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The implementation of free junior kindergarten for parents is already a controversial issue and recently announced funding cuts by the territorial government don't help.

Yellowknife Catholic school board trustees are irate over the GNWT's expectation that they dip into their accumulated surplus to help pay for it. The district will receive $484,000 for the extra 111 junior kindergarten students it expects to enrol, but that won't happen for another three years. In the meantime, it is losing $698,000 as the GNWT readjusts its funding formula to help pay for junior kindergarten in smaller communities outside of Yellowknife.

Yellowknife Education No. 1 will lose $62,000 over the same time period.

Both school districts will lose out on substantial revenue - about $600 per child - with the replacement of their pre-school programs with junior kindergarten.

Free junior kindergarten may be a boon for the parents of four years olds, but we have to ask: where does the GNWT think the school boards will turn to make up the shortfall?

If all the grousing last year from the school boards about the need for a mill rate increase is any indication, a crystal ball isn't necessary to predict that the first people they will turn to are the taxpayers of Yellowknife.

So, free junior kindergarten will be free for Yellowknifers in the sense that parents of younger children won't have to pay monthly tuition fees, but property owners will surely see an increase on their tax bills within the next year or so.

There is also a question about how this will affect daycare providers in the city. Education Minister Jackson Lafferty is offering daycares $780 per room to upgrade their facilities to accommodate toddlers, but daycares remain skeptical as they can only accommodate a certain number of children depending on their age versus the number of staff. By law, for each group of six two year olds, one caregiver is required. For one year olds, the number drops down to four per caregiver.

The waiting list at Yellowknife's two daycares for children under two is already months, if not years long. Can they afford to hire more caregivers to meet this supposed influx of younger children the GNWT wants them to prepare for? Can day homes fill in the gap? Will parents of younger children end up paying more for daycare?

The daycares already took a hit when Yellowknife schools began instituting pre-kindergarten, so it remains to be seen what will happen when junior kindergarten comes and whether they can survive without hiking fees that parents already struggle to pay.

Another daycare closure in this city potentially would be disastrous, with fewer spaces around to pick up the slack when schools shut down for the summer and during spring break.

There is a sense that the GNWT is rushing ahead with junior kindergarten in an effort to fill a need in smaller communities while overlooking the situation in Yellowknife. Certainly, consultation with the school boards appears to be lacking. There is a question of fairness as well.

Yellowknife MLAs would be well advised to avoid jumping on the free junior kindergarten bandwagon, and ask some hard questions.

This may very well be a good program, but not if it leads to fewer daycares to care for other age groups, and one that leaves Yellowknifers paying a disproportionate share.

The Kivalliq is almost as well-known for its love of music as its love of hockey.

And, while every generation has its own style and sound, a portion of today's Kivalliq youth also share a passion for the square-dance-creating sounds of previous generations.

But another sound is bridging the musical generation gap that spans the past five generations.

And that sound comes all the way from the 1960s courtesy of the greatest and most innovative and progressive popular music group of all time - The Beatles.

A worldwide media blitz during the past month helped celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' first visit to the U.S. Feb. 7, 1964, and the conquering of America that soon followed.

The Beatles performance of five songs on CBS television on Feb. 9, 1964, was a watershed moment that unleashed Beatlemania from the confines of Europe to sweep across the globe.

To commemorate the historic event (thank you Ed Sullivan), Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol released a new 13-CD collection this past month entitled the U.S. Albums.

With the exception of Hey Jude and the documentary disk The Beatles Story (stereo only), each CD is presented in both mono and stereo.

And, for those who think mono is a useless relic from sound production's past, take it from this Beatles fanatic, you haven't truly appreciated the Beatles until you've heard them in mono.

Mono (every part of the song, music and vocals, come from each speaker) was still king of the recording studio when the Beatles first took flight.

As such, their songs were arrangements with presentation in mono first and foremost in their approach.

And, while the Beatles readily embraced the arrival of stereo, their hearts remained loyal to mono for most of their careers.

The record-buying public's reaction to the release of the U.S. Albums has been nothing short of miraculous.

As of Feb. 21, the Beatles had no less than 13 albums on Billboard's Top 200 list. An amazing achievement for material almost half a century old.

