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The outcome of a recent court case involving a public housing tenant who challenged her eviction after she refused to give up her cats exemplifies how the justice system ought to work.

NWT Supreme Court Justice Louise Charbonneau rightly upheld the Yellowknife Housing Authority's decision to evict her, yet declined to saddle the woman with impossible-to-pay legal bills - deciding instead to award a more modest sum of $500.

Anne-Marie Giroux, who represented herself, argued the housing authority's prohibition on pets discriminated against low-income families. This may be true but landlords shouldn't have to pay for the mess left behind by irresponsible pets owners. Destroyed furnishings caused by pets means higher costs for public housing providers, which likely means more money that ought to go toward public housing is going toward clean-up bills instead.

Nonetheless, people must be allowed to challenge the system if they feel they have been wronged.

Equality before the law is a cornerstone of our democracy. It doesn't work if people rich enough to hire Edmonton-based lawyers like the housing authority did are the only ones who can afford to seek justice.

After ruling the housing authority had the right to evict tenants for keeping pets, Charbonneau asked the authority to present legal costs - a normal outcome in any civil case. These are usually paid by the losing party. The bill presented by the housing authority was $9,569.

Charbonneau's decision on court costs was both legally sound and fair. The $500 award won't break Giroux's bank but ought to be large enough warn others against filing frivolous court cases.

Many people heart these days about a broken court system. This case, at least, provides some evidence to the contrary.

With so many city councillors undecided about running again in this fall's municipal election, the time for those who think they have something to offer is now.

Only two councillors -- first-timers Linda Bussey and Rebecca Alty -- have confirmed they're throwing their names in the ring for another round. Seven-term Coun. Bob Brooks has said he won't be running again, ditto for two-term Coun. Cory Vanthuyne. The frontrunner in 2012, Coun. Dan Wong, is undecided which puts him in a position shared by half of council.

This suggests there's plenty of opportunity for those who want to try their hand at municipal politics.

While the Sept. 21 deadline for nominations may seem a long ways off, election day is only a few weeks later, on Oct. 15. Candidates have until then to convince voters to mark their names on the ballot. But doing so can be costly and would-be candidates should start to consider how they will get the necessary resources to run -- namely, money and people.

At the start of the last municipal election, council candidates reported campaign budgets ranging from less than $1,000 to a high of $8,000 to pay for campaign items, including signs and website registration.

But elections are not only about the candidate.

In the run up to the 2012 election, candidates reported having teams of supporters ranging from one - Vanthuyne reported his campaign team included just himself - to between 20 and 30 for Bussey. Those who do not wish to run themselves but believe the city would be well-served with a particular man or woman may want to be one of those supporters. And they should take the time to consider who they would like to support.

It's a little less than nine months off, but for those considering the challenge, it may be just enough time to form a realistic plan that will work with their budgets and manpower.

It could be Trudeau's time
Editorial Comment by Darell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau made better use of his 30 minutes on the ground in Rankin Inlet than anyone had the right to hope for earlier this month.

The youthful Trudeau was charismatic, charming, totally engaging and thoughtful while mixing effortlessly with those who came to the terminal to catch a glimpse of the man who could be Canada's prime minister.

Too much time, in all honesty, is spent on the Liberal leader's family name, and trying to draw impossible comparisons between him and his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, at the same age.

Yet, it's impossible to resist.

Many people assume having such a famous father opens doors for Justin which, otherwise, would remain locked at this stage of his career.

Justin, however, while noting his appreciation for those who support him due to fond memories of his father, is quick to point out there are many with not-so-fond memories of Pierre Elliott, and, rightly so, because it's going to take a hard uphill climb to win their support. Pierre Elliott was this nation's prime minister during some highly incendiary times.

Although he was this country's last truly charismatic leader, Pierre Elliott was forced into making some very tough decisions that affected a lot of Canadians and their beliefs.

Modern patriarchs of the families whose dreams or ambitions he severely damaged with those decisions continue to loathe the Trudeau name.

And more than a few of those families can be found deeply embedded within the corporate world that has become so friendly with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

A tough path to our nation's top seat, indeed.

