Joe knows the North. Federal bean counters hiding behind expensive desks and fiddling with their fancy spreadsheets in far-off Ottawa don't.

That's clear every time Northerners trek to the national capital looking for money to sustain the NWT's economic growth.

No, no, no, we're told. You don't deserve more than your per capita share. That would make taxpayers in Ontario, the Maritimes or B.C. jealous. Those penny pinchers ignore the hundreds of millions being considered to woo a new Chrysler plant to southern Ontario, and the tens of millions for a new trade and convention centre in Vancouver, B.C.

So what's Joe to do when we need more doctors and nurses, schools need rebuilding and highways upgraded from buffalo trails?

Why spend, spend, spend, of course. Sure, he's putting the NWT deeper in debt, but not spending money on health care, education or infrastructure upgrades would have devastating consequences.

It's almost as if he reads our editorials because this spend-and-build budget is what we've advocated in the past.

We need modern facilities and standards of living that compare to the south if the NWT is ever going to stand on its own two feet.

Could Joe have done more? Capital spending has dropped by 45 per cent over last year. He could have pushed the projected deficit higher than the $77-million forecast for the coming year. However, that would leave little room for the next government to move if Ottawa doesn't come through with more cash in the future.

The tricky thing here is for all MLAs and territorial bureaucrats to keep a close account on how the GNWT's precious cash is spent. The money must not build a bigger bureaucracy, but improve the lot of all northerners. Government types can make due with what they have, just like Joe did when he pulled on a pair of moccasins with a hole in one sole last Thursday before delivering his budget.

We may be in the hole already, but that's no reason for frivolous spending. Throwing good money after bad projects would damage our case in Ottawa.

At some time in Nunavut's future -- and the sooner the better in some minds -- the RCMP change of command ceremony will see the tipstaff passed to the first Inuk to run "V" Division.

At the most recent change of command ceremony we witnessed Nunavut's newest top cop, Chief Supt. John Henderson, express an expectation to see that happen.

Certainly it is inevitable as more Inuit men and women don the famous red serge uniforms of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Eight young Inuit constables joined the ranks at that ceremony. Three more are completing studies before they too will get their badges.

It's not just a start in efforts to make Nunavut's policing reflect the community it serves. There are other Inuit serving, but at 15 per cent of total membership, the RCMP here has a long way to go.

Anyone who cares about such things in the Inuit community has to be looking positively at this increased homegrown presence.

"They look like us. They speak like us. Maybe now we'll have more attention paid to us." These are understandable reactions.

This is not to say the non-Inuit members of the RCMP have fallen down on their jobs.

Absolutely not. But if we're honest, we also know that try as one might, the barrier of "culture" can and will prevent the most hard-working Mountie from "getting his man."

We see this regularly where a certain "cone of silence" in a community keeps a rapist or murderer from being arrested.

The thing is, the newest members of the RCMP will learn their being Inuit will not make the job any easier.

Police are out there to enforce laws created by governments. There is an element in every community North, South, East or West who just don't like cops.

For these people it doesn't matter who's in the uniform. Cops are cops.

The RCMP's policy is to place members in any community but the one they came from to ensure fairness of enforcement.

"They look like us. They speak like us. But they're not us."

The newest recruits are going to see this. They may be Inuit serving an Inuit community, but they're not from that community and so will be seen, by some, as outsiders not to be trusted.

It will be back to square one for our Inuit police -- earning respect by the job they do, not the culture they come from.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

I have to admit feeling a little queasy when Hockey Nunavut president Tom Thompson asked me if I'd be interested in going to Iqaluit this weekend to take some of the strain off of the local refs.

This weekend, of course, being the broadcast of Hockey Day in Canada, originating from Iqaluit.

As such, the Iqaluit refs are going to put in a hard day's work officiating the exhibition games planned for this Saturday.

To be perfectly honest, I don't give a hoot about all the limelight that will be flooding the Iqaluit arena Saturday.

That being said, I am among the millions of hockey fans who hold Don Cherry and Ron MacLean in high esteem.

I would have liked the opportunity to meet the two and perhaps had the chance to talk a little "shop."

Regular viewers of Hockey Night in Canada and its famous intermission feature, Coach's Corner, realize MacLean is an accomplished referee in his own right.

Alas, by the time I was asked, I had already committed to officiating this weekend right here in Rankin for the Avataq Cup.

And although on some level I know I will regret missing the opportunity to meet Grapes and MacLean, I also know how much I will enjoy this weekend's action at home.

For all the glitz and glamour this Saturday in Iqaluit will hold, when it comes to the hockey, the games being played there are exactly as they're billed -- exhibition.

The real hockey action will take place right here in Rankin during one of the most highly skilled and hotly contested tournaments our region has to offer.

I am hoping some worthwhile topics will be discussed in Iqaluit and it doesn't turn out to be a day of illusion as to the state of hockey in Nunavut and how far it has to go.

My faithful VCR will record those conversations for me to view at my leisure after the Avataq Cup.