Five of those albums, Rubber Soul, A Hard Day's Night Soundtrack, Revolver, Meet The Beatles and Hey Jude, are from the U.S. Album collection.

Most people into the Beatles at all know the vast majority of the Capitol releases in the States and Canada differed greatly from the songs on the band's UK releases on the Parlophone label.

To this Beatles fanatic (who views Revolver as the greatest popular music album of all time), the best collection released to date on the Fab Four is the Beatles In Mono box set.

You hear the albums, and the original songs on them, the way the Beatles meant for you to experience them.

That said, the Capitol releases are the albums those of us around during the Beatles' heyday first became familiar with, so they will forever occupy a place in our hearts.

Romanticism aside, the U.S. Albums are introducing today's youth to the incredible musical journey of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

It is incredible, in 2014, to be seeing yet another generation being enthraled to Meet The Beatles.

High cost of living, few job opportunities, addictions and lagging education rates are all factors as to why poverty is such a major issue in the NWT.

Considering these issues span almost every department of our government, a co-ordinated plan of attack is essential to bringing all responsible parties to bear on a problem that has staggering social consequences.

With the release of its new anti-poverty strategy the government has taken a good first step toward reducing poverty in every community.

Ideas for improving economic conditions to encourage job creation and reducing the cost of living might be the most significant actions. Finding ways to give families and individuals the means to keep more money in their pockets and provide for themselves is better than any measure that looks at addressing the symptoms of poverty alone.

That being said, the government's plan is not without strategies to address those symptoms which might help bring people out of the clutches of poverty, such as combating addictions, hunger, poor education and homelessness.

Funding to the Yellowknife and Inuvik day shelters will also help reduce harm to some of our most vulnerable citizens and perhaps help them onto a healthier path.

There is, however, a lot the strategy lacks.

As Julie Green, co-ordinator for the No Place for Poverty Coalition, says the plan doesn't go far enough in terms of measuring its success. It also has its gaps.

While the focus on youth in the plan is commendable, and will help ensure our future generations have a strong and healthy start, adults living in poverty also need help with a fresh start going beyond treating addictions and addressing homelessness.

More needs to be done to help adults fully take advantage of the other strategies. Adult education, something the plan does not address, is vital to getting people into the workforce. Green pointed out that initiatives that improve food security for our youth should also be extended to adults and seniors.

While the plan is a good start, it has a long way to go and needs more specifics, such as an outlined budget and solid measurements.

The Olympic Games has seen its share of controversy over the years. From protests over costs to holding the event while people suffer in poverty to political statements against host governments' questionable human rights positions, the spirit of what the Olympics once were tends to get lost.

Although many of the criticisms are not inaccurate and most of the causes worthy, the athletes who train their whole lives for the opportunity to compete in the most prestigious sporting competition in the world get the short end of the stick.

Although it can sometimes be hard to focus on the positives there is an underlying spirit of the Olympics that should not be lost in the political firestorm it causes.

Brendan Green, one of three athletes from the NWT representing Canada at the Games, is one example embodying the spirit of the Olympics in its truest forms.

He spoke to News/North about his experience in Sochi and his enthusiasm for the opportunity to compete, despite being out of contention for a medal. His attitude is refreshing.

Although we expect the political protests will always be part of the games and know there is no better stage to make a point, we should keep in mind, for some, the event is a dream come true and they deserve our support too.

Finding out how much money is being spent by Government of Nunavut employees and for what purpose is not the simplest task.

It took an Access to Information and Protection of Privacy request for Nunavut News/North to get at financial records related to Nunavut Tourism and its CEO. Even so, much of the e-mail conversations, receipts and other correspondence resulting from the request were blacked out in a 277-page document that arrived months later.

We were able to determine that a fee of almost $70,000 was paid by Nunavut Tourism to a U.S. television talk show so that the CEO could appear on The Balancing Act, filmed in Florida and starring former TV dad Alan Thicke. Officials in the Department of Economic Development and Transportation grudgingly gave approval for the money to be spent, although the marketing budget at the time was $36,500.

The documents did not reveal other costs associated with the CEO's trip, such as the cost of airfare, accommodations, meals and other expenses.

We were most interested in some pointed conversations between department officials, who questioned the value of paying for the television appearance on a show which targets a market not particularly likely or interested in travelling to Nunavut. One e-mail exchange between Government of Nunavut officials was especially telling. In reference to reallocating surplus funds for marketing purposes, the official noted that an application should have been made for the funds to be transferred to a strategic investments program, so that "the approval process would be fair, transparent and accountable."

