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As part of its most recent budget, the GNWT has pledged to recruit 2,000 new residents to the territory within five years - a goal Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger remains adamant can be reached on target despite the territory's ongoing population decline.

When political postering is put aside, the NWT's population numbers tell the story. According to first quarter statistics released by the NWT Bureau of Statistics, the NWT had a net loss of 321 people in January and February alone. This puts us on track to lose more than the 521 net population loss for 2013.

Despite the promise of jobs - and high-paying ones at that - it seems southerners are still reluctant to leave the comforts of the south. And those who do journey North tend to leave after a few years.

Also, more and more young Northerners are choosing to make a life for themselves down south rather than return to their home communities.

So, what exactly is causing residents to give up on eking out an existence in the North and move away?

The high cost of living is often a deciding factor for both long-term residents and new recruits. Even with a high government salary, many cannot afford to buy their own home - and for the territory's working poor, paying for both heat and groceries is often a struggle.

Last week, Miltenberger said the territorial government is looking at a variety of ways to make jobs in the Northwest Territories more appealing, including offering debt forgiveness to NWT residents who return north after school, on top of the student loan forgiveness program that already exists for Northern students.

News/North suggests the GNWT look at taking this idea a step further. Why not offer all new university grads in Canada forgiveness on a portion or all of their student loans depending how long they live and work in the Northwest Territories?

For every new Northerner, the federal government increases the health, social and formula financing transfers by almost $30,000 annually.

Perhaps paying off $100,000 in student loans is unreasonable, but help paying off a certain amount of the debt young people often accrue pursuing an education would show the GNWT is serious about wanting both Northerners to get educated, and for educated southerners to not just move to the North for a year or two, but settle here.

With an offer like that, university grads would likely take the idea of moving North much more seriously.

The GNWT would also benefit from recruiting the educated, skilled employees it so desperately needs and the entire territory would benefit from more young people living, working and starting families in the North which adds directly to the NWT's bottom line.

Congratulations to the hamlet council in Clyde River for having the intestinal fortitude to say no to cruise ship visitors.

The move should leave the water in inlets surrounding the hamlet undisturbed for whaling and fishing, two activities needed to fill the community freezers and sustain residents now and through the winter.

There is no reason that every coastal community in Nunavut should throw open its arms to visitors when cruise ships arrive. Pond Inlet, too, has taken a stand on cruise ship visitors, sending a message to those who don't provide economic benefits that they will be charged a landing fee.

Arctic Bay, on the other hand, wants the cruise ships to visit and send their passengers ashore because it is part of the tourism strategy.

There are several sides to the issue. Although the Government of Nunavut's Economic Development and Transportation Department issues outfitter licences to control activities on the land, it has no jurisdiction on the water and no way to influence a cruise ship's sailing itinerary. Cruise ships on the open sea can go where they want. However, that doesn't mean that hamlets will make the effort to play the role as gracious hosts.

There is significant work involved to prepare for international visitors. In many cases, residents dress in their traditional clothing, which is designed for cold Arctic winters, to show off their use of sealskin, caribou hides and decorative beading. That can be especially taxing in the summer months, when warm clothing is not needed. They also put up tables, gather crafts, carvings and other cultural items for sale. Many times, tours of scenic sights in the surrounding area are offered. Sometimes, there are performances by drummers, dancers and throatsingers.

Making such elaborate preparations is a gamble. Sometimes, the cruise ship passengers are respectful and generous. Other times, not so much.

The Association of Arctic Cruise Ship Operators, an international organization, has provided much-needed assistance by providing guidelines for cruise ship passengers who are interested in seeing Nunavut up close and personal. But not all cruise operators are members of the organization and some cruise ships, like The World, are not carrying passengers but is the home of year-round residents who purchase condominiums on board and are less inclined to see sights like tourists would.

Nunavut is not turning its back on an aspect of the economy that is clean and green. There are plenty of coastal communities willing to host visitors.

We recognize Nunavut is a rich tourist destination and encourage cruise ship operators and leaders in communities to open lines of communication so there is less uncertainty.

A fruitful experience for both tourists and hosts is the desired result. However, work on logistics is required for that to be achieved.

The recent case of a young boy dialing the wrong number while trying to call police on his smartphone is yet another example of why the territory needs a 911 emergency phone service.

Stephen Messier, 12, woke up to the sound of a prowler in his bedroom on June 24. He tried to call police but dialed the wrong number - 669-2222 - reaching the fire department instead, who gave him the right number, 669-1111. Police arrived and the suspect was caught but clearly the situation highlights the dangers of having a seven-digit emergency phone system with different numbers for the police and fire department.

Precious seconds can be lost in the confusion trying to dial the numbers, and because they're not universally recognized emergency phone numbers, many people don't know them.

The city's now-defunct 9-1-1 committee and the territorial government spent $47,500 in 2009 on a study trying to figure out the best way to offer emergency service numbers. It was the fifth such study initiated since 1992.

