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Count the empty seats at the next regulatory board meeting in your region.

Chances are there will be several of them.

As mining officials and oil and gas executives complain about the dreadfully slow pace of permits being reviewed and granted in our territory, it's well past time to direct their attention to John Duncan, the federal minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada.

It is Duncan's responsibility to make appointments to regional regulatory boards based on nominations from the GNWT, the Tlicho, the Gwich'in Tribal Council and other governing bodies.

The problem is that Duncan has been taking his precious time, and wasting ours, to act on the nominations.

The consequences have been regional regulatory boards that are functioning at far less than capacity. In some cases, like the Gwich'in Renewable Resources Board, it's a struggle to make quorum.

The Gwich'in board has only three out of six permanent members. It's been that way since last year. In order to have quorum, the board requires five members.

Amy Thompson, executive director of the board, told News/North, "we are only making operational-type decisions. We're holding off on other decisions that can wait until we have full membership."

That's a recipe for paralyzation.

Only two of 13 regulatory boards in the NWT have full membership.

Enough of these political games. If the federal government does not approve of the regulatory boards recommended by territorial bodies, then it should just come out and say so, rather than let our economic development languish. Better yet, Ottawa should just approve the nominees coming from the NWT. We don't need political masters in far-off lands making such decisions on our behalf.

When it came to the Mackenzie Valley pipeline, it was Ottawa again that dragged out the public consultation and review process for well over three years. It was painful to wait on the Joint Review Panel and then, to a lesser extent, the National Energy Board, which ultimately gave the $16.2 billion pipeline its blessing, with 264 conditions attached. And yet federal appointee Neil McCrank pointed a finger at the regional regulatory boards when suggesting ways to streamline the NWT's complex web of industry applications and approvals. The powers of some regional boards are enshrined in land claims and are not to be put on the chopping block without a court battle.

There has to be a better way.

To get a sense of the layers the existing NWT regulatory regime entails, check out News/North's "So you want to mine in the North" series in the business section.

Federal reports tabled in 2008 and 2010, have made recommendations to speed up board appointments.

In May 2010, John Pollard, a former GNWT finance minister and MLA for Hay River, was chosen to lead consultations and negotiations with the GNWT and aboriginal leaders on how land and water boards will be structured in a streamlined environment. This will include revisions to NWT regulatory acts.

That seemed like a positive sign.

Yet our regional regulatory boards are being neglected by federal politicians in the meantime, and that's an impediment to us all.

Sure police officers, firefighters, doctors and lawyers have exciting and glamourous careers.

But there's one profession that can help build houses, feed the hungry, provide health care, plan roads, foster small businesses, keep the lights on and basically protect everything that is vital to Inuit.

So if you want your kids to really make a difference in Nunavut, urge them to become chartered accountants.

With the help of a $150,000 donation from the Royal Bank of Canada, Nunavut Arctic College has just launched a bachelor's degree program for applied business administration in accounting. There's room for 15 students this fall, and we hope every seat is filled.

Back in 2005, former auditor general Sheila Fraser urged the government to develop programs to train Inuit beneficiaries as professional accountants to ensure a stable supply of skilled financial managers.

Good financial management would "reduce the risk of error, bad decisions, and fraud" stated Fraser. "It will help provide good government to all Nunavummiut."

And Fraser would know. She had a front row seat auditing Nunavut's often sketchy handling of its finances during its first 10 years as a territory.

Record keeping was often lax; filing practices inconsistent. It took the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation over a year and a half to produce its year-end financial statements for the 2002-2003 fiscal year. Same deal for the Nunavut Housing Corporation in 2002-2003, and 2003-2004.

These sorts of delays caused the Nunavut government's own audited, consolidated financial statement for the year ending March 2004 to come out near Christmas -- in 2005.

This inability to keep proper financial records caused, and contributed to, worse problems.

Fraser observed it was common practice for departments to tabulate their accounts payable - money owed but not yet paid out - and add them to their expenses at the year's end, resulting in departments consistently going over-budget and seeking supplementary appropriations from the legislative assembly.

