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Eight months after seven-year-old Lodune Shelley drowned at the unsupervised Long Lake Beach, little appears to have been done that promises to actually make the beach safer.

There has been a report - an exhaustive one by the Lifesaving Society of Alberta and the NWT - that chooses, as its first topic of discussion, the timeliness of testing for E.coli bacteria. And last week, the NWT Coroner's Office issued a report on Shelley's death that likewise failed to illuminate on the two main safety issues facing the beach at Fred Henne Territorial Park - the lack of lifeguards and the presence of hazardous deep-water holes that threaten to swallow unwary bathers, especially children who can't swim.

The coroner's report proposes to close the beach to unsupervised children - not an issue in Shelley's death - and otherwise places the onus on the beach-going public to be better "educated" on being safe. Two lonely words - "bottom terrain" - are dedicated to the periodically shifting, underwater holes inside the swimming area perimeter where unsuspecting waders risk treading into depths of six feet or more, with the depth of the surrounding water at less than three feet.

Aside from the scant attention paid to bottom terrain, the coroner's report laughably recommends the Department of Industry, Tourism and Development, which runs the beach at Fred Henne, to inform beach-goers of the dangers of other water hazards, such as wind, temperature and marine life.

The report doesn't speculate on what led to Shelley's drowning, but it's a safe bet it had nothing to do with "marine life." In any event, it can only be hoped that the education of beach-goers on the hazards at Long Lake includes, at the very least, some buoys tied to rocks and placed over these holes so caregivers can at least see if their children are wandering too close to them.

The lack of interest and discussion to date by various bodies about these holes is puzzling. Their aversion to recommending lifeguards is not.

Clearly, no one wants to be held responsible should lifeguards return to Fred Henne after an 11-year absence and another drowning occurs. The territorial government estimates it would cost $120,000 to $150,000 annually to institute a summer lifeguard program at Long Lake - substantially higher than the $21,000 it would've cost in 2004 when the city and GNWT failed to come to an agreement over who would pay it, but presumably a much smaller figure than what would be sought in a negligence lawsuit.

It must be noted that the children who stumbled upon Shelley's lifeless body as it drifted in the water were unable to get anyone's attention when they went screaming back to shore seeking help. Would a professional lifeguard not have picked up on that? It raises the question of whether Shelley could have been saved had he been pulled from the water sooner by a professional trained in CPR.

David Ramsey, the minister responsible for territorial parks - no doubt feeling the conflicting pressures from residents who overwhelmingly want lifeguards to return and bureaucrats warning of liability - uttered his strongest pledge to date last week in the legislative assembly, saying, "If lifeguards at Fred Henne beach is going to make it safer, we'll try our best to put lifeguards there."

It boggles the mind to consider how Long Lake Beach wouldn't be safer with lifeguards. Ramsay promises yet another report on the matter from the Lifesaving Society within a few weeks which will make a recommendation one way or another.

One thing is for sure - with the petition from Shelley's grandfather calling for lifeguards growing by the day, the minister will be in a tough spot with the public should the report find a reason not to hire them.

It's been an interesting few weeks in the Kivalliq, listening to the vastly differing opinions people have on alcohol in our region.

Residents of Arviat and Chesterfield Inlet voted "no" to dropping restrictions on alcohol in their communities.

The results in the two communities really weren't close, especially in Arviat where "no" outnumbered "yes" almost two to one.

That's a huge gap, considering the "yes" side needs at least 60 per cent of the overall vote to carry the day.

In Coral Harbour, all sides have firmly dropped the cone of silence in place - people's right to know be damned - concerning members of the education community allegedly having alcohol in their homes.

I support free speech to the tune of 110 per cent.

I might not agree with what someone is saying, but I will defend to the death their right to say it.

Ditto, the democratic or voting process.

Regardless of how I may feel on a topic, we live in a country where majority rules and, while their voice may be open to scrutiny or debate, it is not open to change.

So state the rules of democracy, and long may that flag wave over this great nation of ours.

All that being said, I am concerned about the fact almost 100 per cent of the attention in Coral has been focused on teachers allegedly having alcohol in their homes and next to nothing is being said over the fact the alcohol was "confiscated" by youth breaking into their homes.

