It's not easy to find the culprit for Igloolik Isuma Productions threat to leave Nunavut.

The film production company has done great work in the last 10 years promoting the territory and showcasing Inuit talent to the world. Now, however, it has turned to the Quebec government and plans to film its next project in Nunavik after what the company calls years of struggle to get government funding at home.

The final straw was the inability to get money to take Isuma's $6.3 million production, The Journals of Knut Rasmussen, to all Nunavut communities before it hits the big screen at the Toronto Film Festival.

It's difficult to point fingers or figure out where the problem lies because the Nunavut Film Commission is in disarray and attempts to get information are frustrated at nearly every turn.

What is in sharp focus, however, is that we stand to lose a crown jewel of culture and a sparkling light in an otherwise dull economy.

Since Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner won top honours at the Cannes Film Festival in 2001, Isuma has brought jobs and recognition to Iglulik and international recognition to Nunavut.

Isuma has received $900,000 from the government over the last five years, but that money pales in comparison to the millions the company has invested in the territory, and specifically in Iglulik.

Norman Cohn, the company's co-founder and secretary treasurer, says the firm wanted 10 per cent of its operating budget from Nunavut.

Isuma has been fighting to get this money, and with the arrival of the Nunavut Film Commission in 2003, the problem of funding was supposed to be resolved.

The commission was supposed to make accessing money easier, but for Isuma, that was never the case.

It tried going through proper channels and going around proper channels, but money was always hard to get.

Isuma created two full-length films in that time, employing mostly Inuit people in all aspects of the production, teaching them new skills that they would otherwise never access.

Isuma has threatened to leave since July 2002, when president Zacharius Kunuk said the company would move to Quebec if it didn't get any support. In June 2005, Cohn said he wanted a financial agreement with the territory, or Nunavut Film, to come up with 10 per cent for the film "Before Tomorrow" but that never came.

The commission recently fired its first commissioner, resulting in even more confusion. It leaves one wondering how committed Nunavut is to the film industry. The latest update about the commission on the Nunavut government's website dates back to January 2004.

It looks like the government doesn't seem to mind that Isuma is leaving, but it will leave a big hole that is not likely to be filled.

The decision to change the operators of the Stanley Isaiah Supportive Living Home in Fort Simpson would have made sense only if the home was run poorly or it meant major savings.

The Yellowknife firm that won the contract underbid the Liidlii Kue First Nations, which had held the contract since 2001, by $7,618. Not a lot of money.

That money wasn't a deciding factor was confirmed by the CEO of the Deh Cho Health and Services Board Kathy Tsetso. Tsetso said program content and methodology offered by the Yellowknife firm won them the contract.

The First Nations director of health and social programs Anne Marie McGuire countered with some powerful arguments: Many of the existing staff were Dene and Metis, knew the eight residents well and any disruption could be harmful to the people everyone was working to help.

After lobbying by the First Nations, the Yellowknife firm is out of the picture and Tsetso has agreed to extend the contract for another year. We say this is good news for both First Nations staff and residents.

We also say Tsetso's desire to enhance the care available to the people living at Stanley Isaiah should be heeded. It's no surprise a Yellowknife firm would present higher credentials than Deh Cho-based staff. No doubt even higher credentials can be found in Edmonton or Vancouver.

But having staff members who know and care about the residents and their families is just as valuable. To risk losing such a rare resource to achieve higher professional standards diminishes the potential benefits.

The Beaufort Delta region has been lucky to have Dr. Braam de Klerk working at the Inuvik hospital since 1990.

He brings expertise as a surgeon with anaesthetic certification to his job as medical director for the Inuvik Regional Hospital.

But he's not going to be there forever, and community leaders don't want to lose that expertise when he goes. Unfortunately, they are at a big disadvantage: rules that only allow the Delta hospital authority to pay doctors as general practitioners, regardless of their qualifications.

Without a surgeon, many people may have to make the long trip to Yellowknife should they need surgery or face long waits for the days surgeons travel to Inuvik for scheduled operations.

The challenge is to convince territorial government officials to accept local wisdom that having a surgeon in Inuvik is a necessary expense. That's no easy job because bureaucrats cling to the word of printed regulations harder than a wolf bites into its prey.

So, politicians ought to respect local wisdom and work to change the rules to provide the best possible medical care for residents of the region.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

It came as no surprise to see Nunavut Liberal MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell going through a period of frustration as she adapted to being a member of the Opposition party.

It also came as no surprise to see the Tories didn't exactly have the North at the top of the priority list for the recent speech from the throne.

There was no guarantee on the future of the Kelowna Accord, and the uncertainty now surrounding the package for Northern development is a cause for concern.

We have said in this space before that there are no guarantees Stephen Harper's government will be overly friendly to the North, and that's especially true for Nunavut.

We'll have to wait and see just how high a priority Nunavut turns out to be for the Conservatives, but we certainly didn't set any promise records coming out of the gate.

Even with all the talk from our military during the past year of increasing its presence in the North, there were no promises of such.

The fact Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Jim Prentice didn't seem to be in any hurry to meet with Lindell after the January election also sets off alarm bells.

We're not impressed with what our lone Inuit MP has had to go through to have a chat with Prentice, despite his oh-so-hectic schedule since being appointed.

Memo to Prentice: Sooner or later you're going to have to meet us and we're not going anywhere.

Nunavut's political spotlight is going to be shining brightly on Karetak-Lindell during the next six months.

