Charles Dent may have a few failings as NWT education minister, but to say he has no respect for Catholic education, or worse, wishes to 'eradicate' it, goes well beyond any reasonable argument one can make against him.

For years, the Yellowknife Catholic school board has quietly gone about its business, approving balanced budgets while boasting what must be very satisfying student enrolment levels.

That's why it's such a shock now that the board's leadership is sliding further off the rails.

First, was the board's ill-advised legal challenge to the territorial government, demanding that its trustees be Catholic even though the board continues to accept non-Catholic students and public money to support itself.

Now we are greeted to the spectacle of the board's chair, Shannon Gullberg, launching into an angry tirade against Dent, accusing him of harbouring a plan to wipe out Catholic education.

It was a pretty wild indictment of a man whose own son attends a Catholic school - Ecole St. Joseph. It also happens to be the very school that was central to Gullberg's outrage last week.

According to her, he is waffling on "concrete plans" for a retrofit of the fire-damaged school, even though Dent has already shifted money around to make the $22 million retrofit happen sooner.

The item is clearly outlined in this year's budget. It even explains why. Then there is the problem of Yellowknife Catholic Schools superintendent Kern Von Hagen, who moved from school administrator to political activist by launching the Catholics-only suit which was essentially a legal attack on one of his own board members.

Echoing board chair Gullberg's paranoid theatrics, he has warned of undefined "forces" at work undermining the Catholic school board.

Between Gullberg and Von Hagen, it seems they're doing a fine job of damaging the district's reputation all on their own.

The hostile campaign against Dent started last spring when YCS demanded a new school and Dent refused. His logic was simple.

He wasn't going to build a multi--million dollar facility for the Catholics when the public school district had 900 empty seats and other NWT communities were also demanding schools. Not least of all Inuvik, which desperately needs a new high school.

Samuel Hearne secondary school is close to collapsing on its students and has in fact had a partial structural collapse in the past.

The Catholics could have shared a school with the public district but they refused.

Last week's attack on Dent is about as silly and unjustified as one can get in politics. It's a shame considering how long YCS has enjoyed a reputation as a well-managed, functioning school system.

We're sure it still is despite its present leadership.

Of course, public support can unravel quickly, particularly when controversy abounds. Parents don't like turmoil when selecting schools for their children.

The Catholic school board would do well to rein in their leader.

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 23, 2007

You know what really grinds my gears? The fact that in almost 30 years, no one has opened a movie theatre in Inuvik.

The last shrine to Hollywood productions was what was called the Polaris theatre. I'm sure some of you are familiar with the place.

Wow, that was a while back wasn't it? For those of you too new to our community to know what I'm talking about, the Polaris was the hang-out spot for youth in the late 70s.

How do I know about the Polaris you ask? Simple answer: old newspapers. I was eyes deep in some old, bound copies of The Mackenzie Drift, a newspaper from the era.

Turns out that before channel four existed, people would get their entertainment from movies shown on a big screen. Wow, that must have been fun, gathering with friends, going on a date or just catching the Sunday matinee with the family.

I read that the operators of the theatre fell on hard times when Inuvik TV was established, which looks like a pirated feed of new releases and older movies. I read a few letters going back and forth about why the theatre really fell down the tubes.

Some complained the people who managed the place weren't keeping it clean and most of the seats were broken. The theatre's owners blamed the new TV channel for the lack of customers.

I'm sure there were also some rowdy groups of youth who would bring the house down with their views against authority while they blasted Black Sabbath's War Pigs from their oversized stereos. Either way, Inuvik's only movie theatre was shut down.

So now why the lapse in service? Shouldn't someone have picked up the ball and ran with it? Did movies suddenly become extremely unpopular in the few years before I was born? Was it all a conspiracy by our parents to hide the best thing Inuvik had going? I don't have the answers to those questions, but I am sure some people in town do.

Now, I can't start preaching about how a theatre would increase our tourism. Frankly I wouldn't want to waste my summer days in a crowded theatre.

