"It's discrimination."

That was the comment Education Minister Charles Dent made to the media when asked about the Catholic school board's action to keep non-Catholics out of the school board election.

We agree and ask the question: Where will the discrimination end if the courts rule against non-Catholics?

The Catholic church openly and unapologetically discriminates against women. Women are not considered fit to be priests. Are they any more fit to be school board trustees?

The Catholic church discriminates against gay men. They are not fit to be priests. Are they any more fit to be school trustees?

As reported in today's Yellowknifer, one of the cases the board has chosen to support its court case involved an unmarried Catholic school teacher in Alberta. She was successfully fired for getting pregnant. Are single mothers fit to sit as school board trustees?

Though the question was asked by a former Catholic school board trustee who is also non-Catholic, we will ask again: Are non-Catholic parents fit to sit on Parent Advisory Committees?

With the present overcrowding, are non-Catholic students of the public school system fit to associate with Catholic school students?

We leave the answers to these questions to the consciences of all Yellowknifers.

We do not question the desire of Catholic parents to school their children according to their beliefs. But when tax dollars are collected through an elected body such as a school board, every taxpayer has a right to be represented and have a say in how their money is spent.

None of what the Catholic board is doing now was discussed in public. There was no public vote, even though the board collects taxes from a non-Catholic public.

These are the same non-Catholic dollars that have helped build a quality Catholic school system over several decades. Today, more than 40 percent of those tax dollars and 40 percent of the students are non-Catholic.

Education Minister Dent and the territorial government must stand firm against this attempt to unleash religious and other forms of discrimination.

To bow to it would be a step backward in Northern social values.

Resist discrimination in all its ugly forms.

If the Catholic school trustees want 100 percent Catholic control, let them sacrifice the non-Catholic tax revenue to prove their commitment to their faith.

To use the courts and out of date, discriminatory laws to argue their case simply exposes the coldly calculated legal aggression at work, largely paid for by non-Catholic parents.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

Full marks to the Rankin Inlet Hamlet Council and its recreation committee for paring down the number of bingo games in the community.

A number of socially-minded organizations have expressed concerns during the past few years over the number of games and, perhaps more damaging, the large cash prizes being offered.

We have stated the importance of bingo to local fundraising efforts many times in this space.

It is a necessary way of raising revenues, with the vast majority of the money going to youth, sports, non-profit groups and important community organizations.

Under the new guidelines, there will now be two bingo games every second week, instead of the usual three games per week.

Does the move totally address the problem of people spending money they can't afford to lose and their families going without as a result? No.

However, it is a small step in a positive direction.

Not only does the move erase 24 games annually, it also shows council members are listening to concerns being voiced by the community.

And, we're sure, the fact we have a municipal election coming up in three short months didn't play that much of a role in the decision.

The naysayers are all ready being heard, saying the move doesn't do enough to address the problem of gambling in the community.

But, exactly how much of the onus on controlling gambling in Rankin falls on hamlet council?

Kitchen poker games have never been more popular across Canada, and we can't expect council members to be running around town keeping tally sheets and disposable income charts. Neither can we expect council to ignore the monetary needs of the hamlet, or the worthwhile entities that rely on bingo revenue to survive.

Ultimately, the responsibility of how much money is being spent on gambling rests with the individual.

We are not being flippant, cold-hearted or ignorant of the power of gambling addiction to control people's lives.

It is an addiction like any other; powerful and difficult to break.

That being said, there is only so much council, church groups, outreach programs and caring citizens can do.

The first step is for a gambling addict to admit he or she has a problem.

Even then, they still have to want help and possess the internal fortitude to seek it out.

If you're placing bets or buying bingo cards and Nevada tickets with money you know is meant for groceries, clothes for your kids, utility bills or any other area that's necessary for the comfort and well-being of your family, you have problem.

Help is out there and, as evidenced by council's decision, there are people in the community who care.

But, ultimately, the decision to reach back into your wallet or purse is yours. You must take responsibility for your actions and seek help for your problem.