If some teachers did have alcohol in Coral, they should have known better and, no doubt, will be disciplined for their lack of judgement.

But, let's not be throwing rocks if we're living in a glass home of our own.

Breaking and entering into a home is a serious offence, and "they wouldn't have done it if there was no booze there" is a flimsy excuse.

Does the same excuse hold water if a person has a nice stereo or some other fancy electronic device?

The fact they're legal and booze isn't doesn't stand-up as a counter point because break and enter is always an illegal act, no matter what the person was after when they committed the crime.

If these teachers did have booze, let's not heap too much righteous indignation upon them.

There are bootleggers and people who sneak liquor into every dry or restricted community in our region - and we all know it!

If we're going to jump on a pedestal and demand punishment far beyond befitting the crime for these teachers - if they did do anything wrong - let's ask ourselves why.

Are we naive enough to believe bootleggers in our communities don't sell to youth?

Do we believe when someone we know brings booze into a community during a big event, they're giving it to people at actual cost out of the goodness of their hearts?

The majority of people in Coral Harbour don't want liquor in their community.

That is their right and anyone moving to, or visiting, that community, for whatever reasons, should respect that.

But, until we're ready to hold everyone accountable to that standard - friend, foe, acquaintance or stranger - let's not fall into the trap of removing the blindfold and tipping the scales of justice only when it suits our purpose.

That is not our right!

Last week, Debbie DeLancey, the territory's deputy minister of health, told News/North the territorial government must move away from the one-size-fits-all-style when developing health programming.

We agree.

Cultural differences, community dynamics and isolation make planning in the North a challenge. In some cases, those differences are so pronounced that even a regional approach to programming might not be effective.

Knowing that and doing something about it, however, are two different things. Designing and delivering programs for each individual community would be a nearly impossible task.

Impossible, that is, if they were being developed from the top down by the territorial government.

One of the most concerning trends in this year's annual report is the increase in the number of sexually transmitted infections across the territory.

Just prior to the division of Nunavut and the NWT, the rate of STIs was trending downward. Since that time, the trend has been upward. Statistics can be tricky in the sense that awareness means higher levels of reporting, but we would expect to see the rates leveling or dropping. Aside from an encouraging drop in cases between 2008 and 2011, the rates again jumped in 2012.

That is despite some creative programming by the territory, including a Northern-themed condom campaign.

It's obvious something isn't working. Instead of the GNWT throwing money at more awareness, education and prevention programs, it might be time for a different approach.

A good place to look for inspiration is the Tlicho government.

Prior to 2007, the Tlicho region had one of the highest rates of STIs in the territory, about triple the territorial average.

That reality sparked the creation of the Tlicho Healing Wind Project and by 2012 the region had one of the lowest rates of infection in the NWT. Five years to accomplish regionally what the GNWT has not been able to do in 25 years.

The reason is simple. The Healing Wind Projects was developed for the Tlicho people by the Tlicho people. Levels of understanding, engagement and attitude in every NWT community are different and if you do not understand those barriers, you will never design an effective program.

Through community consultation and community engagement, the Tlicho were not only able to understand the contributing factors to poor sexual health - including flaws in traditional language when talking about sex - they were able to devise a strategy that appealed and worked for the Tlicho people.

The danger is looking at that model and thinking the GNWT can replicate it with bureaucrats, politicians and appointed committee members.

What is needed is a direct community approach, initiatives spearheaded by people the community trusts.

One possible solution is creating community health committees, similar to community justice committees, where funding is funneled directly to the community which then comes up with its own strategies.

Unlike justice committees, however, that funding should include salaries - or honorariums - for more than just the co-ordinator to reduce the risk of volunteer burnout.

Perhaps if every community could develop its version of the healing wind project, we would see STI rates fall to at least the Canadian average.

Such an idea could also serve as a pilot project to determine if a similar approach could work with other health issues such as smoking and other addictions.

The preservation of Inuit culture and tradition as it relates to hunting, trapping, language and the arts is vital to Nunavut.

Knowledge has been passed down for hundreds, if not thousands, of years so that generation after generation can learn about what it takes to live and thrive on the land.

In some cases, traditional practices are merged with modern technology to achieve better results. An example of that is snowmobiles being used for hunting rather than dog teams.

