Northern students who fail in school are often pushed into the higher grades to be with kids their own age. That's government policy.

Tu Nedhe MLA Steve Nitah says the practice doesn't work and can do more harm than good. He's been through it as a student.

Education Minister Jake Ootes insists keeping students of the same age together, regardless of their classroom progress, is a proven method of keeping kids from dropping out.

We agree with both statements. We also agree grade extensions in small communities keep kids in school longer and with their families where they belong. But small communities may not provide academic programs that make doctors, lawyers, engineers and accountants. Students who want these may have to leave home.

At the core of these different approaches is the question of standards. That's what Nitah is talking about. He knows standards aren't being met. He knows what happens when these same students run smack into the standards as they enter the work world or higher education.

Minister Ootes, who can't really admit it, must know what's going on, but he has no mandate to make sweeping changes.

For instance, the Minister's Forum on Education in the Western NWT in 1999 found out that many students in small communities had difficulty with English courses and take four years to complete high school rather than three.

This is understandable, given the core curriculum is designed for non-aboriginal, English-speaking students in Southern Canada.

Which is more important? That high school be done in three years at the expense of standards and drop outs, or that students graduate fully equipped to meet national standards?

We think standards are most important. How we get students to meet them should be adapted to cultural circumstances and Northern timelines.

It's up to MLAs like Nitah to make that the education minister's mandate.

The outcry stemming from the 2001 census begs for a review of how Statistics Canada calculates our population.

According to the results, the NWT has lost more than 2,000 residents or 5.6 per cent of its population, since 1996.

Because these figures play an integral role in calculating federal transfer payments, that could mean Ottawa's contribution to the NWT budget will fall by $163 million over three years.

Considering the boom in economic activity, and housing crunches facing Yellowknife and Inuvik, we find it hard to believe the NWT has experienced such a drop.

Outraged, our finance minister has called for a joint federal-territorial review of all population figures in the territory.

This makes sense. After all, considering the remoteness of our communities, Statistics Canada should be open to the help in ensuring all residents stand up and be counted.

Just about every jurisdiction in the country, including several cities, actively promote themselves to the film industry with generous subsidies. That's why Vancouver is called Hollywood North.

Nunavut doesn't have the money to compete with Vancouver or Toronto, but that doesn't mean it can't work harder to attract filmmakers who are eager to put the Arctic on the big and little screen.

Offering producers a few dollars can produce big financial rewards when a film crew starts spending money during a shoot. The territorial government should consider putting together some sort of incentive package. Sometimes, even a token offering will be enough.

When we at News/North use headlines like Learning how sex can kill (March 18), we do it knowing that we are simplifying a complex subject.

Of course, sex itself doesn't kill, but the diseases commonly spread during sex can, and we think the point is worth making in a dramatic, but simple fashion. Nunavut health officials can take a similar approach when it comes to the subject.

For example, while it is true AIDS is a horrible disease, and the one that revolutionized our society's approach to a difficult subject, perhaps it would better not to rely too much on that relationship. When we cure AIDS, safe-sex education will still be necessary.

The simple truth is many diseases are involved and the threat of an unwanted pregnancy is always there. Forever.

It takes a steady hand to guide a First Nation through complex, frustrating and time-consuming land claims negotiations.

For the past five years Michael Nadli has been that steady hand as grand chief of the Deh Cho First Nation. He advanced the Deh Cho cause with a level head, and knew when to use strong words when they were necessary.

While the Deh Cho people will have no problem finding a new leader when Nadli ends his time in office next summer, they will lose an experienced leader at a critical time in the Deh Cho Process.

The North needs people like Michael Nadli, who are committed to their people, and understand the burdens of leadership.

Let's hope he doesn't walk totally off the stage when his term ends. There is still much work to do in the Deh Cho and around the NWT.

Nunavut Tunngavik president Cathy Towtongie's recent actions won't be earning her any new friends in the Old Boys' Club. But then again, beneficiaries don't need their president to have friends or be popular. What Inuit in Nunavut need is someone who actually works to improve living conditions in the territory.

Judging by what she's accomplished in just three short months, it's a good bet Towtongie has the ability and drive to bring about such critical changes. For example, at the recent board meeting in Coral Harbour, she derailed the gravy train once and for all. She accused many of her fellow Inuit leaders of acting like members of the royal family and denounced them for the sense of entitlement they'd come to expect.

New policies mean that fancy hotel rooms, luxurious dinners charged to corporate credit cards and seats in the first-class section of airplanes are all a thing of the past. Members of NTI's executive no longer have the ability to vet their own expenses -- approval must be sought from colleagues.

At the same meeting, Towtongie revoked the Designated Inuit Organization status of the Nunavut Social Development Council. The group is now a department within NTI -- a move she said will make the Inuit voice more unified while preventing future duplication of services.

