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When a person is being held in jail until trial, the public has a legitimate expectation of security. However, people across the NWT discovered last week that the Fort Smith Women's Correctional Facility is far from secure.

No bars, no video surveillance, no fence, not even locks on the doors, it is a small wonder two women were able to escape so easily. Sgt. Grant Payne said the women were not considered a risk to the public, but one of them was awaiting her day in court for arson endangering lives.

It is believed they left the facility through a window, but Colin Gordon, director of corrections with the Department of Justice, admits the two women could have just as easily walked out the front door.

He said the women are not locked in the building due to fire safety concerns.

Yet a fence, designed to keep people in, could be erected around the facility and still allow them clearance to be safely away from the structure in case of fire.

Installing security cameras and having staff monitor them would further deter escape attempts. Exterior doors and windows could be equipped with alarms when they are opened without authorization. As well, doors and locks could be designed to release when a fire alarm is sounded.

Little better is the RCMP's failing to inform the public until a week after the escape. Why did it take so long to get the word out? Even if the prisoners weren't deemed a risk, it wouldn't hurt to have made NWT residents aware and ask them to pass on tips.

This is not the first escape from the jail. A few weeks ago another woman went missing from the complex for several hours before being picked up by Fort Smith RCMP. Gordon didn't have stats at the ready on how many other similar incidents have occurred in the recent past. The people of Fort Smith should not have to worry those serving time at the jail, particularly those awaiting trial, can wander the streets at will.

It is absurd Elections Canada did not keep records to determine how many voters were turned away from the polls due to changes in the election ID rules.

In the North in particular there was much concern people would not meet the requirements - and indeed that was the case for some. Statistics should have been kept to determine the effect of the changes.

Voter turnout was well below the last federal election. There were 13,677 valid votes recorded -- a big drop from the 16,132 in the 2006 federal election. However, this year's total is higher than the 13,478 valid votes in the 2004 election.

From those numbers it is impossible to determine what affect the ID rules may have had. That's bad for the North, but good for the government that doesn't have defend itself from whatever number of Northerners were denied their right to vote.

Elections Canada has a responsibility to make voting as accessible a possible. By not keeping records to determine how the new ID system worked and how to possibly fix it, it has failed in that regard.

Leona Aglukkaq, the former MLA for Nattilik and minister of health and social services, is now headed to Parliament Hill and must bring Nunavummiut issues to Ottawa.

The Conservatives made a lot of announcements and promises in the weeks leading up to the election call.

Prior to and during the campaign, high-ranking members of the Conservative Party, including the prime minister, made visits to Nunavut and made promises such as establishing a Northern regional development agency, and more funding for Junior Rangers.

Stephen Harper also made a misstep by telling Iqalummiut the federal government would not be bound by the new, much-heralded Inuit Languages Protection Act.

During the campaign, Aglukkaq touted her past willingness to fight the feds for funding for housing, women's programs and food mail. But as a newly-minted MP, will she be willing to stand up against her own government?

Despite being a member of the reinstated minority government, she will have to lobby her party for Inuk representation on the Indian Residential Schools truth and reconciliation commission, for respect for Inuit languages, and for funding for Northerners' priorities -- food mail, housing and health care, among them.

We expect her to follow through on those commitments, even if it tests the prime minister's patience.

There are already rumblings that Aglukkaq may be a candidate for a cabinet portfolio - Northern development make sense. We encourage the federal government to make Aglukkaq a cabinet minister. While she is a rookie on the federal scene, she brings a Northern perspective that no other Conservative MP can offer.

By including Nunavut's MP in cabinet, Harper's government would be able to hear and address Northerners' needs and priorities better than they ever could through a few election campaign fly-bys.

At the very least it would indicate confidence in Nunavut's ability to speak for itself and a willingness to listen.

A federal government that makes a Nunavut MP a cabinet minister and gives her the leeway to lobby for the needs of her constituents would surely earn deep respect in our territory.

The Lafferty and Merv Hardie ferries were running on shorter hours this week, wreaking havoc for travellers.

Deh Cho Drum received an email late Wednesday afternoon spelling out the details of the changes in operating hours, effective the next day. It didn't give people much time to prepare for travelling between the hours of 2 and 6 p.m. It would be easier to swallow the temporary changes had it been out of the control of the Department of Transportation, such as the transition into winter.

But the ferries ran on reduced hours because of a lack of staff. The department can't find enough people to keep the ferries running.

Bill Hval, regional superintendent for the Department of Transportation, said there is a worldwide shortage of marine engineers and it took time to secure someone to work. He also said there is a full staff and expects worker shortages to not be a regular occurrence.

Talking with one ferry operator a few weeks back, he complained of being overworked and underpaid. He said he was tired of working without getting proper days off.

What if these already unhappy workers quit their jobs? How would the department explain to people that they aren't able to get from point A to point B? Sorry folks, we can't keep people employed to run the ferries because we work them to death and have to dump their bodies mid-crossing.

A village like Fort Simpson could experience serious issues if traffic can't make it onto the island. The worst case scenario would leave the village without gasoline or food. The more likely scenario would mean major inconveniences for truckers, travellers and residents alike.