If not, we'll give you big odds on where your story will end.

Big odds indeed!

Editorial Comment
Philippe Morin
Inuvik Drum

I was reading a book called 'Alcoholism: Reducing your risk' the other day, which is available at the Inuvik Centennial library.

One section spoke about teenagers and how they are more emotional than adults.

"For a variety of reasons - some biological, some social, some developmental - adolescents tend to over respond emotionally to normal stress.

"Their first response to problems is an emotional one.

"That's what makes them so impulsive, exhibiting behaviour which is sometimes incomprehensible to adults," it read.

I mention this quote because it's something the NWT's Department of Health and Social Services clearly understands.

On Sept. 21, the department's mock car crash - held for the teenage students of Samuel Hearne secondary school - was a violent emotional spectacle, which used both theatre and real pictures to tell the truth.

Consider the things students saw: Pictures of crash victims' faces, a dead body wrapped in a shroud, a funeral procession and a live patient - Barry Cook, a talented actor by the way - who faked a spine injury and squirted fake blood over firefighters from a stomach wound.

Later, as students visited the hospital's emergency room, Dr. Cam Macleod showed various tools and told anecdotes about collapsed lungs and chest-plates cracked open like lobster tails.

Well done, sir!

Like many in attendance, I couldn't help but feel effected - and perhaps a bit queasy - with the realization I was hearing the truth.

While it's easy to read statistics about car crashes and young people, it's important for teachers to make that emotional punch connect.

It is for this reason - the presentation of facts as undeniably real as a morgue table - that programs like this are a great idea.

Sometimes, the best way to teach young people is not through the mind, but the stomach.

- Regular Drum editor Dez Loreen is on vacation and will be back next week.

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum

Work is something that almost everyone gets to experience in their lifetime.

In our society where money is the key to buying necessary goods and services, holding down a job is a primary means of obtaining the funds you need to live. Like everything else in the world, however, the way in which people look at work is constantly changing.

In this employment market of fast changing opportunities, company loyalty isn't what it used to be. People no longer necessarily stay with the same company or organization for the whole of their working careers.

In light of this, recognition is deserved for those employees who commit their talents and resources to dedicated service. Some people with these traits were awarded over the past two weeks for their service to the Government of the Northwest Territories.

Around the Deh Cho people were recognized for the jobs that they face daily after rising out of bed. Some of the amounts of service were quite amazing.

The 35 years of service given by Alex Gargan and Diane Edwards in the Department of Public Works and Deh Cho Health and Social Services respectively are no simple matters.

Thirty-five years is a long time to stick with anything. It's an even longer time to move through and still enjoy the work that you are doing as both Gargan and Edwards say they do. The lengths of time worked by a number of the employees for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources are also more impressive than they seem on the surface. Many of the people are members of fire crews. Because the crews only work approximately four months a year they've actually returned to the same job for a minimum of 15 years in order to have their time add up to the five years that has been recorded.

People who choose to stay with the same employer for these lengths of time might become even rarer in the near future. Business analysts continue to speculate about the constant need for skilled workers especially in the trades. Many tradespeople are already in short supply.

With more development occurring daily in Alberta and the possibility of the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline, workers may find even more options for the resources they have to offer.

A look at the work force around the North is enough to show Canadians are willing to move to where they can find work. The same glance shows that Northerners are just as willing to move because many travel south for employment.

With so many opportunities on the horizon both employers and employees will need to be prepared for the conditions of the employment market to come. The power might soon be even more strongly in the worker's corner.

I'm travelling home to Ontario this week to be with my family for Thanksgiving. Jessica Gray will be reporting for the paper over the next three weeks.

Due to an editing error, incorrect information ran in Wednesday's Yellowknifer ("Pot seized at elementary school," Sept. 27). The article stated that school and district officials did not return phone calls for comment. Prompt comment was, in fact, made. Also, Debra Saftner's name was misspelled in the article, "The flight to nowhere." Yellowknifer apologizes for any embarrassment or confusion caused by these errors.