It's now mid-May and we're past halfway between Caribou Carnival and Folk on the Rocks: the capital city's two biggest festivals.

Well, er... make that what should be Yellowknife's two biggest festivals. The 49th edition of Caribou Carnival at the end of March was pretty much a bust.

Resuscitated at the last minute as a one afternoon affair in the parking lot of City Hall, it was Caribou Carnival Lite.

That is reason enough to welcome the announcement last week of the creation of the Yellowknife Events Support-Agency (YES-A), launched to give a boost to the local festival and conference scene.

Efforts at co-ordinating and sharing resources for Yellowknife events go back to at least 1991, when Caribou Carnival and Folk on the Rocks, for a time, shared both office space and staff.

Headed by Dave Anderson, a former advertising manager here at Northern News Services, YES-A has $35,000 -- something of shoestring budget -- and a mandate to help largely-volunteer festival and events boards build, among other things, more stable financial bases.

Caribou Carnival in March and Folk on the Rocks in July, co-ordinated by Tracey Bryant, are the two big festivals. Raven Mad Daze and -- since 1999 -- Funk Fest, both in June and co-ordinated by Lisa Tesar, are also important players on the capital festival scene.

The GNWT through the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development (RWED) has ponied up $20,000, while the City of Yellowknife has kicked in $15,000 for YES-A.

Anderson will be expected to use the $35,000 to help these organizations tap into known and yet-to-be-discovered private and public sector funds.

He'll also try to expand the under-realized convention potential in the city. Better co-ordination between groups, administrative help at the board level and dealing with volunteer turnover will take these festivals to higher levels of both accountability and achievement. These points were reiterated in January with the release of the Aurora Arts Society 65-page cultural tourism report, "Where a Golden Past Meets a Brilliant Future."

On the convention side, no fewer than 13 studies have been completed in recent years.

We've done the studies. We know the problems. Now Anderson, through YES-A, must get on with the task to deliver the goods.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

Full marks to Coun. David Ittinuar for his response to Coun. Laura Kowmuk during Rankin Inlet's regular council meeting on May 5.

Kowmuk was upset with the job requirements needed to fill the position of municipal works maintenance manager for the hamlet.

She told Ittinuar a journeyman's certificate in a related field, or an engineering technology certificate were too high for Inuit to obtain.

In her spiel Kowmuk said, "When I hear some qablunaaq say they're going to get that job, I get really upset."

If this were an anti-racism column, that statement from an official elected to serve ALL the people of the community would provide the fodder for our attack.

But it is not, so we'll let the remark speak for itself.

This column is aimed at the notion Inuit aren't capable of landing jobs of high standards.

That's a point Ittinuar addressed by informing Kowmuk he, himself, holds a journeyman's certificate.

Ittinuar didn't want to beat his own drum too loudly, so we'll do it for him. He is, in fact, the holder of a provincial red seal automotive certificate.

More to the point, Ittinuar informed Kowmuk there are a number of journeymen in Rankin now and many more are working to achieve that goal.

In fact, according to Dept. of Education numbers, seven journeymen certificates have been issued in Rankin Inlet since Division in 1999, and 10 across the Kivalliq region.

There are an additional 19 registered apprentices currently active in the region.

There are many, many Inuit working hard in the trades and at post-secondary institutions to reach their goals.

During the next few years, many of these people will move into government, health, education and trades-related positions without once asking to lower the bar.

Whether the hamlet eventually hires an Inuk, caucasian, or any other race or nationality is immaterial.

What does matter, is that the best person for the job is hired from the applications received.

That's what will benefit our community.

There are too many influential people in this territory who want lower standards in education, government and the workforce. Maybe they believe they're doing the right thing, but they are not.

A Grade 12 certificate full of credits for comic book reading and basket weaving would be no more than a wall decoration.

Hiring people for jobs they are not qualified to do is an exercise in futility.

Those who push to lower the bar have opted for an easy road leading nowhere. And, more often than not, they're more concerned with personal agendas than the future of Nunavut.

As for those who would make decisions based on race, creed or colour -- they will forever remain part of the problem, and never be part of the solution.

Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum

It's heartening to see the NorthMart doing something to stop the spread of diabetes, but I think it could do a little more, considering it's largely responsible for the problem in Northern communities.

In most communities where there is a Northern or NorthMart store, there is also a Quick Stop serving up greasy glop that fills young tummies with empty calories and loads of fat.

Try and find something healthy on the menu at any Quick Stop and the best you'll come up with is some grated cabbage saturated in a slippery sauce.

We can't blame the store for selling what people want, but what choice are they given?

Instead of partnering with KFC and Pizza Hut, maybe The North West Company should look to partnering with Subway and Tim Hortons instead.

Granted, coffee and donuts do not make for a nutritious meal, but the franchise does offer healthy lunch choices like soup and sandwiches.

People will eat fast food because it is just that -- fast.

With mom and dad both working, it's much more convenient to place an order than to do the shopping, cooking and cleaning afterward.