The additional stress on travellers would be taken out on those under-appreciated, over-worked engineers, raising their stress levels to greater heights.

It's nearing the end of the ferry season now, so the Department of Transportation has plenty of time to prepare for the next ferry season. However, it has to take a hard look at properly staffing the ferries. If there is such a problem finding qualified marine engineers, it should think about offering incentives to entice people to take up employment. These are the opportunities Northerners seeking a viable profession are looking for. If you offer them a good opportunity, they will come. Training incentives is an option to consider.

And to those current marine engineers - thanks for keeping a very important service to the people of the North running. Kudos!

Andrew Livingstone is the interim editor of Deh Cho Drum. Roxanna Thompson returns in November.

Movie buffs in Inuvik are no doubt reeling from the double shot of southern movies this past month.

Thanks to the Sir Alexander Mackenzie school sports programs, the people of our community can get together a few times a year and watch a new release on a big screen.

The best part is, the movies aren't even out in stores yet, which makes the whole experience much more rewarding.

I remember as a kid, watching movies at the school was always a big event. You'd get some friends together and play some video games and maybe have some pizza before heading to the school.

I think part of the appeal to the younger kids is seeing the school in a different light as well.

Another great perk of being at the movies, even if you're occupying an empty gymnasium, is the great eats and munchies.

The students of the sports programs volunteer their time to work concession and sell goodies like chocolates and yes, popcorn.

Fresh, yellow, gooey with butter and still somehow crunchy popcorn. Is there any better snack to eat while melting your eyes on a screen six times too big?

It's rare glimpses of southern fancies like a movie night at our elementary school that show us a bright shining light once and a while.

A light that says we don't need to be in the dark forever.

Why can't this community have a theatre that would be open every weekend (at least)?

I know it's been the dream of most people to have a place to bring a girl on a date, or join up with some geeky friends for the latest blockbuster to be released.

Whatever your purpose for wanting a theatre, it's undeniable how much revenue it will produce.

I know that it wouldn't be unreasonable to charge $10 a person for a decent screen and sound system.

The problem is comfortable seating. I don't have a problem sitting on those hard wooden chairs when I'm in the audience for a ceremony on Remembrance Day, but I'd like something softer for longer periods of sitting there.

That is why we need a permanent place for the theatre viewing. The only problem is finding a place that has adequate space.

If someone thought about this 10 years ago, we might have been able to save the family hall for this purpose, or a piece of Stringer Hall.

What about that old college building? Can we find a way to remodel it for our own greedy movie pleasures?

I want the people of the community to think hard about this. A movie theatre would be a great way to keep kids off the street and also provide entertainment for those adults who are already ironing their outfit for the next Fireman's Ball.

These movies at the school are great for families and movie lovers of all ages but they are too few and far between.

The two screenings this past month were like a renaissance for the movie-loving couch zombies.

Roll down that big screen and fire up the projector because we're not full just yet.

Unless you've been living in a cave or spending a lot of time on the land during the past eight days, you know another Canadian election has come and gone and not much has changed in this country.

The Conservatives won another minority government, capturing more seats this time out, but well shy of the 155 necessary for a majority government.

Stephen Harper is still our prime minister, and he quickly unveiled his six-point plan for how Canada is going to survive these uncertain economic times.

And, in true Canadian style, the plan calls for little else other than the government to meet with just about everyone in the free world.

And, if that doesn't produce the required results, they'll all just meet again.

As I wrote in this space after our last national election, minority governments don't have a history of longevity in Canada and this one will be no different.

So, after the lowest voter turnout ever recorded in this nation, the election malaise will continue to spread across Canada until the next time we head to the polls for a national election in, say, 18 months.

And that will only be after a Liberal leadership convention to amuse us, a territorial election and a possible Senate election if the prime minister gets his way.

In Nunavut, our new Conservative MP, Leona Aglukkaq, found herself deflecting questions on the number of voters turned away at the polls due lack of or improper identification shortly after her election win.

Here in the Kivalliq it was chin-scratching time as to why the Iqaluit-based media were so concerned over such a low number of people turned away at the polls, when Nunavut had the third lowest voter turnout in the country.

Only our neighbours in the NWT and voters in Newfoundland and Labrador had a more dismal turnout.

Maybe the thousands of voter-information cards littering post office floors across Nunavut without being read in any language had a little to do with the relative handful of people turned away for lack of identification.

But I digress.

Aglukkaq won the Nunavut seat for two reasons: Nancy Karetak-Lindell didn't run and Liberal Leader Stephane Dion scared the heck out of anyone paying attention with his plans for a carbon tax.

When you live in an area with the highest cost of living and biggest carbon footprint in the country, a few tax credits weren't going to balance Dion's tax scales.

Aglukkaq heads to Ottawa with a solid resume at the territorial level to sit with the party in power, which is never a bad thing.

However, money spent by minority governments garners intense scrutiny from the entire country and that may not bode well for Nunavut.

On the plus side, however, one look at Harper's six-point plan to avoid economic devastation in this country shows our prime minister is still big on forming committees and holding meetings.

And if there's one thing we're exceptional at in the North, it's forming committees and holding meetings.

That, in itself, should give Aglukkaq the edge when it comes time to seek the prime minister's ear.