With the recent court decision affirming Yellowknife's right to proper political representation, another victory is chocked up to grass roots activism.
Though the Friends of Democracy has been vilified in the legislative assembly and generally maligned by politicians in the regions, they did a great service to their fellow Yellowknifers.
Ensuring the protection of democratic rights is a highly honourable pursuit and those who suggest otherwise are pursuing undemocratic ends.
The Friends' victory comes not long after the Yellowknife Property Owners Association used the courts to shut down illegal secret meetings at city hall.
This shows the people are not powerless in this town and should be listened to. Politicians take heed!
Tonight one of history's friendliest divorces becomes official. The mighty Northwest Territories once loomed over southern Canada, a land of vague mysteries.
Tonight it becomes two. While Nunavut nestles into the global spotlight for its 15 minutes of fame, the Western Arctic is throwing its own party.
Planned celebrations at the Legislative Assembly, scheduled for 9:00 pm tonight, reflect the cultural diversity that separates the West from the Nunavut. While this mosaic of cultures is the root of some of the problems we face here, it is also one of our strengths.
So get out there and enjoy yourself. It's about time we celebrated our differences instead of griping about them.
The recent debate at city hall over the number of proclamations raised a good point.
Proclamations involve naming days, weeks and months and years after public causes such as International Women's Day and International Year of the Older Person. A city committee noted requests are hitting city hall more than ever before.
While city councillor Robert Slaven's motion to abandon the practice was a bit strong, we agree that some proclamations, especially the national and international ones, take up time and are becoming less meaningful.
Perhaps the more important and local proclamations should be maintained while less important days are let go. Would this not give the remaining days more meaning.
We are not in a position to comment on the NWT Power Corporation's choice of a helicopter company for the contract to repair poorly installed line splices, but the way the tender was conducted leaves something to be desired.
The three-day time frame for the proposal call, later extended to seven days, indicates hasty decision making considering the norm is 15 days. By rejecting the lowest bid in favour of a higher one, the Power Corp. opens itself up to questions as to why.
The Power Corp. is a crown corporation and therefore must be totally accountable. One helicopter executive called the contract "a sensitive issue," when it must be a matter of public concern.
That the Power Corp. is looking at handling its helicopter requirements differently in future means they are listening. At the same time the public is watching.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
As tomorrow marks the official birth of our new territory, Nunavut, it's only fitting to take a moment to reflect on the emotions being felt at this time throughout the Keewatin Region, and the most prevalent feelings are of hope, optimism and, yes, apprehension.
The feeling of hope speaks for itself as people throughout our region look ahead to being masters of their own destiny, to seeing programs created indigenous to our part of this great country and which will enable our youth to choose their own direction in life.
There is also hope for a new sense of purpose in our new territory. With leaders now in place who not only call Nunavut their home, but the home of their fathers and their fathers before them, our first legislative assembly comes armed with a strong working knowledge of our territory, its people, its culture, and the problems and challenges we face.
Optimism seems to be rampant across the country as the dawning of a new millennium nears, but we here in Nunavut have even more reason to be optimistic about our future. Many, many organizations from health and education boards, to women's advocacy groups to justice committees have been working tirelessly for months to put the finishing touches on their plans for Nunavut.
Plans which will help us grow, address many of the problems we are facing today and lay the groundwork for meeting and exceeding our own expectations and the challenges which lie ahead.
There is a new sense of pride being evidenced in our communities, a new sense of self-importance and self-esteem with the creation of our own territory. Talk of culture and education is everywhere as more and more people look towards our future together and the promise it holds.
As with everything new, there is also a sense of apprehension, but that is to be expected.
How will we do on our own? Have we elected the right group of people to lead us into the next century? What will we accomplish? Where will we fail?
There has never been a more exciting time in the Eastern Arctic and we are all very fortunate to be here witnessing the dawning of a new age as the Inuit culture takes its rightful place amongst our nation's peoples.
Yes, there will be struggles and, yes, there will be setbacks. But, as for our collective outlook right now, perhaps the pop group Timbuktu may have said it best, "The future's so bright, I gotta' wear shades."