Ask any victim of crime: courts are usually too lenient on criminals. So when Chief Judge Robert Halifax blasted a Hay River Crown attorney for not being tough enough, his words likely hit home with a lot of people.

The public doesn't understand why time in custody before conviction is doubled. They don't read case law. They want justice.

That means a long time in jail.

In this circumstance, the Crown prosecutor didn't agree with the judge that a series of home robberies in Hay River fit the definition of a home invasion.

We'll side with the judge that the Crown should use the full extent of the law to determine a sentence.

Recently-released stats showed the NWT crime rate grew 6.4 per cent in 2002. The number of violent crimes jumped 17.2 per cent, sexual assaults by 23.8 per cent.

People have to trust the court system to act on their behalf. That means discussing and explaining sentencing options with victims. It means seeking the toughest possible sentence.

It truly is a shame that fewer kids are participating in the Mackenzie Youth Games as the years go by.

This year, organizers noticed the turnout was the lowest it has been in years -- only 60 attended the games, held in Fort Resolution this time around.

The games are the only summer event of its kind held specifically for young, aspiring athletes in the Mackenzie region, but it appears young people, parents and entire communities are just not interested anymore.

As many as 120 participants was once the norm, but if the current trend continues, the Mackenzie Youth Games could soon be no more.

With the large number of young people and parents complaining that there is nothing for kids to do in the territories' smaller communities and nothing to motivate them to steer clear of drugs, booze and promiscuity, you would think everyone would jump at the chance to attend an enjoyable, exciting sports event such as the Mackenzie Youth Games.

For those who never get to travel to other communities during the year, the games provide a break from the norm, a change of scenery, the chance to make new friendships and rekindle old ones.

Also, through a variety of sporting events ranging from soccer and baseball to skateboarding and traditional Dene games, kids can brush up on their skills through friendly competition with peers who push and encourage them to strive to be the best they possibly can be.

But instead of taking an interest in their children's physical and social well-being, many NWT parents nowadays are too busy playing bingo to bother with sporting events anymore.

It's the same story with events like the various spring jamborees held in some Mackenzie Delta communities this year.

At the Tsiigehtchic Jamboree, for example, the only events attended by a large number of adults were the bingo and Ski-Doo races -- which people watched from inside their trucks.

Whatever happened to the good ol' days when every adult and child came out to participate in every sporting and traditional event together? What's more important to you: enjoying time with your kids as you watch them grow or spending every cent you make on the chance you might hit the jackpot tonight?

Let's make sure the Mackenzie Youth Games do not go up in smoke. Get off the couch and find out what you can do to ensure that doesn't happen.

Life in the North is one of isolation from the rest of Canada and most of the world.

Most Canadians have a number of misconceptions about life in Nunavut. Imagine what it must be like for people living further south, who have never seen snow, who think 15 C is a very cold day.

For people who don't even know Nunavut exists.

A group of 19 college students headed to Guyana, a South American country bordering the Amazon jungle, and were able to share their experiences of living in the North.

More importantly, it was an opportunity for them to learn about life around the equator, a life as alien to them as the North is to their hosts.

The students were enroled in the Nunavut Sivuniksavut program, and the trip was the culmination of eight months of college education in Ottawa.

The program allows the youth to study Inuit history and current issues facing Canada's newest territory.

Such a trip comes only once in a lifetime.

It opened their eyes to how communities elsewhere manage to keep their traditions while growing in an ever-changing world.

Nunavut has changed in the last decades and is still trying to find a middle ground between traditional ways of life and the technological and industrial changes coming up from the South.

These lucky youths will help shape Nunavut's future and by experiencing various ways of life and different cultures, they'll be better equipped to forge a meeting ground for traditional and contemporary views.

There is nothing like the weather to turn most folks into chronic complainers.

People who could end up face down in the street after being hit by a car and not complain a bit will at lengths lament their hatred of any given day's weather.

I will be the first to admit, when it comes to the weather I constantly complain. It's never good enough for me.

Mother Nature could ask me every morning what I would like the weather to be and I'd still find a reason to complain

Too hot, too cold, too windy, not enough breeze, it's truly an amazing phenomenon our lack of acceptance for the weather.

This thought crossed my mind last week as I watched the Rankin temperature rise to nearly 30 C.

Every person I spoke to expressed their discomfort.

To make matters worse, before our sudden sub-tropical heat wave we had barely reached 20 C.

So not only is it hot, we had no time to get acclimatized.

One day it was a little warm and the next it was extremely hot.

The heat turned the town into a sweat-soaked, hazy bowl of dust.

The only good thing was the wind.

Yes, the often criticized Rankin wind was the only factor that kept the temperature outside bearable.

