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In the late 1980s aboriginal-owned businesses in the NWT were few and far between.

According to the Northern Aboriginal Business Association, there were only 20 aboriginal businesses territory-wide. By 2006, that number had skyrocketed to more than 500, some of these, such as Nunasi and the Deton Cho Corporation are multi-million dollar operations.

Add four major regional corporations and the fact that all 27 NWT First Nations have economic development corporations and the result is aboriginal business is big business.

A testament to that fact is the recent announcement by the First Nations Bank of Canada to open a branch in Yellowknife. It is also considering another location in the Gwich'in Territory.

Keith Martell, CEO and chairman of the First Nations Bank of Canada, said locations for new branches are determined based on a region's "economic promise and significant aboriginal influence." That statement is an endorsement of the success of aboriginal businesses in the NWT and an invitation for more First Nations, Metis and Inuit to add to the success of their peers.

The bank will also provide financial opportunities for aboriginal people in the NWT to acquire business loans and will prove as another source of investment into the aboriginal economy.

Aboriginal corporations, businesses and entrepreneurs have become a driving force in the Northern economy, providing employment and investment opportunities for our communities. Sahtu oil and gas, future mining projects, the push to boost tourism and the Inuvik-to-Tuktoyaktuk highway will open up many possible business opportunities across the territory.

The addition of the First Nations Bank of Canada to the NWT's banking community will only help aboriginal people capitalize on those opportunities to the betterment of the territory as a whole.

When RCMP seized almost 100 bottles of vodka destined for Tulita it once again raised questions about how the lifting of liquor restrictions in Norman Wells affects the region as a whole. RCMP reported seizing another 83 375-millilitre bottles destined for the community on Friday.

With the only liquor store in the Sahtu, Norman Wells is a booze-friendly community surrounded by restricted and dry hamlets. The combination has the potential to transform Norman Wells into a supplier for bootleggers, such as those caught trying to smuggle booze into Tulita.

Six months after alcohol restrictions were lifted in Norman Wells sales in the community increased by nine per cent overall. The sale of spirits jumped by 46 per cent. Leaders representing surrounding communities also said they were witnessing more alcohol use in their communities and more young people drinking.

The people of Norman Wells decided by plebiscite to lift the restrictions in their community which it had every right to do. In a similar vein, the liquor store cannot be faulted for doing business and it is impossible to say if booze en route to Tulita was bought all at once or over time.

The territory is responsible for the sale of booze and it is reaps the greatest financial gain. MLA Norman Yakeleya said the GNWT makes approximately $24 million a year on alcohol sales.

Although personal responsibility is a major factor in alcohol abuse, the GNWT is well aware of the cost and social affects of alcohol and it has a responsibility to help curb the addictions in the territory with effective treatment and awareness.

Three Baffin Island teachers have been charged with sexual interference in the last month and in at least one of these cases parents have been left in the dark.

Earlier this month, parent Mantra Ford-Perkins told Nunavut News/North she had received no notification from the Iqaluit District Education Authority about sexual interference charges laid against a teacher at the school her child attends ("In the dark after teacher charged," April 15).

She said she and other parents felt out of the loop and she had to confirm rumours herself.

This is a troubling gap in policy. A standardized remedy should be put in place by the Government of Nunavut, which employs educators in the territory. Parents shouldn't be worried unduly about the safety of their children in the care of the education system

Schools are walking on eggshells releasing information partially because of the GN's employee confidentiality policy.

Qikiqtani School Operations superintendent Paul Mooney told media he cannot identify the school or teacher charged to protect employees. He said parents can contact their school themselves for more information. Private communications with parents should be more proactive.

Parents of students who regularly interact with the teacher should be contacted directly and immediately when situations like this arise, at least to inform them a teacher their children have interacted with has been charged with sexual interference.

The GN should seek legal advice on how much information it can release to parents - with the mindset to release as much as possible - immediately.

