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NWT's jails will finally follow the rest of the country by completely banning smoking on their premises on April 1, which is good news for inmates and the territory.

The ban follows the same policy adopted by federal institutions on April 30 last year. It's yet another lost freedom for anyone who breaks the law and is thrown in jail, and it's hard to muster sympathy over the loss of such a "privilege" for a criminal.

The smoke-free policy must be complemented by smoking cessation assistance, nicotine replacement therapy, and other activities - such as new skills training and recreation - to keep inmates busy. Only then will the ban be fully successful.

An obvious benefit should grow out of this: inmates will be forced to break free from cigarettes, an addictive product. They will learn they can overcome an addiction, and be better prepared to be productive members of society once they get out.

The world outside, after all, has largely gone smoke-free, and is not at all reflected in the prison environment where the smoking rate without bans is thought to be as much as 80 per cent, according to health and non-smokers rights groups.

Prisoners smoke to kill time. The ban is a constructive first step to eliminate wasted time and straighten out lives wasted on addictions.

The City of Yellowknife was recently honoured as Canada's most sustainable small city for the second year running, but at least one of its methods of going green comes with its own costs.

The honour was bestowed by Corporate Knights, a Toronto magazine whose staff rates cities by factors including social well-being, infrastructure, economic security and ecological integrity.

Indeed, the city appears to be working to leave a modest ecological footprint. Its efforts range from an anti-idling bylaw to EnerGuide guidelines for homes, which encourage residents to meet stringent energy standards. The latter guidelines, however, create inflated building prices, in turn making life in Yellowknife less inviting. A city as transient as Yellowknife needs to work on such an issue to sustain a healthy population, perhaps by offering some sort of financial relief to people who meet the EnerGuide criteria.

Mayor Gord Van Tighem credits the city's lack of sprawl to planning and the geography surrounding Yellowknife. There's some truth in that, but what he didn't mention are the ongoing First Nations' land claims which keep the city from expanding.

The City of Yellowknife should be proud to have hung on to this sustainable community honour two years in a row. While the focus on the environment shouldn't change, creating affordable housing also has to remain a top priority.

It often takes an accident, generally a tragic one, to highlight a problem that's been simmering quietly in the background.

An accident of this nature occurred last week in Fort Simpson when a Trout Lake resident died after being hit by a vehicle while walking along Highway 1 near the village. Although the RCMP is still investigating the details of the incident the basics are known.

Fred Jumbo was walking towards the village and was near the second turn off to Nogha Heights when he was struck by a Ford F150 pick-up heading in the opposite direction. The collision occurred at approximately 10:05 p.m., well after the sun had gone down.

The RCMP hasn't released the cause of the accident but it's easy to point out at least two factors that may have played a role and need to be addressed.

Pedestrians, as well as vehicles, use the highway that leads off the island past Nogha Heights and as far as Wild Rose. In the more temperate months it's not uncommon to see a person or group of people walking or riding their bikes beside or on the edges of the highway.

Some of the residents are out to get a bit of fresh air and exercise while others are walking to reach a destination either in the subdivisions or back on the island.

Seeing these people on foot during the day isn't a problem but at night the only things that illuminate the road are vehicle headlights. There are only two streetlights along that stretch of highway, one set back at the first entrance to Nogha Heights and a second at the entrance to Wild Rose. That leaves a lot of dark road in the middle. Although they should, not everyone wears reflective material while walking in the dark and that makes them hard to see.

The Department of Transportation is responsible for the maintenance of the highway. According to officials, the department will be reviewing the accident to determine if anything can be done to improve safety. They will also be taking into consideration any concerns voiced by community members.

With the recent accident in mind, the community should be asking for streetlights to be installed along that section of the highway, or at least on the areas surrounding the subdivision.

While lighting would help to make the highway safer all residents with drivers' licences also have a personal responsibility to play.

Once you reach the top of the hill coming off the island the speed limit changes to 60 km/h until after Four Mile when it increases to 90 km/h for the rest of the highway.

