On Monday night when council considers paying the legal bills for the Yellowknife Property Owners Association, they should ask themselves two questions.
Was the previous city council breaking the law by holding secret meetings?
Did not the Association's efforts result in better government?
The answer is an unqualified yes on both counts.
The city, under Mayor David Lovell's leadership, spent well over $100,000 of taxpayer's money fighting to defend secret meetings.
The Association spent more than $85,000 of their own money and countless unpaid hours over several years trying to shut them down.
They did so because too many bad and costly decisions were being made behind closed doors at city hall.
Though the present council had the good sense to end the secret meetings soon after the election, the court case went on.
When the NWT Supreme Court ruled the meetings illegal, Mayor Lovell made no apologies. Instead he dug in, determined not to pay the Association a dime more than ordered by the courts.
This led to another legal skirmish that resulted in a recommendation the city pay $30,000. The Association is asking for $40,000, less than half of what came out of their pockets.
Yellowknifers owe the Association members the additional $10,000 and much more in terms of gratitude. Such dedication to democratic principles is extraordinary. Even Mayor Lovell acknowledged the court decision was an alarm bell for cities across Canada.
To reject the Association's request would be a rejection of the work the members did as volunteers.
Arguments that the city can't afford it are misguided and self-serving.
The money the Association spent benefited all Yellowknifers. To refuse to pay back even half would be wrong.
It would also mean the flawed thinking that went into the secret meetings in the first place is still at work. If so, that would be a real waste of public money.
You know something has gone off the rails when visitors to town complain they can't find the Visitors Centre.
The Visitors Centre, which is worth a visit just to see the building, is loaded with tourist-friendly information on events, things to do, organized tours, guided trips and a staff that is, in our experience, more than willing to help.
To keep the place a secret is defeating the purpose. As the mining industry, once the linchpin of the Yellowknife economy, fades, tourism is one of the bright lights of the Northern economy of the future.
However, the world is grabbing for tourist dollars. To get their fair share, Yellowknifers are going to have to pay attention. The money and the tourists are there, but they won't be for long if they can't find the Visitors Centre.
What better way to discourage young people from committing crimes than to bring them face to face with the "criminal element?"
That's just one advantage to the Yellowknife RCMP's idea to train volunteers -- six adults and seven youth -- to work the front desk at the detachment. If a youth, at some point, comes face to face with criminals, or their victims, it may make a lasting impression.
There are other advantages to putting volunteers at the desk as well. Victims who come in to report crimes are sometimes intimidated by the sight of police officers -- with their guns and uniforms and such. But if the first person they come in contact with is a youth or a layperson, it may put them more at ease.
Editorial Comment
Glen Korstrum
Inuvik Drum
Marjorie Bain finally got the recognition she deserves.
At a convocation ceremony March 2, Aurora College's cafeteria was filled with friends, family and lots of balloons and other decorations.
A raft of prominent community members praised her hard work and dedication while showing admiration for her choice of careers -- one which does not bring home a lot of money but is fulfilling because of its front-line ability to help those in need.
Bain completed her studies in Saskatchewan and returned home to the Beaufort Delta before the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College, affiliated with the University of Regina, could hold its convocation ceremony.
As such, graduation honours were delayed until social work week in Inuvik.
Bain is a role model, not only for Fort McPherson Gwich'in girls but for youth in general.
Attending the packed convocation ceremony were many youth whose exposure to the respect and high regard Bain received through her studies can only motivate them to accomplish more on their own.
With her degree, Bain has become increasingly marketable to work anywhere she wants in Canada. Inuvik is lucky she chose here to provide support.
Her degree also symbolizes how she has been able to overcome problems many face in life -- such as alcoholism -- to accomplish her goals and come out strong and steady.
If there are future times when adversity strikes, she will have her degree to look to for inspiration and as a visible symbol that she can realize her ambitions.
Others can similarly look to her as an example of how hard work eventually pays off.
Traditional sports worth trying
Despite what seems like a continuous hum of activity, few weekends in Inuvik offer the opportunity for regional bonding and unity that the IRC Native Hockey tournament did this past weekend.
Since this is my first year in Inuvik, I didn't realize its magnitude until I saw the Midnight Sun parking lot jammed with cars.
Once inside, I could see how many people had made the trip to cheer on their team -- as far away as Deline and what turned out to be the mighty Chiefs.
Now the regional sport focus switches to traditional area sports such as Arctic sports and Dene games.
The symposium at Aurora College this weekend is timely in how it is followed the next week by the Winter Regional Games.
This weekend visitors from Baffin to Yukon will discuss and explore in a more formal and procedural way the intricacies of the sport with the aim to leave a lasting legacy of educational resources for Arctic sports, Dene games and Inuit wrestling.
I was fortunate enough to be in Yellowknife for the last Arctic Winter Games, and Arctic sports and Dene games topped my list of sports to see.
Though I heard Arctic sports such as the "knuckle hop" dubbed "stupidity contests" by some who wondered why anyone would want to cross the room on their knuckles, the sport evolved from historical necessity to instill stamina and toughness in hunters.