The 2009 report concluded that 9-1-1 should be phased in, starting with the seven largest communities in the NWT representing about 77 per cent of the population. It would have cost $1.2 million annually to maintain. That plan was shot down by Municipal and Community Affairs Minister Rob McLeod, who said GNWT wouldn't get involved unless it could be implemented in all NWT communities, including those that are currently without cellphone service. Another complicating factor was the lack of street numbers in smaller communities.

This, of course, exemplifies the government's extraordinary ability to find ways of not getting anything done. Rather than provide a service that would save lives in most of the territory, it abdicates its responsibilities to the public on cynical and misguided notion of pan-territorial inclusiveness.

As it turns out, setting up a 9-1-1 dispatch is not at all complicated.

Cell service provider Ice Wireless started offering 9-1-1 service to NWT clients in January, using call centres in Sudbury, Ont., and Romania, who reroute emergency calls to the appropriate dispatchers in Yellowknife.

If the GNWT is not willing to set the system up itself, it ought to look at one of these companies to do it. They would certainly be faster getting it done.

Messier's story, fortunately, has a happy outcome. How many times does the government think it can roll the dice with people's lives when seconds count before a tragedy occurs?

A tip of the hat is due for the City of Yellowknife which managed to provide an important public service without ... wait for it ... spending more money.

The public bathrooms and change-rooms at the Somba K'e Civic Plaza have historically spent much more time locked than unlocked - the latter happening almost exclusively during city-run events. But as of a few weeks ago, the city has found a way to make use of its facilities.

In the past, the justification behind the locked doors was two-fold - the cost was too high, and there was a fear vandalism.

But by reallocating resources, the city was able to hire an attendant to clean the washrooms and ensure all flows smoothly during its daily open hours - all without doling out more dough.

Money aside, opening the bathrooms is a good thing: most places have public washrooms and considering the city does too, it only makes sense to use them. People will inevitably have to go, and better they do in washrooms rather than in alleys or behind trees.

But the fact that the city managed this through the rejigging of funds instead of flushing more money down the toilet deserves praise and should serve as an example to future endevours.

It's amazing how much humans complain.

The very act of complaining must be an essential part of the human condition, because how else can you explain why almost everyone is guilty of it at one point or another? In the Deh Cho people latch onto topics to complain about that are often contradictory.

A favourite one is the weather. In the winter it's hard to go a single day, unless you stay locked in your home by yourself or it's unseasonably nice out, without hearing someone complain about the weather.

Usually it is much too cold or it is snowing too much.

Based on the amount of low grade whining and complaining that takes place it would stand to reason that in the summer almost everyone would be incredibly happy. After all, there is not a speck of snow in sight and the arms on thermometers are no where near the freezing mark.

But are people happy? Not really.

Instead we complain about the heat. Either it's too hot or it's too hot and humid or it's too much dry heat.

At the same time rain becomes the new snow. Either there isn't enough rain and we desperately need more of it or when it does fall it always seems to ruin someone's planned outdoor barbecue or backyard party and they wish it would promptly stop.

The only summertime phenomena that people can make a reasonable case for complaining about are the bugs. It's very hard to see the upside of having large chunks taken out of you by bulldogs while mosquitoes leave you with raised, itching bumps and blackflies have you covered with spots of congealing blood.

All the while there are the really tiny bugs that are just a general annoyance, and don't get most people started about hair eaters.

The only good thing to be said is that at least we don't live in an area where mosquitoes carry malaria or other serious diseases.

But really, what are we complaining about? Summer in the Deh Cho is gorgeous.

There are lots of activities to participate in and communities are steps away from outdoor recreational paradises for those who like to boat, fish or camp.

People living in cities in the south travel hours on Fridays in rush hour traffic to get to the kind of scenery that is minutes from most front doors in the Deh Cho.

People need to grab a bug jacket and bug spray, put on sunscreen and lightweight clothes, fill up their water bottles and take advantage of the weather while it lasts. After all, in three months or less we will be back to complaining about the ever shortening hours of daylight and the temperatures that drop even faster.

Winter, as we all know, is coming.

It's been a bad year for tragedies in Inuvik.

From the death of a familiar delta man in a fire last winter to the anguish following the sudden death of Northern icon Robert Alexie Jr., the community has been losing people at a rate that it cannot afford.

Early on the morning of July 6, the community had another loss it could ill afford when a bright and promising young woman lost her life in a car crash. While circumstances differ, the end result doesn't. Suffice to say there likely aren't too many people and families in Inuvik who haven't been touched by her passing, and by the injuries suffered by the other young people, most from well-known families.

The victim of the crash was well remembered at Aurora Campus. She was a straight-A student, a staff member said.

She was hoping to pursue her education further, the staff member said, and had been very active in the student council last year.

That's exactly the type of person we need more of here in Inuvik, particularly those born and raised in town, so her untimely death is a double tragedy that has left her family reeling.

It's not just her immediate family, nor her extended family, which is large, who keenly feels this blow. It was remarkable to see the town so incredibly quiet during the afternoon and evening of July 6.

It was as if time was suspended while people processed and digested the tragedy, and said prayers for the survivors.

