This isn't good.

The mistake: Bell gives Yellowknife a new cell-phone prefix (445), but forgets to fix it so it only registers as a local call for local people.

As a result, Yellowknifers are hit with erroneous long-distance charges totalling thousands of dollars.

Bell's response to a mistake of its making: too damn bad, dear customers. If you can find the error, great. If not, well don't expect Ma Bell to refund you the difference.

More than that, if those customers pay their bills through a credit card, company-sized customers looking at billing blips into the hundreds of dollars will also see credit card interest built on what is Bell Mobility's mistake.

Once again, Bell Mobility tells its customers "tough beans": it won't make any effort to refund those amounts.

Another fine approach to customer service.

Bell should rethink its approach on this problem with its next monthly bills by including a notice of the error and an apology.

Inviting customers to submit any extra interest charges would be equally appropriate.

Doing nothing equals poor service which is bad for business.

The tents are up, the ceremonies and speeches are under way: the Assembly of First Nations has gathered in Yellowknife.

It's the perfect time and place for Canada's national aboriginal organization and its more than 2,000 delegates to gather for its annual general assembly.

Nowhere else in Canada is the First Nations agenda as important. Aboriginal groups are partners in a proposed $7 billion natural gas pipeline.

The Dogrib First Nations have built nine Behcho Ko companies into a business empire with 600 employees and total revenues of $55 million. Land claims and self-government agreements are reshaping the territories political landscape. Dene culture remains strong.

There's plenty for First Nations to celebrate during their week-long gathering.

All Yellowknifers should join in and celebrate too, and make the delegates welcome.

Editorial Comment
Brent Reaney
Kivalliq News

There is no denying the problems caused for Kivalliq residents over the past few years by that sweet, indispensable nectar of crude oil, better known as gasoline.

Clearly, the blame for spills and problems with our gas supply should be aimed at the companies providing the service or product.

But with snow machines and ATVs now an important part of many Kivallimiut's livelihood, we need the Nunavut government to be more cautious in its renewal of agreements with companies we've had problems with.

Few here need reminding the region was worst hit by the first bad gas problems in 2001, which stranded numerous people on the land with broken down snow machines.

And this past winter, the Kivalliq dealt with a slightly less serious - though at times still debilitating - fuel supply problem.

Then last week, after months of investigating, Transport Canada said it will pursue four charges against a vessel owned by Woodward's Oil Ltd. in connection with three separate Kivalliq fuel spills.

At less than 1,500 litres each, the spills were small in comparison to other environmentally destructive dousings, though the charges could end up costing the company a total fine of more than $300,000.

GN representatives were quoted in this newspaper last fall as saying a three-year contract would not be signed before the conclusion of the Transport Canada investigation.

But some time prior to the department's filing of the charges on June 28 - and with an agreement in place for the upcoming re-supply season - the pact was renewed.

Last week, deputy minister Tom Rich said he is still comfortable dealing with Woodward's because the company has made important operational changes to help ensure the spills will not happen again.

We understand this reasoning, though the changes should have been made after the 2003 spill in Coral Harbour.

And according to Shell Canada, the renewal of an agreement to supply fuel to the Kivalliq is being negotiated as you read this. Now we don't think Shell should necessarily lose its fuel contract with the GN, but after what happened this past winter, other suppliers should definitely be investigated.

Finally, we ask Woodward's to call us back.

Typing in the word "spill," along with the acronym "NTCL" - Northern Transportation Company Ltd., the Kivalliq's former delivery company of 27 years prior to 2003 - into the Northern News Services online archive calls up but two other documented leaks.

No matter how small the amount of liquid, your company is believed to have soiled Nunavut's shores four times within the past two years.

Kivalliq residents deserve to hear what your representatives have to say.

Unfortunately, it seems we will have to wait until the court circuit comes to Rankin Inlet on Aug. 15.

Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum

Orange juice sure tastes good in the morning. Or maybe you like grapefruit? Whatever your preference, without trade between nations those wonderful citrus drinks would be missing from our breakfast tables here in Canada.

I suppose we could get by with just apple juice and other domestically produced items but our choices would be significantly limited and many of us 'chained to the desk' would have to retrain ourselves for a career tilling fields or manufacturing car parts.

But these fantasies of stopping globalization - the ever increasing integration of nations' economies, fuelled by human innovation and technological progress - are simply that: fantasy.

Often people concerned about the state of our planet with respect to international strife, poverty, climate change, cultural imperialism and other nastiness like to throw the blame at globalization.

