North Slave MLA Leon Lafferty is right to be critical of government plans to spend $36 million on a road that services a few dozen cabins and year-round homes east of Yellowknife.

After all, the Ingraham Trail -- the vaunted road to resources -- is only used by mining companies for a few weeks every year during the frantic winter road season.

But instead of screaming for Transport Minister Joe Handley to resign (he lives along the Trail), Lafferty should go to the Dogrib Treaty 11 Council and plan a way to meet the minister's challenge.

Handley left the door open to other ways to build a road to the mines when he told News/North "(The Ingraham Trail) is the current route, so until somebody gives us a better route, the plan is to continue that way."

Time to give him a better route.

Start a survey-training program in Rae and get the Dogrib people to work planning a road. With all the highway work that will be needed in the very near future, it will teach skills that will be in demand.

If it proves cheaper to turn off Highway 3 at Rae and build a supply route through Dogrib land, secondary links could go in to Gameti, Wha Ti and Wekweti.

The Dogrib communities need a road to boost their lifestyle, lower their cost of living and make economic development possible.

And as Cece McCauley-Hodgson writes on page A9 of today's newspaper, now is the time to do it: the diamond mines must leave behind a legacy other than money and big holes in the ground: roads.

And what about the Ingraham Trail? It's in rough shape and needs to be upgraded. But does chip-sealing really make the best use of our money? It's a road surface method that's only rated to last five to seven years in Southern regions.

A recent federal survey informs us that too many Canadians are overweight or obese. Tell us something we don't know.

We won't bore you with the statistics again, but it's sad to see Northerners leading the way.

For starters, all one has to do is take a look around any public space to know the warnings about our dismal dietary habits and uninspired exercise programs are right on the money.

Perhaps it is time society offered some motivational incentives.

Educational programs are a fine starter, but governments can do more.

One of the biggest concerns in the North is the high cost of bringing fresh fruit and vegetables to the communities.

Ask Mike Doucette. He's in charge of the grocery department at Fort Good Hope's Northern store.

People turn to chips and pop because they're cheaper.

Across North American, support is building for heavy taxation on foods that contribute to obesity, diabetes, strokes and other health risks that end up costing taxpayers millions.

Maybe if we treated pop and chips like cigarettes, it might convince at least a few Northerners to eat properly.

If fresh fruit were less expensive than preservative-laden, sugar-based, cholesterol-packed treats, it might be possible to bring about a minor revolution in the manner in which shelves are stocked in Northern stores, co-ops and corner stores across the NWT.

It has worked, to an extent, to bring down smoking rates.

Why not give junk food the same treatment?

Then someone might reach for an apple before a bag of chips and a pop.

What if you had to choose between losing reliable telephone service and doing without the services of national park wardens?

Careful, now. Think about it for a minute. Sure, most Nunavummiut would probably consider their telephone to be a more important part of life than say, making sure hikers are prepared for the trip through the wilds of Baffin Island's Auyuittuq National Park. But are they really?

The question is relevant because Parks Canada employees have managed to settle a contract dispute with their federal employers, heading off a strike. NorthwesTel operators and technicians haven't been so lucky. As a result, Nunavut, the NWT and the rest of North have to make do with bare-bones phone service.

Before you answer, remember that Nunavut means "our land," not "our telecommunications network."

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

There are, no doubt, many people in the Kivalliq who view the Northern Transportation Company Ltd.'s recent meetings to discuss streamlining its cargo services as nothing more than damage control. It is, after all, quite easy to be skeptical in the wake of the bad gas dilemma.

However, even if there is some truth embedded in that line of thinking, we should give NTCL the chance to follow up on its rhetoric and improve its system.

The gas scenario is, ultimately, going to unfold in one way or another. Hopefully, those who legitimately suffered damage to their machines will be compensated somewhere in the not-too-distant future.

That being said, any improvement to the way cargo is imported into our region would be welcome. If, indeed, these improvements are a result of the bad gas, so be it. If nothing else, it would be one small silver lining into an otherwise very dark cloud.

The cold hard fact of the matter is -- when it comes to cargo in our region -- our choices are extremely limited. There are many who would say we've been held hostage (price-wise) for decades by those who transport cargo into the Kivalliq. In some ways, that may be true. But such is life in the Arctic.

Such, also, is the nature of supply and demand when it comes to any business operating as a monopoly or an oligopoly. Taking the company at its word, NTCL is listening to the complaints of Kivalliq customers and is moving to address those concerns.

