A decision earlier this month holding that federal courts do not have jurisdiction over the Government of the Northwest Territories is the latest step in the evolution of the NWT.

In a lawsuit brought by the Federation Franco-TeNOise over French language access in the territory, Federal Court of Appeal Justice Robert Decary overturned a ruling that the GNWT is an agent of the federal government.

Earl Johnson, senior legal counsel with the territory's Department of Justice, called the ruling the most significant development in the evolution of the territory since the premier and cabinet achieved full executive powers in the form of responsible government in 1986.

Decary's ruling is an important decision on the separation of powers in the NWT. The nature of power is something different again.

Diamond, mineral, oil, gas and hydro-electric development and resolving land claims are the real keys to the powers that will shape the new NWT.

Canada is taking a lot of the credit for salvaging the Kyoto treaty on climate change last week. Northerners shouldn't celebrate just yet.

Scientists say the Arctic is already experiencing the effects of pumping billions of tonnes of fossil-fuel exhaust into the atmosphere, and the treaty will do little to change that. In the unlikely eventuality that everyone -- including the reluctant United States -- lives up to their Kyoto commitments, we'll cut the warming by only be eight one-hundredths of a degree.

Canada may have made things worse by introducing the scientifically dubious idea of counting gases our forests absorb against emission-reduction goals. As a result, that tiny reduction in warming will be even smaller. You can almost hear the permafrost melt.

The creation of the Laura Ulluriaq Gauthier Scholarship is a sound tribute to years of hard work. It also serves as recognition that what she struggled to build in the Nunavut Power Corporation is coming true.

During a busy career that took her from Nunavut Tunngavik to the government of Nunavut, Laura strove to develop a power corporation relevant to Inuit. Her vision was of a utility Nunavut beneficiaries would own and benefit from.

Laura's life and work were cut short last year when she passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. The loss was a bitter one, but those she left behind can seek solace in the knowledge that Laura put into motion the framework on which the Nunavut Power Corporation is built.

That corporation is turning out much like she envisioned. When Nunavut Power needed to start up its headquarters, it provided hands-on training for Baker Lake residents, providing many Nunavummiut with the opportunity to work. When NPC needed artwork to commemorate the rebuilding of the fire-gutted plant in Sanikiluaq, it went to the people. When the corporation needed a new logo, again, it went to the people.

But perhaps the best example of the company's commitment to the territory is the honour they've bestowed upon Laura and her family in the creation of the scholarship.

They've said the $5,000 endowment would be given to a post-secondary student following in her footsteps -- on the path to becoming a territorial leader. Potential recipients are asked to write a letter describing how they'll help Nunavut after graduation.

The scholarship offers us two separate things. Not only does it pay Laura the tremendous homage she deserves, but each year it will help a resident of the territory realize a dream. Laura would be proud of that.

Rankin Inlet biologist Mitch Campbell says mosquitoes are a vital link to the arctic food chain.

Vital? Sure. Annoying? Beyond a doubt.

But try to convince people the world is a better place because of the winged wonders and you find a room of deaf ears. Sure, the insects are a massive food source for birds. And yes, they pollinate plants critical to caribou and muskoxen's survival.

It's a shame, though, the arctic food chain has such an annoying member. Take away the mosquito's insatiable need to poke and draw blood and you have an insect most people could happily live with. The bad news is they'll never change. The good news is they'll be gone shortly. And not a bite too soon.

As Inuvik recovers from the biggest arts event in the North, it's time to reflect on what it means to the NWT.

The Great Northern Arts Festival is nothing short of magnificent. This year, attendance increased by 61 per cent -- 3,224 people passed through the gallery at the July 13-22 festival. Even more significant is the fact that more than half the day passes sold went to people from outside Inuvik.

That may not seem like a lot, but consider the economic impact of festival spending. The festival itself has a $600,000 budget, of which approximately 96 per cent stays in the North.

Festival organizers figured that in 1998, visitors spent about $72,000 at the festival, while this year, sales have more than doubled to $157,341. That puts a lot of money directly into Northern artists' pockets, plus the spin-off revenues, airfare, hotel and restaurant business and more.

Down the Mackenzie Valley in Fort Simpson, the Open Sky Festival hopes to recreate that kind of success. It did just that, and left a tidy $7,000 nest egg to kick off the second annual festival, slated to be held on Canada Day.

And then there are the other events around the NWT: Folk on the Rocks and Caribou Carnival in Yellowknife, South Slave Friendship Festival in Fort Smith among others.

While they do so much good for the people who live in those communities, they are also the important building blocks of a cultural tourism industry.

Craft shops and galleries are one thing, but tourists like to have something to do when they come up. Building a festival gives tourists a reason to visit, and explore everything else the North has to offer. Let's hope some of the $1.8 million of public money being put into tourism promotion helps sell our various events.

And while we want to copy Inuvik's legacy, let's be careful to offer something new and different that will appeal to a new audience and not compete with what we already have.

Editorial Comment
Malcolm Gorrill
Inuvik Drum

The 13th annual Great Northern Arts Festival ended in fine style Sunday, complete with music and award winners, and perhaps a general reluctance among those involved that it was over. It was predicted to be quite a fabulous, eventful, exciting 10 days in July, and it was.

The artwork was superb, diverse, and a pleasure to gaze at. Any artists I met up with seemed quite friendly and open, and many remarked on the open, sharing atmosphere this festival is becoming famous for.

