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The Department of Health hastily backed away from implementing its new health benefits program this week after a massive public outcry.

Anyone in government who dares to tinker with existing health care benefits for seniors and middle class citizens had better communicate clearly what the changes mean, or incur the wrath of voters as Health Minister Sandy Lee found out recently.

The bar was clearly set too low. A net income limit of $45,000 for a family of four to be eligible for the new Supplementary Health Benefits Program was poorly thought out. Supporting a family of four on such a modest household income in Yellowknife is not easy, let alone adding more costs for health care.

The GNWT didn't help itself with its poor communication. Even though the policy change on extended health benefits had been approved by cabinet in September 2007, residents were unaware of the changes to be made until Lee announced in December 2008 that the plan would take hold in April 2009. Also, the legislative assembly is far from being in consensus on the matter. Non-cabinet MLAs have attended seniors' conferences to voice their own opposition. On Wednesday, the government's poor communication compelled one MLA to call for a vote of confidence.

Lee's announcement this week to put off the health benefit changes until Sept. 1 - to "address complaints" on income thresholds and drugs coverage - may have saved her political future.

The government must regroup and find a more palatable alternative.

The Gold Range bar has been ordered to shut its doors for a period of one week starting on Feb. 23 due to six separate violations of the Liquor Act last year.

Among the violations are separate instances in which staff served alcohol to customers who were already clearly intoxicated, and in which the bathrooms were left in unsanitary condition.

It's virtually impossible to run a bar where the bathroom isn't sometimes dirty and where customers never get drunk. But servers need to be fully aware of when customers are merry or fall-down drunk.

When people are found passed out in the pub - as happened at the Gold Range on Sept. 22, 2008 - it's a clear indication that staff are not paying enough attention. On the night the patrons were found passed out by an RCMP officer, the pub's manager, Sam Park, had left the bar in the care of his cousin for about half an hour. Based on what the police officer subsequently saw, it reinforces how important it is to have responsible and experienced employees behind the bar.

In December, management at the Gold Range put its servers through a training program to ensure staff are able to handle the challenges of working in a liquor-licensed establishment.

Those are lessons that shouldn't be forgotten.

Anyone who watched Canadian Zinc submit its applications for the final permits needed to operate Prairie Creek mine and thought it would be just a hop, skip and a jump before zinc was rolling out of the mine is facing a reality check.

The mine has never had an easy relationship with the permitting process in the territory. A number of the permits the company has applied for in the past have moved very slowly through the permitting process.

Based on the progress made so far it looks like the applications for the type-A water license and type-A land use permit are also in for a long, tough slug. Even knowing Prairie Creek's track record on such matters, it's a bit surprising to see that after six months in environmental assessment, the file is still stuck in the scoping phase.

Given the snail's pace things are moving at, it's easy to see how both the company, their investors and local residents who see the possibility of benefits from the project would get discouraged. It's also easy to see how people could assume certain parties are purposefully using the environmental assessment process to undermine the project.

Keep a company from getting the necessary permits for long enough and even the hardiest of investors is bound to look elsewhere, and that's when the economy is good. As Chief Keyna Norwegian of the Liidlii Kue First Nation pointed out, investors are even less likely to ride out a long review process given the current state of global economic uncertainty.

Let's consider the role of the vocal parties. Both Dehcho First Nations and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) have had long-standing views on the project.

As an environmental organization, it's unsurprising CPAWS hasn't been a big supporter of the mine. CPAWS has repeatedly stated it doesn't believe the mine is compatible with its goal of protecting the South Nahanni watershed.

The Dehcho First Nations (DFN) has also questioned how the mine can fit in with the direction given by elders to preserve the land and water for future generations.

Both parties clearly don't want to see the mine move into production. Some people may criticize them for holding up the review process but they are actually playing an important and necessary role.

Even if everyone in the region and beyond wanted to see the mine in place, there would have to be at least one opposing voice to urge caution, and as a result, ensure that project was implemented safely. Even people who want the mine likely don't want to see it damage the environment in the process.

We should continue to push for more efficient environmental assessments, but the process is necessary to ensure the possible impacts of projects like Prairie Creek are understood and can be minimized if they move forward.

After spending nearly three years reporting for Inuvik Drum, I find myself reflecting on the work I've done and the people I've met.

This is my final issue of the Drum. I've accepted a position as one of the new bylaw officers for the Town of Inuvik.

Consider this to be fair warning against all those drivers who don't use their seat belts.

On Monday afternoon, I drove past a long-haired man who parked in the only handicap parking spot in the downtown core. He ran across the road like a gazelle, leaping over the ice mound that divides the lanes on Mackenzie Road.

Party time is over for the people who think they're above the bylaws of this community, that's for sure.

Since announcing my job change, a lot of people asked my why I gave up my post as the "Drum guy."

Believe me, there is no easy answer to that question. A lot of things in my life factored heavily into the decision to resign from the newspaper.

When I first started working as the newspaper reporter, it was a bit tough getting into the lifestyle.

