Last Friday's hunger strike launched by 32-year-old former Yellowknifer Glenn Hall isn't surprising.

The Richmond, B.C., man began fasting last Friday to protest the way his case has been handled by the Workers' Compensation Board.

A former ice road driver, Hall stopped working in 1997 after suffering a back injury while working a temporary job at Petersen & Auger.

Four and a half years later, he's still trying to jump through the seemingly infinite set of hoops created by the WCB.

Most recently, Hall was told that he was only 18 per cent disabled after a 45-minute doctor's appointment, an opinion that flies in the face of his family doctor's.

Hall is appealing the WCB decision, but considering that it's the same WCB doctor who decided he was only 18 per cent disabled that will be called on by the appeals process, we aren't terribly hopeful that much will change, for his case at least.

One possible bright spot in the situation is a recent WCB legislative review panel, which issued a report titled "Act Now." Released in December 2001, the report has yet to leave the minister's office and hit the legislature.

The aptly-named report not only calls for an overhaul of the entire act, but urges legislators to scrap the pension system and continue to compensate injured workers for lost wages until they actually start working again.

It also calls for the appeals process, as in other jurisdictions, to allow independent medical assessments to be part of the person's claim.

Joe Handley, the minister responsible for the WCB, says he's waiting for more information on the financial implications for some of the recommendations.

Worker criticism of the WCB has appeared on the pages of this publication for years. It's time something was done, and Handley needs to speed this bill into action.

Whatever the merits of Hall's case, his problems mirrored many of those that surfaced before the legislative review panel.

The WCB needs to do a careful internal examination of its procedures. And then, as the report title says, MLAs need to "act now" to fix the system's flaws.

Gerry Murphy and Ruth Inch had one very important thing in common: their efforts contributed to making Yellowknife what it is today.

They did it for no other reason than to make the town they called home better. They didn't care about accolades or praise.

Today, their contributions live on at the city's pool - in Ruth Inch's case -- and although the Gerry Murphy Arena is likely headed for demolition, that piece of land will likely be known as "The Murph" site for some time to come.

Just down the street from the old arena, there's the Evans Block, home to Canadian Forces Northern Area headquarters. It's named after Col. T.B.D. Evans, the commander of the Yukon Field Force that helped the Mounties maintain order during the Yukon Gold Rush.

These people didn't ask for buildings to bear their names. That was someone else's idea; a way to honour long service and hard work.

Now, however, that tradition has been abandoned in favour of the almighty dollar. Instead of recognizing someone who has served Yellowknife, a committee raising funds to speed up installation of a second ice sheet at the new twin-pad arena has put a name up for sale.

For half a million, a corporation can have its name stamped forever on an important piece of Yellowknife.

While we can understand the committee's hope to raise a large amount of money quickly, Yellowknife is not for sale. Corporate gifts are welcome and encouraged. Honouring those gifts with a plaque in a prominent display is the right way to do it.

The Wade Hamer Foundation understood that when council announced plans for a new arena nearly two years ago. Ter Hamer pledged $10,000. No strings attached.

We're not about to suggest a name; that's best left up to all Yellowknifers. We just know we'd rather go to a place like The Murph than the "Brand X" complex.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

One can hardly blame the folks in Repulse Bay and Coral Harbour for being upset with the passenger airline service to their communities.

While calling it a return to the Ice Age might be a bit of a stretch, the service they're receiving in this day and age is nothing short of reprehensible.

Imagine being an elder with bladder problems and trying to endure a flight to Manitoba with no washroom facilities.

Even, for that matter, imagine being on vacation and you and your family spending the first week with nothing but the clothes on your back while you wait for your luggage to finally arrive.

There are people being stranded in communities who have had to shell out $100 a day or more out of their own pockets for hotel rooms while they wait for an available seat to get back home.

What's even more disturbing is how their pleas for help continually fall upon deaf ears.

Once again, our leaders seem to be sending the message people in Repulse and Coral should be happy with what they have.

Forget the fact they're being deprived of a service most people take for granted.

It's actually somewhat ironic. With the money the Nunavut government is shelling out for travel due to a decentralized government, it should be able to come up with a way to help an airline run the Coral-Repulse route with a larger plane.

Once again, the rich get richer while the common folk do without.

People across the Kivalliq Region should raise their voices in support of the residents of Repulse and Coral. In a nutshell, they deserve better service that what they're receiving.

If this can happen to them, it certainly could happen to a number of other smaller communities.

We live in an age where the dollar rules above all, but the Repulse-Coral situation hardly fits the picture of the modern society the government is trying to paint to the rest of the nation.

The only real weapon the people in Repulse and Coral have is the power of their votes.

