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The arrangement between the City of Yellowknife and local artist Francois "T-Bo" Thibault for the centrepiece sculpture in Somba K'e Civic Plaza is just plain confusing.

The commissioned art in question, a trio of six-metre-tall drum dancers titled United in Celebration, decorates the Frame Lake waterfront near city hall. T-Bo erected the sculpture in August 2009, and he has plans for a second phase to complete his vision.

The artist addressed councillors during a municipal services committee meeting last week to appeal for payment for his labour. It seems there is a discrepancy between what the artist feels he is presently owed and what the city feels it is obligated to pay and when.

United in Celebration is arguably the most prominent artwork in Yellowknife, and there is no doubt city hall understands its value.

The city's 2012 tourist guide features a photo of the steel sculpture with a caption touting the area as the "perfect spot" for a picnic. Clearly, the city considers the massive sculpture an asset that contributes to this idyllic site for tourists.

The city also showcased the sculpture as a backdrop for the 2009 Olympic torch relay and last year's royal visit by Prince William and Duchess Catherine Middleton. During these historic spectacles, United in Celebration was chosen from among all Yellowknife's majestic vistas to represent the city to international audiences.

Artists, like any other professionals contracted by the city, are expected to deliver quality work. The city, on behalf of its residents, is expected to pay them according to clearly defined contracts. In this case the artist seems to have done the work, and the city has derived substantial benefit, but observers can't yet be sure whether the city met its obligation to compensate him.

Public art enhances life in the capital, and the city should take it seriously enough to properly design contracts when it asks artists to share their creativity.

You ever dream of playing hockey in the NHL? If you do, you are far from being the only one.

Canada ranks number one in the world with 572,411 registered hockey players, according to the International Ice Hockey Federation. That's 1.68 per cent of the population.

China, the most populous country on Earth with 1.3 billion people, has only 613 registered players. No wonder Canada is considered the best hockey nation in the world, and the primary contributor of talent to the NHL. Our passion for the game also means competition to crack the roster of a professional team is extremely fierce.

Yellowknife's Tye Hand is well aware of that after playing a full season with the Drumheller Dragons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League where he notched one point in 25 games. The 16-year-old defenceman managed a feat few minor league hockey players are able to accomplish: he got drafted to a team in the Western Hockey League - just one step below the NHL.

It's even more remarkable considering how difficult it is for young men like Hand to travel hundreds of kilometres down south just to get a chance to play professionally.

Alas, Hand has yet to play a game for the WHL's Everett Silvertips of Washington since being drafted in 2010. This says less about his talent and more about how hard it is to break into professional hockey.

He isn't the only Yellowknifer, past or present, with his sights on an NHL career. At least two Yellowknife-raised players - Vic Mercredi and Greg Vaydik - actually made it to the NHL, if only briefly. Mercredi, a centre/left winger, played two games with the Atlanta Flames; Vaydik, a centre, lasted five with the Chicago Black Hawks.

It's a world of hard knocks out there. We hope opportunities continue to knock for Hand and other would-be Yellowknife hockey greats.

In my capacity as a branch referee-in-chief for Hockey North - and a guy who's worn the stripes for a good many years - many people have asked me about what they perceive to be a lower standard of officiating in this year's NHL playoffs.

NHL officials, in my humble opinion, are the best in the world.

And I'm more than a little uncomfortable criticizing the way guys I look up to - almost in awe for the level they've achieved - have been calling the game this spring.

It's like taking one of our best local hockey players and asking him to critique the play of Sidney Crosby.

As good as our guy may be, Crosby is at a whole different level and then some.

But hockey is hockey and there are comparisons to be made between the NHL game and what we enjoy watching in our local arenas every year.

One area you will never hear me criticize an official, or any given crew of officials, is when a high-stick infraction is missed.

Today's game is played at an incredible pace and, with so many large bodies moving at such high speeds, a high stick can happen in the blink of an eye among an often tangled mass of humanity.

There are few worse feelings as an official than when blood is dripping down a player's face and you didn't see what happened.

It gets even worse seconds afterwards when you call your crew together and none can attest to seeing it. It's also difficult to criticize refs on marginal calls.

