The RCMP's latest bust, dubbed Operation Getaway, has opened our eyes to the reality that drug trafficking is alive and well in the Northwest Territories.

There were 40 charges against 18 Northerners, the majority of whom live in Yellowknife.

Drug sweeps are not uncommon in our city, but what's alarming is that most of the Getaway charges were for trafficking cocaine.

In Operation Guiness nearly two years ago, the majority of the charges were related to selling marijuana.

Add in the fact that some charges under Getaway are against some people convicted for trafficking marijuana in the past and it's safe to say that selling cocaine is becoming the drug of choice for dealers.

With grams of coke selling in Yellowknife for $140, there is no end to the big bucks people can make off its sale.

Even worse, there also appears to be no end to those who will buy it -- and they're not just young professionals or hardened drug users.

A 1998 Pride Canada study reports that there has been a marked increase in the use of hard drugs like cocaine by high school students.

As of 1996, a shocking 6.1 per cent of high school students across the country claim to have used cocaine.

Initiatives such as the Side Door Youth Centre, which offers a drug-free environment for youth, are a good start in educating our kids on alternatives to dangerous drug use.

After all, the only way to get rid of cocaine dealers is to make sure they have no customers.

That will take a concerted government-led education effort akin to the CounterAttack campaign against drinking and driving.

It worked to stop people from driving drunk. It will help to drive home the message that drugs kill.

Yellowknife needs a new arena but not at any price.

Recent tenders threaten to push the cost of the $11.3-million twin-pad complex up by another $2 million. Could it go higher still? That's the question that must be asked, before it's too late.

The dilemma facing city council is how to wrestle the costs into line without delaying the project and without going back to the bank -- which means taxpayers' pockets.

Like it or not, the people of Yellowknife are already on the hook for 90 per cent of the cost. Most comes from the millions saved by the city over the past few years. Another $638,000 is being raised by the Yellowknife Gymnastics Club from city donors. Even a $1-million contribution from the Department of National Defence is tax money, although from federal coffers. And the arena fundraising committee is drawing money from the same limited pool: Yellowknife.

We suspect a majority of Yellowknifers support building a new arena, but we didn't get to vote on the project.

In hindsight, perhaps it was a mistake to start building without complete plans and without going through a traditional tendering process.

When they meet later today, councillors had better show up with sharp pencils to trim costs and cut back on any frills before raising taxes or taking out another loan.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

We applaud Community Government and Transportation Minister Manitok Thompson for finally bringing closure to a tragic event.

Hopefully, with Thompson's announcement that CG&T will no longer pursue a search for the sunken Avataq, the family members of the four crew members who perished on the vessel will feel a sense of closure to this tragic accident.

Thompson's decision was not made lightly.

The minister inherited a very difficult situation from her predecessor.

Promises were made during a very emotional time after the Avataq sank -- an event which shocked and saddened the entire territory.

However, the harsh reality of the matter is that these types of accidents happen frequently in Canada.

Many a crew member has been lost at sea, many a miner laid to rest underground -- the list goes on.

All families find it difficult when the bodies of their loved ones cannot be brought home to rest.

That being said, there was nothing to be gained by prolonging the agony of the families with further talk of future searches for the vessel.

As sensitive to cultural aspects as our Nunavut government is, Thompson realized the time had come to put the matter to rest.

Although she knew it wouldn't be a popular announcement and she would face her share of heat from the decision, she had the fortitude to make a decision that was the right one for her department and, in many ways, the family members themselves.

With the announcement, people across the Kivalliq should pause and pay their silent final respects to the four brave men one last time.

Their memory will live on forever in our hearts and minds.

On the right course

The alternate learning course being taught through the industrial arts program at Qitiqliq High in Arviat should be incorporated by more schools in our region.

The program's success rate to date speaks volumes as to the potential many students across our region have, even if they're not leading the way academically in their particular school.

The fact the entire business community is backing the Arviat program also speaks volumes as to the spirit of co-operation within our Kivalliq business community when it comes to developing skilled local employees.

It's a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Businesses get skilled local employees they can count on, and bright futures are created for students who otherwise are in danger of falling through the cracks in our educational system.

Hopefully, the Department of Education will help our other Kivalliq schools incorporate the Arviat model into their own curriculum in the near future.

Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum

It's nice to see all the support pushed behind Inuvik's new golf course. It will be a welcome sight to tourists and residents alike, and will certainly be a beautiful welcome to the gateway of town.

