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Denendeh Investments Inc., via its wholly-owned subsidiary Denendeh Exploration and Mining Company (DEMCo), is taking the next step toward benefitting from the resources the land has to offer.

So far in the territory, our earthly riches have been exploited by southern Canadian and multinational companies, whose primary interest is, not surprisingly, raking in huge profits for shareholders.

Aboriginal-owned companies first began in a support role for those companies by providing workers in various industry-related areas, such as construction or hospitality.

As CEO Darrell Beaulieu told Yellowknifer last week: "There are 60-plus aboriginal companies that provide services to the mining industry." He added that as mines close down in the coming years, those businesses will need to move on to other projects.

Development projects owned by our Northern landowners is the next logical step.

With its purchase of 24,000 hectares of mineral-rich land at Camsell River, DEMCo is "being involved at a different level that First Nations haven't been involved with before," said Beaulieu.

Rather than participating in the powerless position of "being consulted" or clamoring to have their concerns heard in the review process, First Nations can develop the resources on their own lands. They can be involved from start to finish, creating wealth for their shareholders - their people.

Benefits, such as steady jobs and lucrative contracts for their people, will come without endless haggling and having to continually educate foreign interests. The downside to development, such as threats to caribou , land and water, will be given proper priority and potential damage diminished.

Denendeh and similar aboriginal development corporations can create the opportunity to manage resource development in a balanced way, according to their own vision, as opposed to having a vision imposed upon them.

Hands-on, responsible ownership is the best way forward.

City councillor Adrian Bell is not out of line to suggest a business improvement district could help revitalize downtown.

Such districts are common throughout North America. Edmonton alone has 13 of them, called "business revitalization zones." Member businesses pay into a fund specifically for enhancement projects in the area in which they operate, such as new sidewalks, street cleaning, and special signage.

Edmonton city council can create a business revitalization zone after receiving a formal request from 25 per cent of area businesses. Once such a zone is established, every business becomes a member and every business pays into the fund.

Being a former downtown business owner and member of the Smart Growth Committee before going into city politics, Bell is no doubt very knowledgeable on this subject. Unfortunately, downtown's problems are far more insidious than a lack of co-ordination among area businesses.

Aside from the well-documented social issues afflicting downtown is the stagnant economy that has persistently kept the city in the doldrums since the global meltdown of 2008.

It's hard to imagine there being much of an opportunity for renewal until something big comes along that will change the general tone and tenor of the downtown core, such as a university campus for Aurora College or a convention centre. Edmonton is jumping. Yellowknife as it stands, even with the recent federal approval of the Gahcho Kue mine, is still limping along.

Since businesses willing to put their hard earned cash toward improvement fees haven't been lining up in support of Bell's proposal, it's likely a business improvement district won't be seen as the downtown saviour he hopes it will be.

Having just returned from holidays, it's great to be able to look at the Deh Cho with refreshed eyes.

When I'm visiting family and friends in southwestern Ontario, the same question keeps working its way into conversations – but what is there to do in Fort Simpson, is the general query.

While plying me with delicious food from restaurants that aren't in the Deh Cho and taking me to interesting cultural and artistic sites, they actively wonder what keeps me in the North. I mean, just look at all the things I am missing.

I am certain this scenario is enacted time and time again both on people who have moved to the NWT from elsewhere and for those who have always called the NWT home. The answer undoubtedly varies from person to person, but there must be similarities.

While there are some things the Deh Cho can't compete with, such as grocery stores filled with seemingly endless aisles of varied and tempting produce and products at surprisingly low prices, there are other areas where Northerners have the upper hand.

The recent Northern Arts and Cultural Centre's (NACC) tour of SPIN, which stopped in Fort Simpson, is a case in point. Evalyn Parry performed a high-class show that is worthy of being seen on stages across Canada and the world.

To see a show like that in southern Canada, however, you would have to pay much more, accept less-desirable seat locations, travel further to reach the venue and likely have to fight for a parking space.

