If you can fire somebody, you are the boss. You can ask for information from that person and expect to have it readily supplied. You can set goals and demand results. If they can't do the job you need done, then you can fire them.

So-called ordinary MLAs did that last Thursday, firing Health and Environment Minister Michael Miltenberger because he showed a lack of respect for an MLA. Our question is: Why do MLAs only exercise the power given them by the voters when they are insulted?

These same MLAs allow important questions to cabinet colleagues to go unanswered. They allow themselves to be spoon-fed government information on condition they do not share the information with the public. They complain when cabinet acts contrary to what most MLAs want but MLAs do nothing about it.

Just a few weeks ago, a majority of these MLAs signed a press release complaining about Premier Joe Handley's public comments regarding the government's legal attack on victims of a pedophile and former teacher. Yet MLAs allow the court case to proceed.

In this session, Premier Handley made his usual pronouncements of progress on devolution and resource revenue sharing but again produced no results and MLAs do nothing.

Last spring, one MLA was complaining cabinet had given the legislative assembly nothing to do over the summer and of course nothing got done.

The lack of unified action on the part of MLAs encourages cabinet ministers to believe they are the top dogs. Ministers act as if all others must follow their lead without question and criticism.

But MLAs have confused the power structure of traditional parliamentary government with consensus government. Cabinet supremacy works fine with party politics. It doesn't work at all with consensus.

In consensus, cabinet is given responsibility by all MLAs and chosen ministers enjoy a considerable salary increase for the extra work.

So MLAs are the boss but they are not treated as such. Would Miltenberger have ever made such contemptuous comments toward a person he considered his boss? No, he's far too smart. Instead, he considered Kam Lake MLA Dave Ramsay an irritant and reacted without pause which revealed his true thinking -- MLAS are inferior.

Now Miltenberger will be sitting outside cabinet. With his huge experience and solid work ethic, what better time to establish true and effective consensus government?

Some may say firing cabinet ministers on a regular basis would create unstable government. We say all MLAs are the government and they only change once every four years.

Residents of Grise Fiord know adversity.

As spelled out in a letter from Mayor Jarloo Kiguktak to Prime Minister Stephen Harper earlier this month, Grise Fiord is a creation of the federal government.

In the 1950s, Ottawa decided that placing people in Canada's high Arctic -- 1,159 kilometres above the Arctic Circle -- would establish our claim to Arctic sovereignty.

Inuit who were relocated there, primarily from inland regions of northern Quebec, were told homes and abundant wildlife awaited them. Apparently, the government saw no problem with the wildlife being sea mammals rather than land animals, expecting caribou hunters could just as easily hunt whale and seal. It was a problem, and people went hungry.

Today Grise Fiord has about 160 residents. Kiguktak points out that they remain Canada's true claim to the high Arctic. The community doesn't need billion dollar helicopters or ice-breakers to maintain Canadian sovereignty. Instead, Grise Fiord needs an arena, a recreation centre, a pool and a larger gymnasium.

The mayor's plea is directed squarely at Prime Minister Harper. Of course circumstances for Mr. Harper are vastly different than for residents of Canada's northernmost community. The prime minister's residence is 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa, an opulent stone mansion valued at approximately $5 million. Harper didn't grow up as a transplant on the southern tip of Ellesmere Island. No, he called Etobicoke, Ont. home, and his father was an accountant with Imperial Oil.

At the same time, there's little doubt Harper worked hard. He achieved exceptional marks in high school and went on to attain a masters in economics. He's an intellectual, to be sure.

But can Harper feel empathy for the residents of Grise Fiord, a place where it costs an arm and a leg to get on a plane, where the office building is a shambles and where there aren't enough rec facilities? It's hard to believe Harper has the capacity.

This is a man leading a government that just cut $1 billion dollars from a variety of programs including women's groups, literacy initiatives and anti-smoking campaigns. None of this was done without Harper's blessing.

Supposing he actually ever reads the letter from Mayor Kiguktak, it seems unlikely any action will be taken. Harper is a calculated individual seemingly driven by pragmatism. He also appears determined to follow through on his commitments -- largely a positive trait -- but in this case those commitments include ice breakers, not aiding a tiny, remote community.

Where does that leave the people of Grise Fiord? There's still the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Would kids in Canada's northernmost community settle for computers instead?

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

Hockey parents... we've all heard plenty about them because, unfortunately, of the few who get their names and stupid actions plastered all over the media when they erupt.

Some give their own kids a hard time, verbally berating them in an ill-advised attempt at making them perform better.

Those in this category are usually hypnotized by the thoughts of their child signing the dotted line on a multi-million dollar professional sports contract.

Others are trying to recapture the glory days of their youth, pushing their kids to perform at the same level they once did.

Then there are those who verbally abuse the coaches, rival players and game officials from the stands.

Their kids are easily identified as the ones who keep their heads low, staring at their feet while on the bench.

The worst of the bunch are those we hear about who physically assault minor-hockey coaches and officials.

We've all heard of the parent who tried to strangle his son's coach and the other who punched a young official because he didn't like the way he called the game.

In the past few years, we've seen the birth of yet another breed of this distasteful animal.

This one prefers lawyers and is known to sue if their kid is not played enough or given the top award in his or her area. They are hockey parents, but they are by a wide, wide margin, the exceptions to the rule.

Most hockey parents are some of the best people you ever want to meet.

