It seems that wildlife management is really crisis management. Everything seems to go along fine until something shocking happens - a population crashes and the stock is in jeopardy.

It happened off the east coast with the collapse of the cod fishery, and it happened on the west coast with fights over salmon stocks.

Now it's happening in the North with plummeting caribou herds.

Steps are being taken to stop the decline. Quotas for non-aboriginal hunters in the North Slave have been reduced to two bulls. Starting March 15, only aboriginal subsistence hunting is being allowed in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. The lucrative sport hunt is on hold and non-aboriginal hunters will have to stock their freezers with hamburger and roast beef.

Triggering this drastic action are population surveys that show key herds have dropped dramatically. Bluenose West has fallen to an estimated 20,800 animals from 74,300. Three years ago, the Bathurst herd dropped to 186,000, from 350,000.

In January, one biologist called present harvest practises "unsustainable." Quotas are the result.

We have to wonder: are herds feeling development pressure? Have we over hunted?

A new caribou population survey the government plans for this summer is a sensible step.

It can't stop there. The government and wildlife boards have to examine their budgets and see if we're spending enough on actually managing the herd or just talking about management.

These herds are a lifeblood of the North - key to Inuvialuit and Dene culture and important to our tourism industry.

Once they're gone...

Kudos to health minister Michael Miltenberger for clearing health department vending machines of fatty, salty and sugary foods.

It's a move that should have been initiated a long time ago. Territorial schools were the first to do this, and now the minister has finally jumped onto the health bandwagon.

While department employees can still choose to eat what they want, healthier options are now available right in front of them. It's a clear message that they should be making better choices to help them live long, happy lives.

It's no secret that diabetes and obesity rates are high in the NWT. We only hope that other workplaces across the territory follow suit.

Beaten, bleeding, and fearing for her life, Olassie Machmer fled into the night.

With no shirt and no shoes, she figured her best chance for survival Jan. 4 in Repulse Bay was to brave the -30C cold, snow and ice in a late night dash to safety.

Her story is dramatic and it's easy to get outraged over the slap-on-the-wrist sentence handed to her attacker, Machmer's common-law husband Simonie Natseck.

Natseck pleaded guilty Feb. 20 to assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm and breach of an undertaking.

In return, he will serve a six-month conditional sentence and 18-months probation - house arrest.

Machmer isn't so lucky. Her frostbitten feet still cause her trouble and she's had to move halfway across Nunavut to escape future violence.

House arrest just doesn't seem like justice for this crime. According to Machmer, Natseck hit her head on a chair, bit her and threatened to kill her.

His criminal record includes three convictions for assault and one for sexual assault.

According to the Crown attorney, the sentence was the best possible outcome. Bonnie Tulloch said "we would have liked to send this guy away for a long time."

Tulloch said there were problems with the case that may have resulted in an acquittal. We'll never know what those problems were because in our supposedly public court system, plea bargains like this are done behind closed doors, away from public scrutiny.

We wonder, though, if true, why would the defence lawyer agree to the plea, instead of fighting it out and getting her client off without punishment?

Tulloch also vowed that Natseck will be watched closely. That can't ensure he won't attack the next woman he "loves."

The real tragedy of this case is that situations like this happen over and over again. Too many men punctuate professions of love with their fists.

Too often, the sentences are slaps on the wrist.

Olassie Machmer did the brave thing. She left the abusive relationship - at the risk of her life. She moved to a new town. And she stood up publicly and said enough is enough.

Other women, and men, too, need to add their chorus of voices to Machmer's, to make the courts understand their distaste for family violence.

Politicians must be reminded that tougher laws are necessary.

Most of all, we hope Machmer's act will make women who are in abusive relationships understand that they can leave, that love shouldn't hurt.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

If you roll the dice often enough, sooner or later you will roll snake eyes.

There are no set rules, other than a belief in what is commonly referred to as the law of averages.

Nobody can tell you if you'll need to roll the dice once, or five thousand times before snake eyes hit the table.

But hit the table they will. It's inevitable.

The same can be said for the vast majority of sports, in that sooner or later somebody will suffer an injury.

It's simply the nature of the game.

And, the more extreme the sport, the greater the risk of serious injury.

So, it stands to reason when you put a group of adults on a slippery ice surface, outfit them with sharp steel blades to travel at often astonishing speeds, let them carry a hefty aluminum or wooden club to propel a six ounce piece of vulcanized rubber at speeds over 120 km-h, sooner or later, somebody will get hurt.

The question of this particular game is how high are you willing to set the stakes?

The unsanctioned or "outlaw" hockey tournament is making a comeback in the Kivalliq for a number of reasons.

In some communities it's the unwillingness to register players.

In others it's the total lack of certified officials and, for some, it's simply a matter of taking the easy road so we can all be home by 5 p.m.

There has all ready been one such tournament this year and two more are planned for this month.

In the first one, a player was taken to the health centre after having his bell rung and exhibiting concussion-like symptoms.

Close call, but no damage done.

So, why should the average person in a Kivalliq community with absolutely no interest in hockey care?

These are all big boys and girls.