So many factors come into play, not the least of which is how many players try to 'sell' a call in today's game.

It's almost like soccer in that some players are dealt a glancing blow and then go down as if they've been shot.

Then they stare at the ref, and turn their gloves upwards in the universal hockey sign language of where's the call?

Having said all that, there are two areas I feel NHL refs have been lacking in during these playoffs.

The first is consistency with their calls.

Almost nothing infuriates players or coaches more than refs letting almost everything go for more than two periods and then making a chintzy call late in the game.

Almost as maddening for them is when what wasn't a penalty the previous game suddenly becomes one now, and both have unfolded often during these playoffs.

Finally, there's the phantom call, the best example of which was retired NHL ref Mick McGeough emphatically waving off a game-tying goal in Edmonton because of a hand pass that never occurred.

The hand-pass-that-never-happened call has been made three times during these playoffs, minus McGeough's over-the-top theatrics.

Just like not awarding a supposed goal when no member of the crew actually saw the puck enter the net, such calls should never be made unless the official is 110 per cent sure of what he saw, especially at the NHL level.

I agree the standard of officiating has been lower than usual during these playoffs, but the game gets tougher to call every year.

At the risk of leaning on a cliche to end my thoughts, no matter how good they are, officials are human beings and human beings sometimes make mistakes.

In hockey, one can only hope that mistake doesn't come at the worst possible time.

A valuable education program is closing its doors after 12 years.

Since 1990, the Western Arctic Leadership Program in Fort Smith has been providing high school students from many of the NWT's remote communities a chance to obtain a high school diploma and access classes not available in their local schools.

Since the program's inception, between 17 and 19 students from outside Fort Smith enrol each year and take classes at PWK High School. Not only does that demonstrate a commitment to education by the students choosing to leave home, but it also boosts PWK's financial ability to offer additional resources.

Over the past 12 years, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment's funding for the program has remained constant at approximately $275,000 annually. Jay Macdonald, a house parent with the leadership program, says because the funding has not kept up with inflation it was becoming more difficult to meet its financial needs.

Unfortunately ECE is trying to put a positive spin on the program's closure. In a written statement, the department indicated that grade extensions in most communities now allow students to graduate in their community, implying the educational climate in the NWT as evolved beyond its need for programs such as the Western Arctic Leadership Program.

Unfortunately that is hardly the case.

Although the option to attend school through to graduation is available in most NWT communities, the quality of that education has been frequently called into question.

Students in the NWT's smaller communities have consistently scored below their peers in the capital and regional hubs on annual achievement tests. Students and parents also often complain that considerable academic upgrading is required for NWT graduates wishing to pursue post-secondary education in the south.

Providing students with more options to achieve an education is worth the money. Had the GNWT chosen to at the least keep up with inflation in providing funding to the Western Arctic Leadership Program, we'd still have this valuable program to help produce future territorial leaders and role models, resources with immeasurable value.

Spending money to send our minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment to Houston, Texas, to push the NWT as the next destination for offshore oil development is ultimately a waste of the finances our government continuously states it lacks.

That's not to say the territory wouldn't benefit from offshore oil -- if done with the most stringent checks and balances -- but Minister David Ramsay has no power over whether companies choose to develop in the North.

The Mackenzie Valley Pipeline is a lesson for Ramsay. His predecessors, Bob McLeod and Brendan Bell, travelled frequently to push the value of the pipeline, but companies don't pay the bills with chatter from politicians. In the end, the economics, based on the price of natural gas, will decide if that project moves forward.

Ramsay can talk until he is blue in the face and never convince a corporate giant to invest in a money-losing project.

The best we can do is improve our regulatory system and infrastructure so when the climate is favourable, companies will be enticed to work in the NWT; bringing all the associated benefits to the people who live here.

We're not saying Ramsay should not promote business in the NWT but he can do so from closer to home and choose to spend money on travel to push sectors government has more control over. Ramsay's trip to Saint John, N.B., to attend a meeting of Canadian Council of Tourism Ministers earlier this month is an example of business travel that could add value to our tourism industry.