But, one does not have to spend much time in Justin's presence before finding oneself wanting to believe. Justin has what Hollywood so clearly defines as "it!"

While having "it" won't be found on the list of criteria needed to successfully govern our nation, it certainly doesn't hurt one's chances of obtaining such a lofty position.

More Canadians are sick of political rhetoric and government speak than at any other time in our history.

The decline in voter turnout -- especially among first-time voters, where only about one-third cast their ballots -- speaks volumes to the voter apathy that grips Canada.

With voters tuning out the issues and seeing little difference between parties, "it" becomes a commodity.

Memorable baseball manager Billy Martin once said in every clubhouse one-third of the players despise you, one-third love you and one-third aren't sure.

The key to survival, to him, was keeping the unsure away from the despisers.

The analogy closely parallels the situation Justin finds himself in, with a significant portion of the population signalling for change if, for no other reason, than for change's sake.

Should that remain constant until election day, "it" only increases its magnetism.

Justin is a relatively young man to be put in control of a nation, and that, of course, comes with inherent risks.

But, judging the performance of our current majority government, we just might be better off with "it."

Surrounded by good people should he become prime minister, Justin may show a whole lot of substance beneath that flash, and that's a gamble a majority of Canadians may be willing to take!

In government, the reality is often not as simple as common sense would dictate.

Take Sahtu MLA Norman Yakeleya's point made in News/North last week, that if the GNWT can afford a $300,000 trade mission to China and Japan, it should not be able to cry poor when asked to provide nurses in Tulita with decent furniture, level floors and vermin-free living quarters.

Unfortunately, government doesn't quite work that way. Even if the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment had decided $300,000 really is too much money to be spending on a junket, there would be many bureaucratic headaches involved in transferring those dollars to the Department of Health and Social Services, allocating it to the Sahtu health authority, and ensuring the housing complex is brought up to standard.

Even if all that was possible, Tulita nurses are unfortunately not the only government workers - and certainly not the only NWT residents - living in sub-par housing.

However, none of this means that common sense should not prevail. Nursing in a small community is a tough job in the best of conditions. The fact that the department has looked into the issue in Tulita and determined it just doesn't have the money to do anything about it right now is shameful, period.

Money didn't seem to be an issue when the GNWT burned $125,000 celebrating the 20th birthday of the legislative assembly in 2013. Probably not much of a mouse problem in that building.

Once again, the big bureaucracy that runs our territory has gotten in the way of doing the right thing, and kudos to Yakeleya for holding their feet to the fire over it.

Cost of the China trip aside though, looking for new business is a good thing and ITI Minister David Ramsay was right to point out that giving face is very important in Chinese and Japanese culture.

The goal of attracting people to immigrate to the Northwest Territories is also worth the trip.

However, as was pointed out in other media earlier this month, if the goal is to attract new residents, the GNWT would be wise to accept the applications of those who already want to move here.

An employee of the Yellowknife English Academy in Zhaoyuan, China, said he tried to help several entrepreneurs apply who wanted to move to the NWT to start up new businesses. However, no one could be found within the GNWT who knew anything about the Entrepreneur Business program that was launched in 2009.

Perhaps this is why the NWT doesn't has its 2,000 new residents yet.

In short, there is nothing wrong with sending a delegation overseas to promote the North. Promoting NWT fur is an excellent endeavor because it could potentially benefit trappers throughout the territory, not just businesspeople from the capital.

However, whether the trip really needed to cost $300,000 in taxpayer money should be thoroughly examined. Also, the government needs to be held accountable and pushed to show measurable results from these ventures.

Without them, it's just another junket.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau impressed the audience at Iqaluit's Nakasuk School Jan. 12, especially one-on-one as he worked the room, speaking individually with many of the 200 or so people in attendance.

People were clearly thrilled to meet him, shake his hand, pose for a photograph and chat briefly before he moved on to the next person.

Trudeau came to Nunavut after spending a few days in the NWT. He makes quite an impression on people personally. He spoke about how he learned to love the North as a young boy on a trip to the NWT with his father, then prime minister Pierre Trudeau, and thought it fitting to bring his son, Xavier, so the youngster could learn about the people of the North, too.

