For nearly a full year following the death of two city firefighters in a small shed fire, surviving Yellowknife firefighters operated in an unsafe workplace.

It took the Workers' Compensation Board that entire time to draft 12 safety orders.

That's why it's time MLAs seized the one opportunity the people have to bring at least a tiny measure of accountability to an organization that now answers to no-one but God and the conscience of its appointed board.

While the WCB serves the NWT and Nunavut as an "arm's length" Crown corporation, right now, it's more like "hands off," left to police itself.

A year ago, federal auditor general Sheila Fraser was asked by the Legislative Assembly to assess whether the WCB complies with legislation and policies "in the way it processes compensation claims by injured workers."

This audit was approved a year after Brendan Bell, then responsible for the organization, insisted an independent review wasn't necessary.

Fraser will spell out her audit's findings in front of a committee of MLAs beginning this morning. The audit found plenty of problems.

The review said there isn't a clear understanding of the minister's role. This means that Charles Dent, minister now responsible for the WCB, doesn't understand what he's supposed to do because there are no set policies, and therefore he does nothing.

Fraser found the board relies heavily on WCB medical advisors. When workers appeal decisions based on their own medical advice, the tribunal hearing the appeal relies on the same medical staff, downplaying the worker's own doctor. The audit recommended an independent medical review panel to arbitrate conflicting information. The WCB says that's too expensive.

There's also poor communication with claimants, the people the WCB is there to serve. The list goes on.

The WCB is a massive entity, paying out $20 million in claims last year and with an administration budget of $15.6 million. By December 2005, the WCB had amassed an $84 million dollar reserve. In 2005, it processed 3,321 claims.

All of the above cries out for MLAs on the committee to ask hard questions and demand answers on what the present board, minister and WCB senior staff are going to change in something they've all contributed to create - a flawed, uncommunicative, expensive organization.

Editorial Comment
Andrew Raven
Kivalliq News

Are we only a few decades away from bathing suits on Baker Lake in mid-April? Sounds fantastic, but if Arctic temperatures rise according to the worst case scenarios - five degrees within the century - that reality might not be far off.

The Kivalliq has just basked in its hottest spring since Environment Canada began tracking records in the late 1940s. And while one warm season doesn't spell global warming, numbers from the last decade are hard to ignore. According to climate experts, seven of Nunavut's 10 warmest summers have come since 1980.

While that might be great news for cooped-up kids, the wacky weather is wreaking havoc on just about everything else.

Four Nunavummiut have drowned this year on ice that was either thinner than usual or non-existent. Some hunters are reporting migratory patterns have changed. Melting sea ice is making it harder to hunt seals in springtime.

And American environmental groups, claiming polar bears are headed for extinction this century, are pushing for the animals to be included on the U.S. list of threatened species - a move that would devastate the sport hunting industry in places like Coral Harbour.

While the natural inclination might be to tell southern tree-huggers to mind their own business, the fact that global warming is being recognized below the 60th parallel is good for all Northerners.

The 70,000 residents of Nunavut and Northwest Territories are at the mercy of southerners and their SUV-driving soccer moms and power hungry lugnut factories.

The global warming soon-to-be epidemic came from the south and can only be cured by the south. There are bound to be mistakes in the crusade when you get a bunch of southern Californians involved, like the group pushing to have polar bears added to the threatened species list. After all, how much context can people have when their only exposure to the North is a Frank Zappa song.

But their push has brought more public attention to the issue. In the last decade, global warming has escaped the ivory-towered confines of university labs and remote Antarctic research stations. Heck, somebody even made a block-buster about it, starring one of the dudes from Brokeback Mountain.

Global warming has become a self-explanatory phrase. Most media have abandoned the cursory addendum "gradual heating of the planet caused by the emission of greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide", because, well, most people already know.

And knowledge is one pre-requisite for change. The other is having enough people actually care. Otherwise, I have first dibs on a room at the Baker Lake Tropical Resort and Time Share.

Darrell Greer, the editor of the Kivalliq News, is on vacation and will return in mid-July.

Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik Drum

We've come a long way, baby.

In my 23 years in Inuvik, I have seen many different kinds of celebrations.

People gather to remember our soldiers who died during war, to celebrate Canada Day and a variety of other events where food and fun is had.

I'm sure you all enjoyed Aboriginal Day festivities, and filled up on traditional meats.