Despite her envious track record of election wins, there are still many who claim she is not vocal enough in lobbying for Nunavut's needs.

Take away the fact she no longer has the prime minister's ear in private party meetings, and Karetak-Lindell will have to show more of her aggressive side to win concessions from the federal government for Nunavut.

While federal politics is an animal unto itself, Karetak-Lindell is going to need solid support from the territorial government and national Inuit leaders.

It is even more imperative this time around for Karetak-Lindell, Premier Paul Okalik and highly visible and respected national personalities such as Jose Kusugak to be on the same page in pressuring the feds to meet our needs.

This is our third prime minister since the creation of Nunavut and the first era in which the party that oversaw much of the Land Claims Agreement is no longer in power.

We need Inuit leaders to be vocal and visible on the national stage to keep Nunavut from slipping out of sight and out of mind to most Canadians.

Our leaders take every opportunity to trumpet the inclusion of Inuit Qaujiniajatuqangit into many of Nunavut's programs.

This is the time for these same leaders to draw from traditional knowledge in compelling the new federal government into understanding our needs and working with us to reach our goals.

What we've learned from the past just may be our best ally in our attempts to move forward.

Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik Drum

After 49 years, the Muskrat Jamboree seems to get better and better each year.

Granted I have only been around for the last 23 years, and can only recollect the past dozen or so.

I want to start off by congratulating the jamboree committee for hosting a fun-filled weekend of games, entertainment and laughs.

Once again, Roy Ipana and Gerry Kisoun kept the crowd involved with activities on the ice.

It's always good to hear those two go off on the microphone, because you're sure to chuckle out loud at least once.

The best advice I heard all weekend was from Roy during the harpoon-tossing competition on Sunday afternoon.

"You have to really toss the harpoon. No fruity throws," he said, as the crowd burst out in laughter.

I think it's true, because when you are standing in an 18-foot lund chasing a whale for 40 minutes, you have no time to hesitate. That throw has to count.

I tried to stockpile bags of donuts I bought at the river, but ended up eating them on the way home. I seem to find myself in the same predicament every year at this time.

The spring-time jamborees are a good opportunity to catch up with friends and family from out of town. Nothing beats sharing a donut with a cousin you haven't seen since the ice road opened.

Hopefully we will have good weather for this weekend's festivities in nearby Aklavik and Tuktoyaktuk.

Just a shout out for my family in Tuk to warm up your old skandics, because I have an itch to do some much-missed bombing around on the Tuk harbour.

We are now experiencing longer hours of sunlight, which will prove helpful when those power bills come in.

With an increased fuel rider, some Inuvik residents may find themselves paying more every month for the same usage.

Granted most of the residential units in town are subsidized, so I think the businesses in town will be taking most of the flak.

I think it's about time we all started becoming a little more energy efficient, and I'm going to start by replacing all the light bulbs in my apartment with those coiled energy saving ones. That's a better alternative for me than turning off my Xbox. That has to stay on, or I might lose my game progress.

Sure, the power company has to recover any money that has been lost due to escalating fuel costs, but I'm not sure if an increased rider is the way to go.

Maybe it's time for all of us to move away from technology and settle somewhere up the river with a good book near the campfire.

But if I made that change, I might miss the next episode of Family Guy on Sunday night.

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum

It's that time of the year again when winter road and ice crossing season comes to an end.

The smaller communities in the Deh Cho have already lost their road connections to the outside world, and now it's just a matter of time before the ice crossings also disappear.

Explaining the concept of a bridge of ice to people in the south can be challenging. It's almost as hard as explaining how entire communities can be cut off from road access.

If melting ice bridges disrupt your Easter weekend plans, just remember that this is one of the many things that makes the North unique. If nothing else, it will make for a good story some day if bridges are ever put across the Mackenzie and the Liard Rivers.

Everyone should welcome the new emergency preparedness map for Fort Simpson.

A comprehensive map marking all of the house numbers and locations seems like a logical thing to have.

It's surprising to find out that one didn't exist earlier and emergency personnel ranging from volunteer firefighters to the RCMP had to rely on personal experience or bits of maps.

Of course, in a small community it's easy enough to locate an emergency because there are only so many places to look.

But in the case of a fire or life-threatening situation, everyone knows that every minute counts.

With communities such as Fort Simpson expecting to see increased growth over the next few years, the map will quickly repay the work that went into compiling it.

But if something as logical as a comprehensive map for emergency response has been lacking all this time, it makes you wonder how many other seemingly obvious resources are waiting out there to be created.

It was nice to see Andy Norwegian commended for his 25 years of service in education -- most of them spent helping to ensure the future of South Slavey as a language.

It always feels good to be recognized for your work and 25 years is certainly a long time to stay with any career path.

Even after all this time Norwegian said he still loves what he does and finds the work stimulating. May we all be so lucky.

The trick in life seems to be finding something you like to do that you can incorporate into your job without compromising the reason you liked it in the first place.

This, of course, is often easier said than done.

Most people are not this lucky and use jobs to make a living rather than to further a passion.

If you happen to become one of the lucky ones, make sure you hold onto the position tightly. For those who aren't there yet, never give up the search.

Details contained in the April 3, 2006 issue of NWT News/North in a story headlined - Brit adventurer falls through ice - should have been attributed to CBC . NWT News/North apologizes for the omission and any embarrassment or confusion it may have caused.