I spent as much time in and around the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex as I could during those days, but would have liked to have hung around even more. Lots of others likely feel the same way.

As special as this year's festival was for most, it held special meaning for organizers Tanya Van Valkenburg and Marilyn Dzaman. Both are moving to Whitehorse after putting in many long hours for the festival for many years.

Van Valkenburg and Dzaman gave emotional farewells during the closing ceremonies, revealing that organizing the festival can be both a joy and a challenge. Good luck to them, as well as to Darrin White and Gail Hodder, who are taking over as executive director and artistic director. They have big shoes to fill.

Nature's art

Most people would have missed it, but early Tuesday morning the skies above Inuvik put on a great display. As the sun rose, a raincloud floated by, dropping a light shower along the way. The result was a rainbow shaped like the side of a horseshoe, which went high into the sky. A second, weaker rainbow could also be seen.

The clouds were a multitude of colours, from pink to red and a more normal white, depending on their location in the sky. It was enough of a display for me to actually stick some colour film in my camera and go wandering about, taking photos of the sky.

The whole experience was great, except for the bugs, who were looking for an early-morning snack.

Prince Edward Island (where I come from), has its fair share of beautiful sunrises and sunsets, but I've noticed some truly spectacular sky displays here, both in summer and winter, and at day and night. Those beautiful sights also probably inspire a lot of artists, including some of those who were in town recently.

Editorial Comment
Dave Sullivan
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson

Beaufort gas won't come easily So now the tide is turning in favour of a Mackenzie Valley pipeline, as opposed to one along the Alaska Highway.

That tide could reverse again, several times even. In order to make a point, let's predict that gas prices remain low. That would keep momentum on this side of the Yukon border because the Mackenzie Valley line is supposed to be cheaper to build, being shorter.

Analysts keep saying low gas prices would mean just one pipeline for now.

If it's through the Mackenzie Valley, it would have to carry Alaska gas to be profitable in the short term.

So here's the point: there's barely been any discussion of the technical and environmental headaches posed by Alaska gas on its way to the Mackenzie Valley.

The American gas would have to be piped under the Beaufort Sea, which is covered with shifting ice much of the year.

Even if a way is suddenly discovered to push gas under that sea, it will involve unproven technology.

The wider public will have grave reservations about the risk level. The Beaufort could become ground zero for an environmental battle royale.

Depending on the state of the economy and other issues on the radar screen when the time comes, a proposed undersea pipeline has potential to become the focus of a global pro-environment campaign. It could compare in scope to worldwide reaction when China announced it would build the world's largest dam at Three Gorges, on the Yangtze River.

Perhaps pro-pipeline forces should not worry too much. Despite all the pressure on China's leaders, the dam is being built anyway.

Then again, China's government can do as it pleases because it does not have to answer to the public.

Regional health care has its problems

A search last week through Drum archives unearthed some informed opinion regarding the possibility of the territorial government eliminating regional health boards. Unfortunately, the comments made three years ago at a "minister's forum" on health and social services in Fort Simpson do not provide much ammunition to the Deh Cho Health and Social Services region.

At the time, Dr. Shane Barclay explained that regionalization had been a disaster where he had worked in British Columbia because the province downloaded responsibility without giving up control of the purse strings.

Of course the health region would argue -- and probably will in its response to a consultant's recommendation to eliminate the boards -- that the government should free up more money so the local boards can fulfil their responsibilities.

Barclay, a popular columnist in this paper, also warned at the forum three years ago that doctors and nurses must be offered better pay, especially in remote regions like the North. We should pay attention to the doctor's prescription this time.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

The water situation in Rankin Inlet is enough to bring a rational thinking human being to tears.

It reached its current level of absurdity through a combination of wishful thinking and poor negotiating by previous hamlet councils. And, while we wouldn't want to insinuate the councils of the day were taken advantage of during utilidor negotiations -- the hamlet is on the hook for a huge loan to install a utilidor system from which it earns absolutely no revenue.

Every penny in revenues generated from the utilidor goes directly to the Nunavut government. You've got to hand it to the Department of Public Works, it negotiated one honey of a deal.

Of course, it's more like one honey-pot of a deal if your future is in any way tied to that of Rankin Inlet's. It's estimated that between $800,000 and $1 million is collected annually from water usage through the utilidor system in Rankin.

Of that, about $67,000 (a conservative estimate at best) is generated from usage in Area 6. Not a bad stipend for shouldering a portion of a construction bill and then walking away and leaving the hamlet holding the proverbial money bag.

But the deal gets even better for the Nunavut government. That loud gushing sound you've been hearing lately is even more of the hamlet's cash flowing out that same utilidor back towards the Nunavut government.

To add insult to injury, as of April 1, 2001, the Nunavut government began charging the hamlet for water use. The hamlet's first water bill, covering April and May, was $5,846. You can bet your bottom dollar the hamlet's budget doesn't allow for an extra $35,076 in annual water fees.

We're the first ones to admit it's a little difficult at times to feel sorry for an administration which was providing more than 100 people with free municipal services (and not one of them a houseboat owner!).

However, in view of the hamlet's efforts in turning around its operating deficit, we are willing to give it the benefit of the doubt and believe it is working to right a badly listing ship left to them by councils past. A problem not helped by the fact when they asked for a life-jacket, the Nunavut government threw them an anchor disguised as a utilidor.