We would be remiss if we didn't recognize the value of last month's two-day symposium -- The True North Strong and Free: A New Vision in the National Interest.

True enough, the name for the symposium was a bit grandiose.

As well, we continue to believe the way the Living History Society, spearheaded by Marie Wilson, wife of Premier Stephen Kakfwi, attempted to secure GNWT funding for the project, was wrong.

The grant application -- without proposal -- was first channelled through Aboriginal Affairs, part of the Department of the Executive, rather than Education, Culture and Employment (ECE), which normally funds such projects.

Initially, the society wanted the government to pony up $500,000. Later, that was halved to $250,000. On April 30, cabinet approved $100,000 in funding -- through ECE.

The federal government and private corporate sponsors also kicked in a total of $250,000 for the project.

Kakfwi, of course, properly excused himself from the relevant GNWT cabinet discussions for obvious conflict-of-interest reasons.

As for his wife, Wilson is a well-respected former CBC broadcast journalist. Make no mistake: she has paid a professional price for being the premier's wife. When Kakfwi became premier, the corporation's conflict-of-interest rules, forced her to give up her job as head of CBC North.

So, yes, controversy dogged the GNWT funding process for the Living History Society. MLAs were in an uproar during the winter sitting of the legislative assembly in February.

But as much as the process matters, so does the result. And the result, quite frankly, was impressive. Of particular interest at this critical juncture in the Northwest Territories' history, was the participation of Thomas Berger, commissioner of the Mackenzie Valley pipeline inquiry from 1974 to 1977, along with Fort Good Hope's K'asho Got'ine Chief Frank T'seleie -- a pipeline opponent as a youthful activist turned supporter in later years; Richard Nerysoo, former premier and leader of the Gwich'n Tribal Council; and former NWT commissioners John Parker and Stuart Hodgson.

To move forward, sometimes one has to look back. At a storytelling symposium event Bob Overvold, regional director of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, recalled "awakening" both as a person and to his aboriginal ancestry when a freshly-minted prime minister named Pierre Trudeau came North in 1968 and spoke about the history of the Akaitcho.

Kakfwi rightly noted in his opening address to the symposium that our strength as Northerners -- aboriginal and non-aboriginal -- flows from our diversity, with the NWT having the opportunity to be a model to the world in how to reach consensus and move forward despite differences.

The decision to extend the community-based management of narwhals for one year -- with new limitations -- is in the best interest of all parties involved.

It reflects the independent direction being sought by hunters and trappers organizations and the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, while paying heed to over-harvesting concerns expressed across the territory.

Developed by Nunavummiut with final approval falling to federal Fisheries Minister Robert Thibault, the decision means hunters in the five participating communities will continue to monitor and manage the local hunt themselves, but will have a ceiling on the number of animals they can harvest. That means they maintain autonomy and control over local resources. It also means conservation issues officials share over the number of narwhals being harvested are addressed.

Furthermore, the grace period provides participants and territorial and federal stakeholders with one year to review the successes and failures of the three-year pilot project, conceived in 1997. A review group is being formed and is expected to make recommendations on the future of the new system before the harvest begins in 2003.

By giving his nod of approval for the project to continue, Thibault indicated DFO is committed to finding more culturally appropriate ways to manage wildlife in Nunavut.

Rome wasn't built in a day and after living with Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO)-imposed quotas for decades, it will take hunters more than three years to work the kinks out of community-based management. Thibault has indicated DFO's willingness to work alongside participants as the growing pains are eased.

Simply put, the decision is a good one. The new cap exceeds previous quotas, while highlighting DFO's emphasis on conservation -- an emphasis that means future generations of narwhal hunters will have access to the species.

It also means they will have the chance to take part in managing their own resources.

The proponents of the new regime wanted independence and responsibility for management when they introduced the system. By allowing the fledgling project to continue with new boundaries, Thibault seems to be demonstrating confidence in Nunavummiut and their abilities to accomplish just that.

Perhaps we are looking at a new DFO -- at a federal government department interested in shedding their unequivocal, heavy-handed approach to managing resources.

And just in time for Nunavut Day.

Listen to your elders is a common saying and in many circumstances, it's quite a useful one to consider when making any big plans.

The city learned this lesson when it met with elders last Thursday in Iqaluit to discuss street names, a project going on for more than three years.

Although not all the problems with this project were ironed out, discussing the matter with elders was a big step forward.

Elders told the city the names they have always used for certain streets.

Had this been done in the beginning, a lot of time and effort could have been saved. These suggestions must be taken into consideration when final decisions are made.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

There can be no denying the difficulties a government faces when its tax base contributes as little to its overall revenues as it does in Nunavut. The territorial government is further bound by the fact the number of items that qualify for a quick financial hit under the ever popular sin-tax banner are much more limited than those of its 12 counterparts.

This leaves the finance minister in a position of having to be bold and creative in raising enough revenues to minimize our dependence on Ottawa.

If we are to accept the dollar figures we keep hearing from tourism operators on the chartering of aircraft to feed their establishments with clientele -- we can't help but wonder why the Nunavut government isn't moving to capitalize on this opportunity.

Let's even take it one step further.

What a wonderful opportunity for the Nunavut government and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. to stop wasting millions of dollars fighting each other in court and work together to make something economically positive happen for a change.

Let's say the two sides were to take the money they're preparing to spend fighting each other in court (again) over the government's decision to extend the grandfather arrangement in the Nunavummi Nangminiqaqtunik Ikajuuti procurement policy and devoted it towards establishing a charter aircraft business.

The benefits of such a project would be threefold.