If they want to play in a tournament knowing they have no insurance, why should the rest of us be concerned?

The answer to that can be summed up in one word - lawyers!

Those in the know in Rankin Inlet have been dealing with an older player this season who suffered an injury playing in a weekly pick-up game.

The player has tried to get compensation from the hamlet on a number of occasions, claiming bad ice was the reason for his fall.

So what if that was a player with a high-paying job and facing a loss of substantial income due to a serious injury?

We have a word for that, too - lawsuit.

People need to be aware when their hamlet agrees to host a non-sanctioned sporting event, they're putting community money at risk.

One serious accident and your municipality could be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

That's the cold hard truth of the matter.

The money would have to come from somewhere, and it wouldn't come from liability insurance if the hamlet knowingly hosted an unsanctioned event.

The money would come from funds meant to operate, maintain and improve your community.

As any gambler can tell you, snake eyes often land hard when they hit!

Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum

What it takes to get the country to take notice:

It wasn't an increase in the Northern living allowance or a push to get an all-weather road from Wrigley to Tuk, but a private member's bill to change Canada's motto "from sea to sea," to "from sea to sea to sea."

You gotta love our newest Western Arctic Member of Parliament for concocting this gem. What pride will be derived from changing the motto once it is a done deal? We can rest our heads easier at night knowing that when school children are taught that Canada actually has three seas instead of just two, we here in the far North will not be forgotten.

Until I heard about this, I didn't even know that was Canada's motto. But after some crafty internet research (all the rage these days) I discovered that it is indeed the motto. Translated from the Latin "A Mari usque ad Mare," which according to Heritage Canada was derived from the biblical scripture, "He shall have dominion from sea to sea and from the river until the ends of the earth" (Psalm 72.8), it was first carved into the mace of the legislative assembly of the new Province of Saskatchewan in 1906.

But wait a minute. Wasn't this the kind of thinking that messed things up for the local inhabitants already living here? You know, before a bunch of guys holding Bibles and royal crests showed up and thought they owned the joint. "It says so in here," I can just imagine one of these fresh-off-the-boat explorers insisting, pointing to Psalm 72.8 in his portable scriptures, packed neatly inside his trunk amongst other on-the-land survival gear such as a silver service set and sherry glasses.

But keeping this image in mind, maybe our new MP is trying to cut off any future court wranglings over who exactly has dominion over North of 60.

"Your honour, there's nothing on the books about Canada having dominion up to a third sea in this here motto..."

Pssst! Don't tell Herb Norwegian!

Sure, Canada has three seas (oceans). It's too bad you can't get to the third one without paying $1,200 in airfare or gasoline for three days worth of solid driving from Yellowknife.

I have a suggestion. How about a private member's bill to outlaw useless private member's bills? That's something I can support, especially the next time I'm standing in line at the grocery store waiting to pay $15 for a gallon of milk that was flown in on a jet plane, instead of driven up on what is, with each passing day, becoming the mirage of a future all-weather road through the territory.

But if we have to endure getting a new motto for this country, here is my suggestion: "You can take our gas, but you'll never take our freedom."

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum

Is self-respect something that you can teach?

Last week the Mackenzie Regional Youth Conference was all about self-respect. The opening and closing keynote speakers talked about it and the sessions were meant to tie into the theme.

But perhaps the first question that has to be answered is: What is self-respect?

It seems to be a nebulous concept and putting a finger on a definition is difficult.

Even after four days in a conference about self-respect, the participants struggled with a definition. Many said they learned about self-respect, but when pressed for details, few could elaborate on exactly what that information involved.

Bits of the answer came out from different people.

One teen said that "you have to respect people and listen."

Personal interactions are one area where self-respect reveals itself. You have to respect yourself in order to have respect others.

The conference was filled with chances for the youth to practise socializing.

The organizers were well aware that the chance to meet new people and visit with friends was one of the draws for the event.

On the first day, Barry Church explained to the students that there was a designated message board in the hall, so if they wanted to leave a message for the cute person they saw in a certain session, they would have that chance.

The announcement was met with giggles and nervous laughter, but that was probably to cover the fact that the minds of teens are so often fixed on members of the opposite sex.

If you have self-respect, you are able to see value in others and also see value in yourself, so you can decide if a relationship is healthy or not.

Another part of the self-respect answer came from a girl who explained that she learned "How to play guitar, respect, and not to smoke."

Respect for the body is certainly part of self-respect.

Caring enough about yourself not to do anything that is overtly harmful is a sign of having respect for yourself.

A final part of the self-respect puzzle could be seen in every session.

In rooms scattered in different buildings and in areas outside, teens were trying new things. Youth were singing, playing the guitar, dancing, skiing, painting and doing a variety of other things in front of their peers.

This required the students to feel comfortable enough with themselves to not care if they were the best at something, but to just give it a try.

Whether they realized it or not, participants at the conference spent a great deal of time exercising the elements of self-respect.

Self-respect is something that is best learned from an early age, but its importance should not be forgotten. People are often reminded to do unto others as they would do unto themselves. Maybe we should also be reminded to respect ourselves so that we can respect others and they can return that favour. If we did, the world would run more smoothly.