But it is during the cold months of late winter that we could use a gathering place where we can all laugh and cry with our favourite actors.

I don't think I'm being farfetched with my vision of another theatre in town.

If we made enough of a fuss, I'm sure we could pre-empt the pipeline and all the other development in the region.

So come on Imperial Oil, make us a movie theatre. If you did that, I'd start digging up my back yard for your storage. Sure you can keep those tools in my office, so long as I get to watch Rush Hour 3 on opening night.

I understand the costs would be high, but the money would be good. Think about it, everyone likes a good movie and as long as the features stay recent, I don't see how this could fail. It's not like New North is going to start selling feeds to illegal movies, so stop waiting for the rolling ads to change.

I'd ask the town to put some money into a theatre, but in the past few years I have seen that recreation is the most important thing in Inuvik.

That family centre needs us. We all agreed to build it, now it might be cutting its operation days from six days a week to five. Come on, let's all go swimming and maybe they'll start showing movies in the pool. Oh man, that would sell tickets.

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum
Friday, February 23, 2007

I don't want to ring the victory bell too early and jinx anything, but I think it's safe to say the NWT Winter Games, hosted by Fort Simpson, will go down as a success.

While talking to those involved, including chaperones, participants and instructors, over the weekend the majority of the comments I heard were positive. The odd glitch had occurred here or there but those were only mentioned if I specifically asked if they would like to have seen anything done differently.

Chaperones and instructors noted how participants moved smoothly from one event to another and almost everything was on time. The organizers and volunteers who took part in the games should be praised for that.

Keeping more than 275 athletes, who don't know each other or the community they are in, moving in a timely manner is a work of art. Although some luck is involved, it takes a lot of well-thought-out planning for something this big to go as well as it did.

Despite there always being some stragglers, almost all of the events I visited were running on time and running well.

At the opening ceremony, Fort Simpson Mayor Duncan Canvin said he wanted to set the bar high for future games. At the closing ceremony, Canvin congratulated the volunteers for making Fort Simpson one of the biggest can-do communities in the NWT.

Official praise for the games also came at the closing ceremonies from Doug Rentmeister, executive director of Sport North.

"On behalf of Sport North I would like to congratulate Fort Simpson on hosting the best NWT Winter Games ever," Rentmeister said to the crowd.

Of course this could be just pleasant rhetoric and maybe Rentmeister gave similar praise to the communities that hosted the first two games. The real proof of the success of the event will have to come from the participants themselves.

Although it can be difficult to get sentences of more than one or two words out of 10 to 14-year-olds, the words that did come out were favorable.

The most common comment was "fun." Many participants found the whole weekend fun or decided one of the sports was particularly fun.

Speaking more loudly than words were their actions.

At every event the youth were on their feet, or sitting in the case of Dene games, and really giving the sports a try. Sure there were a few students sitting on the sidelines or hunkered down in the canvas tents heated by wood stoves, but they were generally the minority.

Students were learning how to smash birdies, knock around broomballs, shoot hoops, slide down hills on snowboards, outwit their opponents and all the while wearing smiles and chatting with new friends.

For all the credit that is to be given to the organizers and volunteers, a fair amount also needs to go to the participants. The games were all about the youth and they helped to make them a success.

Many students left their comfort zones, whether they were trying out a new sport or picking themselves up after falling or failing in front of strangers. Students from the smaller communities in the Deh Cho saw more new faces than there are residents in their communities. Participating in something this big is an achievement in itself.

For everyone involved in the games, congratulations on a job well done.

The Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board was not involved in granting permission to the Rock and Ice Ultra race, as stated in an editorial, Wednesday. Yellowknifer , at this time, cannot determine whom race organizer Scott Smith approached for permission. Yellowknifer will continue to seek this information and report it when obtained. Also, Bill Fandrick's name was spelled incorrectly ("Council ponders tougher, greener building standards," Feb. 21) Yellowknifer apologizes for any embarrassment or confusion caused by these errors.