With this being the 80th anniversary of the end of the First World War and more than 50 years having passed since the end of the Second World War -- remembering those who paid the ultimate price has, perhaps, never been more important.
Humans have the unenviable ability to forget lessons learned, no matter how horrific, as they fade further into the past.
We must intensify our yearly efforts to honour those who gave their lives in the name of freedom, so our youth continue to appreciate the price of democracy.
And, more importantly, keep alive the memories of the men and women who paid that price.
The business community's choice for the new chamber of commerce president is a good one.
Gord Van Tighem, territorial manager for the Bank of Montreal, took over last week.
Van Tighem is not your average banker. In the six years he has lived Yellowknife, he has built a reputation for being a personable, approachable, community spirited booster of the city.
Van Tighem's territorial experience is especially important given the city's goal of setting itself up as the service centre of the Western NWT. It's important to look beyond municipal borders for new business.
Of any community group, the chamber of commerce can be the most effective in building a strong economy by welcoming new business and generally creating a stable environment for existing business. The watchdog role the chamber plays with city council is very crucial, as became evident during the last municipal administration.
Van Teghem says he intends to continue on the plan to make the chamber "much more pro-active and reactive." If by that he means getting involved in the issues such as the NWT Power Corp. and the Worker's Compensation Board after division, then great.
The Chamber might also add to its plate lobbying the territorial government for more tourism dollars. Tourism is an undeveloped gold mine for the city and the NWT. It has been left to individual entrepreneurs to work in isolation with little funding support. It's also an industry that feeds many others, from retailing to construction, representing a good chunk of the chamber's 500 members.
The new vice-presidents and board of directors, all familiar names in the city's business community, will provide Van Tighem with impressive back up. It's what we are going to need to weather the storm of division's global meltdowns. Good luck.
Have a little sympathy for the Constitutional Working Group. Charged with the thankless task of designing the post-division Western Arctic, the ground keeps shifting beneath their feet.
The CWG has decided to indefinitely postpone a scheduled constitutional conference. And with good reason. There is little point in mapping out a government structure until issues of self-government are settled.
Federal plans to hold a forum on self-government and the territorial government's announcement of a proposed agenda for the western territory after division will no doubt add a new dimension to the situation.
What won't be postponed is division. With that deadline looming, it looks more and more like we'll be living with the status quo come April '99. Better that than a fractious, contested arrangement for the west that suits nobody.
Editorial Comment
Marty Brown
Kivalliq News
Well, the good news is that some people are preparing for Nunavut by going to school faithfully and getting a good education.
Cheryl Forbes, principal at the Leo Ussak school in Rankin Inlet, is proud that out of 286 students, 129 received certificates for perfect attendance in October. Of those 129, 55 received certificates for being on time. Those 55 students were not late for an entire month -- not even five minutes late. Way to go, students.
But all is not so well in other parts of the hamlet. People are worried about the people-part of Nunavut.
With 25 new Nunavut government jobs scheduled for this community, up to 125 more new people could move in. Hamlet councillor Lavinia Brown is concerned the RCMP, nurses, teachers and social services will not have enough staff to provide services for these people.
"We're short of nurses again, we're short of teachers already, and the RCMP can't keep up any more as it is. Maybe we should petition the federal government before it's too late," she said.
How can people do a good job, she asked, while they are stressed out?
The topic of housing came up at a recent inter-agency meeting in Rankin. There is no housing shortage right now, but there's no surplus either, a spokesman from the housing association said at the meeting. So much money is being pumped into the area by the territorial government, but not at the grassroots level.
Concerns were raised that, if all the trained middle- management people were being skimmed off to work for the new government, who was going to be left to run things at the community level? Who is going to deliver the programs?
That got me thinking about who was going to deliver the programs. Would we have to bring up southern hires? Maybe we should send everybody back to school for upgrading right now before it's too late. But maybe it's too late already.
Apparently, the Learning Centre in Rankin Inlet had room for 11 upgrading students in the fall. Nearly 70 applied. So there's the interest, but there was only enough money for 11 people to upgrade their skills to enhance the workforce. Is the money being channelled into the wrong places?
Actually, I think this happens often. Money goes to the top and doesn't get filtered down to the people who need it.
Look at any charitable organization. Every year, people wonder if the donation they give actually goes to the cause, or does the money get gobbled up by administration.
If we have people eager to learn, how could there be a shortage of money for them?
There is going to be some stumbling around at the beginning, but if this new government is going to work, it can't be at the expense of the grassroots level.