She saved NTI $500,000 by repaying a loan ahead of time and has committed herself to putting an end to long-term political appointments. Living off honoraria while being virtually ineffective is no longer tolerable.

What it all boils down to is a responsible leader more interested in serving her people than lining her own pocketbook.

It took Towtongie eight years to win the election, but beneficiaries may finally have a leader they can respect and trust. Power can change people, but so far we see no sign of the weaknesses that have plagued so many others.

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 new initiatives for improving literacy in the NWT are a much-needed change to the way we look at the health of our population.

Recognizing the need for literacy in all official languages will help preserve languages and foster a richer cultural environment for future generations.

The fundamentals of reading and writing are more important now than ever in the Delta, with employers and organizations scrambling for educated people to fill high-paying jobs.

The focus on early childhood programs are an especially needed change in the world of words.

Teachers of kindergarten and Grade 1 are already noticing the rapid growth of children who have taken part in Head Start programs.

The "get 'em while they're young" philosophy not only makes for better students and happier teachers, but also saves governments huge amounts of money in the long-term social payout.

Learning on the land It was a real treat to get out to the Rachel Reindeer camp with the kindergarten kids and the Gwich'in elders last week. It's wonderful to see that kind of interaction of ages and cultures.

The legacy passed on from Rachel Reindeer and the Gwich'in elders will ensure that traditions will continue and this culture will survive.

Children have so many modern distractions to pull them away from these time-honoured traditions. But seeing their faces and hearing that laughter every time a fish came up through the ice on that net, reminds us all that life's real pleasures don't happen in front of a television.

The camp brings the Gwich'in children back to the ways of their parents and grandparents, but equally important is the gift of sharing that culture with the other children of Inuvik.

It's a rare thing for children to be cradled in such culture and these kids will be better friends and better people because of these experiences.

Back to the Valley

Good to hear the minister of housing will be seeking RWED's support to keep Happy Valley Campground open, for now.

If given the town's approval, the proposed elder's complex will allow enough space so both campers and the elders will have a place of their own. The RV campers will be pushed out, however. This will no doubt lead to people parking their rigs on our roadsides and parking lots rather than stay out of town.

There is also the issue of the sani-dump. Happy Valley is the only place in town where RV 2 s can dump their waste and take on fresh water. Let's hope RWED can work out something to keep that service operating or we could face a loss of tourist traffic or worse, a messy situation if these campers can't find a place to "go."

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson

It's spring break in Fort Simpson. There's no activity at the schools, other than a few teachers here and there preparing lesson plans.

Yet the silence belies that fact that there is action being taken on the education front. Behind the scenes, the Fort Simpson District Education Authority is hiring more staff.

The war of words between the DEA and the Department of Education has gone on for four long years. DEA chair Shane Thompson says that the government isn't meeting its territorial objective of a 16:1 student-teacher ratio at Bompas elementary school, where the number is actually higher than 19:1.

The government cites the regional figure, which is right on target. During Education Minister Jake Ootes' November visit to Fort Simpson, he also stated that the student-teacher ratio across the NWT has improved over the past year.

That must include Bompas elementary school because the student-teacher ratio that used to be routinely referred to was as high as 25:1.

So things are getting better, but there's a ways to go yet. The DEA is able to bring more classroom hands on board by extracting dollars from the operations and maintenance portion of their budget. It's not an ideal way to handle a shortfall for additional staffing positions, but it's a sufficient stopgap measure (providing the school doesn't fall apart structurally, which doesn't appear to be an imminent threat).

The regional education council can, in the short-term, continue to help bail out Fort Simpson's DEA with additional funds, but there's pressure to do the same in Fort Liard and Fort Providence, where more staff are also coveted. The only problem is, as education board director Nolan Swartzentruber has pointed out, once the $1.2-million surplus is tapped out, it's gone for good. If we're lucky, the government will have met or exceeded its pupil-teacher ratio in all Deh Cho schools by then.

Raising children

The Traditional Parenting Program sounds like a project worthy of consideration. If the cultural elements make aboriginal parents feel comfortable and encourage them to attend, all the better. The program is also open to non-aboriginals. It imparts enhanced parenting skills and a greater appreciation of aboriginal culture. The blend of elders' wisdom and expertise from professionally-trained counsellors would provide a wide range of guidance.

The phrase "it takes a whole community to raise a child" was a traditional way of life for First Nations peoples, according to Joe Migwans. All band members would look out for children. It's a far cry from what goes on today. Many parents become defensive if anyone else scolds their children (not to mention the sometimes indignant responses from the children themselves). Whether people wish to seek their advice or not, there are still strong individuals within the circle who can help show the way.