About 42 people signed up, volunteering their time to build the new golf course and the recent greenhouse AGM was also very well attended.

At the Inuvik Recycling Society's annual general meeting last Wednesday, not one person outside the board members showed up.

While the literal greening of Inuvik is booming with volunteer support, the figurative greening support seems to be sliding along the wayside.

Certainly separating bottles and cans isn't as glamorous as a nine-hole golf course or growing your own tomatoes, but there needs to be some support in this area too.

With the golf course, new leisure centre, greenhouse and countless other boards and committees here in town, the Inuvik Recycling Society is finding very little support for their program.

Volunteer support is strained in every town, but it's further magnified here because of three main groups: the Inuvialuit, Gwich'in and others.

Each group is representing themselves with boards and committees that require representation from each group, but there is much duplication. Hopefully, as self-government comes on stream more hands will be freed-up to tackle some of the programs that need a solid foundation of local representation.

I was here two years ago after the melt and I'm very impressed in the progress made by the recycling society and the town's beautification committee.

There is far less garbage around town now than there was two years ago. I do believe that attitudes are changing, but it hasn't come without the hard work of town employees and volunteer support to these programs.

Sure the greenhouse, leisure centre and golf course are wonderful additions to the community and will most certainly enhance the town's image to travellers, but if they have to step over mounds of litter on their way to these sights, they won't be impressed.

Healing hopes

Thanks to Alfred Moses for his submission this week to remind us of the upcoming Health and Wellness Fair.

The repercussions of the economic boom here are already sending shockwaves into our social safety net and we need to brace for much more of the same.

Inuvik sits on the brink of enormous economic prosperity, but at the same time, we're vulnerable to great loss and we have to be prepared for that.

The Health and Wellness Fair may not provide all we'll need to battle these issues, but will certainly open some eyes and lead us in the right direction.

Editorial Comment
Mike W. Bryant
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson

How many MLAs does it take to bring the public out to meet them? If last week's two special committee consultation meetings in Fort Simpson were any indication, apparently not enough.

It has long been a Canadian pastime to take pot shots at our elected leaders, and the situation last week warrants nothing different here.

Barely a handful of people attended the special committee on the review of the official Languages Act meeting May 15 or the special committee on the implementation of self-government and sunset clause the following night.

With lengthy titles like these, who would want to show up?

Granted, it was a busy week in Fort Simpson, but it's likely people were more interested in watching the ice drift by after a long day at work than attend meetings that bear little relevance on their day-to-day lives.

But wait, isn't this motley group of legislators making important decisions that will affect our lives for generations to come?

You be the judge.

The sunset committee has a mandate to investigate how self-government will change government structures, programs and services, and financing arrangements.

They are also looking at a tricky little problem that may occur if the sunset clause is allowed to carry through to the end of the government's term next year.

If that were to happen, the legislative assembly would be dissolved and power would return to the NWT Commissioner.

At the meeting, special committee co-chair Sandy Lee reported that the committee is satisfied with the progress of self-government negotiations, and since they're First Nations and the federal government hold all the power, the GNWT is all but out of the loop anyway.

As for the sunset clause, as long as self-government negotiations continue, there is no point monkeying with that either, so it's best to repeal it and start from scratch next term.

So where does that leave this committee? Apparently with nothing to do but recommend the government scrap legislation created by the previous government, who at the time had hoped the current government would settle the issue, particularly as it pertains to redesignating electoral boundaries.

After visiting 23 communities, charging taxpayers with airplane tickets and hotel rooms wherever they went, is that all they have to say?

The official languages review meeting appeared a little more worthwhile, if only because several chiefs, in town for the Deh Cho spring leadership meeting, and a few others attended and spoke passionately about their desire to make Slavey more predominant in schools and the communities.

Nonetheless, from what was heard, the committee had already heard from many of the same people during public hearings held last March.

It just goes to show, putting "special" before one's title really doesn't mean that much at all.

Misleading information appeared in "Sunday blast came from half-hour away," which appeared May 22. The brief didn't report that the blasting was being done by Whitehorse-based Pelly Construction.

Yellowknifer apologies for any confusion this may have caused.

Correction

A story headlined "Videotape rights" that ran in the May 22 Yellowknifer included two errors.

Marie Wilson is claiming access rights, not ownership rights, to videotapes she produced for the Living History Society. The tapes in question document interviews with Dennis Patterson, Stuart Hodgson and John Parker.

Yellowknifer regrets the errors and any confusion that may have arisen from them.