one of the primary goals is housing. Many families either don't have a house or have problems with their house, said Chief Fred Tesou.

The Fort Simpson Metis Nation is looking for ways to stay afloat after seeing a decrease in their funding over the last year, said President Marie Lafferty.

It is these concerns and goals that highlight what will have to be the real priorities of 2009.

The economic uncertainty of 2008 didn't end with the changing of the calendar. Families and residents who were already struggling with the costs of living in the North will only be hit harder as the effects of the economic downturn move North.

The same basic necessities mentioned by the leaders, including job opportunities, affordable housing and cash flow, will be on the top of many people's minds as the year progresses.

It will be the responsibility of leaders at all levels in the Deh Cho, including First Nations, Metis, municipal governments and the MLA, to focus on what matters most during uncertain times- the basics.

It's all about the hierarchy of needs. Long term projects such as the Dehcho Process and the Dehcho Land Use Plan are still very important but the basic needs of the people need to be addressed before the other projects can hope to succeed or be fully supported. It is, after all, hard to get excited about self-governance, if you're having problems paying your electricity bill.

In 2009, leaders will do well to focus on what their people need the most.

What is it about the behavioural patterns of people in the North? The question is raised after a cab driver got his vehicle window smashed for the fifth time.

The worst part is the people who attacked his livelihood this time weren't even kids.

The driver of the cab said he was baited out of his car by a gang of youth who broke his back window.

When he got out of the cab, which was parked in front of the Mad Trapper, a bar patron stole his vehicle for a joy ride.

Just like that, a stumbling drunkard drives a stolen cab across town, only to ditch it, causing damage to the front end in the process.

It's no lie that Inuvik doesn't respect our cab drivers. For generations, it's been a childish tradition for youth to heckle the cabbies, even going as far as throwing snowballs and eggs at them as they pass by in the winter months.

Imagine you're out driving in -35 C weather, only to spend time outside your cab, scraping frozen egg and clumped snow from the side of the car.

Granted, I've heard many stories about people being ripped off by cabbies who overcharge or don't give proper change back.

Those isolated cases aside, it's no excuse to bully and harass someone who provides a much-needed service in town.

Over the years we've seen our cab wars, with lower fares and faster service.

For a town its size, Inuvik has a lot of cabs on the road. The town office regulates the amount of licences given out and how they are handled.

This latest incident is just another black eye in a long list of occurrences between the cab drivers in town and the people of the community.

Remember that everyone has feelings and we all deserve the same amount of respect.

In this town, that doesn't mean much. Maybe the vandals are making that point.

"Hey, we don't respect our families or ourselves, why should we respect the cab drivers?"

I'll tell you why. Members of the cab-driving community in this town know each other.

They're a tightly-knit group with contacts and informants all over the town. If you slight them, I wouldn't doubt they already know who you are.

A lot of nice people in this town drive a cab. Just because they spend their days hauling our ungrateful carcasses around doesn't mean they're below us in any way.

If you hear your kids, or anyone around you bad-mouthing the cabbies, straighten them out pronto.

You'll never know when you need a ride.

Yellowknife Catholic trustees will hunker down later this month to mull their options now that they've lost an appeal of a court decision allowing non-Catholics to run in board elections.

The speculation is that they will take their case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. The other, smarter option is to call it a day and get back to focusing on providing their students with quality education.

Their ongoing battle with the territorial government over the non-Catholic trustee issue has proved to be a needless distraction that overshadows the board's good work - once the envy of Yellowknife.

Up until the fall of 2006, when the Catholic board, led by former chairperson Shannon Gullberg, attempted to shut out non-Catholic candidates, there was barely a blip of bad news coming from the Catholic school district.

Parents, both Catholic and non-Catholic, raved about their programs. Enrolment was literally through the roof and the district's budget was deep in the black.

Today's news describes falling enrolment, cuts to teachers, bitter bickering between themselves and the public school district and the territorial government. The current board may argue these setbacks have nothing to do with their court challenge but the fact is the court case shaped public perception of a board more concerned about a person's religion rather than quality of education, Catholic or otherwise.