Hunters are now encouraged to take SPOT beacons on trips so they can be located readily if stranded in adverse weather conditions. Sometimes, artists use power tools in their carving and achieve the same or a better result than with the use of hand tools alone.

Traditionally, young members of a large family would go to live with an uncle, grandparent or friends. There were no questions asked if an older child wished to live elsewhere for a period of time if they wished. This was done informally.

To some degree, the absence of checks and balances related to what evolved into adoption has continued into the modern age. That perhaps answers questions arising from a 145-page report which criticizes the Aboriginal Custom Adoption Recognition Act.

The report, prepared for the federal Department of Justice, takes the Government of Nunavut to task for not conducting safety checks on adoptive homes, not conducting criminal record checks on prospective adoptive parents and not undertaking due diligence on an adopted child's living conditions.

The consultant who prepared the report used four years of data from Nunavut. However, much of the data is based on anecdotal reports and, to us, is questionable. The consultant found cases where Inuit babies, children and teenagers have been sold to unknown individuals under private arrangements. If true, these are allegations of a most serious nature and a matter for intense police investigation.

The title of the report, Service and Capacity Review For Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking in Nunavut, is misleading because it refers only to the vulnerability for the trafficking of children, but not to actual incidents.

The consultant correctly brings to light minimal criminal background checks or assessments in custom adoptions to verify the safety of a child or children. This is a failure by government workers either because of inadequate legislation, a lack of training or a failure to be diligent.

Of great concern is that there is no requirement under the custom adoption process for social workers to conduct a safety check of the home where an adopted child resides.

The government says it is taking action, although slowly, taking into consideration past Inuit practices. It now plans to support adopted children past the age of 19 and is committed to training custom adoption commissioners to understand custom adoption law. It has updated the program training manual and procedures. And it takes into account that custom adoption commissioners are seen by hamlet councils to be highly-trusted people who can make sound choices in their communities.

However, just like a SPOT beacon should be used by hunters, legislation must be improved to reflect modern times and current threats, because preventing harm to a child that is no longer with their parents or family is the desired result.

It was more than a year ago now that two men - Lawrence Ambler and Leroy Alfred Conner - were killed and a third seriously injured following an accident on Highway 3, about 80 km outside of Fort Providence.

While it still isn't known what led to the accident itself, what is known is that a medevac helicopter initially tasked to picked up the injured was instead told to stand down, with a ground ambulance from Fort Providence sent instead.

While it's impossible at this point to say whether or not the helicopter would have made a difference - although Const. Clifton Richards, one of the first responders, told Yellowknifer that it would have - the incident shows a glaring hole in the health department's plans for such events. 'Plan' is probably the wrong word because, as then-health minister Tom Beaulieu said in the legislative assembly last year, there is no plan, with all roadside accidents handled on a case-by-case basis.

More than a year has passed now, and what is there to show for it? Drivers and their passengers on NWT highways are in the same position that they were in a year ago - get into an accident, and it remains uncertain who is coming to get you. While you're waiting for help, potentially gravely injured, a group of people potentially hundreds of kilometres away are trying to determine what to do with you and how to come get you, rather than a plan already being in place to do so. Needless to say, given a choice, most people would would prefer a helicopter take them or their loved ones directly to hospital, rather than wait for an ambulance from a health centre and then put on a medevac plane.

Simply put, there needs to be a highway emergency extraction plan. Range Lake MLA Daryl Dolynny said it best, noting that "it's blind luck that we're not facing these sorts of questions on a regular basis."

The territory must be prepared for when this sort of thing happens again, because with hundreds of kilometres of highways in the NWT, it's only a matter of time.

City councillor Niels Konge asks whether the Municipal Enforcement Division is about public safety or catching drivers committing violations.

He would like to see MED's two ghost cars marked and identifiable like the department's two other cars and two snowmobiles.

"There's gotta be some common sense," said Konge.

In fact, common sense dictates that having two marked and two unmarked vehicles fulfills several needs in the community.

Marked cars instill confidence in the community that bylaw officers are present and available.

However, if someone is violating speed limits and sees a marked car, of course they will slow down. But what happens next? They speed up once they are out of sight. Knowledge that there are ghost cars may encourage citizens to self-monitor generally instead of only at specific locations.