Iqaluit DEA spokesperson Sabrina Sherman told Nunavut News/North she is working on a new communications policy. Hopefully disclosure between the school and parents is at the forefront of such a document. Such a policy should be standardized and put in practice by the GN across the territory,

These situations require us all to walk a fine line. Media and the public must be careful not to convict those charged before a court decides whether they are guilty.

On the other hand, the guilty should be named publicly and the courts must weigh this carefully when applying the limits of a publication ban.

The name of a teacher would identify the school and grade range of a victim, but not the identity. Nor does the name always identify the year, class or context in which the alleged activities took place. But publicizing the name could well bring forward other victims.

The flow of information in these cases can hurt or assist the administration of justice.

The GN and education authorities must keep this in mind, just they must keep the peace-of-mind and trust of parents the focus of its policies.

It's easy to understand why people may be upset with Premier Bob McLeod's bluntness on devolution. No one likes to be told "take it or leave it," especially when it's coming from a politician. But it's difficult to fault McLeod for being so blunt.

As someone who has been around government for as long as he has, he knows very well that the territory will be back to square one if it were to blink at any of the demands being made concerning the devolution of resources.

The Akaitcho and Deh Cho have never been onside and likely never will be. To have five of seven land claim groups on board as signatories must be viewed as a major accomplishment, and really, about as good as it gets.

A new public opinion poll commissioned by Alternatives North indicates that 73 per cent of the NWT's residents want a public vote on devolution. This is no doubt true. But if the question had been, "Would you like some ice cream?" there probably would have been a similar result. It's hard to imagine many people saying, "no, I don't want a say on devolution."

It's likely fair to say, whether people want a vote or not, most are generally in favour of devolution. In fact, to use Alternatives North's poll, 49 per cent think it's a good deal, 18 per cent thought it would make no difference, and 14 per cent didn't know. Put to a vote, that would be a majority win any day of the week.

MLAs voted 14-2 in the legislative assembly not to hold a plebiscite on devolution last month. If people are truly upset about the way this government is proceeding on devolution the first place to turn is to one's MLA. Only they can stop it.

There is no question that requiring elected officials to disclose how much money they receive in salaries and benefits is a good thing.

However, assertions that the First Nations Transparency Act is overreaching and unjust are worthy of further examination.

A former band councillor of the Yellowknives Dene and the acting chief of Ndilo both object to the new federal government legislation, which will require all First Nations across Canada to make public their consolidated audited financial statements and the remuneration and expenses paid to the chief and councillors beginning with the 2013-2014 fiscal year, which began April 1.

Ottawa says it is reacting to requests from First Nations members who have been unable to find out how much their elected leaders are paid and suspect there has been wrongdoing related to salaries and benefits that in many cases add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Canada is a democratic society and all elected officials, regardless of the level of government in which they serve, should have their salaries and benefits disclosed.

That said, we see it as insulting to First Nations that the transparency act requires them to post all their financial information on the Internet for all to see, when the impetus for the legislation was to make the information available to band members and Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada.

We are also concerned that Ottawa acted like a bully by pushing through the new act, Bill C-27, without consulting the people it will affect.

We are less concerned with Ndilo acting chief Roy Erasmus Sr.'s concern that private companies in competition with the aboriginal-owned Det'on Cho Corporation will gain an advantage by the new rules of disclosure. The act specifically states that band-owned businesses are not required to report and we don't see how a competitor could get detailed proprietary information from the amount of benefits paid to the First Nation by the business.

Certainly this is an imposition by a paternalistic federal government. However, no one is arguing against the public disclosure of how much money is paid to First Nations elected officials. And transparency, by and large, is the whole point of the new legislation.

What does it take to be a good leader?

It's a question that many people have pondered and even more would like to know the answer to.

In the Deh Cho, the most readily identifiable leaders are the ones who have been elected, including First Nation chiefs, Metis presidents and mayors of hamlets and villages.

The support of the people is one of the most self-evident factors of what a good leader requires. That support is needed in order to get leaders elected in the first place and is also needed to keep them there. The Deh Cho, after all, is no stranger to petitions asking for the resignation of chiefs and band councillors.

