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Every new year presents the opportunity to celebrate the successes of the past, learn from mistakes and plan for the future.

Here in the NWT, it is vital we focus on making the NWT a desirable place to live. Last year the NWT was one of the only jurisdictions in Canada ­ and the only territory -- to experience a population decrease. More than 400 people left the territory last year taking nearly $11 million in federal funding with them.

Why? We could point to cost of living, yet, Nunavut, which has higher costs than the NWT, grew last year. The logical conclusion is economy.

The mines are on the down swing, potential replacement mines are waiting in the regulatory system or on investors. Our biggest project ­ the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline ­ judging by the supply and cost of natural gas at this time is likely a no go.

Population is driven by economy. Regions surge during a boom and what the NWT needs now is a boom.

Business developments such as the Hay River egg-grading facility's expansion into the local market and wood pellet processing facility in the same region are encouraging. In terms of the wood pellets, there is huge potential for expansion and many potential jobs in forestry, a virtually untapped market in the NWT.

Sahtu oil and gas as well as off shore work in the Beaufort Sea might also have huge gains, not to mention the short term needs to build the road from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk. What the North truly needs is another long-term mine. That would allow us the economic boost we need and the opportunity to continue building our economy to be less reliant on natural resources, which are finite.

A push to revive the multi-milliondollar outfitting industry should happen in the new year, with an aboriginal focus. Aboriginal people are still allowed to hunt most wild game in the territory and the option to sell tags to sport hunters would yield tourism dollars and employment income in smaller communities.

With a little training, First Nations, Inuit and Metis people could develop small-scale operations as outfitters or even go so far as to develop lodge experiences. Most sport hunters pay for the experience and the chance to bring a trophy home, which would mean most of the meat would still be available to the outfitter's family or community.

Quality of life is also essential to population growth. That means healthy communities with access to arts, entertainment and recreation.

The Northern Arts and Cultural Centre's on The Edge Season, the legacy of former executive director Ben Nind, is an excellent program which brings performances to Northern communities and has made NACC a truly Northern theatre. Not only should that program continue, it should be enhanced and grow to include more communities.

Our health care system has always been lauded for its quality people and services despite the challenges, but work needs to be done to improve our staff retention and addiction treatment.

While hiring and retention bonuses were eliminated for nursing staff in the NWT a decade ago, Nunavut still offers bonuses to its nurses, which places the NWT at a disadvantage. Although the government of the day said the bonuses didn't work and were inequitable, it chose to continue offering doctors bonuses.

Finally, our approach to addictions treatment must change. The model of having one treatment centre in the NWT, located in Hay River, is not working. That facility consistently operates at 50 per cent capacity, despite the high level of addictions issues in the North. Sporting opportunities are also in abundance in the NWT thanks to organizations such as Sport North and The Aboriginal Sports Circle of the Western Arctic. Athletes in the NWT have the opportunity to compete away from home and internationally.

The NWT has produced both Olympic and professional athletes. A lot of that success can be attributed to the Arctic Winter Games, one of the driving forces for sport development in the NWT.

The decision by the Arctic Winter Games International Committee to award Greenland the Games for 2014 means six sports, including speedskating, will be eliminated that year. This will have a huge impact on athletic development here. Sport North and the other sports organizations must continue to fight the decision and hope to reinstate those sports for 2014.

Barring that, it is vital alternative high-level competition be found for the young athletes who will miss out and likely be too old when the games head to Fairbanks, AL, in 2016.

Our territory is full of potential and we must work to develop it for coming years to help attract more people and to convince our youth to stay and raise the next generation North of 60.

Headlines from the past year reveal a political scandal that ushered Minister Fred Schell from cabinet, a fire devastating Iqaluit, police repeatedly being targeted by gun crime, sea ice reaching historic lows and Baffinland's iron-ore project moving out of the realm of dreams and into reality.

Gun violence remains an alarming issue in our territory. Any instance of shooting at a human being is deeply disturbing, but police found themselves in the line of fire several times this year. A man blasted off several shots into the homes of two Kimmirut police officers earlier this year; an armed standoff with police ended peacefully at Qikiqtani General Hospital in Iqaluit; a man was arrested in Iglulik for pointing a rifle at police; and a potentially fatal incident in Kimmirut was averted when about 10 community members subdued a man who had fired 21 rounds into the community's RCMP detachment.

