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A recent court decision reinstating Frieda Martselos as chief should have put the Salt River First Nation back on the road to effective government.

Unfortunately the First Nation is appealing the decision and the controversy continues.

Martselos is likely surprised at the appeal considering she was quoted last week saying there were no problems between her and council and that she was "planning to be moving forward on a positive new beginning."

It is difficult to believe that so much drama could stem from only a single week following the band's election back in April. During that week Martselos came under fire when she fired the band's financial officer and sent the books to Edmonton for an audit. Council objected to the actions, which were made unilaterally.

The court recognizes that Martselos' conduct was not without reproach. The court decision clearly states that Martselos "misinterpreted her functions as chief, the role of council as an elected body and the role of the other coun.s."

However, band coun.' decision to promptly remove her from her position was a perfect example of two wrongs not making a right, and in this case made a bad situation worse.

Martselos and the coun. undermined the electoral process by not following established rules of governance. Even worse, they disregarded the will of their electorate.

Members of the Salt River First Nation elected their leaders with the hope that collectively they would represent the best interests of the membership.

We don't doubt that Martselos believed her actions were just and that she was fulfilling campaign promises to ensure accountability and transparency. However, she has to remember that there is a process that needs to be followed and she has to work with council if she hopes to achieve any of her goals.

On the other hand, council has to respect that the membership voted for Martselos as chief and did so out of a belief she was the best person for the job. Whether or not they were correct in that assumption is something they will decide during the next election, which is scheduled for August.

In the meantime, council has to at least respect the position of chief and make an effort to work with Martselos for the betterment of the First Nation.

The court has made its ruling and we find it hard to imagine an appeal will do any more than waste more time, more money and continue to do a disservice the SRFN membership.

It's time to bury the hatchet and get back to work.

Although most Nunavummiut don't need the statistics on suicide to see we have a problem, the numbers remain frighteningly clear.

Between April 1, 1999, and April 30, 2007, there were 222 deaths by suicide in Nunavut.

What it boils down to is an affliction that saddens our hearts and hurts our communities. Almost everyone has been affected.

Over the years, a seacan-full of papers and reports has been produced on the topic. Some people pinpoint causes like poor living conditions, colonialism, or drug and alcohol abuse. Others suggest ways to combat the trend, like healing circles and increased youth programming.

So what exactly is being done?

Last June, we watched the Government of Nunavut trot out its long-awaited Suicide Intervention and Prevention Strategy. It stressed that suicide prevention was a top priority for its staff, and that additional intervention "was needed urgently in order to save lives."

Entitled Annirusuktugut, the document outlined plans to provide more crisis support, recreational activities and funding expertise to the communities. It recommended the promotion of traditional and healthy living through a variety of on-the-land and educational programs.

Perhaps most importantly, it called for a dedicated three-person office to co-ordinate all these efforts hand in hand with the Isaksimagit Inuusirmi Katujjiqatigiit, or Embrace Life Council, and build upon programming that is already working. Most of this was to begin within one to three years.

Almost seven months later, the promised office has never materialized. A further strategy to implement the strategy remains "under review," and no date has been set for its completion.

The situation simply is not getting any better.

The GN did get one thing right early on, when it recognized the good work the Embrace Life Council has been doing for years in Nunavut.

Since 2004, its volunteers have promoted healthy, independent communities through events and counselling.

Other Inuit and grassroots organizations across the territory - Cape Dorset's Kanguit Healing Team, the Kamatsiaqtut Helpline and Clyde River's Ilisaqsivik Society, to name a few - also provide valuable support, healing and mentorship, often on a shoestring budget and through hard-working volunteers.

We'd really like to see the GN start to put more of its money where its mouth is, and begin acting now to get its great proposals off the page and into our communities.

If not, they must start by putting more money where the work is already being done, and provide more support to the workers already in the field.

Lives of Nunavummiut are literally hinging on it.

At the Liidlii Kue First Nation's office in Fort Simpson a project that could have a positive impact on the community and the region is underway.

Working together, band staff Jermaine Gargan, Dennis Nelner and Dieter Cazon along with community member Ryan Good are laying the groundwork for a community radio station.

With a clever working title of the LKFM project, the group's goal is to get a community-based radio station off the ground before next April.

The numerous benefits of this project cannot be overlooked.

The most obvious and immediate benefit is that the station will give audiences in Fort Simpson, and maybe farther afield in the Deh Cho as the station expands, another option on their radio dials. Unless you have satellite radio, the choices for radio listeners are rather slim in many Deh Cho communities including Fort Simpson.

Although CBC and CKLB have their charm and place there is nothing quite like having a radio station based in the community it's serving. Tuning into that station, listeners have the opportunity to hear the familiar voices of people they see daily in their community. This brings a sense of ownership and connection to a station.

When members of the listening audience know announcers personally it can also make them seem more approachable. It can be easier to share opinions with a community member rather than someone living in another location.

As both Jermaine Gargan and Chief Keyna Norwegian have pointed out, having local announcers will also create opportunities for community members.

People will have to chance to take training to fill the positions of both technicians and announcers for the station. LKFM could prove to be a springboard that will launch careers.

Other equally important benefits include the cultural programming that could be run on the station.

