Former British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Thomas Berger got it right in 1977 in his commission of inquiry -- and he's still right today: the biggest barrier to a Mackenzie Valley pipeline remains the lack of settled land claims.

The Inuvialuit and Gwich'in have settled and are beginning to reap the benefits of oil and gas development. They know that no pipeline means no development.

They, and the territorial government, have everything to gain from building a pipe down the Mackenzie Valley.

The Deh Cho First Nations (DCFN) have everything to lose.

They're loath to be pushed into accepting a deal on a pipeline before reaching an agreement with the federal government that guarantees their rights to the land and specific benefits from the resources it contains.

And all the posturing and political pressure that's now being heaped upon the DCFN will not change that.

It will take time -- up to seven years to resolve the Deh Cho process -- and lots talk.

Even an agreement outlining benefits from resource development is believed to be at least a year away.

But what's the rush to sign a pipeline deal now?

Although there's a memorandum of understanding between the Aboriginal Pipeline Working Group and some producers, no proposal to actually build a pipeline has yet been tabled.

So let the DCFN meet and decide its next step ... and get on with settling their land claim.

More than anything, that's going to take more federal government initiative and commitment to get a deal done so Deh Cho residents can share in the wealth of a Mackenzie Valley pipeline, too.

Inuvik may have a small sentinel footnote in the story of the worst terrorist attack in history last week against the United States.

Two CF-18 fighter jets were apparently scrambled from Forward Operating Location (FOL) Inuvik to intercept and escort two Korean Air 747s out of closed U.S. airspace over Alaska to the Yukon. The two CF-18s, along with American fighter jets, escorted the planes to landings at Whitehorse. Neither plane proved later to be a threat. When the federal government decided in the mid-1980s to downsize facilities like CFB Inuvik, the largest military installation in the North, and modernize the Distant Early Warning (DEW) line, the FOL project was established under the umbrella of NORAD.

The concept is simple enough: fighter jets and pilots deployed on an as-need basis to FOLs in Inuvik, Yellowknife, Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit. The mission over Whitehorse was a real-time test to defend Canadian sovereignty and come to the aid of an ally under enemy attack.

Reports that the Qikiqtani Inuit Association has nearly completed hiring should be greeted with a sigh of relief by Baffin beneficiaries. After being short seven people, a new executive director and other crucial team members will finally give the association the staff it needs to fulfil its mandate.

Now, if the QIA can only get its act together to put an end to the ongoing soap opera involving suspended president Meeka Kilabuk. Whether she stays or goes, there must be a resolution. The battles over the QIA leadership offer nothing for the spirit of the association's mission, which is to "safeguard, administer and advance the rights and benefits of the Inuit of the Baffin Region ... all in an open and accountable forum."

QIA executives should move on, after too many months of turmoil.

Demographers, the people governments pay to keep tabs on the age, sex and marital status (among other things) of its citizens, love to point out that the NWT and Nunavut have the country's highest birth rate.

Eventually, they say, the number of young people will dwarf their elders, to the point where our society will resemble a bad science fiction film. (Anyone remember Logan's Run?)

But the latest demographic prediction from the GNWT warns that the North is not immune the population boom at the other end of life. Over the next 20 years, it says, the number of people 60 years of age and older will more than triple.

Sounds like an opportunity ready to be exploited. Our youth have never needed the advice of our elders more than they do today.

Three-quarters of our world is covered by water, making the name "Earth" somewhat inaccurate. Even the English translation of Nunavut is less than precise, considering that "Our Land" includes thousands of square kilometres of water.

That water is without doubt an important element in the daily lives of many of the people who call this corner of the planet home. Business experts in Kugluktuk, for example, have turned their eyes to the Arctic Ocean in hopes of exploiting shellfish and other resources that could end up bolstering the region's economy.

Over in Gjoa Haven, plans are afoot to turn the ocean into drinkable water with the help of a desalination plant.

Meanwhile, the turbot of Davis Strait are proving a lucrative source of income for those on Baffin Island willing to make a living from often hostile waters. There appears to be no end to the possibilities the ocean offers Nunavummiut, from food to travel routes to marketable natural resources.

But as we mark Oceans Day this week, take some time to consider that the ocean is not, as once was widely believed, a limitless treasure chest. Nor is it a bottomless pit.

Biologists have recently calculated that the oceans of the pre-industrial era were literally brimming with countless species. The tales of North Atlantic schools of fish thick enough to walk on 500 years ago may have been relatively accurate descriptions. Today, most of the world's fish stocks are either collapsing or on the verge of doing so.

