It seems that government loves one thing more than collecting taxes, if that's possible: expanding itself.

We've reported in News/North how the territorial government is now about as large as it was before division with Nunavut.

Now it seems Yellowknife city council wants to follow the GNWT's example with a new committee to determine how much community groups will get of the $100,000 "special grants" pie.

Councillors Bob Brooks and Doug Witty went down to defeat trying to convince the rest of council another committee wouldn't cure any politicking around which group got what.

We agree.

If the committee's recommendations are going back to council to be approved and/or changed, city council would be better off to hear out the groups one time and decide then.

The majority on council thought having committee members from the general populace would take bias out of the process.

We doubt it.

Yellowknife's pool of interested people is so small, anyone stepping forward probably has a finger and a thumb in the very community groups that would be appearing before the "unbiased" committee.

As a result, this new committee smacks of another excuse to add more government.

We don't need that, we need the current city council to be more efficient.

When an arbitrator awarded 50 corrections officers $1.25 million in back pay last January, they really should have attached a deadline to their ruling.

As it is, this is now the tail-end of October and 13 of those guards still haven't received their money.

Blaming a hiring freeze and a backlog of work, NWT Finance Minister Floyd Roland offered the excuse, "We just don't have all the resources to put the staff in place."

The whole incident begs the question: how many bureaucrats does it take to write 50 cheques?

As any business person can attest, you never mess with an employee's pay or you'll soon find yourself looking for a new employee. Considering some of the back pay totals as much as $20,000 for a single worker, the government must cover its tab immediately.

One can't help but wonder how long the department would give a private citizen to pay if the GNWT was the one waiting.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

Well, it certainly is good to be back home in the Kivalliq.

I would like to personally thank my interim reporter, Lisa Scott, for doing such an admirable job in my absence.

Thanks, Lisa. I owe you one!

It certainly has been interesting gauging Northern fan reaction to the NHL's work stoppage.

What separates this labour war from those of the past is that you would be hard pressed to find many fans who still side with the players.

In fact, this work stoppage is leaving a bad taste in the mouths of most fans.

NHL players have lost touch with reality -- obscene amounts of money can do that -- and are making it all too clear that they don't give a damn about the fans of the game. You know, the people who buy the tickets, pay their salaries and cheer them on.

In short, they're biting the hands of the very people who pay for the comfortable lives they've grown accustomed to.

How do they live on that?

I, like most hockey fans, have grown sick of the players' spoiled attitudes and tired old rhetoric that no longer holds water.

The two that disturb me the most are their stances on career longevity and replacement players.

The NHLPA claims the average lifespan of an NHL career is four years.

Even if that were true, under the NHL's proposed salary cap, the average player's salary would be $1.3 million.

So, over the rigours of their four-year career, they'd make a paltry $5.2 million. Yeah, we can see where it would be awful tough to live on $5.2 million.

Just divide that number by your annual salary if you really want to have a hard time keeping your breakfast down.

Second, NHL players would do everything at their legal disposal to block the NHL from using replacement players, not to mention doing everything possible to tarnish their reputations -- read scab tag hung around the neck.

But, NHL players, who already have banked millions, have no problem going to Europe and taking jobs away from players who aren't in the bigs.

Oh, that's different, eh guys? Why should you care about their families going without a paycheque, as long as you can still jump in your Hummer and your wives and girlfriends don't have to miss any time at the beauty salons and boutiques?

Give it up, guys! You're getting paid incredible amounts of money to play the coolest game in the world. Get back on the ice where you belong!

Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum

Looking at the new lineup of town councillors, one can't help but notice the lack of aboriginal representation.

Examine the voting patterns for mayor at the Ingamo Hall polling station versus the Midnight Sun's and the picture starts to come a little more into focus.

Though important to acknowledge the steep rise in voter turnout -- 63 per cent compared to last election's lacklustre 35 per cent -- the surge can be most likely attributed to political newcomer Kurt Wainman's challenge to incumbent Peter Clarkson, who enjoyed the benefit of acclamation in the last municipal election.

