The North is getting screwed! These are the words of territorial Finance Minister Joe Handley. Not very polite or diplomatic and really what does he mean?

Well let's start with the money, a dollar figure that appeared in The Globe and Mail last week.

In 1999, Ottawa sent the NWT $12,865 for every person. That figure was much higher before Nunavut was created.

In 2000, Ottawa sent $4,140 for every NWT resident. The Yukon got $14,935 per person and Nunavummiut received $25,960. The NWT falls between Nova Scotia ($4,725) and New Brunswick ($3,740) for the 'have-not' provinces and territories. These figures show Canada is starting to see a return on its long-term investment in the NWT. That's a good thing.

The bad thing is the federal government doesn't realize it's an investment and like all good investments is based upon business principles. In business, you have to spend money to make money. That's an important business principle.

The federal government doesn't want to follow it. Instead, for every dollar the territorial government makes above their budget, Ottawa takes $0.80 and gives the NWT $0.20.

That means if the territorial government wants to make a dollar, they must pull in $5 and $4 goes to the federal government.

Sadly, the territorial government has to stick to the business principle of spending money to make money. The two big money-making industries for the federal government are in diamond mining, oil and gas exploration.

Ottawa walks away with 80 per cent of the gravy. The territorial government has to maintain 100 per cent of the roads to service the new industries. It must keep the paperwork on all the production and people involved. It must pay for the increased social problems that come with development and absorb the medical costs of keeping all the new bodies healthy.

That the NWT is facing a $104 million deficit is no surprise.

The economy is expanding in leaps and bounds but the budget to manage it is not. When management is handcuffed by those who are penny-wise and pound foolish, production and growth will be restricted, another business principle.

The federal government has refused money for roads, pipelines and won't budge on the size of our budget. They've even set up the great $300 million 'debt wall.'

If we go over the debt wall making money for the federal government, something bad will happen. Exactly what is not clear.

So we have to agree with Handley that the NWT is getting 'screwed' by the unprincipled powers in Ottawa. But we're not alone. By not spending money to make more money, Canada is getting screwed too.

Getting Nunavut residents ready to participate fully in the mineral workforce must be made a priority by everyone in Nunavut.

Simply put, the mining industry offers Nunavummiut the most realistic way out of the poverty that grips too many families and communities.

Industry folks, the federal and territorial governments, Inuit organizations and private sector parties are all obligated to contribute to the goal of greater employment.

We are also obligated to ensure past mistakes are not repeated. Though Inuit were employed at Nanisivik Mine and did own and operate a few support businesses, those who enjoyed the vast majority of benefits were non-Inuit residing in the South. This was also the case at Polaris Mine.

With the closure of those mines, we should learn from the experience and train Inuit to participate fully in future mines.

De Beers Canada made significant strides in building local capacity this past summer by hiring 14 beneficiaries to help explore for diamonds north of Iglulik. The international diamond company spent thousands of dollars on salaries and is committed to doing more of the same next year. Similar opportunities currently exist in both the Kivalliq and Kitikmeot regions.

The federal and territorial governments are also on board in their work with the Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office. Four years after the bureaucrats gave birth to the office, three major projects wrapped up and details concerning Nunavut's mineral industry were released last week.

The Geoscience Office must also be commended for the extensive work they've done in hiring and training.

The Department of Sustainable Development has invested considerable dollars teaching residents how to prospect for minerals. They also provide financial assistance to residents so prospecting work can be undertaken.

In addition, the department is now developing a multi-party mineral industry training plan to ensure Nunavummiut get the most bang for their education bucks.

And, we would be remiss if we overlooked the notable accomplishments of the Kitikmeot Employment and Training Partners. Since forming in 2000, they've trained dozens of Inuit in the Kitikmeot region. Many of those workers are now employed at mines in the NWT. All are ready to go to work in Nunavut when they are needed.

We should look to our NWT neighbours to reassure ourselves we're on the right track. Just a few years ago, the economy in the Northwest Territories was ailing. Now that diamonds are being unearthed, finances are flowing and the rate of unemployment has plummeted.

This too will happen in Nunavut if we keep pulling together to create a healthier and wealthier territory. Let's hope the initiatives continue to gain momentum.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

It's beginning to look like not everyone is on the same page at Sport Nunavut concerning the organization's new mentorship program for its top job.

We still applaud Sport Nunavut's decision to put this program in place.

Taking someone with strong ties to Nunavut and its sporting community and having them mentored by a proven leader from the South to eventually take over the reigns of the beleaguered organization, is a positive step in the right direction.

That is taking for granted Sport Nunavut's latest head-hunting mission proves more successful that its last.

The new director for Sport Nunavut is expected to be publicly named in the not-too-distant future.

So, too, is the person who will begin training early in the new year to eventually assume the director's position.

As the list of frontrunners narrows, Sport Nunavut must stay focused on the directives it set for the program.

If so, a person with a long history of involvement with Nunavut sports will be unveiled, with a passion for developing programs from the ground up.