There were crowds of admirers wherever Trudeau went. For many, it was enough that he spoke in generalities about topics impacting Nunavut, that he mentioned in a short speech that the federal government's Nutrition North food subsidy program needs to be rebuilt. We continually hear talk about the problems related to the high cost of food and the inadequacies of the Nutrition North program. The Conservatives have announced some tightening of regulations, but we would love to hear some real solutions to the problem of food insecurity from the Liberal party.

Those who scrutinized Trudeau's visit would be hard pressed to find anything of substance that was said by him in Iqaluit. Oh, there was plenty of criticism levelled at the Conservative government, saying it has completely failed First Nations and Inuit. But he didn't say anything about what he brings to the table.

Most people accepted that the main purpose of his visit was to meet as many people as possible and to learn about the issues affecting Nunavummiut. However, to intelligent voters, his charm and good looks shouldn't be enough for his party's candidate to win in Nunavut. Consider that the candidate in the other corner is an Inuk cabinet minister who has announced literally hundreds of millions of dollars worth of spending on programs, services and assistance in the territory.

Trudeau has to demonstrate that he is knowledgeable enough on issues related to Nunavut to offer solutions, a platform, policies specific to the North and ideas for a Nunavut Liberal candidate to advance.

For the Liberal party to make any progress in Nunavut, it should have to come up with some real policies that surpass that of the Conservative government. Trudeau's plan should be better than the alternative before voters are swayed. Some will vote for style. We hope more will vote for style and substance.

The great fear among Yellowknife residents when considering the 2023 Canada Winter Games, is that the city will jump in feet first, costs be damned.

A decision hasn't even been made yet but already the numbers are dancing around like synchronized swimmers without a tune.

Estimates attempting to peg the cost of the games have ranged from $57 million in June, to $52 million in November to $35.8 million earlier this month. That the figures have been trending downward does not relieve the idea that they are being massaged to make them more palatable.

City councillor Niels Konge calls these figures "wild-ass guesses." Considering the cost overruns Yellowknifer has found with other Canada Winter Games events, he may not be far from the mark.

Whitehorse ended up with a $90-million bill when what was said to be a rough estimate pegged the price at $31 million. This year's host, Prince George, B.C., is already $11 million over its $36 million estimate with the opening ceremonies still weeks away.

There's also the matter of the athletes' village -- the cost of which the city says has been subtracted from the total cost by the Games council to give us the $35.8 million figure. The city hopes the territorial government will pay the lion's share of the estimated $23 million cost but the GNWT has not yet confirmed it will be doing so, even though it supports the city's bid for the Games.

There's also big fees to pay before the Canada Winter Games council will even approve the bid.

The Red Deer, Alta., bid for 2019 cost $260,000 to lay the groundwork for technical expertise on renovations and putting together bid documents.

A few hundred thousand dollars has the potential to pack a punch.

The two-year contract for the NWT Disabilities Council to run the Safe Harbour Day Centre, for instance, is $619,400.

With the potential to upgrade the city's sports infrastructure and maybe get some funds from the GNWT to build affordable housing, the 2023 Games is a prospect worth examining, but always with one eye on the costs.

Taxpayers should know exactly what they're paying for and should not be surprised when the time comes to foot the bill.

It's off to the Supreme Court for parents of French students.

The highest court in Canada will soon decide whether to hear a six-year-old case pitting the parents' demands for better schools against the territorial government's insistence that the current facilities are adequate and that it should retain the power to decide who can attend French language schools.

This fight has spilled out into the broader education system as the GNWT - after losing the initial court case in 2012 -- sought a cheaper solution for the French community's needs by attempting to strong-arm Yellowknife Education No. 1 into giving up a school so it could be handed over to the French - all while it was appealing the verdict.

French and English education equality is entrenched in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. But watching the Yk1 board trying to placate angry parents as it agonized over which school to hand over to the GNWT provides a stark lesson in how inconvenient equality can be.

It also shows how uncertain the GNWT was that it would win its appeal.

A re-balance of school facilities is still needed, with William McDonald School hovering at a measly 38 per cent utilization rate and the adjacent Ecole Allain St.-Cyr operating 30 students shy of capacity with enrolment of 130.

