To the general public, it seems banks can do whatever they wish, from closing branches to charging a fee for issuing a brief account statement from a bank machine.

As bank profits grew in the 1990s, industry emphasis shifted from fulfilling the financial needs of as many people as possible to managing the wealth of a lesser number of clients. This resulted in shorter hours and more service charges, even requiring people to make appointments to open accounts.

Finance Minister Paul Martin is proposing new rules to stem the tide of this arrogant approach to financial services. New legislation would ensure people can get low cost accounts and that they won't be shut out if they don't have a job, the logical extension of the wealth management attitude.

Banks would have to give four months notice before closing a branch. This would allow a community time to marshall arguments as why the branch should not close or at least allow time to arrange alternative banking services. This is especially critical in the North where one branch closure can mean no banking services in an entire region.

In these days when personal financial information is a product to be bought and sold on lists without the knowledge of the individual, it's comforting that Martin pledges to ensure greater customer privacy.

He also proposes a federal ombudsman to help customers deal with the banks in the event of a dispute. The ombudsman would not have any powers beyond bringing public pressure to bear on the banks but it is a start. A consumer protection agency would see banks were meeting their commitments.

Of course, what's really needed is competition. To that end, Martin's legislation is designed to help credit unions and cooperatives consolidate sufficient capital to compete with the banks.

The co-op movement in the North is well developed but efforts to get the financial service component going have failed, largely due to lack of government support.

Martin's legislation probably won't change the banking industry's attitude but it does send a message that along with healthy profits comes a responsibility to provide counter service.

If the banks don't do it, it's just a matter of time until some one else does.

It's alarming to learn that wildlife officials were called in to deal with the slaughtering of two birds recently on Niven Lake.

The officials were alerted when local birdwatcher Patricia Baldwin came across two dead grebes floating on the lake June 14.

Wildlife officer Mike Fournier needed only to see the pellet holes in the grebes' necks to remember his own sighting of two youths the previous week shooting guns in the area. By the time RCMP reached the scene no weapons were found and the youth got off the hook with a mere warning.

Whoever killed these birds should not only be ashamed of themselves, but should also realize that shooting guns randomly within city limits is not only a foolish act, it's illegal.

The Yellowknife public school teachers have signed a deal that gives them a two per cent increase each year for the next two years.

The raise is the first for the teachers in seven years. The benefits package, which includes a vacation travel allowance and a housing allowance, remains more or less the same. Sabbatical leave, a perk that most of us would kill for, has been reduced from two to one.

With a starting salary of $40,000 and a five-year wage of $50,000 teachers are adequately compensated. There are the summers off and professional development days that unerringly fall on the Friday of a long weekend.

Now that there is apparent peace on the public school front, we can look forward to educators concentrating on the central issue, educating our children.

The story of James Sydney and Derek Morfitt of Inuvik is inspiring, to say the least.

Like many students, these two guys are heading off to university and college in the fall. But Sydney and Morfitt are a little older than most students. They recently completed a University and College Education Preparation program at Aurora College in Inuvik. Essentially, they upgraded their marks from high school so they could get into a post-secondary institution.

These guys deserve a lot of credit. Like most people, they have goals. Unlike a lot of people, they are willing to go that extra mile to achieve those goals.

Many people drop out of high school, or even university, and most don't ever make it back. I dropped out of university myself, after my second year. I felt like I was going nowhere and hadn't even made a career choice. I did end up attending college a couple of years after that, but I never did go back and finish my degree. It's something I do regret, especially after hearing success stories like Sydney's and Morfitt's.

When the instructors of the academic studies program learned of Sydney's and Morfitt's success, they called me. They wanted people to know about this achievement. It's what the program is all about after all -- helping people further their education so they can achieve their career goals.

So much to do

I can barely keep up with all the events that are happening in the Beaufort Delta communities in the coming weeks, or the ones that have already happened.

Things sure do pick up this time of year. It seems like there is something for people to do every weekend, which is great. My only regret is that I can't make it to the events in other communities. It's simply not in the budget for me to travel to the different communities in the summertime (at least the ones I can't get to by road). But I sure would like to.

The Kingalik Jamboree, for example, sounded like it was a blast! Being from the south, I would like to see certain events like seal skinning (or would I?) and duck plucking. Nor is this weekend's Pokiak Music Festival in Aklavik something I'm happy about missing. All that talent!

I lived in Prince Edward Island for three years, and, while there, I made it a point every year to cover an event called the Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival. Just like the Pokiak festival, fiddlers and other musicians came from all over the Maritimes, and sometimes even further, to the festival. This made it a huge draw for tourists. I remember, though, that I only intended to snap a few photos at that first festival and then leave. I ended up staying five hours. I covered that event for the next two years as well and enjoyed it just as much then.

I'm sure the Pokiak festival would be just as much fun and those of you who have the opportunity to catch it should head over to Aklavik for the weekend to take in the show.

