It's a painful time for people who teach and follow the Catholic and Anglican faiths.

Elders, priests, ministers, whole congregations have been forced to face the sins of the distant and not so distant past. It's a humiliating experience and humbling too, for the testimonials of abuse leave little doubt church laws were violated along with the victims.

Power corrupted a small number of those in charge and now the all powerful churches, their treasuries battered by legal fees and cash settlements, are at the mercy of those people they once ruled.

Forgotten are the decades of good works, the medical care, the education, the churches' spiritual assistance as the dominant European culture steam-rolled through the bush and across the tundra.

Now the days of awesome church influence are gone. There is only one course open to the Christian religion if it is to survive in the North.

In the words of Norman Yakelya: "The role of the church will be through the healing process, in terms of them meeting with the victims and their community members."

To ignore this truth and defiantly stand on the good works of the past will only hasten the end.

Accepting the challenge of helping flock and shepherd to heal will be expensive in terms of effort and money.

Nothing can be accomplished in this world without expending lots of both.

The churches will only be granted forgiveness if they ask for and do penance.

By doing so, they will be adhering to their own creed no matter what the sacrifice.

Was that not the source of their power in the first place?

There are jobs in our society that never get the recognition they deserve.

Most of the time, the more money someone makes at a job, the more the job is respected. This is a misguided way of looking at the value of work. A better way is to look at the impact the job has on the immediate community.

Take garbage collectors and the people who pump the town's septic tanks. Without these workers, there would be disaster and a host of other side-effects. Little imagination is needed to picture that.

When it comes down to it, it's difficult to say one job is more important than the other. Most jobs are important on their own terms. Often this is forgotten.

It's time to give those people who get dirt under their nails, and do the jobs few people want, the respect and recognition they deserve.

The thanks they get is a plaque from the RCMP, but that doesn't diminish First Air's support of Northern drug education programs.

One could be cynical and say they're just filling empty seats by providing 24 free flights to Edmonton and Ottawa, but those seats represent thousands of dollars worth of commitment to the North.

That has enabled children and RCMP members to learn about drugs -- enabling them to more effectively spread the message that drugs are dangerous.

RCMP 'G' Division's Sgt. Phil Johnson explained it perfectly: "It would be extremely difficult for RCMP to deliver these programs without the generous benefit or support of our corporate community."

Well said. And well done and thanks, First Air.

If discipline was measured in dollars, Sarah Daitch would already be rich.

The 19-year-old former resident of Fort Smith recently won the $500 Ski to School scholarship.

Money aside, this prestigious award is given out annually to a Canadian cross-country skier who combines excellence in academics with sports.

Daitch, a second-year student at the University of Calgary, did just that. Not only did she maintain a 3.55 grade point average, out of a possible 4, she also spent about 15 hours each week this summer training for her next goal: representing Canada at the 2001 Nordic World Junior Championships.

If you're wondering how she did it, it's simple: "If you're going to bother to do something, do the best you can," says Daitch.

We couldn't agree more.

Health Minister Ed Picco recently estimated that Nunavut's regional hospital is running at 45 per cent capacity.

Due to the nursing shortage, officials were forced to close more than 20 of the available beds, leaving 10 open. That same nursing shortage has also seriously threatened the health centres in Nunavut's other regions.

What this all boils down to is more and more patients have to be sent south for medical care, a reality that ends up costing Picco's department much more money in the end.

The minister must spend the money now to recruit nurses. It will be an expensive venture, especially in that Picco has to compete internationally for trained nurses, but what other choice does he have?

To continue on as we are will do nothing but waste money Nunavut doesn't have.

Come the winter, residents in Sanikiluaq will have a new option for getting around town.

A couple of local entrepreneurs -- Mary and Kupapik Ningeocheak -- are setting up a new cab company called Mary's Taxi.

They say that if business takes off, they'll begin to hire drivers.

The new taxi service is an example of the potential regular people have when it comes to kick starting the local economy.

The Ningeocheaks came up with the idea while sitting around on a February evening. People without access to a snowmobile or a car had no way to get around besides walking.

They saw a need and met it. That's what business is about. Anybody can do it. All it takes is vision and effort.

The hamlet of Cambridge Bay, Inukshuk Enterprises and Fred H. Ross Associates must be applauded for expanding the Elder's Palace in Cambridge Bay.

Too often when a community is developing, the little things are forgotten.

These little things, like expanding the building where the community's elders gather, are important in maintaining a strong community. They are the ties that bind.

If those ties begin to fray, it isn't long until the whole structure falls apart.

This is the motivation behind the project according to Bruce Peterson, president of Inukshuk Enterprises.

The project to expand the elder's centre is worth a lot more than the money going into it.

Cambridge Bay business and community leaders acknowledge as much and for that they must be commended.