September 2015 remains the deadline for the 2012 court order, a now-looming and still-in-effect date for the gym and special needs classroom addition, upheld by the appeals court for Allain St.-Cyr. The deadline is presumably what caused a panicked GNWT to ask Yk1 to give up a school before the NWT Court of Appeal had a chance to consider the NWT Supreme Court's 2012 decision.

This opened a tide of uncomfortable debates and in effect painted everyone involved as a bad guy.

Some Yk1 parents cast the French school board as the villain for wanting to take one of their schools.

Incidentally, it did not want a Yk1 school.

Yk1, although missing the GNWT deadline to hand over a school, nonetheless embarked on a yearlong hand-wringing exercise that led it back to the status quo and no hard decisions made whatsoever.

The GNWT, meanwhile, looked like meddlers, trying to play from both sides of the deck.

Nobody wants to be the bad guy, so it's no surprise the GNWT's initiative ended up a debacle.

In the future, the GNWT would be well-advised to sit tight while the court deliberates cases such as this one before causing disruptions.

Dozens of young people gathered this past weekend in Fort Simpson to learn to fiddle.

The musical lessons in Bompas Elementary drew most of the participants, who paid to attend, from communities in the Deh Cho region. They were able to pick up a fiddle and learn from instructors brought in from across the country.

In a small Northern community, having that chance to explore a new musical instrument is fantastic.

The organizers should be commended for their efforts.

Despite a bus from Yellowknife with most of the instructors breaking down en route to the village Friday, they were still able to get here and hold the lessons throughout Saturday.

It was all capped off by a community concert and dance.

The excitement on the faces in the school gym that evening, especially during the dance, was contagious.

Another benefit, as organizer Gerda Hazenberg points out, is that the event builds connections and friendships between people living in various communities.

The event was but one of several held annually, or somewhat more regularly, that make the region special.

It would be easy to slip under a warm blanket and try to hibernate through the winter.

But as the kids and parents who turned out showed, immersing yourself in the culture of the community is better.

From a coffee house, to the jamboree and upcoming sports tournaments, there's lots to do here in the village for those looking for time away from the computer or television.

For those who are younger, there's the Open Doors Society activities, board game night, sports and more.

The wide variety of activities says a lot about the kind of people in the community, about the time they will spend organizing events to keep people busy.

When asking people in the village what they're looking forward to about the rest of winter, almost every answer was about the Beavertail Jamboree, which is held annually in March and features snowmobile races, traditional games, talent shows and more.

That should say something for the organizers.

There are probably few people out there who would argue in favour of littering. If there are, I would hope they're too embarrassed to voice their opinion. Either way, it's a common discussion that we need to continue having.

During this week's public meeting on economic development in Inuvik, the conversation repeatedly reverted back to beautification and cleaning up the community. For those in attendance, seeing litter on the streets of their town is a shame and a crime. Is that small handful of people who showed up for the meeting - public participation and engagement can be left for another editorial - the only ones who see a need for putting a stop to the trash that litters the streets? Probably not.

A quick walk down Mackenzie clearly illustrates the problem and as people talk about ways to improve the local economy, seeing tourism as a major component of that, an appealing, welcoming and clean community is essential.

But, it isn't just for the tourists. As expressed by those at the economic development meeting, this is your community, and chances are you want it to be kept as clean as possible.

So, what are the options? More garbage cans in the downtown area - sure, that might help. A crew of workers to collect litter from the streets - that would be great, if the money was there. Public shaming of those who litter - I'm a fan of this option but others may not be.

The vast majority of the people of Inuvik probably have enough sense to not toss their candy bar wrapper on the sidewalk, and it's unfortunate that their town is polluted by the minority who just don't care enough to find a garbage can.

Some people at the public meeting were in favour of stringent enforcement of laws against littering. This could be a solution, and perhaps more can be proposed once a community conversation with more than just a handful of voices gets started.

The fact is, wanting to clean up the community is not a superficial interest. If people want to see development and growth in the community, and invite others to visit or perhaps work and stay, the amount of community pride that is present here needs to be a little more conspicuous.

A five-minute conversation with most people I've met in town communicated unquestionable pride. It's unfortunate that a walk through town doesn't do the same.

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