At least I'll catch the Great Northern Arts Festival, which is happening in just a couple of weeks here in Inuvik. That should be a great time.

Seeing as this paper hits the newsstands on Canada Day, I scrambled this week to get a Street Beat featuring people's perspectives on why we are so lucky to be Canadians.

A fairly common reaction was, "I've lived here all my life. I've never really thought about it." Now, I'm not about to chastise anybody. Far from it for me to be critical because, at most other times of the year, I would probably be caught off guard by the question myself. In fairness, after a moment or two those who were initially stumped came up with a thoughtful response. For others, the reply was almost instantaneous.

We have many reasons to be grateful that we were either born here or were able to immigrate. One of the main ones is obviously the ugly situation that developed in Kosovo. In our lifetimes, we have never had to be concerned about fleeing the country and living in tent cities, wanting for food and medical attention while soldiers from across the border storm in killing, raping and plundering. When was the last time a bomb went off here? Mass graves are nearly an inconceivable concept in Canada. All of it seems so distant yet it's on our television screens every night. We actually get a choice whether to watch it or not. We can turn it on or turn it off -- or even, heaven forbid, flip over to Jerry Springer if we like.

The freedom we are offered in this country is second to none. We can jump in our vehicles and go practically anywhere we want. We can practice any religion we choose, or none at all. We can aspire to become doctors, lawyers, engineers, carpenters, accountants or actors. With the appropriate amount of commitment, there's little holding us back.

Heck, it's none of our doing, but we even happen to live in a geographical area that isn't prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes or volcanoes (the "ice storms" in eastern Canada a couple of winters ago would have to count as an aberration).

Historically, some shameful incidents have undeniably occurred in this country. Most have been recognized, and compensation (as much as it doesn't right a wrong) has been granted for some. If we don't agree with the way these things are handled, we have the right to speak out. No military regime will execute us if we take one side or the other.

There are, perhaps, flaws in our justice system, our health care and social services system, our education system and methods of taxation. There are many ideals that we would like to assign to these affairs. Yet where do they exist in a superior form overall? I'd take Canada over any other country in the world any day. That may sound biased coming from someone who has lived here all of his life, but I don't feel the need to relocate to realize how good we have it here.

Hopefully, I will remember not to take these things for granted until Nov. 11, the other holiday with poignant reminders of what it means to be free.

Few topics have prompted as much emotion and public opinion as the Keewatin Regional Health Board's (KRHB) recent awarding of the patients services contract at the former Ublivik Centre in Winnipeg, to T.C. Enterprise's Tony Chang, in partnership with Rankin Inlet's Lorne and Sally Kusugak.

The contract ended a 30-year association with the facility and Gloria Penner, affectionately referred to as the Angel of the North by many.

As Penner's tenure ends today, June 30, and the centre officially becomes known as the Kivalliq Inuit Centre, many people across the Kivalliq are supporting the awarding of the new contract and many are screaming "foul."

The popular consensus is that Penner was not awarded the contract because of waves she made recently, trying to collect $100,000 she claims is still owed her by the KRHB. Penner had been operating the Ublivik Centre without a contract since 1993.

Still others claim Lorne Kusugak had an unfair advantage in the tendering process due to his close association with the health board in the '90s, which had him present at many meetings which would have given him a strong understanding of many of the elements contained in his bid.

Although the selection committee members signed a declaration of conflict of interest, some people pointed to Kusugak's standing in the Kivalliq Inuit Association and the fact a KIA employee was a member of the selection committee.

There was a petition signed by 1,030 people, protesting the awarding of the contract, sent to the Nunavut government. There were 172 signatures gathered in-house at Winnipeg, 116 in Repulse Bay, 159 in Baker Lake, 73 in Coral Harbour, 61 in Rankin Inlet, 226 in Sanikiluaq, 178 in Arviat and 45 in Whale Cove.

Baker Lake MLA Glen Maclean raised a number of concerns in the legislative assembly, but received no support from his fellow MLAs because, in their outlook, just as many people support the new contract as oppose it.

Indeed, although detractors are quick to point out Penner's bid met Article 24 criteria, closer scrutiny of the bid shows one of the "voting members" of her company to be a boy under the age of puberty, which goes a long way in off-setting claims of "insider information" aimed at Kusugak.

The fact is, this was a business process, both on the part of the KRHB in awarding the contract and those who submitted bids in an attempt to secure the service.

Everyone involved used what was legally at their disposal to meet their own agenda, whether that be a good working knowledge of the process, meeting Article 24 stipulations or the actual awarding of the contract.

Gloria Penner will be forever remembered for her hard work and dedication at the Ublivik Centre, but a new page has been turned. And, while it remains to be seen the level of service which will be provided by the new contractor(s), it is unfair to judge them on anything other than their performance.

Kivalliq residents would be well-served to thank Penner for her 30 years of service and wish the current service providers the best of luck with their new endeavour.