Imagine some well-meaning civil servant in Ottawa was asked for and granted permission to hold a big race down Franklin Avenue during Monday rush hour.

Imagine Yellowknife City Hall isn't consulted until just before the race. What would the city do?

We can only expect city officials would look at the race organizer and say: "You need a permit for that and you won't get one because Franklin Ave. is full of Yellowknifers driving home from work.

They wouldn't appreciate your race making them late for picking up kids and getting dinner on. Next time ask us, not Ottawa and we'll try to help you out."

That's exactly the situation we have with the Rock and Ice Ultra race organized by Yellowknife resident Scott Smith and sponsored by BHP Billiton with the help of many other Northern sponsors and companies.

A remarkable achievement, Smith has put together a $200,000 race across 300 kilometers of the kind of tough Northern trails that is attracting 60 competitors from Europe, Taiwan, the United States and the North.

Both the City of Yellowknife and the Government of the Northwest Territories gave Smith their blessing as sponsors. The Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board gave Smith permission to use the route he wanted. The board's mandate is to be "A forum for regional decision making, ensuring effective participation of residents in the use, protection, and benefits of the lands and waters of the Mackenzie Valley."

We don't expect Smith to be an accomplished athlete and race organizer and still have time to understand the complexities of Northern governments. But we do expect highly-paid, presumably experienced board staff to know the Yellowknives Dene are an aboriginal government with legitimate authority over the very lands Smith wanted to cross.

We would also expect our politically savvy Mayor to acknowledge the rights of the aboriginal governments surrounding municipal boundaries. And where were GNWT officials when put support behind a plan using land upon which the Yellowknives Dene have a legal claim?

Where were all these people when Smith was slogging over trails to attract racers and attention to the North? We don't doubt there will be many who blame Yellowknives Chief Fred Sangris for saying no to the race. We also expect Sangris doesn't care.

Between exploration, mines, squatters and cottages, the Yellowknives Dene are used to such shabby treatment by fellow governments. Why should they accept such behaviour with any grace? To encourage more of the same?

Regardless of what happens with the race, the mayor, territorial government, and the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water board should apologize first to the Yellowknives Dene for the political mistake, and next to race organizer Smith for not steering him in the right direction.

Such a race on Yellowknives' land would be good for the band, the city and territorial governments.

Once the proper apologies are delivered, we hope all parties can sit down and put on a world-class race of which we can all be proud.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Wednesday, February 21, 2007

A special day in Canada slipped quietly past the Kivalliq this past week with little fanfare whatsoever.

And that is something our politicians, leaders and educators must address.

Feb. 15 was National Flag Day in Canada, marking the 42 years we, as a nation, have had our own distinct flag, after being without one for almost 100 years.

Those not up to speed on our flag's history should do a little research.

The first attempt at establishing our own flag began in 1925 when a committee of the Privy Council began looking for designs.

The task was never completed and the idea lay dormant for two decades.

Then, in 1946, a select Parliamentary Committee asked for designs and received about 2,600 of them. But, once again, the idea fizzled out.

Almost another two decades would pass until Lester B. Pearson decided in 1964 that the matter had to be addressed once and for all, especially with the nation's centennial celebration a scant three years away in 1967.

This time the task was completed and, after much debate over the final three choices, the Maple Leaf was raised for the first time in 1965.

Precious few things have held the power to bond people together and produce a torrent of human emotion such as the symbol of a nation.

Yet, many Canadians give little thought to the symbol that flies over our freedom each and every day.

I smiled this past week when I read Nancy Karetak-Lindell's thoughts on watching our flag being raised for the first time in Arviat.

I remember the first time the flag was raised at Central school in Glace Bay, N.S.

I was in Grade 2 at the time and, although I could not comprehend the significance of the event, there was no denying the electricity in the air as it made its way up that old wooden flag pole.

What a sight as it unfurled and rode the wind for the very first time.

We are fortunate to live in the greatest nation on Earth and our flag is a tribute to more than our nationality.

It is a symbol of our pride, convictions, courage, sensibility, sensitivity, fairness, tolerance and understanding.

You can't help but notice how many of these traits combined to play an integral role in the birth of our great territory almost eight years ago.

Many nations don't share all these traits with us.

Should we have lived in any of those places, there would be no Nunavut today.

Come Feb. 15, 2008, Kivalliq should lead the way in turning Nunavut into a sea of red and white for we owe those colours much.

Yes, there have been mistakes made in the past, but justice and forgiveness are two more distinct Canadian traits.

In many parts of the world, deserving one's own land would not equate into having one's own land, at least not through negotiation without a single shot being fired.

That type of civility is rare. Yet, here we sit in Nunavut. To those with entitlement, our land.

And, to all of us, our territory, under our flag.

The colours of our nation.

Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik Drum
Friday, February 16, 2007

Seriously, I think it's high time that we stand up as a community and give the boot to crack dealers in town.