With such a positive step as the mentorship program in place, one would think the sun is shining brightly over the land of Sport Nunavut.

Think again.

Word out of the capital suggests whispering that the position should be filled from within the ranks, or offered out to competition.

We also hear those supporting this line of thought are still harbouring desires for Sport Nunavut's head office to be moved back to Iqaluit.

Such a move would open the door for anyone within the organization who covets the director's position to go after the job without having to relocate to Baker Lake.

Arguing the pros and cons of how the eventual winner in the mentorship sweepstakes is selected only lends credence to the fact Sport Nunavut should be operating at arm's length from the government.

The focus should be on hiring the right person for the job, whether they're directly appointed by the minister, selected by Sport Nunavut, or Human Resources for that matter.

This political and self-serving bickering must be halted before a successful candidate is named.

Without the total support of the organization behind them, the person selected will fail -- even if they are the right choice for the job.

And, should that prove to be the case, the ultimate loser will be amateur sports in Nunavut.

Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum

Ed's booked solid doing drug testing and education all over Alberta and the North, but this is one business we'd all like to see go out of business.

During his presentation, Ed played a video about the adverse health effects of smoking marijuana and it took me back to Grade 8.

When I was in junior high, we got all the usual low-grade health films about the evils of booze and drugs and they were a joke to us then and would be hilarious to watch today.

They showed us films portraying pot smokers as raving lunatics and drinkers as slathering boobs.

My friends and I tried pot and booze somewhere around that time and we collectively thought, "Our teachers lied to us!"

We felt that if they lied about pot and booze, they probably lied about that other stuff too, so off we went into our senior high years experimenting.

I was a lucky one. I never had much of a penchant for waking up broke and stupid, but as I grew older, I lost many friends who died drunk behind the wheel or overdosed on cocaine.

A guy I grew up with lost his house, his BMW and his carpentry business because of his addiction.

Those movies we watched in health weren't of much benefit to my friends and I and maybe even served us more harm than good.

Drug education has to be real to young people if it's going to have any effect.

Our schools are always eager to bring in shining examples of good citizenry, but if the students saw a few bad examples it might go a long way to preventing a problem before it becomes one.

If my health class had some guy come in and tell us how he lost his house, business and BMW to cocaine, who knows, I might have a few more friends today.

Renaissance revival

It's been a long time coming, but it's great to see the GNWT has finally made a commitment to an artisan training program for the territory.

While still in its infancy, the Aurora College program shows some real promise to future artists.

The beauty of the artisan program is that it offers students the full spectrum of arts that will give them a better understanding and appreciation of their own and other's work.

Whether carving, beading or sewing, these art forms carry a big part of the heritage of this area and recognizing that, the government will see their dollars come back through taxes paid and will help preserve a culture that needs all the help it can get.

Let's hope the next budget makes room for art.

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum

The new Fort Simpson youth centre was hopping on Friday night.

The old Fort Simpson youth centre, located upstairs at the recreation centre, was also a very lively place once upon a time. It opened to great fanfare a few years ago but interest gradually waned.

A committee of adolescents was struck to help guide the youth centre, but committee members stopped showing up for meetings. The youth centre was eventually closed for good. Rec staff of the day claimed that there wasn't enough interest to keep it running. Some youth argued that it was shut down prematurely.

Youth centres are a tough nut. If the teens aren't given enough input, they don't want any part of the facility. If they are given the run of the place, then a situation like the one in Fort Liard occurs. There, the youth centre was shut down due to repeated assaults and rampant vandalism.

Let's remember that with teens, what is trendy one day may no longer be trendy the next. "Cool" is fleeting.

Right now the youth centre is hip, or as today's youth would say, "It's da bomb," or "It's off the hook."

However, if we think back to our own adolescent years, we can probably recall different places where it was desirable to hang out. It may have been the shopping mall, a bowling alley or a pool hall. Sometimes friends just walked around or gathered outside of a building, as Fort Simpson teens do at the school or the church, "hanging out" in the evenings. After a while, for some unknown reason, the location tends to change.

The new youth centre is a good initiative. It will give wandering teens somewhere to hang out, for as long as they so choose. Once the winter is over and the novelty has worn off, there will quite possibly be very few visitors to the youth centre.

Then adults will then be faced with a choice: either shut it down -- temporarily or permanently -- or continue to run it even though only a few kids come and go each night.

Either way, the building will have served a useful purpose.

Self improvement

There are those who are rather skeptical of workshops of any kind, but especially the ones that relate to spiritual or emotional healing.

Yet if some individuals insist that a workshop has helped them, how can that exercise be deemed a waste of time?

As long sound judgment is used in contracting facilitators, then it's a good starting point. But that's primarily what most workshops amount to: starting points.

Sadly there are those who tend to bounce from one workshop to another, never seeming to truly achieve a true sense of healing, only feeling better for a short while. For some people a workshop seems to be like a quick fix.

While some workshops do hold value, our long-term interests lie in having permanent local counselling available wherever and whenever possible.