According to public works director Greg Kehoe, such a system can't be in place before 2007 at the earliest. This is at least a full year after people start paying for putting out more than three bags of garbage.

That fee, plus new charges for taking household garbage to the dump, will be a rude awakening for many Yellowknifers who don't take the time to recycle and reduce trash.

We'll either see a surge of drop-offs at blue bins around town or illegal dumps on the Ingraham Trail or the road to Rae because that's "easier" than diverting glass, tin, aluminum, paper and cardboard out of your regular garbage. At this point, the city wants to know how much it could cost to pick up bags of recyclables. It could add $5 or $10 a month to homeowners' garbage levy.

It will be interesting to know the cost because many of the recyclables will be diverted from the trash, resulting in less garbage being picked up at the curb. The advent of bottle deposits on Nov. 1 will also lead to fewer containers being thrown out.

The price of a recycling program doesn't stop with curbside collection, however. Once the materials are delivered to the dump, they must be sorted and readied for shipment south. That takes a building and people to do the sorting.

The city would also have to find places that will take the various materials and figure in how much we'll pay for transportation, because recycling will likely never be a break-even proposition for Yellowknife. The real payoff will be to divert material away from the dump, extending its life and reducing operating costs.

Our fear is the city will examine the proposals and listen to public input, then discard an expanded recycling program as too costly.

For recycling to work, council and administration must take responsibility for what we throw away.

That has to include coming up with an efficient, affordable, made-in-Yellowknife recycling system.

Get the community involved with a volunteer recycling committee. If possible, give Yellowknifers a chance to vote on any proposed program following an extensive education and information program.

A slim majority of residents polled by the city already say they support paying more for expanded recycling.

It's time for Yellowknife to join most of Canada on the recycling bandwagon.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

So, there's a Danish and a Canadian warship on separate missions which could bring them close to each other near Hans Island - a small hunk of rock, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, with absolutely no value of its own.

On the surface, the fact two North American Treaty Organization allies have been throwing temper tantrums over this less-than-prime piece of real estate defies logic.

Oh sure, there's that sovereignty thing - we say we own it, so it's ours.

But that hardly seems reason enough for two otherwise peaceful nations to be gently rattling the handle of their respective sabres.

And that's because there is far more at stake here than a tiny piece of rock where only seals get their mail.

The recorded history of Hans Island goes back more than 130 years.

Canada claimed the island as its own during negotiations with Denmark on Northern maritime boundaries in 1973.

Denmark rebuffed the claim and no agreement has ever been reached between the two countries on the issue.

In fact, if new talks in September between the two countries can't resolve the dispute, it will be off to the International Court of Justice in the Hague for a ruling.

As I've mentioned before in this space, every conjecture concerning global warming is not all bad.

One development, generally regarded as positive (environmentalists already preparing for the oil spills aside), would see the transformation of the Northwest Passage into the world's biggest shipping lane.

There is no number to accurately depict the type of money we're talking about should this ever come to pass.

And, because of its location sitting in the middle of the Kennedy Channel, he who owns Hans Island could very well end up with control of the passage through Nares Strait.

Of course, our neighbours to the South and the good folks in Russia will also have something to say in this matter, which, ultimately, could benefit us big time.

National Defence ministers don't sail around planting flags on Arctic islands unless they're serious.

So, let's take for granted Canada is successful in its claim on Hans Island and other strategic Arctic locations.

If so, such real estate will have to be monitored and protected.

And, even in this day of advanced technology, there's still no substitute for a slightly chilled body in a uniform.

The Canadian Forces cannot increase its presence in the Arctic by sitting in Halifax watching computer screens.

Long-term, this could lead to substantial economic gain for those of us who just happen to live here year-round.

Who knows? If nobody does anything stupid, Hans Island might be the best thing to happen to the North since Jordin Tootoo!

Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum

A couple of years back, I got caught in a speedtrap while trying to beat closing time at a retail shop on the outskirts of Toronto.

Knowing it was futile to argue my case with the police officer, I simply got out my license and registration and handed it to the guy when he came to the window of my car.

When the officer returned with my information, his words were music to my ears: "I'm just going to give you a warning, so keep it to 60 in the future..."

It seems the reason for my pardon was that, according to the cop, I was the only motorist on his entire shift who didn't put up a stink when I was stopped.