At least one of those survivors is apparently still hospitalized in Edmonton with serious injuries.

So far, the RCMP has said speed and alcohol are suspected to be factors in the crash. One man now faces multiple charges.

What is incomprehensible, in any community, is why this continues to happen unabated. Somewhere along the line people need to find a way to break this self-destructive cycle.

I'm not entirely sure how to do that, and I doubt anyone else does. That doesn't mean people can't collectively decide to make a decision and take a long, hard, open and unbiased look at the situation while saying "never again."

The community simply can't afford to lose any more people of the calibre of its latest loss. It has to stop now.

Over the past few weeks, Yellowknifer has been looking at other communities to see how they are combating homelessness.

After seeing how the issue is dealt with by those in Thunder Bay, Ont., Fairbanks, Alaska, and today in Whitehorse, Yukon, it is clear these cities have recognized something Yellowknife has not: that adequate funding in the fight against homelessness and addictions will not only keep more people off the street, it will save money in the long run.

This series brought to light just how backwards the thinking has become in the territory. While these other communities have been moving forward - albeit some faster than others - Yellowknife has been at a standstill. Indeed, with the closure of the downtown day shelter in May some would argue the territory has taken a step back, as occurred when Hay River's Nats'ejee Keh Treatment Centre closed last year and the Somba K'e Healing Lodge shut its doors in 1999.

Meanwhile, non-governmental organizations such as the Centre for Northern Families operate on a shoestring budget with six-figure deficits.

This is what happens when governments think they are being cost-effective.

Shelters close and programs lapse for a lack of will and money while RCMP cells and emergency rooms fill up with the city's mentally ill and downtrodden citizens. Politicians cry for more police to deal with outbreaks of street crime and drunkenness. The courts - serviced by a phalanx of high-priced judges and lawyers - spend their days deliberating over misdemeanors and probation breaches.

What the territorial government doesn't seem to understand is that if it doesn't fund programs to combat homelessness, and give them enough money to survive, it will only cost more in the long run.

Health Minister Glen Abernethy, who bizarrely tried to downplay the significance of a John Howard Society survey which found the vast majority of day shelter users came from outside of Yellowknife, arguing instead that users were all Yellowknifers by virtue of their presence here, insists $250,000 is all the money the government has to give the day shelter if and when it re-opens.

He doesn't seem to realize this tight-fistedness toward the day shelter will have to be paid in areas where it will really cost the government: the hospital, police and the courts.

Nickel and diming the problem, instead of observing and trying to replicate the successes found in other communities - the managed alcohol program in Thunder Bay, retrofits for homeless housing in Alaska, and partnering with landlords in Whitehorse to ensure low-cost housing - will only ensure the government must spend more at the end of the day.

Until the government recognizes its short-sightedness in dealing with homelessness to date, it will continue with its top-heavy response, using the most expensive professionals and services in the North to deal with the territories' poorest and least able.

The fire chief and eight volunteer firefighters who make up the Rankin Inlet Fire Department proved themselves plenty capable of protecting their community last week.

For much of the week, these firefighters who, let's remember, all have jobs outside of defending the people of Rankin from fires and other disasters, were the only force against the flames, unexplained explosions and dense smoke which had residents on edge.

It's remarkable that these volunteers, who aside from their other jobs, also have families they're responsible for, spent many hours at the dump site trying to take care of the problem. The place I'm staying is close to the dump and it seemed that every time I looked out my kitchen window, I would see the fire truck go by, or the dusty red fire department pickup truck driving back to the site.

Sometimes, they would give a smile and nod to people who waved their way and other times I'd see the firefighters in their

yellow equipment slumped against the truck, clearly exhausted.

I spoke with one woman who said her significant other was one of the firefighters and had barely seen him in the days since the fire. I remember her saying that he'd come home after midnight and be up in the morning getting back out onto the site before she got out of bed.

Again, I stress, that these firefighters are volunteers.

They could have turned the other cheek and let someone else deal with the problem but they stood up to the task and got it covered in a little more than a week with the help of Mosher Construction and M&T Enterprises, once the gravel work started in.

A mention should also be given to the bylaw officers in town who did their best to keep curious onlookers a safe distance from the dump, and for taking kids home to their parents after catching them trying to get into the site, but not without letting them know of the dangers of doing so. They were just as diligent in keeping people out of trouble and not letting the situation get out of hand as the firefighters were.

Also, an honourable mention should go to acting mayor Sam Tutanuak, who was on Facebook a couple times a day during the week updating people on the status of the fire, letting residents know where they could go to escape if the smoke got too bad, and keeping everyone abreast of any advancements in fighting the fire, such as when they began smothering it with gravel.

He also went on the community radio station and was very accessible to the newspaper as well.

Finally, kudos to the residents of Rankin Inlet who pulled together and gave words of support in the community, at the coffee shop, on the Facebook groups or who showed their appreciation for the firefighters by bringing refreshments and snacks to the hamlet office for them.

It was remarkable to see how quickly this small community can pull together in a time of need.

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