The Reform Party has decided to woo uncommitted conservatives by making a name change and having a leadership race.

As it stands now, the federal Liberals, who believe that governance is their birthright, are thoroughly entrenched in power. The New Democrats and Progressive Conservatives are on the endangered list.

What is missing in this country is credible, electable opposition. Without that threat, the federal Liberals can run the country unfettered by the accountability that democracy is designed to impose.

Whether some cosmetic changes are enough to unite conservatives remains to be seen. However, it is time something happened to remind Liberals the elections should be more than publicly funded pep rallies.

The mention of next fall's school board election at a meeting last week was timely.

Yellowknife public board trustee Bob Patterson says the district should be encouraging new recruits. All of the present sitting members got in by acclamation at the last election.

Patterson's call is not a slight against his public spirited colleagues who stepped forward to carry the board's responsibilities.

But it is through election debates that issues come to the forefront, allowing people to make up their mind as to the direction they think the board should be going.

With the territorial government on such shaky financial ground, there may be some hard choices to make in the next two or three years.

Anybody who cares deeply for the quality of the city's schools should be thinking now about throwing their hat in the ring next fall.

The success of promoting aurora tours is plainly visible on Yellowknife's streets.

One only has to count the number of red visitor parkas to see the impact this effort has. Thousands of Japanese visitors come North each year to see a sight many of us who live here take for granted.

It's that kind of niche marketing that the GNWT's parks and tourism department says is full of opportunities for building the tourism industry.

When one considers the fact that overseas visitors represent 15 per cent of the North's 35,000 tourists and that aurora tourists spend an average of $3,900 per person, the tangible benefits quickly add up.

It's important, however, to not sink too much hope into finding gold overseas. Nearly three-quarters of our visitors are Canada. About 80 per cent of them are from Alberta, B.C. and Ontario.

Our tourists are generally older -- 69 per cent older than 40 -- have relatively high income -- 28 per cent had household incomes over $81,000 -- and are well educated. They come because they just want see the NWT.

The last fact is an important one. The North is still a land of mystery for many Canadians. It is vast, populated by unique people, wildlife and scenery.

Tapping into the Canadian market isn't easy. We're competing with B.C. and Alberta, and getting here isn't cheap or easy.

But we must do a better job of selling the North if the tourism industry is to be all that it can.

An important step is for industry operators to do more to support NWT Arctic Tourism. It gets 80 per cent of its funding from the GNWT and most of the rest from federal programs. That's not what was envisioned when the agency was set up five years ago.

Only when government and industry work together to market "The North" and all it has to offer on a long-term basis will we truly begin to reap the benefits.

They also appeared to recognize that self-government negotiations are not the easiest thing in the world for the general population to follow, let alone fully comprehend.

Negotiations are taking place at all levels and, by the very nature of the issues involved, concern detailed legal contracts and allocations for resource management and responsibility. Without frequent and clear reports it is hard to know where matters stand and exactly how soon changes can be expected and how they will affect town residents.

Self-government appears to be the culmination of a decades-long struggle by aboriginal groups to take a greater role in governing their own affairs. Inuvik is a special place, of course. Famous for its cosmopolitan makeup and the tolerance the various groups living here show to one another, it also contains a large non-aboriginal population and a public government. By continuing to work together, the town, the Inuvialuit and the Gwich'in stand the best chance of satisfying the concerns of all Inuvik residents.

Having said that, the presence of an official Nihtat Gwich'in delegation was missed last weekend. Hopefully, they'll play a more active role in the next round of talks.

Fair reporting

Inuvik is a small town with a large number of very active individuals. That means that besides working for someone, or themselves, many residents hold down several positions or volunteer on a number of committees or help out with sports or kids' clubs.

This can make it a little difficult to know how to identify individuals when reporting on their activities -- especially when their activities and interests overlap and they're wearing several "hats" at the same time.

The Drum consequently strives to identify individuals by what they're doing in a particular situation -- be it coaching hockey or chairing a committee -- and leave irrelevant information out of a report. In other cases, however, where, for example, Carson Atkinson is volunteering on the newly- formed beautification eduction committee, it makes sense to indicate he's also principal of Samuel Hearne, since he's helping launch a worthy, productive initiative in the school.