These people come to Inuvik with a suitcase full of cocaine and a hunger for money. It must be the easiest job in the world to sit by the phone and wait for the business to roll in. In an industry where the product moves itself, any greedy, selfish person can become a crack dealer.

We need to take a proactive approach to this situation. We cannot wait for the police to step up and make another "large" bust. Pre-empt the RCMP and make some phone calls. Send anonymous tips to the detachment. I've been told that is how our system works.

People who attended those meetings last year about the crack problem are still waiting for results. Well guess what? You are the ones who should be blamed. If you claim to know who these dealers are, then rat them out.

Every crack dealer in this town is an outsider looking to score some easy money from the weak, addicted people in the North. If you are a crack dealer from in town, you just became an outsider.

I'd like to ask a crack dealer what he or she wants from this life. I'd like to know what he wanted to be as a kid and how his mother must feel about his career choice.

As much as I want to, I cannot leave all the blame with the dealer.

After all, it's called supply and demand. Just because he brought some rocks up North on the plane does not mean you have to buy them.

Problems like this only go away when people in the community stand up and admit they have a problem. If they can't stop, there is no reason for the dealers to leave.

I don't think people in Inuvik are taking this problem seriously. Maybe they didn't attend that meeting because they don't know anyone addicted to crack.

Well hey, every addict is someone's family. If you have not been affected by crack yet, you may be soon.

People get curious. It's our nature to question the world around us and try new things. Now, if we could push crack dealers out of town, there would be no temptation for kids to try crack.

Part of the power of cocaine, crack, speed or any other chemical is the physical addiction. You cannot control it even if you want to. It starts with a harmless sample at a party, and eventually you're flushing entire paycheques down the toilet.

If you are battling an addiction to crack, please get help. Talk to your family about it. Let them know that you plan on beating this.

By being an addict and giving these crack dealers a reason to keep coming back to the land of the midnight sun, you are a big part of the problem.

I have faith in the people here in Inuvik. Rather than boot out all the addicts in town to starve the dealers' demand, maybe we should just deal with the crack merchants.

By giving a dealer your money for a gram of rock, you just sealed that guy's fate. Instead of learning a useful trade or finding a career, this person is making it rich in life by feeding off people's weakness.

He could have been a pilot or he might have been a good basketball player, but someone hooked him up with a sweet gig, selling cocaine to Northerners.

Can we just put everything else on hold and fix this? I think it's time to put the pipe away and crack down on rock.

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum
Friday, February 16, 2007

While people are constantly beaten over the head by the idea that it only takes one person to make a difference in the world, this theory recently worked astoundingly well in Fort Liard.

Thanks to the idea of one man and the backing of some community members, a young girl now has a greater amount of independence.

Gene Hope noticed the difficulties that Patricia Duntra had travelling around the roads in Fort Liard using her own arm power to propel her wheelchair. One day he took a chance and started canvassing for donations for an electric wheelchair. In a day he had gathered enough for three-quarters of the price of a new wheelchair.

While most plans don't always go that smoothly, it's actions like this that give rise to the theory that one person can change the world. In this case the change was in the world of a young girl.

A lot of great ideas come from observing something that doesn't work as well as it might and coming up with a better or different way to do it. All those people out there who have been storing a plan in the back of their heads, whether it is for a change in their community or a useful invention, should take this opportunity to try and make their own plans into realities. You'll never know if something will work unless you give it a try.

The clock has ticked down and for the residents of Fort Simpson the NWT Winter Games are upon them.

With confirmations from 31 of the possible 33 communities in the Northwest Territories, this means close to 300 students and their chaperones will be descending on the village for the weekend.

For the participants the games will provide a wealth of benefits.

The games are designed to be non-competitive and introduce youth ages 10-14 to new sports and hopefully get them hooked. If even a handful of the participants are inspired to join a new sport or take a familiar sport to a higher level the games will be worth it.

With all the recent statistics concerning overweight and unhealthy children, every youth needs to be encouraged to take part in a physical activity regardless of whether or not they become a star athlete for the territory.

Participants at the games will be able to play badminton, snowboarding, speed skating, cross-country skiing, broomball, basketball and Dene games. Darts, curling and archery will be held as optional activities.

Other benefits will include the chance for the youth to travel and meet new people and old friends. At almost any gathering, youth say the best part of the event is socializing with people their own age.

Residents of Fort Simpson can also get more out of the games than just a weekend where the village is overrun by youth.

The games will provide a great chance for people to get out, cheer on some athletes and maybe rekindle some athletic abilities of their own.

Let's make this an event that will have participants talking positively about the Deh Cho and Fort Simpson long after the games are over.

An error appeared in the TGIF section of Friday's Yellowknifer. The listing for a concert featuring the Leslie Bader Band and Transience at the Top Knight Pub contained the wrong date.

The concert was held on Friday.

Also, incorrect information appeared in the article "Ndilo chief vetoes race - organizer." Permission for the race was granted by the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board. Yellowknifer apologizes for any embarrassment or confusion caused by these errors.