Great cultural and artistic events do happen in the region. They may not be as numerous or as varied as in other places, but they are just as good and even better in some respects.

Deh Cho residents also enjoy many other perks as a result of where they've chosen to live. They include not having to fight traffic during the commute to work, having a pristine environment all around them, no smog – unless it is from forest fires – and having close-knit communities to draw on.

Yes, it's great to travel and see other sights, eat at restaurants as much as possible and buy things that are hard to come by in the North, but at the end of the day, it's great to come home, walk down the street knowing almost everyone else and just sit and watch the Mackenzie River flow by. The south has its draws, but the North can outshine most of them.

After attending the public meeting on the natural gas problems more than a week ago, I'm with Andre Oullet, Mary Ann Ross and Agnes Carpenter. I don't understand why the residents of Inuvik aren't a little more animated about the situation.

No, forget animated. I don't understand why Inuvikians aren't metaphorically gathering like the mob in an old black-and-white B-movie horror flick.

In fact, that's a running joke I've had for several months with Kevin MacKay, the general manager of Inuvik Gas. It's one of those things that, while intended to be funny, has more than a kernel of truth to it.

Dave Kaufman, who also spoke at the meeting, says he thinks it's because people are beaten down and defeated. They're too broken to protest.

My theory when you're dealing with government and business organizations is that the faster you roll over, the more you encourage them to abrogate their responsibilities and whatever sense of social justice they might have.

Social justice is one of the things that's been appallingly scarce in these discussions. Everything is couched in business terms, and that, in my opinion, is a horrible bottom line to use.

Inuvik Gas, which owns the distribution system in town (the pipes), is going to come out of this in decent shape. If it's not supplying the town with fuel of some sort, it will still collect money to allow someone else to buy out or lease the right to use that system.

As for the town council and GNWT, they've had many chances over the last two years to find a better solution than sitting back and allowing a doubling of fuel prices in the last two years. It's only in the last few months that a serious look at liquified natural gas has begun, and that's been limited to the NWT Power Corporation's station here. That's especially galling since the synthetic natural gas system introduced by Inuvik Gas was touted as the only feasible solution at the time. Now it's obvious that it wasn't.

I've heard horror stories about how some residents are coping with the huge increase in costs. One female elder, I'm told, is using her electric oven to heat her house after Inuvik Gas disconnected her because she couldn't keep up with the bills.

I've also heard rumours that banks have foreclosed on the mortgages of between 20 and 40 houses, or the owners have simply walked away from them due to an inability to cope with the increased costs.

I'm not calling for a mob, but I am certainly calling for some organized pressure to be put on Inuvik Gas and the two levels of government to rise to the occasion.

Sometimes the human cost has to trump the bottom line, and this is one of those cases.

Sometime in the near future, we will be seeing a report from the Lifesaving Society of Alberta and NWT outlining recommendations for improving safety at Long Lake Beach.

As the beach is part of the territorial park system, the society was hired by the GNWT to conduct a safety assessment following the drowning death of seven-year-old Lodune Shelley this past summer.

We have not had a chance to read the report in full. It is expected to be released within the next couple of weeks.

What we do know is that the report will not be recommending lifeguards to watch over swimmers, contrary to the hue and cry for them from the general public shocked by the boy's needless death.

At this point, we sincerely hope that if not lifeguards, the report addresses another serious issue facing non-swimmers playing in the waters at Long Lake Beach - the holes.

As pointed out by Yellowknifer in the summer, although the water is shallow almost out to the buoy markers, there are unmarked holes as close as 30 metres from the shore.

The sudden three-foot drop can be a shock to many a swimmer, let alone the younger ones who can't swim. These holes have the potential to completely submerge most adults, meaning that younger beach goers are even more at risk.

In the summer, Richard Zieba, regional director of tourism and parks, acknowledged that the GNWT knows about the holes and the danger they pose, but said due to the nature of shifting sand, it would be difficult to fill them in.