It is those three words that seem to be missing in some of the spending habits of territorial government employees - fair, transparent and accountable.

Nunavut News/North first started delving into the finances of Nunavut Tourism after receiving information from government employees who could not speak publicly but felt so strongly about alleged misuse of government money that they could no longer sit on their hands.

The resulting story in last week's edition, "$70,000 to be on TV," was a balanced account of money spent by Nunavut Tourism because it did not just look at the fee paid to the Florida TV broadcaster, but also looked at Nunavut Tourism's role in running the very successful Northern House with the government of the NWT at the Vancouver Olympics. That was a huge undertaking because Northern House was staffed for 13 hours a day for 12 days.

We included the $5,073 spent on airfare to Vancouver, the $10,919 paid in per diems and honorariums for four Nunavut Tourism employees and the $39,000 paid for dinners over the course of the month.

Nunavummiut have the right to know how the government is spending taxpayers' money.

While readers can come to their own conclusions about whether the money was well spent, we believe the fee paid for the television appearance was too much for too little and that some of the expenses at the Vancouver Olympics were excessive.

More importantly, we hope that exposing some of the spending by Nunavut Tourism will prompt other bureaucrats to blow the whistle on excessive spending in other departments. While much of the financial details are hidden, there is a need for government to be fair, transparent and accountable.

It's not news that territorial population growth is in stagnation. That's been the situation for several years, even with government growth and the NWT's diamond mines at peak production.

Workers from outside the territory simply don't want to live here. A survey representing 93 per cent of diamond mine workers in 2009 found only 6.8 of non-resident workers would consider moving north. The most cited reasons for their reluctance was the territory's high cost of living and its isolation.

It's unlikely the situation has improved, but that hasn't stopped Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger from gamely setting a goal of increasing the territory's population by 2,000 people over the next five years.

The question is how? Miltenberger points vaguely to the need to address the continued high rate of fly-in, fly-out workers at the diamond mines and also to the immigrant nomination program and developing incentives for students to return to the North after graduation. But the territory has been down those roads before.

What is needed is a bold, quantifiable game-changer.

If cost of living is the issue why not offer would-be but reluctant Northerners a tax-free, $10,000 down payment on a home?

If the idea sounds familiar, it's because it was already temporarily implemented in 1998 as a pilot program to encourage home ownership, a not always easy prospect when household bills average more than $80,000 a year.

The return of a down payment program in the NWT may just be the carrot on the stick needed to attract people to move here, bringing with them the $29,000 the territory receives from Ottawa for each resident who lives here. Not a bad tradeoff for a $10,000 grant with the added benefits of encouraging growth in the real estate and construction sector.

This might be a tough sell for the many long-standing residents who bought homes without government help but everyone will benefit in the long-run from increased population growth.

The effort would pay for itself within the first year, and it would continue to draw revenue in the form of tax dollars as well, for so long as those people chose to live here.

How else could it be anything but a win-win situation?

Many people sprung to action on the day an Arctic Sunwest Twin Otter floatplane slammed into an Old Town parking lot in 2011, leaving the two pilots dead and seven passengers in various states of injury from minor and serious.

There is no question Yellowknife residents Matthew Grogono and Allan Shortt did something exceptional when they put their lives at risk to rescue victims of the crash amid downed power lines and leaking fuel. Both were nominated by the RCMP for the Governor General's Medal of Bravery - the third highest honour for bravery available to civilians in Canada.

Since their bravery is not in doubt, Yellowknifer hopes they receive these honours soon now that more than two years has passed.

The pair could have received a St. John Ambulance Life Saving Award, but the RCMP and St. John Ambulance aimed higher to the Governor General for their efforts.

Four others - Sgt. Bruno Bernier, Sherri Pellerin, Charlotte Overvold, and Brian McShane - were recognized for their efforts in helping crash victims with Life Saving Awards last October.

There were other people who helped in the immediate aftermath of the crash, but it's unclear whether they will be recognized or if officials even know who they are.

That is the problem with bestowing awards for exceptional duty in situations where so many were involved.

