The latest round of appointments to the Senate in Ottawa were done without a Northerner being named.
Although senators do not officially represent ridings or regions of the country, the tradition is to ensure all of Canada has a voice in the chamber of sober second thought.
Senator Willy Adams was the North of 60 appointment, but with division, he elected to remain in Ottawa as the senator from Nunavut, leaving the NWT unrepresented.
There are plenty of worthy candidates around. Nellie Cournoyea is interested, and she's not a bad choice, although Canada's gain would be the Delta's loss.
Making an intelligent appointment would go a long way to letting Northerners know that the federal government is paying attention.
The Agreement in Principle between the Dogrib First Nation, the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories represents another landmark in the political evolution of the North.
The deal involves 3,000 people, 39,000 square kilometres, $90 million and powers of self-government.
Coming after seven years of formal negotiations, the few remaining landclaim negotiations in the southern part of the territories now can move along with greater confidence.
Previous landclaim settlements have proven to be good for economic development and self-government. The Dogrib experience should be no different.
Everyone involved deserves congratulations for proving what can be accomplished when we choose to co-operate.
To get a preview of one of the most exciting gas finds in the country, get to Fort Liard for the community open house starting tonight.
Sponsored by Chevron Canada Resources, Ranger Oil and Canadian Forest Oil, the open house offers an opportunity to rub shoulders with industry representatives and the people of Fort Liard.
With area natural gas reserves holding a potential of 12 to 18 billion cubic meters, the Acho Dene Koe band, under leadership of Harry Deneron, is poised to exploit a huge business opportunity.
Deneron has created a welcoming business environment in Fort Liard and the gas industry is back to stay after a 15 year absence. It appears this time the people of Fort Liard are in the drivers seat.
The idea of putting a heritage centre in Cambridge Bay to house the artifacts found on the Ekalluk River embodies the ideals upon which Nunavut was founded.
The Kitikmeot Heritage Society has joined with the University of Toronto in studying the Iqalluqtuuq area. The region is filled with ancient artifacts.
Elders from Cambridge Bay recently joined a professor from Toronto in exploring the historic sites. Elders will have a consulting role in the project, which will involve a few years of field work.
The field work will be done by teams of students from Toronto and Cambridge Bay.
Housing the results of these efforts in Cambridge Bay is the logical end of this venture. Anything less would be shameful.
Yes, some will be lost, but in the long run much more will be gained.
The recent crop of Nunavut Youth Abroad have returned home after spending much of the summer in places such as Nova Scotia, Ontario, even as far away as Africa.
The goal of the program is to help youth build self-esteem and self-awareness at the same time it exposes them to a much wider cultural world.
While some of the youth will undoubtedly be lured away to greater opportunities and more exotic climes, most will discover, through experiencing another culture, a greater depth and love of their own heritage and of Nunavut.
Regardless, by showing our youth that there are no end of possibilities, we can only win by having a more experienced, more aware, more confident future.
Iqaluit's town council recently voted to lobby against issuing any new liquor licenses to bars for the next five years.
Doug Lem, the councillor who brought forward the motion, said it would give the community time to work on healing their alcohol-related issues. But what about the bars, restaurants and bootleggers that will continue to provide alcohol to the community?
Putting the kibosh on new enterprise won't stop people from abusing alcohol. It won't stop the trouble that stems from the abuse of alcohol and it certainly won't stop creating any new drinkers.
The Band-Aid resolution should have been struck down by council and one can only hope that next year's incoming municipal politicians will have the wherewithal to do so.