There are plans for programs run in Slavey along with on-air Slavey language classes.

To keep a language alive, it must be used. Having a radio station where the local dialect is spoken could be just the thing that is needed.

Added to the language component is the fact that LKFM could be used as a medium to broadcast stories from elders. Pre-recorded sessions could serve to share knowledge before it is forgotten or lost.

For all these reasons and more, a local radio station would be a welcome and useful edition to Fort Simpson and the Deh Cho and should be supported. Hopefully funding applications will be successful and the project will soon be off the ground and on the airwaves.

In preparation, all of the residents out there who think they have what it takes to be the next Gerry Antoine should start polishing their radio voice and personality now. There's an eager audience waiting.

The young people of today are fighting a losing battle against reality.

The war started many years ago and is only being fuelled by a flawed education system.

Basic education needs are not being met and the only ones to blame are the people in charge of leading us.

Oh, it gets ridiculous at times, seeing how our flaky government reacts to concerns about our learning needs.

We hear about dollars being spent and new programs and initiatives in place, but we aren't seeing any results.

We have the highest levels of our elected government sounding off about promises and increased budgets, but at the ground level we still have youth who are suffering.

When I was young, I was promised that after Grade 12 I would be done with school and free to make my own choices in life. It sounded fair enough. Go to school, learn a few things and then make my impact on the world.

Nobody told me that we weren't going to be given a fair shot.

I remember standardized testing in school. Every year we did a booklet of orange-coloured multiple choice questions.

All that seemed to do was supply reasons for our government to sip more funding from the already-tight federal straw.

Our poor results garnered more money, but what happened to it?

It's probably difficult to get teachers to stay in the North. I can imagine that teaching here can be frustrating as well. Many thanks to those who spend their time working with the needs of our young people.

But good people doing good things still can't hide the musk of our government.

I'd say that our education system is a joke, and we're the punch line.

Generations of people have been fed through the school system and spit out the other side.

We have Grade 12 graduates that can't win a spelling bee.

The backbone of any society is the education they provide to their own people.

I scoff at the reports of higher and higher graduation rates in the North, not because I want to mock those youth who complete their schooling, but because of the crooked piles the government builds our achievement standards on.

I know some of the blame can be put on the shoulders of the students because they didn't want to do the real work, so they were given passes, based on their age.

Social passing.

Yup, nothing better for the self esteem of a student than being rejected from their college of choice because they weren't prepared.

A lot of high school grads are not prepared for the path ahead and end up spending another two years upgrading.

Some bright-eyed students are able to trek south to continue learning.

I know that a lot of my classmates quickly matured out of Samuel Hearne. They moved to Edmonton and stayed there.

A regular contributor to News/North said the youth are frustrated with their education system and that is why they drop out.

The writer also said that the youth of today aren't stupid.

I agree, we have a good batch of young learners. All we need to do is keep them motivated.

It has long been my contention that when it comes to mail delivery in the Kivalliq, we're either the most happy-go-lucky folks in the country, have resigned ourselves to the fact we'll get our mail when Canada Post is good and ready to deliver it, or we simply don't know any better.

Many people have told me during the past decade that they don't complain about poor service because they're afraid their mail would stop altogether if they did.

Whether that line of thinking has any credence or is simply a case of paranoia gone wild is something I'll probably never know for certain.

That's not to say I don't understand it, because people here often tend to keep their complaints to themselves due to Nunavut's small, but quite intimidating, power base.

Reprisals in many areas of Northern life can be all too real, so it's only natural that fear would manifest itself in areas such as mail delivery.

The problem is, of course, if people don't speak up, nothing ever changes for the better.

Those who need to spew a company line to gloss over their inadequacies, simply keep repeating the same tired old rhetoric until the problem, or complainant, simply goes away.

That makes up a part of Canada Post's rather thin excuse for the ridiculous level of service we've been receiving for the past few months.

Those of us who actually live here are left to scratch our heads in wonder when we hear the corporation blaming weather woes for a good part of our ongoing mail-delivery problems.

Now, I'm not suggesting for one stamp-licking moment that Canada Post would ever register an excuse that was less than accurate and send it special delivery to we happy-go-lucky folks in the Kivalliq.

However, considering this winter, so far, has been one of our best in recent memory for our weather not interfering with air traffic, we're left to do a little extra head scratching to understand just where the heck Canada Post is coming from.

Anyone with a tad of common sense knows it's not fair to nag endlessly at the folks who work in our local outlets, as they simply can't put out what they don't have.

But, considering the rates we Northerners pay for Canada Post services and the time we wait to receive our mail, is it really too much to ask for an explanation that makes sense as to why our mail is so slow?

Should we really have to listen to the same old tired excuses Canada Post trots out that make little or no sense to those of us who live here?

If Canada Post's media people and top executives don't know what's causing the problems in the North, should they not make the effort to find out?

Do we not deserve the same level of courtesy other Canadians not only expect, but demand?

Of course we do, but we have to make it known we're not willing to accept dog-sled speed in our space-age times.

If not, both the excuses and second-class-citizen mail delivery will continue.

Remember, that's not sunshine streaming in your window, it's jet diverting radiation!