They're the ones who get out of bed early, or give up their evening or weekend time, to drive their kids to the rink and stay to watch them play.

These hockey parents offer words of encouragement and provide opportunities for skill development without losing sight of the fact the game is meant to be fun.

Many true hockey parents are involved with their local hockey associations at some level, whether it be as a board member, attending meetings or simply helping out with tournaments and fundraising events.

In short, they give a lot of themselves and ask for precious little in return.

Unfortunately, such bland behaviour doesn't grab headlines and get the ink those who grab coaches by the throat in arena hallways often do.

But, in a few short weeks, there will be a chance to shine the spotlight brightly on our true hockey parents.

Hockey Canada Week runs Nov. 4-12. And, the week kicks off with National Hockey Parents Day on Nov. 4.

We here in the Kiv are well known for our love of Canada's national pastime.

And, we have our share of great hockey parents.

So, if your local recreation department doesn't have any official events scheduled for the day (lack of ice could be a huge problem), take a few moments to acknowledge a hockey parent you know.

The glamour and excitement may be on the ice, but the true backbone of the game can found cheering in the stands.

Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik Drum

I'm sitting in my office looking outside at the snow covered streets and the frosted windshields of vehicles that drive by. I'm reading the results of the 2006 Inuvik municipal election and I wonder what will come of it all.

In 2000, Derek Lindsay lost the mayoral race to Peter Clarkson by only seven votes. Losing by such a narrow margin is nothing to scoff at, because of the amount of determination that Lindsay possessed since then.

Six years later, Lindsay stood up for his beliefs once again. This time, the people listened and responded in his favour.

I want to congratulate Derek on his victory. A separate congratulations go out to Arlene Hansen and Jeff Otto for putting their names into the hat. It takes a lot to put yourself up on the stage for all to see. The other mayoral candidates had good ideas, I hope Derek takes them with him on his way to the top.

All handshaking and back rubbing aside, the new mayor will need to come through with his campaign promises and deal with the issues that he raised in his platform.

I look forward to learning more about maintaining our utilidor system as well as improving our water pumping system.

As for the councillors who were also elected on Monday night, I hope you are all ready for the trials and challenges ahead of you as well.

I think we will see great things come from council chambers once all the new members are sworn in and take over office early next month.

I also want to seize this moment to thank all those town workers who counted the votes and ensured that the whole process went without a hitch.

Their tireless work all day was worth it just after midnight when the official results were released.

I am, however, embarrassed to think that not any one of the elected candidates was in attendance for the count. The only other people with me in council chambers after the clock struck 12 were town officials and one council candidate who was not elected. Don't worry man, we will always have next term.

While I am sure that most of the candidates were celebrating with the new mayor at his campaign headquarters, I would have liked to see more representation at the time of the results.

I don't even want to start with the low number of voters who came out to make their choice. I cannot understand why it would be so hard to leave work for a few minutes to go and vote.

Hell, registration was not hard. Just sign your name and check a box. But I guess most people just figured that their candidate would be elected regardless of their vote.

I hope you were right. Because like I said in a previous editorial, if you did not vote, then just shut your mouth and accept anything that comes out from town council this term.

Oh well, maybe you will be interested enough to vote next time.

Editorial Comment
Jessica Gray
Deh Cho Drum

As humans, we have an amazing ability to adapt to situations and problems we encounter.

Unfortunately, we're also able to be perfectly apathetic and get used to things that bother us, even if it puts undue stress on life.

These are the musings I had while at the last Fort Simpson village council meeting on Monday.

I may not have lived here for long, but from the sighs and frustrated comments, it's not difficult to see the problems everyone has with garbage pickup.

When Tom Matus, the council's senior administrator, informed them it would cost the village approximately $7,000 a month to add a fifth day to garbage pickup, councillors weren't happy.

But they also weren't very happy with service to date, something they said Fort Simpson residents have brought up time and time again.

Deputy mayor Tom Wilson suggested they ask people to make formal complaints and have their names recorded by the village every time garbage wasn't picked up.

While it seemed to be an idea other councillors agreed with, some felt community members had brought it up so often with few results that they just learned to live with it.

The motto "learn to live with it" isn't so tough to swallow when it comes to garbage pickup.

But it is when it comes to more serious matters such as family violence and underage drinking.

Last week was Family Violence Awareness week and communities all across the Deh Cho refused to "learn to live with it" and instead embraced education and healthy discussion.

But how did it go from something people didn't talk about to a full fledged week of events designed to get promote awareness?

While I can't say for sure, it was likely someone cared enough about the issue and decided enough was enough.

Someone like Robert Byatt, the principal at Thomas Simpson high school. He submitted a letter to village council explaining how underage drinking, something the community has dealt with before, seems to be growing problem again.

Not only did he bring it up with the mayor and council, but he spoke to the Liidlii Kue First Nation and the RCMP about what he was seeing and the need to do something about it.

He even brought it to the attention of the school district Tuesday evening. Byatt may not have had a solution ready at hand, but his letter did its job by forcing people to face the issue.

Almost every councillor had something to say or a suggestion, just like Chief Keyna Norwegian and the RCMP whom he also addressed.

So if one person can start the ball rolling on a serious issue affecting the community, how hard can it be for the new council to figure out its garbage problem? Not so hard I think.

- Regular Drum editor Roxanna Thompson is on vacation. She returns next week.