"We want to be clear that it is not normal for a government to ask a legislative assembly for approval to spend money after the money is already spent," she stated in her 2004 report.

The Qulliq Energy Corporation neglected to charge a rate rider or apply for a rate increase for many years while its costs exceeded its revenue, only to later jack up rates all at once by nearly 20 per cent. The Nunavut Business Credit Corporation failed to assess, document and approve its loans properly, at a cost of millions to taxpayers, as well as lost credibility for politicians. The Nunavut Housing Trust ran up a $60 million cost overrun building $200 million worth of housing, a debt which is still hampering the government's ability to provide its other programs and services.

So though it may not be the stuff of Hollywood movies, we see no other career in Nunavut with as much power to change things for the better than accounting. We need skilled financial managers, and grooming them here in Nunavut is an idea that adds up.

There's a toll on the information highway out of the Northwest Territories, and there's only one company collecting it: NorthwesTel.

Its monopoly over all fibre and microwave land lines for communication services leaving the city is why Yellowknife-based Internet service provider SSI Micro is crying foul to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

SSI accuses NorthwesTel of trying drive it out of the Internet business by charging the company rates of up to 30 times higher for its high-speed "backbone connectivity" services compared to those charged to Internet carriers down south.

This infrastructure is built, in part, through a $20.8 million annual subsidy from the National Contribution Fund, SSI Micro argues in its application to the CRTC.

The CRTC-established fund collects money from Canadian telecommunications companies to build and maintain communications infrastructure throughout the country.

In essence, SSI Micro is arguing that fees collected from southern customers are being used to prop up NorthwesTel's monopoly over land-based Internet services to Yellowknife, which gives it an unfair advantage over its competitors.

The problem is exacerbated by the growing popularity of YouTube and online movie purchases, which use up broadband width more quickly, making it even more difficult for SSI Micro to compete.

Most people recognize that monopolies are bad for the average consumer, especially up north where prices for just about everything are higher than down south.

SSI Micro wants the CRTC to require NorthwesTel to offer backbone connectivity at no more than twice the market rate in the south.

What should concern the CRTC most is that Northerners have access to the Internet at a reasonable cost. There are packages in Alberta offering 500 gigabytes of broadband for less than $70 a month. NorthwesTel provides 90 gigabytes for $129.95 a month; SSI Micro offers eight gigabytes for $59.95 a month.

It would be a shame if SSI Micro is granted reduced rates by the CRTC but the high prices charged to all Northern customers continue.

Yellowknifer recently featured the story of a dismayed father who said the Department of Social Services took away his three children in December.

He and his wife have since taken part in an alcohol-treatment program and want their children back. However, the frustrated father said the social worker responsible for the case is creating a delay while finishing paperwork and then going on vacation. He also said the social worker's word is always believed over that of the parents.

In a separate Yellowknifer story, the director of child and family services said social workers apprehend children from homes only after exhausting all other options. Often entering adversarial and volatile situations, social workers are subjected to verbal abuse and harassment, the director said. It's surely a stressful job.

She also acknowledged that, while social workers try to be responsible, there is an imbalance in power and personality conflicts with parents can exist.

It is for that reason, in such an emotionally-charged environment, that an ombudsman is needed. Although the Department of Social Services accepted a recommendation from MLAs to increase oversight and supervision of interaction between social workers and parents, this would be the job of someone within the department and still perceived as biased.

The alternative of going to the courts, as the social services director suggested, is often intimidating to parents with little legal experience and, more importantly, it can take a long time.

Only an impartial and qualified person who can review cases quicker than the courts is suited to fulfil this role. Every day of delay is another day of heartache for families torn apart.

Right now there are quite a few upset golfers in Fort Simpson.

Their ire has been raised by an act of seemingly senseless destruction. At some point between the evening of July 29 and the morning of July 30 someone drove a vehicle across the Seven Spruce Golf Course in Fort Simpson. The tracks through the grass leading on and off of the course were the most obvious signs of the incident.

