NAV Canada has taken its show on the road. NAV Canada, as you may recall, is the private company that spent $1.5 billion to take over air navigation services from the federal government.

A group of interested parties, including NAV Canada executives, are now visiting airports in the North, reviewing flight services with an eye on the costs.

In Resolute, a threat to cut services was postponed after a meeting with the community. On the other side of the territories, in Fort Simpson, NAV Can's roadshow met with skepticism and outright hostility.

People there are concerned because they fear that a reduction or elimination of local flight services operation would further isolate their already isolated communities.

Their concern is justified. Aviation service in the North is different from the rest of Canada. It isn't an alternative, it is essential.

Northern communities don't have the luxury of a network of roads. Many Northern communities are hundreds of miles from the nearest centre of hospital care. Emergency services, health services and essential supplies all arrive by air.

While pilots have the ultimate responsibility for their passengers and their loads, they shouldn't have to assume the responsibility for making judgments based on little or no information on whether or not it is safe to land.

The North is a temperamental environment. The weather, as most of us know, can change at the drop of a hat. When we hear of the elimination or reduction of flight services in the territories, we can't help but wonder about safety standards.

Our airplanes are essential, but not at the expense of the safety of the passengers and the pilots. We hope NAV Canada gets that message, loud and clear.

The recent ruling by the Tax Court of Canada that some employees of First Nations bands do not have to pay tax on their salaries is not a serious blow to the country's bottom line, and only a handful in the North will be affected.

Still, it is refreshing to come across a progressive ruling from the Tax Court when it comes to the thorny issue of aboriginal rights and the tax code. For too long Revenue Canada has played hardball, interpreting historical treaties and the Constitution in a narrow manner, when if anything, it should be granting members of Canada's First Nations the benefit of the doubt.

It's a small step toward straightening out what sometimes seems like a neverending debate over who is obligated to whom.