The root cause of this, of course, is not the guns but the people wielding them with reckless abandon. Mental health and alcohol are largely to blame for the high number of firearms incidents, as is true with domestic violence. Many troubled people feel they have no one to turn to, nowhere to go and no way out of the situation they're in. There are people available for help, if not immediately within the community, then through the territory's helplines. That said, there needs to be additional professional mental health services throughout Nunavut. Beefing up psychological care will be costly and attracting professionals will remain a challenge, but it should be a constant goal backed by the resources necessary to accomplish it.

In other news, Arctic sea ice hit a historic low this year. If the trend continues, some scientists are warning that the Arctic may soon become a very different place for those who live here and for those who are working to develop industry.

In February, we saw devastation but also compassion. Two died and more than 80 were left homeless due to a massive fire at Iqaluit's Creekside Village. The whole territory's heart was worn on its sleeve - donations of cash, clothes and food piled in, and even those without direct links to the affected were rallying in support.

Over the course of the year, South Baffin MLA Fred Schell showed us all what not to do in political office - namely, don't use ministerial authority to exact personal grudges on employees, and definitely don't lie about it under oath afterward. It was by no means the first instance of shady politics in the North and will surely not be the last, but it's up to regular Nunavummiut to demand better of their politicians and in the upcoming 2013 election, they'll get the chance to do just that.

Behind all these headlines and others were the people whose lives were affected or irrevocably altered. In the news industry, it is often harder to get the human side of a story than it is to get the facts. The North's isolation can make people feel reserved, but without telling the stories of those affected, the news loses its link with day-to-day life.

Nunavut News/North looks forward to hearing from you as 2013 starts to unfold before us.

It's Christmas Eve and the city is feeling the festive spirit as shoppers rush for that last-minute gift or the final ingredients to complete this year's holiday feast.

Here at the Yellowknifer office, we also feel the magic of holiday giving. As we remember the past year, we can't help but think of the perfect gift for some of our community's most notable figures and organizations.

So, without further ado, here is our annual Christmas wish list:

Where better to start than with the City of Yellowknife who gave Yellowknifer and its loyal readers the early Christmas present of improved communication following the municipal election in October. In return, we wish the city a boom in economic development and hope it attracts buyers for the struggling Engle Business District which has sold only five of its 20 lots since 2007.

Those good tidings can be shared with the Yk Centre Mall which, with the departure of Athlete's World on the horizon, becomes more vacant with each passing year.

The Yellowknives Dene's hope for a resort and conference centre on Twin Pine Hill could help with the city's economic boost. Perhaps this Christmas the concept, which has existed in some variation for more than two decades, will finally move closer to reality. If not we ask Santa to bring another supply of patience.

Ice Road Truckers sparked our city's foray onto the TV screen and follow-up shows such as Arctic Air and Ice Pilots NWT have built on that momentum. We feel for Alex Debogorski, our city's first prime-time celebrity, who was snubbed by NWT Tourism when it signed Arctic Air's Adam Beach as the poster boy to promote tourism in our territory. There is hope, however. Debogorski is known around the globe due to his Ice Road Truckers fame, and we hope he instead snags a cushy deal with a country boasting warm sunny beaches during our coldest months. Enjoy the warmth, Alex!

From carbon producer Debogorski, we move to anti-carbon crusader Bob Bromley, who continues to fight for the NWT's first emissions tax despite staunch opposition from much of the public and some of his colleagues. For Bromley we ask for a gladiatorial fighting pit. Clad in armour made of tree bark, Bromley can take on all challengers in the new year, including rival MLA Daryl Dolynny, who will enter the ring revving his Hummer.

We ask the GNWT to feel the Christmas spirit and give the Yellowknife Artist Run Community Centre the salvaged material from the old Pentecostal Church, where the organization squatted for a number of months before the building was demolished to make way for government offices. The centre, which is struggling to make rent on its new space, can muster its creative spirits and make good use of the scrap material to build a new, permanent home - perhaps Yellowknife Bay's newest houseboat.

