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Several city residents have a fresh understanding of that emotion after their cars were stolen by teenaged girls who appear to have got off without punishment.
Under the new Youth Criminal Justice Act, a trip to court is a last resort for young people who have committed non-violent crimes.
Under the act, implemented April 1, police decide how to deal with youths who commit crimes. They're still coming to terms with this new responsibility and need a chance to make it work.
In the case of the girls who stole cars, warnings were issued. In one instance, parents of girls who damaged one stolen car agreed to cover the cost of repairs.
It's not easy to convince victims of crime that not charging a youth who breaks the law is the best course of action. The victims were violated and need to know the youths have been punished.
They must understand, however, that it's not best to send every kid who breaks the law to court.
For some teens, punishment is a ride home in the back of a police car. For others, a written warning is all that's needed. Some young offenders can be sent directly to counselling, if that's the best course of action.
Names are kept, and youths who don't forgo their criminal ways move closer to a criminal record.
Our courts are busy enough handling assault cases, drunk drivers, drug dealers, sex criminals and others without having to deal with petty youth crime.
Let's hope these car-stealing girls have learned their lesson. If not, police know who they are and are undoubtedly ready to take punishment to the next level.
From the mighty growl of the Norseman to the mosquito-esque whine of a hobbyist's model: the recent fly-in renewed our fascination with floatplanes.
Right now the floatplane fly-in alternates the calendar with an air show.
We'd like to see the fly-in see what they can do to make the fly-in a Yellowknife must-see every year.
The floatplane is as much a symbol of The True North as the polar bear, but it more accurately represents what Yellowknife is for tourists wanting to come here.
An annual event would bring out-of-territories people to Old Town, to the waterfront, to Yellowknife in general.
Boosted with aircraft-related events, an annual fly-in would also solidify Old Town as Yellowknife's happening heart.
Editorial Comment
Chris Puglia
Kivalliq News
Once again the Kivalliq is showing its prowess in the sporting arena.
This time the hero turning international heads isn't personified in a hometown hockey legend, however.
The role models are instead, six regional youth. Through determination, dedication and hard work, they will make up over half of team Nunavut competing at the Western Canada Summer Games in Manitoba in August.
The six badminton players aren't mentors for Kivalliq youth because their walls are lined with trophies, or they expect to leave Manitoba weighed to the ground by medals.
These youth, aged 15-18, are great examples of what it means to play with heart and in the spirit of fun and love for the game.
It's great to be able to see sport handled in such a fashion.
Too much these days, especially down south, youth are instilled with a win at all costs attitude.
They are placed in sports at a young age to be the best, not for the love of the game, or for the joy and character building of competition.
Too often have we seen coaches and parents rob youth of the life lessons and fun that can be derived from playing team sports. Instead they strip away the fun and try to create a sporting "soldier." This will ultimately turn most kids away from sports.
That is why it is uplifting to see five local youth working so hard. Not so they can go and win, but so they can compete and have fun.
Kivalliq youth, Nunavut youth and youth from across the nation should take a page from these players' playbook.
There is more to athletics than winning and being the best.
There is also the camaraderie, physical and mental development, strengthening of character and the love and joy of the games.
Speaking as a minor softball and basketball coach, I know that if you work on those things first, as well as skill and technical development you already have a winning team, regardless to what the scoreboard says.
No one ever beats a team or a player who comes off the court, the field or the ice with a smile on their face.
So the next time you see Tapaarjuk Friesen, Andrea McLarty, Kelli McLarty, Wayne Kusugak, Adam Tanuyak or Michael Putulik -- wish them luck. They are going to be representing the pride of Nunavut.
I hope to hear of more local youth following in their footsteps.
- Note: Darrell Greer is on holidays and will return when the birds fly south.
Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum
The Canada Day Parade has just ended and as I type here I can hear the Vimy Ridge Pipe Band playing across the field behind me and I'm stuck inside, wrestling with thoughts of what defines us as Canadians.
Our government has gone to great expense mailing out flags and shoveling money in a feverish attempt to establish a national identity without much result.
Even with the millions spent on a cultural cognizance that sets us apart from the Americans, any efforts made by Sheila Copps and Heritage Canada have been over-shadowed by one 30 second beer commercial.
Ever since Molson first aired their "I Am Canadian" ad campaign, the rant was indelibly etched on our minds that we really DO have an identity, but did we really need a beer company to point that out to us?