Responsible corporate citizenship is more than offering points to buy things for kids to break while deep in the depths of a sugar jag.

It's about offering affordable food and a choice to grease and sugar.

Of course it's not all about choice either.

More juice please

I was at a movie at SAMs school last year and walked right up to the juice machine to buy a drink while the line to the pop machine was 15 kids long.

Parents need to encourage their kids to drink milk and natural juice instead of pop and sweetened punches.

Reduce that choice at home and exclude the choice when dining out.

Mayor Peter Clarkson made a good point during the reception at NorthMart last weekend:

"When the chocolate bar and chip section is bigger than the produce section you know there's something wrong."

Fort Smith's Jack Van Camp brings up some excellent points in his letter and, spelling mistakes aside, I'd generously grade him and his silent partner with a big red C+ for his effort.

He's right about the bloated bureaucracy at the NWT Power Corp.

In preparation for their intervention on the most recent rate hike, the Association of Municipalities for Fair Power Rates requested a cost estimate for administering 200 separate rates to 41,000 residents and the NTPC declined to offer that information. The proposal alone from the power corporation required a 1,000-page explanation of why they need to suck more money from us.

It's obvious the corporation was bloated even before division, but when cuts were proposed, cabinet stepped in to stop layoffs.

Van Camp is right about the smoke and mirrors, but the smoke is coming from Yellowknife -- not Hay River.

Joe Handley, the minster responsible for the power corp., is in favour of a single rate, but "cabinet" is opposed.

OK ... cabinet, huh? So let's examine just who in cabinet would be opposed and for what reasons:

Premier Stephen Kakfwi represents the Sahtu, where residents pay some of the highest power rates in the territory. Vince Steen represents Nunakput residents, who pay the highest rates, Jim Antoine represents Nahendeh, which is all served by diesel generated power. Roger Allen serves Inuvik Twin Lakes.

So that leaves only Michael Miltenberger, who serves Thebacha (Fort Smith), and Jake Ootes in Yellowknife who represent hydro-based communities on cabinet.

Certainly these two votes aren't enough to sway cabinet against levelized power rates, so we have to believe there is some other motivation at work here.

Something that stinks of political paybacks lurking below the surface here and I don't think we should have to tolerate this kind of action from an assembly who, from the start, have been touting their "openness and accountability" like some badge of courage.

Recorded phone calls, conflict of interest charges levelled and dropped, ministers demoted and members promoted, lawyers and assistants given golden handshakes, I know I'm not alone in wondering just how "open and accountable" this government has been.

The way this government has carried on, I think we can all speculate to where the smoke is really coming from, but I'd like to see a recorded vote on just who is in favour of flat rate power and who isn't -- and I'd like to see it before the next election.

Government feel they can fetter away the rest of their term without making a move on this, with the excuse that they're awaiting a report from the energy secretariat.

I say we can't wait that long.

We, the share holders of this Crown corporation should demand accountability from this board of directors and find out what really happened to the flat rate proposal.

I have my suspicions that should the real truth be known, many from this government wouldn't make it through the term, never mind an election.

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum

The level of effort and involvement that is required for each team to attend Super Soccer in Yellowknife is remarkable.

Each team needs committed players, a dedicated coach (or two), parents to act as chaperons and, just as importantly, the funds to get there.

The volunteers who do the fundraising may not be front and centre when the Super Soccer banners are unfurled and hoisted, but they are an integral cog in the wheel.

For the young players, of course, winning is a joy. Losing is a lesson learned -- although it's not always easy to take.

Those disappointments are tempered by the social aspects of the trip: the teamwork, the bonding, the chance to see and do things in NWT's capital and the opportunity to meet other people from around the territory.

Super Soccer lasts just a few days but the players talk about it months in advance and for many days, if not weeks, afterwards. They'll reflect on it fondly, at least some aspects of it, for the rest of their lives.

That checkered ball represents so much more than a simple game.

On a side note, I talked to coach Shane Thompson at length about his team's Super Soccer championship. During the course of the conversation, he never once mentioned his pact with his players.

His daughter Jackie, however, was quick to point out that Shane provided some incentive by agreeing to have his hair dyed fluorescent pink if the team brought home the banner.

So, will it just be the hair or the moustache too?

When close to 200 bags of garbage are picked up around Fort Simpson, it really says something about the disgusting accumulation of litter.

We can show a little more pride in our communities by trying to keep the streets and yards clean on a year-round basis. Even better, for those who treat the world as their ashtray or their personal wastebasket, why not hold on to your wrappers, cans or bottles until they can be disposed of in a garbage can?

It's true that some waste is biodegradable but that's no excuse to toss it on the ground.

Somebody else has to look at it, smell it or step in it until it disappears.

Let's put litter where it belongs.

A story in last week's News/North headlined "The right to safety" stated that any company conducting business in the North for more than eight days has to register with the Workers' Compensation Board of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. It should have said 10 days.