NWT Chief Electoral Officer David Hamilton has made some timely and sensible recommendations when it comes to streamlining and updating the territorial Elections Act.

Hamilton's most important recommendation would see the legislative assembly repeal Section 32 of the Election Act which allows incumbent MLAs, their spouse and dependents to choose where they want their residency for electoral purposes.

The chief electoral officer, who doubles as clerk of the legislative assembly, rightly points out "this practice clearly gives current sitting members an advantage over other candidates and provides them with an option not open to any other elector. The chief electoral officer believes that the playing field must be leveled and that this practice should be discontinued."

The legislative assembly should repeal Section 32 as an offence against electoral fairness.

Other recommendations that make sense include establishing a permanent list of electors as the federal government and six provinces have already done to save the NWT the more than $35,000 in enumeration costs for a general election, and eliminating proxy voting.

Not all of Hamilton's recommendations should be adopted by the legislative assembly. He argues that Section 213, which prohibits the sale and service of liquor in bars, liquor outlets and other public places while the polls are open on election day, be repealed on the grounds it is "paternalistic" and "outdated." Hamilton notes Nunavut is the only other jurisdiction in Canada that prohibits the sale and service of liquor while the polls are open.

While there's some superficial appeal to the chief electoral officer's argument, we don't think it is necessary to jump on the southern bandwagon here. The status quo effectively means an extra 11-hour alcohol prohibition once every few years -- from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. -- while the polls are open.

If we hold that voting is a civic duty, then it is quite rightly a sober-minded affair.

Who owns the trees at Pine Point?

That's the underlying question when it comes to awarding timber harvest rights.

The 250-hectare stand is home to about 100,000 cubic metres of white spruce.

The territorial government, through RWED, says Patterson Sawmill Ltd. can cut 10,000 cubic metres of timber from 60 hectares.

The Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board says the Hay River sawmill can, too. The board opposed, however, any further harvest until a detailed annual allowable cut is decided by RWED.

In nearby Fort Resolution, the Deninu K'ue First Nation believes the land is theirs and has threatened "direct action" if it can't control harvesting the trees.

The battle is not about whether the harvest is environmentally sustainable; it's the latest case where resource development has run smack into questions over ownership.

The Deninu K'ue even have a piece of paper to support their claim: an Interim Measures Agreement signed between the Akaitcho First Nations and the territorial and federal governments.

It's time to stop playing ownership games and recognize that one day, control of the land will be ceded to the Deninu K'ue. There's no sense talking about annual allowable cuts until that question is settled.

Unfortunately, Patterson is left without trees to mill; jobs hang in the balance.

A better way for the Deninu K'ue to assert their claim would be to talk with Patterson and ensure some royalties from the harvest before the trees become worthless.

But the First Nation may not want the trees cut at all. Then, unfortunately, Patterson sawmill's 37-year history as a Northern company may become another footnote in the saga of land claim settlements.

Almost every organization falls into the same trap. It isn't anyone's fault, but a bureaucracy tends to assume a life of its own, with a will to survive, even at the expense of those it was created to serve.

Evidence that Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. -- first as Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut and now as the lead Inuit agency overseeing implementation of the territory's land claim -- has strayed from its central purpose is far from compelling.

But there is no reason to believe that NTI is immune from the threat. Here and there, evidence that all is not well is beginning to appear.

The internal battles over leadership and the revolving door of executives and staff that have consumed most of NTI's time and energy over the past year are perhaps the most troubling. This is the sort of thing that destroys political parties, like the federal Progressive Conservatives in the mid-1990s.

Then there's the neverending standoff between NTI and federal agencies over Inuit impact benefits agreements.

The 15-year effort to create the Igaliqtuuq whale sanctuary in Isabella Bay is case in point. The residents of Clyde River and the Canadian Wildlife Service agreed years ago on the necessary conditions for the park, which would protect an endangered stock of bowhead whales that feed in the bay. But NTI officials are holding up final negotiations, arguing Clyde River didn't ask for enough benefits.

It is true that NTI's primary goal in the coming years will be one of a watchdog. That means much of what it does will lead to delays while it makes sure Ottawa lives up to land claims obligations. The danger is that NTI and its member regional organizations may begin to measure success in terms of delay, instead of Inuit quality of life.

The good news is there is no better time than during an election to take stock and make sure NTI remembers what its real goals are. We encourage all beneficiaries to cast an informed vote.

Nunavut's birth rate has been the subject of much concern for years. At three times the national average, it shouldn't come as a surprise that our territory is growing too fast.

Too fast, at least, for those responsible for our infrastructure. Communities like Kuugaarruk and Arctic Bay have to contend with tank farms that can't hold enough fuel to last the year.

It's not as if we didn't know about our high birth rate, and that makes the news of our strained infrastructure all the more dismaying.

Ottawa kept statistics, the old government of the Northwest Territories did likewise, and the Nunavut number-crunchers haven't been sleeping on the job, either. So why the chronic fuel shortages? Why, too, the lack of adequate drinking water and the housing problem in Gjoa Haven? How did things get so bad?

We should probably feel a little bit of sympathy for the territorial government -- just a little bit. Federal infrastructure funds are allocated across Canada on a per-capita basis. It's a simplistic and problematic formula to shoehorn Nunavut into, given our small and widely dispersed population.

We should also ask how the government plans to get communities like Kuugaarruk and Arctic Bay out from behind the eight ball.

The first order of business might be to give Nunavummiut and their communities a heads-up when their populations are about to outstrip their infrastructure's capacity. That would give community leaders and residents the opportunity to brainstorm solutions together.

After that, getting Ottawa to recognize that a one-size-fits-all infrastructure policy just isn't cutting it up here might be a wise second move.