One thing is for sure, the job isn't a "nine-to-five." There are long nights, weekend assignments and long-distance interviews.

Being from the community, I grew up knowing a lot of people around me. When I started working for the newspaper, I quickly realized that I didn't know nearly enough of the people who work hard to make this community a success.

Here we are now, almost three years later and I feel I'm still getting to know people.

It's been a great experience, working with the youth, being in the schools and chronicling the events in town.

I've had the chance to work with the best and brightest in Northern journalism through my time as a reporter.

Some of my most treasured memories come from my days working the beat.

Being an "official" photographer is great because I have been in the front of many other budding camera enthusiasts.

People would make room for me in front of meetings, gatherings, coffeehouses and more.

There isn't much of a better way to meet new people than to offer to take their picture and have a few short words.

Many thanks to everyone who stopped me in the street to compliment my latest editorial rantings, or to straighten me out and give me an earful for voicing my opinions.

It'll be different for me to pick up the newspaper and not know what waits inside.

Again, I might have been the one typing the articles, but it was the community that made Inuvik Drum so solid for the past few years.

Keep it going for the next editor and help keep Inuvik Drum strong for generations to come.

The trouble with Alfred Baillargeon's recent complaint against the RCMP is that he was too drunk to remember exactly what happened after they had arrested him.

Baillargeon alleges that the RCMP roughed him up and injured his arm following a night of drinking with a friend on Jan. 22.

Police arrested him outside a downtown restaurant that evening after receiving a report about an intoxicated man - a common scenario in this city.

Take a look at the Crime Watch report on page 11 of today's Yellowknifer.

Of the 359 calls for service the RCMP received from Jan. 19 to Feb. 2, no fewer than 46 of them were Liquor Act complaints, which generally means public intoxication. Another 121 calls were for mischief and disturbing the peace, which are often associated with drunkenness.

The public have reason to be wary of how police conduct themselves when dealing with people in such a state. Police officers, after all, are human and can be expected to get annoyed from time to time when confronted with an intoxicated person. It's not unheard of for an officer, out of inexperience or poor judgment, to react with violence.

In Inuvik, a 15-year-old girl already in handcuffs and subdued on her stomach was Tasered by an RCMP officer in March 2006. Although details remain scant, the officer involved in that case has been cleared in an investigation. Many questions are still unanswered.

There was also a case here in Yellowknife where an RCMP officer, Const. Scot Newberry, was found by a judge to have used excessive force during an arrest in 2004. Newberry punched a man in the temple, knocking him unconscious. The man broke his leg while falling.

The RCMP have promised to investigate Baillargeon's complaint. That investigation should be thorough and, ideally, objective. If the police are open in the results of their assessment, it increases the confidence the public will have in the outcome.

Unfortunately, Baillargeon himself cannot shed much light on this case. All he remembers is being in a police vehicle and then waking up in a cell the next morning in his T-shirt, shorts and socks. His right arm was swollen and bruised.

His family have played an instigative role in getting this complaint launched. They should also have a heart-to-heart talk with Baillargeon, making it clear to him that when he drinks he is a danger, at least too himself.

Whether the police are responsible for his injured arm or not, there are street toughs out there who are likely to do much worse to a drunken victim.

The reaction to Premier Eva Aariak taking the Justice portfolio away from now-Education Minister Louis Tapardjuk for his comments in an e-mail to staff members has been surprisingly divided.

There are many who share the premier's view of Tapardjuk's comments being inappropriate, while others maintain he was simply speaking the truth.

In their view, all too often a female starts an argument with her spouse, calls the authorities when the situation escalates and her poor male partner is charged.

To these people we would ask: when is physical violence an acceptable action in a relationship?

The answer, whether they accept it or not, is never!

There's always a choice.

If a relationship is that bad where one partner is always verbally antagonizing the other to the point of violence, they have the choice of ending the relationship.

If one partner has verbally abused the other to the point where he or she is thinking about using violence as a remedy, they can also think about walking out the door instead.

Yes. It's that black and white.

Unless you're in a situation where you have to defend your life, violence is never an option as the means to ending an argument.

Most people realize we almost all go through some very tough periods in our lives.

Some things hurt so deeply, and the pain so intense, it feels like it will never pass.

This brings us to the second part of Tapardjuk's controversial e-mail, in which he maintained the Canadian judicial system has killed more of our youth, through suicide, than were ever murdered in any given period.

You have to admit, it would be hard for the premier to leave a Justice minister in place who truly felt that way.

To those who support that particular Tapardjuk viewpoint, we ask the question: when is suicide an acceptable solution to a problem?

The answer is never!

Looking at both contentions, the one thing they share (other than extreme lack of judgment and poor taste) is the door to a dark room where the blame game is played - a staple of today's society where nobody is really responsible for their own actions.

If there's one thing the Canadian judicial system is truly guilty of, it's allowing that line of thought to become so prevalent in this country.

It may seem like he mugged you to steal your money, but really he was lashing out at his parents for the problems of his youth.