Unfortunately, most buildings in Rankin have tin exteriors and employees had the chance to feel what it's like to be a Sunday pot roast.

But, seriously, I think we should all take the time to enjoy the heat.

I will be the first to stop complaining.

Look on the bright side, in a few months the snow will fly, the wind will howl and this plus 30 will turn into 45 below.

So break out the iced tea, and the bug spray and enjoy the little summer we have.

If that doesn't work everyone can join me in my freezer - where I plan to live until the temperature drops.

Honestly, this is the Arctic it shouldn't be this hot.

Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum

I enjoyed meeting some of the spunky residents of Norman Wells who were unceremoniously yanked from their homes last Thursday.

When I first met them at the airport on Thursday, the mood was anything but what I expected. Kids were running about and carrying on like they were on their way to Disneyland and parents shrugged the whole thing off like a shopping trip.

I never expected that attitude from them Thursday and I certainly didn't expect to see more of the same when I visited them Tuesday.

While many looked like they'd been rode a bit hard, their spirits were high and they really didn't see what all the fuss was about.

They were grateful for all the help they'd been given from the town and the emergency services here, but they were otherwise unfazed by most of what transpired over the past week.

I guess that speaks volumes to the spirit of Northerners and it's part of what makes this such an interesting place to live.

I've always contended that Northerners are more than a little bit tougher than the rest, but it sure feels good to see that toughness exhibited from time to time.

We can hunker down and wait out a blizzard, hunt and fish in clouds of flies and do it all without excessive moaning and groaning.

If you'd taken 70 people out of suburban Toronto and planted them at the FOL, you wouldn't even hear the jets take off for all the whining that was coming from the barracks.

The folks from the Wells won't require a royal visit from the Rolling Stones to restore their spirit; it's just another day in the North to them.

Good luck and God speed.

Ramble on

Not an hour ago I read of the passing of Bill Laferte, the Metis Rambler.

I spent a few months in the Deh Cho filling in for Derek "The King" Neary at the Deh Cho Drum and got to know Bill quite well.

It was usually about this time of day when Bill would drop by the newspaper office with that week's column and I'd put the coffee on -- despite the looming deadline.

We'd sit and smoke on the porch and discuss that week's column, history, bloodlines, the news of the day or his most recent trip to Batoche.

While our talks often pushed me past my deadline and I sometimes wished him gone, in looking back, the hours we spent were precious few.

I'd occasionally run into Bill in Yellowknife or Hay River and always drop what I was doing to go for coffee and catch up on his latest.

He was a good man who spoke his mind and was always quick to smile and share a laugh and had a charm you just couldn't turn away from.

I might have missed a few deadlines, but I'll always treasure those truant hours spent shooting the breeze with the Rambler.

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum

Why do bad things happen to good people?

It's a question that comes to mind with the recent loss of Bill Laferte to cancer. Bill put up a fierce fight against the devastating disease, which attacked his liver, one of his lungs and his brain.

He was the stoical type. He rarely complained about his condition. If caught on a bad day, he might admit that he wasn't feeling all that well but his ailment never consumed him, not his mind anyway. When he had the opportunity to be social, it was as if his ailing body were a mere afterthought. He loved to hold conversations. As one of his relatives pointed out, it could take him a half hour or longer to walk a single block because he'd stop and chat with so many people.

He was fiercely proud of his Metis and French ancestry. It is why he changed the spelling of his surname to Laferte, as opposed to the more common Lafferty. It comes from the French, derived from "the strong."

Bill wrote often of Metis and Northern history in his Metis Rambler column. Some people said he was mistaken or exaggerated at times, and made denigrating references to the Dene. Be that as it may, I remember Bill telling me more than once that, in essence, we're all human beings. We all share the need for food, water, air and the need to love and be loved.

He also told me that when he served in the military, he was a Canadian soldier first, a Metis second. When you are in a war zone, the enemy doesn't stop to ask whether you're white, Indian or Metis. They just shoot, he said.

I'll remember Bill Laferte as a kind and knowledgeable man. He taught me a great deal.

In his own words, as he closed every newspaper column, "May God bless you and keep you from harm."

Living for today

Al Harris hasn't been afflicted with a life-threatening ailment, but a life-altering one, to be sure.

His seizures have prevented him from driving, a privilege so many of us take for granted.

Did he deserve to be robbed of such an everyday convenience? No. Is he bitter about it? No.

That speaks volumes about his character. Harris is one of the most affable and sensible people you're likely to meet.

It would be understandable if he had a chip on his shoulder. If put in his shoes, some people may rail on about the Draconian law preventing them from driving for one year after a seizure.

But Harris possesses a much more enlightened outlook. He's grateful to be alive. He celebrates today because, driver's licence or not, there may not be a tomorrow.