The anger at Nutrition North is continuing to rise in some circles, and the system needs to quickly fine-tune how these subsidies work.

The protest in Coral Harbour earlier this month illustrates that people in some communities are still seeing little benefit from the program. However, there have been some benefits that can't be ignored.

North West Company vice-president Michael McMullen said items such as milk, potatoes and tomatoes have dropped in price and those products are actually selling better than they used to as a result. This is good news.

Last fall, customers in Clyde River noticed milk go down to around $4 from $10. However, milk prices have not plummeted in all communities and, as protesters noted, on some healthy foods the price drop has been less than a dollar - that's too little to a consumer. Price drops need to be in multiple dollars on healthy foods in Nunavut.

Besides pumping more money into subsidizing healthy food and country food into the program, there are a few other things that can make the system work better.

McMullen said auditors are welcome in any of his company's stores, and Ottawa should be dispatching those auditors at least annually while this program is getting on its feet. The Co-ops ought to be audited just the same. If the subsidies are not being fully passed on to the consumer it's not necessarily deliberate. Just the same, an auditor can close the gaps. These audits must be made public, or else there is no point in doing them. Once public money is involved, the public must be able to see how it's being used.

The Co-ops and North West Co. stores should be able to reduce prices as they become better versed in Nutrition North, and as the program is improved.

Education is important as well. The GN's initiative to have its nutritionist work on several recipes using affordable, healthy food is an excellent idea and it should be built upon.

Meanwhile, the Coral Harbour protesters have demonstrated that some people are unhappy with Nutrition North as it exists now, and that food is still too expensive. These demonstrators deserve kudos and thanks for doing something about it and having their voices heard. Hopefully Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq got the message and concentrates on streamlining this program. Despite her comments in the House of Commons last week - in the face of an embarrassing United Nations investigation into food insecurity in Canada - about environmentalists who protest hunting being the source of the problem instead of families being unable to afford food, food insecurity is a huge issue in Northern Canada and change is not happening fast enough.

She was obviously just following party-line rhetoric, which is much easier to do than recognize the problem and say something needs to change. Yes, hunting and fishing play a big roles in Inuit lives, but obviously people are also relying on milk, eggs and bacon - grocery stores wouldn't be in business otherwise.

The system can be better, and change can occur faster. Let's take steps to make it happen.

Complaints about Yellowknife's perennial Goliath status when it comes to sports funding and sports venues are nothing new.

Yellowknife has long dominated the territory's sports scene, and that didn't change when MLAs responded to the complaints by creating a new level of bureaucracy with the NWT Sports and Recreation Council in 2004.

The reality is, as long as communities, particularly mid-sized communities like Hay River and Fort Smith - the ones that seem to complain the most - lag behind in critical mass and facilities, they will always play second fiddle to Yellowknife.

When Yellowknife was awarded the 2008 Arctic Winter Games for the fifth time since the Games began in 1970, the news was greeted predictably enough with more sour grapes from our neighbours to the south.

Fort Smith had teamed up with Hay River for a joint bid to host the games but still lost.

"It seems like Yellowknife wants everything," complained Peter Martselos, former mayor of Fort Smith. "Yellowknife is busy enough the way it is."

Games president Gerry Thick summed up the problem with the competing bid as this: "I think the air travel, the space available for the athletes and where officials were staying was questionable."

It seems what Martselos really ought to have acknowledged is not so much that Yellowknife "wants everything," it's that it "has everything" - bigger and better facilities, more hotels and lodgings, and nearly half the population of the territory.

Fort Smith hockey coach Roger Vail was right to point out last week that many of the problems related to funding and organization are "made in Yellowknife." The seemingly bloated and inefficient bureaucracy for the Sports and Recreation Council and for Sport North, the NWT's largest sports organization, largely resides and operates here. That's bound to breed resentment in the smaller communities.

Yellowknife-based sports groups therefore have a responsibility to listen to these concerns and take them seriously.

It's really easy to look at all our great facilities and wealth of volunteers to aid our young athletes and sports teams, and not see much beyond them. In that sense we really are like a mini-Toronto - forever scorned - deservedly or not - for our "centre of the universe" view of the city as it relates to the rest of the territory.