To the capitalist, globalization is perhaps a friend. To the conservationist, perhaps a foe. Regardless, my guess is that significant numbers from both camps enjoy orange juice or a cup of Columbian coffee with their morning toast.

So what does it all mean? For this region, with the hopes of many pinned on getting the pipeline built, globalization is what makes it all possible, as it does nearly every business transaction in the territory, from grocery store purchases to prescriptions to satellite TV. Some of these deals are good, some detrimental.

In the case of the pipeline deal, it remains to be seen whether it will be good or bad but those on both sides are setting up camp and preparing to make their case.

For intervenors in the Joint Review Panel hearings, this process has already begun with a conference in Yellowknife to see if there's enough information regarding environmental impacts to proceed with hearings. Word coming out of these talks is that not enough information is yet available.

Meanwhile, groups like the Arctic Indigenous Youth Alliance are soliciting support for their anti-pipeline cause through visits to communities up and down the Mackenzie Valley, such as the ones in Inuvik last week.

Just as some suggest pipeline proponents are not providing enough information for intervenors in the hearings to make their case, the same could be said for the alliance with respect to its "information" sessions.

For example, the youth alliance's Ingamo Hall power point presentation indicated that only 50 "pipeline jobs" would be available for NWT residents after construction. Those would be for operation, maintenance and upkeep one would imagine. The argument being that proponents and supporters are misleading people with promises of jobs and prosperity.

Unfortunately, this "50 jobs only" tidbit is a half-truth at best. Besides the spinoff from locally-owned and staffed companies who will get lucrative contracts to aid in the pipeline's construction, consider what a community could do with a healthy portion of the revenues once the gas starts flowing.

Maybe the cash could provide for more aboriginal language instruction and improved education in general. Or perhaps funds could be made available to better promote traditional arts and crafts in world markets. The possibilities are endless.

The irony is that while globalization may have caused a situation that demands the first spending option, it handily provides a vehicle for the latter one. Funny that.

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum

The Deh Cho is blessed with some of the most attractive rivers and incredible scenery anywhere in the world.

Former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, one example of thousands, was so enchanted by the Nahanni River that he had to canoe its waters himself.

Not everyone is ready to take on such an adventure on his own. That's where river guides or "outfitters" come into the picture.

There have been a few Deh Cho residents who have helped tourists navigate the river, professionally speaking, but too few.

A program (featured on page 2 of this edition of the Drum) is under way to give some Fort Simpson youth the ability to make safe voyages on local rivers, which can be swift and dangerous.

These young men and women could not only escort adventurers but also pass along the history and culture of the region to visitors.

This week's photo feature - which is not tied in to the river guide training - is based on a school rafting trip down the Nahanni.

There was no certification process involved in that expedition, but it's the sort of journey that may spark interest in a new generation of river guides.

Imagine the excitement felt by a teenager not only experiencing the river for the first time, but envisioning himself being able to make a career of piloting a boat, raft or canoe on the water.

The tourism industry isn't going to instantly employ 200 people the way a mine can - although no mine has yet employed more than a handful of Deh Cho residents for very long.

Yet the opportunity posed by river guiding has already captivated a few young people.

That's where it begins. Where it goes from there is up to them, but for the ones who have seen the three years worth of programs through to the end, that bodes well for the future.

Well deserved accolades

June is a month to recognize the achievements of our hard-working students.

Graduates have been saluted. Plaques have been bestowed upon academic and athletic award winners.

In a number of speeches and reflections by the students, a recurring theme is the importance of family. The need for support from home cannot be understated.

They usually thank their teachers, but so often they have mentioned how mom and dad, or even auntie and uncle, were there to offer advice and give a gentle nudge in the right direction when necessary.

We have every reason to be proud of those who have risen to meet the challenge in class.

But we cannot forget those who remain on the fringes - some of whom have dropped out of school but could be earning a diploma in a year or two with some loving encouragement.

Sister Therese Isabelle spent more than 15 years working in Chesterfield Inlet. Incorrect information appeared in the June 29 edition of Kivalliq News. We deeply regret any embarrassment or confusion caused by the error.

Yellowknifer is committed to getting it right, either facts or names. With that goes a commitment to acknowledge mistakes and run corrections. If you spot an error in Yellowknifer, call 873-4031 and ask to speak to an editor, or e-mail editorial@nnsl.com. We'll get a correction or clarification in as soon as we can.