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Premier Floyd Roland's $1 billion cost-sharing "framework" with the federal government to fund NWT infrastructure is a plan that shies away commitments previous NWT governments had made to a resource revenue sharing deal with Ottawa.

Roland announced the proposal in the legislative assembly to little fanfare last week, revealing that he already discussed the idea with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Inuvik in August.

It's difficult not to be skeptical over a potential cost-sharing deal announced just prior to a federal election. Can we count on the federal government to follow through on this "framework," as Roland calls it?

Skepticism also abounds over the GNWT's ability to provide any share of the $1 billion, given its projected $40 million budgetary shortfall.

Then there's the Mackenzie Valley highway that Roland says could become a reality through such an agreement. Why should we pour hundreds of millions of dollars into a road to service a few small communities? How would it make economic sense? We already have a $165 million Deh Cho bridge in progress that many believe will drive up costs in the NWT.

Now is the time to empower the NWT through resource revenue sharing - not go begging to Ottawa for cost-sharing arrangements we can't even pay for.

Kam Lake MLA Dave Ramsay voiced a common complaint in the legislative assembly last week: gas prices seem to jump quickly when oil prices rise, but the price at the pumps seems to take longer to fall after oil prices drop.

Many of us have expressed frustration over this. We'd all like answers.

Ramsay has recommended that the GNWT look at regulating prices. But would this really help? According to Natural Resources Canada's website, "most evidence suggests that regulation, while keeping prices more stable, does not lead to lower prices for consumers." Only the Atlantic provinces and Quebec currently put price controls on gas. Many people on the East Coast are skeptical over how effective regulation is - why would the government, which derives revenue from gas taxes, be in a hurry to lower gas prices?

The federal government encourages consumers to contact the Competition Bureau with complaints of price gouging. This is the same agency that charged 11 companies in Quebec with price fixing in June. The companies that were found guilty were fined substantial amounts -- $1.85 million in the case of Ultramar -- but it marked the first time that any entity was punished for fixing gas prices in Canadian history.

Are we to believe that such investigations and convictions will become commonplace?

Until that day, there's no quick fix other than conservation. Walk more. Take the bus. Buy a fuel efficient vehicle. The best way to show your disapproval to big oil companies is to purchase less of their product.

I have a friend whose favourite saying revolves around it being a sad day when the Government of Canada stopped allowing everyone to wear six-shooters in public.

To his way of thinking, a few wrongful deaths a year were a small price to pay for petty criminals thinking twice about entering private property, and most people keeping their insults to themselves unless they were prepared to back them up.

Barbaric? Yes. Draconian? Absolutely.

But these days the worm has completely turned in the opposite direction.

Now it's the criminals walking around with the hardware, while average citizens are scared to do anything lest they end up in more trouble than the lawbreakers.

Now, even though we have our share of violent deaths in the North, we're not talking about bad guys running around with guns and knives.

But, as anyone living in fear of having their possessions stolen in Rankin Inlet these days can tell you, these criminals are not breaking into buildings with their bare hands.

They're walking around the hamlet with crowbars, pry bar, iron claws; all manners of tools of the criminal trade.

That's why, as much as we'd all like to see those responsible for the Rankin crime wave get theirs, we have to wait for the police to apprehend them and hope the courts hand down a significant sentence when they do.

The RCMP, the municipality and our business leaders are absolutely correct when they warn against vigilante justice.

The problem with taking on anyone who has broken into your dwelling is that if they decide to fight, it's not going to be a fair one.

And, again, they're the ones hiding the steel bars under their jackets.

A crowbar can do an awful lot of damage when it comes in contact with its intended target and, in this case, we're not talking doors or deadbolts here.

We're all frustrated by these robberies and, let's be honest, many of us have lost faith in our judicial system.

When someone can be found guilty of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in this territory and not spend a day behind bars, how much time can we expect these thieves to receive if they're ever apprehended?

Still, there's no tolerance for vigilante justice in today's society, at least not by law enforcement and the courts.

But those with information about the break and enters in Rankin have no excuse for not informing the RCMP.