While remaining sensitive to residents' concerns for privacy, the Drum will try to report on public events as fairly as possible.

This week it looks like we may be able to add the very early closing of the Fort Providence ice crossing to the debate. Due to unusually warm temperatures, the crossing is deteriorating quickly.

According to Art Barnes, Hay River superintendent of transportation, the ice bridge could be closed to traffic as soon as this weekend -- April 1 or 2. The earliest the crossing had ever closed previously was April 12 (in 1996). Last year it shut down on April 16.

On an average year, the ice crossing goes out in mid-April and the ferry begins operating by mid-May. Just because the ice crossing is melting sooner than usual, that's no guarantee the ferry will be running ahead of schedule, Barnes noted.

That could result in a long period of interrupted regular service to Fort Providence, Rae-Edzo and Yellowknife. Goods might have to be brought in via air cargo for several weeks, a longer period than normal.

All of that inconvenience may be nullified by a significant cold snap. Yet the point remains that the weather tends to be getting warmer and warmer. A little over a week ago, a colossal iceberg broke free from a polar ice cap. Was that another sign of global warming? There doesn't seem to be much doubt that temperatures have been rising over the past decade, but the real question is what's the cause.

Some scientists argue that greenhouse gases are at fault while others contend that global warming is part of a natural cyclical trend. They point out that in the 1970s there was talk of another ice age looming. That theory certainly has been put to rest now.

Who knows how long it will be until we know for certain why the mercury is rising? Whether pollutants are the culprit or not, cutting emissions should still be our objective. There's all kinds of proof that harmful chemicals exist in most emissions. It's just a matter of how much the earth can withstand.

Fuel to the fire

One of Earth's major pollutants comes out of our tailpipes, carbon monoxide from gasoline. Many homes are now equipped with carbon-monoxide detectors because concentrated doses of it from furnaces or fireplaces can be detrimental to our health, even deadly.

We rely dearly on our vehicles and protest fiercely when we are compelled to pay more for fuel. Naturally, the recent increases at the pumps has really raised the ire of many a driver.

However, a university professor once pointed out that as expensive as gasoline may seem, we readily pay more for pop, which consists primarily of carbonated water and sugar. I received an e-mail this week that was a stark reminder of that fact. Not only do we often pay more for pop than gas, we also shell out more money for cough medicine, mouthwash and even bottled water. When you consider that close to half the price of gasoline comes in the form of tax, the base price for our number 1 global pollutant makes it a relatively cheap commodity.

We have no reason to believe anything was behind the female client's brush cut other than an unskilled person attempting to perform a task they were not properly trained to do.

Still, group home staff were guilty of being more than a little insensitive in the matter and there can be no excuse for the absence of a skilled hairdresser before now.

Basically, what we're looking at is a lack of respect for the group home clients.

And with the money group homes receive to care for clients, a skilled hairdresser making an appearance once a month certainly shouldn't destroy anybody's annual budget.

It's fine to say it's only hair and that it will grow back, but there can be a great deal of emotional stress attached to such an unfortunate happening.

Not to mention the discomfort the female client in question may be feeling while she's waiting for her hair to grow back to its normal length.

And judging from the comments we received in a letter from a family member, the episode was very unsettling for the woman's family.

The bottom line here is that our mentally challenged citizens have feelings too.

And being as vulnerable as they are, every effort must be taken by care-givers to ensure their feelings -- and those of family members -- are respected.

There is also the area of professionalism to be addressed.

The image of staff members untrained in the art of hairstyling running around with clippers buzzing doesn't do much to instill confidence in the group home's overall environment.

As a society, we like to feel that the less fortunate among us who -- through no fault of their own -- must reside in group homes are being adequately cared for and their feelings respected.

Perception can often be as important as reality, especially in the case of our sick, elderly, and physically and mentally challenged and how they're cared for.

Their emotional well-being is every bit as important as their physical well-being.

And perhaps, most importantly, they deserve the same level of respect we often demand for ourselves.