Even worse, their stubbornness in insisting on only Catholic participation on the board has given Michael Miltenberger, the cabinet minister planning to merge education boards, his strongest playing card.

Catholic trustees should ask themselves: Is their district better off today than it was in 2006? Back then, even with a non-Catholic trustee on the board, no was telling them they couldn't practice their religion.

How ironic will it be then if Miltenberger uses the decision that came about as a result of their lawsuit as an excuse to scrap their board altogether.

On Dec. 22, the temperature in Yellowknife ranged between -20 C and -30 C. That day, Turk Chan and a handful of other people waited 45 minutes at the bus stop at Stanton Territorial Hospital before realizing the bus wouldn't pick them up.

They didn't know the schedule had been changed for the holidays, and to avoid throwing the schedule off by five minutes, the hospital stop was skipped.

How many others were left out in frigid temperatures waiting on buses that wouldn't show up? Public works did advertise the new schedule on the radio and online, but the simplest method of communicating the change - putting a sign up at the stop - was never done.

It is jaw-dropping that despite all the money the city pays consultants to make the bus system better, such a simple step was overlooked.

That said, skipping a hospital stop at any time of year shows another flaw in the bus system. It is the stop at which a bus would most likely pick up a sick passenger or a person with a disability, and it is inexcusable to leave these people out in the cold.

If stopping tacks on an extra five minutes to the bus route, so be it. Should a schedule appear at every stop noting the time changes made, it would be less of an inconvenience to patrons to wait a few minutes than it would be to spend the better part of an hour waiting for a bus that isn't going to show up.

Thanks for the help
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, January 07, 2009

I've mentioned many times in this space it would be very difficult to produce a truly regional newspaper every week without the help of numerous people across the region.

That's why I always like to start the new year with a tip of my hat to all those who help make this publication the Kivalliq's newspaper.

There are really not enough thank yous I could send to accurately illustrate how much I owe Leonie Aissaoui in Repulse Bay and Gord Billard in Arviat for all the great material they've sent me throughout the years.

If there are educators in the Kivalliq who take more pride in the accomplishments of their students than Aissaoui and Billard, I've yet to meet them.

For all the photos and time spent answering my endless stream of questions throughout the past year, I humbly thank them both on behalf of our readers across the region.

Also, in Arviat, I have an ever-growing debt of gratitude to both Lynne S. Rollin and Nadine Lamoureux at the Mikilaaq Centre.

Both of these ladies send some great photos my way during the year, and a number of their shots from the annual snowmobile races in Arviat were truly jaw-dropping.

Noel Kaludjak has been sending us photos and helping us identify people in Coral Harbour for a number of years now, and his help is always greatly appreciated.

If only I could convince him to increase the resolution of his photos, we'd really be rockin'.

Although a lot more demand has been placed on his time since becoming a daddy, Glen Brocklebank in Chesterfield Inlet still makes the effort to send us photos from his community and, in particular, Victor Sammurtok school where he teaches.

Contributions from our smaller communities are appreciated in a big way here at the paper.

In Baker, numerous people at the Baker Lake Youth Athletic Association, Kyle Seeley at Sport Nunavut and rec co-ordinator Leo Lareau send me photos from various sporting and community events which I greatly appreciate.

I would also like to send an all-encompassing thanks to all the teachers, coaches and RCMP members across the Kivalliq who send in the odd photo and story lead throughout the year.

Space does not permit me to thank each and every person who sent me a photo in 2008, but rest assured, your efforts are appreciated.

There are also people right here in Rankin Inlet who realize their local newspaper editor can't be everywhere at once, and even gets to take a day off every now and then.

Folks like Doug and Karen McLarty, Page Burt, Tyrone Power and Cindy Lottes always come through for me in a pinch and I deeply appreciate their help.

And, finally, for answering my multitude of e-mails throughout the year when I have to track down a name to put to a face – a huge thank you to Leo Ussak elementary school co-principal Sarah Ayaruaq for saving my bacon many, many times.

I look forward to serving the Kivalliq for my 11th year in 2009 and wish everyone good health, happiness and prosperity in the new year.