There are two ends to this continuum ... people who break laws - yes, even the pesky little laws that seem inconsequential - and people who don't. And everyone in between.

Splitting hairs about whether bylaw is a highway division or a safety division does not change the fact that municipal enforcement vehicles fulfill both functions and it behooves them to use all the tools at their disposal, including ghost cars.

The Paul Stipdonk Memorial Soccer Tournament, held last weekend in Fort Simpson, was a great event for a number of reasons.

As organizer Shane Thompson noted, there aren't a lot of sports competition opportunities in the Deh Cho for youth under the age of 8. This tournament, however, has divisions for both U6 and U8 as well as older ages.

For many of the participants the event is their first introduction to taking part in a sports competition. And it's a very positive introduction.

The tournament doesn't focus on winning or losing – in fact, no official scores were kept or posted. There were no playoffs and no team was labelled as being in first, second or third place. Instead every athlete was given a soccer ball appropriate for their size.

Teams and coaches also didn't get hung up on who was playing for who. If a team didn't have enough players for a game they were able to borrow athletes from other teams. The students happily played on any team, even if they had just been competing against them.

Events like these help create the building blocks of a healthy lifestyle. They show youth that sports and sports tournaments can be fun and that you don't have to be a star athlete to participate.

With instances of diabetes and obesity on the rise it's more important than ever to get youth hooked on physical activity at a young age. If a child starts to play soccer when they are four, as some of the tournament participants were, they may continue playing right through to adulthood and it could lead them to take up other sports as well.

Soccer is a great source of exercise and youth can develop into referees or coaches as they get older. Sports like soccer also teach youth about the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship and how to continue playing even if the score is heavily stacked against them.

The tournament was also great for the spectators. Parents were able to look on proudly as their child or children ran after the ball and maybe even got a goal or prevented one from happening.

There was also a high cuteness factor. It was adorable to watch the students in the U6 division swarm the ball en masse.

Many were eager to just come in contact with the ball, while some were content to sprawl on the playing field and take a break in spite of the other players running around them.

The tournament is now in its third year. Hopefully it will continue to foster a love for soccer in the Deh Cho's youth for many years to come.

It's an ambitious plan for Inuvik and the Delta communities to host the 2018 Arctic Winter Games, but a little ambition is sometimes a good thing.

With Yellowknife out of the running to host the games when the NWT's turn comes around, Inuvik and the Delta communities are one of two possibilities to be the venue, along with Fort Smith and Hay River.

To be sure, holding the Arctic Winter Games does pose a few dilemmas, particularly for accommodating so many people. At the moment, there just is nowhere to put so many people conveniently in Inuvik, which is likely to be the hub, although there are a few immediate options.

Some council members suggested people might be invited to open their homes to be used as billets, and that's not a bad idea for anyone who's willing.

At the moment, there's also a glut of rental properties that could likely be looked into as possibilities. as well. Other ideas will crop up as plans develop. That's the bad news, and it's a significant consideration, but it has to be weighed against the opportunity that hosting the games brings to the area.

It's doubtful anyone could argue that the town and region couldn't use something to look forward to, and something to give the economy even a temporary kick-start. The preparation for these games will do both. Several council members, in a lengthy discussion of the issue, alluded to that, notably Derek Lindsay.

As the Delta's economy seems to grow more stagnant, even with construction starting on the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk highway that's bringing hundreds of jobs to people who desperately need them, the town's mood continues to sink lower, and planning for an event like the Arctic Winter Games could help with that.

The circumpolar conference being held here this July will provide some valuable lessons and experience for games officials to build on to host the 2018 event.

There are still questions that need to be answered. There are estimates of the cost which, according to council minutes, could be as high as $6.9 million. What is not known is exactly how those costs will be divided and who will pay what.

The GNWT through the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs might pick up $3.5 million of the tab. That's a vital consideration.

In this case, the town is spending a little money to find out if what might be a once-in-a-generation opportunity is viable and makes sense for the region.

Let's hope the answer is yes, but as the saying also goes, you can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket.

Give Inuvik councillors credit for having a vision that could make a major difference to the region.

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