The Legislative Assembly missed an opportunity to make the cabinet more representative of the territorial population by not including Hay River MLA Jane Groenewegen, the only woman in the legislature.
One can only hope that Charles Dent, who has assumed responsibility for the Women's Directorate, has the sensitivity and open-mindedness to adequately manage this portfolio.
Among Dent's other responsibilities is minister of finance. He has a tough act to follow. His predecessor, John Todd, was a canny, hard-nosed operator who had the resolve to take the heat while he brought the budget back into line.
Whether you liked it or not, Todd brought a vision of the future to the job. Perhaps Dent would consider Todd to develop yet another $500,000 economic development strategy if he follows Todd's footsteps and decides that's what we need.
The able Stephen Kakfwi retains his grip on RWED, while assuming the justice and constitutional affairs portfolios.
He and Premier Antoine, who is also in charge of intergovernmental and aboriginal affairs, found out how much of a powder keg they are sitting on when they went to Calgary to discuss resources. The Sahtu erupted in indignant outrage.
Nunakput MLA Vince Steen takes over transportation, public works and services, as well as municipal and community affairs. Regardless of his portfolio assignment his common sense and judgment will be welcome.
Michael Miltenberger, MLA for Fort Smith, will be the minister of education, culture and employment as well as youth. He will be tested by the demand for increased funding of education after a couple of years of severe cutbacks.
Deputy premier Floyd Roland will be in charge of health and social services, NWT Housing Corporation and seniors.
This cabinet will be the one that presides over the future of the new West. With self-government and the electoral boundaries issues still unresolved, we will need a steady hand on the tiller. There are rough seas ahead.
Deline's plan to invest in some Yellowknife property to house high school students is good news for the city.
The idea is to use money gained through their land claim to buy an apartment building or condo complex in town for about 30 students in grades 10 to 12.
Even though grade extensions became a reality in Western communities recently, Deline leaders are admitting this move hasn't benefited the students and that there simply aren't the resources to offer the quality of education their students deserve.
With renovations now in full swing at Sir John Franklin high school, and St. Pat's designed for a growing student population, we welcome Deline's plan and hope it becomes a reality.
Cliches are too often true, such as the one that you are rarely appreciated at home as much as you are away from home.
That may hold true for the Wildcat Cafe. Known to tourists around the world, recreated in part in the Museum of Civilization in Hull and favoured stop for visiting parents, aunts and uncles, the cafe is now in need of money if it is going to survive.
Fort Smith carver Sonny MacDonald recognizes the traditional value of the Wildcat and has offered a carving to be raffled off for needed funds. We hope Yellowknifers take note of MacDonald's effort and get involved in preserving a Yellowknife treasure.
Editorial Comment
Glen Korstrum
Inuvik Drum
MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew is an experienced politician who has represented an area encompassing the current Northwest Territories for the past 11 years.
During her tenure, the name of her riding has always been the Western Arctic.
Now that Nunavut has become a homeland for Inuit, Blondin-Andrew has combined her Dene roots with her love of hyphenation, the result being that she has proposed Parliament accept her choice of a new name for her constituency (not the territory itself) -- Western Arctic- Denendeh.
The beauty of the new NWT is not that it is a Dene homeland, but that it represents diverse peoples working together to forge a new identity.
MPs do not frivolously propose to change their riding names without having an agenda. What's Ethel's agenda?
Given that Blondin-Andrew's riding shares the exact same boundaries as the new NWT, it could more appropriately be changed to simply "Northwest Territories," a name most NWTers preferred for the territory itself when asked in an unofficial GNWT survey in 1996.
Suggesting "Denendeh" be tacked onto the official "Western Arctic" riding name is not only a slap in the face to the Inuvialuit, who have been in the territory going back countless years, but also to the 51 per cent of the NWT's non-indigenous population.
The NWT has been Canada's ever-shrinking territory. In 1870, when we joined Canada, the NWT included the current territory plus Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan, most of Manitoba, northern Ontario and northern Quebec.
Any attempt to shape the new territory in the Dene image will only hasten dissention, causing other groups to want to splinter away from the new territory and form their own.
Or maybe it will only mean years of sterile negotiations and meetings when Northerners could instead be focusing on productive goals we can accomplish together.
Blondin-Andrew seems to be caught up in emotion (in this case love of ancestry) and not to have thought through her proposal conflicts with her mandate to represent everyone in the Western Arctic.