To avoid the unwanted nickname Dumpy McDump Park, we ask Santa to make an extra stop in Yellowknife once his trips are done and load his empty sleigh with the 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide that has been causing our city anxiety for decades. That poisonous material can be frozen in the North Pole instead of underground here in Yk.

On a more serious note, we ask Santa to bring Northland Trailer Park residents the gift of luck. With predictions for a harsh winter, it is our sincere hope the crumbling pipes under homes there remain intact until replacement pipe work begins next year.

Wherever you may reside, we sincerely wish you a merry Christmas and all the best in 2013.

What's missing now that city council is acknowledging the downtown district energy plan is in ashes is an admission from its cheerleaders of the colossal mistakes made pursuing it.

Some of these pom-pom wavers are still on council - Bob Brooks, Cory Vanthuyne, and our new mayor Mark Heyck.

When Yellowknifer asked individual city councillors to identify the benefits - and risks - of district energy in the lead up to the March 2011 referendum, none of the aforementioned councillors would identify actual risks. In fact, the closest any of them came to offering anything other than a glowing endorsement of the project was Heyck's insistence that any risks "can be mitigated through careful planning and due diligence."

Well, city taxpayers should thank their lucky stars then because it is quite apparent after speaking with some of Yellowknife's largest property owners last week that due diligence went out the window as fast as city councillors clambered aboard the district energy bandwagon.

Had a majority of residents not voted "no" in the referendum, city hall would have had free rein to spend $49 million on a district energy system that had no discernible business plan.

Oh, there were studies. Reams of them. The city acknowledges it spent $787,000 in 2011 on district energy, mostly on designing a system to convert biomass into heat. Yellowknifers will likely never know the true cost of staff time and travel that was put into this scheme.

What was missing was a solid business case to take to the owners of the 39 downtown properties the city had hoped to sign on as its customers. That was the case before the referendum, and it was the case afterward when private partner Corix Utilities was brought on board to bail out the city's sinking dreams of tapping Con Mine for geothermal energy.

A year after the city signed an agreement-in-principle with Corix, downtown property owners were still wondering what it would cost for them to sign on, and whether it was still a geothermal project or just district energy with a central heating unit.

Representatives with Dundee Real Estate Investment Trust, one of the largest commercial property owners in Canada and owner of five buildings in Yellowknife, said they never heard back from the city after being given a presentation on district energy last spring.

Heyck entered office with a pledge to open the lines of communication, but all he has offered on district energy to date are platitudes and defence of administration.

Successfully communicating a vision to the public requires testing your methods publicly. This newspaper has stated numerous times that we were never against the concept of supplying heat to downtown buildings with central heat, and augmenting that with geothermal energy from Con Mine - if that proved possible.

But the city has never been able to answer questions to anyone's satisfaction, particularly when it came to expenses and money . That is why it has suffered one humiliating defeat after another on district energy. Now it is as dead as the Con energy link on the city website's home page and the people to be held accountable are those city councillors who joined the choir of environmental evangelism instead of asking the tough questions people expected them to ask.

And now, once again, administration is leading council around with a $14-million carrot from Ottawa, even as some councillors complain about the lack of time or information to consider the proposal.

They should beware the headlong rush made by those before them, and the old adage: you can't learn from your mistakes if you don't admit them.

The Christmas season is upon us.

If you're reading this paper on Thursday, Christmas is only six days away. The arrival of the holiday season is heralded in many ways in the Deh Cho.

In some communities, Christmas bazaars are a sign the holiday is just around the corner. In other communities, it's the sight of Christmas lights on houses and trees that really kick starts the Christmas spirit.

Around the Deh Cho, schools are also doing their part by holding Christmas concerts. Whether they are big or small productions, weeks of planning go into them.

Some recent events that involved the holiday spirit included a Family Literacy Christmas Special in Fort Liard, a Christmas parade in Fort Simpson and the Deh Gah Christmas Sled Dog Race in Fort Providence. In some communities there used to be a tradition of dogsled races around the holidays so it is nice to see them making a comeback.

While people are rushing to get last-minute Christmas presents, finishing off holiday grocery shopping and putting up last-minute decorative touches, it's important to remember what the season is all about. In many ways Christmas is about spending time with family and friends and being grateful for the things we have even as we hope to get more things under the tree on Christmas morning.