What was less obvious at first was the full extent of the damage. The path of the vehicle launched it over the built-up ledge behind hole 8, which resulted in it bottoming out on the green.

If the same drive had been attempted four years ago, it wouldn't have been much of a problem. The result would have been a pit and tracks in the sand greens and possibly a stuck vehicle.

In 2009, however, the club undertook a project worth almost $290,000 to convert its remaining seven sand greens to artificial greens. The chaotically-driven vehicle in question made multiple rips in the artificial green and gouged out a hole.

Because of the location of the damage and the fact specialists would have to be brought back to the village to work on the repairs, Pat Rowe, the golf club's vice-president, said there's an approximately $60,000-price tag linked to the incident. It's no wonder that local golfers are upset.

The golf course is well used and is considered by many as one of Fort Simpson's highlights. Many golfers and other community members volunteered their time to install the artificial greens and have a sense of ownership of the course.

Unless the perpetrator can be found and made to contribute, the cost of the repair will come from the golf members' course fees and other revenues the club makes. It will, therefore, take away from any future plans for improvements the club had.

The sad thing is this isn't an isolated incident. There are often cases where one individual or a small group damages facilities or structures that belong to communities as a whole. Through their actions, which are often not thought through, those people are responsible for bringing down their whole community.

Such incidents are also disturbing because it often seems the people involved may not even feel remorse for their actions, only for the fact they are caught.

The only action that communities can take in the face of these acts of destruction is to come together. Communities need to present a united front and demonstrate such actions are far from acceptable and won't be tolerated.

By helping to identify the perpetrators and bring them to the attention of the appropriate authorities, communities can hopefully dissuade others before they make the wrong decision and damage something the community as a whole has worked hard to achieve.

Two months less a day until the next territorial election and it's interesting what people are talking about and not talking about.

Some eyes are focused on the big projects, like the Tuktoyaktuk all-weather road or the fibre-optic link that will connect the NWT to the rest of world through faster Internet. The economy is important and these projects need to be addressed, but what about the social issues?

Residents of Inuvik don't have it bad as a regional hub. We have services and facilities that the smaller communities can only dream about. We're connected to the rest of the world by a beautiful, if sketchy, road, have a new hospital, a new school near completion, a great recreation centre and a beautiful greenhouse, but there are still issues that need to be addressed by candidates.

Health care is a serious issue here. While the infrastructure may exist, it doesn't mean much if there aren't enough doctors or nurses to serve the community. As noted in a News/North story earlier this week, there aren't enough doctors to go around to the smaller communities during the summer months. What will candidates do about that? Inuvik doesn't have that many permanent doctors and this community could be short of doctors just as easily as the other communities.

Other issues to be addressed in Inuvik include the homeless people – how are they doing? Where are they from? Why are they on the street? How is their access to health care and how healthy are they? There are many people in Inuvik without a home and what can be done about that? What help do they need to live a better life? Affordable housing? Counselling? Job training? Any number of solutions are available and these should be of concern.

The economy is important and without business, communities usually find their end. Yet the people who live here are the ones who should be priorities for candidates thinking of running -- mothers, fathers, students and children, semi-transient people who move to Inuvik, aboriginal and non-aboriginal, homeless and business owners. Everyone votes (well, everyone over 18) and chances are they all have issues they would like to hear addressed.

Candidates, make sure your campaigns address all aspects of the community. We're the people voting for you and living in your riding.

This city needs more homes and an enterprising developer intends to deliver, critics be damned.

The vacancy rate for apartments in Yellowknife stood at a mere 0.8 per cent in April, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

The number of homes on the market, especially those under $350,000, are very few. There's pent-up demand for housing. Proof of that came when dozens of new Copper Sky condos were snatched up within a couple of days earlier this year. Demand for the condos, villas and townhomes being constructed in Niven Lake is also high.