If funding and organization is lacking, if community athletes are prevented from joining Yellowknife athletes to participate in out-of-territory sporting events or coming here to enjoy our facilities, Yellowknife sports groups should be at the head of the table demanding answers.

It's to our city's benefit, as the territory's largest municipality and the capital, to ensure sporting activities are available and open to residents from all NWT communities.

It's not difficult to discern that the reductions to staff at the Nahanni National Park Reserve are a bad thing.

Fort Simpson and particularly Nahanni Butte are not large communities. The losses of any jobs in these locations quickly have ripple effects.

It's undoubtedly true the federal government needs to save money and cuts have to be made somewhere. It's almost an insult, however, that some of the cuts are coming out of the Nahanni National Park Reserve.

As many Fort Simpson residents will remember, Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited the village on Aug. 8, 2007. The purpose of his visit was to announce the expansion of the park then from 4,766 square km to approximately 28,000 square km.

Harper told the assembled crowd gathered outside of McPherson House on the banks of the Mackenzie River, "This is arguably the most important act of environmental protection in this country in a generation." By reducing staff positions at the park almost five years later, Harper's government is essentially turning its back on the achievement it was once so proud to promote.

Sure, the expanded park boundary will still stand, but the staff that was helping to manage, "The wonders of the Nahanni," as Harper called it, is being eroded.

Some past staffing gains at the park are also being lost.

Some jobs that used to be full year are being reduced to half-year positions. Other jobs, including the staff that interact with tourists in the park, are going from half-year jobs to three-month terms, according to some sources. Three months isn't much time to make a living.

The reductions are going to have negative effects.

The ability of the park to provide a full-visitor experience will be reduced. Because many of the tourism-related businesses in the region, such as airlines, tour companies and hotels, are partially dependent on the park any drop in tourism numbers will affect them.

In Fort Simpson and Nahanni Butte, some park employees will lose part of their incomes. This will mean fewer people in the communities for parts of the year and less money being spent. It's a lose, lose situation.

The federal government is making a mistake with these cuts. It may be saving a bit of money but it will also be harming a national treasure and the communities that surround it.

When two Inuvik women travelled to Yellowknife last week to participate in the Elders Parliament at the legislative assembly, they brought with them concerns about the major issues affecting elders in the area.

Based on what was brought to the legislature, many elders in the North are facing serious problems.

Some of the issues raised during the Elders Parliament are a byproduct of the increasing gap between older and younger generations living in the Delta. Imagine the strain of fighting a language barrier in your own hometown, or the fear that your traditions and your knowledge will die with you.

Respecting one's elders is important in any culture, but arguably more so in the North. Because of circumstances outside of their control, much of the traditional knowledge that allowed people to survive in this harsh climate for thousands of years has been lost. Still more lives on only in the memories of those who are old enough to remember it. Every time one of these people dies without passing on their knowledge is a tragedy.

There is hope on this front, with new programs such as the aboriginal language and culture instructor program at Aurora College, which recently graduated 11 students with full diplomas in the discipline, along with five students who were already school teachers but now hold certificates in teaching aboriginal culture. With this batch of new instructors released back into their communities, there is the promise of many more opportunities for young people to learn about traditional knowledge.

Some of the issues raised were arguably more disturbing than others. For example, if the GNWT follows through with their plan to implement the new rent scale, some elders say they will face the terrible choice between shelter and food. These are basic human needs. Most, if not all, of these elders have fed and housed young people in their time. Does that not give them the right to be taken care of the same way?

Yesterday, the Inuvik Justice Committee hosted a professional development class simply titled Elder Abuse. One of the goals of this workshop was to create a dialogue around a serious problem many people fail to recognize, or don't know how to acknowledge.

Being the victim of abuse at any age is terrible, but the idea of an elder being taken advantage of in this way – be it emotionally, physically or financially – is particularly appalling.

Elders are individuals like everyone else. They have strengths and weaknesses, faults and attributes. The one thing they all have in common is the time they have spent living here – and many of them have spent a good deal of that time raising children and taking care of others.

They should not have to worry about issues like housing, food security and safety in their old age. It should be their turn to be taken care of.

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