As Iqalungmiut discovered this summer, the safeguards preventing excessive dumping of waste into the ocean are far from adequate. It is time we learned to respect not only what the oceans have to offer, but the limits of what it can handle.

Something went wrong. Two panel-peeling trailers arrived in Apex with city approval. Bad looks are one thing. A lack of public consultation is another.

Apex residents have signed petitions, attended council meetings and even considered filing for a court injunction. It's easy to say the 80 residents against the mobile homes are trashing the trailers.

They're not. The city's own development plan states trailers belong in trailer parks, but a zoning bylaw has superseded the plan.

Apex residents want control over how their community develops.

Fortunately, the same development bylaw in question is under review by council.

Guest opinion
Anne-Marie Tout
Editor, Mackenzie Valley Viewer, Norman Wells.

"The high cost of transportation in the North is perhaps the greatest single impediment to developing the Northern economy and increasing business activity and employment opportunities. Inputs for the production of Northern goods and services are expensive to import and finished products are expensive to send to markets." [Department of Transportation's 2001-2004 Business Plan.]

Well, the government of the Northwest Territories certainly got that right! Unfortunately, the same "perceptive" government that recognized the adverse impact of high transportation costs to the North is now attempting to pass legislation to further increase those costs!

Purportedly designed to generate revenue for increased maintenance requirements on roads used to service the mines, the proposed legislation was expanded to penalize every resident, every business and every government agency across the NWT. [A study commissioned by the NWT Chamber of Mines has estimated that, of the total revenue expected to be generated through the new legislation, only 17 per cent will be raised from trucks supplying the mines.]

Third reading of Bill 9, the Commercial Vehicle Trip Permit Act, and Bill 10, the Public Highway Improvement Fund Act, a companion to Bill 9, are scheduled for third reading later this fall. If passed, Bill 9 will increase costs to every individual, agency, government and business in the NWT. The bill provides for the levy of permit fees for trucks passing through one or more "zones". The higher the number of zones passed through, the higher the permit cost. Sahtu residents will have the dubious honour of bearing the brunt of the greatest number economic impact of the "zonal permit fees".

Current estimates provided by the government suggest Sahtu residents will incur an additional cost of $0.37 per kilogram of freight. In keeping with the government's apparent "limited and incomplete information program," the estimates are based purely upon the permit fee to be levied. The costs of increased staffing and administration to the trucking companies have been "overlooked" and are not represented in the estimates provided to northerners.

To add insult to injury for residents of a region who have lobbied for years for the completion of the Mackenzie Highway, Bill 10 specifies that revenues collected must be used only for costs associated with the maintenance and improvement of existing primary highways. Hard to believe, isn't it? Residents without a permanent road will be hardest hit by "road tolls"! Despite the potential impact to residents of our area, the committee mandated to receive input and comment from the public has not scheduled a visit to the Sahtu Region.

Perhaps it's time for residents of the Sahtu to request a visit by their MLA. Perhaps it's time for our government leaders to step out of the political fray regarding future opportunities and concentrate their efforts on maximizing business and employment opportunities for northerners in the present. Perhaps, just perhaps, our leaders can be convinced that adding costs to the greatest single impediment to developing the North is in no one's interest.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

To listen to some people in Baker Lake, you'd almost think the Workers' Compensation Board safety officer, environmental health officer and Kivalliq fire marshal did something wrong by closing the Jonah Amitnaaq school this past week.

Some local District Education Authority members have been singing the blues about the timing of the inspection.

Apparently, the inspection should have been done earlier in the year so repairs could have been made without interrupting classes.

So let's get this straight, shall we?

We have a group of educators entrusted to mould the leaders of tomorrow and a local group of board members who help develop school policies.

We also have the hamlet office and the Department of Public Works involved.

Why would they need to be told the fire extinguishers in a school have to work?

It's not that we don't sympathize with all involved over the age of the Jonah Amitnaaq school.

We're sure a new school can't come soon enough. But rather than simply waiting for 2003 to arrive, it's important to keep the current school a safe, health place for our children.

It doesn't take much to figure out it's probably not a good idea to block emergency exits in a school.

And, when it comes to fuel tanks leaking -- c'mon people!

Do the words fire, explosion and hurt children ring any bells?

Of course, with the emergency lighting out of order, maybe the school's contingency plan called for a fire to be lit in the mechanical room so the students would have enough light to find their way out should an emergency situation arise?