First, it would greatly aid the numerous tourism operations in Nunavut to attract more clients. This would likely result in the expansion of their operations, and the hiring of more Nunavummiut into entry level tourism and hospitality positions.

Second, it would allow for additional training in Nunavut's tourism industry, which is one of the truly promising areas of economic development our territory has.

Finally, it would produce additional revenues to be allocated into the grossly underfunded Nunavut Tourism and allow it to gradually escape from its lame-duck environment and aggressively pursue bona fide tourism-development projects.

A small step forward

And let's not forget the Kivalliq Inuit Association. In a partnership with any of these players, the plane(s) could be used in the off-season to fly representatives around to the numerous meetings they attend. We're not suggesting such a venture is the key to curing all of Nunavut's economic woes. But it might well prove itself to be a stepping stone to similar partnerships to help develop other neglected areas of our infrastructure. At the very least, it would be a move away from arguing over issues that affect very few of Nunavut's residents and a tiny step towards putting more of our own infrastructure in place.

Such a venture would help lay a stronger foundation for others to take advantage of and develop more ambitious projects. It would also show our leaders have the ability to recognize economic opportunities and take advantage of them to increase our self-reliance.

Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum

It's good to see the RCMP are working with visitors to provide a safer holiday and a more effective method of search and rescue.

I just hope the visitors work with the RCMP to make the project work.

Last year, the Inuvik RCMP conducted 54 searches, with 29 of those taking place between July and September.

Many of those searches were unnecessary and took the officers away from other important police work.

People take days, weeks and months saving and planning for adventure vacations on the land and on our waterways, so taking 10 minutes to fill out a simple form seems like an easy thing to do -- especially when your life could depend on it.

A few simple answers to basic questions about where and when the travellers are going can also eliminate exhaustive searching over this vast territory.

Whether you're planning a day trip or a major excursion stop in and see Const. Darryl Chernoff or one of his colleagues; you might save the taxpayers thousands or even save your own skin

Mobile homeless

The owners of 12 mobile homes in Husky Trailer Park have been given notice that services will cease on Aug. 31, 2003.

The town has long been trying to get out from under the property and it looks like they may have found an out this time.

The owners will be given a $5,000 relocation incentive and that should more than cover the cost of moving and even leave something for a down payment on a new parcel of land.

Historically, towns make lousy landlords, and this situation was further compounded by a nasty utilidette that was an accident waiting to happen.

While it appears to be bad news to the 12 trailer owners, the move may actually serve them better, with a new subdivision with reliable services.

As for the surrounding neighbourhood, they will hopefully see the trailer park become a place for their children to play.

It is refreshing to see in a time of boom, that council is trying to reclaim some lost green space.

Nearly imitates death

It was a close call for the Great Northern Arts Festival, that came close to the brink of financial ruin over the winter.

It took some diligent and creative cutting by Darrin White and his staff of two to put together a festival this year.

The staff recycled paper and file folders, White did his own accounting and no doubt they ate a lot of bag lunches to pull this gig off.

The show promises to be all it has been in previous years, but the group at GNAF isn't out of the woods yet.

They need volunteers to help out at the workshops and events, as well as people who will share their homes with visiting artists.

Give a call if you can lend a hand, you'll get a chance to meet some world-class artists and maybe even work a deal on some world-class art.

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum

Time to cash out The numbers were flying fast and furious at last week's Deh Cho Assembly.

The discussion regarding honorariums granted to chiefs and elders raised some eyebrows and dropped some jaws. In December, chiefs voted themselves $300 per day in remuneration for devoting themselves to Deh Cho First Nations' business. In January, they made elder delegates eligible for the same stipend. Remember, travel, accommodations and meals are already covered, the honorariums are gravy.

When a four-day, self-government negotiations workshop was held in Trout Lake last month, a total of 55 DCFN delegates attended. Every delegate expected the honorarium, DCFN executive director Alison de Pelham told the assembly. That would have put a $66,000 price tag on the workshop. Needless to say nobody argued last week to approve shelling out that kind of money. (The Deh Cho Assembly, it's worth noting, was budgeted at $101,000 for all expenses, de Pelham said. The gatherings may be necessary, but they don't come cheap).

It was also revealed that $274,000 of a $765,000 pot of Department of Indian and Northern Affairs funding was paid out in honorariums to chiefs last year.

That led Liidlii Kue First Nations' executive director Rosemary Gill to ask if the leadership's priority is putting money in their own pockets. It was a sharp reprimand, but not out of line in light of the substantial portion of funds that is filtered into honorariums.

Gill wasn't alone in censuring the leaders. Gladys Norwegian, a member of the Tthek'ehdeli First Nation in Jean Marie River, called the $300 per diems "ludicrous." Norwegian said there has been plenty of rhetoric from leaders about making decisions to benefit future generations, yet what was paid out in honorariums could have been used to supplement school programs, directly assisting students.

The leadership endorsed a resolution to have honorarium payments transferred to band councils. Therefore, cheques will no longer be issued with chief's names on them. The band councils will decide what should be done with the money. That's a much more accountable procedure.

With so much money having been doled out for honorariums, it was a pinch last week to find funds for other purposes such as $75,000 for the elders' council and $50,000 to $65,000 for a deputy grand chief position.

Ka'a'gee Tu chief Lloyd Chicot mentioned that the issue of chiefs' salaries should be re-examined. There has been talk of a salary grid, but nothing has come of it so far. It's something that deserves to be implemented.

It's hard to argue against elected leaders being compensated for their hard work.

If the payment comes in the form of a salary approved by band members, it would appear fair. While the payment came in the form of excessive honorariums, it appeared as if the leaders were at the trough.