Let's be honest: anything NTCL or its partners can do to reduce the cost of cargo delivery, or expedite the level of its service, will be welcomed in our region with open arms. That too, is the nature of free enterprise when it comes to consumer satisfaction.

We enjoy lower prices, better service and ease of use when it comes to any company's business system.

It is too early to speculate on whether NTCL will be held responsible for any financial compensation to Nunavummiut who suffered damage to their machines. Only time will tell if that becomes a reality and, if it does, how it will affect the company's desire to lower prices and improve its level of service.

While we wait for this story to unfold, we should do so with open minds. There will be plenty of time for passing judgment once the story is complete.

Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum

For good or bad, it seems the town has settled the taxi situation in Inuvik -- for now at least.

The town has done their best to get out of the taxi business with the new law and the 30 drivers will have to scrap it out on the streets for the market share.

More than just earning a living, drivers are now also driven to pay off the cost of a $10,000 license.

The $300,000 will go a long way towards a new leisure centre, or whatever council decides to do with the funds raised from the license fees, so something good has come out of all the fighting.

While I haven't been here for the many years this battle's waged, I have the sinking feeling it's not over yet.

The drivers have dropped their court challenge, but the real challenge will be keeping this issue out of town council.

As it has been for years, it seems only half of the drivers are satisfied. The other half may soon have a choice though, as I hear rumblings of a new livery license before council.

While it never seemed to worked before, competition might be just what the Inuvik taxi industry needs.

With two companies competing, the customer will surely benefit. Perhaps not with lower rates, but perhaps with cheerful, prompt service.

Let's hope the drivers will be professional enough to keep the government from stepping back into the fray.

Dust in the wind

It looks like it may be a while until the town gets the street sweeper sweeping streets again.

While the rest of town is looking good, the streets are in dire need of a scrub.

It's not like spring comes as a surprise to any of us, but it seems the town was slow reacting to the change of season.

The contract for sweeping streets was handed back to the municipality, but they have yet to even buy back the sweeper.

The push is on to get the town cleaned up this week and I think the town should be leading by example.

It's hard to get motivated to clean your yard up, when there's a half-inch of dust coating it.

More than unsightly, the dust is a real health hazard.

I surely hope the streets will get swept before we hear the words 'smoking bylaw' mentioned again in council chambers.

Hurry up breakup

We're all glad to see the ferry is starting up again.

It seemed like a short break between ice road and ferry, but I'm more used to the long wait they have down in Yellowknife.

It'll be good to see the price of milk drop on store shelves too.

That's one thing I have a hard time with up here. The price of a bottle of beer in Inuvik is about the same as it is anywhere, but the price of milk is near triple.

The GNWT swears up and down that they don't subsidize freight on booze, so I guess they just have a cheaper trucker than the milkman.

Subsidy or not, I think part of the tax government makes off the booze sales here, could go a long way towards affordable fresh milk on our tables.

Editorial Comment
Mike Bryant
Deh Cho Drum

Well, my time in the Deh Cho is drawing to an end, at least for the time being.

I would like to thank all the people who have made wearing Derek's hat over the last month a little easier to bear.

There's simply too many to mention here.

Finding stories was never a problem. Fitting them all into the paper was the only difficulty I had.

My boat ride with Steven Cli was definitely one of my favourite adventures while here.

We didn't get to where we wanted to go, but it was the trip itself, and Steven's company, that made it worthwhile.

It's too bad I missed out on the beaver though.

One of my last duties here was covering the gas pipeline consultation meeting Monday night.

It was made clear by some people that despite the soothing tone of Imperial Oil exec Randy Ottenbreit's voice, they are still worried about what benefits the pipeline will bring them.

People want jobs, and by saying the pipeline is but "a step" towards solving the North's problems, was perhaps a little short of the guarantee some people were looking for.

After all, it's suppose to be a $60-billion industry some day.

Then again, as Liidlii Kue First Nation Chief Rita Cli has said time and again, people will need training to take full advantage of it.

The GNWT Department of Education, Culture and Employment has made modest steps in recent years to tackle that very problem, but with pipeline construction looming three or four years down the road, time is certainly of the essence.

It's something the gas companies can help out with as well. Merely throwing $4 or $5 billion around without aiding in the training local workers will not solve the problem.

Anyway, I best be off. Cheers and good luck.