Zieba did acknowledge that putting warning buoys marking the holes would work. Here's hoping the report acknowledges this as well, and if not, that the GNWT makes this change. If the holes shift, it's doubtful they move so quickly they can't be tracked. If they do, we likely have a bigger story on our hands.

It is the responsibility of the GNWT to not only take this report's recommendations into consideration, but also to do what the people want - to make the beach as safe as possible.

It is also up to residents to tell the GNWT exactly what they want. Write letters, send e-mails and make phone calls to your MLA if you feel the report doesn't address the issue as well as you believe it should. Both the territorial and municipal governments have insisted they don't have the resources to put lifeguards on the beach.

If citizens tell them now that they'd like to see their tax dollars spent there rather than somewhere else, such as a half-million dollar Texas gate at the Deh Cho Bridge, as was pointed out by the young boy's grieving grandfather, then they will be encouraged to act.

It's been interesting to listen to our candidates on the home stretch to Oct. 28's general election.

Many share the same platforms on better health care, especially for elders, patients away from their home community and those dealing with mental health issues.

Youth issues, of course, are front and centre with many, but that's a "gimme" almost any candidate can march out in a pinch.

And, no doubt, like many before them, they will forget about the badly-needed infrastructure to give youth better opportunities and positive activities shortly after they've been elected.

A small, but growing, number of youth are speaking out on the talking-the-talk, but not walking-the-walk habits of a number of our politicians.

They, like most adults, are no longer fooled by the rhetoric.

They realize the vast majority of youth-programming improvements we've seen in the Kivalliq during the past few years have come mainly from a group of dedicated community rec co-ordinators, teachers, and plugged-in volunteers who work tirelessly to secure corporate donations of money and tangible assets in the form of equipment, software and other electronic upgrades.

Of course, if you're a politician -- and a rec co-ordinator or volunteer does 95 per cent of the work, but your department kicks in a few bucks -- you get to take the credit; or at least try to.

And, if someone in their department -- let's say education for the sake of argument -- doesn't value the crazy hours volunteers put into coaching sports at the local level enough to grant leave a precious few times a year for major events, it's safer to keep their head down than take a stand on the issue.

That's especially true if said coach just happens to be a teacher.

You see, everyone knows teachers make oodles of money and get lots of time off, so politicians are reluctant to champion their cause.

But it's poppycock!

Forgetting the first part is mainly urban myth until the latter stages of their career, anyone smart enough to be making major decisions at the territorial level should also be smart enough to know it's the kids being championed.

They're the ones who suffer when the person they've learned to trust and rely upon is left behind at the time it matters most.

If you're going to talk about youth, support youth.

While many candidates natter away on old reliable issues pulled from the closet every election, precious few are promising to get hard answers to tough questions.

They want to know why so many of our Grade 12 graduates struggle with post-secondary learning, if they can get accepted to begin with.

And, as our communities continue to fill with the tears of suicide, they want to know when studying and strategizing ends, and tangible action begins.

Voicing concern on tough topics many would rather duck is no guarantee they will follow up once in the capital -- a place where the public trough calls, Easy Street beckons and the tails of many curl in response -- but it should give voters pause for thought.

We need committed leaders ready to tackle tough problems, not spew tired, dog-chasing-its-tail rhetoric, or buy homes in other provinces and pull disappearing acts in their own ridings while in office.

It's the only way we move forward!

As the NWT prepares to receive a windfall of cash through its devolution deal with the federal government, the debate has begun: What should the money be used for?

The wish list is long, ranging from improved health and addictions services to improved infrastructure.

Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger says his strategy is to invest in a heritage fund, putting away five per cent of resource revenues into the fund over the next 20 years. The remaining sum will be used to improve the territory's "infrastructure budget," which includes improving a substandard road system.

While wanting to put more money into programs and services is understandable and not without merit, relying on resource revenue money to fund programs is fiscally uncertain.

