It's too bad that Brian Tobin, Canada's industry minister, bailed on his promise to meet with Giant mine pensioners during his recent Yellowknife visit.

Tobin, the former Newfoundland premier and likely Liberal leadership contender, had set up a meeting with the retired workers but cancelled claiming pending legal claims on the pension fund made it impossible for him to get involved.

If the minister had done his homework he would have found that there are no longer any legal claims on the fund. He'd also have found that pensioners have already met with Claudette Bradshaw, minister of labour, DIAND minister Bob Nault and Western MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew.

Their goal is to not only get their pension fund beefed up to 100 per cent, but to have legislation drawn up to change the bankruptcy and insolvency act so this won't ever happen to Canadian workers again.

Tobin's ducking the workers, is a shame.

Five years ago, the city adopted the Capital Area Development Scheme. Two years ago $500,000 was spent on improvements.

Now, $32,000 was spent to review of the 1996 plan. It was a welcome move, especially after a prominent developer expressed concern that it didn't allow the company to develop a large parcel of land.

While the city waits for landscape architect Karen LeGresley Hamre's report, let's hope they think long and hard about one important recommendation: a capital commission that will help shape development of the area around the legislature.

The commission shouldn't just be city dwellers and government bureaucrats. Let's get others from around the territory involved, so they can say what they, too, want to see in their capital city.

When spectators cheered 12 adolescent girls go-cart racing down one of Yellowknife's winding hills last week, those with a vision may have glimpsed the future -- self-sufficient, independent women who rely on their skills and creativity to get what they want from life.

Far-fetched? You be the judge. While making the carts themselves from scratch at a Skills Canada week-long camp, the girls learned many lessons in self-reliance and grasped that life was all about taking risks.

Power saws, routers and jigsaws -- all these intimidated the girls. Then an enlightened teacher informed them that any mistakes they made could be fixed.

Without fear of reprimand, irreversible damage, and failure looming over their heads, they could now approach the project with a sense of adventure and creativity.

Suddenly, they were builders, designers, architects, creators. They were the makers and shakers. And best of all, working on the project was fun.

When someone pointed out to Thomas Edison that he had failed a lot before discovering the incandescent light bulb, the inventor said: "If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed ... every wrong attempt discarded is just one more step forward."

We applaud a hands-on workshop aimed at introducing girls to some of the tools for trades and technology, especially when it is done in such a way that encourages participants to take risks. This speaks volumes on empowering our youth.

An accumulation of such experiences will undoubtedly encourage our young women to take a bold look at non-traditional careers.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

We would be remiss if we didn't take the time to congratulate all those who gave so freely of their time to make last weekend's Jammin' on the Bay music festival a hit.

While its true ticket sales were not what organizers had originally hoped for, the event was nonetheless a resounding success.

Hopefully, the good time had by performers and concert-goers alike -- coupled with the launch of the Kivalliq Kids Fund -- will pave the way for the music festival to become an annual event.

Hamlet should have acted sooner

The firing of Rankin Inlet's fire chief raises a lot of questions.

First and foremost is why the hamlet allowed the situation at the Rankin Inlet Volunteer Fire Brigade to deteriorate to the point where the chief was dismissed.

Make no mistake about it, lives were in peril.

The revelation that more than half the hoses on the community's main fire truck were practically useless should spark nothing short of outrage within the community.

We find it even more mind boggling that monies had been allocated to improve our fire department, and the gear our volunteers use to keep our community safe, and absolutely nothing was done.

Again, this should spark outrage from the community -- and not all of it directed at the outgoing chief.

The fire brigade is critical to the well-being of the community.

What would the hamlet have done if one volunteer firefighter hadn't summoned up the courage to sign an official complaint?

Would they have continued to look the other way until someone finally paid the ultimate price?

The fact of the matter is, the fire and ambulance service were both in a state of chaos until the complaint was signed and the hamlet was forced to act.

The local RCMP are still investigating the misappropriation of funds involving the ambulance service and allegations are rampant -- some substantiated -- that people were being used as ambulance attendants who had no up-to-date first aid or CPR training.