No doubt the rest of Nunavut will think of ways for our infrastructure to keep pace with us, as we cuddle up next to loved ones on long winter evenings.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

With all due respect to the families of those lost at sea, one has to wonder about spending $25,000 to $30,000 to locate the sunken Avataq vessel.

We will give credit to CG&T regional director Shawn Maley for trying his best to put a positive spin on the situation. But $30,000 to check out a piece of equipment the industry already knows works full well is yet another blatant waste of money in this region.

We're sure hamlet councils across the Kivalliq still harbour plenty of sympathy for the families involved. Many council members themselves were directly affected when the four brave souls aboard the Avataq lost their lives.

Still, throwing away $30,000 isn't going to do anything to help ease anyone's extended grief. There's probably a number of council members and senior administrative officers across the region gritting their teeth over this exercise.

One has to question this expenditure at a time when many hamlets are looking towards the federal government to help put infrastructure in place to develop industry.

Since nobody beneath him can come up with a better explanation than testing equipment, we must surmise only that Nunavut Transportation Minister Jack Anawak knows why this kind of money is being spent to locate the Avataq.

Surely in a region with the most unforgiving of climates, we can find a better way for Emergency Management to be spending $30,000.

This is especially true in a region so dependent upon the efforts of local search-and-rescue volunteers to find those in trouble every year.

Role model recruit

One doesn't have to listen to Serena Siksik for very long before being impressed by the young recruit's positive attitude.

Siksik has shown courage and conviction in following her dream of a career in the Canadian Armed Forces.

We wish her all the best as she heads off later this month to begin her basic training and take the next step in her chosen path.

We hope more Kivalliq youth will begin to seriously consider a military career as a healthy alternative to our region's high rate of unemployment.

Editorial Comment
Malcolm Gorrill
Inuvik Drum

Frustration could easily be sensed at last weekend's regular council meeting of the Beaufort Delta Education Council.

The topic was teachers, namely how to attract new ones and how to keep those the board has now.

Though the recommendation being discussed was an early recruitment proposal, the issue which generated the most debate was housing, and the lack thereof, within the region.

It's an issue that has popped up before, at previous BDEC meetings and other times. On this occasion it could be sensed that officials are tired of having to raise the issue, as they discussed the high turnover rate -- 50 per cent -- the board had to deal with this year.

Also brought up was the large amount of time eaten up within each community by having to conduct such a large number of interviews just for teachers, never mind the other workers the board hires, such as program support teachers or custodians.

It was stated, quite correctly, that the current situation detracts from the board's mandate, which is to provide quality education for its students.

Having more longer term teachers allows for more continuity within the system, plus it would help free up local district education authority members, who may conduct three or more interviews to fill one position, only after time had been spent finding a batch of potential candidates.

Board officials are correct in saying that not having a sufficient supply of affordable, decent housing puts them at a disadvantage with other boards. And while some teachers do come and stay and put up with housing that's less than ideal -- for which they should be commended -- it's hardly fair or reasonable to expect them to do so, now or in the future.

It's a big problem with no easy solution. Nevertheless, the issue has been raised again. It remains to be seen whether the territorial government, or private industry, answers the call.

Fire Prevention Week a success

Last week was Fire Prevention Week.

It serves a useful purpose by reminding people of the dangers of fire and the benefits of prevention.

Local events went well, including the open house at the fire hall, where hot dogs were gobbled by the hundreds.

Correction

There was a reporting error in the "Council Briefs" (Inuvik Drum, Oct. 4). Ulu Welding is buying 60 Industrial Rd. from the Town of Inuvik. The Drum apologizes for the error.

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson

Every night we witness more incidents of terrorism and anthrax scares on the television screen. We hear about the bombing of Afghanistan and more troops being sent off to fight the war against terrorism.

While the potential for someone we know to be affected by those actions is remote, it's still real. Nevertheless, the whole affair seems rather distant. If we turn off the TV, the problem is out of sight, out of mind -- at least for a while.

The same can't be said when tragedies strike so close to home; when people we know and care about are suddenly taken from us. No, these aren't acts of war or extremists trying to further their cause, these are unfortunate and untimely events -- a plane crash, a helicopter crash, sudden deaths -- that jolt us out of our complacency and make us ponder the fragility of life.

Some people who we might see in the street, stop and talk to, share a laugh with, they're gone. Harder still is to know there are family members who shared so much more and now have to let go. They have to learn to live without someone who was an integral part of their lives.

It's never an easy process, yet we all have to go through it sometime. The best we can do is to offer our support to those who are dealing with overwhelming grief; to let them know that, in many ways, we share their sorrow but together we'll get through these grievous times.

The postponement of the Deh Cho First Nations leadership assembly in Fort Providence was the right thing to do in the face of such a tragedy in Fort Liard. It would have been hard to concentrate on political matters after something so upsetting had occurred.

However, the matters for discussion at the leadership table are far from trivial. One of the topics on the agenda was the Mackenzie Valley pipeline. Remember, the people returning to Fort Liard had just attended an Aboriginal Pipeline Group signing ceremony in Ndilo. It was an important issue for them.

With that said, the about face by the Liidlii Kue First Nation -- to support the APG's memorandum of understanding -- is quite a surprising development. If the Hay River Reserve also decides to sign the MOU, and with Fort Liard already onside, then three of the four largest communities in the Deh Cho would be in support. There's new leadership in Wrigley to consider, so it's hard to say where they will stand.

The Deh Cho First Nations office is supposed to reflect the will of the region. Will the majority of communities back the APG in the future? If so, will the DCFN executive recognize that change in posture?

Grand Chief Michael Nadli has mentioned that there are other companies coming forward with worthy proposals. What about those companies? Have they entered the scene too late?

These questions will all have to be answered in the coming months.