The discovery that a convicted pedophile was living in Hay River unknown to the RCMP or the community, makes us doubt the effectiveness of the National Sex Offender Registry.

Sex crimes are among the most traumatic one human can inflict upon another. The public needs assurances the twisted people committing such terrible crimes can be tracked.

But the registry itself is not enough if offenders like John Murray Melanson can freely roam the nation and end up in Hay River where he was charged in connection with child pornography and sexual assault on two youths.

According to a 2002 publication put out by the John Howard Society in Alberta, "42 per cent of the total sample (of sex offenders) were reconvicted for a sexual and/or violent offence."

With that in mind, how can legislators believe slapping a person's name on a list is enough. This man volunteered at a Hay River school and even played Santa at a children's Christmas party, all the while in violation of his probation under the National Sex Offender Registry.

Unfortunately, it took six months to discover there was a warrant for Melanson's arrest. That only occurred because a Hay River resident became suspicious when rumours Melanson was in possession of child pornography began to circulate.

The legislation is flawed. Anyone on the list must report to RCMP when they move from one community to another. Otherwise they only have to report annually, depending on their probation terms. So if a person on the registry reports in and then skips town, their disappearance would be unknown to police for a year, unless the person was caught speeding or otherwise breaking the law. Even after a warrant is issued, the person could roam free for years if police in another region have no reason to suspect the person.

Although we don't advocate limiting a person's right to freedom after having served their time, stiffer controls are needed to protect the public. Leaving it up to people with a criminal history to report to police on their own is naïve.

First, the annual reporting period is too long. Those on the registry for serious offences should have to report quarterly. Simply issuing a warrant if they do not report is not enough either. If the only way a person will be discovered is after they commit a crime, nationwide police and public bulletins should be distributed to help track the person down before that happens.

According to the National Sex Offender Registry office in Ottawa, the rate of non-compliance with the registry is 15 per cent. With 14,360 people on the list (77 in the NWT), there is the potential for 215 people to be hiding out anywhere in Canada.

It's also logical if they have decided to break the rules of the registry, they have made the first step towards reoffending, or, even worse, may have already reoffended.

With that in mind, everything possible should be done to find these people. Waiting for the person to get a parking ticket isn't good enough.

Some Nunavut sealers are facing a dilemma.

The Masiliit Corporation in Qikiqtarjuaq is in the midst of negotiating a private sector partnership with a fishing company that promises more money up front for sealers. That sounds enticing.

The drawback is that the fishing company is in Newfoundland, where the sealing industry is targetted by virulent animal-rights activists on an even more rabid level than in Nunavut.

Inuit hunters still consume most of the seal meat and fat, use the pelts for clothing and, traditionally, used the oil to light qulliqs and the bones to make tools. They harvest seals by shooting them.

In Newfoundland, the hunt is largely viewed in more commercial terms. As well, some hunters still use picks and clubs to kill seals, leading to an uproar by conservation groups over the brutal method. Well publicized images of bloodied baby seals gained global notoriety in the 1970s and 1980s, causing seal skin prices to bottom out.

It should be acknowledged that there is business element to the Nunavut harvest as well. The territory's sealers, who number more than 1,000, sell about 10,000 pelts each year. The pursuit generates an estimated $800,000 for the territory's economy.

The economic benefits could grow if Masiliit Corporation works out a pact with Newfoundland's Barry Group. That may very well lead to a greater number of seal kills. But then the Humane Societies of the world may then set their sights squarely on Nunavut.

Just over the past few months, a movement was afoot by factions within the European Union to have Canadian seal products banned completely.

German and Belgian politicians were among the greatest enemies of Canadian sealing.

Yet other markets remain; China, Russia and Norway are already among Canada's primary sealing customers.

Nunavut always has the option of attempting to counter the criticism, trying to inform people around the world of Inuit cultural practices and heritage.

Students in the Nunavut Sivuniksavut academic program have been doing the territory proud on that front for many years - in Ottawa (where they attend school) and abroad. The Government of Nunavut should take its cue from them and make its voice heard overseas.

Killing seals for subsistence and for profit are two different things. Nunavummiut are now being forced to decide where they will draw the line on commercial sealing. In an increasingly economic world, the reality is that people need dollars.

So take a carefully-negotiated deal with the Barry Group over the short-term, perhaps five years, and in the meantime, work diligently to establish a made-at-home sealing operation that will allow Nunavummiut full control over their own brand, image and product.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Wednesday, March 7, 2007

The written word can travel fast in today's world.

With so many people plugged into the global community via e-mail and the Internet, distance has become an illusion when it comes to what you say or write at any given time.

In fact, one has to exercise a certain amount of caution and constraint when sitting behind a keyboard to share their thoughts and observations -- even if those thoughts and observations are only meant for a school district newsletter in British Columbia.

This is a lesson Kelly Atkinson, a temporary resident of Baker Lake, now knows all too well.

Atkinson is on a one-year leave of absence from the Quesnel School District in B.C. to be a teacher-librarian at Rachel Arngnammaktiq elementary school in Baker.

She agreed to author a six-part series for the school district newsletter in B.C., and some of her observations haven't made her any friends in Baker and parts beyond.

Anyone desiring to read Atkinson's work on the Internet, will find the series under Update 28 of the school district's site, starting on Jan. 10 (as of this writing).

One thing you will notice as you read through Atkinson's remarks - other than it being fraught with pseudo-intellectualism - is that she does have some nice things to say about Baker Lake, Nunavut and Inuit in general.

However, when Atkinson decides to portray what she perceives as the reality of life in Nunavut, some of her comments stop you cold - and she has some rather unique perspectives to share.