Hopefully, there was some dry meat left after I arrived. I apologize. I'm weak for the taste of well dried caribou.

I can remember years ago, when gatherings like this came and went, without much planning or preparation.

People would show up at a set time, which was sometimes changed because of a late dance the night before.

Good ol' Delta time, eh? The activities start when the co-ordinator gets up.

Luckily, we have now seemed to crawl out of the darkness, and into a new era where things happen as they are supposed to.

The people who have been responsible for planning the many events we have in town need to be applauded.

A number of individuals tirelessly give their time to ensure the public is having a good time.

If you have ever burned your hand while working a grill at Jim Koe park, I thank you.

If you ever missed your favourite TV show to coach a ball game, then you're in the same boat. Thanks.

Yes, Aboriginal Day is a great day for all people in town.

I see the celebration as a gathering of people without colours and without borders.

Everyone out in a sunny day, looking to enjoy each other's company and maybe eat some free food.

It really goes to show how far Inuvik has really come over the years.

In the past few years, the streets are cleaner, and our quality of life has improved greatly.

People smile on the streets, and, heck, they might even wave back to you if you stick your hand in the air.

As a people, I think we have evolved into a new age, that supersedes any society I can think of.

I remember walking down a street as a little kid, and being intimidated by the number of drunks on the street, or gangs of unruly kids who didn't like the way I acted.

Maybe they just wanted my bike. Who knows?

The main point I want to hit home is that we have all banded together to make Inuvik safe for families.

Our soccer field has grass, now if we only had some nets...

And, oh yeah, a note to all you kids who "use" the soccer nets when they are up.

Those nets are expensive, and are not to be used for hammocks.

If you've ever kicked a ball into the Northmart parking lot, you know how frustrated I am.

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum

Water is something all Deh Cho communities have in common.

Each is located near a body of water, whether it be a river or a lake.

Just as the people in the area are linked by close ties, the water is also linked as it all moves inevitably towards the Mackenzie River -- from which this region gets its name.

The waterways and the water itself have a wide variety of roles.

The water can be welcomed as a provider of leisure activities and transportation routes.

This past weekend, the boat launching points around Fort Simpson, and probably in other communities, were filled with vehicles loading and unloading a variety of boats. People were headed out for a number of reasons including fishing, visits to cabins and pleasure rides.

NWT author Jamie Bastedo is combining both leisure and travel as he makes his way along the Mackenzie River.

Bastedo has been visiting the communities in the Deh Cho along the Mackenzie over the past few weeks as he travels by canoe doing research for an official guide book on the TransCanada Trail in the NWT.

The end product of Bastedo's journey might bring more adventure tourists into Deh Cho communities. In the short term, it is a reminder that the waterways are also a link to the past and the traditional water trails used before the invention of combustion engines and metal hulled boats.

But the water also has a side that residents have learned to watch for cautiously.

This week, Nahanni Butte saw the potentially destructive nature of water as high levels in the rivers created lakes in the community.

Luckily the flooding was not extensive. A few homes had water up to their doorsteps and some uninhabited buildings had water flowing through them.

Residents took this all in stride with good humour, resorting to inventive means of dealing with the water, including canoeing down streets and walking through flooded areas in hipwaders.

People in other communities will be able to relate to the feeling that comes with wondering how high water will rise as they watch it slowly creep up the banks.

With water touching so many aspects of life in the Deh Cho there has to be a recognition that this is a two way street. Water gives us so much and in return we have to ensure that what we are giving back is not harmful.

Many presenters at the Joint Review Panel hearings in Kakisa and Fort Providence remembered this fact. In both communities, the main concern was possible pollution or disruption to the water.

It is good to see people stepping forward and voicing their concerns about the future of something that is so important in the Deh Cho. Probing for answers to unanswered or nagging questions is crucial so informed decisions can be made.

While the possible impacts of large developments must be scrutinized closely, the same diligence should be applied to our own actions.

Everyone has to do their part to ensure that the we can continue to enjoy the water found in abundance in the Deh Cho.

In Friday's Yellowknifer, Hank Big Charles' name was misspelled ("In celebration, June 23). Also, there were several errors in the article "The guests of honour," June 23: Joseph Kennedy and Lucy Tulugarjuk were both improperly identified; and The Dettah drummers performed in place of the Tlicho drummers; Yellowknifer apologizes for any confusion or embarrassment caused by these errors.