In the south, where small boats are more commonly regarded as pleasure craft intended for weekend excursions, boaters are increasingly subject to regulation and tests of competence.

Look at a five-metre boat powered by a massive engine capable of pushing it to speeds well above 50 km/h,and the reasons are obvious. It's in everyone's interest that boaters be competent and that their vessels be easily identified.

Regulations now require all boats, with anything more than a 10 horsepower kicker, to have and display a numerical licence on both sides of the bow.

One law enforcement officer expressed the view that there are bigger things to worry about than unlicenced boats. Perhaps he was thinking about unli cenced motor vehicles, but frankly, we don't see the difference.

By September 2009, operators of pleasure boats anywhere south of 60 will be required to write a test and score 75 per cent or better before they are allowed to take the helm.

There is much to learn and know: navigation, small engine mechanics, weather and wave patterns, and more that is difficult to teach, such as common sense borne of experience.

For the foreseeable future, and perhaps in anticipation of repeating the Great Canadian Firearms Debacle,Transport Canada has decided to exempt Northerners from written tests of competence.

The delay makes no sense, if the tests and licences speak to safety issues, and not some bureaucratic obsession with numbers and control.

It would be the same as exempting Northerners from having a driver's licence or registering their vehicles.

Maybe it's a language issue. English and French are not the first languages of many residents in the Northwest Territories. We have skilled translators, who should be capable of making short work of boating regulations and test questions.

So if there is no good reason for exempting Northern boat captains from testing and licencing, we say bring it on.

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

It's easy to be cynical about politicians.

Come election time they make promises that voters expect them to fulfil.

But glory is fleeting and after the cheers, well-wishes and pats on the back fade into the memories of the victors, those elected are first on the firing line when government doesn't seem to work as promised.

The notion that politicians don't care or that they forget about their constituents after they are elected is a common refrain. Which brings us to the pre-budget consultations being held in nine communities by the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight.

The idea is a great one but whether or not concerns expressed at those meetings will materialize into concrete solutions is another matter entirely.

One has to wonder if the GNWT has taken a page out of the Mackenzie Gas Project's processes, which has embraced the notion of public input as a cornerstone of moving the development forward. If this is the case, then chalk one up for a positive social impact. Communities around the North are screaming for more resources to meet their education, housing and many other social needs.

As far as Inuvik is concerned, the politicians have come, listened to concerns particular to our community and taken notes. The big question is, will some, if any, of these issues be tackled in the coming budget?

Time will tell. In the meantime, take solace in the fact that government has at least leant its collective ear to your concerns. However, best to keep that red carpet in the closet for now.

After the first End of the Road Music Festival, one comment heard from several youth in the community was that there was nothing geared for teens. So in planning this year's event, the festival committee went to great lengths to organize a teen concert and even brought a hip-hop act and DJ from Edmonton for the occasion.

And what did the committee, the event sponsor and the town get in return for their efforts?

A bill for wanton destruction caused by a few ungrateful youth. Granted, it's always a few who ruin it for the rest. Thanks to those few who chose to be destructive, the youth concert was pre-empted and many kids - who didn't deserve such treatment - were left outside the rec centre wondering how they were going to spend the rest of the evening.

When this kind of thing happens, phrases like getting youth to "take ownership" and "building capacity" amongst the youth start to get a bit tired.

Perhaps next year, if the youth want a festival event of their own they should step up to the plate and organize it themselves. That way, the town's youth really will have taken ownership. If this happens, then maybe it will influence others to appreciate what their peers have accomplished (building capacity) and respect it for what it is, rather than just another free event served up on a silver platter.

Editorial Comment
Andrew Raven
Deh Cho Drum

With the price of oil climbing towards $70 per barrel like a chubby teen scaling the rope in gym class - herky-jerky but undoubtedly upward bound - Canadians are left wondering: How high will it go?

Unfortunately for most drivers, the answer is: higher than you think. Dwindling oil reserves and turmoil in the Middle East - the braying phys-ed teachers of the petroleum industry - are not going away and neither are sky-high prices at the pumps.

Canadians waiting for relief from the crushing array of federal, provincial and territorial gas taxes better not hold their breath either.

Last week, federal finance minister Ralph Goodale gave perhaps the flattest political "no" ever when the issue was raised.

But amid the complaining, the lobbying and fist-waving one important factor has been overlooked: high gas prices are really blessings in disguise.

Green-niks have argued for decades that cheap fossil fuels have created societies - especially in North America - that are overly dependent on cars, which have the nasty little habit of spewing noxious chemicals into the air.

Low prices encourage people to consume and consume some more until they're driving little Jimmy to his soccer game in a Hummer.

And with the public appetite for monstrously huge, gas-guzzling SUVs, manufacturers have little incentive to change their lineups.

Economists argue that once gas prices reach a certain point, consumers will flock towards greener cars and public transit.

And while the Deh Cho will probably never see trains and Smart cars, the region will benefit from the reduction of greenhouse gases.

We will bask in the glow - as opposed to choke on the smog - of our southern neighbours.

The hope is, this society-wide change-over will happen before most of the planet is covered by oceans and the climate in Mackenzie Valley becomes Floridian.

But there is reason for optimism. In Europe, where gas prices are three times higher than North America, the shift towards eco-friendly cars and well developed public transit systems is already gaining steam.

Perhaps the best thing about the limited amount of fossil fuels is just that - they are limited.

Hopefully that is some small consolation for the next time you spend $140 filling the truck.