So one would think there would be jubilation when Homes North and the GNWT swung a deal last week to swap land, which would create a new subdivision. Les Rocher, owner of Homes North, exchanged three of his downtown lots - which he had purchased for $642,000 -- in return for a 118,459 square metre tract of real estate in Kam Lake, not far from North Slave Correctional Centre. Rocher plans to put 90 to 120 manufactured homes on the site, which is believed to be valued at a much higher rate than the downtown lots - but few of us know for sure because the appraisal is not being disclosed.

Rocher has been vilified by some, but he is undeniably someone who gets things done. Over the past decade when there have been a housing crunches, primarily caused by the flocks of new workers at the Ekati and Diavik diamond mines, it was Rocher who opened up new subdivisions to relieve the pressure. He has faced controversy over zoning and been accused of encroaching on green space.

While his record is not flawless, he has kept the city out of the development business, which is a good thing. The city failed to recoup more than $2 million it sunk into developing Phase I of Niven Lake almost a decade ago.

Now it's Rocher who takes the risks and reaps the rewards, as he recently did in the Con and Rycon area, installing new manufactured homes.

There's a public hearing for rezoning set for Aug. 8. The city will hear concerns regarding the change in status of Rocher's new lot to residential from public service. That means the process is still largely accountable, which is essential, but so is having more homes for Yellowknife residents.

At a time when many Yk retailers are abandoning downtown in favour of the city's uptown, box-store approach to business, Weaver and Devore remains a testament to the fact that merchants can also thrive in Old Town.

The general store and camp supplier recently celebrated its 75th anniversary and remains a landmark and even a tourist draw.

Through good times and bad, and against growing online competition, Weaver and Devore has somehow carried on, weathering the ups and downs of the North's mining sector and the bounty and disappointment it can bring. The general goods store has succeeded as a family business that has been able to rely on the contribution a large family can make - including "child labour" in the form of younger family members willing to help serve customers, as Ken Weaver recalls.

Weaver and Devore has also lasted this long because it's simply a good business providing a necessary service and paying attention to the needs of both industry and walk-in customers. The crowded store with its narrow aisles - and basic supplies ranging from porridge to parkas as well as specialty items one would not expect to find - is a reminder that business can be bustling, even in Old Town.

Summer vacation doesn't mean it's time to stop learning. It may be a break from school and textbooks for kids and teenagers, but that doesn't mean it's time to turn the switch to autopilot.

Rather, it's a time for young people to try new things and explore. It's time to find out what they're good at and what they like to do. And there have been all kinds of opportunities for youth in the region to do just that this summer.

For example, last week there was a music camp in Rankin Inlet that gave kids aged eight to 16 the opportunity to throatsing, hip- hop dance, play the fiddle or the guitar.

The camp brought the school to life despite it being the middle of summer vacation.

Anyone who walked into the Leo Ussak Elementary School during the five-day camp was greeted with music - whether it was Michael Jackson coming from a stereo in the gym where kids were practising their dance moves, or a few G chords coming from a classroom where they were trying their hand at the guitar.

It was fantastic to see the kids spend five of their summer days having fun while learning new skills. Although the camp is now over, camp facilitator Andrew Morrison and the other instructors took two nights during the week to encourage and instruct musicians in the community, so that they are able to continue teaching youth.

This is the most important part of the camp; It is a way for the learning to continue beyond the five days. Now, it's up to the skilled musicians to step up and take the initiative. They need to encourage the youth to build on their new talents, whether it be with positive words, a few pointers or lessons.

It's like the old adage "it takes a village to raise a child." In this case, it takes the effort and care of experienced musicians to foster the interest and excellence of those that are just beginning.

With a small effort from the community, youth will gain a great deal from learning an instrument or learning to throat-sing or hip-hop dance.

It can provide youth with a constructive summer activity, a retreat from stress and an outlet for anger, frustration and sadness. It teaches them patience, concentration, co-ordination, creativity, rhythm and tone.

It also helps them gain self-confidence, not only from the positive reinforcement they receive from their families, friends and community members, but also from the knowledge that they are able to learn and succeed.

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