And who's to say I won't get another opportunity somewhere down the line to grab a few pearls of wisdom from the dynamic duo?

Yes, I will enjoy my weekend at the Avataq Cup.

After playing the game for 33 years, officiating is now what I do.

If I ever do get the chance to tell Grapes why I had to pass on an opportunity to meet him, I'd like to think he'd understand.

To me, Cherry's a guy who always puts the game first.

No knock on Iqaluit, but, given the chance, I'd also suggest to Mr. Cherry that if he ever wants a taste of true Nunavut hockey, he should drop by Rankin some day for the Avataq Cup or Whale Cove for the Johnny Kook Memorial.

This visit he'll spend some time in Nunavut's den. Hopefully next time he'll drop by the Kivalliq to find out what the heat's like in the kitchen.

Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum

Hi again Delta folks. I'm back from an almost-too-long holiday down south and it feels good to be back.

I toured much of Western Canada and spent a couple weeks on the beach in Mexico with my fishing buddy and legal advisor, Carlos Roja.

Touching down here in time for the Northern Games was a great welcome back, with the spirit and sport almost as rich as Nellie's char chowder.

While I did enjoy the time with friends and family down south it always feels good to fly back north.

Thanks to Tara for holding down the fort and taking the heat from the dog debate.

This job is never easy and being new makes it that much tougher. I've travelled to most of the NWT communities and lived in the territory almost seven years now and I still feel pretty new.

In the rough

The recent staking rush that hit the NWT and Nunavut with diamond exploration should bring a lot of new money into the territories and even into the Delta.

Along with Leon La Prairie slugging away up at Darnley Bay, we now have Randy Turner and his crew coming north of 68 to search for the sparkle.

A real Delta Diamond boom may be years away, but it is comforting that the economy is getting diversified.

Liberal let-down

The recent snub of the North by Jean Chretien on medical benefits (News/North Feb. 10) is much more of the same from the little Liberal who brought us the White Paper and gun registration.

The legacy of neglect Chretien leaves on the North will dovetail well with what the Liberal Party has done for the health care of aboriginal people across the country.

Non-insured health benefits are shrinking while health costs are soaring -- a good indication that the feds are getting ready for aboriginal self-government.

Rather than pay the true cost of health care to aboriginals, the Liberals have been shrinking payments to medical and dental coverage nation wide to people on and off reserves.

When aboriginals finally do get to exercise their inherent right to govern, the feds will transfer the payments they've determined, instead of what the real costs of health care are.

Neither the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapirit Kanatami or the Metis National Council were asked for their input on the First Ministers conference on health care.

Last year's speech from the throne, studded with promises and hope for the North and aboriginal people was cast off by NWT Premier Stephen Kakfwi as "just so much talk," and it looks now that he was right.

So file your Red Book along with your White Paper, Jean, and get on to writing your memoirs. This country needs a leader that cares about all her people, including her original people.

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum

The grand chief has a grand idea.

Rather than continuing to fight the federal government for a few extra peanuts, Michael Nadli is proposing that the Deh Cho take the plunge into business.

Over the past year or two, the Deh Cho First Nations' negotiating team has been trying to pry the lid wide open on resource royalties. Yet the government has stood firm. Ottawa's argument has been that even though the percentage of royalties offered to the Deh Cho is rather paltry, it's also unprecedented. No other claimant group has ever received a share of royalties prior to signing a final agreement. So the government line is essentially, "Be happy you're getting that much."

Rather than persist, which could derail negotiations, Nadli is recommending that the Deh Cho form its own company. That way the region can benefit substantially from development opportunities. This Deh Cho company would work with an established industry partner, which would provide expertise and resources.

It will take an enormous amount of work and cooperation among the 10 Deh Cho communities to make such a company take shape, but it could pay off in a big way. Each community has a choice of proceeding with its own development projects or working as a cohesive unit at a regional level, which gives the Deh Cho more leverage and bargaining power with industry.

That aside, what's puzzling is Nadli's contention that industry isn't waiting to barrel though the door.

Really?

Hasn't the grand chief been listening to his fellow leaders at the assembly table over the past few years? Some of them have repeatedly mentioned the pressure they face from uninvited business officials who covet their land. The chiefs have mentioned all sorts of propositions floated before them.

Nadli's argument that industry isn't currently willing to invest due to political uncertainty in the region holds true only to a certain extent. Some companies have come and gone due to the political climate. However, the situation is analogous to a homeowner with a guard dog out front stating that the a salesman doesn't want to come to his door. Sure that salesman wants to make a buck, but you'll have to call off the dog before he comes knocking. In this case, the salesman has obviously been slipping around to the back door and making his sales pitch to the chiefs.

Regardless, as it has been stated in the past, it wouldn't take many industrial projects to maximize employment and utilize all the equipment and resources in this region. A Mackenzie River bridge or a Mackenzie Valley pipeline, two projects with much promise, will easily absorb everything the Deh Cho has to throw at it.