DIAND is also to be commended for living up to their promise. All along DIAND has been reassuring concerned members of the public that the comprehensive process was flexible and would accommodate public interests as they came up.

And up they came.

A recent meeting in Kugluktuk between residents and representatives of both Diavik and DIAND left some residents nervous about the impact the proposed mining project would have on the quality of their water supply. Creating deadlines to complete a review of the potential impact of the proposed mine is a necessary evil; there has to be some kind of structure surrounding the process.

The review, however, is meaningless if there isn't sufficient time to explore all the concerns the people affected might have.

While Diavik's investors might find this extension time-consuming, they should keep in mind that even more time-consuming is revitalizing the damaged ecology that a mining project can leave behind.

The people of the North live off the land. It provides fish, meat and water. Despite its formidable size and dramatic climate, the Northern landscape is fragile.

The network of natural relationships that allow game and fish to flourish is delicate and sensitive. No one knows that better than the people who have lived off the land's bounty for generations.

It is they who must be satisfied that Diavik, or any other project, won't disrupt the balance of nature.

The indigenous people of the North have been misled before. They have every right to be skeptical. After all, the mine is their backyard.

It is impossible not to wonder what the reaction would be if the shoe were on the other foot.

We applaud the leadership shown by Education Minister Charles Dent for suggesting a political solution to the electoral boundaries dispute.

Dent wants three additional MLAs for Yellowknife and one more seat each for Inuvik and Hay River. The result would not only be proper representation for Yellowknife, but a good balance between Yellowknife's influence and that of the smaller regions require.

The jockeying over the secondary diamond industry has revealed Hay River as a force to be reckoned with. Combined with Inuvik's weight, Yellowknife will be prevented from dominating territorial politics.

Let's hope the other MLAs see the wisdom of Dent's solution and head off a costly lawsuit.

The small story on city Councillor Kevin O'Reilly in last Friday's Yellowknifer rang familiar bells for embattled parents juggling jobs and kids.

O'Reilly, trying to deal with the tight deadlines of daycare and dinner, scrambling to make the once-a-year ever important municipal budget meeting, ratchets up the rat race pace by locking the keys in his running car at the crucial moment. After applying hasty damage control and intense efficiency dispensing dinner and kids, he arrives on time at city hall to find out he's an hour late.

It's a story that plays itself out every day somewhere in this city and the only real comfort is knowing you are not alone. So congratulations go out to Coun. O'Reilly for surviving the day. Question is whose turn is next?

Coming back for a three-month stint as the Kivalliq editor has been better than I thought. It's almost been like a homecoming. It's been fun. It's been a three-month trip to the place with the most beautiful scenery, the friendliest people and the cutest babies in the world.

Time's gone by quickly. There are people I haven't even visited with yet. There's always next week I told myself, as I dropped exhausted onto the couch with a book. I'll have them for dinner or visit them next week.