Spring fever
What a difference a week makes.
During the Muskrat Jamboree a week and a half ago, temperatures plunged to the -30s C. Last weekend, for the Mad Trapper Jamboree in Aklavik, it was warm enough for a light jacket as it must have been above zero in spots.
Snow melted fast, as if the temperature was below zero, and the sun was hot and energizing.
This is the last official week for the ice roads and a good time to get out to camps and snowmobile.
This weekend's jamborees in Fort McPherson and Tuktoyaktuk provide even more options for an exciting weekend before break-up makes the river temporarily impassable.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
There's a dearth of sensational stories in the Drum this week. I'd like to think that there are never any "sensational" articles in the paper. I guess it all depends on your definition of the word.
I define sensational stories as ones that are played up, made out to be more than they really are. Either that, or ones that focus on the most lewd details of an incident, such as some Clinton sex scandal articles.
Some people believe that the recent article on the mayor's criticism of the educational system is sensational. I would argue that when elected officials make vehement remarks about any subject, particularly one of public concern, then that qualifies as news regardless of whether they are right or wrong.
Nevertheless, there happen to be no such remarks found in the pages of the Drum this week. Neither are there stories about accidents, fires or crimes that are frequently labelled "sensational." It's not that those types of stories have no place in a newspaper. They do, and there will inevitably be more of them in the future.
At times, the media is sometimes maligned for all of its gloom and doom. There are unquestionably occasions when such censure is much deserved. The crisis in Kosovo. A babysitter accused of killing two young children in Calgary. Another cancer study indicating that practically everything is bad for you. On a daily basis, the agony and sorrow can be disheartening. Either that or we tend to become desensitized, somewhat callous.
That said, there is plenty of good news out there. As a matter of fact, there's an abundance of it right here in our region. Whether it's the adoption of a new child who brings sheer delight to a family, the success of a local business venture or new programs through the Friendship Centre, there's always reason for optimism.
When people lend a hand to others in need, it always makes for a good story. I've experienced it firsthand many times over since arriving here last July.
On a related note, I would like to dearly thank Darryl Sloat, Les Wright, Joe Horesay, Danny Peterson and Paul Stipdonk. They saw fit to help out a reporter who is having a hard time learning that light trucks and soft snow don't mix. Thanks for getting me out of more than one jam, guys.
While I'm at it, I also owe a debt of gratitude to Janet Ferguson, Mike Chemerys and Cindy Buterbaugh, all of whom contribute photos to the Drum on a regular basis. They were in places where I wasn't able to be, and their help is much appreciated.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
While both sides are to be commended for reaching a compromise in an unfortunate situation between a Rankin Inlet mother and her son's elementary school this past week, there are lessons to be learned from the incident which we hope will not go unnoticed by educators and parents alike across the Keewatin.
The boy had been moved back and forth between the English and Inuktitut streams for most of his schooling and as a result, the child did not receive a second-term report card this year and his mother is seeking a progress evaluation from the school.
The first thing to grab our attention about this situation is the danger of any public institution, especially one as instrumental in our future development as education, not having its official policies in writing.
Unwritten rules or procedures may work for awhile, but, invariably, a time will come when someone is unhappy enough with a situation to ask an administrator where the policy is written and then the problems start.
Another point which leaps from this unfortunate incident is that it is never a good idea to wait until a bad situation arises before addressing a potential problem. Had the Keewatin District Education Authority had its policy about switching language streams etched in stone before this problem arose, much of the ill-feeling could have been avoided.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the situation shed some much-needed light on just how important the decision is about which language stream your child is educated in.
This is a decision which, ultimately, rests with the parents and deserves a great deal of time and consideration. Once that decision is made, parents should make every attempt to stay the course unless it becomes obvious the child is having too much trouble in the particular stream in which they are immersed.
The policy to make a child go through the grade again in the language he or she is
switching to is a good one and should not be perceived by anyone as failing or being put back. After all, it's our children's education and future well-being we're talking about.
Above everything else, this decision should always -- with absolutely no exceptions -- be made with the child's best interests at heart. It is the child who will benefit from receiving a proper education and who will suffer in the long-term if deprived of that education.
While cultural values must remain a high priority, education is the key to the future success and happiness of our children. After all, the kids of today are our leaders of tomorrow.