In Wainman's press release following his defeat, he thanks his campaign workers and supporters with this: "Do not feel we lost; we can take pride in a valiant and honourable effort which has raised community awareness and brought our concerns to the table."

When Wainman says "our concerns," one gets the impression that "aboriginal" could easily have been substituted for "our," regardless of whether or not that was indeed the sentiment.

It is also the perfect complement to a remark one of the councillor-elects made after perusing the new council line-up.

"If there ever was an argument for self-government, this is it," the new member said, dropping the results back on to my desk.

In conversation with another councillor-elect Tuesday, that person was curious to know my opinion about why the race for mayor was so close and did I think it had anything to do with issues people had with the actions of the previous council.

Wedge highlighted

While I'm looking forward to seeing the new Family Centre completed and enjoying its amenities, the centre is a good place to begin in terms of highlighting the wedge -- real or imagined -- being driven between the haves and the have-nots in Inuvik.

Some are concerned about the operating costs and whether the town can afford the upkeep of such a facility.

The catalyst for such worries is generally the town's previous solution for saving money on lighting costs at the rink by turning them down a notch on the minor hockey players.

Concerns that an admission charge to use the upcoming Family Centre will put it out of reach for many families in town, especially those with more than one child, are also rampant.

Therein lies the catch-22 of the Family Centre and why, next to the pipeline and self-government, it's still a hot-button discussion topic, even just months before its completion.

Designed to provide a recreational and physical fitness outlet for what many like to believe is a recreation-starved population, many will be unable to access it, therefore making the centre useless for the purpose it was intended -- unless you can afford the price of admission.

If nothing else, the greater interest in the municipal election from all members of the community will hopefully spill over into all levels of politics in the months and years to come.

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum

A powder keg is explosive, but it doesn't have to blow sky high.

That is precisely the situation in Fort Liard right now. It's volatile. Things could detonate -- or they could be resolved with a little dialogue and co-operation.

A significant number of community members are outspoken about problems in the community, both economic and social. Many point to chief and council as being responsible for pretty well everything.

Chief Floyd Bertrand -- who it should be noted has been elected twice within the past two-and-a-half years -- says band council meetings and Beaver Enterprises board meetings are open to band members. Come in, pull up a chair and sit down. He says the invitation has always been extended.

But, he says, people simply do not show up at those regular meetings. His detractors, on the other hand, contend the band council doesn't hold enough public meetings. It's a divided community.

Some people say social problems, particularly drinking, are exacting a heavy toll right now. Things are slow, there's little work, so people are depressed and turning to alcohol, goes one theory.

Other people point an accusatory finger at chief and council for considering another oil and gas exploration cycle. When land is opened up, big money flows into Fort Liard and then alcohol and drug abuse is rampant, they argue.

So which is it? Are things worse when there's too little money or is it out of control when there's too much money?

Can a balance be struck?

Couldn't better addictions and support programs be put in place to offset social problems?

The answer is yes, but it will only succeed if the community works together.

Someway, somehow, residents in Fort Liard need come together to clear the air. Fort Liard is not the only community in the NWT with such problems, but it's really simmering there now. Diplomacy is badly needed.

Please, prove them wrong

Yes, the calendar really does read 2004. Sitting at the Fort Simpson village council meeting on Monday evening, one could have easily believed that it was 2003. Here were representatives from Imperial Oil making the same overtures to village council that they made 18 months ago.

Council recited its pipeline wish list once again -- very similar to the last time despite a different mayor and some different councillors -- and the industry types promised to take those desires back to their superiors, just as they promised last year. The words yes and no were rarely uttered at all.

It seems that little has changed, other than the passage of time.

A pipeline passed through Fort Simpson in the 1980s with precious little benefit to the community. The proponents of the Mackenzie Valley pipeline are espousing their intent to work with the communities, but they are making few firm commitments at this juncture. Sure, everything is conditional on the pipeline actually being constructed, but a few "Can do" responses would go a long way.

It's up to elected leaders throughout the Deh Cho to hold Imperial Oil's collective feet to the natural-gas-fuelled fire.