However, investing in key pieces of infrastructure does have a two-fold benefit. Not only is it an investment in the NWT's economy but also, indirectly, in the social welfare of its people.

Roads such as the Liard Highway (Highway 7) and Highway 5 to Fort Smith are in need of improvement. Both are important links in terms of tourism, and better roads could translate into more people bringing money to the North.

Aside from the tourism benefits, improved roads also mean bigger trucks hauling into the communities and drivers no longer charging the more expensive off-highway rates when shipping goods. Both mean goods get to the communities cheaper and that reduces the cost of living - a major Northern social issue.

That being said, building transportation links has to be done with an economic driver in mind. The Mackenzie Valley Highway, for instance, could have significant benefits to the territory. However, at a cost of more than $1 billion for construction and then maintenance to think about, it must be an investment that will pay off.

If the Sahtu oil boom is realized, that might be the justification the territory needs. Unfortunately, the savings in cost of living and the increase in tourism dollars would likely not make up for the exorbitant cost of the road.

Prioritizing transportation infrastructure which will give the best return on investment would be the most prudent use of devolution money.

There is no doubt that allowing seniors the choice to remain close to family support in their later years of life is important. Being near loved ones and the comfort of community can have positive health benefits.

The key is to create a care system that allows more elderly citizens to remain in communities that is carefully planned.

According to Long-term Care Canada, Canadians older than 65 account for less than 14 per cent of the Canadian population, but consume nearly 44 per cent of all health care dollars spent by provincial and territorial governments. It adds, provincial and territorial governments spent an average of $10,742 per Canadian ages 65 and older, compared to $2,097 on those between age one and 64 in 2008.

In the North, spending is always disproportionally higher and a poorly planned long-term care system would not only increase spending, but put added pressure on families.

Proper elder care would need a hefty investment in facilities, staff and resources. With 33 communities spread across the NWT, is it realistic to provide that level of care to every one, no matter how desirable?

Cutting corners will only result in increased health care costs across the board, including the medevac system, with no real benefit to seniors and families.

Observers of past world events can go back literally hundreds and thousands of years to gain an understanding of history.

In Nunavut, not so much. That makes the Qikiqtani Inuit Association's release of a two-book history of life in the Baffin region between 1950 and 1975 a landmark event.

This is the first time the imposition of the federal government on the Inuit people has been chronicled by Inuit themselves. The books document testimony from a public inquiry held by the Qikiqtani Truth Commission to determine the facts behind the methodical killing of Inuit sled dogs between 1950 and 1975. Its focus was quickly broadened beyond the issue of the sled dog slaughter to examine the impact of decisions made in Ottawa that resulted in changes to the culture, habits and living conditions of the Inuit in 13 communities.

What is most compelling is those decisions are still being felt today. Tears were flowing down the faces of some of the estimated 100 people in attendance at the Anglican parish hall in Iqaluit for the unveiling of the books on Oct. 9.

Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) president Okalik Eegeesiak sees the release of the books as a healing journey for the people affected, giving an opportunity for them to forgive and reconcile themselves with the actions taken by forces outside their own control.

It is notable that Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq was there to witness the unveiling. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister Bernard Valcourt sent a message congratulating the QIA on its work.

Moving forward, the people of Canada should pay attention to the QIA's recommendations, including placing a priority on presenting the Qikiqtani Truth Commission report to the Government of Canada. The federal government should acknowledge that high levels of suicide, addiction, incarceration and social dysfunction found in the Qikiqtani region are in part symptoms of intergenerational trauma caused by historical wrongdoings.

The QIA also recommends that the Government of Nunavut's Department of Education include historical material from the reports in the curriculum.

We would like to go further and urge that the books be included in educational curriculum across Canada so that students can learn about this important part of our nation's history, as quickly as possible.

What happened between 1950 and 1975 in the Baffin communities has had a real impact on the lives of Inuit today. That is a real history lesson that needs to be shared.

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