What it takes to keep the support of the majority of the people, whether they are constituents or band members, is harder to determine. Based on the complaints most commonly heard in the petitions, most important are good lines of communication, transparency and the ability to address pressing issues.

Following this line of thinking, Minnie Letcher, the new chief of Liidlii Kue First Nation, may be on to something in her assertion that people, not politics, are where a leader should focus.

It is easy for leaders to get wrapped up in the larger picture and regional political issues and to forget what is affecting the day-to-day lives of the people who elected them. When that happens, a disconnect grows between the leadership and the people.

But being a good leader isn't just about addressing the right issues and keeping the people happy. In order to do that leaders need to be strong in themselves.

With all of the issues that leaders have to address, the meetings that have to be attended, and the stress that is piled on them, it's is easy for people with titles like mayor, chief and president to become worn down. On more than one occasion leaders in the Deh Cho have had to step down to look after their own health.

Being a leader also means balancing your role with your own needs and staying true to who you are.

The Deh Cho has been fortunate to have had and to currently have many good leaders who have worked for their people. Leaders, however, are not born, but are gradually developed.

As much as leaders need to work for their people, the people in turn need to support their leaders so the best possible future for communities is reached.

I have a pet peeve that I'm about to expand upon.

Last week, after attending a presentation by a Pure North representative, I took a few minutes to ask some of the sparse audience what they thought of the material.

The first person I talked to set the stage for my irritation. She told me "you need to ask my supervisor at the GTC (Gwich'in Tribal Council) if I can talk to you."

I resisted the urge to ask – rather loudly – whether she was joking or not.

I've worked as a journalist for many years now and this is a phenomenon that's crept insidiously into the fabric of nearly every conversation I have with someone who is even remotely connected with government of any form. It didn't used to be like this.

At one time, civil servants would routinely offer me comments without having to check with their bureaucratic overlords and political masters. They might have been cautious about it, and hopefully gave their remarks some "sober second thought," but they weren't muzzled.

Somewhere around 10 or 12 years ago, that began to change.

Free speech went out the window, and power was concentrated in the hands of a few designated spokespeople. Unfortunately, those "talking heads" rarely had a clue about what they were talking about.

I can remember working on a series of stories regarding problems with black bears at the time, and instead of talking directly to the local game wardens who knew what was going on, the process became absurd. Instead, I had to make a long-distance call to a media representative and explain the problem in some detail. The media rep would then call the game warden, talk to them, and then call me back.

I've run into a couple of more examples here in Inuvik in the short time I've been here. While searching for some additional comment on homelessness in the community, I had one senior government staffer tell me she couldn't comment because of government policy. In another instance, after hearing about a local researcher doing a polar bear study, I was told to contact a supervisor in Yellowknife to get permission to talk to her. In other cases, I've successfully jumped through the hoops to do some interviews.

Instead of training their staff to talk effectively to the public and media, governments have taken a control-freak approach to the situation. It's insulting, it's inefficient, it's ludicrous, and it shows a profound lack of trust in the capabilities of front-line staff.

Moreover, I don't understand why so many of those front-line staff have so blithely let it happen. Or, as in the case of the lady at the Pure North meeting, use the policy as a catch-all defence.

I just don't get it.

If anyone needs proof that the city's $975,000 purchase of three 50 Street lots has been nothing short of a disastrous boondoggle, witness city council's decision to bulldoze the buildings and figure out what to do with the vacant land later.

People can chuckle at city councillor Niels Konge's "little bit of communism" remarks, but he is right in principle. Is this why the previous city council authorized the purchase of these properties? So the city can raze them a year later and sandwich a temporary parking lot in between two rowdy bars? That is, if that's what administration decides to do while waiting for the city's smart growth committee to "identify suitable options post-demolition." How much longer will we wait for an answer? And, how much more will taxpayers have to spend on consultants?

These properties were sold to the public as a downtown revitalization effort with former mayor Gord Van Tighem strongly hinting that the entire block of "Range Street" would become home to a low-cost "eco-housing" project once the Raven Pub and Gold Range could be convinced to sell.