A speed trap with a radar gun would prove that almost everyone is guilty of pushing the speed limit in that area. Although speed has not been cited as a factor in the accident, people tend to ignore their speedometer. The reasons vary from being in a hurry to get somewhere to allowing their speed to creep up in anticipation of the 90 km/h change. Speed limits are put in place for a reason, not just as guidelines.

The death of Fred Jumbo was tragic and unnecessary. Both the residents of Fort Simpson and the Department of Transportation have roles to play in ensuring that the appropriate lessons are learned so that similar incidences can be prevented.

There's been some grumbling around town about council's proposal to do away with plastic grocery bags.

But it's awfully hard to feel sorry for those who say it's an inconvenience to have to bring your own bag grocery shopping. Especially when you consider the current problem this town faces. Our streets and yards are strewn with them.

On the other hand, many I have heard support the idea. Whether we think retail stores should provide reasonably priced canvas bags to customers, or we should dig out the backpack, we uniformly agree they should be banished.

Council's plan is to encourage retailers to sell canvas or other biodegradable bags. Mayor Derek Lindsay said the ugly "plastic bags" would be history in a year's time. In the meantime he's giving residents a chance to adapt to the coming bylaw. Bylaw officers are even being sent to the schools to educate the kids.

Really that's what is needed. Obviously there should be an enforcement component to the program. But people must be taught just how destructive these nasty things actually are. The fact that they're made from crude oil and natural gas, both non-renewable resources, and take 1,000 years to decompose should be more than enough supporting evidence.

Then there are the endless stories of animals swallowing them and subsequently starving to death. Now take into account that annually there are anywhere from 100 billion to as many as one trillion of them being used worldwide.

The ban is quickly being implemented across the country with several large Canadian and American grocery chains promising to cease handing out free plastic shopping bags. In fact, there's a similar push happening in other countries such as South Africa and Ireland where they've imposed stiff taxes on them.

The grocery store I frequented last year abruptly banished its plastic bags one day. I was left with a pile of groceries and no bags in which to carry them. As is the deal with most chains, there were canvas bags for sale for a couple of bucks. Admittedly it was a tad annoying being forced to buy my own grocery bags. But I did, and soon saw the forest for the trees. Plus, they make a pretty good gym bag. And yes, I cleaned the bags regularly.

The simple solution is providing customers with reusable canvas bags. The Town of Inuvik needs to ensure that all residents, regardless of their income be supplied with a sufficient number. Then its bylaw needs to be strictly enforced.

But the solution ultimately rests with the people. By collectively adjusting our habits in a small way for the sake of the environment, we can make big change. Through that process we might develop a stronger environmental awareness, which most of us are in dire need of.

Premier Michael Miltenberger? God forbid that day ever comes.

It will if the legislative assembly follows the example of the last two terms by elevating the finance minister into the premier's seat.

After turfing him from cabinet two years ago, MLAs still thought highly enough of him to give him a portfolio following the 2007 election.

It leads us to wonder whether Hay River South MLA Jane Groenewegen's motion to terminate Premier Floyd Roland and his cabinet last Friday would have led to Miltenberger's permanent ejection had it been successful.

After looking around the room, would MLAs have misguidedly made him premier for lack of someone with more experience?

Perhaps his political stock rises somewhat because he is the only one willing to get his hands dirty.

The past few months have shown us that not all cabinet members can stand the heat for long.

Premier Floyd Roland is now adamant that devolution must be negotiated. He was initially willing to put it on the "back burner."

Then last week Health Minister Sandy Lee buckled under heavy public pressure after weeks of hopelessly trying to sell the unpopular supplementary health benefits program.

But Miltenberger is old hat at this kind of thing. Much of his four terms in the legislative assembly have been spent in cabinet. He's faced continuous volleys of protest and criticism but the man doesn't bend.

Angry caribou outfitters? Whatever. Merging school boards and scrapping elected trustees? Ditto. Miltenberger is like a kid who relishes kicking a hornet's nest just to see them all come swarming out.

There is something admirable about a person who can stand so stoically under fire. Undoubtedly, it provides him ample clout and influence among fellow cabinet ministers and regular MLAs. His fearlessness makes it a daunting task to challenge him.