In short, they were not qualified to be ambulance attendants.

We applaud the hamlet's overdue removal of the former chief and the request for funding for professional firefighters and a chief.

However, the hamlet waited far too long to remove the former chief.

Hamlet council should demand failsafes are put in place to ensure such a comedy of errors that could lead to the loss of lives in our community never repeats itself.

Editorial Comment
Malcolm Gorrill
Inuvik Drum

What a difference a few months makes.

This summer workers have been busy at the recreational boat dock at the end of Distributor St., in efforts to make the area more functional and attractive.

More recently work was done to the former boat launch area along Boot Lake with the aim to make the spot a more pleasant place for residents.

This has been in addition to efforts to spruce up the town, such as the garbage pickup carried out this spring throughout the community.

Not forgotten amongst these beautification projects has been work done on an important landmark, namely, the "Welcome to Inuvik" sign. It underwent a cleaning, a rock garden is being put in place, and the Community Garden Society of Inuvik is adding plants around it.

On a related note, there are plans to conduct work on both ball fields in town.

These improvements not only attract tourists, they also benefit residents and will help people feel better about living here.

That being said, it must be noted that there's still room for improvement in the attitude department. Litter can still be spotted lying about.

As well, it seems a shame that graffiti was sprayed onto the skateboard park almost as soon as the first wheels graced its ramps. It detracts from the large amount of money and effort that was put into building that park.

School's in

Another school year has begun.

Though a familiar --dreaded? -- routine for most youngsters, the first day for those entering Grade 1 was probably a momentous occasion.

They were probably wondering what school was like, whether they'd like their teacher, and they may even have asked themselves what they were supposed to do there.

Those entering school face many challenges, but they also have great opportunities lying ahead of them.

Best of luck to them and to all the teachers who guide them.

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson

Nobody said pipeline proposals would be easy to understand. Therefore it was quite refreshing when, at last week's assembly in Wrigley, Tthek'ehdeli Chief Stanley Sanguez admitted the complexity of the extensive volume of information was daunting.

"I'm not an economist. I'm just a general guy who lives out on the land," he said.

Therefore consultants can, and should, be hired to help explain the multifarious details in the pipeline proposals. There's too much at stake to make any rash decisions.

Can you imagine agreeing to purchase a new home without first knowing the terms and conditions of the mortgage? It would be rather unpleasant to later find out that a much better deal existed. The pipeline issue is no different, but on a much, much larger scale.

True, it's not simply a matter of analyzing all the clauses and stipulations. The issue has also become an open political struggle. As much as business and politics don't mix, there's no separating the two at this stage of the game in Deh Cho. Self-government and economic development are both coveted, but one is being withheld, at least temporarily, for the sake of the other. It's been said many times that the region's First Nations are not opposed to economic development. Although that may seem hard to believe, the bands are trying to ensure that maximum benefits will be accrued and the environment is safeguarded before they give the green light.

But there are those who worry about what's being lost in the meantime. What if the political uncertainty gives the Alaska-Yukon route another nudge forward? On another front, can we afford to wait much longer before training begins? Those with skills from welding to heavy equipment operating will be in great demand, and likely well compensated for their labour, even if only for a few years during construction.

There's also pressure from the territorial government and other regions to move forward. GNWT Finance Minister Joe Handley has weighed in on the debate by asserting that the Deh Cho cannot singlehandedly delay a venture that the rest of the NWT is ready to undertake. There's been a level of patience displayed by other interested parties to date, but will further stalling by the DCFN force the issue?

Can the territorial government, the other regions or the federal government -- or any combination thereof -- push a pipeline through the Deh Cho without the consent of the First Nations? The Deh Cho has the Interim Measures Agreement in place with the federal government, but how much protection will that document really offer?

There's been a number of references to the oil pipeline running from Norman Wells to Alberta, a pipeline that offered aboriginal people no benefits when it was constructed. There is little worry of receiving no benefits again this time, but, should a resolution not come in the near future, could the Deh Cho be forced to settle for the terms and conditions agreed to by the rest of the regions?

A political power struggle may very well be around the corner.