We don't wrap ourselves in the flag, in blind faith patriotism the way our American cousins do; we are independent thinkers and workers who carry our national pride in our hip pocket.
We are Stompin' Tom, Hockey Night in Canada, Shania Twain, Bob and Doug Mackenzie, Don Cherry, but we are also so much more. This vast expanse of land is rich with cultural diversity from ocean to ocean to ocean and we celebrate that every day in a quiet and unassuming way, that our southern friends will never understand.
Identity is not something that you get from waving a flag, singing a song or fighting a war, but in our actions; it lies in the simple pride of purpose that built national rail and highways as well as the simple small town challenges that we meet shoulder to shoulder each day.
These achievements both small and large, have spun us a thread of national unity that cannot be unravelled by politics or embellished by tax dollars.
We don't need spin doctors or ad execs to tell us who we are, we just are -- Canadians.
Hot spot heroes
I think we all owe a debt of deep gratitude to the men and women who fought the flames back from our town last week.
I flew over the burn and saw how close it came and it would have been much, much worse if not for the efforts of the pilots in the air and the crews on the ground. From the war room to the EFFs on the end of the hose, these people do an outstanding job in some of the worst conditions imaginable.
I know first-hand, because I spent a summer fighting some of the biggest blazes that ever swept through B.C. From out of the chopper and into the choking smoke, blowing ash, stifling heat, and sometimes frantic chaos, fighting fires is easily the scariest thing I've ever done.
Fighting fire is war during peacetime and while most firefighters brush it off as work, it's much more than that. The ability to keep your head while the whole world fall apart around you is a rare trait, but in very good firefighter, you'll find that trait.
I saw that look last Friday for the first time since 1985, when I was talking with Mike Gravel at fire headquarters at Shell Lake. Behind the cool exterior, I could see that fear, but he carried it like a soldier. Juggling eight fires at once, he was making life and death decisions, but he was in control enough to even be courteous to a bothersome media type.
We all owe them a big thanks for a job well done.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
A clash of cultures is how Chief Roy Fabian described a refusal by Deh Cho delegates to outright accept the elders' recommendation for grand chief.
It is an apt description.
A majority of delegates insisted on an election despite the elders' endorsement of Herb Norwegian.
To see the elders rebuffed, even in a respectful manner, is a rare event in a Deh Cho political forum (elder abuse in the communities is another topic for another day).
When Norwegian was elected on the first ballot, it confirmed that the elders' recommendation was wise. Yet it also spoke to the principle of the matter -- many Deh Cho delegates want the right to their own say. One person, one vote doesn't reflect Dene custom, but in today's changing society it seems to be what the majority wants.
So Herb Norwegian has been confirmed twice as grand chief, once by the elders and once by the delegates. There should be no dispute over his entitlement to the position.
Fortunately, Norwegian has shown indications of possessing a quality that outgoing grand chief held in spades -- the ability to build consensus. Nadli, as he did on his final day in office, repeatedly came to the leadership table and helped the jousting delegates find a solution or reach a compromise. There are, as one might expect, a number of quarrelsome issues among the 10 Deh Cho communities (13 organizations).
Nadli leaves his post with his integrity intact. He stood steadfastly by his principles over the past six years and accomplished much for the Deh Cho in a slow-moving political process.
He'd surely be welcomed with open arms should decide to re-enter the political arena in the coming years.
Pause for thought
While in conversation with Joachim Bonnetrouge in Kakisa last week, he suggested that the common band election format should be revamped. He pointed out that too many valuable candidates for chief are relegated to political oblivion when they fail to get elected. A prime example occurred in Fort Simpson a few weeks ago when seven contenders for chief were unsuccessful in their bids.
Bonnetrouge's proposed alternative is one that was used in his home community of Fort Providence in the 1980s. Every candidate ran under one broad category. The person with the most votes became chief. The other top vote-getters were named to council.
Granted if there are numerous candidates some of them will still not get elected. But the point is that the ones who are truly the people's choice will be representing the people.
Apparently that election format was shunned when the issue of a salary for the chief arose. Maybe it's time to take another look at that system and make some minor adjustments to it if necessary. It sounds better than what exists now.
The article "No smoking in September?" in the June 20 Yellowknifer stated RCMP would be responsible for upholding the smoking bylaw, when it is bylaw officers who are the primary enforcers. Yellowknifer apologizes for any confusion.