There were a few lessons here. Apart from being reminded to keep to the speed limit - and keeping my $150 - from my point of view, the police officer scored a major public relations coup, reminding me that the men and women who work to keep our communities safe are people, too, simply trying to do their job.

(And, as I've paid my share of speeding tickets in the past, I like to think I was due for a break).

While my heavy foot and the situation Willard Hagen found himself in recently are worlds apart, I have to wonder if a simple warning - rather than seizing the guns from his cabin and laying charges - would have been better for all involved. The fact is, Hagen did offer his cabin for RCMP to use while searching for a missing individual. Many in town have been left scratching their heads, wondering when the cops had the time to collect evidence for the charges against Hagen while they were supposed to be looking for his friend.

If Hagen's kind and helpful gesture didn't warrant a 'blind eye' from police, it certainly didn't merit those charges. Even the RCMP's acting director of criminal operations in the territories has noted that discretion is the prime directive to officers in the region when dealing with this kind of situation.

In the wake of this incident, one wonders how many "good Samaritans" will be willing to offer up their cabins to the RCMP at the risk of being caught in the same situation.

So now there's a member of the community who is quite rightly very angry and threatening to go all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada to assert his traditional rights. While a warning from police about his guns may have caused Hagen some frustration, the fact that charges were laid have made him determined to press the issue.

Once again, the idea of the RCMP as an instrument of colonial oppression permeates this recent gong-show. Surely, the police have better things to do with their time than fight a battle over Section 96 of the Canadian Firearms Safety Course Handbook, which clearly states: In a remote area where hunting might reasonably occur, a non-restricted firearm may be stored unlocked, out in the open and accessible to ammunition as long as the firearm is unloaded.

As for Hagen, the former Gwich'in Tribal Council president is more than ready for a fight. Hopefully, a verdict in his favour will put an end to what is ultimately a waste of police resources.

It's not as if the guns in question were strewn about a property down Mackenzie Road. They were taken from a locked cabin in a remote location (one was an antique). The key word here is remote. The same word that could be used to describe the RCMP's chance of winning this case.

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum

Congratulations to all the high school graduates in Fort Providence.

Deh Gah school is one of the few in the NWT to hold its grad ceremony in the late summer. The delay means that everyone wearing a cap and gown has passed all their final exams and has officially earned a high school diploma.

There were some truly extraordinary stories to emerge from the Deh Gah class of 2005.

First, there were two people - Oscar Lefoin and Albertine Canadien - who stood out from the rest. They have been around a few more years than their graduating counterparts.

Canadien and Lefoin, who both took night classes, were referred to as "role models" more than once during last Friday's ceremony.

That's an accurate enough label to attach to them. They showed great courage in going back to school. Both are already employed - Canadien has been an employee with the Hamlet of Fort Providence for many years while Lefoin is a long-time caretaker at the Fort Providence health centre.

And he's a former Deh Cho Health and Social Services employee of the year, to boot.

Their primary motivations for returning to school were their zest for learning, a chance to complete an unfulfilled ambition and a sense of accomplishment. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Of course their decision to go back to class made it possible for them to graduate alongside their children, another noteworthy aspect of this crop of grads.

Then there's Anthony Lefoin, Oscar's son, who was valedictorian and earned an amazing 58 credits over the past year. The average student picks up fewer than 40.

Anthony combined his daytime school work with night classes and work experience to gain all those credits.

Not only have they attained their diplomas, several of the grads have set their sights on further education: three are entering the nursing access program, one is going into the teaching access program (three other Fort Providence residents are also enroled), another grad is pursuing heavy-equipment operator certification and yet another is aiming to become an aircraft mechanic.

So long as they remain determined, the future holds much promise for them.

Hopefully the remaining grads find their niche as well.

Registration for 2005-06 night courses at Deh Gah is taking place this week. Why not sign up?

Andrew Raven will be filling in here at the Drum while I head south for a month.

He took the helm back in March and was also here during the winter of 2004, so he's becoming pretty familiar with the Deh Cho.

See you again in late September.

Drivers are not permitted to salvage meat from all big game killed in highway collisions, including bison calves. Incorrect information was published in the Aug. 26 Yellowknifer.

In the Yellowknifer story Top Gardeners, Aug. 26, the photo of the yard of Kathryn and Michael Roy, the best landscaping winners in the City of Yellowknife contest, was incorrectly identified.