The process to hand out medals and recognition takes time and often requires documentation and standards for what counts as an act of bravery. Whether it is lack of evidence, or simple humbleness of the person involved, not all of those who came to the rescue of the crash victims will receive something for their selfless acts.

The ability to see into the future is something that would come in handy in the Deh Cho.

On July 14, 2008 Acho Dene Koe First Nation (ADK) in Fort Liard signed a framework agreement with the federal and territorial governments allowing it to negotiate its own land claims agreement. The signing signified that the First Nation and the Fort Liard Metis were no longer a part of the Dehcho First Nations or, importantly, the Dehcho Process.

There was a lot of discussion at the time about whether ADK had made the right decision and what it would mean for the Dehcho Process. ADK had its reasons for leaving, among them the desire to enter into negotiations with B.C. and the Yukon about traditional lands the First Nation has outside of the NWT border.

Now almost six years later ADK and the Fort Liard Metis have signed an agreement-in-principal with the territorial government, which has brought their land claim and self-government agreement a step closer to being finished. The community of Fort Liard must be feeling good about this progress.

It will only be with time, however, that the full implications of the First Nation and Metis in Fort Liard going it alone will be clear.

One issue that remains to be resolved is the overlap in traditional territory between ADK and the Nahanni Butte and Sambaa K'e Dene Bands. The two First Nations strongly oppose the proposed size and geographic extent of the settlement area as well as the possibity of ADK selecting lands in what they view as their primary land use areas.

The federal government has to undertake a court ordered consultation process related to this issue. It remains to be seen how that will be settled. There is a chance that in spite of the consultation, hard feelings will be left between the neighboring groups.

Questions also remain about what the future of Fort Liard will look like after the final agreement is reached and enacted. This is, after all, the first community-based land and resource agreement in the territory.

It will only be years, possibly decades, from now after both the ADK and Fort Liard Metis agreement and the Dehcho Process are in place and running that any conclusions will be able to be made about whether the region should have stayed together, or if things have worked out for the best with the separation.

The best possible outcome will be that both Fort Liard and the rest of the Deh Cho flourish under their respective agreements.

I'm watching the establishment of the Inuvik Youth Centre's new Rainbow Club venture with a considerable amount of interest and admiration, mixed in with a bit of trepidation.

Such clubs have been established all over North America, and, as Danny Jellema notes, are a common feature of schools in the south. They're so common, in fact, as to be almost unremarkable, except possibly in rural areas.

Jellema, as well as Ali McConnell, the executive director of the Inuvik Youth Centre, say they have no idea how many LGBT people live in Inuvik.

I can't say that I have any idea. I tend to look at people as people, and disregard any of the (in my opinion) less significant things such as sexual orientation, gender or ancestral/cultural background.

And seriously, it doesn't matter how many are here. This isn't a numbers game, where there is some cutoff point or critical mass where its suddenly becomes significant.

These are people who should enjoy all the same perks, comforts and rights that are too often taken for granted by the rest of us.

I once heard a politician make a surprisingly wise statement when it came to discussing same-sex marriage. He said that while he is uncomfortable talking about the issue, the difference between his mother and his children's attitudes is revealing.

He said his mother hates talking about the issue in public while his children wonder why we even need to discuss the issue.

The establishment of the Rainbow Club falls into those parameters, but I'm not entirely sure it's going to be an age or inter-generational issue, although that will be a factor.

Frankly, I'd love to get to the point where the creation of such a club wouldn't be a news story, or that I wouldn't have to ask the organizers if they worry about a backlash.

That's why I look at the Rainbow Club with a hint of trepidation. I haven't seen much in the way of overt homophobic discrimination here, but I have been told it happens.

What I have seen, though, is a tendency of a certain segment of the population to engage in some unsavoury bullying tactics of various types, but particularly cyberbullying, on all sorts of issues. That's no different than what you see in any population cluster, be it a town or a village or a city.

As Jellema said, Inuvik encompasses the range of social attitudes you'll see anywhere people live together.

I'm unfortunately expecting to see some negative social attitudes start to come out in relation to the Rainbow Club, although I'd certainly prefer not to. I'd be quite happy to be proven wrong. Please, prove me wrong.

As McConnell noted, many of the people who would become involved with the Rainbow Club are already being bullied. Please, don't be part of the problem, be part of the solution.

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