If, as they say, their pleas for help to their MLAs have been falling on deaf ears, hopefully they'll remember that come election day.

The government should realize it's time to act when its hears constituents talk about community morale reaching worrisome levels.

If the government does not act on the people's behalf, it should be willing to accept its share of the blame should the day come when tragedy befalls either of these two communities due either directly, or indirectly, to the lack of passenger service they are enduring.

It would be interesting to know how far the money spent on a handful of government charters would go towards helping to subsidize an airline willing to take over the Coral-Repulse run.

Maybe it's time the people found out.

Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum

The taxi bylaw situation has festered for two weeks and now has degenerated to council clamming-up due to a pending legal challenge.

Clearly, the situation will not improve without reasonable discussion from both sides. Lawyers can hammer away at the issue in court, but the fix will only be temporary and the Band Aid solution won't come cheap.

It's a shame to squander good money after bad and someone's going to get stuck with a hefty legal bill when this round of the fight ends.

Historically, the business has proven it couldn't be run without government intervention, but with council and cabbies both dug in behind lawyers, even a court challenge won't settle this debate.

If the town wins, we'll have 20 cabs on the road until somebody freezes in a ditch.

If the drivers win, we'll have cabs fighting over fares again and nothing will be gained.

What's needed here is an open dialogue between the drivers and the town.

The town needs to tear down the Taxi Commission, repeal this bylaw and rework both to reflect the dynamic needs of the public and the industry.

Without expertise, the commission is a paper tiger and the bylaw is so rigid that a broken down car means another unemployed driver.

The cabbies need to do what they should have done long ago -- form an association to lobby as one voice, rather than squabble amongst each other over who gets what fare.

Music in the air

Coun. Clarence Wood suggested the town look into hosting a summer music festival and he's surely to find a lot of support.

Fort Smith and Yellowknife enjoy a huge influx of cash from these annual events and the tourists and townsfolk also get the benefit of some great entertainment.

To lesser degrees, Enterprise and Fort Good Hope also highlight their summers with festivals.

There are rumblings out of Hay River, where some would like to start a festival there too, so perhaps some organization through the NWT Arts Council could arrange something of a tour for bands to start in Smith and wind-up in Inuvik.

With more dates available it might prove more attractive luring big name acts into the north, while giving Northern musicians some exposure and experience along the way.

Going for gold

Good luck to the 35 Beaufort Delta athletes who are on their way to the Arctic Winter Games in Iqaluit and Nuuk.

We're all hoping you'll bring back gold ulus and know you'll do your best to make the folks back home proud.

Good luck and, more importantly, enjoy the experience! It'll be one you'll never forget.

Pick up next week's Drum for coverage from the Games with NNSL's veteran sports guy, Darren "Feel the Burn" Campbell and ace photographer, Robert "The Commander" Dall.

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson

Travelling broadens one's horizons, just ask Derek Erasmus and Felix Isiah.

The two Fort Simpson high-school graduates have a whole lot to say about their travels to Sri Lanka and Uruguay, respectively. They are culturally enriched and have a much better sense of world affairs due to their globetrotting.

Although they were on opposite sides of the world, there were some similarities in their situations. It seems that western pop culture has a definite influence in both Sri Lanka and Uruguay. Canadians can hear the familiar melodies of the American Top-40 band Backstreet Boys in the village of Devamulla just as they could in Fort Simpson or Toronto, according to Erasmus.

While that may have been striking, it was no more extraordinary than the crowded streets and packed buses, dirty city air and unforgiving climate. Despite the hardships, they still described a sense of community and a sense of family.

While it is a small world in some respects, there is much to be discovered. Of course, risk is inherent in travel, particularly in countries with unstable governments and crumbling economies. Travel plans must be well laid out to minimize any chance of harm.

Lessons at home

For youth who haven't graduated high school and who aren't yet ready to travel abroad, there are valuable lessons to be learned at home.

Beyond the basic curriculum, workshops and conferences are offered to students on a fairly regular basis. For instance, a regional youth conference was held in Fort Providence last week. Sessions dealt with topics such as drugs and alcohol, career planning, recreation, arts and peer pressure. Also last week, a suicide prevention workshop was held in Fort Simpson. There are important messages being delivered through these forums. Not every student will take heed. Some will learn only by their own mistakes, sometimes costly mistakes. Nevertheless, others may be influenced by what they see and hear, however subtly. These conferences and workshops are a worthy investment and a gamble that will inevitably pay off, at least for some, but that's all one realistically can ask.

Fiddle and bow

In Wrigley, students have been learning the fiddle and made quite an impression with their public performance in Fort Simpson over the weekend. It has brought them a sense of pride and accomplishment. Playing an instrument requires patience and dedication, attributes that will serve them well for the rest of their lives.