This is your town being dragged down. Honest people in need suffer when the food bank is closed due to the breaks, and it's your recreation programs that will suffer as the hamlet continues to lose money in robberies and repairs.

It will be money coming out of your pocket when local businesses raise prices to recoup their losses.

Shawn Maley hit the nail right on the head when he said a message has to be sent to show this type of behaviour will not be tolerated in Rankin.

Every day these thugs are on the street everyone is in danger, so let's all do our part.

It's time to take back our town.

With the death of Allan Anderson Sr., the village of Fort Simpson lost one of its most prominent citizens.

Talking to people in the community, it becomes apparent that Anderson was highly regarded.

The last Second World War veteran to be laid to rest in the village risked his life for the freedoms we know today and then lived thereafter with the images of war forever etched on his memory. At the memorial service, Mayor Duncan Canvin spoke of his close relationship with Anderson, calling him a friend.

Now the village council has voted to make his wife pay years of back property taxes amounting to $20,000.

There were three bylaws to wipe out property taxes Anderson had not paid on the table Monday evening at the village council meeting.

None passed first reading.

It's sad that a woman who just lost her husband of more than 60 years has to deal with such a financial burden.

Curiosity gets the best of me and I want to know why the money wasn't collected when he was alive.

It couldn't have been that important to the village, since they let it go this long without collecting. Would it have been left uncollected if he had lived for another five years?

Since he has died, the issue has to be dealt with.

It only seems right to swallow the outstanding balance, as substantial as it may be, and move on.

But are they instead going to force Mrs. Anderson to pay the outstanding taxes and take the property from her if she can't pay?

I understand the village council has to collect its taxes.

Councillor Kim Myers didn't seem to like having to vote against it but he said if they didn't, it would set a precedent, opening the door for future cases like this.

Well, I agree with him. It would set a precedent.

But if they commit to collecting property taxes in a timely fashion in future, this could still be a one-time-only deal.

Andrew Livingstone is interim editor of Deh Cho Drum. Roxanna Thompson will return in November.

The Town of Inuvik is trying to determine how much energy we use as a community and I think we should all do our part to help the study.

I'm one of those people who can only tell you how the weather is by looking it up online.

I don't spend an incredible amount of time outdoors outside. Most days, I can be found in front of a TV screen or computer monitor... with the lights on.

I'm no poster boy for energy conservation.

Granted, with all the hype about those energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs, I had to stock up - just to be hip, if for no other reason.

I'm sure you could look at the power meter outside my place and it would be spinning like a record player.

For the past few years, I've never had to pay for utilities. It's always been covered by work.

Now, I'm in a different situation and will have to monitor my consumption with a keen eye.

I know I'm not the only one who has been abusing my energy privileges though.

It's about time we all look at what is going on around us and maybe cut down on how much we use.

It's no shock we're all guilty of some sort of over-consumption. Maybe you didn't close a window the night before, or you're used to a toasty house that is always well-heated. Either way, something different has to happen soon.

If we keep using and abusing our power, we could be in a real bind when it comes time to pay those bills.

I'm glad the town is taking the task of hosting a contest to encourage more people to take part in their energy audit.

It's valuable information for a municipal government to have.

If we could all get on board with the town's plan to keep track of our power usage, it would contribute to our overall well-being.

Maybe a contest is the only way to get people to offer their information without a fight.

Some people are reluctant to give out their information but they shouldn't be. Knowing how much you use on a regular basis will give you an idea of how much you can cut it down.

In the end, it's all about helping others. By keeping track of how much energy you've used over the past year, you might be more inclined to shut off your lights or turn down the heat.

The fewer resources we use on a daily basis will ensure we will have those services tomorrow.

Even small things, like only warming up your vehicle in the morning and saving fuel will make it easier for your winter.

It's level-headed ideas like this that almost make us forget about some of the crummy roads in town and lack of proper plowing in some areas like the recreation complex.

To our leaders -- those people who meet almost every night of the week to brainstorm ideas like this one, way to go.

This reporter will do his best to remember to shut down his computer from now on.