Well good luck with that. Neither bar is willing to sell, so where does that leave the city with the properties it actually did purchase? Since we know the eco-housing project will be built on 52 Street, it's quite evident that council doesn't have a clue, nor does anybody else.

Bob Brooks, who chairs the smart growth committee, told Yellowknifer during last fall's election campaign that his key priority during this term will be downtown revitalization. The clock is ticking, Mr. Brooks.

Katie Westoll did a double-take when she saw signs that read "Warning - men working ahead" posted near where a GNWT building is being built on 49 Street earlier this month ("Sign draws complaint," April 10). The signs flout a cherished value that Westoll and her peers have grown up with and that generations of women have fought for -- women have the opportunity and ability to fulfill any career goal they set their mind to.

A construction sign may seem like an insignificant medium without much cultural influence, but the message it sends young people represents a leap backward in the journey toward gender equality.

Clark Builders posted the signs to protect passersby, but the contractor is not responsible for their design and shouldn't be faulted for the chauvinistic wording. Rather, the signs are relics from the past, depicting an attitude that offers no benefit to employers, workers or high school students preparing for the workforce.

Yellowknife and the territory are in need of tradespeople in the construction industry, men and women with a desire to apply their talents to building the North. Students should be encouraged to imagine themselves learning the skills required to master a trade. Construction signs that needlessly omit women erroneously imply that women aren't welcome - or don't exist - in the construction industry.

In fact, women are welcome and they do exist in the industry, including 33 women working as apprentices in various trades around the NWT this spring, according to Skills Canada NWT.

Hopefully a more contemporary sign that reads "Construction ahead" can be found for use at future work sites, which will probably include men and women on the job.

We sympathise with the comments made by Puujjuut Kusugak this past week ("Leave policy for teacher-coaches frustrating," Kivalliq News, April 10).

Kusugak has every right to be frustrated by the indifference emanating from Kivalliq School Operations in Baker Lake in regards to the contributions these individuals make to our youth, and our communities as a whole.

Even more maddening is the fact the more successful the teacher is in the role as a sports coach, the more they're punished for that success.

Weak coaches in any sport who don't develop their athletes to reach, if not eclipse, their full potential are not in high demand, especially when it comes to premiere events.

Good coaches are!

And therein lies the problem with denying travel. Nobody has any qualms about those who volunteer their time to work with our youngest athletes, or in participation programs, where the emphasis is placed solely on fun and participation (and rightly so).

But competitive sport is a whole different ball game.

It requires a higher level of dedication, often has a fair amount of pressure from parents and fans, and places far more demands on the teacher-coaches' time, especially in the area of preparedness.

We've all seen the result when dedicated coaches are denied time to accompany their teams to tournaments.

We've seen 'coaches' behind hockey benches who do nothing more than open the gates during player changes, and 'coaches' on soccer benches, totally disconnected from what's happening in the game before them.

They are, in truth, glorified chaperons, and it's the kids who've put in countless hours during the season who suffer from a true coach's absence.

Nunavummiut take their sports seriously.

Yes, we all want to see our athletes have fun and participate, but we also want to see them do well and win.

There's a lot of community pride involved when individuals or teams bring home medals, ulus and championship trophies. Those who ignore or downplay that aspect are really only kidding themselves.

One suspects they also kid themselves about the amount of personal time our few top coaches dedicate to their athletes and programs.

Good coaches create positive learning environments where youths want to be, and, just as importantly, they teach their athletes pride, self-confidence, teamwork, co-operation and the proper way to handle victory, and defeat, with class.

The benefits these teacher-coaches provide to their athletes far eclipse their triumphs on the hockey rink, soccer pitch, volleyball court or gymnastics floor.

Yes, they help raise school spirit and community pride, but they also make life better for many of our youths by showing them what's possible when they set goals and work hard to achieve them.

They instill a sense of belonging in many of these kids, who are made to feel they're part of something truly special.

If these mammoth contributions aren't properly being taken into consideration by those who draft policy, then maybe it's time they were the ones asked to submit leave applications.

They won't be denied!

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