At this time of the year it's important to spend a bit of time thinking about others.

There are a variety of ways this can be done. It can be as easy as donating food to a local organization that runs a food bank or makes Christmas hampers. It can also take the form of donating gently-used toys or winter clothes that your family no longer needs.

Sometimes the gift of time is all that is needed. The holidays are a terrible time to be alone. People can take a bit of time to visit a local elder who maybe doesn't receive many visitors. Bringing along a ready-cooked meal or Christmas dessert would be an added gift.

The holiday spirit, after all, is about more than creating wishlists and hoping for presents.

Christmas is about sharing with others what you are fortunate enough to have and what they may be without. If everyone took a bit of time over this holiday season to do something for someone else without thought of recognition or repayment, it will make Christmas that much brighter in the Deh Cho.

For the past week, nearly everywhere I went someone brought up the issue of East 3 School's parking lot. I spent hours listening to people talk about what needs to be done and what should have been done. I heard some solutions that sounded good and some that were interesting, but ultimately every discussion came back to the fact that traffic signs haven't been put up.

It's a good point. There is no denying the Department of Public Works should have been on top of the issue and the signs should have been in place before school started.

That said, at the end of the day I don't think it will solve the root of the problem, which is that the parking lot is currently too small to accommodate all the staff, the elementary kids and the high school students at East 3.

Once Samuel Hearne is torn down and another entrance is added to the lot, the problem will hopefully resolve itself. In the interim, parents, staff, the Inuvik District Education Authority (IDEA) and the town need to figure out how to deal with the situation.

Let me stress that this isn't just on the shoulders of the IDEA or the town. This is a community issue and we all need to do our part before someone gets hurt.

For parents, taking action can be as easy as sitting your child down over the holiday and going over road safety one more time. Then, in the new year, drivers should remind themselves to be especially careful while in that area.

I think part of the reason why the parking lot situation didn't rear its ugly head during the first week of school wasn't because the RCMP was there to direct traffic – it was simply because they were there.

Just the presence of a police officer encourages people to be extra safe. For example, if you're driving 20 km/h over the speed limit when you see a police vehicle, what do you do? You slow down.

So let's all think of the school zone that same way. When you see East 3, slow down and be on your best behaviour.

I think the IDEA also really needs to consider creating a safety patrol. Mind you, I know the idea is on its radar and the authority is looking into the liability issues related to such an endeavour. I just hope that it happens, for a number of reasons: one, it will make the parking lot safer; two, it gives students some responsibility; and three, it hammers home the importance of safety.

The proposal for a carbon tax in the NWT is more about feeling good about making some sort of effort to "save the planet" than really accomplishing something.

But there are many more reasons why using this method in an attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is ridiculous.

Talk of imposing a carbon tax on Yellowknifers, as proposed to the GNWT by Ecology North, is little more than a symbolic gesture toward being environmentally responsible. In reality, however, the amount of greenhouse gases emitted in the territory is negligible.

And increasing the price of fuel, in hopes of encourage the motoring public and industry to conserve gasoline, will not be accepted by many Yk residents when one considers the price is already more than $1.38 per litre for regular grade. We suggest most consumers already keep a close eye on their gas gauges and are mindful of wasteful usage. The same might not be said for government employees who leave fleet vehicles running because there is no money coming out of their own pockets, but internal policy could address that.

Also problematic is the costly and burdensome administration that would surely accompany the establishment of a carbon tax regime. Residents are already doing their part by paying recycling fees on such things as plastic milk containers and shopping bags.

Ecology North's Doug Ritchie is correct with his assertion that people don't understand what a carbon tax is, how it would work and are leery of it because it contains the word "tax."

Nobody wants another tax, even if it's supposed to be revenue-neutral. The idea is that money would be collected based on the amount of carbon consumed, then returned in the form of tax reductions or rebates.

We think the territorial government could realize real gains by focusing efforts on reducing dependency on diesel-generated electricity and continue exploring alternative sources of energy.

There has already been some success with hydro and wood pellet boilers. Wind turbines are showing real promise at Diavik Diamond Mine. Continuing down that road would not only do more for the planet than charging consumers, it would also save us money. That's the "win-win" that we could all get behind.