That Miltenberger is confident and intelligent is undeniable, but that is no reason to encourage him on his continuous quest for power.

Leadership is not about who is the better bully, which Miltenberger has been throughout his political career. He has demonstrated an inclination toward concentrating power in the hands of cabinet and bureaucrats. It's also apparent the South Slave MLA has an axe to grind with Yellowknife in particular.

We witnessed this when he dissolved the Stanton health board six years ago and we're seeing it again in his attempt to take away the choices among voters for their school boards.

Cabinet colleagues such as Yellowknife South's Bob McLeod will shed crocodile tears and lecture us about the importance of "cabinet solidarity" but this is a mistake which will further erode the credibility of consensus government and the legislative assembly.

The eight regular MLAs who voted in favour of terminating cabinet spoke forcibly about the need for better communication between cabinet and themselves last week. Hopefully, the rest of cabinet will be less tempted to follow Miltenberger's my-way-or-the-highway approach to government.

In the meantime, Yellowknife MLAs should be wary of Miltenberger's leadership ambitions. His performance has amply demonstrated that if he ever gets into the premier's chair, he will have Yellowknife in his gun sights.

There are a number of people to be congratulated for the success of the Polar Bear Plate junior hockey tournament played earlier this month in Rankin Inlet, not the least of whom is local rec co-ordinator David Clark.

The vast majority of the 16 games were played before sell-out crowds.

And, the ones not sold-out were at about 80 per cent of the arena's capacity.

Clark revived the Plate in 2008 and was able to build upon its success this year.

The tournament is expensive, and he received financial help from Sport Nunavut, the Rankin Inlet Minor Hockey Association, Rankin Inlet Senior Mens Hockey League and a number of corporate sponsors.

A good portion of those who attended the games said the Plate has become more exciting and competitive than the Avataq Cup.

The more exciting part is, most likely, a direct reflection of the fact the Plate is a full-contact tournament.

The more competitive angle, however, stems from two separate components.

First, more Kivalliq communities are bringing in instructors such as Andy Nowicki and Mike Thomas to work on the basic skills of the game with their young players.

That approach works in tandem with the effort being put forth by local coaches to improve the overall calibre of play in their community.

The results were most noticeable with Baker Lake and Whale Cove this year.

Both had vastly superior teams than what they've iced in the past.

The second reason why the Plate has been so competitive the past two years was the decision to split the Rankin players into two teams.

I mean no disrespect to any Rankin player, or to any from the other communities, when I make this point.

Had the coaches combined the best players from the champion Falcons with those from the silver-medallist Stars, the resulting stacked squad would have obliterated every team in its path.

While that may have been fun for some of the players, it would have been no fun at all for the rest of the teams or the fans in the stands who paid to watch the games.

There are some who feel the Plate lost a bit of its shine because three players were on the receiving end of hard bodychecks at the event, two of whom were dazed by the hits and the third injured.

And, of course, as with all hard checks, there were claims of charging and elbows inflicting the damage.

It never ceases to amaze me how hockey fans can sit in the stands and scream at the refs to let the kids play, never missing the chance to groan over a penalty call and point out this is, after all, a full-contact junior tournament.

That is, until it's their kid prone on the ice. Then it's the ref's fault for not clamping down on the rough play sooner.

Contact is part of the Plate's allure with hockey fans, and although nobody wants to see a player get hurt, a few hard hits are to be expected during a three-day tournament.

The 2009 Polar Bear Plate was a tremendous success and lost none of its lustre due to the three hits in question, all of which were hard, but legal.

We hope Clark and his supporters can continue to hold the event in future years, as it fills a large gap in our regional hockey development.

Last Thursday's $1.3 billion territorial budget seemed to be fairly well received by many members of the public, community and labour leaders, NWT businesses and representatives of environmental organizations.

But it was a painful process to arrive at this point.

Due to a projected $40 million budget shortfall over two years, Premier Floyd Roland and Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger forewarned last May that 135 GNWT job cuts were on the way. Layoff notices were even issued. After public outcry and a threat by regular MLAs to vote down the 2008-09 budget, Roland and Miltenberger changed their tack.