Arctic sports such as the airplane were made more traditional at the 1998 games than previous contests. Assistants held the fingertips of competitors instead of the wrists -- and the tips of toes instead of the ankles.
That way maintaining an outstretched position took far more strength than previous games.
Finally, one Arctic sport the NWT and all other teams lagged behind the Russians in at the Arctic Winter Games was sledge jumping.
The Russian world record holder jumped several hundred sledges as a gym full of people chanted the numbers -- much like fans chanting down the final seconds of close games at the Midnight Sun Arena this weekend.
Symposiums such as the one this weekend can only serve to excite area youth to various sport possibilities.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
I guess it could be seen as a burden of the job to have to lug around a camera practically everywhere I go. But the truth of the matter is that, for the most part, I enjoy the photography aspect of being a reporter.
Take Monday for example. I missed out on a golden opportunity, and I'm still kicking myself for it because I was so close to snapping a hilarious shot. As I was driving along main street in Fort Simpson I had to slow down for a dog trotting along in front of me (not highly unusual so far). As I pulled around the dog, I noticed a whole loaf of bread in his mouth. He was heading away from the vicinity of the Northern store, so I'm assuming part of somebody's grocery order fell out of the bag and he snatched it up.
Since I had the camera bag on the passenger's seat, I pulled into Thomas Simpson school's parking lot, quickly changed lenses and hoped to meet the dog head on. Well, he was in quite a hurry to get home to reap the benefits of his good fortune. When he saw me coming across the street, he broke into a full-out run and the only picture left would have been of his backside.
Oh well. Even though I didn't capture the moment on film, I had to laugh as I headed back to the truck.
There will be many chances to get some entertaining pictures over the next month or so. With community carnivals taking place all over the Deh Cho region, it's really a question of how much film I can process in a week.
I'm thoroughly looking forward to Beavertail Jamboree this week. Events like the corporate challenge, traditional games and snowmobile races are sure to provide a wealth of candid shots.
This past weekend was full of sports action with broomball territorials. Pictorially, I wish I could devote a few pages to the event to do it justice. It's the culmination of a lot of hard work on behalf of the few organizers and they deserve plenty of credit.
When it comes to photography, a few people have asked me about the type of camera I use, the things I look for when I shoot and how they can get better pictures. Before going any further, I have to say that I still have a lot to learn about photography myself, and there are a number of people in this area who take better pictures than I do.
Even so, the first thing I would recommend to most people is to get as close as possible to the subject of the photo. It's pretty basic, but it's not always easy to remember at the time, especially when a cute opportunity presents itself and your first instinct is to reach for the camera and quickly snap away before it's too late. Another hindrance is those popular disposable cameras that don't lend themselves to nice, tight shots. Rather, things often look OK through the viewfinder but tend to look minuscule when you get the prints. So, a camera with a zoom lens is also very handy.
I hope to see you out at the community carnivals -- camera in hand.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
There are many good folks who have spent their entire lives as productive members of the workforce, but, unfortunately, have spent the vast majority, if not all, that time in the employ of a
company with no private pension plan.
As their retirement years approach, these are indeed scary times for anyone who could not afford private investments or the much heralded Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) during their working career.
This decade, for the first time since its inception, has cast serious doubts on the long-term viability of the Canada Pension Plan and quality national health care seems to get more perilous with each passing calendar page.
Like it or not, we have the federal government and decades of mismanagement to thank for all this future uncertainty and, with the exception of a handful of provincial leaders such as Ontario's Mike Harris with the fortitude to take the political flak which comes from making tough decisions, precious few of our leaders are doing anything to solidify our futures.
Federal Finance Minister Paul Martin has made a career out of fudging numbers and borrowing the work person's money to trumpet his so called "balanced budget." At what cost?
Anyone who follows such things, which we all should, knows the Employment Insurance fund has become nothing more than the federal government's own personal slush fund. The department itself, originally conceived to aid workers, is now little more than a government watchdog with a mandate of denying, or cutting deeply into, as much of the money workers are entitled to as possible -- and then some!
I have no overpowering soft spot for public service employees. Fact of the matter is, I firmly believe they've had it too good for too long, when compared to the rest of us working stiffs. That being said, the federal government's recent announcement it's going to introduce legislation to address the management of the accumulated $30-billion surplus in the Public Service Superannuation Fund is disturbing.
Since it's to be mainly controlled by an Investment Board of the government's hiring or naming, it doesn't take a great stretch of the imagination to know how these funds will be manipulated.
Like others before it, this legislation has implications on the Northern economic climate and is yet another move by the feds aimed at accessing money accumulated by the working class to pass on to the affluent and less productive of society.
It wasn't that long ago it was quite a good thing, really, to be a member of the workforce, but, these days, being a productive member of society seems to amount to little more than being financially responsible for righting all our countries financial woes, with nothing in return.
Hopefully, the federal government will soon wake up and realize the average, every day working person is the backbone of this great nation and to continue to retard their future for short-term gain is, without a doubt, the poorest investment of all, regardless of what misters Martin and Canadian Treasury Board president Marcel Masse would have you believe.