In the 1930s, Yellowknife was a remote gold mining town that nonetheless offered a number of social groups to keep miners entertained between shifts.

In 1938, a group of 15 women, community-minded pioneers, organized the Daughters of the Midnight Sun as a creative outlet that not only amused their peers but raised money for charity.

Known for their vaudeville variety shows held twice a year at the Elks Club, the women would use audacious humour to satirize icons and issues of the day. The biggest personalities earned the biggest gags on stage. When politicians debated legalizing prostitution, the Daughters lined up for their licences during one of their skits.

They sold plenty of tickets for their shows by organizing a longest-day-of-the-year pub crawl, in which they dressed in costume and cajoled patrons and proprietors into donating to their worthy causes.

Proceeds from ticket sales and raffles helped pay to ship oranges and candies to NWT communities at Christmas, support foster children and anonymously supply heating oil to Yellowknife families in need, among other compassionate initiatives. Offstage, the women who made up the group, which entertained residents into the 1980s, were community leaders who organized grassroots projects that reflected their charitable values.

The memory of the spirit and hard work of the Daughters of the Midnight Sun is rightly being honoured by a contemporary collective of entertainers and engaged community leaders in the form of an upcoming multimedia show titled Women of the Midnight Sun.

Residents who remember the antics of the original Daughters of the Midnight Sun and younger or more recent residents who are curious about these petticoat-wearing legends should attend this performance when it premieres at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in February.

In the meantime, residents can pay homage to the spirit of these entertaining volunteers by making a donation to a charitable group this holiday season.

With this being the final edition of Kivalliq News for 2012, I'd like to, at the risk of offending thousands, wish everyone across the Kivalliq a very merry Christmas and all the best for 2013.

It promises to be a special holiday season for me, because I'm off to spend Christmas in my original hometown for the first time in 16 years.

I look forward to serving the best little region in Canada again in the new year.

But, it's looking less likely I will find the one present I asked Santa for under my tree on Dec. 25.

While I can accept the fact chances for an NHL season this year are slipping away, I can't accept the reasoning being put forward by those who stubbornly support the players in this mess.

To those people: please, I know some mean-well fanatical doctor somewhere will gasp at a suggestion that could lead to a spike in concussions, but give your collective heads a shake.

Not only are your lines about the poor players only having a few years to make their money old, they simply no longer hold water.

The vast majority of today's NHLers bank more money by the time they reach their mid-20s than the average working person would make in three lifetimes.

So let's put that one to bed once and for all, OK?

The NHLPA sent the message it was looking for a fight when it hired Donald Fehr as its executive director and a fight is what it's in.

Fehr is all about union idealism, but the NHLPA isn't a union and shouldn't be referred to as such.

The NHLPA is an association of mostly multi-millionaires who, individually, more closely resemble private contractors than anything else.

The players should have taken notice of the standing ovation Fehr received from a group of Canadian auto workers recently, and asked themselves where most new car plants are opening these days.

In a far-too-uncomfortable parallel of auto-industry dynamics, the NHL brought in a record $3.3 billion in revenue this past season, yet the majority of its clubs would be on the brink of bankruptcy in the real world.

Former Hockey Night In Canada producer John Shannon did the math recently and had to be revived after seeing the numbers staring back at him.

Averaging $2.4 million in salaries, the vast majority of players made more than most NHL clubs this past season.

Astounding!

Is it any wonder NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is actually showing emotion with his anger and frustration over Fehr's negotiating, and I use the term lightly, tactics?

And he's not alone.

It's one thing for players to tisk, tisk the NHL's nine or 10 hawkish owners who would love to bust their 'union,' but when you alienate moderates such as Pittsburgh's Ron Burkle, Tampa Bay's Jeff Vinik, Toronto's Larry Tanenbaum and Winnipeg's Mark Chipman, you've dug a very deep trench on your side of the negotiating table.

The NHL business model is broken due to greed and stupidity, and both sides are equally to blame for the current situation.

Unfortunately, only one side is trying to smarten up and that's not the players.

They continue to act like a bunch of turkeys as the holidays approach, with Fehr in the process of serving them up on a not-so-silver platter!

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