By October they were threatening to introduce numerous new taxes and tax increases. This too was met with resounding fury.

In December, Roland went back to the first well, threatening that 100 civil service positions would be chopped.

All that tough talk infuriated people throughout the NWT. In the end, what came of it? There were 14 jobs eliminated last year, another 14 will be slashed this year.

New taxes introduced Thursday amount to higher prices for smokers and drinkers and higher property taxes for industry.

These are tough economic times globally. Our territory is borrowing $81 million from Ottawa to fund infrastructure projects. Our national government is incurring a $40 billion deficit over the next two years. The American government is dipping deeper into the red as its economy reels.

Yet premier and cabinet's messages over the past year have largely been alarmist, poorly thought out and extremely counter-productive.

Unfortunately, their miscues haven't simply been limited to budget items. They did a poor sales job with the $165 million Deh Cho bridge, whereby they tried to keep the details under wraps and only offered weak assurances that the finances wouldn't become a public liability. Ditto for the $34 million loan to Discovery Air, which is a debt-laden, penny-stock company that employs a few hundred Northerners.

Miltenberger angered the masses yet again by forcing the idea of board mergers down people's throats. At least he says he's willing to sit down and discuss how it will work after dictating that the mergers are inescapable.

Then there's the supplementary health benefits changes, which has seniors up in arms. Health Minister Sandy Lee professes that the government's aim is to ensure that the working poor are covered for extended health benefits like drugs and glasses. The problem is that similar benefits for those with modest incomes would be clawed back to some extent.

Many of the government's proposals are conceived by bureaucrats, and many are well-intentioned. However, it's a politician's job to carefully examine the impacts of such decisions. Some of the ideas need to be rejected outright, others need to be refined and polished and then negotiated through consultation and communication.

Before coming to the public seeking feedback and acceptance, our premier and cabinet, who narrowly escaped a non-confidence vote Friday, need to have a clear and workable vision. They need to be fully informed and answer all questions honestly. Their political credibility, and perhaps future, rests on it.

The resignation of the two remaining members of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission is disappointing.

What began with promise last May has ended less than a year later, without accomplishing much.

Even though many Northerners were not happy with the lack of Inuit representation on the commission, its complete disintegration delays the recording of elders' recollections from residential schools, and our elders are dying. First, the chief commissioner resigned late last year, saying the other two members had different ideas on how the commission was to be run and the three of them could not work out their differences. Now the other two have thrown in the towel as well.

It's ironic that three commissioners, with their hefty law or health-based educations, charged with a mandate to listen, understand, communicate and ultimately reconcile, could not work together well enough to even begin the process they were hired for.

While the three of them bickered and dilly-dallied, survivors of residential schools went on with their lives, some still living with the effects of abuse and the disruption of their cultural connections.

The only bright spot in this disastrous beginning is the chance for a fresh start. This time when selecting commissioners, the federal government would do well to appoint at least one Inuk.

All groups affected by residential schools deserve a voice on the truth and reconciliation commission. We hope the next group of commissioners keeps in mind the people they are there to represent and what they are supposed to accomplish.

Sarah Tautuajuk from Pangnirtung may admittedly be short but her size, and her gender, are no barriers to getting the job done. She trained through a building trades helper program and now works at the Snap Lake diamond mine in the NWT.

What has helped her succeed isn't an ability to lift heavy objects, but her confidence, commitment and hard work.

Like a first experience at skinning an animal carcass or cooking a meal for a crowd, entering a trade can be daunting. But not unlike traditional skills, trades are learned by doing them under the supervision of those with many years of experience.

Skilled tradespeople are in high demand and the work pays better than being a cashier or a receptionist - more traditionally "female" careers.

In fact Tautuajuk hopes to have enough money saved up in five years' time to put a down payment on a home.

She's setting an example for others to follow.

In the article "Haggis gets good reviews" of the Feb. 4 issue, Amee Pond said the horseradish, not the haggis, tasted like old feet.

Yellowknifer apologizes for any confusion or embarrassment the errors may have caused.