Yeah he may have blackened both her eyes, but she brought it upon herself.

Or the harshest, coldest and meanest of all: blaming a person for someone taking their own life because they ended a relationship with them.

That's not meant to trivialize the loss of life because that's always a tragic thing, but so is the burden carried by someone blamed for another's actions.

Aariak's decision to remove the Justice portfolio from Tapardjuk was the right one.

We can only hope Tapardjuk's retraction of his comments was sincere, and that his statements do not reflect the mindset he plans to introduce to our educational system!

Dennis Bevington's recent attack on the Conservative government's plan to offer funds to kick-start development of the Mackenzie Valley pipeline shows that the project is not a priority for him.

Bevington's relationship with the pipeline dates back to 2001 when he was appointed to the GNWT's energy secretariat. Although Bevington has never come out and said he is against pipeline development, his position is clear: he sees the development as secondary to many other Northern infrastructure and energy projects.

Bevington has been vocal in his desire to develop alternative energy in the NWT. He has also been adamant that any pipeline development come only after all environmental considerations have been explored, federal devolution agreements are signed and a host of programs are in place to reduce social impacts on regions along the development route.

While we agree with reducing the NWT's and the world's reliance on fossil fuels and protecting the people and environment in the North, our MP's political positioning will surely drown the pipeline in even more paperwork.

What exactly is Bevington's economic development plan for the NWT.

During his campaign, Bevington was asked if he would vote against his party on policies that would hurt the North. Although not definitive in his answer, Bevington did say "MPs must never vote against their party lightly. Nevertheless a case may arise when doing so would be necessary and proper. If I thought it necessary I would act."

The pipeline is a case where Bevington's resolve on that statement was put to the test. Many Northerners want the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline and they want it built and operated in an environmentally responsible manner. NWT residents stand to prosper from the associated jobs and the economic spin-offs. But in a time Ottawa comes forward with a plan to help spur that development while the economy is in a downward spiral, Bevington and the NDP have gone on the attack.

Our representative in Parliament spoiled an opportunity to support what Northerners want and ensure responsible development. He was presented with a win-win opportunity and squandered it by toeing the extreme partisan line.

Bevington should have applauded the Conservatives' decision to assist in bringing jobs and money to the North, while promising to work with the government to ensure the money is spent responsibly and the environmental and social impacts are taken into consideration. He failed. Instead he dutifully followed his party's single-minded goal of toppling Stephen Harper's minority government and ignored the will of many of those who voted him to office.

Did the opposition catch the Conservatives in a "flip-flop" on their previous pledge not to subsidize the pipeline? Sure. But, we're in the midst of an economic downturn. Shouldn't our leaders adapt and evolve their positions based on the needs of the country at the time?

It's time for Bevington to adapt too.

Change has come to the Government of Nunavut.

Former Justice Minister Louis Tapardjuk sent a controversial e-mail to his staff outlining his views on various aspects of the justice system on Jan. 21.

In it, he wrote that though men are often charged for spousal assaults, women often initiate them. That comment in correspondence written by a minister of justice dropped jaws and elicited gasps of disbelief from women and men who thought such a "blame the victim" attitude, akin to the medieval-era idea that "she was asking for it," was dead and buried.

Tapardjuk is a respected elder and an authority on Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ). That cannot be denied.

In that same e-mail he offers some stimulating viewpoints on the role of IQ in modern society and makes a case for involving elders in social activities to counter "the effects of rapid social change and disruption by providing cultural and social cohesiveness." As well, he condemns the current justice system for taking far too long to resolve conflicts in the courts. He argues that this puts a great deal of stress on the accused and it can lead to suicide. The Inuit way is to encourage reconciliation, according to Tapardjuk. These are points that should be examined closely.

Regardless, some attitudes are unacceptable regardless of their longevity. The idea that a victim of violence shares blame for the violence committed upon them is absurd. And someone who believes such a concept should not be in charge of the Department of Justice.

Premier Eva Aariak wasted no time, quickly bringing the issue out for discussion among all members of cabinet, including Tapardjuk.

It was agreed Tapardjuk should lose the justice portfolio but his colleagues still showed confidence in him by leaving him with the Culture, Language, Elders and Youth portfolio. This was an even-handed decision.

In last week's cabinet shuffle, Tapardjuk was also assigned the Department of Education. As well, he holds the Aboriginal Affairs post and is government house leader.

The fact that former premier Paul Okalik disagrees with Tapardjuk's removal as justice minister is not surprising. It is Okalik's duty as a regular MLA to question the decisions of the premier and cabinet.

In addition, some members of Okalik's past administration, of whom Tapardjuk is the only remaining member still in cabinet, were criticized for their lack of respect toward women and questionable logic about what constitutes ethical behaviour.

The removal of Tapardjuk's justice portfolio sends a clear message that such attitudes have no place in a government led by Eva Aariak. For that we, and, we're sure, the women of Nunavut as well as many men, applaud her.