According to her, you see overt drunkenness in many communities, especially our smaller ones. Gambling is out of control in Baker, evidenced by ill clad, dirty, hungry children who spend most of the night wandering aimlessly from house to house.

Hopefully, not too many of these ragamuffins get between Atkinson and her wonderful view of the moon or the Northern lights on the lake through her window.

Many of us also thought the green light for the Meadowbank gold project to proceed was good news, but, apparently not.

According to Atkinson, the vast majority of the jobs will be taken by "Newfies" and Quebecois.

And, the few Inuit who are hired to work on the road will blow their money on booze and drugs, she claims.

Atkinson also points out that every adult in Nunavut gets $20,000 a year in a Northern living allowance, Inuit grieve for sex offenders when they're sent to jail and give no thought to the victim, a number of Inuit teachers are woefully undereducated with only a Grade 3 or 4 education, and many babies are born about nine months after every sports tournament.

Despite the parts of her series that are flattering to Baker, it's no wonder people have had their feelings hurt by some of Atkinson's remarks.

They are, to use her word in describing Baker, raw.

Inuit can take heart in the fact Atkinson predicts good things for them in the future, that is as soon as they figure out life in this century.

But, judging by how careless she was with some of her remarks, Atkinson has a bit to learn about life in this century herself.

Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik Drum
Friday, March 09, 2007

My gears are grinding once again and this time, the territorial government finds itself right in my hot seat.

I'm writing about the government's apparent lack of interest when it comes to negotiating with the owner of the Perry Building, Catia Stamatelakis.

I think the best way to solve the dispute between the building owner and the territorial government is for both parties to sit down and hammer out an agreement of some sort.

In the 30 years the Perry Building has been standing in Inuvik, the GNWT has been the only tenant. Apparently, the building was made especially for the government to use for office space.

Now, after a controversial renovation and an accused lapse in rent payments, the GNWT appears unwilling to negotiate with the Perry Building owner. I can't say for sure because the government isn't talking.

I'm getting confused because this is not the way I expected the government to act.

No matter who did what and why things are in the state they are in, the government should at least be open to discussion with the owner.

The owner of the building has legitimate questions about the building and why it was renovated. She is now the owner of a damaged property that may need hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs.

That means that even if she wanted to evict the GNWT from the building, she would have to pay for renovations before putting the property back on the market.

This whole matter has been boiling for more than a year, since the building was evacuated after being declared unsafe.

Since then, an inspector hired by the owner has declared the building safe to use.

What the two parties need to do is get together and work out a settlement regarding what happened to the building that led to it being condemned.

There should be no hesitation from the tenant to explain the events that led to the walls being taken down.

If the reasoning was legitimate, why wasn't the owner informed at the time of the renovation?

The fact is that nobody is standing up for this woman. Her husband started a local business over 30 years ago to serve the GNWT.

The family invested a lot of money and resources into the project they named the Perry Building, after the owner, Perry Stamatelakis.

They lived in Inuvik for 20 years and started a family here. Because of the man's health, they moved to Edmonton, near the medical services he needed to survive.

There should be someone by her side who will look for a fair result to this matter.

This should all start with a new inspection of the entire building from top to bottom, done by an independent engineer agreed to by both parties.

This dispute is the result of two engineers who said different things about the structural integrity of the building.

This matter does not need to go to the courts, but it looks like it might end there if an agreement isn't reached soon.

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum
Friday, March 09, 2007

For the dead of winter, a lot of people have been seeing green lately.

This green isn't the green of the local coniferous trees, the green of a wad of bills or even a green shade of envy - it's the green of environmentalism.

If environmentalism is a bandwagon it must be getting pretty crowded. Lately there has been a lot of movement and talk from all levels of government about how they are either already green or are putting plans in place to become green.

On the national level Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been making a lot of headlines with his apparent turn to the green side which involves a number of promises including more money for provinces to help fight pollution and greenhouse gases.

Shades of green are also becoming prominent in the government of the NWT.

During his recent tour of some of the Deh Cho communities to host constituency meetings, MLA Kevin Menicoche was questioned about the government's plans for the environment.

The NWT is slowly switching to a green agenda, said Menicoche.

Plans in the new budget include programs to help people upgrade to better doors and windows, incentives to switch to hybrid vehicles and more money for testers to conduct energy efficiency tests. Serious searches for alternative energy sources are also part of the game plan.

The colour green has also been making its presence known at the local level.

In Fort Simpson a committee of village councillors and community members is working to create an energy plan that is sure to include ways to decrease energy usage and make better use of the energy that is already available.

Environmental issues have also been part of the long running concerns of members of the Dehcho First Nations.

Recent discussions have focused on the oil sands in Alberta and possible effects on water levels in the Mackenzie River basin. The spectre of cyanide at the Prairie Creek mine site was also on the agenda at the winter leadership meeting.

Why all this greenness?

It may be because people are awakening to the fact that more efforts need to be made to make our lifestyles environmentally friendly and all levels of government are responding to the wishes of their constituents.

The reason could be centered on the fact that leaders realize there is a problem and it will cost less to start finding solutions now than it will to fight the damage later on.

Or it could be that leaders are using fear of environmental disaster to scare people into following their line of thinking.

Whatever the reason, the bonus is that something is being done.

It's not hard to see that things in the natural world people have taken for granted have started to change.

Temperatures aren't following seasonal patterns, ice isn't as thick as it once was, animals are moving in different ways... the list goes on and on.

While it's going to take a lot more than replacing doors and windows for more efficient models or recycling plastic juice containers to fix the mess we're in, this is a beginning and great things often have small beginnings.

It would take a complete shift in our lifestyles to put a halt to environmental degradation but until that time, keep filling your recycling box.