Then again, with the condition of the school's air-exchange unit, we're taking for granted that students would still be conscious and clear-headed enough to exit the school in an emergency situation.

The bottom line is, school staff and maintenance workers shouldn't have to wait for government officials to show up and state the obvious.

By all means, scream long and loud to upgrade classroom conditions and replace older schools with modern buildings.

But, in the meantime, everything possible must be done to ensure the safety of our students.

Surely between teachers, hamlet and DPW workers, someone can take the time.

Editorial Comment
Malcolm Gorrill
Inuvik Drum

It's hard to comprehend the devastation resulting from the terrorist attacks earlier this week on the World Trade Centre in New York, and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

It's feared thousands died when the twin buildings making up the World Trade Center were hit by planes and then collapsed.

The loss of life is huge, and the emotional scars inflicted upon family and friends of the victims will be large as well.

Though people here may be far removed geographically from the events unfolding in New York and Washington, such a loss of life touches everyone everywhere.

Every so often an event occurs that tests and defines a people, or a generation. The assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 was one such event. The Challenger explosion in 1986 was another.

No doubt the events of this past Tuesday will not ever be forgotten, and the wounds slow to heal. What remains to be seen is how people will be affected.

For some people, this may create or add to a fear of flying, or in being in tall buildings. Almost everyone, at least in the short term, is bound to feel a little less secure, a little less safe, when they go about their daily business, whether they live in New York, Toronto or Inuvik.

That presumably is one of the objectives of the terrorists who planned this week's events, and other terrorist acts.

But devastating though these events are, people are responding and will continue to respond with acts of compassion for the victims. This is occurring in the U.S. and in Canada in the form of caring for wounded, or indirectly by people donating blood to help with the large demand caused by these events.

Though not able to help directly, thoughts and prayers from Delta residents are with those affected by these acts of terrorism.

These actions, plus a better appreciation of the freedoms people in democratic societies enjoy, will help ensure that the terrorists do not win.

FAS Walk a success

Inuvik hosted its first International FAS Day Walk and Barbecue on Sunday, and it was a big success by all accounts.

At least 300 people took part and perused the information available at the various displays.

The event will serve to raise awareness within the community of fetal alcohol syndrome and its harmful effects.

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson

The federal government has dealt the Deh Cho First Nations an unexpected blow by declining to negotiate a Mackenzie Valley pipeline. It was an ace up the Deh Cho's sleeve, of sorts, to cast aside the big industry players in favour of dealing directly with the federal government. The only problem is that they hadn't received a commitment from the federal government first.

Federal negotiator Robin Aitken said the two sides have a number of gaps to bridge when it comes to resource revenue sharing in general. Negotiating the terms of a pipeline specifically is not in the plans, he said.

DCFN chief negotiator Chris Reid contended that the federal government's stance will make for more intense negotiating, but he's not giving up hope the parties can reach an accord.

Whether or not that happens will be a pivotal point in negotiations and significant revenues for a future Deh Cho government will be at stake.

Give board credit

The threat of potentially losing the Deh Cho Health and Social Services Board has been magnified by the positive strides the board has made recently. There are now three nursing positions in each Fort Liard and Fort Providence. Fort Liard is finally getting a second social services worker as well.

These are needs that the board, comprising members from each Deh Cho community, has identified as priorities and has acted upon. When the Department of Health and Social Services didn't come through with all the requested funding, the board found the means within its budget to finance one more position. That's the local will and flexibility we don't want to see slip away through centralization.

The con game

In an era when there are countless warnings about fraud, it seems unlikely that so many people could get caught in a scam. There is a very smooth operator out there who sent nine people to Fort Simpson for non-existent work at no cost to himself. He paid nary a bill. It's people like him who make it difficult to trust others, particularly strangers. But the world would be a callous place if we couldn't put our trust in others.

Many people with good hearts, if not poor judgement, find it hard to turn down pleas from those who claim to be in need. It's often those with good intentions who are preyed upon, and it really is a shame.

Terrorist attack

Many of us woke up Tuesday morning to hear the grave news that the United States was in chaos as terrorist attacks struck New York and Washington, D.C. Airports were shut down across the country. Smoke billowed from the World Trade Centre towers after hijacked jets collided with them. The towers later collapsed. Thousands of lives were lost. An explosion occurred at the Pentagon. Government buildings -- icons such as the White House and the Capitol building -- were briskly evacuated. It was like a scene from an action movie, yet it was all too real.

Terrorists, through their reprehensible actions, have sent a message that everyone is vulnerable.